Car dealership sales event ideas

May 19, 2021

Car dealer sales event

With more than 18,000 car dealerships across America, it’s inevitable that traders are always looking for innovative and creative ways to drive traffic towards their businesses, while also engaging with current customers. That’s where holding car sales events can prove invaluable. Not only do events give you a platform to really showcase what your business has to offer but they help to improve brand identity, build customer loyalty and will ideally lead to an increase in sales. Plus, with the world well on its way to returning back to normal and customers allowed to shop in person again, there couldn’t be a better time than now to look at incorporating events into your calendar once again.

Thanks to the experience we have of the automotive industry, the team at SnapCell have put together a list of ideas to help you organize your next event. With options to suit all types of budget, the possibilities are endless. So, let your creative juices flow and get planning.

Free Car Wash

It’s what it says on the tin, provide a car wash, free of charge, when customers purchase a service from your business. It sounds simple, right? Honestly though, it really does work. Afterall, who doesn’t like a shiny, clean car? This is a great event for businesses particularly wanting to focus on customer loyalty.

Take things one step further by offering a deep clean, inside and out, but make sure one of your sales team is on standby, so they can advertise your stock and services to the customer while they wait.

Why stop at just the one event? Make your free car wash a monthly occurrence, that takes place every Saturday.

Test Drive Promotion

A test drive promo day is guaranteed to help your car sales boom. Give every customer that test drives one of your cars a gift, reward, or even a discount on that particular model, so long as they make the purchase that day. Take things up a notch by making additional offers to those who bring their friend along for a test drive too.

Events like this are a fantastic way to engage with customers who are already looking for a new set of wheels so be clever with your promotion. Aim to target car browsers and hopefully, you’ll turn them into buyers.

Free Car Seat Safety

Host a free car seat safety event. This one is particularly designed with parents, expected parents and grandparents in mind. Give them the opportunity to come along to your dealership and see how to safely install a child seat. Offer them tips on how to best ensure their car is child-safe, while giving advice for the future as their little ones grow older, for example, what age should their child stop using a safety seat.

Remember, parents and grandparents, could possibly be looking to upgrade their car or buy a bigger and more practical model, so use this to your advantage. Make sure you’re showcasing your best-selling and most popular family cars, incorporate test drives and offer a discount for every customer that makes a purchase that day.

Loyalty Sale

There is so much focus on new custom, we think it’s about time you reward those who are loyal to your business too, don’t you?

Word of mouth is such an understated, yet priceless marketing tool and something that businesses can’t afford to overlook. Simply put, if you treat your loyal customers well, then they can become one of your main sources of referrals.

You can either offer deals across the whole of your dealership, or alternatively, offer exclusive discounts on certain makes and models, streamlining the promotion among a more specific audience who already own that vehicle brand.

Refer a friend

Another one that probably suits loyal customers a little bit more is organizing a ‘refer a friend’ day. With loyal consumers being some of your top referrals, offer than an incentive to get their mates through your door too. Give all previous customers some sort of treat or reward when they refer a friend and remember, this doesn’t necessarily have to be a discount, it could be the chance to be entered into a prize draw.

Price match events

This is a common retail marketing technique and one that is sure to generate interest among both potential and returning customers.

At price match events, your dealership promises to match the price of your competitors or the manufacturer. Another alternative is offering to beat any price your customers find but be careful, if you do choose this option, then bear in mind that although this can often be more attractive to clients, it can sometimes prove more time consuming for your staff. If you’re looking for a straightforward option while ensuring customer engagement, then we would advise sticking to price matching specific brands or competing businesses.

Charity Event

Who doesn’t enjoy feeling like they’re contributing to a good cause, while treating themselves to a new purchase? In fact, more than half of consumers are willing to pay more companies that give back and work to improve their communities.

Organizing a charity event is the perfect way to showcase your good willing while boosting your business at the same time. Better still, link up with a local charity and encourage them to promote your event. Not only with market to a wider audience but it should hopefully bring in new customers too.

Big Barbeque Event

There’s no denying we all love a good community barbeque, so use this to get people into your dealership. Community barbeques are ideal networking event for every type of customer, both returning and potential. So, put up a few branded marquees, cleverly position some of your best-selling vehicles and light that barbeque. These can either be held as a one-off promotional event, or they can be organized to help celebrate your dealership’s birthday.

During events like these, the idea is to subtlety sell your business. Brief your staff ahead of your event, so they’re ready to answer any questions asked by visitors. Make sure the place is decorated with promotional material, hand out business cards and collect email addresses so you can add them to your database. Of course, this type of event lends itself perfectly to social media, so get snapping. Take pictures and live stream the day, while encouraging visitors to tag you across their social channels too.

Seasonal Events

Get people in the holiday spirit by holding a seasonal event over the festive period, this could be during the whole of December, or a shorter countdown to the big day.

Offer a gift throughout this your chosen duration for every person who purchases a car from your dealership. These can be as big or small as you’d like them to be, plus they can be given strategically or randomly. Anything from a pre-paid gas card, to an electronic devices or service from your business, is sure to be received with grateful hands.

Maintenance Package Giveaways

All cars need maintaining, that’s a fact but a lot of customers either forget that they need to keep on top of looking after their car, or they simply don’t budget for it. So why not make it part of the package when they buy a car?

The beauty of offering a maintenance package is it can be as big or a little as you’d like it to be. You could offer anything from an oil change, to a lifetime maintenance, it’s totally up to you and what your budget allows. The main thing is, adding maintenance to the package definitely makes it more appealing to the customer.

Purchase personalization

Making a customer feel like their personalizing their purchase is definitely an attractive pull to help get customers through your door. Give shoppers a ‘customize budget’, which allows them to add extra features within a set amount. Make sure this offer is on for a limited time only, to encourage customers to shop with you sooner, rather than later.

If customers want any additional features, that go beyond your decided budget, then there’s the option to offer them at wholesale cost.

Raffle

It’s a timeless classic, yet it’s sure to generate footfall every time. Whether you’re offering one of your products or services as a prize, or something totally different, like an iPad, you really can’t go wrong. Let’s be honest, everyone likes to get their hands on something for free.

Remember to use a raffle to your advantage, by collecting customer information while they purchase their tickets.

Promote yourselves

Ultimately, you don’t want to waste the opportunity to promote the products and services your business can offer, at any the events we have mentioned offers. It really is essential that you use these events as a platform to showcase the true potential of your business, which means it’s definitely worth investing in your marketing.

The Snapcell360 feature is the ideal tool to help promote your business at car sales events. Designed specifically with the automotive industry in mind, Snapcell 360 allows customers to gain a 360 view of the cars ahead of purchase. The feature virtually mimics being inside the car, highlighting all of the great details it has to offer. Get in touch with SnapCell and let our team of experts help you show customers what your dealership really has to offer.

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