Digital Marketing and the Zero Moment of Truth

At the recent NADA conference held in Las Vegas we took the opportunity to attend a number of presentations which focussed on what could only be described as the future of digital marketing.

Fundamental to this next generation of retail marketing is how a dealer approaches and executes on their strategy. At its heart, there are still a number of facets which are still valid today as they were in the period leading up to the digital age.

The in dealership experience is still the most important influencing factor for a consumer’s purchase decision. The motor industry is at its heart a people business and whilst the purchase decision is a very important one, there is still quite a deal of emotion attached to it. Being connected with the customer has never been truer as now there are so many ways in which they can connect with the dealership and the people inside your business.

The tools are diverse and hopefully this article will help demystify some of the jargon as well as provide some ideas on how you might tackle this challenge and get your dealership ready to maximize the sales opportunities.

It may sound a little obvious but the first place to begin is to develop a dealership marketing plan. This plan is something you would be developing in any case but the important thing is to understand which areas your dealership needs to focus upon:

• What are the key messages you are wishing to communicate?
• What products or services will you be promoting?
• Which mediums will you be using?
• What various forms of digital connectivity will you employ e.g. internet, mobile, social, blogs etc?
• How will you measure and track enquiries?
• What will you be investing and will you be adopting an ROI approach?
• Who are the people in your team you will be empowering to manage the different aspects of your marketing plan?
• Do you have the skills in your business to create and manage the content?
• What does success look like?

The one thing though which really needs to be considered is that in the US it has been found that most dealers are underinvesting in the digital area when compared with the traditional forms of marketing. The dealers which have really embraced and prospered have ensured their marketing spend is proportionate to the areas of focus.

The one major area which has changed in the last few years has been the depth and breadth of knowledge acquired by a customer before making their purchase decision, and the role the web has in shaping this.

We all have anecdotal evidence and examples, but a recent survey in the US has really helped put some numbers around how much does actually occur. In fact a book has been written about it which we highly recommend you read. The title of the book is “The zero moment of truth” written by Jim Lecinski. Jim is from Google Inc and this book can be downloaded from amazon.com onto your kindle/ereader free of charge.

The essence is how the customer purchasing process has changed.

Previously some of you may have heard about the first and second moment of truth. The previous knowledge we had on consumer behaviour was their so called “first moment of truth”. This is when the customer went into the store/dealership to look at a product after having been stimulated via marketing (in all its various forms e.g. TV, radio, print, magazine) to investigate the products further. In the automotive industry this is largely where the consumer learnt about the product, its features etc and hence the shopping process started here. The second moment of truth occurred after they purchased the product, experienced it for a period and then assessed how the product delivered on the promise.

Thereafter they shared with their family/friends their experiences and thereby generating repeat/referral opportunities for the dealership.

With the mass adoption of the internet, we have embraced a medium which is incredibly empowering for the consumer, but equally presents a fantastic opportunity for the dealer who embraces the digital marketing phenomenon that Jim Lecinski refers to as the ”zero moment of truth”.

The research he and others have completed has identified what is happening prior to the customer actually coming into the dealership. With the vast majority (in excess of 80%) of customers have already completed comprehensive research across a variety of sources e.g. dealer and manufacturer websites, third party websites, blogs and social media such as facebook all adding to the kaleidoscope of views before them deciding which dealer to see.

The reality is the consumers are incredibly well informed (or at least they believe they are) and are now ready to progress to the next step. So in truth your virtual presence is as critical as your physical one, and if not managed carefully, professionally and in a manner the prospective customer is anticipating to be dealt with will determine whether you actually get the opportunity to see them in your dealership. Whether their enquiry be by email, SMS, telephone, Facebook etc the role of your team is to secure the appointment. This part of the sales process remains unchanged. Only when face to face can you really present the product, your dealership and benefits of the customer purchasing from you.

With the explosion in smartphone usage, your virtual presence will need to consist of more than just having your own website. Consumers are searching for information on the fly, on occasion even whilst in your own dealership! We already know that having highly relevant and fresh content, using search engine optimization techniques, being aware of using the various data analytic tools to track and measure your performance, keeping abreast of your dealership reviews on blogs etc all become even more important . Best practice dealerships in the US are using a lot of video content, not only on their website as well as their mobile website, but also using youtube, embedding really brief videos in emails to customers which relate to their specific vehicle enquiry.

So how do you decide where you need to be and to what level do you invest in each of them?

In future articles we will be outlining in more detail the various areas you can pursue in ensuring you achieve your business objectives utilizing the various digital means best suited to delivering your dealership in the virtual world in a way you would wish to present yourself.

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