The importance of mastering Google’s Dealer Guidebook for effective digital marketing

Google is the largest source of information that not only helps us with daily tasks, but also allows businesses to reach wider audiences by leveraging marketing and advertising technology. On today’s show, we’re pleased to welcome Google’s Head of Automotive Retail, Lissette Gole, who discusses the revised Google’s Dealer Guidebook. We’re also joined by Brian Benstock, Partner GM and Vice President of Paragon Honda and Paragon Acura who has been adopting many of the guide’s best practices.

Gole begins the conversation by touching on Google’s Dealer Guidebook and what it covers. Gole says they re-released an updated version of the guide because the auto industry has been undergoing so many retailing changes that were accelerated by COVID. The guidebook is intended to give car dealers and agency partners best practices on how to use Google to drive profitability for their businesses. The great thing about the guidebook is that it meets you where you are, says Gole.

Benstock says the best practices they’ve implemented at Paragon come largely from the guidebook. He says you don’t need the largest platform to target people that are in the market to buy your product. He adds that car dealers should use the best platforms and master the ability to use those platforms to target customers in a cost-effective way. Regardless of what your strategy is, using a Google platform to reach customers is more important now than ever, says Benstock.

They don’t need to know about the guidebook, they need to master the guidebook says Benstock. The only way we’re going to be able to compete is to master the master platforms. Whether it’s Google, Facebook, or Instagram, these are where the customers are living. Being socially connected is the key.

Gole says they have two versions of the guidebook. One is for dealers to understand the landscape of what’s happening in the industry and the other is an implementation guide for advertising agencies and digital marketers. Gole wants car dealers to feel empowered to ask questions to anybody who’s managing their business. She would challenge car dealers to talk to their agency partners monthly, about their ROI and data analytics.

Gole ends the conversation by discussing what she would like to see from car dealers in the future. She says first-party data is powerful, and car dealers need to lean into that and use it for marketing. Gole says they are truly here to help. Leverage the guidebook because that’s where you’ll find all the answers to your questions and how you can sell more calls.

Click here to download the Topline Dealer Guidebook 2.5.

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