These tough economic times bring tough sales, especially auto sales. Layoffs, shortened shifts, and pay-cuts are causing consumers to spend more wisely, as they are ultimately spending less. Educated customers are not necessarily unwilling customers, however, every person that walks on the lot is crucial to an auto dealer surviving. In addition to new clients, returning customers are vital to company revenue, and building buyer loyalty is imperative. A customer loyalty program is a well-developed solution that can keep customers coming back, time after time, with dollar after dollar. The following strategies are key elements of an established automotive customer loyalty program.

Point Programs
A good customer incentive program can be tailored to meet specific needs and parameters. Generally tracked via magnetic card strips, auto dealers can learn buying habits of particular customers, and gain the ability to adapt a rebate, or points, program. For example, if a customer has come to the dealer only once to get an oil change, it can be assumed that the customer went elsewhere to get the service done. A point program will establish incentives for the customer, or allow them to earn points, to return to the dealer for all of their oil changing needs, and possibly lead to more.

Customer Contacts
Customer relationship marketing is a principal strategy is gaining continuing revenue from existing customers because it allows auto dealers to pinpoint customer spending habits. Some programs allow the dealership to sit back and relax, while the automated system gathers information and sends emails that target individual customer needs. Additionally, the system is able to gather customer information for promotions, free gifts, contests, direct mailing, and loyalty certificates. In short, an auto dealership customer loyalty program can establish credible and constant contact with existing customers.

Club Benefits
Loyalty programs can go beyond targeting individual businesses by using local cross promotion. Customer incentives can link to local restaurants, retail stores, and other businesses. This type of enticement is a win-win for customers and businesses, as it creates revenue, offers preferred recommendations and saves the customer money. A good partnership program can go even further by tailoring customer benefits to their spending habits and location. Cross promoting businesses demonstrates a genuine care for the community, and fosters a strong network of revenue.

Today’s auto dealerships are one-stop-shops for buying, trading and servicing automobiles. However, emphasizing all three of these entities to customers can be difficult. Earning a customer’s dollar in these economic times is harder than ever, yet developing customer loyalty can battle a recession by promoting a wide range of services and incentives. A good client loyalty program will be able to effectively and efficiently gather information to target particular spending habits. Building customer faithfulness is an essential component in developing consistent revenue, as well as the overall growth of a dealership.

NuCar Consulting has been the industry  leader in developing customer loyalty programs, customer relationship marketing  and automotive loyalty programs proven to increase customer retention in  today’s changing market.
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In a recession most business leaders will mentally accept that trading conditions are difficult and as a consequence lower expectations/goals. This mind set can then become self fulfilling as the mental state that creates this thinking will determine the actions of that individual. His reduced expectations are felt by employees and, guess what, standards slip, performance suffers and targets are not met but he accepts it all.

Many business owners will expect poor performance or even “freeze” become inert and incapable of making decisions.

If you think you’ll lose you will, if you believe you can win you very probably will.

If you are responsible for dictating budgets don’t cut the marketing budget, if you are responsible for marketing but don’t dictate the budget, fight to ensure it isn’t cut with reasoned argument and the proven factual arguments for maintaining spend

The key to success is to not cut your marketing budget and do nothing but to revise your marketing strategy. The following ideas are all crucial marketing activities in a recession and your strategy should be altered accordingly:

1. Hold back on any “test” marketing and concentrate on doing more of what you know already works.

2. Ensure you have an effective programme of keeping in touch with existing customers to ensure loyalty, using every means possible; e-mail, letter, newsletters, phone call, personal visit, make them feel wanted especially during a recession, if you have their confidence they’ll want to stay safe…with you.

3. Identify the element of your prospects and existing customer base least likely to be affected by a recession either through the nature of their business or their financial strength and concentrate your marketing strategy on them, seek successful vertical markets. Avoid marketing to sectors most affected they will prove to be less profitable and obviously more vulnerable.

Try to develop a “We are the experts” mentality in your marketing. In a recession customers want to stay safe with somebody who knows what they are doing….”the Authority” on a subject.

For over 17 years we’ve been designing and fulfilling creative solutions for hundreds of businesses, helping companies like yours to promote their business services with the creative talents of our expert team of graphic designers and print professionals.

www.rasgroup.co.uk

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-tips-articles/marketing-strategy-in-a-recession-1468678.html

In today’s competitive world of business, you need to use every way possible to get your name out there as much as possible. Every week I talk to at least one business owner that is complaining about not getting enough customers in the door. One of the questions I ask them is if they have a blog. They say no and as I explain the benefits of blogging to any business, they still choose not to do this.

Even if you don’t have a traditional website for your business, you should at least have a blog. Blogs are a great way to increase your name online without having to have a traditional website. Not that I am condoning skipping your own business website, but at least start with a blog.

Blogs increase your online presence
Search Engines love blogs. It’s simple. Search Engines feed off of content. Blogs are just content. No fancy Flash animations, no impossible to read graphics. Just pure content.

Plus, think about it this way, if you have a 5 page website and nothing ever changes, search engines will index your site and then never come back if you don’t change anything. Blogs on the other hand teach search engines to come back to look for new stuff. The more blog posts you have, the more “pages” the search engines have to index. See how this works. Instead of just having 5 pages indexed on the search engines, each post counts as a page. Now what if you posted once a week. In a year you’d have 52 pages indexed in the search engines. See how this can increase your exposure online and lead to an increase in sales?

Blogs allow you to communicate with your customers
Your blog is a great way to keep your customers in touch with what’s going on in your business. Simple articles about your company’s latest news, what’s going on in your industry and your newest products and specials can all be posted in your blog to keep everyone up to date.

This keeps your existing customers coming back. You need ot keep in front of your existing custoemrs as much as possible. People are flighty. You need to earn their loyalty and keep them coming back as often as possible. Plus this is an easy way to announce new products that want or need and get them to spend more money with you. It’s easier to sell to a happy customer that has already purchased than it is to convince a prospect that you are the right choice for them.

By communicating with your existing customers via a blog you can easily increase sales on new products and services without spending a ton on advertising.

Blogs show you as the expert
When a prospect is first looking at choosing to give up their hard earned cash to a business, they want to know without a shadow of a doubt that they are choosing the right company. When a prospect finds your blog and shows that you are active and that you share your knowledge by showing how to’s and that you communicate with the world, they see that you are the expert.

The more you share, the more you will build that trust and they are more likely to choose you as the person or company that they do business with.

So, if you’re one of those people that thinks that having a blog is not right for your business or that it’s too much work, I hope that now you see how beneficial having a blog can be for any business. Traditional or Internet based, not having a blog can actually be hurting your business and by blogging on a regular basis and sharing your knowledge with the world you can increase sales in your business and become known as the expert in your industry.

Want to learn how you can increase sales and catch the attention of your prospects immediately on your website or blog? Download my free report “Copywritng Basics For Your Website” and learn how you can write better and get prospects to pay attention to what you have to say! Claim your free report right now at http://mybusinessmarketingmentor.com/membership/

Ely Delaney is the creator of “My Business Marketing Mentor”, a web site dedicated to giving small business the tools they need to market their businesses both online and offline. Each month new tactics are added that show business owners marketing ideas through video, articles, reports and audios.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-tips-articles/how-your-retail-business-can-increase-sales-by-blogging-1273773.html