Tag Archives: Marketing

Sell Emotion, Feeling, And An Experience To See Sales

Being a car enthusiast, and someone who is studying social media marketing for car dealerships, the notion of selling emotion, feeling, and experience is rather fascinating. A highly effective form of advertising that is often used in the hotel and resort industry, isn’t being utilized in other industries, or rather, not being used correctly. I believe that the greatest motivator in the buying process is feeling. When your favorite car brand promotes their new convertible, the scenery and sound affects draw you in, and if the commercial is successful, you’ll have a growing desire to experience what the actor is in the ad.

You’ve probably heard business people asking a salesperson to sell them a pen. Most of these sales pitches fail because they talk about the pen, but not about what the pen can do for you, as in how do you benefit from that pen. Selling cars has always been hard selling, and not about the benefits that buyer will see after they purchase that car. Instead of rushing someone into a hasty decision, either use marketing campaigns that strike at the heart of consumers, or consistently post content that gives a potential car buyer the desire to purchase a certain vehicle.

The home decor industry has fallen into the same trap, where spokespeople talk about “great deals”, but don’t try creating an emotion, feeling, or experience. What is better than sitting in an air conditioned house on a summer night, with a comfortable leather coach, watching a movie with the entire family? That’s an experience, a feeling, or emotion that many family-oriented adults desire to feel. We’re living in an amazing time where social media is dominating the marketing world, but industries aren’t using these tools effectively. Instagram and Pinterest are picture based platforms, and with great photos, you can create an experience for customers that will be desired.

It’s incredible that HGTV seems to be more effective at selling home decor products than the companies who produce and sell them. The same goes for the automotive industry where Car and Driver uses pictures, and posts content that could motivate a car buyer to choose a certain brand over the other. For Car and Driver, it’s not their job to sell cars, they’re specialty is reviewing them, and informing consumers. Yet, they’ve become a primary resource where car buyers could easily be influenced by a magazine article.

If you don’t start creating a feeling, an emotion, or start selling an experience, you will not see the ROI you desire from your social media marketing campaigns. Hard selling is slowly becoming the normal strategy for companies, not only those who produce the products we see on the shelves and in showrooms, but the ones who also sell them. How do car dealerships expect a certain model to sell, if they don’t promote their vehicle in a way that creates a desire to experience the feeling behind the wheel of that car? For HGTV, I get the feeling they’ve become more trustworthy and a better source of buying information on everything about homes and interiors than the companies themselves.

Social media has become the tool where customers grow trust in certain brands, whether that be a company, magazine, or television network. The reason why car dealerships and companies in other industries see low engagement rates is because they’re not posting content that builds emotion and a connection. The social media marketing era has created many winners in a multitude of industries, but now that social media is maturing, we’re seeing a lot of losers pop up, and that’s because they’ve resorted to hard selling. Sell emotion, feeling, and an experience if you want to succeed, because the hard selling days are over.

Not Marketing On Social Media? You’re Playing With Fire

On my other website, Boston Auto Blog, I’ve discussed the importance of having a sound social media marketing strategy for car dealerships, but it’s essential for any industry. Over the past three months I’ve spent much time looking over companies’ social media strategies, while also taking notes on the businesses who aren’t taking social media platforms seriously. The findings were alarming for the businesses who weren’t consistently posting content, engaging with followers, or didn’t have any social media presence. We are now living in a time where marketing on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are vital, similar to when big conglomerates moved to neighborhoods, killing the small businesses off in the process.

As in the early days of the shopping mall and companies who could market, advertise, and mass produce products on a grand scale, new businesses who have the foresight of marketing on social media are stealing market share away from local perennial powerhouses. In 2015, it’s a friendly environment for young startups because they can use social media to their advantage as the virtual word of mouth. They can engage with followers even before their doors open, update their future customers on news regarding their startup, and already make an impact before their grand opening. The local stores with a strong tradition of being a great place to shop at is no longer good enough, especially if they’re not using Facebook or any other platform.

This year, there has been a new car dealership that’s moved into the local area. Months ahead of time they were posting updates and promoting their dealership with Facebook ads, so when the doors were finally ready to open, they had immediate customers. In turn, some dealerships in the area started scrambling and began promoting their Facebook fan page, but it was too late. The new dealership was not only promoting, they were also posting native content of their showroom, cars, nail salon, and memorabilia store. So far after 6 months since their grand opening, they’re by far the most popular dealership and have a following of over 8,500 fans on Facebook, which is more than dealerships who have been open for decades.

Traditional businesses who operate the old-fashioned way are playing a very dangerous game. By not going digital and updating their marketing strategy, they’ll get beat by the companies who are primarily marketing on social media. In fact, I haven’t seen one commercial from that dealership. Their popularity arose from word of mouth, social media marketing on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and engaging with the local community. They were already a member of the neighborhood before the store even opened, and no one can deny that it had an impact on the local area.

Social media marketing will continue to help grow the companies who use Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter effectively, and will kill off the businesses who don’t take social media seriously. It’s already become apparent that this new dealership is taking business away from other showrooms in the area. For any company out there, the new kid on the block who is reaching out to the community should be putting fear in the hearts of the hometown boys who’ve owned the local turf for decades. You either update your marketing strategy, or you’ll be forgotten like the town diners and local stores that were eaten up by companies who could advertise on a mass scale.

Marketing on social media is serious. Without a sense of urgency, and not putting in the time and dedication to grow your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram followings, you’ll be opening the door for others businesses who understand the importance of online marketing, and they’ll gladly take your customers away from you.

Instagram And Pinterest Will Change How We Shop

Remember the days when you’d get a catalog in the mail, or you subscribed to a store and received online catalogs which influenced your buying decisions? With the existence of social media, and platforms such as Instagram and Pinterest, that’s all beginning to change. Pinterest, more than Instagram, has become the social media outlet where 32% of users plan to go buy what they pinned, while 30% said they’d take the next step in the buying process and purchase what they viewed on an online store, according to a recent study done by Millward Brown Digital. We’re slowly beginning to see changes in buying habits and behaviors, and it all starts with visualization.

Why are Instagram and Pinterest so compelling from a consumer’s standpoint? For industries such as home improvement, home decor, and clothing, visualization has become key to online marketing success. People who need new bath or kitchen fixtures no longer have to look through a catalog and find what looks good. On Pinterest, people can now see what those products look like in a bath or kitchen setting. They can visualize and see themselves in that room instead of being given a photo of the product with a white backdrop.

As the old saying goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words” and it can’t be more true for marketers and businesses on social media in 2015. The reason why Instagram is successful is because of the editing and filters done by users to make pictures really stand out. Not only are they great to look at, but they’re beginning to influence consumers in multiple industries. You’ve probably seen Millennials on Twitter sharing photos of cars, houses, and pictures of happy couples with the caption, “Life goals”. When did this all come about? Nice cars, houses with luxury interiors, and happy couples could always be found on television, in a magazine, or through a search engine. Why now has every 20-35 year old become enamored with pictures displaying luxury and happiness?

Pinterest, Instagram, and to an extent Youtube is where this craze for virtual visualization has come from. Similar to the days of the first movie with sound or first television that brought color to screens, people want more. Back in the early to mid 20th century people wanted sound and color to help make movies and television shows more appealing and easier to watch. Today Instagram and Pinterest have given consumers pictures with real life settings where they can see themselves owning that car, living in that house, or being happy with their significant other. That’s why Pinterest is seeing a combined 62% of users making buying decisions online, or being influenced to buy a product in the store. Those pictures are almost a trial version for consumers, where they can see what looks good in their house and if it’s worth purchasing to make their homes look the same as the one in the picture.

With all this being said, Pinterest and Instagram are opening the door for virtual reality and point of view videos. Instead of seeing someone in front a camera reviewing a product, first person videos is where the imagination of consumers goes one step further. If you’re interested in buying a car, you can find multiple car reviews on Youtube, with similar presenters all saying the exact same thing, with the same camera angles, and none of them can find a way to be different in any way.

However, Winding Road Magazine offers viewers point of view videos with a first person look behind the wheel. The sound systems they use make it possible for people to hear exactly what the driver is. Since the cameraman doesn’t say a word, viewers can put themselves in his shoes and imagine themselves in that car. With over 150,000 subscribers and over 50,000,000 views, Winding Road Magazine is well ahead of the curve when it comes to the next era of technology and social media marketing.

Visualization is becoming a major factor in buying decisions. If you’re posting pictures of your products with white backdrops, your content may not be as effective as the company who is using photos of their product in a real life setting, such as a living room or kitchen. Virtual reality will be made possible thanks to GoPro cameras and technology coming out next decade. More importantly though, right now in 2015, you must use Pinterest and Instagram to your advantage and give your customers exactly what they want; a visualization of your products.

How Much Different Is SMM From Old School Marketing?

As with any innovation, we are often struck with amazement as to how we went so long doing daily tasks the conventional way, when there was a better solution that offered just as much, if not more valuable in less time. Social media marketing is one of those innovations that business owners look at as the game changer, the revolutionizing method of marketing on a small or grand scale. But is SMM all that much different than old school marketing, which has dominated the advertising agency for the better part of 50 years?

When Steve Jobs created the iPod, everyone thought it would revolutionize how we listen to music, and it has. However, the groundwork was already put in place with the invention of the Walkman. Jobs innovated and improved an existing concept, and by combining that with modern technology, we’re able to access our music libraries on our phones, iPad’s and laptops. Almost every song ever written is now available, and can be bought with just a click of a button, instead of buying individual cd’s or records and frantically searching for the album. Marketing and advertising have seen the same innovation, but instead of one man changing how we communicate and reach out to customers, a group of innovators have created the world of marketing as we see it today.

Advertising in the 20th century was mainly television commercials and radio and newspaper ads. It was pretty straightforward as companies could reach consumers on a massive scale by using a variety of methods to get their messages across. Today the focus is on social media, and instead of giant corporations dominating the advertising scene, small and medium sized businesses can have just as much success as their larger counterparts.

While television, radio, and newspapers are still used today, the innovation Steve Jobs had on the music industry, is the equivalent to what Mark Zuckerberg, Kevin Systrom, and the founders of Youtube and Twitter have done to business and marketing.

One could argue that Youtube, to some degree, has taken a bite out of television advertising. The same ads we see on television are now being seen on Youtube before videos. Combine that with Facebook through sharing links, and you not only have a platform that shares videos that are in essence ads, but a micro blog that allows business owners and marketers to share important news, information, and links to persuade consumers to buy into their products. Facebook can be seen as a mini newspaper because of the ability to post short tidbits of information, while also having the capability to purchase ads to specifically target consumers who would get the most value out of what the company is selling.

Instagram and Pinterest can be used as online catalogs, zoning in on one specific product at a time. Instead of mailing out printed catalogs to a number of recipients, pictures being posted to these two platforms can capture the attention and interest of specific viewers, and with Pinterest, a link can be provided which leads the consumer right to the online store.

Podcasts can be used similar to radio. The major difference here is that companies can choose which podcasts to advertise in, leading to a higher rate of conversion. If there’s a car discussion podcast, a local or regional auto parts store or supplier could advertise, which would have more of an impact on the listeners than if that same company decided to place an ad on the radio, despite the larger listening audience. Of course, podcasting is already niche oriented to begin with, and that plays a factor into how companies use that platform to reach consumers.

Twitter is the virtual billboard. The people who are scrolling down their Twitter feed are similar to the drivers who are passing by signs on a highway. Each tweet is a quick blurb with 180 characters and a picture to go along with the message. The most important factor for companies is how to get those users to click and go to their profiles, and that comes with eye catching photos and short phrases

Social media marketing isn’t exactly a new concept, but it does however offer platforms for companies to specifically target the right consumer. Instead of 30 second television commercials, radio ads, and newspaper articles, businesses of all sizes not only can capture a consumers attention with a strong social media marketing plan, but retain them and add to the community of consumers that Facebook, Twitter, Instagram/Pinterest, and Youtube can provide. Old school marketing captures attention on a grand scale and creates short-term recognition. While SMM, if done right, captures and holds onto the consumer, if those future customers see long term value.

BBC and Top Gear: A Business Lesson Can Be Learned From This

It’s safe to say that if you’re a Top Gear fan, you’re feeling depressed like many other car enthusiasts. With Jeremy Clarkson’s firing, James May and Richard Hammond have already made it clear that it’s all three of them doing the show or there is no Top Gear at all. The BBC and Clarkson have had an interesting history over the past few years, with the BBC threatening to fire Clarkson should another controversial story come about, and now that prophecy has come to fruition. However, is this really the end of Top Gear or just the beginning of something even better?

Top Gear rakes in $74 million for the BBC annually, and this show has become a worldwide sensation, drawing in fans from around the world. Needless to say they’re lucrative, and in business, making money is the name of the game. While the BBC might be willing to cut ties and take a gamble on possibly losing millions of weekly viewers, other TV networks are willing to take their own risk and try enticing Jeremy Clarkson and the rest of Top Gear’s crew to join their TV lineup. Who wouldn’t want to see $74 million in annual revenue? That’s why this isn’t the end of the greatest show on earth, but in terms of the name, Top Gear as a TV show might no longer exist.

TV shows that make this much money don’t just disappear. If money can be made, there’s always a way to mend fences, or build new ones with some other TV network. For Jeremy Clarkson, he’s holding all the cards. Not only has Netflix shown interest in the outspoken presenter, but Sky News and ITV are rumored to be positioning themselves to bring the entire cast and show to their network. If Clarkson decides to go in a different direction and go independent, he’s already got the connections to make it happen, and it wouldn’t shock anyone that Richard Hammond and James May would not be too far behind in joining their brother in arms.

What BBC has done is nothing short of being the worst business decision in the history of the entertainment industry. Not only are they in jeopardy of losing $74 million per year, but they gave the most powerful presenter on television the opportunity to make more money if he decides to make his own TV show, whether that be with help from Netflix, other networks, or business investors.

It’s safe to say that Top Gear is one of the most influential car shows on the planet, possibly creating millions of dollars for car companies that not only sell in Europe, but also in the United States. Having Jeremy Clarkson going his own way, he can choose to have production done in the United States where distribution, annual revenue, bigger networks, and larger audiences reside. What could be a Top Gear fan’s biggest nightmare, might just be their biggest pipe dream come true. There’s the potential for Top Gear to come back better than ever should all three presenters leave the BBC.

Jeremy Clarkson isn’t stupid, and in fact has connections in very high places to make creating his own show a reality. James May and Richard Hammond are without a doubt going to join Clarkson on his next endeavor, and for all three of them they have an opportunity to make more money than if they did under the guidance of BBC.

Bigger profits are the possibility here. Who’s to stop a guy such as Jay Leno from acquiring these three to create an epic TV show in the United States? The doors are now open for all possibilities, and we can thank the BBC.

The lesson than can be learned here is that when you have a product that’s making you money, you do whatever is in your power to make sure that you don’t lose it. Clearly the BBC doesn’t value Top Gear like so many around the world, and they’re going to regret it when Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond make someone else extremely rich, and see their own fame rise higher than it was under the BBC.

Make Sure To Compare Apples to Apples When Discussing Sales

Sales figures always appear to be written in black and white, either sales are good or bad. But when it comes to comparing two completely different markets, and trying to find a correlation between both sales figures, that’s where they become very misleading. Whether it’s in the business world or the journalists who report it, sales figures must be reviewed carefully, or the one who comes up with inaccurate findings looks like a fool. It’s important to take into consideration the markets in which your company or the company you’re writing about or reviewing, is in line with other companies or your business report will be flawed.

In the auto industry, journalists like to stir the pot a bit by posting misleading headlines that turn heads, but with further review, make the writer behind them look silly. This past February the Mitsubishi Mirage outsold the Volkswagen GTI. It seems to be a surprise considering the popularity of the GTI’s within the car enthusiast community, but base price for both cars proves to be the reason for the Mirage’s ‘improbable’ outselling of the popular hatchback.

The Mitsubishi Mirage starts at $13,000, while the Volkswagen GTI starts at $25,000. The $12,000 difference is one reason for more sales for Mitsubishi, but both these cars aren’t even in the same class. Also by doing some research of my own, the Mirage didn’t run away with overall sales as the GTI was only 84 cars behind. In one article, the writer posted a graph of which vehicles the little economical car outsold, but every other car on the list was either $12,000 – $40,000 more than the Mirage, making the sales figures not that outstanding. If a Lexus GS, with a starting price of $48,000, almost outsold a $13,000 car, that’s not good news for Mitsubishi.

Sales figures can be misleading if there isn’t further research. Also when it comes to business, you can’t compare apples to oranges, and that’s what a Mirage is to a GTI, they’re not the same or even in the same market. Because Volkswagen considered the GTI to be a different model than the Golf, sales figures are somewhat distorted since as the Golf, which is closer in price to the Mirage, sold 2,000 more cars than the Mirage.

Always do research and make sure both businesses and products are in the same market. What appeared to be a disappointing month for the GTI, was in fact on par with the previous 6 months of sales.

Car Dealerships: Don’t Be Afraid To Use Social Media

The name of the game is to sell cars, and what better way to do that than having an effective social media marketing strategy? Every other industry has hopped on board, and now it’s time for the auto industry to do the same. But what is really stopping dealerships across the country from branding and marketing their businesses to appeal to customers within their region? Unlike with TV ads, Facebook ads can target specific potential car buyers that live within walking and short driving distance of the dealerships that are advertising. So what’s the hold up?

First off, I’m just going to be straightforward. The social media accounts most dealerships operate are downright boring. You’re a business, not a virtual newspaper selling coupons every 3-6 months. Stop hard selling as if this is the 1950’s. One reason there is very little engagement with most dealerships’ social media pages is due to lack of trust. But more importantly, the content these accounts post aren’t worth reading or responding to. Instead of posting already used content by other dealerships that are selling the same brand, post unique content that shows off your showroom, best cars in your inventory, and interesting news or services that you provide.

Create a blog and share your content on your social media accounts. Tell possible car buyers why they should buy from you, why they should have their car serviced at your dealership, and explain the parts you use in the maintenance department to build trust and persuade car owners to come to you. Only posting when you have a sale or service special falls on deaf ears because you haven’t created good enough content that keeps people coming to your Facebook or Twitter page. They will inevitably glance or skip right over your post because 90% of your content is hard selling.

Post photos on Instagram. Herb Chambers BMW of Sudbury consistently posts pictures of BMW’s that are in their showroom. What 20, 30, or 40 year old doesn’t like a BMW M3, i8, or 435i Gran Coupe? You’re missing out by not posting on Instagram. The companies who are utilizing all social media platforms are increasing sales, but it’s their patience and determination that’s keeping them relevant because they’re posting good content that people want to see.

By being on social media, you’re in essence becoming an influencer. In studies, 27% of consumers are influenced by the cars they see on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Because the pictures contain the car on the road, in the city, or in the woods, consumers can visualize themselves driving that car, or taking that same photo on their vacation. You’re giving social media users eye candy that they just might indulge in.

This doesn’t just apply to car dealerships, but businesses in every industry. You have to capture the reader’s attention by posting articles that are worth reading, post photos worth liking and sharing, and posting quality content that will show up on people’s timelines. By not using social media, you’re feeding the perception consumers have of your business or industry as a whole. You can change that by showing who you are, what products you sell (in this case cars), and why consumers should walk into your doors and not the competition down the street.