Playing the Field with your Dealership

You don't need an oddsmaker, or to wager, if your 2012 marketing plans are effective, but this Ohio dealer decided to take some risks with an interesting promotion to kick off the year. As the trend of overall car sales continued to increase during the final week of the year, Bill Doraty,owner of Bill Doraty Kia, decided to increase his odds of more purchases by offering the vehicles for free if the Cleveland Browns shut out the Pittsburgh Steelers on New Year’s Day. The odds were verified through a gaming official in Las Vegas and Doraty secured insurance throughAmerican Hole in One, a company we actually work with quite frequently. When in a tough competitive area like Doraty’s, I can see the idea of making that one differentiator to make your dealership more appealing for the week. If you were planning on buying a new Kia regardless, getting a free entry into a wager could seem like a bonus. With 20,000 to 1 odds, one would hope you wouldn’t go purchase the vehicle just for that reason; it’s just another “by the way.” Although Pittsburgh beat Cleveland 13-6, the odds were better than that of winning a lottery. But does it matter?  Giveaways, promotions and contests are tried and true bonuses to sporadically set yourself up as a differentiator.  But with a solid strategy, quality inventory, high CSI and consistent plan, you won’t have to wager about being the chosen dealership. That’s something I’d bet on.