The Austin Car

There are many strategies that are adopted by auto manufactures and dealers for marketing of their automotive. Automotive direct mail is a strategy that is proving to very effective. A survey by DM News states that these mails are some of those that are commonly read and 73% car buyers read and respond to these mails.

We cite below some reasons auto manufacturers and dealers have adopted automotive direct mail or ADM as a marketing strategy:

1. Cost-Effective

ADM can be adjusted in any budget. It can be a simple or a complex one. It can be just a “4×6″ postcard or a multipart letter. An intelligent marketer can use affordable pieces for potential customers and the expensive ones for past or current customers.

It is also a very cost-effective and affordable option as you can send a volume of them in very less budget. Many mail companies also offer price discounts for higher volumes. As the volume increases, the more are the savings. The volumes of the ADM can be easily increased or decreased depending on the budget fluctuations.

The ROI is another important factor.

Effective use of direct mails can result in a good ROI. The strategies of direct mails have changed as the technology has advanced. But this yields results even today.

2. Flexibility

The use of ADM can be done for fulfilling any type of marketing goal. It can be used for attracting potential customers as well to send service reminders to the existing customers. We state below some of the common uses:

Announcements of new models Campaigns for lead generation Loyalty programs/Customer rewards Updated to inventory Service reminders

There are very limited uses of the direct mail marketing strategy. Automotive companies are devising new ways of using this versatile and dynamic tool.

3. Measurable

You can measure the statistics with the help of direct mail. You do not have this facility with radio or television marketing. With the mechanism of response tracking, you can easily track the number of people who have seen your advertisement.

Conclusion

Finally ADM is a very effective tool for marketing. It just needs good amount of planning and research. With this article and the intention of sharing our knowledge on direct mail marketing, we hope that you use this tool to the best of your benefit.

The combined impact of increasing energy needs and the rising prices of parts have forced automakers, suppliers and marketers to find new ways of using technology to come up with better vehicles. New business trends are behind the transformation of the automotive manufacturing industry. By adopting these trends, manufacturers can better respond to global challenges like market uncertainty.

Rising oil and gas prices, air pollution, traffic jams and extensive media coverage of the global warming debate have increased the awareness of automotive customers with regards to environmental issues..

Drastic emission regulation for vehicles will affect most markets in four years but automakers product portfolios are insufficient to meet the demand for engines with low CO2 emissions rates. Zero emission vehicles are ripe for volume markets but RD partnerships are vital to the successful development of power and fuel cell technologies.

A system already in production will enable a car to stay some distance away from another vehicle on the road. Short-range radar braking systems will hit the market soon. In the future, self-guided cars will allow drivers to sleep, read or do other tasks while traveling. Future systems will employ digital imaging, special roadways and sensors to create driving commands.

Experts predict that cars in 2025 will be made from advanced polymer composites. They will be lighter but more reliable, recyclable and spacious with electric propulsion powered by direct hydrogen fuel cells. This will result in zero emissions and 100 to 120 mpg-gas equivalence for large SUVs, or up to about 200 for four to five-seater family sedans.

Fuel costs will be offset by using the vehicles as power stations while parked. Cells from millions of parked cars would plug into homes or the city power grids. The 20 to 40 kilowatt engines will make clean power that may be sold to utility companies or used privately.

There have been some very grim headlines from automotive industry news feeds for about 2 years now, since the beginning of the 21st century recession. The auto industry was one of the hardest hit markets to fall victim to the economic slump, but it looks as though this downturn is now looking up. Analysts in the auto market have been forecasting positive recovery for the year to come. Companies who have been keeping their focus on the future, beyond the recession, will most likely be the first companies to jump start their recovery.

A double whammy recession for the auto industry is not likely, according to analysts. On the contrary, they predict. Good things are to come to auto makers and retailers this year. Many car makers are putting back in place some of the jobs they cut due to the recession. Although some companies are reluctant to do such a thing because they still have not healed from the recession, you will find a surprising number of companies that are reinstating jobs that were lost.

Some of these reluctant manufacturers have barely made it through the recession and still bare the battle scars. It will take some absolute numbers for them to recover. Their logic makes sense. They want to be able to hold on to new employees once they are hired. Just like consumers, these types of companies just need some confidence that the economy is really back on the road to recovery.

Stock piled supplies are not as large as they used to be in retail car shops or manufacturer warehouses. Although you will not see an overly loaded car dealership, you will see new models coming in for the bright predictions of recovery, just not in the quantity we are used to seeing. The economy is sending signals that we should get ready for a recovery, but it will still take some more time to encourage both the consumer and the retailer to spend on new cars.

Auto industry specialists gathered to come up with innovative ideas to move the car market forward. Most companies are moving forward but with extreme care. They are being encouraged to take the lead and stimulate the economy for further gain. After nearly two years of abiding to strict budgets, consumers are now ready to splurge on a big ticket item such as a car, and dealers are being encouraged to take advantage of this big spending nostalgia.

It is precisely due to this reason that after the recessions of both the 80′s and 90′s one of the first places on the market to recover was the auto industry. Experts are hopeful this will happen now as well. When people see positive signs of an economic recovery the chances of them buy a car increases.

Finally, some good automotive industry news! A positive forecast is much needed for this market. But wait. There may be a downside for you as a consumer. A car that you will purchase this year could cost you a little more than it would have if you had bought it last year at this time. After several months in a recession car makers really want to see profits rise. One way to see them rise is to charge you more. Although not all car makers are raising prices it would be wise to do your homework before you go out and buy a new car.

Each year, automotive dealers invest large amounts of money on “mailer/super sales” – sometimes as much as $15-20,000 to mail up to 30,000 direct mail pieces.

Whether these sales events meet/don’t meet expectations is generally based on a number of factors including coordinating Point of Purchase (“POP”) materials.

At the end of these sales, the outside sales team sent in to manage these sales leaves your dealership – but their reputation stays. Accordingly, if you’re hiring an outside sales team to work these events, please check out their reputation as it will become YOUR reputation.

Here are a couple of ideas to make your “Mailer/Super Sale” successful:

1) If you must adjust pricing on a vehicle, do it at least 2 days BEFORE the sale starts, and ensure that price is reflected on ALL web sites and print ads and where your inventory is listed. Many customers spend time researching your vehicle inventory before they actually arrive at your dealership.

2) Match you POP supplies to your mailer colors -if it’s a red, white, blue sale and those colors are on the actual mailer, use red, white and blue balloons, flags, dancing men, hot air balloon shaped Inflatables, hangtag’s, etc. Customers need to recognize it’s YOUR STORE having the event.

3) If you are giving out gift cards to induce customers to visit your store, you may want to consider giving a $5.00 VISA gift card with your dealership logo on the card. Why give free advertising to another retailer?

4) Have an official greeter – not the salesperson – to help manage the traffic flow, as these events often promote sales people “cherry-picking” customers.

5) When greeting customers, make sure to request the customer’s email address so you can give them your Facebook or Twitter page. Customers are more likely to contract with someone they know, and this is a perfect way for them to get to know you. You’ll want these customers to remember you tomorrow, long after the outside sales team has departed your dealership.