Page 32 - GIADA May-June 2020

Getting Out of the Dark: Tips for Turning

the Lights Back On

By Chris Martin, SVP of Customer Development, Client Command

Yes, the COVID-19 pandemic is unlike person has never been more important. drives, online purchasing. Although stay
anything our country has ever seen. Don’t just turn all of your marketing back at home orders could diminish in the near
However, we know from past economic on and hope for the best. The market has term, social distancing may not. Morgan
interruptions, companies that find ways to changed. Our view of safety has changed, Stanley recently projected that only 50
continue pressing forward can significantly consumer media habits have changed, percent of the workforce will go back into
lessen the time it will take for them to and the economy is in a different place the office in August of this year.
recover and can win bigger on the other than it was just a few short months ago.
side. Going back to what you were doing before Application: Keep taking steps to move as
COVID-19 — the messaging, the media much of the sales process online as possible
Let’s look at some examples: mix, the offline data models – could limit and equip your teams to communicate
• During the Great Depression of the your recovery. that message. Start with your marketing,
1920s, Kellogg’s catapulted Post as the simultaneously train your sales team and
dry cereal category leader. Post cut Application: This is the time to evaluate equip your BDC with scripts and engagement
back its ad spending while Kellogg’s every aspect of your previous marketing tactics that communicate upgrades you’ve
doubled its spend, fueling a 30% and to identify the strategies that are most made and the heart behind it.
growth. relevant to today’s consumer and extinguish
• Toyota maintained its ad spend amidst the rest. 4. Double-down on people, not media.
economic fallout from the energy crisis Now, internet usage is skyrocketing, but
of 1973-75. By 1976, they eclipsed 2. Switch your messaging gears. Dealers just because more people are online, doesn’t
Volkswagen to become the top import often are programmed to think lower mean your digital strategy is reaching
manufacturer. funnel in their messaging — focusing on actual shoppers. Truth is, most digital ad
• In the early 1990s, two fast-food chains incentives, vouchers, and trade offers. To spend is connected to anonymous cookies.
maintained their ad budgets while the turn the lights on effectively, we need to The faster you can turn on marketing to
known leader scaled back. The results? think bigger picture. Recent surveys are actual shoppers, the better the investment
A 61% and 40% increase in sales for clear – Consumers expect companies to for you, and the more relevant the content
Pizza Hut respectively, and a 28% fall connect with them with empathy and for the customer you hope to serve.
off for McDonald’s. helpfulness, clearly putting a shopper’s
• The Harvard Business Review studied needs first. They say the dealer who starts Application: Prioritize marketing
businesses after three recession periods the conversation with “Buy now!” is tone- strategies that identify people who are
and learned that businesses who deaf. actively shopping today. The Active
simply cut costs (people, marketing Shopper Network® reports online shopping
budgets, and operational expenses) to Application: When messaging, think activity is fluctuating with the changing
manage in prevention-mode, lagged upper funnel. Start with messages that events of COVID-19. What a shopper is
other businesses by 50% in both sales establish trust and reliability. Let them doing today might not match what that
and profits, while having the lowest know their health matters, so you’re shopper does tomorrow. You want to get in
probability (21%) of pulling ahead expanding “we come to you” services and front of shoppers as quickly as possible and
when times get better. online retailing options. Help them take stay with them while they shop. You do that
• During the 2009 recession, Amazon care of their families with service discounts through data, not a media channel.
invested in innovation and developed and payment deferments.
products to help consumers save We’ve learned from history that those who
money on books. Kindle was born, and 3. Embrace change. You can’t turn the lights go dark and/or stay dark too long, take
Amazon’s trajectory changed. on with messages relevant to the consumer longer to recover. Take intentional steps
without a service to back it up. Dealers must today to more fully adopt a consumer-
Here are four things to keep in mind as you build out their “we’ll come to you” strategy. centric business approach, craft the right
turn the lights back on: You know, the ideas that put Carvana on helpful messages, and connect with the
1. Getting the right message to the right the map – at home delivery, at-home test people who most want to hear from you. n

30 | GIADA Independent Auto Dealer MAY/JUN 2020