With the rise of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, along with online shopping platforms such as Amazon, it has become increasingly important for businesses to create an audience that is aware of their brand.
As companies spend more money on marketing, the amount spent per customer increases, making your business more attractive to potential customers. The way to achieve this is through creating a strong brand image that people recognize!
This article will talk about how some major brands marketed themselves and what they can do to improve theirs. Some of these tips may apply to the car company you work for, or even yourself if you are looking to advance in your career!
Introduction
Everyone knows at least one business person who uses a smartphone constantly. Technology seems to be integrated into every aspect of our lives, and savvy users have all but perfected the art of using apps effectively.
For marketers, mobile technology presents new opportunities to reach audiences where and when consumers are spending time and energy. A survey conducted by Adobe found that 91% of respondents use their phone while lying down, so bedside guides and videos can be effective ways to connect with patients.
Smartphones also offer another medium to spread messages. Text-only advertisements often get overlooked, but many believe they influence action more than pictures and videos.
Google and other search engines reward websites that include rich content, emphasizing quality over quantity.
Over the past few years, there has been a shift towards customers wanting more than just great service while buying a car. These individuals want to feel acknowledged as well as valued when spending their money on a new vehicle.
General Motors is an excellent example of this. The company seems to make a very focused effort to acknowledge its loyal consumers with frequent product announcements, discounts, and rewards for people who spend lots of money at their stores.
This is good marketing because it creates word-of-mouth advertising that builds momentum and exposure for your brand.
Car manufacturers can do something similar by offering incentives such as 0% financing or $2,000 back on cars for every ten dollars you spend in their store. This incentivizes buyers to visit their dealership so they can take advantage of the offer!
BMW should look into doing things like this since they’re already giving away free merchandise and charging less than average for services. Their current marketing strategies seem to be creating hype, but what about keeping these hardworking employees motivated and taking time off together?
Improve the overall customer experience by offering additional benefits such as health insurance, tuition reimbursement, etc. If needed, use the profits from these programs to fund the employee bonuses or extra paid vacations.
Empowering your staff will help them stay connected to your business and keep promoting it. Furthermore, studies show that happier employees are more productive, efficient workers.
Social media has become one of the most important tools in any marketer’s toolbox. Technology makes it easy to spread your message, connect with new people, and gain insights into what is happening in the marketplace for your product or service.
BMW should focus more time and resources on developing their presence through popular platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
They could also develop some interesting content to share across these sites that are related to cars and automobiles. People interact with cars and car companies all the time; why not use this opportunity to draw attention to yourself?
Running an Instagram account would be another way to promote your company. You can create automotive-themed pictures and posts to showcase your products or services.
Interacting with other users will help you strengthen your brand and expose you to new opportunities.
As mentioned earlier, cars are built to be seen. Companies that focus too much on stealthy or anonymous branding typically end up leaving money in the wallet as customers look for something with taste and style.
A well-marketed car will always win over potential buyers who admire the design, not just because it is beautiful, but also due to the effort put into promoting it.
BMW seems to agree as they have opened up about their brand many times. They even launched an interactive website where you can create your own version of the company’s logo!
This is very interesting to do since you get to use real tools to edit and add to their designs so they seem professional and authentic. You can also make changes and remix things how you want without having to ask permission first!
By giving people more ways to interact with the BMW brand, it helps promote awareness and understanding. This is important since most people know what kind of vehicle the BMW name stands for, but nothing else beyond that.
The internet gives us all powerful tools to spread our messages, which is one reason why brands must embrace them if they wish to grow.
Advertising is one of the most important parts of any business, especially for vehicles brands that depend on word-of-mouth marketing. Vehicles manufacturers spend large amounts of money trying to get people into their cars or shops, but they fail to emphasize how crucial this advertising is in creating long term relationships with potential customers.
Vehicles are expensive pieces of merchandise, which means they require repeat purchases to be worth it. What some sellers may not realize is that every time you advertise a vehicle, you’re also promoting your brand. The longer the lasting effects of the advertisement, the more likely someone will think about buying a BMW from you instead of another seller.
It’s hard to separate the influence of an ad from the effect it has on viewers’ subconscious minds. While there are ways to use ads to promote a product, understand what aspects could be improved to create better advertisements.
As mentioned earlier, cars are marketed through three main strategies: price, features and branding. The car brands that survive today rely heavily on one of these three pillars to keep their market share.
Marketing a vehicle via its features is great, but it’s not very effective if you don’t know what those features are! A well-marketed vehicle will probably use flashy colors or patterns or both as decorations.
What most vehicles won’t do though is put in all sorts of gimmicks like heated seats after selling you the product they want to spend money on. (Heated seats are definitely a cost worth investing into!)
The best way to describe the marketing strategy of an average car company is “feature heavy.” They include lots of cool gadgets and technology within their vehicles that appeal to people who enjoy similar things.
Car companies that focus too much on features lose sight of something important: their own identity.
A few years ago, BMW made some changes to emphasize this idea with their new slogan: ‘Designed For Adventure.’
They replaced the word ‘vehicle’ with ‘adventure’ which emphasized the importance of the driver instead of the automobile itself. This fits much better with the image they wanted to project for themselves as a luxury, performance oriented manufacturer.
Websites are an essential part of any business’s marketing strategy. A well-designed site with intuitive features can do wonders for your company’s brand perception, influence, and engagement.
For example, even though Nike is one of the most recognizable brands in America, many people still feel that buying their products is too expensive due to all of the advertising they have to put up against competitors’ advertisements.
By this reasoning, then, why not go into battle against them by purchasing products from companies that advertise less? Or at least buy cheaper shoes from somewhere else!
That’s what makes sites like TheRealDealShow.com important. It may be hard to believe, but there are now dozens (if not hundreds) of “cheap shoe finder” websites out there that take advantage of social media influencers or otherwise creative advertising strategies to get new customers.
The reason these sites work is because they eliminate the need to invest in more traditional types of advertising. People who visit the site leave with a good impression, which could lead to a sale later on.
BMW seems to agree as they announced earlier this year that they would no longer sponsor professional sports teams or event venues. This move was made after the company received backlash over its involvement with the National Football League’s (NFL) Los Angeles Rams.
One of the biggest downfalles for any company is poor word-of-mouth marketing. As consumers become more connected through social media, talking about your business has never been easier.
By displaying an interest in your community, you’re letting people know that you care about them and their opinions. Plus, online reviews help to validate or refute your business’s legitimacy so it can shape how well your business does in the future.
With all this talk of reviews, what are the top reasons why people leave negative feedback? A lot of times they complain about something related to service or product quality or lack thereof.
So how could BMW improve its services or products? Hire better trained professionals!
BMW has clearly invested in training staff members because issues such as bad phone calls and fake conversations have come under fire from customers. They may be able to avoid some complaints by investing in more professional chat agents.
Another way to prevent low ratings is to offer repeat buyers special rewards or discounts. People who spend money at your business deserve your respect and gratitude, so do something for these loyal patrons!
Broken promises or lost opportunities hurt your business in the long run, especially when there are few alternatives. If one of your employees tells you that his/her friend would definitely buy a car from you, then put in place automatic purchases for that person for just that vehicle.
A company that is not doing anything with themselves while sitting on a ton of money is wasting their resources and capital. They are spending money they do not have on things that will not make them more income!
A large corporation that is investing in advertising, marketing, or new products is actually giving up. They are throwing away their hard-earned cash because nothing has happened to change their situation as an organization or business since they spent the money.
They are wasting valuable resources. It is like going into debt and never paying off your debts because you keep piling up more money. You can’t spend all you’ve got if you don’t have it!
The thing about companies that are at risk of wasted investment is there is something they can do about it. If someone else out there is getting what you are offering, drop your current strategy and try something different.
