digital marketing automotive factsheet wsi online

8/2/2019 Digital Marketing Automotive Factsheet WSI Online

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Automotive

INDUSTRY FACTSHEET

Copyright 2011 by Research and Management. All rights reserved.

Industry Overview

The automotive industry includes mechanical repair, collision repair, car washes, and lube or oil changes. This industrys

demand is dependent upon car usage and the number of cars on the road. Profitability of individual companies can be

shaped by the convenience of their location and the strength of their marketing. Typically, large companies can

maximize use of more expensive equipment and can easily leverage advantages in marketing. On the other hand,

smaller companies can compete by providing superior customer service or by offering specialized services. Industry

competition includes venues that also provide automotive services, including gas stations, car dealerships or some

branches of chain stores, like Wal-Mart. Promotional channels in this industry typically include phone directories,

signage, local newspaper ads, direct mail, TV and radio.

Business Challenges

The complexity of the various types of purchases in the automotive industry from the point of sale to ongoing annual

maintenance also shapes the complex challenges of the industry.

Competition From Car Dealers: The sales department is often much less profitable than the parts and servicecenters of car dealerships. And to compensate for inconvenient locations, many dealers will offer evening and

weekend hours. Additionally, if dealerships offer initial warranty services to a consumers satisfaction, there is

an increased chance that more customers will return for maintenance and repair services even after warranties

expire.

Public Mistrust: Because of the complexity of cars, consumers are unable to easily judge whether they havebeen treated fairly by a repair shop. Polls indicate that a high percentage of consumers believe that repair shops

overcharge, perform unnecessary repairs, or use inferior parts.

Growing Car Complexity: As cars become more technologically complex, maintenance and repair services havefollowed suit and have become more difficult and expensive. There is a stronger need for shops to invest in

special diagnostic equipment and tools to perform repairs to advanced systems. Service technicians also require

additional training to work on the latest car models.

Industry Opportunities

The opportunities in this industry directly reflect the growing trends and desires of consumers, as well as the variety of

technological advancements in everyday vehicles.

Alliances with Car Dealers: Often, owners of expensive cars are more likely to prefer using the servicedepartment at their car dealer. By allying with a car dealership, local repair shops can be referred new business

from a dealership in exchange for purchasing auto parts from the dealer. Collision repair in particular is a key

opportunity for shops because an increasing number of dealerships are opting out of offering body shop

services.


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Automotive

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Servicing Non-Traditional Vehicles: Growing sales of fuel-efficient vehicles like hybrids, electric cars, and carsthat operate on alternative fuels have increased the demand for specialized repair services. Additionally, some

consumers may require restoration, custom paint jobs, retro engine parts or special attention. Auto repair

shops can leverage such needs and create a niche by developing expertise in non-traditional or specialized

vehicles. Non-traditional vehicle owners tend to be passionate about their cars and are much more likely to

spend more money to maintain them.

Service for Car Electronics: In recent years there has been a proliferation in electronic devices in cars. Thisincludes cell phones, CD players, MP3 players, navigation systems, video systems and Internet access devices.

Naturally, this provides greater opportunities for shops that develop expertise with these systems.

Digital Marketing Trends

Advertising Spending Increase

The automotive industry saw the largest advertising spending growth

in 2010 among other industries, according to a statistic released by

eMarketer citing a press release from The Nielsen Company. In 2010,

companies in the automotive industry increased their total

advertising spend by 20.3%. Meanwhile, those in the financial

industry increased their ad spending by 17.9%. Clothing and

accessories companies spent 10.8% more on advertising that year,while the media and entertainment industries increased their ad

spending by 6.1% and 5.5% respectively.

Traffic to Automotive Retail Websites

When evaluating how worldwide website visitors arrive at

automotive retail websites, we see that search engines are the most

common channels. In Q1 of 2010, 32.2% of traffic to automotive

retail sites came through search engines. The following quarter,search engine traffic to automotive retail websites account for 33.4%

of total traffic. While some people use search engines, others type

specific URLs into a browser. In Q4 2010, 27.3% of total website

traffic came from typing in URLs. Meanwhile, 6.7% of traffic came

through ads during the last quarter of 2010. Other paths used to get

to automotive retail websites include: bookmark/favorites, email

links, blog links and referral links.


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Automotive

INDUSTRY FACTSHEET


Purpose of Visiting Automotive Retail Websites

Statistics indicate that people visit automotive retail websites

for a number of reasons, one of which is to compare models. In

the last quarter of 2010, 17.4% of those who visitied an

automotive retail website did so to compare models.

Meanwhile, 13.3% of respondents admitted they visitied

automotive sites to research prices before purchasing. Almost

11% use automotive retail websites to compare vehicle brands,

while 8.9% research car features online. Other reasons Internet

users worldwide visit automotive retail websites include:learning about companies and to check inventory.

Automotive Mobile Websites

Automotive retailers are also leveraging mobile websites to reaach

their consumers. About 21% of companies that provide automotive

parts have a mobile website. On the other hand, 15.66% of

automotive dealerships offer a mobile version of their website.

Interestingly, almost 5% of gas stations have mobile websites.This

shows great opportunity for companies in the automotive industry

to expand their current mobile activities.

Consumers Use Social Media to Research Vehicles

The majority of consumers worldwide use social media sites

to read opinions and reviews about specific brands and

models when researching vehicles (34% of respondents in

2010). On the other hand, 27% of consumers use social

media to find special deals and offers, while 26% look forhelpful hints on social media sites. Twenty-four percent of

respondents said they use social media to stay up-to-date on

news about new vehicles. Other consumers use social media

sites to discuss automotive topics with other consumers

(24%) and with auto experts (24%).


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Automotive

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Digital Marketing Opportunities

Immediate Areas of Focus for Social and Mobile

When we look at the latest digital marketing opportunities of social media and mobile for businesses in the automotive

sector, their main considerations and focus should be on how they can use these technologies to increase brand

awareness, increase customer engagement, drive sales, support specific promotions and strengthen their overall

customer relationship marketing. On the social front, automotive companies are leveraging social technologies like

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, forums and review sites to enable the sharing of opinions, reviews and discussions

amongst consumers about their brand and models, communicate special deals, provide information and news about

vehicles, and provide automotive expertise to the general consumer population.

On the mobile front, companies in the automotive sector are primarily focusing on how they can leverage mobile

marketing to create brand awareness, drive leads to dealers and/or enable in-your-pocket exploration and interaction

with their products, streamline ways to communicate with prospects and improve the sales experience by making it

easier for their customers to research their brand and models while they are on the go. When it comes to social

technologies and mobile marketing, below is where we see the majority of building and construction companies making

considerations from a strategy standpoint.

Social TechnologiesBlog Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube News Feeds/

Social Alerts

Social

Bookmarking

Forums Review

Sites

Mobile MarketingMobile

Site

Mobile Local

Search

Mobile

Ads/ Text

Mobile

Apps


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Automotive

INDUSTRY FACTSHEET


Popular Pay-Per-Click Keywords

Keyword Advertiser

Competition

Global Monthly

Searches

Estimated Cost

per Click

used cars 0.9 1000000 $1.39

car rental 0.96 550000 $3.01

cars for sale 0.87 550000 $1.59

car sales 0.37 368000 $0.56

rental cars 0.96 368000 $3.20

used cars for sale 0.94 201000 $1.49

car loan calculator 0.45 135000 $1.13car hire 0.99 135000 $3.42

car parts 0.63 135000 $0.66

classic cars 0.4 135000 $0.37

car dealerships 0.35 110000 $5.85

electric cars 0.89 110000 $4.05

cheap car rentals 0.99 90500 $2.72

car auctions 0.76 90500 $0.94

cheap cars 0.96 74000 $2.06

second hand cars 0.89 74000 $0.89

used car 0.7 74000 $1.30

hybrid cars 0.79 74000 $6.99

new cars 0.8 74000 $4.11

rental car 0.97 74000 $3.12

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digital marketing automotive factsheet wsi online

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