— Ronald A. Heider is owner of Norfolk, Va.-based Heider Marketing & Advertising, an agency servicing the automotive and auto-aftermarket industries. His website is www.hmaads.com:
“Since shopping and comparison habits have changed greatly—mainly due to the Internet—the first place to re-launch a campaign is by making sure your website is up to date. This includes providing consumers with the information they seek.
“Not long ago, consumers would start the comparison shopping cycle by jumping in their car, visiting a few tire dealers, collecting lots of information and then deciding where they would buy their tires. Today's tire-buying consumer starts this process online. Dealers who provide ample product information, reviews—for both products and the dealership—multiple ways to get in touch with you, and a relevant value-proposition will be the dealers who win the war for customers.
“Pay close attention to your 'value-proposition.' You can have the slickest website anywhere, but if you fail to provide a meaningful and relevant reason why the consumer should choose you, you've wasted your money.
“Technology might have changed how they shop, but consumers will still buy from the people and places they like, are comfortable with and trust. The first place to start building this relationship is online.”
We sell a lot of stuff. How many different products can I pack into my advertisements?
“Deliver one message at a time. Consumers are bombarded with messages.
“It's your job to create and deliver a clear, concise and motivating message—a message that is meaningful and simple to understand. Tell your story in a way that makes consumers sit up and listen. Strip away all of the extraneous details until you find that one reason why someone should choose you.
“Put yourself in the shoes of your ideal customer: They need what you sell; you have what they need. They walk in your store and your sales rep starts talking about all of the other things you sell. The consumer tunes out, walks out, and no sale is made.
“This is what you do when you crowd too many messages in your ads.
“A single ad will be most effective when it talks about one particular product or service. If you want to promote tires—talk about tires. If you want to promote repair work—talk about repair work. Your campaign will weave all those different product and service messages together in a cohesive and meaningful manner.”
What's the best medium tire dealerships can use for advertising campaigns?
“The one your potential customers use and the one you commit to.
“Advertisers have always hunted for that one magic medium that would deliver more customers for less money with little to no work. I hate to be the bearer of bad news—that medium doesn't exist.
Here are the current stats* on what media consumers are consuming: Television: 93 percent of all adults will watch TV this week. Radio: 82 percent will tune in this week. Internet: 72 percent will jump online for personal use. Newspapers: 50-74 percent still read the newspaper. (* percent varies by market; sources include Scarborough Research, Neilson, Arbitron, Pew Internet & Family Life Project).
“First, you need to find out if your targeted customer is using the medium you're considering. Just because a competitor uses something doesn't make it right. Once you're convinced that your customer base is consuming the medium you're considering, commit to it. Remember: No medium will deliver instant customers overnight.
“TV, newspaper, Internet, radio, outdoor, bus cards, billboards, direct mail—they're all effective if used consistently. Determine which medium will work best for you, create a campaign that has 'legs,' that is, one that starts off good and gets better with time, and commit to it. Once it's up and running, let it do its work while you focus on your customers and your business.
“It doesn't have to cost a lot of money. A small but consistent schedule, with the right message, properly placed, will make a surprising impact over time. As business grows, other media can be layered on.”
What's the most cost-efficient type of Internet marketing?
“Think 're-targeting.' A lot of technology is behind this—but here's the short answer: Re-targeting allows you to identify people who have visited your website and, for whatever reason, did not convert—meaning: call you, send you an email, chat, request a quote, etc.) With re-targeting, you can identify these visitors by placing a tracking cookie on them. Then, the next time they go online, you can deliver a banner ad reminding them about your products and services.
“Most re-targeting platforms will allow you to 'cap' the maximum number of times that visitor will see your ad. I recommend a cap of seven to eight impressions. More than that, you're probably wasting your money.
“To be effective, you will need a website that has a decent amount of traffic coming to it. If you only get a few hundred visitors each month, you won't see a big return.
“If you employ this strategy, make sure that your site is up to date and has multiple ways to get in touch with you—via call, chat, email, etc.