Car Dealer Insider Jan 15, 2008

How a Chevy dealer, on a budget, coordinated e-mail and search strategy to triple sales leads

Here's the story of a New Jersey Chevrolet dealership that used triggered e-mails, search ads, a micro-site, and incentives to drive 276.7% more leads into the store. Online-generated vehicle purchases jumped more than six times.

The problem The smallish Chevy store had to compete with 49 other Chevrolet dealers in its market area. New owners had taken over management of the dealership, it was operating at a loss, and advertising funds were scarce, according to the publication _Marketing Sherpa.

The owners' stated goal was to return the dealership to profitability and then try to sell the point back to General Motors and/or some of the competing stores.

The restrictive marketing budget meant that management had to craft an innovative, grassroots plan.

A "mystery shopper" sent e-mails to the competition requesting information. The slow and even non-existent responses from other dealers indicated that a creative e-mail campaign had some potential.

The program

Using search ads, a blind micro-site, and a triggered e-mail campaign, dealership managers came up with a plan to drive more buyers to the showroom.

There were five essential elements in the 90-day program:

1. Test keywords

Google ads can be a valuable resource for driving prospects to a micro-site. For a... (204 of 816 words)

Also in this Issue:

• A Word on Women (216 words)
• Creating a customer-centric dealership (544 words)
• Help your service department pump up profits (683 words)
• New Ideas: OneCommand - formally known as CallCommand (164 words)
• News You Can Use - Dates to Save, Trends to Watch (41 words)
• Opportunities can knock in 2008…if you're willing to adapt to a changing automotive marketplace (769 words)
• Trend Spotting (243 words)
• Used vehicle sales success requires Internet oomph (79 words)