Lead Generation for Auto Dealers and Car Dealerships

By LGG Media

Although many areas of the auto industry have evolved, one fundamental has remained constant: quality leads are still principal. You’re probably aware that most automobile purchasers conduct their research online. Consumers no longer have to rely on salesmen for information. At the touch of a button, users can access all of the information they require. Often, they already know the brand, model, and year of the automobile they want to buy before speaking with a salesperson. Traditional marketing does not target younger consumers, as you are likely aware.

While many sectors rely on repeat sales to expand, vehicle manufacturers aren’t that lucky. People typically don’t have the need to buy a car more than once every few years. 

You must reach out to more potential automobile purchasers in order to expand. Here, we’ll look at the most practical lead generating strategies you can utilize to help your dealership clients move more cars off their lots.

Top Platforms

Google Ads

Google Ads, previously Google AdWords, is a difficult technology to master. When used in conjunction with effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Google Ads can help you attract more visitors to your website and generate more leads, resulting in more automobiles being sold. While it can be quite beneficial to your car dealership, a poor campaign can squander both money and time.

Every day, Google handles over 3.5 billion searches, making it the most used search engine in the world. However, Google Ads isn’t something you can pick up overnight or use as a one-time marketing approach; it necessitates ongoing monitoring and changes.

Google My Business

As a car dealer marketer or owner, you understand how critical it is for your dealership to appear on Google for car purchasers at any stage of the buying process. Google currently controls more than 90% of the global search engine industry, so it’s more crucial than ever to make your automotive company visible on their platform. Setting up your GMB page for lead creation is one of the most effective ways to accomplish it.

A Google My Business account offers more than just a location to create business listings for Google Search and Maps. It can also be used to acquire directions, inquire about something, or make a reservation. These actions are tracked by Google and displayed in the Google My Business dashboard’s Insights section.

Your Google My Business page gives you another method to appear in local searches connected to your dealership – and it can often appear at a crucial time, such as when vehicle buyers are looking for nearby dealerships, reading dealership reviews, and comparing dealerships they’ve already found.

Facebook

Approximately 75% of potential car buyers want their auto brand to engage them in some type of personalized engagement on their smartphone. The main argument offered is that most car buyers desire the most frictionless and straightforward experience possible. Customers also want a method to have direct communication with you so they can act when they’re ready.

You must discover a means to enable secure and user-friendly transactions with customers as a car dealership selling new or used cars. You’ve provided yourself one option to enable accessible and continuous communication platforms by establishing and integrating Messenger into your client sales strategy. Messenger on Facebook also allows people to look at your cars and then complete a purchase transaction if the price is agreed upon.

Instagram

Car dealerships all around the country are using Instagram to promote their brands and place customers in brand new vehicles.

Of course, just like any other social media site, your car dealership’s Instagram strategy must be in place to achieve the best results. After all, it’s one thing to publish content. Another is building a loyal following and achieving your sales targets.

Instagram is an image and video-based social media platform with over a billion monthly users. Consider all of the potential customers who are currently looking for and skimming through information and goods similar to yours.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is currently underutilized as a mainstream advertising platform since it allows brands to target relatively narrow demographics. This implies that companies are more likely to get in front of their intended target audience first – and that the consumer is less likely to be bombarded with adverts, as is the case on Facebook.

Create a professional and informative LinkedIn profile to optimize your presence. Use the advanced search tool to find potential contacts in your market, and be sure to participate in groups and share valuable content.

YouTube

YouTube is the world’s largest and most popular video-sharing platform, allowing content creators to access a global audience with only a few clicks. YouTube is a terrific tool for businesses to engage new prospects and turn viewers into customers.

By the time a potential buyer steps into your dealership, he or she has most likely looked online for feature information, reviews, and deals. The buyer has compared models and is aware of the various paint options available for the vehicle he desires. And, more than likely, the shopper has gone to YouTube multiple times to look at the cars in the competition. 

TikTok

In this unprecedented period of change, auto manufacturers that wish to connect with today’s consumers face significant new hurdles. A successful automobile strategy necessitates flexibility and the nurturing of true relationships. Authenticity is crucial—and innovation is crucial. Brands are discovering new ways to engage their target audience, form meaningful connections, and win the race for consumer attention and purchases on TikTok.

By using the strength of our creative tools and global community, some car brands and dealerships have already found success on TikTok. Learn the marketing techniques for accomplishing your goals on our game-changing platform to see how they’re doing it—and how you can, too.

Lead Generation Methodologies/Tactics for Automotive Industries

Let’s take a look at the numerous factors that must be in sync in order for your company to generate new leads.

Optimize for SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of making changes to your website so that search engines can locate it easily. It’s a never-ending process. However, if you’re successful, you’ll see an increase in visitors and a higher ranking in search results.

Search rankings are determined by a variety of things. Although website authority is vital, on-page elements such as meta descriptions and alt-tags might have an impact on your rankings. Internal, external, and inbound links all have an impact on your search engine results page rankings (SERPs).

Search engines hunt for pages with high-quality, relevant content related to the user’s search query. Here’s a rundown of SEO fundamentals:

You will need to create things like page names, meta descriptions, and on-page content that are unique and specific to the keywords you want to rank for.

Prioritize Useful and Educational Content

Did you ever consider posting constant content or a blog as a solution to your lead generation issues? Most likely not. However, it is true that frequently updated blog content that is optimized for search engines (SEO) will generate more leads. This method not only increases web traffic, but it also builds confidence among potential clients.

Here are some pointers to get you started:

  • At least 1-2 posts per week should be written by an in-house writer or a freelancer.
  • Make sure the writer understands SEO and has a strong command of grammar.
  • Make a publishing schedule. Choose the days you’ll post and stick to them.
  • Create content that your customers will enjoy reading.

Use Targeted Marketing to Re-engage with Past Customers

Past customers should be contacted on a regular basis by your sales team. One of the most effective lead sources is repeat business. Perhaps they want to trade in their car or have a child who wants to buy his first car. However, there is only one way to find out: you must inquire!

  • Target specific demographics, vehicle sales, family size, and other factors.
  • Create customised emails with special offers based on your customers’ preferences and needs.
  • Texts providing relevant information, such as inventory information or service and maintenance advice, should be sent.
  • Schedule custom based tasks based on response to ensure that clients are contacted as soon as possible, even on busy days.

Stay Active on Social Media

When it comes to buying a car, about 38% of consumers will use social media as a resource. They may simply be seeking suggestions from friends or families. Your dealership, on the other hand, could be a beneficial resource in their search for a new vehicle.

If you’re already creating content and optimizing your website for conversions, social media marketing can help you generate a flood of auto sales leads.

Use PPC Advertising

Ads are generally disliked by consumers. Advertisements, on the other hand, are still an efficient technique to create leads. Because complicated algorithms and data sets are used to target the proper people, digital pay-per-click (PPC) ads are effective. Simply select a budget, manage your advertising campaigns, and assess your return on investment.

Google AdWords is the most widely used PPC ad service. However, you can also use Facebook and other famous social media sites to advertise.

To reach to the top of the search rankings, car dealerships employ PPC ad solutions like Google AdWords. In general, they’ll concentrate on keywords that their potential clients type into search engines.

Budgeting for Lead Generation for Car Dealerships

Dealership owners, CFOs, and other top-level executives have a tendency to feel that the annual budget is solely their responsibility. They believe it is their responsibility to spend many days and nights studying numbers and making difficult decisions.

Don’t just go through the motions of filling in the gaps if you’ve been using the same financial plan for a while. Consider adding some new line items for the future year, such as the things we have mentioned above like Facebook advertising, digital video, or perhaps hiring a new social media employee. Take the time to create your annual budget so that you can have the most successful and fruitful year yet at your dealership; take it seriously and make your ambitions a reality.

How LGG Can Help

Every day at LGG, we go out hunting for new consumers for you. We handle all of the legwork required to get your sales team in front of qualified decision-makers at the dealerships you represent. Using our own prospecting database and cutting-edge marketing strategies, we generate high-quality sales-ready leads for your sales team. We also specialize in finding high-quality sales leads for your business that will result in great results.