Marketing the Proactive Way to Move Old Inventory Today

Finding the right customers for sitting dealership inventory can be challenging, but with the right strategies and data, you can increase your chances of moving vehicles and generating revenue.

A strategic approach involves understanding your sitting inventory, knowing your target audience, and using effective marketing tactics. Adapting your marketing strategies based on current market conditions and buyer preferences is essential, so you’re not just spraying and praying that you’ll hit the right person.

There are some considerations to take that can help you find new buyers for your dealership’s inventory, including implementing a well-rounded marketing strategy.

First Things First

First, ensure everything is in order, and you’ve done your due diligence to price your sitting inventory competitively. Pricing should be attractive to potential buyers while allowing you to profit.

Educate yourself on how each vehicle’s make, model, year, features, and conditions are currently performing. This information will help you identify the characteristics of the right customer and allow you to adapt your strategies based on market conditions and buyer preferences.

The Who’s Who

Define your target audience. Collect demographics such as age, gender, income level, and geographic location of your ideal customers. A dealership data mining platform, like AutoAlert, can easily filter and provide the information you need.

Try understanding your identified demographic’s lifestyle, values, interests, and preferences. Analyze their buying behavior, such as whether they prefer new or used vehicles and their reasons for purchasing.

Use this research to develop detailed buyer personas. These personas should represent your ideal customers, give insight into creating effective marketing messages, and tailor your marketing efforts.

It’s a Sell-A-Bration!

Next, you’ll want to get the word out. Promote the vehicles you need to move via multiple advertising outlets to reach the right buyers.

Online
Capitalize on the most utilized online platforms for sourcing vehicles and your dealership’s website. Social media and online communities are a powerful source for reaching buyers. Having a knowledgeable employee on staff to mediate that process can be worth your while.

Email
Email Marketing is a highly personalized way to market to customers. They are already in your database, and you can tailor messages specific to their current vehicle lifecycle position. It’s a good place to highlight special promotions, financing options, and relevant offers for your sitting inventory.

You can filter and segment your email lists when creating targeted email campaigns—for example, customers who have previously expressed interest in purchasing a vehicle or have preferred older models.

Text
SMS (text messaging) has become popular for targeted ads and can be very effective. Like with emails, you can filter your database to find the best customers to target, then customize messages with the most relevant information about your inventory and any special promotions.

It’s Not Over Till It’s Over

The post-campaign processes are equally important as the rest of the campaign. Following up with customers promptly can make all the difference when closing a sale. It’s a great time to provide additional information and address any questions or concerns. You can even implement surveys and analyze the feedback to identify areas for improvement.

Remarketing campaigns to target individuals who have previously visited your website or interacted with your dealership but have yet to make a purchase is a great way to keep things moving. One message, one time, will likely only motivate some customers.

Continuous analysis of the effectiveness of your marketing efforts, using your dealership CRM platform to track customer behavior, gives you the data to adjust your approach.

Selling old vehicle inventory requires an educated evaluation, competitive pricing, effective marketing, and excellent customer service. Adapt these practices to your dealership strategy, and with patience, persistence, and the right tools, you can efficiently sell old inventory and make room for new.

AutoAlert’s multichannel marketing capabilities can easily run marketing campaigns straight from your dashboard and help you reach customers matching your sitting inventory.