Menu

Automotive News

Gross Profits

Post-Pandemic Dealer Gross Profits are Down – But They Don’t Have to Stay There!

/ , , , , , , , , , , /

It is no secret that dealer gross profits per vehicle are down sharply in the post-COVID automotive world. According to a recent article in Automotive News, gross profits of the six largest publicly traded dealership groups plunged significantly from Q4 2022 to Q4 2023. One of them was actually down 35% per vehicle!

The article explains: High interest rates, more expensive vehicles and a steadier post-pandemic supply chain continue to soften demand and bring it closer to pre-pandemic levels. Still, new-car buying has remained strong overall …

This means that, while sales volume is similar, overall bottom lines are lower for many dealers due to the reduced gross profits. What about your dealership?

Being Realistic
It’s time to turn the page! The time for dealers to simply be order takers for people willing to pay MSRP for a vehicle (and in some cases more) has passed and dealers have to work hard once again to achieve acceptable gross profits.

Selling a high volume of cars doesn’t control gross profits, no matter how much you wish this was the case. Correct processes and menu pricing – and strict adherence to them – do!

What kind of processes?
∙ Slow down the transaction! Your sales staff has to once again sell the customer on the features and benefits of every new and pre-owned vehicle on your lot.

∙ Your salespeople and managers should devalue the customers’ trade-in value (politely, of course) as much as possible. After all, if the customer expects you to lower your price, shouldn’t you be able to do the same on their trade? Remember, you’ll have to fix it up, put your name on it and resell it to someone else with all the tenacity you would a brand-new car. So make sure you buy it right … because the profit is made when you buy it, not when you sell it!

∙ To that end, management should be ready and willing to leave the desk and do thorough walk-arounds on each trade to ensure the best outcome for the dealership.

The Cure for Low Gross Profits
If you are like a lot of dealers these days, you could use some good news. Here it is: while you may not have the capability to achieve profit margins similar to those you enjoyed during the pandemic, they could likely be improved. JKR’s clients enjoy the benefit of attracting not only more customers, but better ones, too!

If meeting and exceeding your sales goals (and increasing gross profits at the same time) sounds great to you, you need to call us. Don’t settle for reduced gross profits when help is out there to get you closer to where you’d like to be.

Want to know how we do it? Reach out to Senior Partner Richard Brauns (407) 701-4233 or Partner/Vice President Jon Albert (407) 718-2494 today.

JKR Automotive Advertising: We Move Cars.

Incentives,Word,Speedometer,To,Advertise,Special,Money,Saving,Deals,,Bonuses

Incentives Are Plentiful. How Do You Tell Your Customers About Them?

/ , , , , , , , , /

During the past year, the automotive industry has experienced a long-anticipated recovery period. Dealership inventories have been replenished to pre-pandemic levels (or at least close to it), which means more vehicles are available to today’s car buyers. Along with this resurgence comes the manufacturers’ response: a marked increase in customer incentives.

Of course, during the COVID period, these “customer carrots” were few and far between because the manufacturers simply didn’t need them; after all, they were moving metal faster than they could get it!

As things continue returning to normal and interest rates are predicted to fall, there comes a refocusing in priorities for automobile dealers. Today, one of the secrets to continued success lies in effectively communicating the available incentives to those in the local communities in which dealerships reside.

Need Assistance Getting the Word Out?
The best way to ensure customer awareness of incentives is working with a skilled, experienced automotive advertising agency like JKR. Our clients trust us to be an invaluable resource to help them surpass all their advertising goals – including letting those in your community know about the great deals available to them as a direct result of customer incentive programs.

For more than 25 years, JKR has been the lifeline for many of the nation’s leading dealerships. If you need assistance with compiling your media buy, jump-starting your creative, besting your competition or something else, our experienced team of professionals can help you in a hurry! We help our clients gain a huge edge with innovative on-point media, the lowest ad rates of anyone in your area, and a host of information they won’t get from anyone else. Give us a call today at (321) 397-0777 to find out more.

JKR Automotive Advertising: We Move Cars.
CrystalFullColor.png.lg.cc.DMN8-ZB2Y-S4WW

JKR Advertising & Marketing Captures Prestigious 2023 Best of Orlando Ad Agency Award

/ , , , , , , , /

We are thrilled to share some exciting news. JKR Advertising & Marketing has been named the 2023 recipient of the Best of Orlando Award in the Advertising Agency category by the Orlando Award Program.

Each year, the Orlando Award Program identifies companies achieving exceptional success in their business category. Honorees are companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their clients and the communities in which they reside. These exceptional businesses help make the Orlando area a great place to live, work and play.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each specific category. The winners were determined based on the information gathered, both internally by the Orlando Award Program and data provided by third parties.

We thank the Orlando Award Program for this honor; and most of all, we thank our clients. Your trust in us means a lot!

About the Orlando Award Program
The annual Orlando Award Program honors the achievements and accomplishments of local businesses throughout the Orlando area. Recognition is given to companies that have shown the ability to use their best practices and implemented programs to generate competitive advantages and long-term value.

The Orlando Award Program was established to recognize the best of local businesses in our community. The organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations and other business advertising and marketing groups.

JKR Automotive Advertising: We Move Cars.

Directly,Above,Shot,Of,Magnet,Pulling,Leads,Letter,Blocks,On

Beyond the Web: The Real Origins of Internet Leads

/ , , , , , , , , , , , /

Have you ever wondered about the real origins of Internet leads your dealership receives? Think about this: your customers are exposed to multiple touchpoints – online and offline – before they get to the point where they’re ready to buy – and your dealership’s online leads are no exception.

It’s easy to just assume that someone discovered your dealership through an Internet lead or even a Google search, but the reality is that dealers should look beyond just the World Wide Web.
The truth is, when a customer responds directly to an Internet lead, their journey to that point in time often begins offline with something else driving them there. It could be the captivating jingle of a radio advertisement, the visual impact of a TV commercial, the recommendation of a trusted friend, someone reading the dealership nameplate on the car in front of them at a traffic signal, or even someone searching for a dealership selling your brand through an online map service. These avenues act as catalysts, sparking curiosity and prompting individuals to seek further information online. In other words, while the Internet provides a vast array of platforms to engage potential customers, it is quite often not the initiator of the actual journey itself!

Why This Matters
When you understand the origin of Internet leads, you are better able to plan, project and allocate to get the biggest bang for your proverbial buck.

Knowing the true sources of your leads allows you to invest more in channels proven to drive leads, and make the necessary adjustments to the ones suddenly exposed as being less effective than you may have initially thought.

You only know for certain that you have a successful Internet lead when that person actually engages with you. And when you can be sure your Internet leads are truly authentic, your number of good leads goes up and your spend decreases because you’re ridding yourself of the hidden waste. And if/when this happens (we can show you how to make it happen), will your store be ready? An upcoming blog post will tell you how to be sure you’re prepared, because most Websites actually deter leads from becoming real customers.

The Takeaway
So remember, while the Internet plays a crucial role in attracting leads to your dealership’s Website, it’s also vital that you recognize the multifaceted nature of the customer’s overall car-shopping experience that got them there.

When you acknowledge and optimize all these different and diverse channels so they work in concert together, you’ll enhance your dealership’s online presence, maximize its potential and, most important, sell more vehicles.

If this blog has you curious … or even left you with a question or two you’d like us to answer, please feel free to give us a call at (321) 397-0777.

JKR Automotive Advertising: We Move Cars.

Close,Up,Hand,Holding,Mobile,With,Digital,Advertising,And,Icons,

Peel Back the Curtain on Your Digital Ad Spend

/ , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , /

Many automobile dealers don’t really understand what they’re buying when it comes to their digital ad spend; they just know they need it. Because they’re so busy selling cars, they don’t have the time to fully research or comprehend the intricacies of online technology. As a result, they don’t know where their ads are running or how to measure their success.

This lack of knowledge can lead to wasted money and effort and, in a lot of cases, excessive levels of frustration. It’s not unlike how car customers felt decades ago; they didn’t know how much profit the dealer was actually making on their transaction; they just knew they needed a car. It’s this feeling of “flying blind” that is so unsatisfying – and no dealer wants to feel as if they are being high grossed by vendors. To bridge the knowledge gap, dealers depend a great deal upon their advertising agencies. And while they can be invaluable partners, the dealer’s lack of understanding leaves them vulnerable to miscommunication, a lack of transparency regarding a campaign’s effectiveness and, worst of all, being severely overcharged.

It doesn’t have to be that way! Your current digital advertising provider should be able to peel back the curtain for you and show you what they’re doing, tell you why they’re doing it and, most important, justify the fees they charge. Ask them for data that justifies the fees … and then make sure you understand it.

For example, does your store do Google VLAs, the paid ads appearing in search results? It’s very possible the answer is yes. But how do you know if you’ve been getting a good deal? Make a request to your vendor to explain how they are helping you reach your goals, then ask them what they’re paying for the VLAs and how much mark-up there is passed along to you. In addition, ask them to provide you with their CPM (cost per thousand) and their exact demographic information, so you can discover how they get the statistics they’re showing you. You’ll likely be surprised at what you’ll find, and we can confidently say there’s a very good chance you’re paying more than you should for your digital ad spend.

If you discover that this is, indeed, the case, we’d love to have a chat with you! JKR Automotive Advertising will never hide anything from you; our pricing structure features complete transparency, and we have the industry software necessary to back up all our decisions. We provide each client with in-depth reports about our work for them, every time. You can count on us to always be honest and upfront with you.

Why do we do things differently from everyone else? Because we are different.

Having Trust Issues?
If you cannot say you completely trust your online advertising vendor, you owe it to yourself to ask questions! And if you don’t get the answers you want, JKR Automotive Advertising stands ready to help!
When you let JKR become your strategic advertising partner, you’ll reap the rewards in the form of increased sales, as well as a surge in foot traffic and Website visits. Best of all, we achieve fast results for our clients, who then wonder how they ever got along without us. Call us today at (321) 397-0777 to get things started.

JKR Automotive Advertising: We Move Cars.

Load More