Advertising
So, it's that time of year when the "Top Brass" here discuss on what they think works for advertising. I try to explain to them what works in this industry/motorsport to not much success. So I figure this year I'll start a poll with members here and feel out where and what type of advertising you all see that cause you to look up products offered by those manufacturers. Feel free to comment here on personal thoughts (no bashing any site sponsors please) on what you feel is a good working way to spread the word about products you are most interested in.
Please vote for the methods that catch your eyes the most. |
There is a big push towards instagram. I follow a number of auto related businesses over there. They share, nearly daily, different projects, or customer rides. And, even installs of 'brand-x' product. Users can send direct messages of their vehicle with a company's product so that the company can directly share the photo with their followers. A description can be made, and there isn't (currently) any sort of limitation or need to purchase 'coverage' like facebook.
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Yeah IG is getting more popular for sure. We do have a Facebook page, and they have yet to use the advertising feature of it. We also have a company You Tube account, and only a few warranty video's are on there. There is scuttlebutt here in the office that they want to get on twitter pretty soon.
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Holding a diesel event is probably the most effective in my mind. If a company has the means to hold an event then they are quite substantial in the eyes of the customer plus there is at least one entire day where the company name is pounded into peoples minds. That being said it is probably the most expensive and most time consuming.
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Only way I learn of products is via forums, or specific searches. I do not and will not seek information from any social media site like FB, IG, Twitter, etc. Toss me in the 40 year old demographic. On a very rare occasion will I click on the advertising banner. Can't think of a single instance of that turning into a sale though.
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a lot of the companies I have done business with I have gotten contact info either off forum or word of mouth,
events are nice and do produces sales... it cant be a 1 and done setup either... |
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Reason I ask these questions is I've mentioned before the need to update the website to be more user friendly to find the products. I've also mentioned putting a display together that dealers could buy for their show rooms to showcase our products better. Do you like when manufacturers post product release on the forums? |
Have you defined your target market yet? I think the advertising angle is going to change for each demographic you're trying to target.
How you're going to sell a product to the majority of folks here is going to be different than to the young 'oraler' crowd. It seems here, raw data is king. Product releases, testing, real world results are going to go a long way here. You want to target the 16-25 year olds that don't care about anything other than looks and smoke....social media and shiny ads in the latest diesel publication would probably be your best bet. And having a clean, informative website that ranks the top of google is your best investment in my opinion. Everyone looks to websites these days and I think most will judge a company based on the looks and navigation of the website. I know I do. |
I have never intentionally clicked on a banner on a forum.
I've purchased based on feedback read on a forum and likewise, have chosen NOT to purchase something based on feedback left on a forum or seeing how a company reacts to a given situation that's aired out on forums. I'm a 30-something and do not have a facebook account - I know that's not the norm though - but understand it to be a big avenue. Social networking is huge these days. I mean for goodness sakes theres a college degree for it now! I do use instagram and enjoy seeing new products and such from some companies, but I get tired of seeing the smoke belching & burnout pics from flat-bill douche-nozzles all the time so I don't follow too many diesel performance places on there. I'd assume magazine advertising is probably up there in terms of audience size AND return on the dollar spent? I can't see television/radio reaching as many folks currently? Only group that gets good coverage is PPL so I'd imagine you'd have to be big-time sponsor of their's the gather in some of that air time in an effective way? I hate to even say it because I like the guys you all sponsor, but has it proven to produce any sales by sponsoring a competition vehicle? I know I have personally never bought anything based on seeing a competition vehicle wearing a logo. The exception might be turbo, injection shop & whole-truck-build business/companies? I can see where a winning truck rocking an Engineered Diesel or Scheid or Haisley or Harts sticker might make some others pick up the phone to try and get whatever XYZ part that truck has that they want. I can't say an exhaust system would be one of those things though? I LOVE me some youtube! QUALITY videos giving good breakdown and review of your products is great in my mind. If you claim to fit better - make a video showing your system being installed along side a competing companies product and show right then that yours goes in easier and fits better. OR your hardware lasts longer - show yours versus the competition before and after an elements torture test or real weather simulator machine. An exhaust company should have TONS of HIGH QUALITY sound videos portraying whatever sound it is you're claiming - no drone, quiet in cab, yada yada yada. There should be sound clips for idle, cruising & heavy acceleration for pretty much every combo you produce and for every platform. For the diesels; yes, there'd be dozens of videos. Maybe over 100? But I really think they'd be worth your while. I didn't vote on any in the poll yet, but those are my opinions/thoughts. Hope its somewhat helpful for your goal/angle with your bosses/acct department. |
Website is a huge one for me. Sponsoring forums and events/vehicles are the other two. No point in putting on a huge event when there are so many great one's to help sponsor or be a title sponsor until you have a few under your belt. Would have to sponsor your own event and have it be a flop, not good for the advertising you were trying to get.
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I have been working on analysis of our marketing and advertising here. I started back in the 2009 area for them, and have analyzed each quarter since then. We are in:
Magazines Forums IG SOME events (not enough for me lol) We also do some non-mainstream stuff like sponsoring Baja trophy trucks. Word of mouth, forums, and the magazines are our best bets. |
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I do like to see product releases on the forums. I think focusing on the website, and search engine optimization is money well spent. Forum updates are nice, but might be a challenge to support. I do allow a select few vendors to email me product updates as well |
I can see competition vehicles and success attached to them being very beneficial. When you see "so and so's" truck dominating events you are more apt to give those parts a try. Of course that can backfire and if that person breaks at every event people will shy away from the products.
The proof of competition vehicles being beneficial can be see at SDX every year. Look at the shear numbers of Haisley Machine shirts roaming around there. Haisley tends to do quite well at that event and I think spectators see that. |
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The reason I brought up the different demographics was just to show the difference in what they might look at. Obviously you want as many people to spend money as possible, just covering all those groups is a challange....as you've pointed out here. Have you ever written a business plan before? Think the 'top brass' has? While they can be tedious to do, it's a great tool to get down to the basics of your business and how to address the different markets. Not sure if it would matter to them or not, but might be a good way to add info to the data being collected from one of your target markets. Maybe will help them see what worked 15 years ago isn't working now. Good luck with the endeavor...sounds like you have your hands full LOL |
When my dad had his taxidermy shop, it took a bit to get going, as most businesses do.
By the time he sold the business, we were 2.5 years stacked with work. It wasn't because we were slow, that's just how good of a reputation he had built over the years. He paid for a few magazine adds, but the most beneficial was word of mouth. Get in good with a couple of sellers to help push your product, and just keep pushing out good products, and the business will come to you. I personally like grab in an old magazine and thumbing through them. Few days later I'll think oh yeah so and so was asking about a certain product, I can show them this... So for me word of mouth and stuff like magazine adds would be my choice. I have noticed though with the younger crowd, they like the social media stuff, especially FB, and IG. my stepson is all over IG, constantly showing me stuff companies have posted, but I do not have an IG account. Don't really want one either. LOL |
Younger generation is good for cheap products and "swag". Those can have lucrative profit margins but you need volume. Then you have the guys dropping coin because they can afford it now they are settled in jobs. Those guys are going to support you and your business. Finally, those you sponsor (mags, vehicles, events) gives you the audience. If I'm wrong, let me know.
As such, you need to target these people differently. Swag really sells because it shows support. Since its younger people, show them builds and your sponsored vehicles doing things. Tell them they can help be a part of this great team and buy shirts, stickers, hats. Do giveaways on little things with an occasional big item. That word of mouth spreads quickly. For the meat and potato group with extra money to spend, running deals around Christmas and tax return time helps tremendously. I bet there can still be a profit of you do this right. Finally your largest audience needs to see how your product makes a difference. I bet spending more money by sending products to be tested by mags would put a favorable light. I see it if a company sends in their product to be tested or installed on a vehicle in a mag build, they have a successful business as they can AFFORD to "bribe" the mags. Now the mag writes a "OMG! We got this to install and it's AWESOME!" How much better of an advertisement do you need? |
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Thank you all for your feedback, and keep it coming! This is good stuff! |
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