CBT News is delivering exclusive coverage from the NADA Show 2026 in Las Vegas, bringing dealers and industry professionals the latest insights shaping the retail automotive industry. In this on-site conversation, Force Marketing President and CEO John Fitzpatrick shares how dealers are leveraging data, automation, and omnichannel marketing to capture more in-market shoppers and maximize advertising impact.
Key Takeaways:
- Dealers entering 2026 are not focused on recovery but on refinement, seeking incremental improvements across increasingly complex operations where each department functions as its own profit center. Even stores posting strong results are seeking ways to improve performance, recognizing that weaknesses in areas such as service, sales, or inventory management can quickly erode overall profitability and create cash flow challenges.
- Marketing strategies are increasingly built around identifying real in-market shoppers first and then reaching them consistently across every platform they use, from streaming television and social media to email and digital display. By aligning marketing spend with consumer behavior and purchase intent, dealers can accelerate inventory turnover, improve pricing discipline, and ensure advertising budgets deliver measurable returns rather than serving as a routine expense.
- Automation and stronger partnerships between technology providers are helping dealers eliminate disconnected marketing efforts and gain clearer attribution on their spending. By integrating CRM data, audience intelligence, and advertising platforms, dealers can better coordinate campaigns, improve efficiency, and stretch budgets further, while vendors collaborate more closely to deliver unified strategies rather than operate in isolated silos.
Catch all of CBT News’ coverage of the 2026 NADA Show here.
