Boost sales with these 60+ innovative marketing ideas for your car dealership

If you own a car dealership or work in marketing, you know that competition is fierce and it’s getting harder to attract and retain customers. But don’t worry, we can help! We’ve put together 60+ marketing ideas to help you increase your dealership’s sales. Whether you’re looking to improve your online presence, strengthen your customer relationships or increase your sales, you’ll find a variety of ideas and strategies in this article that will give your dealership the boost it needs.

Online marketing ideas for your car dealership

1. 360-degree visualisation: Offer customers a 360-degree visualisation of your vehicles on your website so they can get an accurate picture of the vehicles
2. Gamification: Create online games and quizzes where customers can win prizes or discounts to increase interest and customer loyalty.
3. Social media ads: Use social media ads to target your audience and promote your dealership.
4. Personalised offers: Offer personalised offers on your website to motivate potential customers to choose your car dealership.
5. Automation: Automate email marketing and other marketing activities to save time and resources and increase your efficiency.
6. Webinars: Host online webinars on automotive-related topics to share your expertise and knowledge and attract potential customers.
7. User-Generated Content: Use your customers’ content such as reviews, photos and videos to promote your dealership on social media platforms and build an authentic brand.
8. Local SEO: Optimise your website for local search queries to make your dealership more visible to customers in your area and increase traffic to your website (If you don’t want to do this yourself, an agency such as Spezialis Services can help)
9. Banner ads: Place banner ads on relevant websites to showcase your brand and attract potential customers
10. Performance optimisation of the website: Optimise your website for fast loading time and a good user experience to reduce bounce rate and increase conversion rate.
11. AB Testing: Test different versions of your website, ads and landing pages to find out which variant gives the best results (A great service to do this with is Google Optimize)
12. B2C ads on LinkedIn: Use LinkedIn ads to target a business-to-consumer audience and promote your dealership.
13. Retargeting ads: Run retargeting ads to retarget visitors to your website and encourage them to make a purchase.
14. Chat function: Use a chat function on your website to answer customer questions quickly and efficiently and improve the customer experience.
15. Video marketing: Create engaging videos about your dealership, your employees or your vehicles and use them on your website and social media platforms to showcase your brand.
16. Podcasts: Create informative podcasts about automotive topics and share them on your website and social media platforms to increase your reach and build your brand.
17. Virtual Test Drives: Use virtual reality technology to give customers a virtual test drive to get them excited before they even visit the dealership.
18. Search engine advertising: Place ads on search engines like Google to target your audience and drive more traffic to your website (An agency like searchads.agency can help you with this).

Event ideas:

19. Car Karaoke Champions: Hold a karaoke event at the dealership where customers can compete for the title of “Car Karaoke Champion”
20. Family Fun Day: Hold a family day at the dealership with activities for children and parents.
21. Customer Day: Invite your customers to enjoy exclusive offers and discounts on a special day at the dealership.
22. Car Dealership Tour:Take your customers on a tour of the dealership and show them what happens behind the scenes.
23. VIP event: Treat your top customers to an exclusive event, such as a wine tasting or a private concert.
24. Car Treasure Hunt: Offer a “treasure hunt” where customers have to search and find different cars to win prizes.
25. Car course: Create a “car course” in the city where customers can test different cars.
26. Car Karaoke Champions: Hold a karaoke event at the dealership where customers can compete for the title of “Car Karaoke Champion”.
27. Experience Days: Offer customers the opportunity to test drive their vehicles on race tracks or off-road trails on special experience days and have an unforgettable experience
28. Automotive Photography Workshops: Offer photography workshops specialising in the art of automotive photography, giving customers the opportunity to experience their vehicles in a new way

Social media marketing ideas for car dealerships:

29. Instagram contest: Launch a contest on Instagram where customers can post photos of themselves with their new vehicle
30. Influencer Marketing: Work with influencers to promote your brand and reach a wider audience.
31. Live Streaming: Broadcast live events like car shows or Q&A sessions on Facebook or Instagram to engage your followers.
32. TikTok Challenge: Create a challenge on TikTok where customers can shoot and share fun videos of themselves at the dealership.
33. YouTube Tutorials: Create useful tutorials and how-to videos on YouTube to help customers maintain or repair their vehicles.

Direct Marketing:

34. Direct Mail: Send personalised offers and vouchers by post to your customers to bring them back to the dealership
35. Customer Feedback: Ask your customers for their feedback and send them a discount code or small gift in return.
36. Loyalty programmes: Offer customers a loyalty programme where they can collect points and exchange them for discounts or exclusive offers.
37. Email marketing: Send regular informative newsletters to your customers with industry news, car care tips and exclusive offers. (You can use services such as Mailchimp or SendInBlue).
38. Birthday cards: Send birthday cards to customers to strengthen their bond with your dealership and build a personal relationship.
39. Direct mail with personalised QR code: Send direct mail with a personalised QR code that takes potential customers directly to a personalised landing page.

Cooperations:

40. Cooperations with driving schools: Offer exclusive deals to driving students to attract them as potential customers
41. Cooperations with insurance companies: Work with insurance companies to offer customers attractive offers for their insurance policies.
42. Cooperate with petrol stations: Cooperate with petrol stations to offer customers special offers when filling up or washing their cars.

Promotion ideas for car dealerships

43. Freebies:Give customers small gifts such as pens or key rings when they visit the dealership.
44. Bundle offers: Offer customers attractive deals where they also receive accessories or maintenance services with the purchase of a vehicle.
45. Vouchers: Give away vouchers for test drives or vehicle maintenance to attract customers to the dealership.
46. Temporary discounts: Offer customers temporary discounts to motivate them to make a quick purchase.
47. Competitions: Organise competitions with attractive prizes such as a free service or a weekend with a desired vehicle.

Community & Sponsoring

48. Sponsorship: Sponsor local events or teams to raise awareness of the dealership in the community
49. Donate: Donate a portion of your profits to local charities or initiatives to show your commitment to the community.
50. Local Partnerships: Work with other local businesses to cross-promote and synergise.
51. Neighbourhood Festivals: Host a neighbourhood festival at the dealership to get to know the community and promote the business.
52. Public events: Participate in public events such as street fairs or trade shows to showcase the dealership and attract potential customers
53. Sponsorship of motorsport teams: Cooperate with motorsport teams to present your dealership and vehicles at race tracks and other events.

Customer experience at the vehicle handover

54. Special vehicle delivery:Offer a special vehicle delivery where customers can receive their new car in a special environment
55. Catering: Offer a small catering with drinks and snacks to pamper customers during the vehicle delivery and celebrate the special moment
56. Presenting the key:Present the vehicle key in a special setting, e.g. in a casket or in a special case.
57. Roadmap: Create a roadmap showing the most beautiful routes in the area to inspire your customers and make their car experience even better.
58. Engraving: Have an engraving with the customer’s name placed on the key or in the vehicle for a personal touch.
59. Pick-up service:Offer a pick-up service to make the customer’s journey to pick up the vehicle as pleasant as possible.
60. Greeting by the managing director: Have the managing director personally do the greeting to emphasise the importance of the moment.
61. Presenting the key by drone: Present the key of the vehicle by drone to create a special effect and make the moment even more impressive.