So, you want to start a marketing campaign for your automotive dealership in the hopes of building your brand, but where do you start? What’s the key to standing out in a world full of advertising noise? From smartphones or billboards to banner ads and everything in between, everywhere your consumers look, they’re confronted with marketing campaigns.
Fortunately, there’s a way to cut through the endless distractions of the modern-day world: automotive direct mail. As a tried-and-true automotive marketing method, direct mail provides dealerships with a way to stand out from the crowd in a climate of constant digital advertising chaos.
So, if you’re just starting out on the automotive direct mail journey, don’t fret. The marketing geniuses at Aspen Automotive are here with your guide to automotive direct mail for beginners. Let’s get started!
Direct mail is a form of marketing that includes sending unsolicited information to your target audience. This can be done by sending postcards about an upcoming spring savings event, a catalogue featuring all the vehicles in your inventory, or a 3D mailer that includes a keychain with your dealership’s name on it.
Direct mail is effective in part due to its versatility, but also due to its low competition rate. That’s because it’s estimated that a person receives two pieces of mail per day. In comparison to the 63 ads and 107 estimated emails per day, using direct mail means your ads are far more likely to be seen, meaning it’s likely that more people will visit your dealership.
Now that you know what exactly direct mail is, let’s take a look at how you can start your first automotive direct mail campaign in five easy steps.
The first step to mastering automotive direct mail is to clearly identify your dealership’s goal. Are you looking to improve attendance at your annual holiday sales event? Do you want to get more drivers into your service center? Are you hoping to increase sales revenue?
No matter what your team’s aim is, designating a goal for each campaign helps you iron out other facets of your strategy, such as which audience you should target and what the cost of your campaign may be.
As we mentioned above, defining your goal is a crucial part of determining which audience you should target with your automotive direct mail strategy.
This is where big data will come in handy. Thanks to a diverse database of customer information, you’ll be able to find out more about your buyers, their habits, and their lifestyles.
Plus, Aspen Automotive’s data team has access to information that’s focused on your consumers’ car-buying histories and capabilities.
All in all, this kind of information allows you to divide your customer base into smaller subsections, so you can tailor your campaigns to fit the needs of particular demographics—for example, age, median income, marital status, zip code, and more.
By doing so, you’ll increase audience engagement, boost response rates, and improve sales revenue for each of your automotive direct mail campaigns.
When it comes to sparking the interest of your audience, the format of your automotive direct mail is essential.
Regardless if you’re looking to welcome new customers with a friendly postcard or generate new leads with something more unique, like a 3D mailer, direct mail marketing offers a huge selection of templates to fit your dealership’s goals.
In addition to its array of unique formats, the versatility of automotive direct mail advertising makes it the perfect option for any sort of budget. As a result, you’ll be able to reap the return on investment (ROI) and response rate benefits of direct mail, no matter the amount of funding you have.
Now that you’re fully informed on your target audience, it’s time for you to begin the design process of your automotive direct mail strategy.
Here’s where you want to get those creative juices flowing and infuse your dealership’s mailers with copy, images, color, graphics, and rewards that are relevant to each specific audience.
For instance, if you’ve divided your target audience up by age range and a few other metrics, you may want to consider designing your mailer around a scannable QR code for younger customers and unique phone numbers for older customers.
That way, your audience will be able to connect with your team based on their preferred method of communication.
When partnering with us, you’ll work with our design team, who can help you expertly craft your very own direct mail campaign that’s sure to grab the attention of your target audience.
Congrats! You’ve reached the final step of completing your first automotive direct mail campaign. At this juncture of your automotive direct mail campaign, you should be settled on one or two different approaches to your dealership’s mailer.
All you have to do now is conduct a simple A/B test. Simply create two almost-identical direct mailers that each contain one slight variation—whether it’s in your offer, photos, mail format, or another aspect of your mailer. Then, send both mailers to a small subsection of your customer base.
From there, you can analyze the responses to each mailer and determine which was more successful. By taking some time to calculate the results of your dealership’s strategy, you’ll already have an idea of what to expect from your automotive direct mail campaign before you officially roll it out.
So, now that you’re more familiar with the process of running a direct mail campaign, you may be wondering: What makes an automotive direct mail letter successful?
While many elements factor into that success, we want to cover the basics here. These five components will make your dealership direct mail campaign shine as you look to reach more of your prospects and convert them into customers.
Your headline may very well be the most important element of your direct mail letter. In the automotive dealership industry, as in other sectors, you should include at least one concrete benefit to grab readers’ attention and convince them to read onward.
(We say at least one because you may want to include multiple benefits! Still, it’s best not to overwhelm the reader. Keep things simple and straightforward by only including benefits that are clearly tied together.)
Don’t forget to include a “Johnson box” at the top of every dealership direct mail letter you write. This is the (generally boxed) area where you include the most important takeaway for readers. It can boost response rates by as much as 40%, according to studies!
What does well-written copy look like in direct mail letters? Most importantly, it gets to the point quickly—like in the first sentence! (Or the second or third at the latest.)
Effective automotive direct mail letters reinforce the benefits you have mentioned in the headline and expand on the offer you are making. Above all, they are easy to read.
Here’s a hint: Communicate with crisp bullet points and strong action verbs! You’ll snag the attention of your audience in a short window of opportunity.
Want your automotive direct mail campaign to be a roaring success? Consider this: What you don’t write is often just as important as what you do write. Make sure you leave plenty of white space in the letter, so your message is easy to read.
This is a case of less is more. And less appears even less when surrounded by white space! Dense, unapproachable paragraphs of copy will only turn your reader away.
Calls to action are everywhere—in your TV and radio ads, on your website, and yes, in your direct mail letters. Don’t leave readers to guess what they should do next. Whether it’s calling a number or visiting a website, make your intentions clear!
Don’t hesitate to pull out that “P.S.” line after the signature. A strong postscript will reinforce your message one last time. In fact, most people read the P.S. before they read the body copy because it’s visually set apart. (Thanks again, white space!)
By now, you should be eager to gather up your dealership’s team and follow this guide to automotive direct mail for beginners.
Wouldn’t it be nice to have some guidance as you tackle your first venture into the world of direct mail marketing? Well, that’s exactly what the marketing masters at Aspen Automotive strive to do.
Why not begin the conversation today? Get in touch with us, and we’ll give you all the insights and resources you need to dominate your first automotive direct mail strategy. To get started on your very own direct mail campaign, give us a call or send us an email today!
