COVID-19 Impact: Automotive Industry COVID-19’s Impact on the Automotive Industry and How Brands Can Continue to Serve Their Customers The automotive industry is feeling the effects of coronavirus (COVID-19) in major ways – from showrooms being closed for months to supply delays from international manufacturers to domestic assembly interruptions. These issues are creating intense pressure for the already struggling automotive industry. According Canalys, auto sales in North America are expected to drop 18% year-over-year as a result of COVID-19. At the same time, major automotive events around the globe were cancelled or postponed, such as the Geneva motor show, New York International Auto Show and Australian Grand Prix. And many live sporting events where auto manufacturers typically advertise have been put on hold. Amidst such uncertainty, automotive marketers are being forced to pivot and find new ways to stay relevant throughout all phases of the pandemic. For example, during shelter-in-place periods, many marketers took the car shopping experience online as a way to adapt to the new normal and continue driving sales. Consumers quickly got onboard with online car shopping too! According to CarGurus, one out of four buyers are willing to test drive a car via virtual reality and over half are willing to do financing and price negotiation online instead of in-person due to COVID-19.
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Where to Focus Today for the Greatest Impact Later As many states start to reopen non-essential businesses, auto marketers must continue to adapt to the rapidly changing landscape in order to remain successful. This is particularly important when it comes to establishing thoughtful communication and continuity with target audiences. At Goodway Group, we believe there are four key areas where automotive marketers should be focused right now: •
Building Messages That Matter: Frequent communication with customers is imperative. Increase your long-term customer loyalty with timely communication, home delivery options, approachable customer support channels, and responsive digital media. For example, are your service department’s hours of operation updated on your website? Do customers know how to sign up for home pickup and drop off services? Are you promoting virtual tours of your latest models so customers can get the experience from the comfort of their couch? Also, make sure you are communicating the careful planning that has been done to ensure the wellness and safety of guests as your showrooms reopen. Build your go-tomarket strategy now to ensure that when the time comes to reopen your showrooms, guests are confident that the proper health-related precautions have been put in place to make them feel safe. Most importantly, examine which messages are receiving positive traction within your organic and paid media; then shift creatives to align with what you’re seeing.
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Keeping Community at the Core: Prioritizing an emotional connection is critical in these sensitive times to power brand loyalty and longer customer lifetime value. Explore opportunities to build that connection through messaging on how you can best serve your customer’s needs during these unprecedented times. Consider offering financial incentives for medical and first-responder employees or communities hardest hit by the pandemic. Don’t forget, you also have technology on your side. There is no better time to enhance your online and mobile in-app experience so your customers can feel safe engaging with your brand throughout all phases of the pandemic. The more contactless functions you can provide, like message a mechanic or contactless payment options, the more at ease customers will feel about buying from you.
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Putting Your First-Party Data First: Now is the ideal time to be focused on your first-party data – both its hygiene and your strategy on putting it to use. Tap your most loyal customers to provide feedback as you test and streamline new services, both now and as you plan to reopen. Capture contact information from online tools to connect with these consumers after reopening and encourage foot traffic into your showroom. Modeling audiences and gaining insights based on your consumers’ patterns will help guide your data strategy through the slow transition into the new normal after COVID-19 ends.
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Reassessing Your Media Strategy: Because the auto sales cycle tends to be longer, going dark on your advertising during COVID-19 could have a lasting negative impact. While you may be reducing budgets overall, it’s important to keep feeding the entire funnel so that you brand remain top of mind when buyers are ready to purchase. One way to reduce budgets while maintaining share of voice is to reassess your media strategy and look for new digital channels that provide the targeting precision you need at more flexible price points. For example, connected TV and mobile are both strong drivers of awareness that offer precise audience targeting. What’s more, with shifts in consumer media habits due to shelter-in-place orders, these digital channels are reaching more consumers than ever.
Goodway Group is the digital partner advertisers trust to drive campaign performance and media efficiency. Proud to be completely independently owned and operated, Goodway provides trustworthy expertise that meets its clients’ needs — and no one else’s. Using predictive intelligence, Goodway helps advertisers get the most value out of every impression across all paid digital media. Through the combination of employing the smartest technology and the most experienced people in the industry, Goodway delivers authentic results. © 2020 Goodway Group. All rights reserved.
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