The COVID-19 pandemic has obviously dampened the automotive industry in the U.S. with a double whammy from the demand side and the supply side. This report predicts a 24% year-on-year contraction of auto sales in 2020. Thus, in the remaining months of 2020 it is an uphill task to end up with only a 24% contraction. However, May 2020 sales at around 1.1 m PVs has shown glimpses of a resilient market perhaps due to partial lifting of restrictions by some states and the categorization of auto sales as ‘essential service.’ Further, there was a silver lining in the form of digital marketing tools that the automotive industry used imaginatively to drive sales.

There is no doubt that digital marketing will play an important role in the revival of the automotive industry. In fact, one great hack that will surely put an extra gap between you and your competitor is to employ a solid SEO strategy that certainly works on your target market. 

Here are some ways in which this can happen.

Data is the backbone

Big Data is making inroads in the way it is able to sift through large amounts of data to meaningfully extract relevant information that could be used by the automotive industry. The automotive industry would gain immensely if it uses technology to cull out predictive information on buyer behavior from the mass of data it has already accumulated over the years. The analysis of this data will help automakers plan for newer models of cars and target customers who would be more inclined to buy a vehicle. 

Entering ride sharing

The success of ride-sharing and ride-hailing services will entice the automakers to try their luck with offering services on their own circumventing established players. With the experience in technology to manufacture automobiles, auto makers will fancy their chances to make a success of their own ride-sharing or car-sharing app. The big advantage automakers will have is the low cost of capital required to own vehicles manufactured by them. The strides made in digital marketing technologies will stand them in good stead and they can give stiff competition to the major players. Big Data can play a dominant role here as well.

Internet of Things (IoT)

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the most important technological development that has just scratched the surface. IoT uses the Internet to connect to devices and make them smart devices.  Furthermore, it is referred to as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) if applied in the industrial field. Each device can share information with other devices providing a huge volume of data. Big Data can now come into play and analyze trends offering tremendous insights into consumer behavior. Based on this data digital marketing can take over and target customers in a personalized way. IoT assists digital marketing by providing valuable inputs as to customers’ choices across a variety of parameters such as payment choices, necessity of specific features, improvements in product quality, shortcomings of the car, terrains that the car traverses and driving characteristics. The real benefit is the precise targeting of individual customers.

Social media

Social media is a subset of digital marketing but a very important element that can help a brand to great heights with its powerful appeal across a whole range of demographic segments. Automakers and their dealerships can leverage the vast amounts of data and analysis to target personalized messages to almost any individual which are relevant to that individual. This is a powerful tool for digital marketing to explore while marketing cars to specific customers.

Automakers and dealerships can use the services of a competent agency such as Click Here Digital a five-star rated advertising agency for automotive industry to learn about the latest developments in digital marketing and how to use them to maximize sales.

Digital marketing in the automotive industry is benefitting from the immense developments in technologies to map the journey of a customer from thinking about buying a car to the actual buying and thereafter on its usage. Automakers and dealerships have a better handle on what cars to market to which customer. From a shot in the dark kind of marketing a few years ago to precise targeting, the car dealers require all the help that digital marketing can give them to tide over the difficult situation predicted for the automotive industry in the next few years.