A recent study of auto dealerships has found that technology-driven marketing performs up to 4.5 times better than manual marketing.

One dealership in the data pool boosted its leads per month from 110 manually to more than 400 leads with automated technology, according to the study from marketing automation platform AutoLeadStar. The study also found that within September, the dealership decreased its ad spend from more than $11,000 to $8,000.

AutoLeadStar director of marketing Ilana Shabtay said it was shocking to see how much money dealers spend on extra fees or their own internal team by using manual-based systems for determining ad spend.

“Dealers who are using AI-backed solutions to pivot quickly based on not only buyer demand, but inventory levels and the dynamic market, will be the true winners coming out of 2020,” Shabtay said in a news release.  

Because of inventory shortages, an end to the buyer surge this past summer, and a general malaise over websites and offers as the holidays approach, dealerships should be more savvy than ever with their ad strategies and dollars, AutoLeadStar said. 

 “We’re encouraging all of our dealer friends to explore technology-backed marketing solutions if they aren’t already engaging with them,” Shabtay said.

Shabtay said one dealership showed a 350% increase in leads during its first month using AutoLeadStar’s tech-based product. That dealership decreased its spend by 163%, Shabtay said.