How to Put Targeted Advertising to Work for Your Dealership

RV dealerships continue to face daunting challenges. Inventory turnover doesn’t always move as quickly as anticipated. Mass marketing campaigns that once brought in new customers now lack personalization and feel too broad, attracting unqualified leads. Local customers that are in the market for a new RV may not even know that your dealership exists.

While these challenges (and more) continue to transform the landscape of the RV industry, targeted digital advertising can give your dealership a much-needed boost to personalize your marketing efforts and drive RV sales.

What is Targeted Advertising?

Targeted advertising is a digital marketing strategy that uses consumer data to deliver ads to specific audiences, based on their behaviors, preferences, and location. Benefits of targeted advertising include:

• Efficient Ad Spend: Instead of casting a wide net (like traditional advertising methods), targeted ads ensure that you’re spending your marketing budget attracting the most promising users.
• Personalized Ads: Targeted advertising doesn’t just improve efficiency, it also creates an engaging, memorable experience for potential customers because ads are personalized to their interests.

Targeted Advertising Strategies

Here’s how your dealership can implement the various targeted advertising strategies to capture the attention of potential customers and bring in more buyers.

Behavioral Targeting

Behavioral targeting is a marketing strategy that uses shopper data, based on past browsing behavior, to predict interests, purchase timing, and behavior.

• Example:
  If a shopper inputs search terms for a specific type of RV on Google, you can collect that shopper’s data to create and deliver personalized ads that target that individual user. The next time they go online, the shopper may see an ad from your dealership, showcasing the inventory they searched for.
• Benefits:
  By creating ads specifically tailored to this type of behavior—like highlighting an RV perfect for family trips or remote destinations—you’re much more likely to capture individual buyers’ attention and convert new leads.

Geotargeting

Geotargeting uses a shopper’s location to deliver ads within a specific geographic boundary. This allows your RV dealership to target individuals within the area surrounding your dealership (or even a competitor’s dealership) to deliver targeted, tailored ads about your inventory.

• Example:
  If a shopper is on their phone, searching for RV inventory within your geotargeted area, you can serve up ads notifying users of your convenient location and inventory availability.
• Benefits:
  Among other benefits, geotargeting can help you focus your ad spend by reaching users in your serviceable area, ensuring that in-market shoppers know about your dealership.

Retargeting

Retargeting is a digital marketing strategy that allows you to collect shopper data from your website visitors and deliver relevant ads based on their specific browsing behavior.

• Example:
  If a shopper visits your website and spends time browsing travel trailers and truck campers, you can retarget those shoppers and deliver ads about travel trailers and truck campers (and related items) whenever they search online.
• Benefits:
  Retargeting allows you to re-engage potential buyers by showing them ads featuring the exact RVs they viewed. These ads can be powerful reminders and motivators to continue the shopping experience with your dealership.

Previously Viewed Inventory Offers

Similar to retargeting, a previously viewed inventory offers strategy allows you to take targeting a step further. By tracking the inventory users view on your website, you can create personalized offers (specific to that inventory) and deliver them to interested shoppers. This allows you to share pricing updates, similar inventory, and more through email with more information than you would include in a display ad.

• Example:
  If a shopper views a motorhome inventory page on your website, you can send follow-up emails and marketing messages to that shopper with deals and offers specific to the motorhome they viewed. This keeps shoppers engaged and encourages them to continue progressing toward purchase.
• Benefits:
  Previously viewed inventory offers are personal, relevant, and perfectly timed. They are exactly what buyers look for when making large investments like an RV.

Why Targeted Advertising is Essential for RV Dealerships

The RV industry is different from other major retail industries. Because your dealership fills very specific needs and interests for a specific subset of shoppers, traditional advertising isn’t always effective.

In other words, RV shoppers aren’t making impulse purchases. They probably aren’t even paying attention to mass marketing ads, unless they’re already in the market. Even then, there’s a good chance your mass marketing completely misses interested shoppers.

Targeted ads, on the other hand, deliver the right messages to the right people in an efficient manner, so marketing dollars aren’t wasted. They offer a more personal, more meaningful experience to the user, and they come with real benefits for RV dealerships too, including:

• Increase ROI: Target only qualified leads and spend less on marketing, while reaching more engaged customers.
• Reduce Wasted Spend: Avoid wasting money on audiences unlikely to purchase an RV.
• Boost Personalized Marketing: Tailor your messaging so potential buyers feel seen and understood.
• Strengthen Local Presence: Ensure that your dealership dominates in your local market.

Where Should You Start?

The best way to start an effective targeted advertising campaign is to define your goals. Know who you want to target and which targeted advertising strategies will be most effective in meeting your goals. Once implemented, be sure to set benchmarks, track metrics, and measure results. This will allow you to see what’s working and what needs adjusting.

If all this feels a little daunting, don’t fret. You can partner with a professional marketing provider who knows the industry and can help guide you through every step of starting an effective targeted marketing strategy.

Final Thoughts

Targeted advertising is perfectly tailored to the RV industry. It allows you to reach interested in-market buyers with personalized ads that pique interest, showcase your inventory, and promote interest in your offerings.

In today’s digital-first market, targeted advertising is the best way to overcome marketing challenges specific to the RV industry. In fact, it’s no longer a luxury. It’s no longer just “nice to have.” Targeted advertising is an essential tool to help you stay competitive and drive sales.

With targeting, geotargeting, and retargeting marketing strategies, you create a seamless journey for every shopper, keeping them engaged and progressing toward purchase from the moment they start searching to the time they sign on the line to buy.