Up next in OneCommand’s Holiday Marketing Guide is an easy way to drive end-of-the-year sales to your dealership. We all know marketing to current customers to keep them coming back is significantly cheaper than going out and conquesting for new business. Although bringing in new business is extremely important, try these three ideas to put current customers into your sales pipeline.
Find Pre-Owned Opportunities
Chances are you have several pre-owned vehicles in such high demand that they are sold before they ever hit your lot. Look into your database to determine if any of your current customers drive one of these desirable vehicles. Then, reach out to them to see if they are interested in selling their vehicle. If so, you have a win, win; you’re able to stock your pre-owned inventory lot with desirable vehicles and potentially sell a new vehicle.
Find Equity Opportunities
Another way to find potential sales for an end-of-the-year push is to look into your database and find customers who are in a positive equity position. Typically customers find themselves in an equity position on their vehicle around three to five years after purchase. This also happens to be the time when the new models start to catch their eye and they think about trading their vehicles in for a new one. If you catch them at the right time, you’ll be able to capture their trade and sell them a new vehicle.
Find Ready-to-Buy Opportunities
Consumers are holding on to vehicles for longer and longer periods of time. Many speculate about the reason for this, but what’s important to you is that the average new car owner will keep their car for 6.5 years, according to IHS. Think about targeting customers in your database who have owned their vehicle for more than 5 years. These are the folks who are going to be looking to sell their vehicle, statistically speaking, in the next year or so.
If you’re looking to drive end-of-the-year sales to your dealership, now is the time to decide which current customers you will target to get the most return for your marketing.