March 20th was nothing more than your average wintery, almost spring day. The birds were not chirping, the neighborhood was quiet, the temperature outside was neither cold or warm, and I couldn’t decide if I should wear a jacket. I knew it was going to snow, but maybe rain. It was actually a very confusing day for me, but I digress. The point of this is to explain my schedule post jacket vs. weather debate. The title of this post, “I Took A Drive Today And I Didn’t Think About You,” is not only your first song reference in this blog, but it sums up my commute and the lack of reach traditional marketing has.

So there I was, same as always: I got in my car and found that the radio had switched from Howard Stern (don’t judge me, he’s awesome) back to terrestrial radio, and then it happened: a commercial from a Hyundai dealer. I won’t say which dealer, but you probably know the commercial that I’m talking about. Sometimes it’s political, sometimes it’s about a tabloid. It’s mostly entertaining but that’s the only value in it. I switched back to Stern100 and made my commute to work. Without telling you where I live exactly, I drive down Route 18 and then take back roads to the office. None of these roads offer advertising (billboards), and then it hit me, your business does not reach for me or half of the people I work with.

I started thinking a little bit more about how I research and purchase items, and then about how my dear old mother purchases items in present times. I realized something: if you aren’t involved in digital marketing or advertising (yes SEO and Paid Advertising– all of it), you’re doing it all wrong.

 

“Out Of Reach”

Matt Pryor sings a little something like “out of sight, out of mind, out of reach, start over,” which makes me think of things like… your dealership’s marketing. We can break it down more:

  • Out of Sight: Guess who doesn’t see your billboards or TV commercials, or hear your radio spots? This guy (plus millions of other people in my age group and younger). I’m sure by now you’ve all heard of Netflix, Amazon Prime and satellite radio. You probably pay for services like Spotify and Pandora that allow you to opt out of hearing ads. Don’t get me started on the lack of interest and the massive lack of targeting that billboards offer.
  • Out of Mind: Can’t hear it, can’t see it, can’t watch it. Your efforts are simply never on my mind unless I actually want to search for it. Think about the last time you were in a huge, busy metro like NYC or LA. These areas are flooded with billboards and advertisements and equally flooded with people looking down and texting their friends or switching to a new song or album on their iPod. The same happens in cars. I said it, you know it’s true, I’m sorry Bobby Fuller, but the law did not win. People are still texting or talking on the phone while driving. I’ve seen women do their makeup while driving. “Ain’t nobody got time” to see that billboard.
  • Out of Reach: There is no reach if no one is paying attention to you.
  • Start Over: How about you just start. Cut the cord of traditional marketing shorter and invest where people are searching, where you can target, and where you can track. Invest in your digital strategy.

“Take Our Cars Now”

Another great song from my youth, simply mentioned because I want to back off from car dealerships and explain the relevance of digital to all different industries and products. I can’t find a fitting lyric, but do yourself a favor and listen to this Saves The Day song anyway.

It’s easy to lump everything we write about under “automotive marketing” or advertising, but everything we do at PCG is relevant to all industries. Let’s look into some other products and how we (or I) start to shop for them.

I’m going to tell you why content marketing (a piece of SEO) is so important in one word: reviews. A lot of people these days know what they want. Sometimes they don’t know the brand, but they know the product they’re looking for. Marketing your product – regardless of what it is – with good, relevant content can be the difference between Walter White money and Jessie Pinkman money. Let’s look at a few of my hobbies and how I’ve shopped for or gained interest in them:

  • Snowboarding: I recently purchased a new board and new boots over the last year. When it came to the board, I knew what I wanted: either a Burton Custom or a Ride Machete. The problem was that I’ve been using a Burton Custom since 2007 and I’m a huge fan, but wanted to switch it up a bit. I never used a Machete before, so I did some research. What did I find in their traditional marketing? Nothing. What did find on the newfangled internet? Videos comparing both boards, videos comparing the Machete to other similar boards, everyday people talking about the Machete and comparison articles. Because of these digital items, I was sold on the Machete and made that purchase. For the boots, I had no idea what to look for since my old boots were no longer being manufactured, so what did I do? I hit the web, of course. The first thing I did was talk to a customer service rep and figure out what the closest thing to my current beloved boot was. The second thing I did was, again, look for relevant, descriptive content for the boots I eventually purchased. And let me tell you, I could not be happier with them.
  • Music: Death Cab For Cutie had really failed me as a listener over the last few years. Codes and Keys was alright, but Narrow Stairs? Come on guys, way to drop the ball. First, how did I learn about their new album? Facebook. Second, how have I been considering my possible purchase of their next album? Facebook links to blogs about the album, as well as searching Google for more information. What would not help me make an educated decision on whether or not I wanted to give them another chance? Full page advertisements in Rolling Stone, Alternative Press or any other music mag. The information is way too limited. Guess what? Kintsugi sounds great so far and I’m giving these guys a second chance based on what I’ve read and heard about the album so far.
  • Technology (in general): Some things I’ve been looking at lately: Samsung S6, GoPro, Orange Amps and a digital motorcycle speedometer. So, let’s talk about targeting. What do we do after we figure out which product we are interested in purchasing? We look for it at the best price across retailers. What happens next? Your’e added to a list that makes you an “in market shopper” and then these companies specifically target you with the products you’ve been searching their site for. Boom, try doing that with a billboard or a full page ad.

So what did we learn from these three examples? It does not matter what industry you’re in – people still need to be informed before their purchase.

“A Market Dimly Lit”

From Brother, Sister by mewithoutyou, 2006, check it out. Let’s rearrange that song title to “Dimly Lit Market.” “Dimly lit” is referring to the lack of targeting that traditional marketing offers. You’re in the dark, just “throwing mud at the wall” and seeing what sticks. “Ten thousand people drive down Route 35 every day and see my billboard.” Cool story, but how many of those people care about your billboard? More importantly, how many of those people are actually shoppers? You don’t know, you can’t know. No one has ever given me a realistic answer on billboard ROI. “You’re in the dark, but you don’t care…”

Let’s look to digital for a moment in a similar medium: a banner ad. How many people are seeing that banner? We can show you the answer. How many people are coming to your site because of that form of advertising? We can show you. How many people are “converting” because of that banner (that digital billboard)? Guess what? We can show you that too. But, for some reason you don’t see the value in that investment versus a traditional form of marketing.

To loop this back into an automotive focus, why would you not want to sell that Nissan Altima to the person looking for a Nissan Altima?  Think of it this way,  you’re driving down that road “hooptie rollin’, tailpipe draggin’, heat don’t work an’ my girl keeps naggin’,”. You’re an in-market shopper.  You take that hooptie past a general billboard and the idea of that new whip might cross your mind, but you probably won’t commit. Now let’s say that billboard piqued your interest but you don’t remember the name of the dealership.  You’ll go search for some [area] [brand] dealer.  If that website isn’t relevant for the keyword, either organically or paid, there’s no chance you’ll get that new customer.

But imagine your website is optimized, organic is on point, and Sir Mix-A-Lot searches and finds that Benz dealer he’s been dreaming about – and it’s your Benz dealer.  He pops on your site, looks at that new CLS.  Now, you have the importunity to follow Mr. Mix-A-Lot along his fantastic internet voyage, increasing your ability to make a sale.

“So Strange I Remember You”

Illusion of Safety, Thrice, 2002. Another favorite and another applicable title. As we move toward the future, we will continue to see the advertising trend move more and more toward digital. Although traditional marketing will never fade away regardless of the inability to target, there might be a time when Grandpa’s found sitting in the corner of his store, looking at that old picture of him and his first billboard thinking how strange it is that he still remembers. So, to end with one last song, “Kid quit it, Get with it” – MXPX. Start investing smarter.