One of the most powerful outcomes when you use social media regularly is the virtual following you have. There are so many opportunities to communicate with your followers and entice them to visit your dealership. Social Media is a perfect way to tell people the perks of visiting your location. Here are a few ideas on how to turn your virtual traffic into actual customers in your dealership.
- Have a special promotion. Everybody loves a good deal. When you hold a special promotion and advertise on your Social Media outlets, you will likely have more visitors. Remember to make it conversational when you promote a sale. Ask your followers “Are you coming into our dealership this weekend for our annual sale? It is going to be big!”
- Host a charity event. Even people who follow you, but wouldn’t necessarily walk into your dealership, won’t pass up the opportunity to help a good cause. There are many ways you could donate to charity but also bring in traffic. For example, broadcast through your Social Media that for every person that comes to your dealership this weekend you will donate $1 to a specific charity. Or say that x% of your profits one week will go toward a certain non-profit organization.
- Advertise a contest. People love the thrill of winning. Hold a raffle. Have a BBQ cook-off. Host a family game day. Remember, the prize doesn’t have to be too huge or extreme. The idea is more about providing people with something fun and interesting to do on the weekend that giving away an extravagant prize. Promoting these kinds of contests on your Social Media outlets will not only bring in customers but it will show the fun personality of your dealership.
Remember to show your Social Media followers what your dealership has to offer without making them feel like they are being advertised to. In the end, you want to meet, in person, the people that you communicate with over Social Media. You don’t necessarily want to make a sale that day, rather you want to develop a relationship and potentially gain a lead. If you have this mentality when promoting your dealership, then you will find yourself with loyal and valuable customers.
Filed under: Strategy, community, engaging customers, Facebook, marketing, social media presence, social media strategy
July 21, 2011 • 12:26 pm 0
Handling Negative Comments – An Overview
Comments tend to be one of the major cornerstones to an RV dealerships social media program. Because social media revolves around engaging and interacting with customers, monitoring and responding to comments needs to be at the top of your list.
Some comments will be positive, some neutral and possibly some negative. No one likes to read something negative about themselves or their dealership but this does not mean you should ignore or delete those customer posts. Your first reaction to a negative comment may be defensive; however, this is an opportunity for you to communicate with the customer and anyone else who will read your online conversation in the future.
When you receive these negative comments, try to view the online feedback as constructive, instead of negative. Next, ask yourself, “Should I respond?” Not all comments warrant a response, but if you feel it will help alleviate confusion or change the conversation from negative to positive, then dive in. After you decide to comment, remember these steps: listen, stay positive, don’t blame and try to provide a solution. It is also key that you make yourself or someone else immediately available to take their call, answer their email or be of any other help that they could need. Most people that leave negative comments just want to be heard and get their gripes off their chest, making sure you are there to respond and help rectify the situation can go a long way in providing them with goodwill about the way you handled their predicament.
There will also be times when responding isn’t enough – in which you will want to remove the comment. This would be the case if someone is using vulgar and inappropriate language or calling out someone from your dealership by name. You, your employees and your dealership don’t have to stand for abuse and these cases tend to be just that.
Remember, a good defense is a great offense. Instead of taking the comment and responding negatively, try to find a solution that will make you and the person behind the icon happy. You can use this as a way to better yourself and your dealership.
*Image Credit: Miss Miah
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Filed under: Strategy, blog comments, comments, customer service, Negative Comments, rv dealership, social media strategy