As COVID-19 cases continue to climb in the United States, automotive digital marketing platform PureCars released a report meant to provide insight into the current situation for dealers and help get them through the remaining summer period.
Jeremy Anspach, Founder and CEO of PureCars, said many dealers experienced a record-breaking June — not just for sales, but profits as well. However, the situation has shifted slightly since the Fourth of July sales event.
“Depleted inventory and shifts in consumer sentiment are having some impact on sales trends,” said Anspach. “So far, surges in COVID are not having quite the same impact on demand or dealership operations that they did at the start of the outbreak, which is promising. Recovery will come, but it will likely come slower than any of us would like.”
State lockdowns and business closures have had an impact on the industry, with both businesses and marketers less keen to spend money on advertising. According to the report, 50 per cent of respondents have stopped or pulled a campaign mid-flight in April (up from 45 per cent in March), and 64 per cent are holding back a campaign from launching until later this year (up from 49 per cent in April).
PureCars suggests resisting the urge to limit advertising. “Instead of pausing or postponing your digital advertising campaigns, the best (and proven from downturns and recessions past) approach is to continue to advertise, but reduce and/or reallocate budget using data to drive those decisions.”
The report also reveals that many dealers in the U.S. left the market between the February and March timeframe, thereby lowering the average Cost Per Click (CPC) across Google and Bing. That left many leads for dealers still in the market to pick up. These dealers were also able to take advantage of the low CPCs on Facebook. When CPCs declined, clicks, calls, and leads all went up.
For dealers that choose to continue advertising their inventory, PureCars advises showcasing it as best they can to maximize the possibility of a sale. This can be done by ensuring there are photos to go with the vehicles, and by re-evaluating the digital experience being offered to customers (from ad campaigns to the dealership website). “Little changes can have a big effect,” said PureCars.
Overall, the report (found here) offers an abundance of statistics that paint a picture of what U.S. dealers are dealing with, while also offering a few good tips and reminders. These include leading with data when making informed decisions about advertising, leveraging all available (intelligent) resources — from vendors to groups and industry leaders, and treating every day like the last one of the month.
The company also advises over-communicating the business process on the dealership website, in the showroom through signage, and on all advertising channels and social media. Also of importance is to ensure dealers are not neglecting the profitability in service (such as fixed ops), and that dealers are creating a “creative community connection” that can help the dealership forge “well-earned loyalties.”
“With everything we’ve learned (and are still learning!) as an industry, there are things we can do to prepare for the next phase(s) in this recovery,” said Anspach. “We understand what to watch for and how to analyze and adjust on a dime to meet changing customer needs and demands to best serve our communities.”
