Identify the 50% you are wasting and stop doing it.

John Wannamaker once said, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don't know which half." Wannamaker died in 1922, before TV’s, space travel, computers, and Google.

Wannamaker’s premise of waste as a given, particularly in our digital world should no longer be accepted as gospel.

·        It’s time for you to challenge the status quo. 

·        It’s time to address and correct the wasted 50% by embracing the tools and technology available today to prevent such waste.

·        It’s time to blaze a new path and leverage the digital age. 

·        Today, big data, artificial intelligence, and advanced analytics can solve this problem.

To date, those most guilty of the wasted budget have been the antiquated, traditional mediums that preach BRANDING, REACH, and FREQUENCY. 

Really?

Let’s dig in and examine where you are wasting YOUR MONEY!

According to NADA this is where your ad money was spent over the past 10 years:

Of the approximately 350 Million people in the US, on any given day 825K to 1.2M are engaged and shopping online for vehicles. (WE KNOW WHO THEY ARE BY THE WAY!)

Let’s say 1.2 Million are engaged dynamic shoppers and in the market for a car today. That is only .003% of the population who are actively shopping online today.

To demonstrate my point, let's assume only 50M of the total population can actually “buy a car” from you, and 300M are too young, too old, have bad credit, no credit, no job, and/or no money. If 100M can actually buy a car, then the story of waste is even worse. That’s 2.4% total qualified shoppers that are looking to buy at any given time. 

Breaking down the NADA Data of your ad spend:

·        TV 15% - reaches MAX 2.4% actual individuals shopping if you guessed the right station and right program.

·        Radio 10% - reaches MAX 2.4% actual individuals shopping if you guessed the right station and right drive times.

·        Newspaper 6% - reaches MAX 2.4% actual individuals shopping if you guessed the right newspaper and section.

·        Other 6% - (BILLBOARD, SPONSORSHIP) same MAX 2.4% if you guessed right.

That represents 37% of what NADA says your ad budget is. 

If these extrapolations are correct and I’m in the ballpark, THOSE DOLLARS YOU'RE SPENDING AND WASTING, are reaching only a MAX 2.4% of people actually shopping for a car. Does that seem efficient to you? Keep in mind you’re paying 100% for these efforts!

To make the picture even more grim, let's acknowledge everyone who listens to Sirius XM or DVR’s any program because, when they do, they never hear, see or read any “ads” at all. 

·        Direct Mail 7% – predictive analytics, equity mining, garage predictors are all more targeted than bulk media; however, here are the pitfalls:

• The data is 45-60 days old.
• Just because a person has equity doesn’t mean they are in the market.
• Does mail ever actually get opened and not directly go in the trash like the phone book?

This represents 7% of your budget:

A 2-3% response rate is considered great, and if you sell 1/2 your ups that 1-1.5%. This puts you back at that 97% not in the market number again. Does that seem efficient to you?

·        Internet 55% - up from 34% the year before. Why such an increase? Because the other stuff is nearly obsolete. This is what you are you paying for, so how efficient is it?

•  Lead Providers – Lead Generation
•  PPC
•  SEO
• SEM
• Facebook
• Mass email
• Offers
• Drip Marketing
• Equity software
• AD words
• Key words
• Page views
• Google
• Youtube
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Dashboards

That is where you spend 55% of the internet ad budget according to NADA. The unanswered question is, what are your sale and conversion rates for all factors above?

You already have the dollars committed!

·        If you can get the same results by using less of your ad budget, why wouldn’t you? 

·        If you could get better results using the same assets, why wouldn’t you?

Stop guessing and start knowing. We know all 850K - 1.2 million shoppers as you see them 24/7/365, and, based on the above extrapolations, you can easily see how using these dollars on actual shoppers and NOT GUESSING will get you huge returns in the end. 

We would love to partner with dealers who want to know more. Dealers who want to challenge the status quo and blaze their own path in 2018 and beyond.

We will do a deep dive into where you’re spending and recommend how to do it more efficiently and more effectively. 

• No charge for the consolation. 
• No charge for our recommendations. 

You decide if you would like to redirect the 50% that isn’t useful. We can redirect some or all of that so YOU DO NOT GUESS a single time again with your money.

Imagine what results you could enjoy if half of your wasted budget was used specifically and exclusively ON ACTUAL CAR SHOPPERS!

About the author: Chuck Scalies is a seasoned, 32-year Retail Automotive Professional, Vice President & Head Coach, and Partner of APS Dealer Services, located in Downingtown PA. Chuck is a student by nature and a coach by profession. He enjoys learning new things, then applying an analytic eye to turn novel ideas into common sense, process driven solutions. With an upbeat, can-do personality he enjoys reading about success, motivation and coaching as part of his lifelong pursuit of continued education. Chuck continually challenges the status quo, believes we “all can” and knows the past DOES NOT equal the future. For the past 25 years, Chuck’s primary responsibilities have been generating additional income and new opportunities for franchise dealers. He has consistently learned from every client and vendor, and his toolbox is a vast compilation of Automotive Best Practices Nationwide. In conjunction with his focus on added revenue and net profits, the real joy comes from developing dealers and their personnel on how to “get more”. He lives daily by the mantra, “Process beats genius”! Chuck has a genuine appreciation for the entrepreneurial spirit within our industry. Chuck’s latest pursuit is facilitating dealers to totally embracing the digital age. His specific aim is taking that 50% of the ad budget that is wasted, and redirecting those dollars to the most efficient model to-date. His passions and goals are congruent, to generate additional income and higher net profit. Directing today's best technology and process of marketing to only KNOWN buyers and shoppers, and REMOVING the guess-work will provide dealers better results in sales, market share and overall net profits

 If you want to connect with Chuck, please free to connect via LinkedIn invite, or contact him via email at: cscalies@apsdealerservices.com.