Mass impressions won’t cut it for the dealer. Your area of responsibility or AOR means marketing efforts have to be relegated to a very specific audience. How can you conduct a regional marketing campaign?
It all starts with data
Folks are given to impulse buys. However, they tend to be things like leather pants not skid steers and backhoes. In other words, you need to find actual equipment buyers. You could put up a massive billboard hoping prospects drive by, write down your number really quickly, and call for an appointment. Sounds expensive and ineffective to me.
Using the data from UCC-1 filings you can identify anyone who has leased equipment in your AOR. If you get that data from a good source (cough, cough) you will probably have some contact info, or at the very least an address.
Provide value right from the start
It is time to make contact. You have a couple ways of doing this. Email campaign is probably not the way to start. Unsolicited emails from a new source tend to be deleted. Direct mail is slightly less threatening. If you have an address for the business you want to reach, you could also target the ip address of their server with some banner display. All you need is to make them aware of your presence and offer some value.
However you choose to make first contact, come right out of the gate providing value. Offer free oil changes or a discount. You need to establish trust between you and potential equipment buyers from the start.
Build a quality website
You need a website. If you don’t have any techy people on your team than spend the money to have it done correctly. Customers don’t want to call every time they have a question. Provide them with a website that can showcase your inventory, give helpful tips, and offer discounts. Here is a short “must have checklist” for your website.
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Must be mobile-friendly
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Must have a click-to-call feature
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Must have a “get directions” feature
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Must have links to social accounts
Target your SEM
Search engine marketing is great for finding active buyers in your area. PPC campaigns can be targeted within your AOR. Now when any potential buyer in your AOR uses equipment related search phrases, your text ad shows up on the first page of results. You can target a whole region such as the southwest or target one city depending on the size your AOR.
Start a newsletter
Once you have built a relationship with the buyers in your area, it is crucial that you keep them coming back. One great way to do this is through a newsletter. You can keep buyers aware of new products and offers as well as offer maintenance advice. The more you can provide consistent value the better.
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