While we wait to see what the full impacts of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), automotive dealerships are among many businesses that are finding things in limbo. Our team is actively monitoring the situation and are aiming to provide our clients, prospects, and other automotive dealerships, a perspective on how digital marketing will be playing a major role moving forward.
Lower Funnel Car Shoppers Are Still Looking for Dealerships
As managers of digital marketing for a variety of dealerships, we preach marketing from the bottom of the funnel first and then moving upwards. A low funnel car buyer search term, ‘Chevy dealers near me’ has shown consistent search volume through the past 90 days. While we have seen many industries see a dip in searches, such as the travel industry, car shoppers in the United States are still seeking out dealership services.
Various OEM’s have recently announced finance programs that aim to make it easier and more affordable to purchase a new vehicle. While we can’t ensure that in-market behavior will sustain, there is still opportunity out there to sell vehicles.
We’re Beginning to See Signs In Higher Funnel Search Terms
While customers searching for dealerships nearby may be within 1-2 weeks of purchase, search terms like ‘best SUV’ indicate someone that is more like 2-3 months from purchase. Searches for ‘Best SUV’ have begun to see a recent drop off.
For some of our automotive paid search campaigns, we have shifted budgets from higher funnel campaigns to those that target car shoppers looking for lower funnel terms. This is allowing our dealership clients to achieve maximum search engine exposure for car shoppers that are ready to interact with a dealership. Real-time campaign monitoring and adjustments are key as we continue to see markets shift.
Think: Digital Dealership
We don’t recommend that dealerships pull their marketing and advertising efforts. It is easy to hit the panic button in times like these but those who do, will not thrive.
What we do recommend is analyzing your current marketing strategy and allocating your efforts to the current times. Now is a great time to improve your dealership’s digital strategy!
If you are wondering where to start, then contact our team to schedule a discovery call. We can run an audit of your dealership’s website experience, SEO, and Paid Search, providing you with the information needed to make educated decisions for your dealership’s digital marketing strategy.
