Your Fall Marketing Mix

Are you feeling spooked as fall approaches and seasonal demand starts to shift? Haunted by ghosts of seasons past when you failed to anticipate changing demands? Are you caught in the web of trying to pick the marketing investment that will bring you the leads you need to finish strong in 2023?

Not to worry, the OperateBeyond team is here with the trends, techniques, and tools you need. Grab your pumpkin spice latte and let’s get started with a few easy steps to plan out your fall.

Choosing Your Target Market

It sounds so simple, you’re looking for people who want what you sell, right? Right! Let’s break this concept down a little bit more and think about the people who are most likely to buy from you right now, and what will motivate them to make a purchase?

For example, are you starting to make seasonal adjustments to reduce the inventory on your lot? Then price-conscious buyers who love off-season savings are your target. If you’re stocking up fish houses and snowmobiles, make sure your messaging resonates with those cold-weather lovers. You get the idea.

Product

Product is not only the items you sell, but the services you provide. Remind your previous buyers that the off-season is the best time to get those repairs and upgrades they’ve been putting off. Put together simple packages, like winterization, at a flat price that is easy to understand. If you offer storage or other overwinter services, do you customers know these options are available?

Is your winter accessory selection easy to access on your website? Have a little fun with social media posts highlighting your products as part of the winter experience, and don’t forget to include a call to action to bring them to the store to stock up on gear for the winter months.

Most importantly, make sure people know how much your dealership has to offer by reminding buyers to leave you a review at the time that they purchase. Try posting QR codes with your Google Review link in the checkout area, or asking the customer to leave a review while you complete their registration paperwork.

Place

Now that your products and services are ready to go, let’s make sure it’s easy for buyers to get them. Do you offer directions and additional location information on your website? Are your address and your hours accurate on commonly referenced resources like Google Business Profile, Apple Maps, and your business Facebook page? Are your delivery options and after hours appointment options clear and easy to find?

Promotion

Remember your bargain-loving target market? How are they going to know about your awesome deals? Zero in on these users by connecting with them with key terms like “Best Prices of the Year” and “Fall Clearance”. Let them know that only a few items remain in stock and they don’t want to miss out. And make sure you are marketing where price conscious buyers shop, like Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace.

Or, let’s say you want to create a Black Friday event. You’ll need to contact your previous customers not once, not twice, but up to five times to alert them to your awesome deals on parts and accessories. How do you do that without making them and you crazy? By creating email and SMS drip campaigns that go out at scheduled times with a variety of messages.

Decide which portion of your overall marketing budget should go to brand-building activities, like billboards, radio ads, TikTok videos, and TV commercials. While those activities can be an important differentiators for your brand, and, it IS the fun stuff, don’t neglect the outlets that let you harvest every lead, like Facebook Catalog ads, Search Engine Marketing, and classified listings. As lead generation naturally drops over the winter, build up your branding efforts so you are well known for the spring buying season.

Price

Who doesn’t love a deal? While discounting should be used selectively and strategically, it’s a great way to incentivize buyers to get those end-of-season deals before they’re gone for good. Make sure everyone knows about your end-of-year deals with a few easy steps.

• Make sure to take advantage of image overlays in your inventory to visually highlight your hottest deals as the days grow chilly.
• Add Is On Special indicators and create a Specials page on your website to make markdown inventory easy to find.
• Bundle up the savings by adding accessories, parts, and prepaid services to your sale. Buyers who have scored a deal are more likely to make additional purchases.

Gather Your Team

If your marketing to-do list has you sweating like you just finished a turkey trot, don’t forget to recruit help to get it all done. Your OperateBeyond account manager is a valuable resource in helping you review your site, making optimizations in record time, and offering expert business consultation.

Taking a few steps to design your fall marketing mix will help you not only close more sales as you finish out your year, but also make genuine connections and build your brand with your customer base. Make the most of sweater weather with a focused, goal-driven strategy, and have a wonderful fall!

Did you like this content? Send me your suggestions or feedback at rachel@operatebeyond.com