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Cobalt Newsroom - In the News
Clicking Outside the Box
Source: F&I Magazine
June 2009
As more consumers turn to the Internet to research vehicles, financing and other dealership-related services, many dealers are scrambling to find their place in the uncharted waters of online marketing.
There is much to gain for those dealers who take chances with this burgeoning marketing channel. Dealers can achieve brand recognition, generate leads and drive customers into their dealerships. The online marketing revolution - a shift toward using Web-based communication and marketing tools, such as online video and social-networking sites - is driven by two catalysts: the recession and consumer media consumption habits.
"Necessity is driving a lot of energy around these requests for changes," said Justin Oesterle, a sales and marketing executive for RouteOne. "When there's lots of revenue flowing around, you can hide some inefficiency problems. When revenue goes down, you need to figure out pretty quickly where to make the right kind of investments."
And with the economic downturn forcing many dealers to search for ways to reduce costs and streamline processes, investing in new tools may seem counterintuitive in an economy like today's. The truth is, putting in a little time and money now may prepare dealers for future success. In addition, many of these newer forms of technology cost little or nothing to implement.
"We know that there are a lot of different mediums out there and people prefer different things," said George Grubbs, a third-generation dealer and executive manager of Grubbs Infiniti in Dallas. "We want to try to reach everybody at their preferred method of communication. That's why we're not afraid to try all of these different things."
To promote his dealership, Grubbs uses YouTube videos, a Twitter feed, microsites and a mobile marketing tool from Cobalt to advertise his inventory. Grubbs and his staff create YouTube videos entirely on their own - from creating the concept and storyboarding to filming and editing. "We've done it in-house," he said. "After the first video, the second and third didn't take nearly as long because, by then, we knew what we were doing."
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