Holiday Auto Sales Tips When Incentives Are Reduced
According to MarkLines automotive data, U.S. auto sales jumped 10% in September, year-over-year. While this is great news, margins have been a point of concern for dealerships. In fact, the average incentive leading up to Labor Day Weekend was down 47.1% from a year ago, according to J.D. Power and LMC Automotive. With more holiday auto sales around the corner, how can your dealership encourage sales when incentives are shrinking? Here are three ways to make up the difference:
Holiday Auto Sales Tip #1
Tap into customer emotion. There’s a reason red bow vehicle commercials litter the television screen from late October through the end of December. Whether it’s in the spirit of giving or getting, customers are primed for purchases, especially bigger ticket items. Black Friday, Thanksgiving weekend, and Christmas are all ideal experiences to leverage.
In fact, a Roku and Harris poll last year found that millennials plan to spend the most money on themselves during the Q4 holiday season. Outreach should reflect opportunities to make that purchase (whether for self or others) while customers exist in this mindset.
Plus, this is a fantastic time to use video, like Covideo Dealer Services, to bring the emotional appeal to life, creating an even stronger connection with a customer, while also being able to tap into those holiday emotions.
Holiday Auto Sales Tip #2
Frame the deals enticingly. Just because incentive percentages have been down in 2022, that doesn’t mean consumers don’t want to feel like they’re getting a great deal. Sure, this advice works year round, but in an environment where customers are already looking for a reason to spend, focusing on the opportunity for the customer is advantageous to everyone involved.
Encourage sales members to also lean into these reasons. As All Business points out in its list of reasons to buy a vehicle around Christmas time, end-of-month and end-of-year books coincide, lots are often less crowded with customers, and those who make their way out can feel like they’re jumping on a unique circumstance others aren’t.
Holiday Auto Sales Tip #3
Pull other levers. If the incentives for your vehicles on lot don’t feel especially capable of getting your customers to your dealership, dial-up other opportunities to get them in person. Use service incentives, especially as the weather shifts for much of the country, to bring existing customers back, then take this time to find out if a vehicle purchase is part of their holiday plans (either personally or for others).
If you’re looking to find new customers, create service incentives current customers can provide to those unaffiliated with your dealership. Covideo Dealer Services not only provides video software, we also have set-it-and-forget-it marketing outreach and one-tap service processes that will delight new and existing customers.
The Takeaway
The holidays can be an incredibly lucrative time to juice your dealership’s numbers, even when traditional avenues of vehicle incentives aren’t as aggressive as years past. By leaning into the emotional festivities, framing deals effectively, and engaging outside-the-box opportunities, holiday auto sales can continue to be a needle-mover for your dealership.
Interested to learn more about how Covideo Dealer Services can be your all-in-one solution for customer-dealership communication? Reach out to one of our experts today!
