Valuable Dealership Audiences You Should Be Building with Your CDP

The data revolution taking place in the automotive industry has completely transformed the way cars are sold in just a few short years. Forward-thinking dealers have quickly adapted to the new customer-centric retail expectations by implementing Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) at their dealerships. 

Automotive CDPs are tech-based platforms that unify, manage, and analyze first-party dealership data to provide a singular, comprehensive view of each customer and their interactions and behaviors across various touch points on the shopper journey, including dealership visits, website interactions, email engagement, ad engagement, and more. The ultimate goal when using a CDP is for your dealership to cull data-driven insights from your aggregated data to enhance your customer engagement, improve the shopping experience at your dealership, and increase customer loyalty to drive more revenues over time.

One of the most valuable features built into your dealership CDP is the ability for you to build hyper-targeted lists or audiences based on specific demographic or shopper criteria pulled from your first-party data. These audiences can enable your marketing and sales teams to seize hot opportunities to close more sales based on the individual customer’s preferences and behaviors. 

Let’s take a closer look at how hyper-segmented audiences built by a CDP can help your dealership win more sales. 

Understanding the Power of Audience Segmentation with CDPs

Audience segmentation is the process of breaking down a large audience of customers into smaller groups based on specific criteria such as demographics, behaviors, preferences, and engagements. By segmenting your audiences, you can tailor your marketing efforts for each group based on their unique needs rather than using a generic, catch all approach. 

Audience segmentation is a fundamental part of any dealership marketing strategy for several important reasons: 

1. Personalization – By creating a smaller audience based on a specific criteria, you can personalize your messaging so you speak to a specific need or preference which leads to increased engagement and the likelihood your marketing will resonate with the customer.
   
2. Relevance – Dealership audience segmentation ensures you are sending relevant messaging to each customer which ensures that they will pay attention and engage with your content. Presenting relevant content to your customers also improves your dealership customer experience which can encourage shoppers to choose your dealership for their next purchase.
   
3. Efficiency – Instead of casting a wide net and hoping something sticks, using audience segmentation allows you to spend your dealership marketing dollars more efficiently and effectively by using messaging and content where they are most likely to have an impact. 

Using your dealership CDP to segment your audiences can enhance your digital marketing efforts and ensure you are spending your marketing dollars in a way that will have the biggest impact on your bottom line. 

Building Target CDP Audiences for Your Dealership

Automotive-centric CDPs are uniquely qualified to help your dealership create hyper-segmented audiences. Because they aggregate and analyze your first-party customer data into one place, they can help you create sophisticated audiences that go far beyond basic demographics with little manual effort. Using your CDP you can segment audiences based on behavioral data, purchase history, engagement levels, vehicle of interest, and more in just a few clicks. You can then use this fine-grained segmentation to build and execute highly personalized, targeted, and efficient marketing campaigns.

Let’s take a look at a few practical examples of the valuable segmented audiences you can build using your dealership’s CDP:

Building Audiences Based on Customer Behavior:

Filtering your audiences based on shopper behavior is an excellent way to spot your hottest leads.

Consider this filter combination: 

• Last lease/finance payment in the next 6 months
• Visited a VDP on your dealership website in the past month
• Did not make a vehicle purchase in the last year
• Did not submit a lead in the last 3 months

Your dealership CDP will use these filters to produce a list of shoppers who are close to the end of their payment terms or leasing agreement who have actively visited your dealership website in the last month looking for their next vehicle. These leads represent hot opportunities for your marketing team to move in and begin targeting them with information and deals on the specific models they are interested in including valuable lease or financing options. This level of targeted marketing leads to higher engagement and conversion rates and the information is hyper-relevant to the shopper who has shown an active interest in your vehicles. 

Building Audiences Based on Specific Vehicle Models:

Try creating a list of those who have viewed a specific vehicle on your website but have not yet submitted a lead.

Use the following filters: 

• Financing a 2019 vehicle model or older
• Visited a 2023 vehicle model on your website in the past month
• Stayed on that specific VDP for longer than 90 seconds without submitting a lead

Your dealership CDP will take these filters and sort through all of your first-party data to produce a list of all of your shoppers that match this criteria. Your marketing team can then use this list to create vehicle specific marketing campaigns including ads and emails and target this list of customers with relevant and enticing offers. Alternatively, you can also pass this list on to your BDC or sales team and encourage them to make direct contact in order to close the sale. 

Building Audiences Based on Shopper Equity:

Targeting your shoppers based on their financing plan or their equity status enables your dealership to increase loyalty and capture more of the lifetime value (LTV) of your customers.

Create a filter based on these parameters:

• Financing terms are at least 72 months
• Shopper is in a state of positive equity 
• They are driving a 2019 or older model 

By creating a list of equity positive shoppers, you can match them with attractive offers that will bring your customer back into the dealership sooner than they would have otherwise. By using targeted marketing to offer your customer a chance to lower their monthly payment or drive a newer model for the same financing terms, you create opportunities for more sales at your dealership.

Benefits of Targeted CDP Audience Building

Building specific audiences for your dealership has many benefits including:

• Higher Conversion Rates: Using hyper-segmented audiences built by your dealership CDP enables you to create targeted campaigns that speak to the specific needs and interests of your shoppers. By addressing a point of interest, you can increase your conversion rates and drive more leads, as customers are more likely to respond positively and take action on content that resonates with them.
  
• Improved Customer Engagement: CDP audience segmentation allows you to tailor your messaging to their preferences encouraging engagement. This engagement might include clicking on links, reading emails, interacting on social media, or visiting your website. Engagement can help you build a stronger connection with your shoppers, ultimately leading to improved brand loyalty and repeat business.
  
• Personalized Marketing Messages: You can use the data stored in your dealership CDP to craft messages that reflect your customer’s vehicle of interest, offer specific services, showcase relevant products or services, and highlight benefits that resonate with each individual shopper. This level of personalization enhances the customer experience and makes customers feel valued, increasing the likelihood that they will respond positively to your marketing efforts.

How to Target Your CDP Audiences

Once you have created segmented audiences using your dealership CDP, it is time to put them to work by targeting these audiences with omni-channel marketing campaigns: 

• Email Marketing:
  • Create audience specific email campaigns that speak directly to their interests. For example, if you created a list of shoppers who visited a specific VDP in the last month, you may want to send them an email campaign with an attractive offer on that particular model.
    
• Social Media Advertising: 
  • Utilize custom audience features on platforms like YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. Upload your segmented lists to these platforms to deliver ads directly to this specific group with relevant offers.
    
  • You may also want to use the features offered by social media platforms to create lookalike audiences that mirror the characteristics of your existing segmented list. This allows you to expand your reach while still targeting similar individuals.
    
• Search and Display Ads:
  • Upload your CDP generated list to your Google Audience Manager to begin directly targeting the shoppers included on your list. 
    
  • Consider using the retargeting tools offered by Google to show ads to people who have visited your dealership’s website who fit into the specific segmented audience you are targeting.
    
• Direct Marketing:
  • Customize the content and design of your direct mail pieces to include specific offers on vehicle options, service, or promotions that align with the interests and characteristics of your segmented audience.

Conclusion

Automotive centric CDPs are one of the greatest assets to have when it comes to improving your dealership’s marketing efforts. CDPs are designed to unify your dealership’s first-party data sources giving them the unique capability of pulling segmented audiences based on hyper-specific criteria for your marketing campaigns. By better utilizing your CDPs audience building capabilities, you can make your marketing efforts more efficient, increase your ROI, drive customer loyalty, and close more sales, increasing dealership revenues and strengthening your business. 

If you are interested in learning more about how Fullpath can help you harness the power of your first-party data to drive more revenues for your dealership, click here or reach out to our team at get.started@fullpath.com. You can also watch our Q3 2023 live launch to learn more about our Shopper Analysis feature, a powerful list builder designed to help you create, save, and export hyper-specific lists based on shopper behavior so you can identify and target your shoppers with the most relevant, personalized messaging possible.