Text Message Marketing for Car Dealerships

Preferred communication channels are constantly evolving, and car dealerships must adapt their marketing strategies to stay ahead of the curve. Modern consumers expect quick, personalized interactions. It may not seem like the most revolutionary or modern marketing channel, but SMS marketing for car dealerships is making a comeback and you can’t afford to skip it

This blog will delve into the world of SMS marketing – often called text message marketing – exploring its benefits for car dealerships in the realms of marketing, sales, and customer support. We’ll discuss why dealership text message marketing has become a necessity, how it can be leveraged to increase sales, and the best practices for implementing a successful text message marketing campaign. 

The Growing Need for Text Message Marketing in Car Dealerships

Why should a dealer use text message marketing?

In a world dominated by smartphones, reaching customers where they spend the majority of their time is crucial. SMS marketing offers dealers a direct line of communication to potential buyers’ pockets. Studies have shown that text messages have significantly higher open and response rates compared to emails. While emails have an average open rate of 20%, SMS marketing has an incredible 98% average open rate. Text messages are less likely to get lost in a crowded inbox and are often viewed as more personal and urgent.

Current Market Trends

The rise of text message marketing is undeniable. Recent statistics show that the US SMS marketing sector is projected to grow by 20.3% and hit $12.6 billion by 2025. This trend reflects consumer openness to receiving promotional messages, especially when they have opted in and have control over the frequency and type of messages they receive. In fact, a striking 91% of consumers say they are receptive to text messages from relevant businesses. For dealerships, SMS messaging offers the perfect blend of immediacy and convenience for time-sensitive offers, appointment reminders, service updates, and personalized follow-ups.

Connecting with Younger Buyers Using Text Message Marketing

The automotive industry is undergoing a generational shift as Gen Z are entering the car-buying market. These digital natives have distinct communication preferences, and dealerships must adapt to effectively engage with them. 

Understanding Gen Z Communication Preferences

Gen Z is known for constant connectivity and a preference for mobile devices. They have grown up in a world where instant messaging and social media are the primary forms of communication. Traditional channels like phone calls and emails are often seen as intrusive and time-consuming, especially when unscheduled or unexpected.

Almost 100% of Gen Z-ers own a smart phone, spending over 6 hours on their phone every day – far more than any other generation. With over 25% of Gen Z-ers checking their texts over 20 times a day, if your dealership isn’t in their text inbox, you’re missing out on the next generation of car buyers.

Millennials are Declining Your Phone Calls

Millennials favor texting over phone calls, having grown up in an era of growing cell phone use. Many received their first phones during high school during the rise of instant messenger, offering more options to choose when and how to communicate. This preference for convenience means that over 97% of millennials favor written digital communication, with 92% opting for text messaging and messaging apps. 

Text message marketing aligns with this demographic’s preferences. Messages are seen immediately, and responses come when recipients are ready, unlike phone calls, which may be met with reluctance if not received at a convenient time.

Engaging Younger Buyers Through Text Message Marketing

Text messaging offers a direct and personalized way to connect with younger buyers. Here are some strategies for creating appealing text message campaigns:

1. Get permission: Always obtain explicit consent before sending marketing text messages.
2. Keep it concise: Gen Z, especially, appreciates brevity. Keep your messages short and to the point.
3. Use a conversational tone: Avoid sounding overly formal or salesy. Use a friendly, approachable tone.
4. Personalize your messages: Include the recipient’s name and tailor the content to their interests.
5. Offer value: Provide exclusive offers, promotions, or helpful information.
6. Include a clear call to action (CTA): Tell recipients what you want them to do, such as visiting your website or scheduling a test drive.

By implementing these basic rules, you can create text message campaigns that resonate with younger buyers. Remember, the key is to provide value, be respectful of their time, and communicate in a way that feels natural and authentic to them.

Benefits of Text Message Marketing for Dealerships

Personalized Marketing Campaigns

Text message marketing offers a unique and powerful opportunity for dealerships to enhance their customer engagement and boost sales. Personalization, a cornerstone of successful marketing, becomes even more impactful through SMS. By sending targeted promotions on vehicles or services that match a customer’s interests or reminding them of upcoming maintenance based on their car’s mileage, dealerships demonstrate that they understand and value their customers’ individual needs. This personal touch fosters a stronger connection, encouraging customer loyalty and driving repeat business.

To boost winter tire sales, BMW implemented a targeted text message campaign displaying images of customers’ specific car models equipped with winter tires. This visual approach effectively highlighted the safety benefits of these tires, resulting in an impressive 30% increase in sales. 

Real-Time Communication

The real-time nature of SMS allows for immediate communication with high open rates. This proves invaluable for time-sensitive offers such as flash sales or limited-time discounts, ensuring customers are promptly informed and increasing the likelihood of immediate action. Service or showroom appointment reminders sent via text can drastically reduce no-shows, improving operational efficiency for the dealership. New inventory announcements can also be shared in real time, allowing interested customers to be the first to know about potential matches for their preferences.

Text message marketing is incredibly versatile with use cases ranging from promotional offers to new inventory notifications. It’s a direct line of communication with customers that keeps them engaged throughout their entire relationship with the dealership. 

Enhancing Sales with Text Message Marketing

Lead Generation and Nurturing

SMS marketing is a valuable tool when it comes to lead generation and nurturing. By taking advantage of opt-ins for your dealership’s products and services, you empower shoppers to directly share their interests with you. This targeted approach ensures that your marketing efforts are focused and relevant, preventing wasted resources and avoiding shopper frustration by bombarding them with irrelevant offers. 

Integrating text messaging with your CRM system takes lead management to the next level. This integration enables you to track lead interactions, including responses, clicks, and conversions, providing valuable insights into their engagement. Leveraging your CRM data for segmentation based on behavior and preferences allows for highly targeted messaging, ensuring that each lead receives information that resonates with them. Automated follow-ups further streamline the process, sending personalized messages at opportune moments to nurture leads until they’re ready to convert.

Appointment Scheduling

Text messaging also streamlines the appointment scheduling process, making it effortless for customers to book test drives or service appointments. Text-to-schedule options eliminate barriers, while automated confirmations and reminders minimize no-shows and enhance the customer experience. This efficiency not only benefits customers but also optimizes dealership operations.

Improving Customer Support and Services through SMS

Efficient Customer Service: Prompt & Personalized

Customers value their time and appreciate businesses that respect it. Text message marketing enables dealerships to deliver the swift and personalized service that customers crave. By responding promptly to inquiries via text, dealerships can address customer concerns, answer questions, and provide information in a timely manner, building a reputation for attentiveness and efficiency.

Common service-related questions, such as scheduling appointments, checking on repair status, or inquiring about parts availability, can be conveniently handled through AI-powered text messaging. This eliminates the need for customers to wait on hold or navigate through automated phone systems, leading to a more positive and streamlined experience. 

Service Reminders & Updates: Proactive Care

Building strong customer relationships goes beyond just providing excellent service at the point of sale. It’s about demonstrating ongoing care and support. Text messaging offers dealerships the opportunity to proactively engage with customers through timely maintenance reminders and service updates. 

These reminders serve as gentle nudges, ensuring customers stay on top of their vehicle’s maintenance schedule and addressing potential issues before they become major problems. Additionally, service updates, such as notifications about completed repairs or upcoming service specials, keep customers informed and engaged, reinforcing the dealership’s commitment to their vehicle’s well-being. Fully automating this activity with AI technology allows your dealership to spend its precious human resources elsewhere. 

By adopting a proactive communication strategy, dealerships can enhance customer satisfaction, cultivate loyalty, and solidify their reputation as a trusted partner in their customers’ automotive journey.

Getting Started with Text Message Marketing for Your Dealership

Ready to tap into the power of text message marketing and revolutionize the way you connect with your customers? Here’s how to get started: 

1. Build Your Subscriber List: Using Fullpath’s Customer Data Platform, build data-driven targeted subscriber lists for your text message marketing campaigns. Harness the power of your customer data to create segmented lists based on shown preferences and interactions with your dealership. 
2. Craft Compelling Messages: Keep your texts concise, clear, and valuable. Tailor your messages to individual customer preferences and behaviors to enhance engagement. Fullpath’s AI-powered technology is always around to help deliver impactful messaging.
3. Timing is Key: Send messages at appropriate times to avoid disrupting customers. Consider time zones and individual preferences when scheduling your campaigns. Text messages feel even more personal than emails, which makes them easier to feel intrusive.
4. Track and Analyze Results: Monitor key metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversions to measure the effectiveness of your SMS campaigns and make data-driven improvements. 

Now that you know how to implement text message marketing, here are a few points to consider to maximize your success: 

• Obtain explicit consent: Always get permission from customers before sending them text messages.
• Provide value: Offer exclusive promotions, helpful tips, or important reminders to keep your subscribers engaged.
• Include a clear call to action: Encourage customers to take the next step, whether it’s visiting your website, scheduling a test drive, or redeeming a special offer.
• Respect opt-outs: Make it easy for customers to unsubscribe if they no longer wish to receive your messages.

Fullpath’s Text Message Marketing Solution for Car Dealerships

Fullpath’s Audience Activation is a game-changer for businesses seeking to refine and elevate their email and SMS marketing strategies. By harnessing the power of customer data and insights, Audience Activation empowers marketers to craft targeted and personalized multimedia campaigns that resonate with their audience. This translates to higher engagement rates, increased conversions, and ultimately, a more impactful marketing ROI.

Fullpath’s SMS marketing enables dealerships to extend their personalized communication strategies beyond the inbox and directly into the palms of the hands of their shoppers. 

Fullpath’s data-driven SMS marketing capabilities, offer:

• Personalized text messaging: Fullpath’s AI will automatically leverage your shopper data to send personalized SMS campaigns that deliver the right messaging at the right time so every interaction with your shopper is seamless and valuable. 
• AI-powered follow-up: AI automatically responds to engaged shoppers, evaluating their readiness to purchase. The AI technology nurtures leads until they are ready to convert, while recognizing when not to engage with customers. 
• Lead identification: The AI-powered chat bot identifies which shoppers are ready to buy a car soon, which aren’t currently in the market, and which prefer not to receive text messages from the dealership, engaging the in-market shoppers in meaningful conversations to eventually be sent to the sales team via the CRM.
• Seamless workflow integration: Effortlessly incorporate text message marketing into your existing marketing workflows, ensuring a cohesive and consistent customer experience across all channels.

Text Your Way to the Top

Text message marketing has emerged as an indispensable tool for car dealerships seeking to connect with their audience, boost sales, and provide exceptional customer service. With its high open rates, direct access to customers, and ability to deliver personalized messages, SMS marketing offers a unique opportunity to engage customers throughout their journey.

From lead generation and nurturing to appointment scheduling and service reminders, text messaging can be seamlessly integrated into every aspect of your dealership’s operations. By embracing this powerful communication channel and adhering to best practices, you can foster stronger relationships with your customers, drive more sales, and stay ahead of the curve in the competitive automotive industry. 

Remember, the key to success lies in meeting your customers where they are – and increasingly, that’s on their mobile phones.  

Fullpath’s team of experts is eager to assist you in harnessing the power of SMS marketing to drive engagement, boost sales, and cultivate lasting customer relationships. Contact Fullpath today to learn more about our comprehensive text message marketing for car dealerships solution. Click here or send us an email at get.started@fullpath.com and we’ll get you set up with a personalized demo.