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Want to qualify leads before they reach the dealership? Oil up your sales funnel with auto email software that targets, nurtures, and converts prospects
Just like the auto industry, online marketing is always changing. New strategies pop up, and others fall out of fashion. But there is one method that has continued to stay relevant: email. When you stop and think about it, that’s pretty incredible, given the fact that emailing was one of the first major innovations of the internet.
Email today is primarily used a “nurturing” tool for customer acquisition, and software companies have made the process more efficient. Your salespeople, in particular, benefit from auto email software. It gives clear insights into customer behavior, saves precious time, and starts the qualifying process early.
Where auto email software fits into the “customer journey” and inbound sales
When you separate your dealership’s email contacts into groups, you get four main categories: leads, referrals, recent buyers, and past clients. Each of these categories contains people in different stages of their “customer journeys.”
A lead, for example, may have found your inventory on a third-party website, like Cars.com or AutoTrader. She checked a vehicle, visited your website, and then took a crucial step—she submitted her information and email address. This is the beginning of the email nurturing process.
The issue is not having an automated system in place to qualify, nurture, and segment these leads. A manual follow-up for every lead is time-consuming. Plus, it leaves room for mistakes.
Auto email software establishes workflows and funnel strategies for dealerships
Our software has the capability to target specific groups of people with scheduled emails. The messages are created based on their behaviors, interests, and how they entered the dealership’s sales funnel.
The goal of each email is to guide the recipient to the next step in the sale. The next step may be coming in for a test drive or responding to a promotion. Over time, each person within your email list becomes more and more qualified, depending on how you target and engage them with email strategy.
4 ways to use auto email software for qualifying leads
1. Segment your email contacts into targeted groups
If there’s one thing online marketing has taught us, it’s that market segmentation (targeting specific groups) is most effective. Auto email software allows users to filter, segment, and categorize their leads by criteria.
Here’s why targeting is necessary for email marketing:
- It allows you to write more personally.
- You’re addressing specific concerns and needs these people have – and offering a solution.
- You can track progress and behavior in an insightful way.
- It allows you to create specific marketing material that will attract their attention.
2. Automated responses for better workflow and follow-up
Automation is the key to lead management and conversion. It’s the lubricant that keeps your online sales funnel well-oiled and working fast. The trick is developing a strategy, so these messages have the most impact.
Side note: it’s important to clarify that not every email message is supposed to be automatic. Manually responding to customers is frequently necessary in certain situations.
Automated responses, on the other hand, frees up unneeded manual follow-up. It makes interaction manageable and improves workflow.
A drip campaign is a quintessential example of what auto email software can do for you. When an email address (your lead) enters into the system, you may also assign them to a particular campaign. These automatic messages will send out on a schedule (maybe three to six months or once daily for three days).
3. Message templates to guide your writing craft
You might be wondering, “Okay, that sounds great, but how do I create the best emails?”
Good news: our auto email software includes templates for several different types of messages. Choose the template that works best for the situation. You’ll never have to face the blank screen again without help.
- Less time spent crafting emails for campaigns
- Templates provide layouts for different types of recipients
- Create your own template to use again and again
4. Insights into who reads, interacts, and responds to you
Not every email will convert. There is, at least, a small amount of measurement and tweaking needed to create a pivotal email.
Seeing what messages people have been opening, reading, and interacting with is a critical insight for car dealers. That way you can adapt your strategy and see what works best.
AutoRaptor includes statistics for email engagement. Did you have one that performs exceptionally well on a consistent basis? Now you can use that template over again and see how people respond.
Maybe your lead opened your email but didn’t take action. You can adapt and add different structure or content to encourage them towards the next step in the sale.
Add value to your customer’s experiences with auto email software that nurtures relationships
Email is a big part of your online funnel strategy, but it’s nearly impossible to maintain without automation and technology on your side. Leads are fragile connections, but, with the right amount of interaction and targeting, they will begin to show their needs. Qualification is a never a one-step process.
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