Pull the Coke Ads! We didn't sell enough cola in July!

[john.quinn]

Lately I seem to be having problems the approach we dealers take to advertising.

More specifically: we had a LOUSY May -- cut the advertising for June! We have to save expenses!

I just can't imagine McDonalds or Coca-Cola cutting-off a campaign mid-stream because the monthly tallies weren't what they thought they'd be.

My question: do dealers have a juvenile approach to advertising?

OK -- aim for $300 per unit. We plan to sell 1000 cars in June, so our ad budget is $300,000 in June. Even though we sold 900 cars on a $270,000 budget in May... we have more to spend in June. (But the advertising seemed to "work" in May, right?)

And conversely, as mentioned above -- cut the ads when we're going to sell less.

Is this really how advertising works? I know it's how the balance sheets work: costs vs. revenue. But a new gimmic/event every month?

How about branding vs. traffic drivers? Obviously we're not going to spend $20K on a mailer in January in Minnesota -- there's no market. But what about that broadcast or digital message that we need our clients to see/hear 7 or 8 or 9 or 10 times to make a favorable impression. Do we not do that in January? Will that move hurt February/March sales?

I'd love to hear from somebody NOT doing the typical dealer two-step.

 

[Alex Snyder]

We are bound to a month-to-month mentality. Long-term.....ha! Planning....ha! Consistent marketing....ha! Vision....ha! But we can bullshit like nobody else on command.

 

[john.quinn]

We are bound to a month-to-month mentality. Long-term.....ha! Planning....ha! Consistent marketing....ha! Vision....ha! But we can bullshit like nobody else on command.

I get the feeling challenging these rules may disrupt the fabric of space and time itself...

 

[Glenn Jimerson]

Being on the vendor/marketing end of the stick it hard to make sense of any customer that bases advertising spend on a shift in the market which is unrelated to marketing. For example, unemployment goes up, consumer lending rates go up, or access to capital decreases which are all structural shifts in the economy. So naturally sales go down during this time frame. The lack of sales gets compounded when the marketing budget is cut because you now have a smaller voice in a shrinking pool of customers. Tactically speaking, that would be a good time to boost marketing.

For example, I once got a request to slash a Google Adwords budget. This made no sense because I had conversion data showing that the cost per conversion (lead) was decreasing month over month. I even got their cost per click down while maintaining the #2-#3 spot by tweaking ad copy, etc.... Even when I presented them with this overwhelming evidence they slashed the budget any way. Needless to say the next month didn't get any better. Go figure...

 

[davidmoon]

You'd have a better chance of booking a photo-shoot with Bigfoot riding the Loc Ness Monster than unraveling the mystery of a dealer's mindset and logic. It's surely a unique and sales-driven business.

 

[joe.pistell]

Lately I seem to be having problems the approach we dealers take to advertising...[snip] ...More specifically: we had a LOUSY May -- cut the advertising for June! We have to save expenses!

Ed Brook's theme fits this to a T.


Is your advertising a STRATEGY or a TACTIC?

 

[joe.pistell]

Ed Brook's theme fits this to a T.


Is your advertising a STRATEGY or a TACTIC?

This connects DIRECTLY to my Rant of the Month.

Who's training the Managers?
Post: The Black Hole in Sales Training

"...Most managers come up the ranks and form survival techniques that came from bitch circles. Once they become managers they KNOW they are now being featured in these circles...[snip]... In my travels, the majority of the store managers are "counter punchers". They are very comfortable dishing out opinions, but, rarely if ever come up with one themselves (for fear of failing).

I'm talking about leadership training."
​

 

[Alex Snyder]

These lines fit together well:

I'm talking about leadership training.

I get the feeling challenging these rules may disrupt the fabric of space and time itself...

The easiest way to do this is to change the payplan. I know that is said five billion times and twice on Tuesday, but if you're in sales your primary skill is working a payplan. All other skills are honed to aid in tackling that primary agenda.

If I were in a decision-making dealership role right now I'd be spending a lot of time on my payplans. But I'm also one who isn't afraid to make a mistake, and you need that trait when experimenting with pay. I like change too.