Embrace Email’s Future: Here’s How To Personalize Your Content

Embrace Email’s Future: Here’s How To Personalize Your Content

You may already know this: email is one of the most successful marketing channels in existence today.

Here’s what you probably never heard of – the strategy only a few companies are using to dominate their competition.

Since email is so successful, it’s getting noisier. More people are using it.

Those who don’t adapt and use strategies such as you’ll learn here will be wondering why the money they spend on marketing ends up in failure.

To succeed you need personalization.

Okay, so that means putting someone’s name prominently in their email, right?

Yes, everyone knows that.

Buying a list of names and emails and just blasting that list…well, that’s what people did back in 2005.

To make money, you need to go beyond this.

In addition to this, you need to be capturing everything about everyone who contacts your dealership.

For example, let’s say that you’re just getting started with email.

You’re smart with your money, so you decide to invest a few pennies more per email and go with a reputable data company with legally compliant, constantly-updated information. You select people in a certain area with the demographics most likely to be interested in buying from your dealership.

Double good for you.

You use this info to send a promotion to each person on your list, using their name prominently in the email. In the email, you include an incentive to come to your website and enter a special code unique to the person you emailed.

That person comes to your website and enters the code.

Yes, now you know the person with email ABC and name XYZ responded to your promo. But if you’re paying attention, you also know so much more.

When anyone connects to the internet, they are assigned a unique number, called an IP address.

It’s a trivial thing for the guys who built your website to capture the IP address of each visitor to your website.

Along with the time and date, which pages they looked at, which videos they watched, and for how long.

Can you see the enormous potential here?

Let’s say they looked at a new Jeep Wrangler (or insert here whatever type of vehicle you sell) on your website.

Now, as you send further emails to them, you can totally personalize your email such as:

SUBJECT: Jimmy, Looking for a New Jeep Wrangler?

Hi Bill,
Noticed you were looking at our new 2015 Jeep Wranglers yesterday at OurDealership.com.

It turns out we have a special sale on these, and we didn’t want you to miss out on it.

Here are the details.

Sincerely,
Your Local Jeep Dealer

 

Can you see how an email like this is totally useful, powerful, very likely to get opened, and can skyrocket your sales?

I thought so too. And the experience of those few totally successful dealerships is proving this strategy again and again.

Are you using these techniques to your advantage?

Contact National Auto Data for a free, no-strings-attached consultation.

We’ll examine every inch of your marketing goals, look at your competition and tell you something new.

Call us today at 866-363-9578 to get things started.

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Keep Your Customers Happy: How To Write Retention Emails

Most customers stay for a great product and exceptional customer service.

Already sold them a car? Email is a great (and easy) way to retain customers.

Yet, you’ll always lose some people due to apathy. They don’t have time or simply don’t care enough to squeeze every last drop of benefit you’re offering.

Every product or service has features people don’t use as much. And there are customers who signed up but forget they did.

That’s where retention emails are so useful. They get your customers more engaged. Whether they are totally inactive or just not completely taking advantage of your services.

How do you know if you’re at risk of losing a customer? If you’re keeping track of the data, it’s easy. (Yes, you should be collecting as much as you can. You are, aren’t you?)

Let’s say you have a service plan for the new vehicle you sold. You want to remind the customer to come in for their routine oil change.

Perhaps the customer signed up for a free trial of an extra service you also offer.

They completed one action – they signed up. But they missed an appointment. Or they let the free trial period lapse. Or they forgot they were paying for a product.

How do you help them take the jump to being a happier customer?

First of all, retention emails are part of a drip campaign. In other words, you don’t just send people one email, but you have a whole plan with a series of emails to send.

Second, these emails are triggered as the result of a behavior (or lack of a behavior).

Third, the emails encourage your customers to get more engaged, or notify them of deals or events they would have otherwise missed.

Here’s a sample retention email you can send:

SUBJECT: Hi Bill, Don’t Miss Your Free Dealer Service

Hi Bill,
Noticed it’s been a while since you and your new car have been to the dealership.

You signed up for the XYZ service, and we wanted to make sure you get all the great benefits from it.

Can we help?

link: Yes, I’d like to reschedule my appointment for service XYZ
link: Yes, I’d like to get my standard oil change, but keep me in mind for XYZ later
link: No, everything is good – I’m super busy at the moment, but remind me later

Best,
Tom
The Dealership

 

Are you using this technique to your advantage?

Contact National Auto Data for a free, no-strings-attached consultation.

We’ll examine every inch of your marketing goals, look at your competition and tell you something new.

Call us today at 866-363-9578 to get things started.


Take Back Your Brand: How To Be Transparent & Thrive

You depend on certain resources to be successful.

Yet thriving dealerships know from experience: the secret to long-term, bottom-line success means spending the time and money on core areas of the dealership.

This means building, keeping, and yes, taking back your brand.

With the advent of Facebook and Twitter, there’s been an enormous interest in social networking. Dealerships know their customers expect a much more interactive, fast-paced experience.

Along with your email and direct marketing, a social media plan is crucial.

Whether you want it or not, you’re getting feedback. Spread all across the web.

Of course, you can’t always be up at 3 AM answering emails or responding to reviews, but it’s getting close to that. You certainly need a team to keep up.

Some dealerships think of user-generated reviews as more of a hassle. It’s not. It’s a huge opportunity. Offer them on your website, on your social media. And in your emails and direct mail.

A survey question with multiple choice makes it easy. An incentive puts the results in the bag. You need this kind of feedback.

And you must respond quickly. Don’t let these messages go unnoticed or pile up. That’s where your team comes in.

It gives management the needed info and brings problems quickly to the surface – before they get out of hand.

If you handle such feedback the right way, it attracts more customers.

Did you get a dissatisfied customer on Twitter? Handle the problem professionally for all to see.

People will focus on your A+ customer service, not the problem. People will see more than the “bad review”. They’ll see you’re honest, you’re inviting feedback, and you’re doing everything you can to make people happy.

As a result, more people will flock in the door. More people will trust you. And more money will drop into your sales profits.

That’s what you want, right?

Are you using this technique to your advantage?

Contact National Auto Data for a free, no-strings-attached consultation.

We’ll examine every inch of your marketing goals, look at your competition and tell you something new.

Call us today at 866-363-9578 to get things started.


Catch This Wave Now: Mobile Profits Soar

Mass-market consumers purchased 335% more with their mobile devices this year.

So says MarketLive. They measured millions of consumer’s buying patterns and compared the results for Q2 2014 with Q2 of 2015.

Brick and mortar shops (including car dealers) saw an increase of mobile purchases exceeding 200%.

So do people actually tap the buy button to get a new car? Not yet, but you cannot ignore the power of these devices.

You should be sending helpful push notifications (such as reminders and promotions) via text message (AKA the technology called SMS.)

You’ll also want to format your emails so they can easily be read on a cell phone.

The MarketLive study showed that phones are far outpacing tablets for online mobile device traffic: (29.4% for phones, 12.9% for tablets) and online revenue (13.1% for phones versus 12.9% for tablets.)

Responsive designed websites now make it easier for mobile shoppers to see and compare products, search prices, check out your dealership.

In a recent press release, Ken Burke, CEO of MarketLive said:

Consumers have shifted their buying patterns to mobile commerce faster than many retailers realize. We’re now seeing merchandise traditionally purchased in-store… increasingly being purchased online from smartphones. And, shoppers are seeking out their favorite brick-and-mortar brands online and expecting their websites to work on any device. We’re calling this trend ‘Commerce Anywhere the Customer Wants It,’ and the more agile retailers and category leaders are outpacing their competitors by constantly adapting to—and embracing—a retail landscape where technology, consumers and markets are evolving at breakneck speed.

 

Certainly email and direct mail are not dead. In fact, they are very much alive and effective.

However, you’ll want to put as much effort into reaching your mobile audience. Good data providers can supply you not only with names and emails, but with mobile numbers for reaching people via text.

Are you using these techniques to your advantage?

Contact National Auto Data for a free, no-strings-attached consultation.

We’ll examine every inch of your marketing goals, look at your competition and tell you something new.

Call us today at 866-363-9578 to get things started.