As a dealership, you may be wondering whether or not it's worth it to work with an advertising agency. On the one hand, you may want to have more control over your marketing but feel like you don’t have the team and resources to handle everything in-house. On the other hand, you may be worried about the cost of hiring an agency, as well as the time and effort it takes to manage that relationship versus your own team. Take our 2-minute quiz to see whether you’re better fit for an agency or in-house tools.
There are certainly pros and cons to working with an agency, and ultimately it's a decision that needs to be made based on your dealership's specific needs and resources.
One of the biggest issues that comes with handling advertising in-house is the amount of work involved. Creating and executing a successful advertising campaign takes a lot of time and effort, and it can be challenging to keep up with everything that needs to be done. Additionally, creative work can be difficult and time-consuming, and not all dealerships have the expertise in-house to create effective campaigns.
Another concern that dealerships have when it comes to working with an automotive marketing agency is cost. Agencies can be expensive, and the turnaround times for projects can be notoriously long. Many dealerships miss out on up to 30% of their marketing days per month. However, there are situations where it makes sense to work with an agency despite the cons.
There are also marketing tools available that can make it easier to bring agency tasks in-house. Dealerships know their market and community better than any agency can, which can make a big difference in the success of their marketing efforts. By using digital ad design & deployment tools dealerships fulfill that need from a typical agency. Plus with data-driven targeting tools, automotive dealers can also gain insights into their audience and create campaigns that are more targeted and effective.
So, which dealerships don't need an advertising agency? If a dealership has the team and time to handle marketing in-house, that's actually the ideal situation. But what about those dealerships that have time but not the team? Or those with a team but no graphic designer?Read on to find out what options are available:
Your dealership or group has an in-house team
Producing marketing in-house offers many advantages for auto dealers, including the ability to quickly produce ads and beat the competition to market every month. If your dealership has the team and time to handle advertising in-house, it's the ideal situation for many dealerships. This is because you have close proximity to your customers, community, and sales teams, which enables you to connect with your market in ways that even the best agencies can't. There are plenty of tools available to help streamline the efforts of your in-house team, if you’re looking for ways to do that - check out some of the solutions available in the AET Automotive Marketing Suite.
You don’t have a dedicated marketing team, but you’d like to have control over your marketing efforts for your dealership.
What if you have the time but not the team? It's still possible to handle these marketing & advertising tasks without using new creative tools and technology that are a fraction of the cost compared to working with an agency. These tasks include creative ad & email design, campaign deployment, inventory listings & more.
Your dealership or group has an in-house team but need tools to be more efficient.
Now what if you have the team but not the time? It's still possible to bring some of the tasks listed above in-house, but it may be a good idea to consider working with an agency. The preference in this situation may depend on where your time is best spent - it may make more sense to outsource advertising rather than diverting your team's attention away from other important tasks.
You don’t want to have to think about marketing at all.
Finally, for dealerships that have limited human resources and time to fulfill in-house, working with an agency may be the only feasible option. In these situations, it's important to choose an agency that you can trust to deliver results, and that has experience working with dealerships like yours.
In conclusion, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to the question of whether or not dealerships should work with advertising agencies. Ultimately, the decision to work with an agency or not comes down to your dealership's specific needs and resources. However, with new technology and marketing tools available, it's now easier than ever for dealerships to take control of their own marketing efforts and drive results. By leveraging these tools and staying up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices, you can ensure that your dealership is always ahead of the game.
Take our 2-minute quiz to see whether you’re better fit for an agency or in-house tools.
