Marketing inside dealerships is getting more complex, and the people running it are struggling to keep up. Some dealers are spending up to $100,000 a month on marketing with little trained oversight. On this episode of CBT Now, auto marketing expert and CEO of PCG Digital, Glenn Pasch, joins us to share his insight on how dealerships can maximize their marketing budget.
Many marketing managers lack proper training
The gap between what marketing managers need to know and what they actually know is growing, Pasch says. New technology, including AI, is being pushed out to marketers, many of them already behind on training.
"You can't manage through hope. You can't hope my marketing is going to work. I have to invest in that person to make sure that it's working because it's just too costly."
Without the time or training to do the job properly, marketing budgets simply are not being maximized. Pasch says the biggest gap he sees is in data analysis and vendor accountability.
“They’re not armed enough to push back on a vendor … Why is that going down? Why is that going up? How is that set up?” Pasch says, “a lot of times you just get a list of numbers, everybody’s eyes sort of glaze over and go, okay, hope we’re doing well.”
Rather than simply chasing leads and managing campaigns the marketing manager role should be built around strategy. Pasch recommends starting with a clear understanding of what each department is trying to sell, who the audience is, and what geographic market the dealership is targeting.
Data drives marketing success
Before any conversation about AI can be meaningful, Pasch says, dealers need to take a close look at their data.
“We have to clean up our data to understand what it is. And then we can leverage this technology of AI to save time. But everybody right now is just trying to sell a product. You know, AI is the new buzzword,” Pasch says.
Much of the hype over AI is simply repackaged thinking being sold as something new, he says. Dealers who were doing solid SEO work all along are largely already covered. The problem arises when vendors lead with AI as a sales tactic rather than offer it as a genuine solution to a defined problem.
Accountability key to aligning vendors
Dealers are working with more vendors than ever, Pasch says, but a lack of internal oversight often leads to problems. Without one person responsible for managing all vendor relationships, dealerships can end up with duplicate products, conflicting technology, and no accountability for results.
Pasch suggests assigning someone within the dealership to oversee vendors and technology.
“Somebody has to be the advocate in the dealership to oversee the technology that you’re using. Is it communicating with each other? Is it not? How are we organizing this? And then who, which vendor does what so that then I can hold them accountable,” he says.
The goal isn’t to police vendors but to align them. Every vendor in the mix needs to be working toward the same outcome.
Consider hiring an in-house marketing expert
Hiring a dedicated, trained marketing manager is not an added expense, Pasch says. It can be the most important spend a dealer can make. That person is not tucked away running social posts, Pasch says, they are at the leadership table with used car, finance, and service, turning department needs into marketing strategy and holding vendors to results.
Do not expect to find this person on the showroom floor. The role requires a marketing background, vendor experience, and the ability to manage relationships at a strategic level.
“You’re going to have to hire somebody who has a marketing degree … You headhunt them out,” he says.
The benefits go beyond the dealership. Pasch says marketing vendors work faster and more effectively when a knowledgeable contact is on the other end. It eliminates the time spent explaining strategy to a GSM and gets straight to the work.
PCG Digital’s marketing solutions for dealers
For dealers not yet ready to hire a full-time expert, Pasch says PCG Digital has built services to fill the gap. The first trains existing marketing managers as if they were agency employees, building the skills needed to do the job at a higher level. PCG also steps in when dealerships unexpectedly lose marketing staff.
For larger groups, PCG provides overflow support. Pasch says that can help take pressure off a single marketing manager who may be stretched across multiple stores.
The financial stakes in marketing are too high to ignore, he says. Undertrained marketing managers cannot maximize spend, hold vendors accountable, or keep up.
Get more leadership insights from Glenn Pasch on his podcast, You’re in Charge. Pasch says it’s made for managers who got promoted without proper training for their new role.
