Pretty bold title for a simple article, don't you think? But here's the thing... what you are about to learn doesn't stop at the end of this article. Once you start digging into this concept you will end up head-over-heels, face down looking into a rabbit hole that goes VERY deep. You have to decide whether to take the leap of faith or stand on the outside while your competition jumps in with both feet and reaps the rewards that come from being on the cutting edge.



Wait - did we say, "cutting edge?" Oh, this must be another article about the Internet right?

Wrong!

This is not about the internet at all. It's about what the Internet has caused and why the traditional approach of hard-sell advertising isn't as powerful as it used to be. For those of you who are doing hard-sell type advertising you are going to be shocked and nervous. For those of you who never embraced a hard-sell marketing approach you'll be three steps behind and we suggest you pack your parachute and hold on tight.

The Internet has caused a massive change in the dynamic of our customers. They think differently today then they did just three, two or even one year ago. They are more educated and because of that they demand and respond to information-based, value-driven marketing rather than the traditional hard-sell advertising tactics we're used to using in our dealership marketing programs.

Some of you right now are raising the victory flag exclaiming, "Finally the hard-sell days are over," and others are weeping over its grave while still others are trumpeting the coming of our marketing savior, spending all their time and energy moving their entire operation online, believing that the Internet is the second coming of Christ.

First of all, the Internet is just a tool, just another medium like newspaper, radio or TV. And one where price is king and the gross is low unless you really know how to use it.

Secondly, hard-sell advertising isn't dead - it's evolved. It's grown a third leg and wings. That's what good marketing concepts do. They are shape-shifters...chameleons. So what's the reincarnation of hard-sell?

Education Based Marketing

Author and expert copywriter Robert Bly remarks that, "Traditional marketing approaches, especially hard sell, don't work well on the Internet or with consumers in the information/Internet age. To get readership and response, marketers have to create marketing messages that look, feel, and sound like objective, unbiased, useful information."

So, why does education based marketing work radically better than traditional marketing?

Because traditional automotive marketing is all about the dealership, the vehicles and the features and no one really gives a rat's butt about that.

Education based marketing is about solutions. Solutions to problems your customers face right now that they want to alleviate. A well planned and executed education based marketing strategy delivers a much needed cure to the pain your prospect is suffering.

If you can give your prospects the information they need to eliminate their problem and ultimately provide them with a clearly defined set of steps to take you will win their business. You will become the expert in their eyes and they will flock to you and price concerns will be secondary to the solution they seek, making your profits soar to new heights.

But there is one caveat.

You must give your prospects a way to get this information easily and without obligation. You must believe in the concept we call giving value first. We've all heard of added value or value after the sale. But that's easy. That's for wimps! In today's competitive marketplace you MUST deliver value upfront and your marketing (if done properly) should be your first touch-point and should start the cycle.

The value first concept is nothing new. It's age old and timeless. It's based in the law of reciprocity that states that others will reciprocate in-kind based upon the way you treat them. The world gives you what you give the world. Ultimately you are rewarded for the value which you bring to the marketplace.

Robert B. Cialdini, author of The Psychology of Persuasion explains, "One of the most potent weapons of influence around us is the rule for reciprocation. The rule says that we should try to repay, in-kind, what another person has provided us."

Many of our hard-sell brethren are probably asking, "Where's the hard-sell in all this?"

Ahhh...that is a good question. You see it's really a beautiful thing. The hard-sell sneaks in though the back door...unnoticed when your prospect's guard is down.

What could be better than that? When has hard sell ever flown in "under the radar?" Maybe in the 80s, but that was a looong time ago. Image a bobcat sneaking into your tent unbeknownst to you, and you only realize it's sitting there licking its chops and sharpening its claws once you've closed up the tent and zipped yourself up in your sleeping bag.

It's a little too late - you're getting a butt-whoopin' no matter what you do. That's that same way education based marketing works, except your prospects ask that bobcat to come inside the tent thinking it's a harmless little kitty cat.

This is cloak and dagger marketing...the kind of stuff that affects people emotionally but sneaks up on them logically. We know that all buying decisions are based on emotion and backed up with logic. But the Internet has screwed up people's brains, especially when it comes to car buyers. They are seeking the logic first.

So through education based marketing we give them the logic and they invite in the emotional pitch and close. It's really a perfect marriage and a sound system when you think about it.

But it's not all fun and games. It's not that easy. There are lots of pitfalls and trip wires that can derail your success and keep you from reaching the goal - more ups, better quality ups, increased sales and profits.