What is it about marketing that has dealers so perplexed? It's not the act of marketing your brand, inventory, service panache, amazing staff, luxury facility, location, exclusive offerings and more that matters as much as how you do it and the completeness of your marketing.

It used to be enough to 'silo' advertise: one ad in the newspaper, one direct mail, one newsletter, one TV spot (over and over again…) and the like. The issue was that if the target didn't see/threw out/ignored/didn't fully read, etc your ad, you were done for. Remember: people want to consume content when they want, how they want, where they want, the amount they want and react to it the way they want.

So why are you content with a website and some email blast activities? That's not marketing as much as it is a band-aid. Think of it this way: how complete is your coverage? Would you buy insurance for two tires, a headlight, the drive shaft and tailpipe and not the rest of the car? Why are you partially marketing then?

Not only does your content need to be timely, contextual and relevant, it needs to be able to be seen by anyone, any time and anywhere.  Do you have a mobile site with inventory? Do you text message? Is your website dynamic? Are your eNewsletters actually engaging and do they drive results (traffic and sales)? How is your Facebook and Twitter volume in addition to your other social media efforts?

You wouldn't want to leave the house with one sock missing, half your collar sticking up, two different shoes and a jacket with a hole in the back (although I've seen some salespeople looking like this…) so don't leave your marketing undone or incomplete.

And another thing: you don't have to do everything you hear about. Do what you do well, learn news ways to market and effectively communicate, work with your vendors on new technology and push the envelope consistently. Every dealer tells me the same thing: "I just want to sell cars and not worry about the other stuff!". You have to worry about it and do something as well, but if you market the same way you did six months ago, how are your results going to be any different?

Build a presence that you're proud of and work it…or someone else will work you!

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Power Results