Success Story
Zeigler Chrysler Dodge Jeep Up 98% in Sales and Service, Zeigler Chrysler Dodge Jeep Increases Profitability with Integrated Marketing Strategy Many dealers face the ongoing challenge of how to effectively reach the right customers with the right message, bring those customers into their showrooms and service bays, and keep them coming back again and again. Consumer shopping habits have shifted in recent years, away from traditional mass media platforms like TV, print and radio, toward more targeted and digital mediums that include targeted direct email and mail, internet, and mobile. Dealerships that do not understand targeted and digital marketing continue to see diminishing returns with traditional mass marketing that continues to be costly and nearly impossible to measure.
Today, the most successful dealers are using targeted and digital mediums that are less expensive, more measurable and give a better return on investment than traditional mass marketing. The key to their success is integrating all their targeted and digital advertising to maximize their results, however, this can also present a challenge as the average dealer works with multiple vendors to execute their entire marketing strategy which results in different strategies, messages and designs that too often are not integrated with one another. Zeigler Chrysler Dodge Jeep of Downers Grove, a member of Zeigler Auto Group, has found a solution by implementing an integrated targeted and digital marketing strategy across multiple mediums using one marketing partner to attract, sell, service and retain more customers for less cost than traditional mass marketing. With sales and service up 98 percent over the same period last year, and up 156 percent within their topselling zip codes, Zeigler has seen a nice steady increase in profitability since starting a new marketing strategy in September of 2011.
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“WE ARE CONSTANTLY MINING OUR DATABASE AND THE SURROUNDING AREA IN ORDER TO GROW BUSINESS RATHER THAN JUST HITTING DIFFERENT HOUSEHOLDS. IT IS ESSENTIAL WE COMMUNICATE WITH THESE CUSTOMERS AT THE CORRECT MOMENT OF THEIR VEHICLE’S LIFE CYCLE,” -BRIAN MALPELI
GENERAL MANAGER AT ZEIGLER CHRYSLER DODGE JEEP
Zeigler Chrysler Dodge Jeep “Our goal is to strive for steady growth. Lots of people believe in fast and furious growth, but we want to achieve growth that lasts and provides hard systemic results,” said Brian Malpeli, General Manager at Zeigler Chrysler Dodge Jeep. Zeigler Chrysler Dodge Jeep began with a comprehensive five-year historical analysis of their sales and service transactions to determine customer trends. Those findings were then compared to leading third-party and industry data to establish consumer patterns within the local market. The results enabled Zeigler Chrysler Dodge Jeep to identify vehicle owners with the greatest probability of buying or servicing with their dealership, as well as identify same-brand owners who had never visited Zeigler Chrysler Dodge Jeep, and off-brand owners with a historical pattern of crossing over to the brands they sell. Once Zeigler Chrysler Dodge Jeep had more clearly defined their market, they implemented a comprehensive targeted and digital marketing strategy using variable direct email and mail campaigns that consistently speak to customers throughout the 60-month life cycle of their vehicle with custom messaging that includes: a thank you and welcome message for recent
Zeigler Chrysler Dodge Jeep also aggressively targets conquest service customers within their primary marketing area who own the brands they sell but did not buy from them. This is unique because most dealers use the manufacturer’s service marketing program which often limits a dealer to only communicate with customers that have purchased directly from their store, but also limits the dealer from contacting numerous conquest opportunities within their market. If a dealer only has 30 percent market share, they are essentially missing out on an additional 70 percent of the area’s service market. Zeigler Chrysler Dodge Jeep recognized the opportunity to broaden its service marketing program with conquest and has greatly expanded their reach of potential service customers.
purchase with that dealership,” says Budd Blackburn, owner of Team Velocity Marketing, the company that Zeigler Chrysler Dodge Jeep uses for their sales and service marketing.
“Our goal is to strive for steady growth. Lots of people believe in fast and furious growth, but we want to achieve growth that lasts and provides hard systemic results”
When customers visit the dealership they see POS merchandising throughout the store that validates the advertising message they recently saw online or received in the mail, further building credibility and helping increase the closing ratio.
BRIAN MALPELI General Manager
ZEIGLER CHRYSLER DODGE JEEP
purchasers, maintenance reminders for newer vehicles not yet in-equity but that may be due for recommended maintenance, and ongoing targeted email and mail sales communications to customers in an equity position. Using highend creative campaigns, Zeigler Chrysler Dodge Jeep promotes its best sales offers with custom service offers that reflect the service status of the customer’s vehicle. For example, active service customers who routinely come in for service receive a $29.95 “The Works” oil change coupon, but customers who are categorized as lost, or who do not regularly service with Zeigler Chrysler Dodge Jeep , receive the same offer but for $19.95 to encourage them to back.
“We are constantly mining our database and the surrounding area in order to grow business rather than just hitting different households. We do exit surveys and have discovered we retain over 60 percent of our service customers, especially first time oil changes. So it is essential we communicate with these customers at the correct moment of their vehicle’s life cycle,” said Malpeli. “The best customer that any dealer can find is one they already have because customers who have an active service relationship with a dealership are seven times more likely to
Another component to the Zeigler Chrysler Dodge Jeep strategy is that every outbound targeted email and mail campaign directs customers to an online Campaign Conversion Site that not only displays the featured promotions of the email or mail campaign they have just received, but also shows them every sales and service offer that Zeigler Chrysler Dodge Jeep is currently running. If a customer is not in the market for the specific offers they just received they can check Zeigler Chrysler Dodge Jeep campaign conversion site, www. zeiglerjeepoffers.com, for other available offers.
An added benefit to their integrated sales and service marketing strategy is a healthier trade pattern. Since switching strategies they’ve brought in more late model trades – this is ultimately a big cost savings for Zeilger not having to overpay at auction. To measure the effectiveness of all their marketing strategies and ensure quality customer care, Zeigler Chrysler Dodge Jeep uses a call-monitoring system to track their advertising, employees, and how their customers are treated by listening to every call that comes into their dealership. They receive daily, weekly and monthly reports that enables them to see which ad campaigns generate the best response and pre-empt any potential customer concerns before they escalate – which improves their overall CSI and helps create lifelong satisfied customers.
Success Story
Success Story
Zeigler Chrysler Dodge Jeep
“OUR GOAL IS TO STRIVE FOR STEADY GROWTH. LOTS OF PEOPLE BELIEVE IN FAST AND FURIOUS GROWTH, BUT WE WANT TO ACHIEVE GROWTH THAT LASTS AND PROVIDES HARD SYSTEMIC RESULTS,” -BRIAN MALPELI GENERAL MANAGER AT ZEIGLER CHRYSLER DODGE JEEP
IN A NUTSHELL
Up 98% in Sales and Service, Zeigler Chrysler Dodge Jeep Increases Profitability with Integrated Marketing Strategy • Define their ideal local market by finding the perfect customers and prospects with the highest statistical probability of buying and/or servicing with their dealership now and in the future. • Create dynamic, cohesive campaigns that consistently speak to their customers throughout the 60-month lifecycle of their vehicle. • Consistently target in-market same-brand prospects, and consumers who drive off-brands with a historical trend of crossing over to the brands they sell. • Drive consumer traffic to a custom campaign conversion site that promotes all their sales and service offers to help increase their internet sales and service leads. • Monitor inbound calls so they know what ads are generating better response rates and pre-empt CSI issues before they escalate. • Work with a marketing partner like Team Velocity Marketing www.teamvelocitymarketing.com to implement an integrated targeted and digital marketing strategy across multiple mediums that promote all their profit centers, new, used, finance, service and parts.
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