photo by Sha Sha Chu, via Flickr

The Television Bureau of Advertising announced last week that television revenue fell by 27.6% in the first quarter. Adding to that, spending in the automotive category of local broadcast TV fell a whopping 52.1% in the first quarter of the year.

Traditionally holding the top spot among individual spenders, autos are hitting local stations’ revenues particularly hard. While bad for local broadcast stations, I think there is some silver lining to this dark cloud. Has the economy finally forced local automotive dealers to rethink their television advertising budgets? I hope so.

Television is a traditional medium that offers questionable ROI or tracking ability. In today’s world, dealerships are looking to advertise more and spend less. This isn’t going to happen with TV ads. Autos have long loved this medium where they can catch consumers’ attention, usually at the expense of their dignity. Am I calling for an end of “Crazy Eddie’s Used Cars” commercials where Eddie literally saws something in half to demonstrate their slashed prices? Kind of. While TV spots can useful for dealers, there are so many other ways (more ROI and tracking friendly ways) to reach targets. Only you know what works for your dealership, but some mediums I think will gain traction are:

• Email marketing
• Using YouTube to launch commercials
• Social Media
• Direct Phone calls to customers (especially for service work)
• Targeted PPC campaigns
• Radio
• SEO

So what are you doing with your ad budget?

You could consider bringing your Internet marketing in-house if:

• You have staff with time to spare. Lots of time. Managing online marketing campaigns takes time and planning to ensure success. If you don’t have the time to manage budgets and tweak ad copy, don’t bother. You’ll end up costing yourself more in the long run.
• You (or your staff) have experience running campaigns. Dealerships aren’t in the position to be guinea pigs for trial campaigns. You need experience working with the major search engines and writing effective ad copy to run a solid campaign; otherwise valuable time and money could be wasted.
• You know your business. I know this seems like a given, but in order to build a list of keywords that will convert for your dealership you must know what people are searching for to find you. Of course “manufacturer + DMA” is a start, but what other keywords drive traffic to your site? Professionally run campaigns typically begin with hundreds (or even thousands) of keywords, and are narrowed down over time to keep the best converting terms.
• You have measurements and goals set to keep the campaign accountable and on-track. Clear metrics defining campaign success are imperative. If analytics aren’t in place and conversion rates aren’t tracked then there is no way to see if bringing the advertising in-house actually saved money. This is a key point for all advertising, whether in house or out.

If you agree with all of the above statements, great – this can be a good option for dealerships with experienced staff that makes in-house advertising a priority. But for many dealerships just hoping to save a few bucks this generally isn’t a real cost-saving option.

A tracking report from Auto Dealer Traffic

Before businesses decide to do anything aggressive online you must first determine what defines success for your online efforts? While this question sounds basic, it deserves some thought and attention.  Is success increasing the number of unique visitors? Just getting consumers to call or submit information? Placing an order?  Before even thinking about starting your campaign you need to know what success means in real, quantifiable language.  Otherwise you, and your marketing partner, will be doomed to failure from the get-go.

This shouldn’t be new news – in fact, I’ve said it before, right in this very blog: Once your campaign is kicked off, you better be tracking it. While this sounds like common sense, the Media Post study says that less than half (47%) of marketing professionals say they currently use analytics to measure online campaign results.  What’s the point of having all those “cool analytics” if you have no idea where you came from and where you are now, and where you plan to be tomorrow. You’ve got to have a documented benchmark in order to show measurable results.

I believe the lack of campaign ROI is because of these reasons stated above. I think businesses are finally realizing these issues with lack of planning and goal setting now, after jumping on so many Internet marketing programs that they forgot the fundamentals. As, businesses actually start to document their progress, I think we will see an increased ROI across the board.

Have you set your benchmarks?

You’re probably working with a marketing/search provider that promised you the world when they sold you, and you’ve seen yourself on Google a few times.  Times are tough and your boss is asking you if this campaign’s actually working and if it’s worth the money.  Here are a few pointers to gauge your Internet marketing campaign’s effectiveness:

• Get it right from the beginning.  If you don’t begin with a benchmark to see how many monthly unique visitors you get to your site and leads come in through the Internet sales department, how are you supposed to know if things improve?  A gut feeling won’t cut it on this.  You need to take the time to measure where you’re at now to see if you move forward with your campaign.
• On that note, know what you’re expecting to get from the campaign.  Set real, measurable goals. Are your expectations realistic?  If you’re expecting to see a 500% increase in leads, that’s probably not going to happen.  Make sure these goals and expectations are clearly related to your online advertising partner.
• Have the right expectation.  If you’re running an SEO campaign, don’t expect results tomorrow.  Or next week for that matter.  It’s important to have the right outlook on the timing of your campaign.  SEO campaigns take time to start showing improved rankings, usually two-three months, so be patient.  If you need results now, implement a PPC campaign to supplement until you get your organic rankings where you want them.
• It’s all about the reporting and accountability.  If someone else is running your campaign, what kind of reporting do they offer?  For PPC, you should be able to see what keywords are converting for your campaign and what the most popular search terms to find you were.  For banners, you should be able to see screenshots of where your banners have been displayed.  For any and all campaigns, you should have a direct contact at the provider who can walk you through the reporting and campaign progress each month.

I don’t claim that these are the magical commandments for a perfect campaign – but they’re a good start and should get you thinking about how well your own campaign is working.  There will always be a few bumps in the road, but if you’re not seeing real ROI, then it might be time to find a partner that can deliver the results you need.

Remember what it was like in automotive Internet marketing before programs like AdWords? I do. Even six or seven years ago, it was a much simpler time for dealerships looking to get in on the action of the big, new world of online marketing. Back then, you had a choice of only a few providers, and little competition for keywords.

Nowadays, there is a new online marketing firm popping up hourly and intense competition in keyword bidding. With so many choices for an online marketing provider, how can you know who to trust?

I’ve laid out a few of the basics:

1. If they sound too good to be true, then they probably are. If you get a sales rep coming into your dealership promising you #1 rankings on Google or thousands of clicks on your PPC campaign, don’t fall for it. In the world of SEO, there are no guarantees for ranking placement – and you should be wary of any provider that tells you otherwise. Likewise with PPC campaigns. If a company is guaranteeing a certain amount of clicks per month, are they really driving qualified leads to your site? A million hits to your dealership website won’t help you at all if none of those visitors are in-market shoppers.
2. In regards to SEO, be sure your provider is submitting you to the search engines on a regular basis. Search engines change their algorithms all the time, and if you just submit your site once and forget about it, your organic rankings will suffer. Look for a partner who is qualified by the various search engines (i.e., Google Reseller, Yahoo Ambassador, etc.). A reputable SEO provider will be able to give you an audit of your current website and talk about strategies to improve your organic rankings.
3. Beware of agencies that pitch only SEO or SEM campaigns as the solution to all your traffic problems. A single, prolonged approach to Internet marketing will only take you so far. You need a multi-level approach to online marketing to truly be effective. A good mix of SEO, SEM, and online display will give your dealership maximum exporsure. Find an Internet marketing agency that can coordinate an entire campaign to fit your needs.
4. Select a provider that “gets” the auto industry. Dealerships are unique and need a provider that understands how their business works – one that specializes in the industry. An automotive-focused agency knows what kinds of keywords your dealership needs to focus on, and an experienced agency will know statistics on what kinds of keywords convert.
5. What kind of reporting does the provider offer? Great Internet marketing campaigns need real-time reporting in order to adjust underperforming strategies before it’s too late. Work with a company that offers transparency, instead of just taking your marketing budget and telling you they spent it on a campaign. You should be able to view a list of your most popular keywords, as well as a search engine ranking report monthly to see your ROI.

The Internet marketing arena is changing daily, and dealerships need to work with a provider that is ahead of the curve. Finding a true Internet marketing provider will increase conversions on your site, as well as let your team do what they do best: sell!

Got any other tips for selecting an agency? Please share them!