There is a pattern in automotive advertising that can easily be defined as defensive spending. I’m specifically talking about those lead providers or third-party websites that you pay for on a monthly basis because you have to.
You can’t afford not to have a presence there. Your local rep does a great job of reminding you that everyone else is there and you don’t want to be left out. Besides, their “product” is visited by 93 percent of all in-market prospects and they have a proprietary program that can predict which cars people are dreaming about.
You can’t miss out on that…can you? Let me be the first to say you can! Your interactive marketing dollars can work for you if you let them. You have to make the decision to be either defensive or assertive with your budget.
Do you want to attack the opportunities in the market or cage your dollars up “safely”? If you’re okay with the bronze medal, maybe you can get by doing the same thing as everyone else. But if you want to win; if you want to own the day, then you need to stop the defensive spending. Start being assertive and let your dollars attack your opportunities.
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John Paul Strong
John Paul Strong combines his two decades of automotive marketing experience with a team of more than 150 professionals as owner and CEO of Strong Automotive.
