Oftentimes “marketing” is acatch-all for promotions, trade shows, special event sales, in-store celebrityappearances, direct mail, newspaper ads, radio spots – the list goes on.
It’s hard to define whatconstitutes marketing and which parts you should consider using to help buildyour business. The truth is that the correct answer is all of the above.
But, how do you know which typesof marketing will work the best for your customers? Do you know how manydifferent kinds of customers you reach? Do you know what they will respond to?Do you know how best to contact them? Your POS software should have featuresspecifically designed to help you with all of your marketing efforts. If youdon’t know where to start, you can work with one of the marketing companiesyour software is interfacedwith, such as Mail Mark Customer Link or Goodyear’sGemini program. Most of these companies specialize in the automotiveaftermarket.
You can also “do it yourself.” DIYmarketing can work extremely well if you are committed to working a marketingplan. Whichever you choose, be sure your business software is designed to helpyou successfully market your business.
A marketing plan is the mostimportant place to begin. Some dealers actually say that their “plan” is tothrow so much “stuff” up against the wall that some of it is bound to stick!Not many of us can take this approach, nor can many of us afford this approach.It is necessary to create a formal plan, and then commit to carry out thatplan. Fast and furious is not necessarily the best approach to marketing. Slowand steady, consistent, repetitious, well thought out – those are the plansthat best get your name recognized and thought about regularly.?
If you are considering a newmarketing campaign and don’t know where to begin, ask around the industry fortips, and then commit to the process. If you choose to work with an outsidecompany, have them show you a plan. Expect them to ask lots of questions inorder to understand you and your business. Make sure you ask questions inreturn and understand what they want you to do. They will need to find out moreabout your customers, who they are, what they drive, and how they like to buy.Don’t be afraid to share that information.
Once you have chosen a marketingpartner, or have decided to do it in-house, you need to be confident that yourPOS system can provide all of the data that you will need to deploy asuccessful campaign. A good system can handle tasks from exporting names andaddresses to keeping records of when your customers will need the next oilchange. The best software products integrate with great companies like CustomerLink and Mailmark. Don’t hesitate to use their resources and your technologyinvestment to grow your business today!
