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7 tips to improve your auto dealership’s email marketing strategy

Implementing even just a few of these tips can help your auto dealership see a significant improvement in email marketing results.

Like most auto dealerships, you’re always looking for ways to improve your email marketing strategy. After all, email is one of the most cost-effective and results-oriented marketing tools available today.

Here are seven tips to help you get the most out of your email marketing campaigns:

1. Keep your dealership email list clean and up-to-date

The first step to successful email marketing is ensuring your list is clean and up to date. That means removing inactive subscribers and ensuring that your list’s contact information is accurate and not affecting your delivery rate. Eventually, your reputation will suffer if you continue sending your emails from an old and dirty list.

No auto dealership wants to be put on a blocklist. To check if you’re on one, use MX Lookup. There are several ways to clean up your lists. You can manually do the work through an audit or consider using an email verification service such as ZeroBounce or BriteVerify.

email marketing2. Personalize your dealership messages

One of the best ways to improve your email marketing results is to personalize your messages. This means including the subscriber’s name in the subject line and the body of the message. Personalization is increasingly essential in eCommerce marketing and, according to the 2021 Email Benchmark Report, can significantly boost inbox placement rates.

You can also segment your list and send different messages to different groups of people. For example, you could send one email to people who live in a specific state or city and another email to people who have purchased a particular type of vehicle from your auto dealership.

3. Make sure your dealership emails are mobile-friendly

More and more people are reading their emails on their smartphones and mobile devices. Recent research shows that more than 70% of people read their email in a mobile app, with most checking their email in the morning. So, optimizing your emails for mobile viewing is essential.

There are a few different ways to do this, including using a responsive email template or a separate mobile-specific email template.

4. Use engaging content and visuals

We don’t live by word alone, and your emails should be more than just a bunch of text. Microsoft tested the human attention span and found that we only have an attention span of about eight seconds. And, combined with the fact that humans process visuals 60,000 times faster than text, you should never send text-only emails —unless you’re proving that it doesn’t work.

Remember that you’re selling a visually captivating product, and your emails should include engaging content, visuals, infographics, and videos. Most automobiles are chosen by emotion, and visuals are the best way to get attention.

5. Use an attractive and effective call-to-action

Your emails should always include a call-to-action (CTA) that encourages the reader to act, such as visiting your website or making a purchase. It’s also vital to have a CTA button. Studies show that choosing a button over a hyperlink for your CTA can boost conversion rates up to 28%

Make sure your CTA is clear, concise, and compelling. It should also stand out from the rest of the email so that people can’t help but click on it.

More: 6 effective call-to-action ideas car dealerships can try today

6. Test, test, test

One of the best ways to improve your email marketing results is to test different campaign elements constantly. Untested emails can cause a potential 13% loss in email marketing ROI and negatively impact opens, clicks, and your brand reputation. 

Some standard testing methods include testing different subject lines, calls-to-action, email content, and preview text.

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to email testing. The only way to find out what works best for your auto dealership is to experiment and see what gets the best results. And after you discover what gets the best results, refine your content, and repeat the process.

7. Use automation for auto dealership emails

Email marketing automation can save you a lot of time and effort by automating many of the tasks involved in running an email marketing campaign. This includes sending welcome emails to new subscribers, birthday emails, and win-back emails.

Email marketing automation can also help you segment your list and send different messages to different groups of people. For example, you could use automation to send one email to people who live in a specific neighborhood or city and another email to people who have purchased a particular type of vehicle from your auto dealership.

So, what are you waiting for? Get started today and take your dealership’s email marketing to the next level. Implementing even just a few of these tips can help your auto dealership see a significant improvement in email marketing results.


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Steve Mitchell
Steve Mitchell
Steve Mitchell is a contributing writer and reporter for CBT News. He earned bachelor's degrees in Marketing and Television from the University of Texas in Austin and a Masters of Theology study from Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas. His passion for automobiles lead him to become a creative director for automotive marketing ad agency. Most recently, he was the manager of interactive marketing for Mitsubishi Motors, NA.

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