Kia Dealership Uses Facebook Ads To Turn $3,000 Into $135,000 In 30 Days
Case Study: Grimsby Kia
Disclaimer: The sales figures stated below are sales figures from client results. Results are not typical. We are not implying that you will be able to duplicate these results and are using these references for example purposes only. Your results will vary and depend on many factors…including but not limited to your background, experience, and work ethic. All business entails risk as well as massive and consistent effort and action.
In Their Words...
Background
Grimsby Kia is located in southern Ontario, Canada and has served their community for several years. They serve a mix of rural and urban populations, so they rely on various forms of traditional marketing to communicate their offers (e.g. radio, local papers & periodicals, mail drops, etc).
The Obstacle
The team at Grimsby Kia is always looking for ways to help people find the vehicle that fits their needs best. They have ambitious sales and service goals, targets that have been set by Kia Canada, and a growing team. But massive shifts in the marketplace have forced all dealerships to make changes to their methods of growth.
Here’s another clear sign of different marketplace. The average car shopper used to visit dealerships 5 times before making a purchase decision. In today’s world, a car shopper typically visits just 1.6 times! The level of understanding and knowledge that today’s shopper is much higher due to the level of access they have on the internet. In reality, they have researched their preferred vehicle countless times on your VDP (vehicle details page), review websites, and your competitors’ websites.
The data clearly shows that a significant portion of the buying/decision process has shifted to the internet. So dealerships need to meet their prospects where they are…online.
Grimsby Kia understood that and wanted to engage, pursue, and convert their prospects using online advertising.
The Solution
The #1 asset to this successful campaign is data. LeadSprout, the digital marketing agency tasked with achieving Grimsby Kia’s digital marketing goals, began by focusing on the rich data the dealership had access to.
The dealerships CRM was used to develop Facebook target audiences of various types (e.g. recent buyers, new vehicles, used vehicles, model type, etc.). This has been useful for targeting the right people when advertising Grimsby Kia’s service deals, trade-in offers, etc. In this case, however, Grimsby Kia didn’t stop there.
LeadSprout also went on to create “Lookalike Audiences” and “Retargeting Audiences”. Lookalike Audiences allowed Grimsby Kia to reach out to people that closely resembled their most profitable customers. When approaching an audience like that, engagement & conversions rates are typically better than when a brand new audience is reached.
Retargeting Audiences are an incredibly powerful method to engage with car shoppers. Anyone in car sales knows how unusual it would be for a salesperson to be able to walk up to a stranger, offer them a vehicle, and close the deal in one sitting. It takes more touchpoints, more time, and more information than that to close a deal. When LeadSprout included audience developing software on Grimsby Kia’s inventory pages, they were able to approach people with relevant and helpful information. Each touchpoint would “warm up” the person until they converted into a lead requesting a test drive on specific models.
Once the targeting was set, the ads themselves were tested every step of the way. The images, videos, copy, headlines, call to actions…everything was tested to ensure we were displaying ads that had the highest response rates.
Once we had the best offer, audience, and advertisements, we set the campaign to run for 30 days with a total budget of $3,048.97. In that time, we collected a total of 94 qualified leads. 48 of those leads initiated a private conversation with Grimsby Kia right on their Facebook Page. The remaining 46 leads submitted a form with their contact details to secure a test drive. That form included the make, model, and colour of vehicle they were most interested in.
Needless to say, Grimsby Kia’s sales team was quick to follow up with each person to establish a connection. New vehicles were sold within 30 days, bringing in a revenue of $135,000. Some leads needed more time and so additional sales were made over the next few months using the same “pool” of leads.
Like we said, the number 1 asset in this process is data. And we use new data (as it comes in) to optimize the campaign over time. Doing this will ensure Grimsby Kia grows to hit the targets they’ve set for themselves!
The Secret To Earning A 45x Return On Ad Spend In New Car Sales
LeadSprout’s specialty is to create the best methods for a dealership to bring in a steady flow of leads using the 2 biggest and most powerful advertising platforms available, Facebook Ads (includes Instagram) and Google Ads.
We call this steady flow of leads a “Lead Pipeline”. We take on the time and effort it takes to set up these lead pipelines, and once they are completed, we monitor and optimize them so you can focus on closing deals and growing your business!
Working closely with your team, LeadSprout will take the steps needed to create efficient and effective lead pipelines for your dealership in Service and Sales (new/used).