Imagine you are a prospective consumer, driving to work on Friday morning. You're listening to the radio like nearly every other driver on the road when you hear an ad unlike any other. The ad is telling you about a 20-page color catalog of cars that will be circulated in Saturday's newspaper. The catalog will feature color photographs and a complete description of every used car at "Hometown Motors," as well as every new car-over 400 vehicles in all. Prices, rebates, interest rates, monthly payments, and features will all be listed in plain English for each car, and the mileage and equipment of used cars will be listed as well. There will also be a $500.00 Trade-in Certificate on page 5 which guarantees you an additional $500.00 for your trade, over and above your best negotiated deal.
Now you're at work, listening to that popular "listen at work easy-listening station" and you hear the same ad for the car catalog two or three times during the day. After you pick up your paycheck, you head home for the glorious weekend. On your way home, you hear that curious ad again for the catalog of cars in Saturday's paper. Hmm, you think, what a great way to shop for a car from home.
Now it's Saturday morning and you are driving around running errands and you hear the ad again for that color car catalog. You are one of the 65 to 70 percent of Americans who do not subscribe to the paper, but you are by now convinced that you have to see that catalog, so you grab a paper while at one of your many stops.
Now, one of two things happens. You sit in your car and devour the colorful and information-packed contents of the catalog and upon spotting just the right car or payment you have been looking for, you head out to "Hometown Motors" using the professionally designed map on page 20. Or you take the catalog home and pore through it leisurely over the course of the weekend. If you are one of the 40+ percent of Americans with Internet access, you also pull up the dealership's interactive website advertised on every page. There you find a choice of two search engines-one for new cars and one for used. You can plug in your price range, your desired make and model, model year, etc., and the search engine pulls up five cars that meet your requirements, with color photographs and complete descriptions of each. You then click on the icon for "Pre-Approval" and you complete the finance application form for the vehicle of your choice.
On Monday you get a call from "Hometown Motors" with the good news that you are approved for the loan/lease and you can come down anytime before 9:00 p.m., or the car can be brought to your home or work for a test drive.
I have found that people are willing to travel a greater distance to a dealership when the catalog is done properly, simply because the sheer volume of advertised inventory makes the trip seem worthwhile.
It's the one-two-three punch of successful advertising. Use the radio for its low cost of reach and frequency-as well as when, where, why, and how to get the catalog. Use the catalog to display your entire new and used inventory, in full color-as well as to promote service, body shop, parts, and special finance, provide customer testimonials, and tell the potential customer why yours is the best dealership from which to buy. Then use the catalog to drive business to your Website, which can provide even more in-depth information and interactivity.
By using this three-step approach to advertising, you can leverage all three advertising mediums to their maximum capacity and return on investment. This approach works even better than a 30-minute infomercial, because with a TV infomercial, the consumer is forced to watch your program during a specific time segment. When the program is over, it's over. There is nothing tangible to refer to, ponder, and create additional impressions. Another key benefit to the catalog is that it can be passed around to the other drivers in the household, the office, and to friends. Try that with an electronic ad.
Duane Sprague is President of Sprague-Fanady Marketing. If you have specific questions or require more information about this subject, please check the appropriate box on the reader response form on page 3.