What Can Targeted Digital Advertising Achieve for Dealerships?

Modern digital advertising strategies rely on knowing where potential customers are spending their time and engaging online. Using that information, you can then focus marketing efforts on best reaching those customers. This advanced advertising technique is especially important when trying to reach dealership customers, as these buyers often go through extensive research before deciding to make a purchase. A longer customer journey means more time and more opportunity to reach potential customers with the right combination of targeted digital advertising strategies.

Most people do not immediately submit a lead after visiting a website once. With Website Retargeting, your dealership can reach past website visitors with ads for your business and the units that you sell. An online user must first visit your website in order to be retargeted – but this initial visit shows that the interest in your business is there. Continued reminders to return to your site could be the difference between whether the prospect decides to submit a lead or make a purchase. It could also be the difference between whether the prospect buys from you or a competitor.

Behavioral Targeting tracks and analyzes customer behavior based on the activity they engage in online beyond the search engine. This includes the content they read and the keywords in the searches they make on websites outside of your own. It is safe to assume, for example, that someone researching different types of vehicles online has some level of interest in buying a vehicle, and perhaps a specific type that he or she has repeatedly researched. Based on the articles that person is reading and the specific keywords they use in their research, it makes sense to advertise to these prospects about both your business in general as well as the specific unit(s) they are looking at online.

It is also possible to target potential customers based on locations they visit in person through Geofence Targeting. This strategy serves advertisements for your dealership to potential customers who enter geographic areas that you have selected – such as the competing dealership across town. These ads alert that potential customer, who is clearly in the market for units like yours by visiting another dealership in person, that your business may be the better option. This creates a huge opportunity to overcome your local competitors and keep your dealership at top of mind for prospects in your area. Geofence Targeting isn’t limited to your competing dealership, however. Any location is available to geofence, making opportunities truly endless.

Streaming content online through devices like Google TV, Roku, and Xbox is becoming more and more popular. People generally don’t enjoy watching traditional TV commercials, and with so many choices for accessing video content they don’t have to. Where does that leave local businesses wanting to advertise to their audience? With Video & OTT/CTV Advertising, your dealership can still advertise digitally through streamed content. This strategy allows you to overcome the issue of outdated traditional advertising methods and continue to advertise to prospects through new and growing technologies.

Reaching customers where they are is an incredibly powerful ability in the world of advertising – unlike traditional methods, these strategies take a prospect’s behaviors and actions into account and advertise to prospects accordingly. Targeted Digital Advertising methods are also measurable, allowing you to see where your ad spend is going and adjust as needed to improve your return on investment.