Issues in Focus: e-Marketing More Than the Latest Buzz

By Richard Greene, AR NewsMagazine Editor
October 01, 2006

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WALTHAM, Ma. -- Dealers no longer need to barrage their current customers with a nonstop series of unconnected e-mails and hope that they get opened, let alone read and responded to. Instead, Brian Epro, director of automotive services for iMakeNews, with headquarters here, said they should seriously look at how they can engage their clients through the creative use of e-newsletters.

When done right, Epro noted, more and more dealers will catch the e-marketing wave and enjoy a long ride of augmented Web site traffic, increased sales, amplified service department business and stronger relationships with customers and prospects.

According to Epro, IMN introduced its Loyalty Driver e-newsletter service with Buy Signals at the 2005 convention of the National Automobile Dealers Association. This past February at the 2006 convention, the company announced that it had a roster of more than 100 dealership clients using the service. Today, its client list exceeds 250 stores and includes dealerships affiliated with the United Auto Group, Rosenthal Automotive Organization and the Curry Auto Group. And Epro said that number should only continue to soar.

Choose the Right Marketing Approach

"Dealers are spending massive amounts of money on newspapers, radio and network TV, and we certainly don't discount those advertising media avenues, but along came online marketing and dealers are starting to discover that they can expand their business, more effectively track their results and more wisely invest their ad budget at a fraction of the cost," Epro explained.

Epro explained that traditional media advertising takes a shotgun approach toward its audience. For example, he said a typical Sunday newspaper display ad will blast away at a huge target, with the hopes of hitting a few, whereas an online newsletter acts more like a single-shot rifle, specifically targeting its audience, one reader at a time.

"It's no longer a spray and pray approach, but a much more targeted, integrated and strategic marketing approach," Epro noted.

At the same time, Epro said that dealers are discovering that they can't afford to just blindly hammer their client base with a salvo of e-mails with the hopes that they'll drive on down and purchase a new or used car. That message is only getting lost in the vast clutter of unread e-mails.

"Dealers are also smartening up and becoming more sophisticated, in that rather than sending a bunch of disparate, emotional e-mails to try and motivate customers to come to the dealership for whatever reason, they can now send out each month a professionally done, fully managed e-newsletter that will not only be opened and read but that customers will find interesting and pertinent," Epro added.

"Some dealerships have told us that they've experienced quadrupled or quintupled Web site traffic as a result of our e-newsletters sent to their customers and prospects, but when we make any public claims, at a minimum we will double the traffic to a dealership's Web site," Epro stated.

"In addition, when our e-newsletters go out, most of our customers average a sub-1 percent opt-out rate, combined with at least a 20-percent open-rate," he added. "This is allowing dealerships then to continuously market to their clients again and again."

Content Drives Action

Epro said editorial copy for IMN's Loyalty Driver e-newsletters is generated by eight staff writers. Each newsletter is comprised of 10 original articles, two of which are always focused on new products germane to the dealership's specific factory model line. Newsletters to customers of a Honda dealership will have two vehicle review articles about new Hondas, for example. Epro said that dealerships can then use the special "Buy Signal" feature with these articles, which enables readers to click on and schedule a test drive of that vehicle at their local store.

Content can also be added by a dealership, Epro said, and so there will always be articles about what's happening at that store. What's popular along these lines, he noted, are the use of tailor-made coupons to schedule a service check or to promote sales on specific used or new vehicles.

Readers can take advantage of the many buttons in the e-newsletter, taking them directly to the dealership's Web site to scout out available inventory. These always produce quality leads, Epro said. To brand that store and to clearly identify from where the newsletter is emanating, the local dealership's logo is always used in the banner.

In need of employees, one dealership group in New York included a jobs button in its newsletter as part of its template and immediately began receiving resumes from readers. "They were astonished as to the high response," Epro commented. "But this is another example of how dealerships are creatively using their newsletter."

But the stories that may stand out the most, Epro pointed out, are the lifestyle articles, which may highlight movie or restaurant reviews, or tips on home improvement, health and finance issues. Others highlight seasonal events and holiday festivities.

"These are the kinds of articles that readers value in a different way and for the most part enjoy reading," Epro explained. "We conduct extensive research on which of these articles have high open rates and high interaction, so that we can provide content that people are interested in.

"One issue this past summer included an article on heirloom vegetables, which didn't produce the results we were expecting, so next year we may shy away from including pieces on vegetable gardening," Epro said. "But meanwhile, we did an article on how to keep your vehicle clean and the best way to wash your car. Readership went through the roof, so we now know that exterior car care articles are something that will pull well in the newsletter."

The use of these kinds of articles, Epro said, is known as contextual marketing. "I receive a newsletter from ABC Toyota, I open it, I read the articles, I like them, they pique my interest," he explained. "But at this moment, I'm not interested in buying a car. In fact, I may have just bought one from them last month. Or I know I may be in the market some time from now. But I still permit them to send me their material because I have some actual interest in what the newsletter contains.

"And because their brand is in front of me month after month, when I get ready to buy or take my car in for service, I'm going to think of that dealership first," Epro added.

Building relationships, then, becomes an essential priority, Epro said. He told the story of a Chrysler store that included articles in its newsletter about its commitment to various community causes and charities. One reader was so impressed, Epro said, he told that dealership he was willing to bypass another Chrysler store nearer to his home and drive 50 extra miles to have his car serviced by them. "He liked those causes and charities himself, was impressed by the Chrysler's support of them, and was willing to do business with them rather than the Chrysler dealership closer to him," Epro explained.

"We try to point out to dealers to have their newsletters be a workhorse for them," Epro said. "Each department should load up their specials into their store's newsletter and have it work for them."

"You offer something of value, it will deliver," he concluded.

To learn more about iMakeNews' Loyalty Driver e-newsletter service, visit www.imnloyaltydriver.com. Click on the Getting Started button for contact information.