CallSource^® Aim Higher

It’s Not The Size Of Your Digital Ad Spend, It’s How You Use It

by Jim Irving, March 18 2010

Not long ago, shifting any ad budget into any digital tactic, even without a solid strategy, could provide a competitive advantage for car dealers. Those days are gone as budgets are now scrutinized more than ever and true accountability is topping the priority list; the result is, just about every dealer has now jumped on the digital bandwagon. As this new playing field levels out, the only way to regain a competitive advantage is to execute better than the other guys.

First off, dealers get it. As painful as it is in today's tough market to stomach the large expense of advertising, it still remains a critical part of doing business. With this said, they also recognize holding their ad spend accountable is no longer a luxury, but an absolute necessity, hence, the major migration of ad dollars to digital.

And why not? Aside from being able to measure digital, it simply makes sense to place ads in front of people who are engaged and actively researching the products they sell (on the Internet) would be more effective than shotgun blasting a retail message over and over again into a marketplace where only 3% of people are in-market for a car at any given time.
So how do you gain competitive advantage on today's playing field? The short answer is: Don't center your business around your vendors, center your vendors around your business.

What does this mean?

• Have an overall strategy for your specific business which takes into account your distinct market conditions and ensures the sum of all of your advertising parts are working to maximum potential. The problem is vendors work across many clients which can lead to a cookie cutter approach to best streamline their business, not yours.

• Remove any conflicts of interest regarding the profitability aspect of a business partnership. Let's face it, capturing revenue for vendors (delivery) can sometimes trump what is in the best interest of their customers (performance).

• Employ and own the right systems to eliminate data silos and ensure you have clear visibility to what is working across all vendors, and even more importantly what is not. Centralizing data allows for one score card and the ability to measure apples to apples across all digital efforts. By nature, vendors will create their own metrics which often gravitate towards trying to show favorable results and mask deficiencies. In addition, if you don't own the systems it makes it much more painful to make a change of vendors if it is required. This is often a retention strategy for many vendors.

• Bring as many of your execution efforts in-house as possible. Putting execution into the hands of people who deeply understand and are focused exclusively on your business will improve efficiencies and make better decisions. Vendors are simply spread too horizontally across their many customers. It is unreasonable to think they are capable of understanding your business needs as well as you do.

It may seem like vendors are devious and simply out to get you, but this is not the case. There are many who bring remarkable value on multiple fronts and are essential in executing your overall strategy; such as Jumpstart Automotive, Edmund's, and Google to name a few. The point is advertising is too important and costly to not do it right. With a strategic in-house approach, there is a tremendous opportunity to get much more from your ad spend and bring the competitive advantage to dealers who embrace it.

Jim Irving is the chief advertising consultant and founder for H. T. Water Consulting, a firm which specializes in assisting OEMs, dealers, and dealer groups to maximize advertising efficiency. H.T. Water's experienced staff brings over 10 years of digital advertising innovation, analytics and thought leadership to the automotive industry. Jim can be reached at 310-463-7979 or by email Jim.Irving@htwaterconsulting.com

About CallSource
CallSource delivers ResultsSM, the first and only integrated marketing, sales, training and management system. CallSource offers extensive eLearning courses and provides custom course development and training for healthcare professionals, home improvement contractors, automotive retailers, media companies and advertising agencies.

CallSource also offers expert statistical and performance analysis services to help clients improve marketing and call-handling effectiveness, and tools and education to convert more callers into customers. Since 1994, CallSource has provided innovative solutions and services that improve organizational performance across marketing, operations, sales, training and customer service.

Training Blurb
Gain insight from industry consultant Jim Irving on how digital ad spending can help you gain a competitive advantage. Read Jim's article.