Marketing to local companies and corporations

[DanMorgan]

Here I am with another brainstorm

I have been reading so much about the changing online market nowadays and I'm definitely seeing it and am always looking to find any way to market and attract online and local people.

I have done a little bit of marketing to some local business owners to offer exclusive pricing and other specials for employees from each company but have not had results I would have liked. Personally I like to market in a more personal way rather than looking like a douche-spammer, but I'm a little mixed on it's effectiveness.

Any thoughts on those that are thinking out of the box on effective avenues to get a good positive notes/emails/letters/specials to send or talk to the "Important People" at the companies that could have influence over company car purchases and such?

 

[Alex Snyder]

It is all about who you know. Through twitter I found a group of people who were setting up a social media conference in Virginia Beach, and attended their first "soft-launch". I asked to help work on the conference with them and quickly became friends with people from large mortgage firms, marketing groups, the newspaper, the conference venues, and even the non-automotive side of Dominion Enterprises.

I wasn't getting involved to push Checkered Flag, but it turned out these folks were very influential and we sold some cars on referrals. With time (and if I was still at Checkered Flag) I would have tried to nurture things into a more formal buying program.

Moral of the story - pay attention to the social media items pertaining to your local market and be ready to give something of yourself (read the Go-Giver). If you're in it for the right reasons (again, read that book) things just sort of fall into place.

 

[Jeff Kershner]

Good stuff Alex.

Today you have so many ways of networking and introducing yourself. Leverage them all.

Set up some google alerts for local conferences.

Do you have any aggressive local marketing agencies? Many times these agencies will put on local small conferences.

Find some influential people in the neighborhood and write a spotlight article for your dealers newsletter. Great way to break the ice.

Invite these people to your Dealership Customer Advisory Board

Network!

 

[DanMorgan]

I like your idea of getting in with a local marketing company. I actually have a good customer who owns a local outside of the box Advertising/Marketing agency, that I can probably throw some ideas off of. :thumbup:

 

[TuneyFish]

It's not who you know, it's how well you know them.