After a lull during the pandemic, automotive companies in the Middle East are experiencing rapid growth and investment.
Marketing an automotive company requires, like other industries, a combination of creativity and strategy. Investing in an automobile is a big commitment for most people, which is why it’s important that your digital marketing initiatives align with the needs of your specific target audience.
With digital transformation accelerating across the Middle East, it’s more important than ever before for companies to ensure they have the right digital strategies in place to ensure they don’t fall behind the competition.
In this article, we’re sharing the top 10 automotive marketing strategies to grow your business in the Middle East.
1. Ensure you have an effective Google Ads strategy
Most people, when they’re looking for a new product or service, turn to Google as their first port-of-call. For this reason, it’s important that you’re at the very top of the SERPs pages. After all, how many of you frequently scroll all the way to the bottom of the page or hit “page 2”?
The top SERPs results always get the most clicks, so ensuring you’re as close as possible to the top spots is critical to your success.
How do you make this happen? You need a top-notch Google Ads strategy.
Here are some tips to optimize your strategy and impress Google:
- Structure your account properly and ensure you use tight-knit keywords groups.
- Ensure keywords are closely related to the text in your ads.
- Use ad extensions to improve chances of lead interaction.
- Add negative keywords to your account to prevent you from showing up in irrelevant searches.
- Place higher bids on ads that are more likely to be found by your target audience.
While it’s true that Google is everyone’s favorite search engine, it’s important not to forget about other contenders like Bing who often have a dedicated user base.
2. Define your target audience
You can’t afford to skip this step. In the world of digital marketing, it’s crucial that you understand who exactly your target audience is by developing buyer personas.
When it comes to large scale investments like automobiles and real estate, it’s even more important to have an in-depth understanding of your audience’ needs so you can make sure you appeal to them.
It’s important to ask questions about the type of automotive business you are marketing. Who are your typical customers? Are they looking for luxury vehicles or more affordable brands?
Your audience of prospective customers will likely have different concerns, needs, and questions that they’ll be expecting you to answer. Segment your audience so you can target them separately. For instance, those seeking a luxury car might be more interested in the cosmetic aspects of a vehicle’s interior whereas consumers on a budget might be more conscious about vehicle mileage.
By breaking down your audience and campaigns you can ensure you get the right message across to the right person – leading to a higher chance of conversion.
3. Use referral marketing
Referral marketing should play a core role in your automotive marketing strategy. It can be challenging for many people to trust car dealers to provide them with the best advice and options when such large amounts of money are at stake.
Often, this distrust is warranted as dealers seek to sell for higher prices to improve their commissions. That’s why many people spend more time looking for a car dealer they trust.
That’s why referrals are so important. When someone you trust recommends something to you, you’re much more likely to go with that option – right? The same goes for automotive companies.
It’s a good idea to incentivize referrals with programs for cash rewards, so if someone refers a new customer to your business, they’ll get a few bucks in return.
You can make this happen by sending them an email after they purchase from you explaining why they should refer you if they’re happy with the product and service they received.
4. Automate lead generation and nurturing
Lead generation and nurturing are at the heart of marketing for any business. As a car dealership, you likely have a lot of leads coming in often and then dropping off the radar. After all, buying a car is a big decision. That’s why the stages of lead nurturing and qualifying are extra important.
Don’t let leads slip through the cracks, instead implement automation tools that’ll sync with your customer relationship management (CRM) platform and send out automatic nurture communications once a lead has been established.
With these tools, you can connect leads from your social pages or Google to your CRM and integrate it with other apps you use. This helps you stay on top of lead nurturing without having to spend hours trawling to find out who you need to follow up with.
5. Remarketing
Remarketing is another important aspect of any automotive marketing strategy.
As previously mentioned, investing in a new car or other type of vehicle is a huge commitment for most people. For this reason, most consumers will shop around to compare their options before selecting a company to buy from – so you don’t want to lose important leads during your campaigns.
One effective method of hooking people back in is through retargeting ads. This involves using display ads or emails to remind leads of what you have to offer and notify them that you’re there ready to lead them through the purchase process.
6. Build trust with customer reviews
Purchasing a car or other type of vehicle can be pretty daunting. It’s a large amount of money to spend on one item, after all! Plus, most people will use their vehicle regularly which means they want to ensure it performs well and is guaranteed to last for years to come.
One way of discerning the quality of the vendor you’re looking for is to look at customer reviews.
Most people will turn to Google reviews, your social media pages, or other trusted review sites to see if they’re making a good decision or not. Since they’re already making the effort to research themselves, customer reviews are one of the most cost-effective ways to attract leads to your business.
It’s important to ensure the reviews being displayed are good. Poor reviews are one of the easiest ways to turn potential customers away from your business. Positive customer reviews will help instill trust in your audience.
Be sure to respond to every review, even if it’s bad. This shows that you’re listening and engaged with your audience.
7. Invest in video
Did you know that 86% of businesses use video as a marketing tool? It’s not surprising considering video generates more engagement than any other form of content.
According to Google, over 60% of auto shoppers reported visiting a dealership or dealer website after watching a video of a vehicle they were considering. So it definitely pays off to use video to your advantage.
You can use video to showcase new models, car interiors, or even test drive videos. Sharing these on your website and social channels is a great way to diversify your content, boost engagement and give potential customers a clearer look at the vehicle on offer.
8. Attract prospective customers with compelling offers
Who doesn’t love a great deal?
To attract consumers to your brand and what you have to offer, you need to give them a reason to do business with you. In a sea of competition, be the one that stands out from the rest!
You can offer lower prices or other incentives, but even if you don’t sell the most affordable vehicles or have the best marketing initiatives – you can still come up with unique offers to catch their attention. For instance, first time buyers might get a small service for free for a certain period of time when they buy from you.
Limited and time-sensitive offers often work best here, as consumers will more readily make a purchase decision to ensure they don’t miss out of the deal. Here, effective call-to-actions are a must.
9. Stay on top of car buying trends and adjust your campaigns accordingly
Be sure to take note of times of the year that people are more likely to shop for a new car. It’s reported that October, November, and December are popular months for consumers looking to purchase a vehicle. So, during these times it makes sense to increase your marketing budget and spend more time on campaigns.
Other trends include the growing interest in electric and hybrid vehicles. If there’s an increased demand for these vehicles, you should put more resources into campaigns that’ll sell them. It’s easy enough to stay on top of new trends in the automobile industry, and doing so will show that you’re taking an interest in consumer needs and values.
10. Leverage data for better targeting
When it comes to marketing, data is your best friend. If you want to target the right people with your campaigns, there’s no better way than to take a good, hard look at your customer data.
As we mentioned before, it’s important to segment your campaigns to ensure you’re reaching different audiences. Some people might be shopping for a used car, whereas others might want a brand new luxury vehicle.
It’s also important to use the right tools and technologies (such as Hubspot and Google Analytics) to make the most out of the data your customers and potential customers are providing you. Make sure to store it in a central CRM that’s accessible across your organization so that everyone can view the same data when they need to connect with a customer.
These tools will also make it easier for you to see how your audience are interacting with your website and other touchpoints to make more informed decisions about your marketing efforts.
Grow your automotive company with digital marketing
It goes without saying that to be successful as a business in today’s digitally-dependant world, you need to have a good understanding of digital marketing techniques.
In an industry as competitive as the automotive industry, it’s even more critical to refine your efforts so that you show up in the right place at the right time for customers.
Want to know more about how to grow your business with digital marketing?
Download the YourTarget eBook: Digital Marketing Trends and Forecast 2022 + Special Focus on the Middle East
