Connect, Exchange and Relate: Humanize Your Dealership

Landing a customer is important, but keeping that customer is critical – especially if you own an auto dealership.

The dealership, at its core, is built on personal relationships, since the purchase from an individual customer is infrequent. People are more willing to spend their money generously if you have built a relationship with them.

Typically, dealerships advertise extreme, short-lived sales. That ‘SELL, SELL, SELL’ advertising will only get you so far. Emphasizing discounts may entice the consumer to enter a store, but the personal touch of humanizing your brand will keep them coming back. For me it starts with defining who your audience is, defining their needs, and connecting with them along those lines.

How would most people describe their association with your company? Hopefully it is beyond just transactional. If not, you need to extract a more personal and genuine position. For starters, exchange and communicate through comments, messages, and social updates that matter to people.

The truth is, people do business with people they like and trust, and it’s really, really hard to trust a company. What can make it easier? When your audience is reminded there are humans working behind the scenes. If your company comes off as cold, corporate, or faceless, it might be time to find a way to humanize your brand a little more. You must truly value and relate to your consumer.