YOUR MARKETING SUCKS!!!

WOW!! Did I get your attention? Now that's the way to win friends and influence clients. Just insult everyone. I am reading the book "Your Marketing Sucks" by Mark Stevens. I never heard of it until yesterday. Run out tonight buy the book and kick your competition's a*s. Are you kidding me this book is great!!
More importantly it hits the real issue regarding Marketing/advertising/direct mail. That is? Most or all of you don't have a plan. The usual comment, Plan to succeed or Plan to Fail". Without a plan you fail!
Before we talk about direct mail lets talk about a very important issue. Which is that most dealers don't have a marketing plan. They have no idea what they want to achieve with there marketing and or advertising programs. As such they also do not have a budget specifically defined nor do they have an established method for measuring success. Your budget and plan are your road map to success. If you don't have either of these in place it is very difficult, costly and frustrating to use direct mail and not understand why it is not successful. Or any type of advertising for that matter.
In my next post I'm going to talk about the budgeting process as well as a system to track results. Have a great night!!

Cash For Klunkers (Cont'd)

Correction: The NHTSA is writing the rules for the program. Below please find several links which will help you to better understand the program. Both are great sites. Thanks Chapman Automotive Group! Nice job!!

If you use direct mail to advertise this program; which you should, as this is a perfect application for direct mail. Make sure the company you use understands the regulations. The list/data base is the key to the success of your program. Also, very important: The theme of the mailer should be that you are here to help the customer; NOT take advantage of the program or them. Don't make your piece look like a newspaper ad. Use some imagination; make it fun and make it respectful. Remember it's always about the customer; NOT YOU.

http://cars.gov/; http://www.cashforclunkersdealers.com/

Cash ($) for Klunkers

Cash for Klunkers: Don't forget about this program. Not signed into law yet; but FDOT working on regulations. Check out website: CARS.gov. Set up by the Feds gives details of the program. You definitely need to be planning your mail piece and your list. Make sure your mail company knows who should be on your list. That would force them to know the regulations. A direct mail company that knows something, what a novel approach. More to follow on this.

P.S. Congress anticipates that this program should sell 250,000 new cars. Don't be left out.

WHY DIRECT MAIL?

Question: If Direct Mail is the most effective form of advertising for individual car dealerships; why does every GSM hate Direct Mail? Why do they all say the same old boring line:

"It does not work. No one opens the mail. Everyone gets too much junk mail."

Answer: Wrong!! The above statement is an excuse because they don't understand direct mail and what makes it work.

Direct Mail Does not work for the following reasons:

1) It's Boring!!

1) It's Boring!!

1) It's Boring!!

4) The message is irrelevant!!!

5) It's sent to the wrong people (THE FAMOUS LIST)!!!!

CONQUER THOSE 5 REALITIES AND DIRECT MAIL BECOMES YOUR BEST FRIEND!!!!!!

Why this Blog? Among the Million Others

So why waste time writing this Blog? One why not get on the web and begin to publish/write/opin/ do something?

Secondly, this Blog is about Direct Mail/Advertising and the Automotive Sales process.

Most importantly hopefully it helps one person do a better job of developing direct mail!!

Have fun with the site. I'll try to post several times a week. Let me know your comments and work with me on this (or not)