Does the Automotive Marketing Discipline Lack Focus?

Thursday, June 17, 2010 by Guest Blogger
I would like to throw a question out to this community – does the automotive marketing "discipline" lack focus? Let me give you some background for my question...

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to attend and also speak at the Thought Leadership Summit (TLS) 2010 Automotive Customer Centricity Summit. The topics included:
  • The Near Term Future in the Auto Space (Thilo Koslowski, Gartner)
  • Integration of CRM Data and Transactional Information (Chris Cawston, SCI)
  • Hyundai Motor America Positioning and Growth (David Zuchowski, Hyundai)
  • Localized, Data Driven Marketing (Lucette Mercer, Comcast)
  • The Evolution of Lead Scoring (Yours truly!, Polk)
It was an excellent experience and as always, I enjoyed spending time with others closely engaged in the automotive marketing space. This is the fourth TLS conference I have attended, having chaired the event the previous two years.  I have participated in and presented at many similar conferences. Invariably, I have seen many interesting marketing ideas from/for OEMs, agencies, and dealers. What one rarely sees, is any research or strategy or plan detailing what activities are going to have the most impact on the consumer and generate vehicle sales and/or service. For example – is it more important to run a highly efficient owner data management and communications program,  or is it more important to have well trained staff within the dealership that know how to nurture and close the sale? 

So, to restate the question, what should be the focus of all these billions of dollars that are spent on automotive marketing, assuming all players – OEMs, dealers, agencies, and vendors -- are working together? (I know it is a huge, somewhat unrealistic assumption, but just go with it for now...) I am not asking which media is more effective or how should we approach social networking -- I want to know what, in the whole process of driving consumer interest and sales, at all levels from the OEM to the dealer, is the most important activity, maybe what is next most important and why. If this could be discussed, understood, and validated, then those that execute guided by that discipline would win. 

Posted by Mike Spadafore, Manager, Consumer & Commercial Portfolio, Polk (06.17.2010)

Comments for Does the Automotive Marketing Discipline Lack Focus?

Sunday, June 20, 2010 by Glenn Mercer:
This might not be the answer to the question you are asking, but for a really solid academic analysis of "what matters" in getting cars sold, see Korenok, Hoffer, and Millner, "Non-price determinants of automotive demand." Kinda boils it all down to "update the car's design frequently and almost nothing else matters." A real masterpiece, and done based on real facts, not on marketers' interpretations of what they wanted to here (grin).
Monday, June 21, 2010 by Mike Spadafore:
Glenn, thanks very much for the info on the article. Read it and it really is some very interesting, concrete stuff. One of its conclusions was that advertising, while not as important as significant vehicle change, still had a strong and positive impact on vehicle sales growth. Ok, so making the assumption that automotive marketers have minimal to no impact on the product, what methods, expenditures, processes etc. of automotive marketing have the most impact on moving vehicles? Where should the advertising/marketing dollars be spent -- among those significant expeditures across OEMs and dealers -- what will have the most impact?
Monday, June 21, 2010 by Glenn Mercer:
THAT is indeed the black box. I have never (literally never) seen good, solid, quant research on advertising effectiveness in automotive. The industry is the world's largest spender on ads, but if they have good data on this I would love to see it (e.g. does TV work better than radio for segment X, is outdoor only good for product launch not product renewal, how to allocate adspend between local and national, etc.) Someone must have looked at this, but I have not seen it. Given that for some cars the adspend is larger than the cost of the engine, this is a vital question to ask!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010 by Car Dealer Marketing:
I have never (literally never) seen good, solid, quant research on advertising effectiveness in automotive. Car Dealer Marketing
Thursday, August 19, 2010 by John Wall:
The problem with trying to find the best marketing ideas is getting the dealer to understand how to track it, and track it correctly. For example: You have a dealer that has sold 20 cars a weekend for two months straight. (Exaggerated time line.) They now decide to do some type of marketing this next week. They sell 28 cars. They see the advertising as giving them 28 car deals, not an additional 8. And, they can’t tell you which eight it was. Used Car Manager runs an ad and you sell 8 used cars that weekend. You know it, all those cars where in the ad, so of course the ad works. Marketing should be used to brand your dealership, collect customer data, and retain customers. With a good process in place, it is cheaper and easier to monitor and track. Outside of using marketing for coupons for service and parts, all other dealer marketing is for the moral in sales.

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