There is a new Website feature on our Internet site, www.jkradvertising.com. It is a special “press” section which will contain JKR-specific content ranging from new hires to any references of JKR (the company itself) making the news. In the coming days you’ll see a number of articles appearing in this section, both old and new.
Simply check out the top menu bar at our Website and click on the “Press” icon. You’ll be taken to our all-new Website category, and you’ll be able to view all the stories of JKR news … or JKR making the news!
The preliminary numbers are out, and the forecast calls for high April new car sales. According to this article from Automotive News, new vehicle sales in the United States will finish at their highest April level in 10 years. Further, projections show the best four-month start overall since way back in 2001. Major prognosticators speculate a year-over-year increase between 5.2 and 6.1 percent, which would yield a return of about 17 million units, a number not seen since 2001.
Part of the high April new car sales is due directly to increased numbers in the light truck segment. Overall, sales of compact utilities are expected to rise about 11 percent, while sales of midsize utilities should go up 9.6 percent; and full-size pickups are projected to see a 6.3 percent jump. Conversely, midsize cars – usually a strong segment – are projected to fall 3.1 percent.
Of course, the low gas prices are helping persuade people to purchase a larger vehicle … and as long as the prices at the pump stay down, this is good news for auto dealers. Simply put, stronger truck sales mean better profit margins! It’s no wonder that JD Power, the nation’s leading independent research company, estimates that automotive transactions are on pace to set a new April record. Last year’s then-record transaction price was $29,948, while this year’s projection eclipses that number at $30,680.
How Were Your April New Car Sales?
How did your dealership do during April? Did you have big sales numbers? How about high profit margins? The fact is, you can have both; you don’t have to sacrifice one to get the other. There are a number of factors that ultimately determine an auto dealer’s profits, many of which you may not even be considering at the moment. JKR Automotive Advertising can show you what they are, and get you on the right path to success. Take the time to make one simple phone call that will change the direction of your dealership almost overnight. Get the wheels in motion today by calling Eric Tigner at (321) 397-0777.
JKR Advertising & Marketing is the top Tier III (local/dealer) automotive advertising agency in the United States for Pandora Internet Radio ad placement. We are a big believer in Pandora for two reasons: first, it is the top Internet Radio source; and second, Pandora offers the unique ability to target more specifically than analog radio – including age, location and gender. On Monday, April 27, JKR Partners Jeff Johnson, Richard Brauns, Steven Lorenzo and Jon Albert traveled to New York to meet with Pandora executives and visit their national headquarters.
The JKR Partners were welcomed to The Big Apple by Pandora executives Steven Kritzman, Senior Vice President of Sales; and Andy Lipset, Vice President of Local & National Broadcast. They were accompanied by Pandora’s Regional Sales Manager Josh Mustachi and Senior Sales Executive Mari Rivera.
Mustachi reports that it was a very beneficial visit for both JKR and Pandora. “Pandora values the relationships we’ve created in the marketplace, and to have the opportunity to host one of our largest clients in our offices is another layer to building our partnership with JKR Advertising & Marketing,” he said. “The JKR partners sat with our leaders to discuss the digital radio ecosystem, developments in our new product offerings, and strategic visions on yielding even higher ROI for their dealerships going forward.”
Johnson says it was time well-spent by the JKR partners. “It was very interesting to see things from the Pandora perspective, not only for the present … but also hearing about the new things they’re working on for the future to further enhance the great services they already have in place. We really enjoyed the trip, and they made us feel very welcome.”
Brauns is impressed with Pandora’s ability to provide a targeted intrusive media source. “No matter what happens in the future with conventional radio, Pandora will make sure our clients always have the ability to continue offering intrusive media, with unmatched reach and frequency because of the way it’s presented on the retailer’s terms rather than the customers’ terms,” he explained.
Lorenzo also came away with a greater appreciation of Pandora. “Visiting their New York location was a great experience for the JKR team,” he said. “From its prime location in Midtown, to the state-of-the-art facility, Pandora is poised for greatness with its Google-esque campus feel and mentality. More and more of our clients are depending on Pandora to reach their target audience. It was great meeting the Pandora team and hearing about their vision for things to come.”
Proactive advertising makes all the difference in the world. When you’re running your monthly advertisements – regardless of which media options you choose – you never really know for sure who happens to be in the market for a vehicle at that particular time. Wouldn’t it be great if you could just target the people who need a car and only advertise to them? Uh, no. Definitely not!
I know … trick question. But think about it: most American adults drive cars. And while you can’t say with certainty that they need a car today, you can say that over the course of time, these adults are going to need multiple vehicles. So even if they are not in the market for a car at the particular time your advertisement is run, you certainly want them to hear/see it. By doing so, you are laying the groundwork for a future purchase!
A car dealer should not be so shortsighted that he or she is only worried about today, ignoring proactive advertising. Tomorrow is equally as important, and if you are not dominating your market – saturating it with your dealership’s message – you are opening the doors for the dealer down the street to take tomorrow’s customers from you. If you meekly sit on the sidelines and watch it happen as tomorrow becomes today, your dealership will wind up short on foot traffic and sales – and then, you will be forced to be reactive instead of proactive; never a good place to be.
Results of Proactive Advertising
The people in your market need to hear your store’s message even before they want to hear it. That way, when they have an accident and need a new vehicle … or get that big promotion at work … or need a first car for a teenager … or whatever, they will think of your dealership. Why? Because you made the investment in tomorrow, knowing that soon, tomorrow will be today. That is proactive advertising at its best, and it will pay dividends for you down the road. Believe it.
Call Eric Tigner at (321) 397-0777, and he’ll happily explain how JKR Automotive Advertising makes its clients ready for tomorrows, while setting records for todays at the same time.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that social media isn’t going anywhere, so today we offer Social Media 101 for auto dealers. For a car dealer, the social media arena has created new and interesting opportunities … along with new and not-so-interesting potential issues. While it has created the opportunity to communicate with customers in ways that never existed before, it also means dealers must be prepared to know how to communicate with customers – and know how to do it in multiple platforms.
When most people think of social media they think of Facebook, and it’s no wonder. In the last quarter of 2013, Facebook passed 1.23 billion monthly active users, 945 million mobile users, and 757 million daily users. Today’s computer-savvy consumer quite often prefers communicating through social media even more than via the traditional phone call. In other words, they will often go to a company’s Facebook page to ask a question rather than picking up the phone to get their answer.
Another upside (or downside, too) of social media can be the online review Websites. Studies done by companies such as dealer.com show that online reviews and ratings carry a lot of weight with a prospective customer. It’s of utmost importance that you check all these sites to see how customers are rating you. Review Websites include Yelp, Edmunds, Cars.com, Google+ Local and Yahoo! Local. Your customers are checking them – and more often than not they’re checking more than one of them.
In today’s day and age, it is also important to make certain your dealership’s Website is configured to be seen correctly on mobile devices. A good Web programmer will know how to do this, and this exercise is known as setting up a “responsive” Website – which means it adjusts itself depending upon the size of the screen on which it is being viewed.
Last, here’s an important question: What should you put on your social media pages (such as Facebook, Twitter and the like)? The simplest way to answer to this is asking yourself what will interest the reader. It shouldn’t be all hard sell, or you’ll scare people away. Instead, mix things up a bit. In addition to the hottest new cars, include some money-saving maintenance tips, information on something going on in your community, and even display the human side of your employees. Give them reasons to keep coming back!
Social Media 101 Help
If you don’t have a good handle on social media, don’t worry. Instead, give us a call here at JKR Automotive Advertising. JKR Advertising is offering a FREE AUTOMOTIVE SOCIAL MEDIA REVIEW. Contact us today, and we’ll give you our expert recommendations, no strings attached! All it takes is one call to Eric Tigner at (321) 397-0777 to get things started.