Dealership Marketing Blog - 407-900-5790 | Improve Your Drive | Dealership Web, Email, Print Design

CUSTOMER TESTIMONIAL - Honda Dealership

1/25/2019

I had the pleasure of working with Theresa while I was at John Hinderer Honda as the Internet Director. Out of all of my 3rd party vendors, Theresa was easily the best to work with. I did not have to constantly keep up with her to make sure the job was getting done, it was just always done before I had even expected. Her work ethic is incomparable to anyone I have ever worked with and she was extremely dependable at any time that I needed her. Even though our relationship was strictly over the phone, she was very personable and professional. I would HIGHLY recommend Theresa as a business partner! I cannot thank Theresa enough for how much she helped me!

- Kyle F.
Internet Sales Director
Hinderer Honda, Heath OH

There's Still Time to... Improve Your | Holiday Sales

12/15/2016

Not yet full-swing into the holiday hustle bustle?

There's still time for your dealership to join in the holiday spirit with lights and festive decorations to add warmth and joy to holiday car shopping. At the bear minimum, your showroom should reflect the season, as you are now competing against all other retailers for the time and attention of area shoppers.

But it's not just your dealership showroom that could use holiday flair. Your digital marketing is in need of some sugar and spice this season in order to attract your area's holiday shoppers. Although we know the reason for the season is not truly about spending money, the reality is that this is the time of year your community is in the buying spirit, many looking to treat themselves and/or their loved ones with impressive gifts that will make a significant impact all year though. So it's not too late to make sure your dealership is top-of-mind for those looking for a lifestyle upgrade this holiday season (like a new car, truck, minivan or SUV).

With Christmas and New Years on the weekend, you have the FULL WEEK between the two holidays to close additional sales before end of year. So how do you perform an extreme holiday marketing makeover, like right now? Here are some basic areas that can be easily converted to spread your warmth and cheer across multiple marketing channels:

Fancy up your Web Site's Home Page with holiday-themed Web Banners.
Link your new Web Banners to your holiday sales event Web Pages, showcasing your year-end vehicle offers.
Submit a last-minute Holiday Print Ad to your local newspaper (if you advertise in print), and be sure to post a copy on your website's Online Print Ad Web Page.
Setup one or more Holiday Email Templates in your CRM so your salespeople can easily spread some last-minute holiday greetings to past customers and current prospects. This is especially useful if postage and print just aren't in your budget this year. Also be sure to blast one main holiday Email to all of your customers, including Sales, Service and Parts, wishing them a safe and happy holiday season.
Most offers expire at the beginning of the new year, so there is still a small window of time to get out a Holiday Post Card or Self-Mailer to drive traffic the week between Christmas and New Year.
You can even convert your Holiday TV Commercial into an Email Blast and Web Page so that all of your marketing channels work together to promote your festive year-end offers.

Give your marketing department or advertising agency a list of last-minute holiday to-do's today! Be sure to respond to this post with before and after photos of your extreme holiday makeover for a complimentary HTML Email Campaign good for any time next year.

Not sure how to get started? Our automotive designers are experts at creating professional designs with strong call-to-action to help convert your prospects into sold customers, while improving your dealership’s brand image and helping to achieve your unique sales goals. Just let us know if you need any help pulling this all together in record time, and we'll hook you up with the holiday makeover of your dreams! :)

more HOLIDAY SAMPLES

Attn: Honda Dealers - It's Happy Honda Days Time!

11/3/2016

Need Happy Honda Days artwork for your dealership?
Don't wait for November 14, get a jump start now!
(READ BELOW)

As I'm sure you know, it's Happy Honda Days time! We saw on Honda's Ad Builder that November 1 kicked off the ability to start using the Happy Honda Days LOGO in your advertising, as well as allowing dealers to use the term "Clearance" for 2016 Model Year End, through Jan. 2. It lists a start date of November 14 for using Honda's provided web banners, but the event logo can be used beginning November 1. We even called Honda Compliance to verify we can start running our own custom banners for Honda dealers using the event logo NOW instead of waiting for November 14, and they said "Yes!"

So.... don't wait for November 14. We have created custom Happy Honda Days artwork using their sales event logo, and are working on several pieces to support your sales event across multiple outlets, including digital and print:

Home Page Banners!
Inventory Banners!
Custom Web Pages!
Email Blasts!
Google Ads!
Social Media Graphics!
Variable Data Direct Mail!
Print Ads!

Make Improve Your Drive your sales event headquarters and get a JUMP START on your competitors for Happy Honda Days. We'd love to help make your Holidays a bit Happier, and your November a strong month for your dealership! Contact us for your artwork and pricing, and we will do the rest to make this as FAST and EASY as possible. :)

We can't wait to work with you! :)

GET STARTED NOW

Improve Your | Summer Kick-Off!

6/6/2016

June is the official summer kick-off, packed with fun-filled family and friend events like Father's Day picnics, graduation parties, and the first of summer vacations. And of course, month's end wraps into the next major holiday — July 4th. While all this means your prospective buyers are plenty busy making plans of their own, it also means opportunity for your dealership to provide your community with new vehicles, safe vehicles, shiny beautiful vehicles, for them to show off at their many engagements, and safely enjoy for their many road trips to come this summer.

So let's get planning in order to make sure you and your dealership are in the right place at the right time to catch the wave and ride it all the way in to shore.

A Few Fresh Ideas...

1. JUNE: GRADUATE to a New Model SALES EVENT
Graduation excitement doesn't just need to be for the grads. Let your sales event promote all of your new models, featuring your best summer fun features, good decision safety enhancements, smart technologies and fuel efficiency, and more. We can help position any model to highlight the right features for your smart prospects, educating them on the newest options available, and making it easy for them to graduate into a new vehicle with top dollar for their trade.

2. END OF JUNE / JULY: FREEDOM to Choose SALES EVENT
At end of June, generate some additional excitement with the July 4th holiday theme, either for a final push on incentives that expire July 5th, or as a stand-alone sales event. A fresh idea: Hold a Freedom to Choose Sales Event, which for new car dealers would be a great way to promote your entire vehicle lineup, or for used car dealers to promote your huge selection, or special finance dealers to put a financing twist, advertising "Freedom to Choose Sales Event | Choose to be Free from your Credit Limitations and Get Approved Today!"

Additional ideas may include Father's Day giveaways, Summer Smart Start Sales Event, Kick-Off Your Summer in Style, and more. All events can be promoted through web banners, a landing page, email blast to your customers and prospects, Google ads, social media posts, traditional advertising, and more!

Now for some psychology.

With every month comes a new attitude and mentality for your buyers. Take the time to think about what your community is doing, thinking, planning, and reacting to each month, and you can strategically position your dealership to be smartly aligned at all times.

Summer kick-off is an exciting time with many fun activities being scheduled and planned in advance like no other time of year. Road trips, visits, and appearances at parties drive the desire for many to upgrade their ride for all the summer season has to offer. Add to that some compelling reasons why the decision to upgrade is a GREAT IDEA, and that buying NOW is SMART, and you have the best chances of pulling in your area's in-market shoppers for some immediate, profitable sales.

With summer months being such an exciting time for many, you need to match the community's level of enthusiasm with some strategic and fun sales events of your own. Your dealership can either be part of something buyers just want to check off their list (which results in lower closed sale volume and sharper negotiations), or truly be a part of the action, contributing and helping to build the summer energy in your community. Think balloons, beach balls, surf boards and palm trees (no matter where you are located!), picnic table cloths, ice cream, road maps, and more. Use as props in your summer decorating theme, painting on the windows, outdoor bedazzlement to draw in the passers-by, cook-outs for your weekend traffic, small (or large) themed giveaways for your service and sales customers, summer-themed prospect follow-up emails, sales event web banners and web pages for your site and social media, showroom and service lounge posters, and more.

Any way you dice it, making shoppers WANT to spend time (a.k.a. their money) at your dealership will increase the number of closed sales and referrals, while shifting focus away from negotiations and towards exciting vehicle features that will add value to their many special summer experiences.

Let's get started.

Take a few minutes right now to close your eyes and picture what a summer fun dealership looks like, and then get to work on creating that magical environment for your summer kick-off shoppers. Start with cultivating the mission and energy with your staff, so your vision can extend through every face of your dealership, in every interaction and transaction. Then get event artwork and materials ready for your online, print and on-site promotions. Stage your dealership with summer flare, and you're ready to improve your summer kick-off and increase your summer sales!

If you need help planning your summer event designs and marketing materials, please contact us by clicking here or calling 407-900-5790.

We can't wait to work with you! :)

Improve Your | November with Thanksgiving Greetings & Black Friday Promotions!

11/3/2015

Get caught up in the excitement with shoppers around the globe as we launch into the holiday season this month with Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday deals extending through the end of the month.

Are you prepared? Are you ready to catch the excitement and share in the retail splendor of all that is November?

Here are some of our Thanksgiving and Black Friday design samples from the last few years to help get the creative ideas flowing. Whether you are thinking of an aggressive Black Friday Sales Event or a soft, relationship-building holiday communication to your customers, we can help jazz up your November marketing and keep your dealership top-of-mind this holiday season.

Get professional-quality Holiday and Sales Event & Artwork for your:

Sales Event E-Blast (with optional countdown timer to Black Friday!)
Landing Page (with optional countdown timer to Black Friday!)
Home Page Banner (Thanksgiving Wishes or promoting your Sales Event!)
Holiday Greetings Customer Email
Header Graphics for your Home Page, Inventory Page, Contact Us Form, and more!
Facebook Cover Graphic & Post Artwork
Google Ads
Cars.com Banner ads (and other 3rd party affiliates advertising!)
Holiday-themed Digital Signage for your Customer Lounge
and more!

We can even incorporate your Sales Event and Holiday artwork into your email templates so it appears in the footer of every outgoing message from your sales team.

So put your best foot forward and be prepared for the holiday shoppers this month.

Have we mentioned that we LOVE to Improve Your | Holidays? Contact us to get started today with custom artwork and more to promote your dealership's November.

407-900-5790 — We can't wait to work with you. :)

CUSTOMER TESTIMONIAL - Honda Dealership

10/7/2015

"I had the pleasure of working with Theresa of Improve Your Drive. Out of all of my 3rd party vendors, Theresa was easily the best to work with. Her work ethic is incomparable to anyone I have ever worked with, and she was extremely dependable at any time that I needed her. Very personable and professional. I would HIGHLY recommend Theresa and Improve Your Drive as a business partner!"

- Kyle F.
Internet Sales Manager
Blount Honda, Leesburg FL

Six Great Ideas for your October Marketing

10/1/2015

Improve Your | Sales Events.

Get with the season and promote your dealership's October Sales Event with one of these fall-flavored favorites, or see your own unique idea come to life.

Spooktacular Savings!
Octoberfest Sales Event!
Fall Sell-a-thon!
Fall Festival of Savings!
Falling Prices!
or our fall-featured brainstorm of the month...

Professional-quality Sales Event Artwork complete with:

E-Blast (with functioning countdown timer!)
Landing Page (with functioning countdown timer!)
Home Page Banner
Header Graphics for your Home Page, Inventory Page, Contact Us Form, and more!
Facebook Graphic
Google Ads
Cars.com Banner ads (and other 3rd party affiliates)
and more!

We can even incorporate your Countdown Timer into your CRM's prospect followup email templates. Picture... "Don't miss our BEAT THE CLOCK SALE!..." in the footer of every outgoing message from your sales team.

It's so exciting. Have we mentioned that we LOVE to Improve Your |Sales Events? Contact us to get started today with custom artwork and more to promote your dealership's October sales event.

407-900-5790 — We can't wait to work with you. :)

CUSTOMER TESTIMONIAL - Multi-Franchise Dealer Group

6/15/2015

Theresa and Improve Your Drive have done wonders for our websites! Their work is amazing and they always meet the deadlines that we request. Theresa's creative talent is impressive and her and her team are definitely an asset to our company. She is always willing to go the extra mile to get the job done perfectly! :)

- Jodie V.
Internet Sales Director
Landers McLarty, Huntsville AL

Improve Your | May Marketing

5/1/2015

Can you believe it is May already?? Dealership traffic should be in full swing as the sun shines, the weather warms, and shoppers delight in buying a new car for the travel season! What are you doing to Improve your marketing this month? Here are a few ideas to get a jump-start on your May:

Mother's Day

Minimum: Wish your community a Happy Mother's Day from your dealership with a custom home page banner, which can also be re-purposed on your social media outlets. It's a small, but good, bottom-budget way to work towards improving your dealership's customer- and community-focused image.
Rev it up a Notch: Do a Mother's Day giveaway for a spa package, restaurant gift card, etc. advertised on your web site and social media. In lieu of a cash prize, you can partner with a small, local restaurant or salon and spa to receive a gift certificate in exchange for including their logo and link to their site from your giveaway promotions, which equals free advertising for them and a free customer appreciation giveaway for your dealership!

Note: If you simply promote the giveaway on your web site and social media, you will have a more highly targeted group of prospects and customers already interested in your dealership, and who are more likely to be considering a purchase right now or in the near future. If you choose to also include in your newspaper, radio and/or TV advertising, you will achieve a larger reach and response, but realize the traffic will be much less qualified, and so this would be more of a public exposure benefit for gaining community interaction and building top-of-mind awareness for your dealership.

Either way, the entry form squeeze page for the giveaway promotion should of course include a check box "Yes! Contact me with other promotions and offers!" to help build your legal, opt-in contact list.

Contact us for some quick ideas on how to best make this work!

Memorial Day

New car franchises are likely to have manufacturer Memorial Day Sales Event artwork to promote. Any dealership, however, can recognize their customers, prospects, and the community to show appreciation for our armed forces.

Minimum: Again, wish your community a Happy Memorial Day from your dealership with a home page banner and social media posts to recognize our home town warriors.
Rev it up a Notch: Promote your dealership's Memorial Day Sales Event with a home page banner linking to a web page promoting your event specials, and driving phone leads, form leads, and inventory and credit approval calls-to-action. Don't forget to include a link to your sales event web page on all of your social media outlets leading up to the holiday and on the big day. You can also post flyers in the showroom, customer lounge, and service areas, as well as any digital signage displays.
Hitting the Gas: In addition to a banner and web page with social media posts, and on-site flyers/posters/digital signage at your dealership, send an e-blast to your customers and prospects highlighting some of your best deals, thus driving traffic to your dealership's sales event lead-driving landing page. Contact Us for our Sales Event Promotion Package discounted pricing, or for free ideas on how to grow your dealership's email contact list.
Full Speed Ahead: You can use all marketing and advertising solutions that make sense for your budget and advertising mix to promote your dealership's Memorial Day Sales Event, including: Radio, TV, Newspaper, Online Advertising, PPC, Test Drive Giveaways, Local Event Sponsorship, etc. in addition to the above promotion ideas to get your community's auto shoppers at your store for the big Memorial Day Sales Event. You can also print sales event cards for your sales people to hand out to outside contacts and unsold showroom traffic leading up to the event.

Service & Parts

It's travel season!
Don't forget your Service & Parts Departments as the travel season kicks off across America. "Get Your Car Ready for Summer" Service promotions, "Spring Detail" specials from the body shop, and Accessory specials for items like roof racks, GPS installs, and window tinting may be just some of the offers of interest to your customers and community-at-large. You can easily promote these through emailed coupons, home page banners, social media posts, and on-site digital signage for a minimal cost, as well as any of your other regular service and parts advertising methods.

These are just a few ideas to get the creative juices flowing for planning your May. Whether you have an in-house marketing department, a contracted agency, or may need our assistance with some or all of these items, you may take these ideas and customize to whatever makes sense for your dealership, your target audience, and your budget. Click to Contact Us any time for some complimentary advice on what may work best for your dealership's unique situation, or call now at 407-900-5790.

Free Download Opportunity

As a way of saying "Thank you!" just for reading our post, you can download a free Memorial Day web banner for your dealership, compliments of Improve Your Drive. Simply right-click on the link here and "Save As", then open it in any image editing software to add your dealership's name, resize to fit your home page banner dimensions, and upload. Please Contact us if you need assistance.

CUSTOMER TESTIMONIAL - BHPH Dealer

4/11/2015

"Seldom do you find a company that’s always willing to go above and beyond what you expect. “Improve Your Drive” is that type of company. For years they’ve provided my company with talented design work and marketing consulting!"

- Gary G.
Dealer Owner
Shannon Motors, RI