Black Friday is just around the corner. Is your dealership ready?
This year, there will be close to 100 million shoppers hunting for the best holiday deals, many of which will be looking for new vehicles. How are you going to get them into your dealership? We've put together a fool-proof list of tactics to capture a massive slice of the expanded market during Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday.
Let's dive in!
1. Optimize Your Website & Campaigns For Black Friday & Mobile Traffic
BlackFriday.com predicts that 2019 Black Friday online spending will surpass $12 billion this year. Of the shoppers they surveyed, 61% plan to do most of their holiday shopping online. With that in mind, you’ll want to be sure and spruce up your website for the occasion.
Here are some tips to optimize for Black Friday traffic:
- Create a Black Friday themed banner for your website.
- Implement pop-ups that feature your Black Friday deals.
- Create a Black Friday/Cyber Monday landing page with featured prices and models.
- As always, run ads!
Mobile usage surges during the holidays as most desktops are used at work and at home, so ensure you're focusing on these three areas as possible:
- Ensure your website is mobile responsive and optimized
- Ensure your ad campaigns are optimized for mobile FIRST
- Optimize copy and content for local users
These areas are key to running profitable holiday campaigns.
2. Promote Giving Back During Thanksgiving
Don't let the mountain of mashed potatoes and turkey fool you, Thanksgiving is a time of sentiment, appreciation, and generosity. People come together to celebrate what they're thankful for and to give back.
No doubt you often see canned good drives or soup kitchen events going on. Our personal favorite is the "Hobo-stew" tradition at our local church. Since these festive events promote a positive image for all involved, giving back in these ways is vital to showing buyers just how invested you are in your customers, both past and future.
Through "Giving Back Campaigns", you're able to generate great SEO for your dealership and positive reviews/public image. Consider running or getting involved in these campaigns leading up to Thanksgiving:
- Canned Food Drive - Hold a canned food drive in exchange for discounts and incentives. This as a great way to showcase your dealership's community impact as well as get folks in the door with great specials.
- Community Hobo-stew Events - Often times, "hobo-stew" type get-togethers are thrown by the city or organizations you partner with. Partake in these by setting up a station at their get together and get involved with the party!
- Raffle Giveaways - Dealerships that donate things like maintenance packages, heavy discounts, or a new car into community focused, charitable raffles are sure to get amazing exposure to buyers (as well as get a great opportunity to show the community the amazing holiday specials they're running).
3. Run Ads With Broad Locations Mon.-Thurs., then Geo-target on Black Friday
If you start advertising your promos and deals at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Thursday, you're too late. Everyone planning to brave the wilds of malls and stores on Black Friday in search of a great deal usually plan out where they need to go.
For this reason, we highly recommend to run broadly based paid ads for your Black Friday specials the entire Thanksgiving week. This way, prospects all over your target area have 4 days to see your ads and plan out their visit and budget.
Then, when Black Friday starts, switch your ad strategy to geo-targeting! This ad campaign targets individuals in a specific location. By honing in your ad budget and location to popular malls or shopping centers, you're able to target highly-qualified prospects in hyper-specific locations.
4. Increase Your Paid Ad Spend
Despite what some in the industry believe, studies show November and December are popular months for car shopping. Therefore, during peak car buying months, (March, July/August, November, and December) you should consider upping your ad budget.
Facebook and Google are great for getting prospects in the door, so bump up your ad spend to ensure you capture a larger portion of the expanded car-buying market.
5. Remember, Cyber Monday Is Basically All Week
In the line of succession, don't think that Cyber Monday waits patiently until Thanksgiving and Black Friday are over. Shopping trends show that Cyber Monday lasts essentially all week.
Businesses will offer huge markdowns on their products online throughout the week, so ensure you're doing the same. This way you don't fall behind the competition and other dealers don't beat you to the punch.
Final Thoughts
The week of Thanksgiving represents one of the best times to work in the car industry. With all the festive spirits, great food, opportunities to give back, and opportunities to sell, there's no reason why this November shouldn't be your best on record.
At Edifice, we specialize in running tailor made digital strategies. From paid ads to email campaigns to website optimization to everything in between, we have the strategy to get you what you need. Simply click the button below for a free consultation with one of our marketing experts.
