The list of skills that every auto retail marketer needs to succeed continues to grow and evolve. It’s true now and will continue to be true throughout 2024.
Every auto retailer should make deliberate decisions about their marketing and advertising strategy but the complexity is leaving many wondering which way to turn…and how to allocate their valuable resources. In-house auto retail marketing managers must regularly assess what’s working/not working and transition to new strategies when it’s time.
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Challenges lie ahead for auto retail marketers.
As if it wasn’t hard enough to navigate dealership marketing and advertising, market changes are already happening that are increasing the need to stay on your toes.
Cox Automotive is predicting weak economic growth, higher new-vehicle inventories, and an end to the seller’s market. Overall, Cox expects 2024 to be the best year for car buyers since the pandemic.
Navigating through the auto retail marketing unknowns.
A decade from now, when we look back at the years immediately following the global COVID pandemic of 2020, we’ll be awed by the dramatic swings and unprecedented circumstances the economy, the automotive market and thousands of dealership employees endured.
The car business is undergoing perpetual change and 2024 will be no different. Challenges are plentiful, including operational adaptation to those challenges, but here are the highlights:
- Slow growth for the foreseeable future.
- Vehicle inventory supply is returning to normal, pre-pandemic level which favors consumers with lower prices.
- Vehicle affordability will limit the market in 2024 and will remain an industry-wide challenge that holds new-vehicle sales well below historic highs seen between 2016 and 2018, when the market was artificially inflated by large discounts and incentives and near-zero auto loan rates.
- Shortages of skilled workers. It’s not just technicians that are almost impossible to find, it’s all levels of dealership staff from managers to service advisors, to office personnel and even CFOs and Controllers.
- The used-vehicle market will see gains in 2024, but gains will be minimal – less than one percent.
- We officially bid farewell to the seller’s market. Heading into 2024, dealers are less optimistic about the future, and it’s all about interest rates and weaker profits.
- Selling electric vehicles will require more effort. Expectations for EV growth in the U.S. market have moved from “rosy to reality” as EV sales increase, but customer acceptance grows slowly. Prices are falling and most automakers are seeing inventories build.
Overall, Cox is expecting sales growth to be constrained and weak in 2024 – a bit more normal compared to the chaos of the past three years.
Auto retail marketing and advertising challenges remain.
The places where car buyers spend time are even more disjointed, which spells trouble for even experienced auto retail marketers. Whether in-house or outsourced, keeping a current skill level on how to best target car buyers is not for amateurs.
A retailer’s reputation follows it everywhere, online and off. Everything is connected throughout the consumer’s shopping process. Auto retail marketers must possess the skills to map that process and deliver the right content (at the right time).
Today’s auto retailers have more marketing options than ever.
The number of tools and apps designed for retailers has skyrocketed. From digital retail solutions to automation and social media management to customer relationship management (CRM) and analytics and even AI, the increasing amount of information and capabilities is powerful.
But with power and rapid changes in marketing trends, comes complexity and uncertainty in knowing which methods and tools are effective and deliver results.
Additionally, with rapid change in technology, it can be challenging for auto retail marketers to gain in-depth knowledge about the latest marketing trends and understand which tactics work best for their organization.
The evolution of the auto retail marketing manager.
I reflect back to the days when the “Internet Manager” was also the “Marketing Manager.” Sadly, in some organizations, that is still the case.
Times were so simple then! Today, a designated Marketing Manager is the base model, the absolute minimum you can do for your organization.
Digital advertising, email, Search (including local search and Google Business Profiles), social media, content strategy and content creation, Google and Facebook ads (digital ads and the strategies that bring everything into focus) have all advanced to a level that many auto retail marketers struggle to keep up with.
It’s very difficult now to achieve good outcomes without a specialized group of skills.
Auto retailers have a history of being incredibly talented in the more traditional promotion skills (print, radio, TV). But today, those traditional skills are not even the baseline.
It’s no longer possible to just ‘figure things out.’ In fact, it could be dangerous to your business reputation and future revenue.
10 Skills Every Auto Retail Marketer Must Have in 2024
With yet another required shift to meet customers’ needs, retailers could stay on the optimal course by rethinking their approach to marketing, and the staffing of their marketing department.
Here’s a list of diverse skills every auto retail marketer needs in order to survive (and thrive) in 2024.
1. Website Design and UX
Your website is your digital storefront and in many cases, it’s the first thing customers come in contact with when they’re researching what you sell. It must digitally-merchandize your inventory and encourage inquiries and appointments.
- Does your website represent the company and its vehicles, service and parts well?
- Is the site fast, like really fast? (Pro Tip: use Google Lighthouse chrome plugin to check yours!)
- What is the user experience like – does it smoothly flow through to an inquiry?
- Is the site structure solid and secure?
- Is it optimized for search engines?
- Does the content answer buyers’ questions?
- Does the site make it easy to take the next step in the purchase?
A basic understanding of site structure and user experience (UX) is crucial.
2. Comprehensive Writing Capabilities
Writing skills, including copywriting, are vital in today’s automotive marketing and will continue to grow in importance in 2023.
Writing for the web requires two separate sets of skills:
- Ability to create content that attracts, engages and converts customers.
- Search engine optimization techniques to achieve site authority.
It’s difficult to overstate the importance of good copy and content.
Writing skills are required for website copy, social media, email, video content, advertising, online review replies, and many other digital spaces.
ProTip: In 2024, we have the awesome tool called AI, or more finely put, ChatGPT. I use it almost everyday and I highly recommend signing up for the paid ($20) version. Learning AI prompts will be your biggest challenge and marketers who apply themselves (learn how to write good prompts) will be able to utilize ChatGPT for all their copywriting and content.
3. Strategy Development and Deployment
A large auto group recently contacted me for digital retail operational guidance. They had been bootstrapping their efforts and were at a point where a digital marketing strategy was sorely needed. Why? It saves a lot of time and money. A few months back, they tried Google and Facebook ads but said, “Because we didn’t have a strategy, we didn’t really know what to expect. In the end, we spent a lot and got very little.”
Goals are at the heart of strategy development.
Many auto retail marketers jump to tactics first. Some simply acquiesce to the boss’ demands, (“Get me more sales!”) and rarely inject their own expertise to uncover the specific metrics to achieve success.
Always map out a strategy for your business, marketing or anything else. Just like GPS on your phone, you need to know where you’re going and the best route to get there, in order to arrive at your destination on time and in great shape.
4. Data Analysis and Reporting
There is a MASSIVE shortage of marketers that are skilled in the art of data analysis. A recent study found that only 3% of marketers are competent in analyzing data.
The largest skill gap, compared to any other industry, is marketing. And it is not only hurting the marketers, with 90% of them feeling underskilled in marketing, but also the hiring managers, marketing directors and organizations, with 41% of them finding it very hard to find quality talent.
In digital marketing, every visitor, view, click, share, inquiry and conversion is tracked. In fact, there’s so much data now that retailers get a mountain of it to review each month. Sifting through it all and getting the right answers is challenging, even for seasoned marketers.
Marketing creative and execution remain important but measuring and analyzing results are too. They go together like peanut butter and jelly. One without the other only gets you halfway there.
5. Social Media Savvy
Social media has grown up, graduated college, got married, had kids and is staring down the barrel at middle age.
Every auto retail marketer in 2024 should be savvy in the social environment. That means being a adept user of social media personally, as well as professionally.
To be competitive, marketers should possess social finesse, be able to tell stories well and maintain a working knowledge of storytelling components. If you’re hiring a marketer and they already write for online media, that’s a huge advantage because that means they’ve been exposed to testing out strategy.
It’s also crucial to adeptly manage the community you’ve built or are building. The bigger a retailer’s presence gets, the more important to integrate Community Management into daily job duties. People are commenting and sending messages and replies are expected.
Pro Tip: When you’re ready to hire your social media marketing manager or agency, take advantage of >>these 10 questions<< and then >>these 10 more questions<< to ask your candidates. Their answers will inform your decision and help you pick the right person or vendor.
6. Adaptability
Adaptability has become the new competitive advantage.
Digital media has transformed all facets of modern lifestyle and culture. Add the reshaping of how Americans work and shop, and there’s hardly any aspect of modern society that has remained untouched by the digital media revolution.
Many auto retail marketers were left scrambling to change up inflexible plans and create their plan B under unprecedented circumstances. You may not be able to predict every future event, but if you set your marketing up to be flexible and plan to be adaptable before the challenges arise, your success in any similar situation is much more likely.
Navigating this new digital-first world we live in can be treacherous. How can you continue to build your business while at the same time, make sure you’re utilizing the latest and best solutions? Be flexible and ready to adapt to new, uncomfortable ways to attract and engage customers.
In order to create a truly flexible digital strategy, you need to incorporate adaptability into the structure of your marketing. Stay on your toes, be agile, and be willing to respond to new information as it arises.
7. Video Production
Video is a major component in today’s dealership marketing. Your video is being judged on its content, presentation, production quality, style, and the valuable information it provides. What does this tell us? It means that video production is an important skill needed to attract buyers.
Whether it’s you, your marketing dept., or salespeople, using video to sell cars is huge. Just ask my friend Tim Bartz at Long McArthur Ford, who among other achievements, has over 63,000 YouTube subscribers.
Sound and lighting are easy things to test before shooting your entire video. Take a 30-second test video, and watch it to see if the sound and lighting are optimal. Shooting outside in the elements affects the quality of a video, so be sure to shoot with the sun behind you and if possible, shoot on a cloudy day (but not too cloudy because it can go dark).
Even in the most “real” videos, if the sound isn’t superior, they will fall flat. Invest in a good mic for your desktop such as a Blue Snowball or Yeti. When you’re on the go, there are great microphones can be attached to iPhones and Androids that improve quality ten fold.
Other important video production factors to consider:
- Composition (do the people and objects look right?)
- Subject matter (what do you want the viewer to know?)
- The set or background
- Using a phone? Consider a tripod or stand.
- Video length
- Script (if needed)
8. Marketing Automation
Marketing automation refers to software platforms and technologies designed for auto retailers (and other industries) to more effectively market and sell on multiple channels online and automate repetitive tasks.
Digital retailing is more prevalent now and retailers can take full advantage of digital tools such as selling tools, data analytics and more sophisticated online solutions.
The marketing automation industry grows exponentially each year. As marketing automation tools continue to improve and multiply, it won’t get any easier to navigate in 2024. Shrewd marketers command the use of specific tools while also investigating and re-evaluating to discover new and enhanced solutions.
9. Decisiveness
Humans are predictably irrational, readily sidetracked and constantly making decisions. And the more decisions we make in a given day, the worse we get at it.
Decisiveness is an element of great leadership.
In today’s marketing, it’s not only what you put out there to attract customers that counts – it’s what you do once they see it and start interacting with it.
I see so many retailers still trying to keep a veil up between themselves and their customers. Most of it is habit from the old days of advertising where broadcasting was the norm. Retailers who work decisively at removing this barrier will be positioned for success in the long-term.
Retailers that connect with consumers on a human level will win in 2024.
It’s a skill to interact with customers and to do it well demands decisiveness. Often that interaction requires thinking on your feet, which calls for confidence, patience, empathy, gratitude and courage. All those skills make for better decisions and happier, engaged customers.
And speaking of empathy…
10. Empathy
Putting yourself in your customers’ shoes and seeing things from their perspective helps a great deal with understanding customer needs, creating meaningful marketing, and ultimately satisfying their queries enough to get them to act.
Empathy is also the key to outstanding customer experience. As social media has become more integrated with how we communicate, and how your customers prefer to communicate with you, retailers and auto retail marketers must develop protocols to be able to successfully address customers’ needs and inquiries.
In tense crisis situations, such as comments sections or online reviews, where there’s an audience watching, an auto retail marketer may not always be able to deliver a solution but she/he can always deliver empathy.
Empathy is feeling with people.
When you put yourself in your audience’s shoes, it becomes easier to acknowledge struggles and think critically about the best solutions.
How would you rate your marketing aptitude for 2024?
The skills every auto retail marketer needs to possess have never been more diverse. Mastering the complexities that are happening now and those beyond 2024, means upping your skills game.
We are coming into a time where selling vehicles will be even more challenging. But we’ve been here before, right?
Retaining control and dominance in your market will warrant tactical shifts from the last several years. Insist that your marketer possess the skills required to achieve the vision and goals you have for your organization.
I consult with organizations to vastly improve their automotive digital retail, including operations and financials. If this sounds like something that would help your organization, please Contact me and I’ll be in touch within 24 hours.