Being mindful of the times and the economic situation that all dealers are facing, I found myself in a dealership working with a very skilled operator on a 4th quarter budget. In order to make the financial statement look as good as possible we were discussing how to allocate funds for a few events that had to bleed over from October to November. I caught myself making a reference about in which month we should apply for the co-op and if that would decrease the remaining budget; the general manager made a comment that anyone who reads this should not soon forget.
“You cannot manage a business or a marketing plan based off how much money is in your co-op account. If you did that you might as well go ahead and only buy the cheapest spots you can, hoping they will work. I will spend what I need to spend to do it right – otherwise I won’t spend anything at all.”
In retail automotive advertising, you have to understand the power of Reach&Frequency and budgeting your money properly to get the job done. You cannot manage your marketing efforts based off the percentage that the factory takes away and then makes you jump through hoops in order to claim.
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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.
