• Stop being a LURKER - join our dealer community and get involved. Sign up and start a conversation.

Dealer Paid OEM Email Marketing

derrickwoolfson

4 Pounder
Sep 10, 2014
79
31
Awards
1
First Name
Derrick
The OEM puts pressure on the dealers to use their 3rd party marketing companies for mailers & emails. This past month the GM caved in and laid out the money to work with the OEM's marketing company. Already frustrated the dealers name & info was muted on the creative.

Before the email went out he asked where the customer would land if s/he clicked the "Learn More," ect. To which the rep said the OEM site.

The GM says "time out. I am paying to market the vehicle for other dealers then essentially. As they can obviously choose another Nissan."

The rep gave no comment. Has anyone else experienced this with an OEM? Them not allowing you to land the customer to your website. Or, in the very least allowing you to iframe in content such as the "building" tool which is often irrelevant in regards to what inventory dealers actually have on their lots?

I am all about finding new ways to market to the customer. But to pay money to email the customer, and not have them land on our own website does not make much sense.
 
I spent several years with an email & Direct mail company and worked on several OEM programs during this time none of the OEM's mandated this but I have seen mandates that require the link to direct to the dealers OEM program website and not a 3rd party site.