The Role of Omnichannel Marketing in Car Dealership Success

What is Omnichannel Marketing?

Omnichannel marketing might sound like a fancy buzzword, but at its core, it’s simply good marketing. It’s about connecting the dots across a variety of marketing channels, from billboards and print promotions to Google ads and targeted emails. 

As more marketing activities shift online and begin leveraging the power of artificial intelligence, omnichannel marketing is about balancing traditional marketing strategies that continue to hold value with modern digital marketing strategies.

In the automotive industry, this approach is becoming increasingly important as dealerships and manufacturers recognize the necessity of creating a unified experience for potential car buyers across multiple mediums. Today’s shoppers expect consistent messaging and a fluid transition between online and offline touchpoints, whether they’re browsing a dealership’s website, checking social media for reviews, or visiting the showroom. With this shift, it’s crucial for automotive businesses to stay ahead of the curve, balancing and optimizing their budgets across all marketing efforts. 

By adopting an omnichannel approach, dealerships can create consistent customer journeys that meet their shoppers’ expectations at every stage of the sales funnel.

How to Differentiate Between Different Marketing Approaches

In addition to omnichannel marketing, you may also have come across the terms multichannel and single-channel marketing. It’s important to clarify the distinctions between them all so you can understand the role each plays in creating a successful dealership marketing strategy. 

Single-Channel Marketing

Single-channel marketing is straightforward—choose one specific marketing approach and focus solely on that channel to reach customers. This strategy can be ideal for dealerships that are just starting out, are operating with a limited marketing budget, or perhaps lack the capacity to manage multiple marketing campaigns and mediums. By concentrating your efforts on a single channel, you can streamline your messaging and resources.

Multi-Channel Marketing

A multi-channel approach is for dealers looking to take their marketing up a notch from single-channel marketing. It involves utilizing a combination of channels, such as print ads, social media, website, radio, or email. While using multiple channels can enhance reach, each campaign runs independently, often with separate budget and potentially inconsistent messaging. This approach, while effective, may lead to missed opportunities for brand cohesion.

Omnichannel Marketing

Omnichannel marketing takes the principles of multi-channel marketing and turns them into a unified strategy. It’s a more cohesive approach for the marketing team, but more importantly, it’s a more cohesive experience for shoppers. The messaging remains consistent across multiple channels, creating clear brand identity at every touch point.

The Benefits of Omnichannel Marketing for Car Dealerships

Adopting an omnichannel marketing strategy at your dealership is the best all-round approach. It can include as many or as few marketing channels as your dealership wants or can facilitate, but most importantly, it creates a cohesive story and brand across all of your marketing campaigns.

Consistent Marketing Across Channels

When your brand and messaging is consistent across all channels—whether it’s your website, emails, social media, or ads—shoppers gain a clearer understanding of your dealership and what you offer. This consistency extends to in-person interactions, where customers feel more confident choosing your dealership because they recognize and trust your brand identity.

Suppose you have a one-month offer on a specific vehicle. Instead of merely sending out an email to all active shoppers in your CRM about the deal, consider creating a comprehensive omnichannel marketing campaign that includes well-timed emails that convey consistent yet varied information about the vehicle and your dealership, as well as targeted social media and Google ads aimed at local audiences or individuals showing interest in that kind of car. You can even take it another step further by promoting the offer on your website during the promotional period to further enhance visibility.

Even if your offer is perfect for a shopper, it often takes seeing multiple, consistent messages across different channels to motivate them to take action and visit your dealership. A well-coordinated marketing strategy maximizes touchpoints and ultimately drives customers to your showroom.

Enhance Customer Experience with Integrated Channels

Consistent messaging is key to creating a seamless customer experience from start to finish, and when the branding is authentic and reflective of the dealership, this experience extends well beyond the initial sale. It’s essential that whether a shopper is receiving an email, speaking with a salesperson over the phone, or test-driving a vehicle, they feel that their experience is cohesive rather than disjointed.

Consider a shopper who begins a conversation with your website’s chatbot. They inquire about a specific vehicle, asking questions regarding pricing, color availability, and whether they can schedule a test drive. While the chatbot can address all these inquiries in one interaction, it won’t be there for the test drive itself. The transition from website inquiry to in-store visit should be smooth. Therefore, it’s crucial that the customer experience remains seamless throughout their journey—from their online engagement to in-person conversations with a salesperson. This includes maintaining consistent messaging, tone, offers, and expertise across all interactions. Ensuring that every touchpoint is connected enhances the overall customer experience.

Personalization through Data Integration

Brand consistency is easier said than done, regardless of whether you’re a standalone dealership or part of a nationwide group, but a Customer Data Platform (CDP) can be your dealerships’ best asset when it comes to delivering a cohesive omnichannel customer experience for every individual.

A CDP unifies, cleans, and analyzes all your customer data. Integrating information from your CRM, DMS, ad platforms, and more provides you with a comprehensive view of the customer journey, empowering you to offer personalized shopping experiences.

Consider the online shopper we mentioned earlier. When a salesperson has access to every vehicle the customer has viewed on your website, a list of questions they’ve asked the chatbot, the ads they’ve engaged with, and the emails they’ve opened and clicked, they can identify exactly what interests the customer before they even pick up the phone to give them a call.

The CDP empowers dealers with data-driven insights applicable to all marketing efforts. It not only allows team members to review a customer’s history but also enables dealers to leverage that data and turn it  into hyper-targeted ads and emails that foster more meaningful interactions. 

Key Channels for Dealership Omnichannel Marketing

While omni does in fact mean all in Latin, omnichannel marketing doesn’t mean you have to do it all. It’s more about making all the channels you do choose to leverage work well together with each other. Let’s talk about some of the most popular marketing channel options out there, to help you build an omnichannel marketing strategy at your dealership:

Email Marketing

Email marketing is a popular choice for automotive marketing, providing an effective way to reach your entire audience at a relatively low cost. Its flexibility allows marketers to choose custom message lengths, incorporate engaging images, and include links to drive traffic to their websites, making automotive email marketing a high-potential strategy.

What truly sets email marketing apart is the opportunity for personalization. While sending out general promotions and deals to everyone in your CRM is straightforward, the real impact lies in using your customer data to create personalized and hyper-relevant emails. When a dealership sends an email that resonates with a customer’s specific interests, it builds a deeper connection and fosters long-term loyalty.

SMS Marketing

While almost all of your shoppers probably have an email address, there’s no guarantee that they check their emails regularly. SMS marketing, however, is a way to put your dealerships’ best deals in the palms of their hands in real time. This is why text messaging boasts significantly higher open rates compared to email.

The same data-activation principles that apply to email marketing also extend to SMS dealership marketing, ensuring that every text a customer receives adds real value to their lives. This could mean using the first-party data you have on each individual’s full customer journey to send a message about a price drop on a vehicle they’ve shown interest in on your website, provide an annual reminder to schedule their car service, or simply check in a few months after their purchase to see how they’re enjoying their new vehicle. 

WhatsApp Marketing

Similar to SMS, WhatsApp serves as an additional avenue for direct two-way communication with shoppers. Some customers prefer WhatsApp over texting for its features, interface, or security, so it’s good to have both on hand. Communicating via a shopper preferred channel can enhance customer engagement significantly.

One of the standout benefits of WhatsApp is its potential for direct and interactive communication. Customers can easily ask questions, schedule appointments, or receive real-time support, all within the app. Additionally, WhatsApp’s multimedia capabilities enable dealerships to share images, videos, and documents, making it easier to showcase new vehicles, promotional offers, or service updates. 

Phone Call Integration

Included in omnichannel marketing is one of the more traditional channels—good old-fashioned phone calls. Modern telemarketing has evolved significantly, thanks to advancements in technology and data analysis.

With the power of CRMs, CDPs, AI, and a variety of other acronyms, phone marketing is now more data-driven than ever. Before your sales team picks up the phone, they can access a comprehensive history of all communications, including what was discussed in previous conversations and each customer’s preferred contact times. In the past, this information might have been jotted down in one person’s notebook, but now, it’s readily accessible to anyone with the appropriate CDP access. 

Website and Social Media

When we think of digital advertising and marketing, many people immediately think of a dealership’s website and social media pages—and for good reason. Whether through a Google search, a referral from a friend, or even a TikTok search for car care tips, shoppers can easily find their way to your dealership’s online presence.

Since both new and existing leads are active on these platforms, it’s crucial for your dealership to harness the capabilities they provide. Utilizing AI-powered chatbots on your dealership’s website can effectively engage website visitors, answer their questions in real time, and assist in scheduling appointments at your dealership. You can also re-engage visitors by presenting offers on specific VINs they showed interest in during their last visit to the site. 

Social media isn’t just for younger generations. People of all ages spend hours scrolling through online content. Your dealership needs to ensure that your content is a part of that experience. When a user clicks on an ad or a regular post, you can retarget them with relevant ads based on their interests. For example, if Leah clicks on an ad for a Honda Accord, you can include her in audiences for Honda Accords or similar sedans within her price range. 

How to Build an Omnichannel Strategy for Your Dealership

It’s clear that there are a lot of choices in an omnichannel marketing strategy —it is in the name after all. So what are the steps to actually build your dealership’s marketing strategy and how do you choose which channels are right for you? 

1. Understand your customer journey.
   Before launching a new strategy, take stock of what you already have and what you know. Begin by mapping out a few typical customer journeys for your audience, pinpointing the key channels and touchpoints through which shoppers connect with your dealership. Whether utilizing an integrated Customer Data Platform or leveraging multiple marketing platforms, this data is already at your disposal.
   
   Analyze where your customers are engaging with you and determine when each channel is most relevant at the different stages of the customer journey. Consider which messaging tends to be most effective on each channel to optimize your approach. 

2. Unify customer data with a CDP.
   If you don’t already have a Customer Data Platform (CDP), now is the time to consider implementing one. You possess a wealth of first-party customer data, but without a CDP, that data can become scattered across numerous platforms, making it a challenge to fully leverage.
   
   A CDP can unify all your customer interactions—from their initial engagement with your dealership, to the emails they’ve clicked on, and the Vehicle Display Pages (VDPs) they frequently visit. Having all this information in one centralized location not only simplifies the process of tracking the complete customer journey, but it also employs identity resolution technology to clean the data, providing you with an accurate and comprehensive understanding of your customers.
   
   CDPs also offer comprehensive list building and segmentation tools so you can build the perfect audience for each marketing channel you plan to use based on shopper needs, preferences, demographics and more. By creating hyper-targeted audiences for each marketing channel and campaign, you can ensure your marketing messages always reach the right audience with relevant, valuable content to encourage engagement and drive positive sentiment with your brand.

3. Deliver consistent and cohesive messaging
   
   Maintaining consistent messaging and offers across all platforms is essential for successful omnichannel marketing. When customers engage with your dealership, they should experience a seamless and unified brand message, regardless of the channel they choose. This consistency not only builds trust but also reinforces your dealership’s identity.
   
   Consider implementing automated email and SMS campaigns that align with ongoing dealership promotions. By ensuring that both email and text messages convey the same offers and messaging, you create a cohesive experience for your customers. Delivering a unified message across all channels enables you to effectively guide your customers through their journey.

Taking the Next Step in Omnichannel Marketing at Your Dealership

Omnichannel marketing allows dealerships to connect with customers across various touchpoints, ensuring a consistent and engaging experience, wherever and however your shoppers engage with your dealership. By integrating multiple marketing channels, dealerships can meet and exceed evolving customer expectations, leading to increased satisfaction and loyalty.

Implementing a successful omnichannel strategy not only enhances the customer experience but also drives sales and strengthens brand identity. As customers navigate their journey, they are drawn to dealerships that deliver cohesive messaging and personalized interactions.

Ready to take your dealership’s marketing to the next level? Book a demo with Fullpath today to discover how our Customer Data Platform (CDP) can empower you to implement an omnichannel strategy that delivers real results!