As an automotive dealer, you know it’s more difficult (and more costly) to find new customers than it is to keep existing ones. It’s simply not easy to bring new people to your dealership with so much competition in the automotive industry. That’s why it’s so important to keep your existing customers engaged with you and your facility as much as you can.

But how do you do that?

Many automotive dealers send out birthday cards and maintenance reminders to keep their names in their customers’ heads. But they are overlooking one major possibility: Internet marketing.

I’m not talking about using Internet marketing on your part to reach car-buying customers, though. I mean you can put a large amount of advertising for your business on your customers’ shoulders. With social media websites, YouTube and other popular online gathering places, your customers can spread the word about your dealership for you.

Think of it like this: The Internet is the new “word of mouth.” And any business owner knows that word of mouth is the best way to advertise. Unfortunately, unsatisfied customers are more likely to spread their dissatisfaction than satisfied customers are to spread their satisfaction with their experiences. Most satisfied customers won’t even take the time to post their pleasant experiences without any incentives.

If I’ve piqued your curiosity, come back on Wednesday to see how you can encourage and engage your existing customers to help promote your business by doing more than simply telling their friends.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 28th, 2008 at 5:05 am and is filed under Automotive Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.