Car Dealers: Sell more cars by investing your levy in Digital Marketing
Digital technology has revolutionised the car buying process and today’s consumers are driven by choice, convenience and digital expectations.
But if you needed any more convincing, then the statistics speak for themselves:
- 92% of car buyers research online before they buy
- 82% find Social Media useful when purchasing a car
- 75% prefer to watch a video when researching their car purchase
So, in today's crowded market, where most consumers look online before even stepping into a car showroom, and 59% of the entire car buying process is completed online, how can you get and stay ahead?
Well, reviewing your apprenticeship programme might not immediately spring to mind, but it can and already is paying dividends for some dealerships. In this article, we’ll explore how the levy can be used to invest in digital marketing and help future proof your business.
Digital marketing apprenticeships: How Digital Marketing is making an Impact!
escalla’s Digital Marketing apprentices are making an impact in the industry right now!
They’re capturing high quality images and videos, posting and engaging on social media; optimising online car adverts and speeding up the time it takes to get new stock onto the web and into the eyes of the consumer!
In early 2019, we kicked off the first apprenticeship programme with the Swansway Motor Group and hired six new candidates - placing them on an ‘auto friendly’ tailored version of the level 3 qualification in Digital Marketing. The trial was so successful that Swansway decided to locate a Digital Marketing apprentice in every one of their 20 showrooms to improve their local marketing presence.
Apprenticeships in Cheshire: How our Digital Marketing apprentices are helping Swansway
As well as injecting new energy, new ideas and future proofing your business, a digital marketing apprentice can make an immediate impact. So, let’s get to the nitty gritty of what an apprentice could do for you:
Speed up and optimise your online car listings
How do you make the car the star? In their most recent advertising report, Auto Trader advised that high-performing retailers use as many as 55 to 100 high-quality images per advert and combine them with vehicle-focused video where possible (internal and external 360s etc).
Doing this right takes time but it shouldn’t eat into your sales-person’s time and nor should you be having to pay and wait for exterior photographers.
As part of their training, our apprentices visit the Head Office of Auto Trader to find out first-hand how to optimise used car listings. They are also taught how to capture high quality still images and videos for online listings and social media.
So, by placing an apprentice at every location, Swansway are significantly reducing the time it takes to get their new stock online and on the screen of a potential buyer.
Attract and engage customers on your social media channels
When it comes to buying a new or used car, review sites and social media play a major role in the decision-making process and help influence buyer behaviour. And, as the number of media and tech savvy millennial car buyers grow; what better way is there to stay ahead of the curve than by employing one?
Across the Swansway Audi group, our apprentices had an immediate impact on social media, helping to quadruple the number of social media engagements from 134 to 800 per week in just 4 weeks after their induction! And, as time goes on, there presence can be felt much deeper in terms of the impact on brand awareness and the number of leads.
During their training, our apprentices cover social media in depth looking at the wide range of channels available and the various strategies and tactics available.
Digital marketing apprenticeships: How else can an apprentice help?
There’s lots of possibilities but here is some food for thought:
Create personalised videos
Personalised videos can set you apart from the competition and help you to connect with customers. Apprentices can give you more resources so you can add personalised interactions into every part of your sales process including sending out videos before and after appointments, to ‘no shows’ and to buyers for accessory cross selling opportunities etc.
Help manage your web chat
An apprentice can give you more resilience to cover your online web chat so that you can discover customer pain points quickly and ensure a speedy resolution. Research shows that car dealerships lose more than 2,000 potential sales each month from visitors who are not engaged when visiting their website!
Assist with the 'bread ‘n butter' marketing
Our apprentices can help assist with PPC campaigns, blog writing, SEM, website development, event planning and so much more!
Car dealership apprenticeships - Investing your levy:
Effective digital marketing for car dealerships can seem like a huge challenge. Especially without huge marketing teams, or the budgets to build them.
But recently, more and more dealerships have been turning to Digital Marketing apprentices as a cost-effective solution. Hiring a Digital Marketing apprentice helps you stay in touch with the next generation of car buyers and provide the return on investment you’ve been looking for. What’s more, the training can be funded through your apprenticeship levy account.
As a leading tech and apprenticeship training provider, escalla has been helping car dealerships recruit and train the next the generation of Digital Marketing apprentices. And the results speak for themselves.
We offer the entry level 3 Digital Marketing qualification and the intermediate level 4 Marketing Executive apprenticeship.
Most importantly, we don’t just teach our candidates Digital Marketing; we teach them how Digital Marketing applies to car sales.
