February Temperatures Heat Up As Auto Dealers Capitalize on Toyota’s Woes

As a direct marketing professional, I keep track of the causes behind the peaks and valleys of the automotive industry. For example, since my livelihood depends on the advertising dollars dealers spend on a monthly basis, I generally “feel” the impact in a personal and unique way. When the economy began to spiral downward, I noticed a sharp decrease in my orders for credit-related mailers. Dealers complained that their lenders were turning down many of the sub-prime loan applications they normally would approve, and because of that they were not able to justify paying me to send credit offers to bankruptcy lists, low credit score lists, etc. Well, in a similar way, I “feel” it when things turn the other way too!

Most recently, in light of the national negative publicity Toyota has received, many auto dealers (non-Toyota) have seized on their opportunity to capitalize and are winning as their gamble is paying high dividends. Here’s what’s going on:

Non-Toyota dealers are ordering all of the Toyota owners in their market from our Title List. They are sending them buyback letters and other offers, and local Toyota owners are flocking in to trade out of their Toyotas because they no longer want to drive them! In fact, just yesterday (2/3/10) Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood uttered the non nationally-broadcasted statement that received the highest level of media blitz:

At a congressional hearing, LaHood said his advice to an owner of a recalled Toyota would be to “stop driving it. Take it to a Toyota dealer because they believe they have a fix for it.” His comments prompted new questions and rattled Toyota stockholders, causing shares to plunge 8 percent before they recovered, declining 6 percent for the day.

Then, just this morning (2/4/10), a suspected problem with the brakes on the Toyota Prius (not included in original recall) has led to a national recall too! My intention is not to kick a man when he’s down, but do you realize the potential this brings to ANY non-Toyota store?

If you are intelligent enough to put two and two together, then let’s get rollin’ and put together a serious mailer and send it to all the Toyota owners in your market. You may not ever have another chance at this type of business again. It’s literally a plug-n-play market right now – mail them your offer and they’ll come in and buy. It doesn’t get any simpler!

Use our contact form, call, or email me at jgreenleaf@hillmarketing.com

And please, non-Toyota franchised dealers only. Thanks.

Cash For Clunkers Summary Chart

Cash For Clunkers Summary Chart

“Cash for Clunkers” Automotive Direct Mail Program

Attention Dealers and Car Buyers, in the Reuters article “Cash for Clunkers: What You Need to Know,” the program is a $1 billion program will provide a voucher of up to $4,500 (effectively just knocking that much off the price tag — dealers will get electronic payments from the feds) to help offset the cost of new car purchases or leases over the next five months.

Hill Marketing has a full suite of Automotive Direct mail solutions customized to get “Cash For Clunkers” qualified buyers into your store.

If you want to take part in the most exciting auto selling event in over a year then call today or email John Greenleaf at john@hillmarketing.com

When Will The Credit Freeze End?

Many Auto Dealers are hopeful that lenders will loosen up on their restrictions soon and begin making auto loans to their secondary (Sub-Prime) applicants once again. Perhaps they are counting on the $700 Billion Bail Out, or perhaps they have confidence in some of the recent acquisitions made by larger financial institutions.

The hopeful outlook is in stark contrast to the feedback I received from dealers last month after the announcement of HSBC and Triad’s decision to discontinue making loans through auto dealers and focus on other markets. Cindy Savio, spokesperson for HSBC said, “The auto finance business has been under strategic review for some time…Our exit from the business will allow HSBC Finance Corp. to focus on its core businesses – credit cards and mortgage lending.”

Jack Tracey, executive director of the National Automotive Finance Association said, “HSBC’s departure leaves a hole for the dealer community that seeks to finance customers with less-than-perfect credit…That leaves fewer options for dealers in an environment where other lenders who are left are tightening credit.” (source: Automotive News, Aug. 12, 2008)

Many dealers have felt the breeze created by that hole and have had to turn away consumers that they could have easily converted into sales the month before. I noticed a decrease in orders for my bankruptcy mailers which I see as just a ripple-effect of these sub-prime auto lenders pulling out of the auto lending market. Some of my clients have had to actually postpone scheduled mail drops for sub-prime direct mail orders simply because they felt that they would not be able to provide financing for consumers that responded to my aggressive credit offers.

But since HSBC serviced approximately 7,500 auto dealers and Triad serviced about 5,000, when it became public that they informed their dealers that they would no longer provide auto loans, other lenders seized the opportunity and contacted these dealers vowing to fill the sub-prime auto lending hole.

With obvious caution and skepticism, dealers took the wait and see approach and slowly began to submit applications that HSBC and Triad normally would have received. Once they began to see approvals and actually got funded with little or no hassle at all, their confidence began to grow and it is my opinion that this is where their hope is grounded.

I say this to rebut the mass media’s claim that the U.S. automotive industry is severe trouble. I’ll grant that there are many difficulties, but as we saw a major GM dealer close its doors last week we also saw it reopen the next day under new ownership. This is clearly the case of one man’s failure being another man’s opportunity.

Confidence in the U.S. automotive sales industry goes against the media’s scare tactics that are seeping with political overtones (which I’ll not get into here), so it’s no wonder that the general report is one that is “all-bad.” But I am still receiving orders for direct mail, and these orders are substantially larger in volume than they were a few months ago. I believe that I am a good barometer for market conditions because I only exist if auto dealers use my services, and guess what??? They are.

In closing I quote the prolific “Public Enemy” – “Don’t, don’t, don’t believe the hype!”

Auto Dealership Closes Its Doors Due To Great Depression Like Economy

How many times have we read that headline this year? Let it be known that absolutely none of Hill Marketing’s automotive direct marketing and automotive direct mail clients have gone out of business. Our clients are happy, selling cars, and increasing their advertising budget.

Why? Because we are the professionals to trust when it comes to bringing consumers into auto dealerships, even in uncertain economical environments. I can’t stress this enough – Hill Marketing keeps dealers in business! If you’re having trouble with numbers due to economic uncertainty, then you need to do some business with us.

Welcome Automotive Sales & Marketing Newsletter Visitors

If you are here because of the link in the latest Hill Marketing Automotive Sales & Marketing Newsletter, then please accept our warm welcome and invitation to browse our site. You will find many informative articles on automotive direct mail, auto sales indutry news, marketing and advertising, sales training, and more.

We only publish quality content related to automotive direct mail that is designed to create traffic at your location so that you can increase your auto sales.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us…

Oversized Key Mailers – One Way to Win Big This Fall

Imagine walking into a high-schooler’s bedroom and seeing a poster of their favorite rock star or athlete on the wall. The size of that poster would be about the same size as our giant key mailer. Imagine taking it off the wall, folding it in half, then folding it in half again. Then imagine stuffing it into a 9″X12″ flat magazine envelope like what your Sports-Illustrated-type of magazine is mailed in. Now replace the rock star or athlete image on the poster with the most aggressive double sided auto sales copy and tape a high-quality key to it. The picture in your mind represents the reality that thousands of customers will experience when you sign up for Hill Marketing’s assorted line of giant key mailers!

With low prices and the largest response rates, Hill Marketing’s giant key mailers become one menu item that dealers cannot afford to pass on. Historically, Fall is the best time to run key mailers, and many of dealers will be doing that beginning this month (Sept.). Gas prices are down, Back to School is out of the way, and consumers have finally returned to the market to inquire about purchasing a vehicle. Many will buy on their own. But only a proactive campaign will bring them to your store to buy from you. Get on the phone and set one of these up today. Most importantly, don’t do anything until first checking what Hill Marketing has to offer – you won’t regret it!

P.S. An amazing lead-generating, vehicle selling tool is our newest line of bankruptcy products. If you can finance fresh bankruptcies then you need to do this. Ridiculous results are being reported at this very moment!

How To Get Good Credit In Less Than 4 Minutes

Attn: Auto Dealers,

Watch this short video and imagine your next direct mail piece with this strong credit offer. The company GUARANTEES a $5,000 charge card to anyone that applies. Anyhow, take a quick watch and let the wheels do their own turning!

 

Why Some Auto Dealers Survive While Others Go Out of Business

We’re halfway through Q3 and we are approaching the final stages of planning Q4. Certain industry factors have left some craters in the wake, but the moon-walking automotive direct marketer feels at home in such conditions. Let me explain.

Soaring fuel prices and economic uncertainty led to a sharp decline in U.S. auto sales in general, but truck and SUV sales in particular suffered the most. At this point there’s no need to recap this summer’s auto sales woes, but add in the stricter lending guidelines and loss of lease business, and we can say with assurance that the “car business” is hurting right now.

But from our perspective, our interaction with U.S. auto dealerships and what is being reported in the national media do not necessarily match up. For example, earlier this month a Hyundai dealer in Tennessee did a 5,000 piece targeted direct mailer, and from the first half (2,500) they got 36 responses (1.44%), which isn’t bad. It’s above industry average, and it yielded double digit sales. But there’s nothing too special about that (our direct mail has been called the best in the business, and over 90% of our programs have performed in this manner for over three straight years!).

The amazing thing is that with a tweak in the data for the remaining 2,500 pieces, the dealer got 175 responses (6.99%) and is still selling units to this day from the mailer we sent out! In the end, the dealer will probably end up with 30 or 40 retail deliveries. This is in addition to the traffic produced by other advertising mediums and daily walk-ins. This dealer will gross over $100k from a dinky little 5,000 piece Hill Marketing mailer; just one of the reasons our clients love us so much!

On the other end of the spectrum is a Dodge dealer in NC. Only the man that has been hiding under a rock in a dark cave isn’t aware of the ultra-suffering and hemorrhaging that Dodge dealers have had to endure this summer. But as a Hill Marketing client, this Dodge dealer has had a steady flow of quality traffic from our mailers. We got a call at the beginning of the month and the dealer “TRIPLED” their normal amount of direct mail (they run with us every month).

Now, why would a Dodge dealer triple their amount of direct mail? Our answer: because our mailers out-perform anything else on the market! This Dodge dealer is enjoying over 3% response rates and is not firing salespeople, rather, hiring more! Try to tell this Dodge dealer that the market is soft and he’ll laugh at you. His salespeople and F & I team will average over $10k on this month’s paycheck – because they’re selling units with good grosses.

Another example would be a GM dealer in Louisiana that runs our mailer religiously. In the midst of all the trepidation they are laughing all the way to the bank enjoying a 3.74% response rate from Hill Marketing direct mail.

Then there’s a Texas dealer that can’t stop putting in orders for our direct mail. He’s a Chevy store, and he uses us multiple times per month (anywhere between 10,000 and 30,000 pieces). For over a year we have been providing direct mail for this dealer, and in his eyes, we’re his hero.

So it is with a major San Antonio dealer (tough market). We’re the ace in the hole for them because we’re the only direct mail provider that can get 5.34% response rates! To a bunch of savvy car people, leads are of essential importance. That is why the GM down there picks up the phone and calls Hill Marketing and orders direct mail from us – every month.

Anyone can say anything online. That’s just the way it is. So if you’re a dealer reading this and are considering doing direct mail but think I’m lying, do like they did at one point and call me and ask for references. The above referenced real life cases have been informed of this article and are willing to take reference inquiries. Nothing beats a real life testimonial from a peer, and now is your chance to check things out. Q4 will be here soon, and there’s still time to book Q3 events.

It’s either that or you’ll just keep reading about other’s success!

Sincerely,

 

John Greenleaf

Marketing Director

Hill Marketing Group

(866) 572-4861 ext. 4127

INDUSTRY RUMOR: GM TO LAUNCH “BIGGEST SALE IN 100 YEARS!”

I’m not sure if this is considered “classified information,” but I have been told by three different GM dealers (in different regions) that on the 19^th of this month GM plans to launch what they are calling “THE BIGGEST SALE IN 100 YEARS!”

We don’t know what it’s going to be yet, but as soon as we do, we’ll let you know. So if you’re a GM dealer, then you probably don’t need to use us for the rest of August. But if you aren’t a GM dealer, then you need to worry about market share.

This will be a ripe time to mail since auto buying will be on the mind, producing a consumer “monkey see monkey do” environment.

In our Hill Marketing office we play a radio in the background all day long. Today I have already heard several mentions of GM products from the DJ, not an advertisement, in between the songs. Someone’s getting paid!!!

Stay tuned, I’ll let you know as soon as I hear what this “BIGGEST SALE IN 100 YEARS” is all about.