How to Improve Your Automotive Mobile Marketing Strategy

Automotive industry marketing must adapt to meet changing consumer expectations. Here are four ways that developing your own digital marketing strategy can boost sales and transform your business.

1. Enhance Customer Relationships

Like in many increasingly digitized industries, automotive sales can be impacted by “showrooming.” Showrooming is when shoppers examine and compare products in a physical store and then purchase an item online, typically at a lower price. Because online retailers do not face the same overhead costs as traditional brick-and-mortar retailers, they can keep their prices much lower.

Research shows that 63% of car shoppers engage in showrooming. The same study also found that mobile ads play a significant role in convincing shoppers to visit other car dealerships, with 33% of customers going elsewhere based on a mobile ad they saw while shopping for a car. Your automotive mobile marketing strategy should target consumers who prefer mobile shopping, as 62% of survey respondents said they would complete the entire vehicle purchase online if they could.

SMS marketing enables automotive brands to connect directly with their clients and build long-lasting customer relationships. With 98% of text messages opened within three minutes, a mobile marketing campaign ensures that customers keep your business in mind for their automotive needs, even if they aren’t actively looking for a new car.

In a mobile-friendly Facebook ad campaign for the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, Toyota used 100 video clips to create over 100,000 unique video ads to engage customers. After the ads were created, they targeted users based on their Facebook likes and search history and personalized the advertisement to each individual.

Businesses can also use SMS marketing to share sales opportunities and other alerts with existing and potential customers. For example, automotive marketers should segment their SMS subscriber lists to create a truly personalized car shopping experience for each customer, online or in-store, to reach a target audience. By segmenting lists, you can share special offers based on what your customers want.

2. Improve Customer Service

Unlike emails, which are often immediately sorted as spam or left unread, SMS text messages can instantly share information. Here are two ways you can use SMS to improve customer service efforts.

Scheduling Appointments

Auto dealerships can also use an SMS marketing platform to schedule appointments for potential car buyers to come for a test drive or bring a car in for service. Over 80% of consumers prefer to book appointments via text message. 

In addition, helpful SMS marketing tools such as short codes and two-way SMS make it easy for consumers to reach out to a brand and answer questions, resolve an issue or learn more about the car buying process.

Collect Feedback

Another effective way to improve customer service is to collect feedback from actual customers. For example, you can send short surveys to your customers with SMS marketing, such as a short series of questions answered with a quick numerical response. 

According to SurveyMonkey, short surveys effectively collect actionable data, so SMS is the ideal tool for gathering customer feedback or requesting online reviews. By integrating input into your process, you can also boost your online reputation to improve customer experience.

3. Sign Documents

Many organizations use an electronic signature app to complete their contracts to collect fast and secure digital signatures while saving time, money, and unnecessary paperwork. For example, CM.com’s Sign solution lets you sign paperwork virtually and securely, including HIPAA-protected information from healthcare providers.

Many countries around the world have validated virtual signatures. An eSignature also involves less risk of the document being damaged, lost, or stolen. However, it is critical to note that laws around digital and “wet” physical signatures for car purchases may vary by state.

4. Message Internal Staff

An automotive mobile marketing strategy is only as effective as the team behind it. However, SMS marketing can be a powerful tool for improving your internal communications, making the difference between a highly efficient, effective team and employees unaware of meetings, current promotions, or critical business decisions.

Many organizations send texts to communicate with their staff in real time and ensure important messages are received. This is particularly useful for sharing timely information, such as company-wide announcements and sales goals, with staff spread out across multiple departments or working offsite. You can also use your SMS marketing platform to alert your team about urgent issues, like vehicle recall information or a lost car.

If you have hourly employees or shift workers, an SMS marketing platform can help you schedule shifts and stay organized, even when employees cannot come in for work. You can easily send individual schedules and text blasts to find someone who can cover or swap shifts.

Choose Mobile Marketing Cloud to Deliver Personalized Customer Engagements

Consumers expect brands to provide a fully immersive and personalized mobile shopping experience, and the auto industry is no different. So if you’re ready to start developing a customized automotive mobile marketing strategy for your business, CM.com can help.

CM.com’s Mobile Marketing Cloud is an all-in-one marketing software that delivers superior experiences, engages customers, and increases customer happiness. Our easy-to-use Omnichannel Inbox lets you interact with your customers through their preferred messaging channels, such as WhatsApp, Apple Messages for Business, Facebook Messenger, Viber, Telegram, Twitter, and SMS.

To find the right automotive mobile marketing strategy for your business, contact us today.