The world of EVs is similar but extremely different from the current automotive market. Dealers must face the challenge of marketing electric vehicles.
Some customers already show excitement for EVs while others are fighting this change tooth and nail. Between these two sides of the spectrum, we find most of the car shoppers who aren’t quite sure whether they’re ready to take the plunge into electricity or stick with a gas-powered car for as long as they can. If you’re trying to help some shoppers make the change to EVs, you’ll want to follow some of these tips.
1. Different EV Shoppers Require Variety in Communication
When you’re working to attract customers to your dealership, you’ll want to appeal to what each type of buyer holds as dear and important to them. Some buyers are ready to transition to EVs and don’t need to be sold in the benefits, only offered the various models you’ve got available. Others will want to understand the technology aspect of the electric cars you’ve got on the lot. The most difficult change might be for those reforming from driving gas guzzlers toward EVs.
How do You Appeal to Customers Concerned for the Environment?
Although all of us should have at least some levels of concern for the environment, there are some shoppers that make this one of their top priorities. These shoppers are often called Environmentalists. Marketing electric vehicles to this group should be relatively easy, unless they are holdouts because of the mining operations required to build EV batteries. Regardless, you should be able to attract some of these customers based on changes being made in recycling batteries and the overall impact that EVs have versus traditional cars. Changing to EVs can help the atmosphere, which is a big selling point for these customers.
What About Those Former Gas Guzzlers?
Some of the shoppers looking at EVs are simply tired of spending a lot of money on gas. They’ve heard how affordable it can be to drive an electric vehicle and want to save money during their car ownership experience. One way to appeal to this group is to show data that offers the savings a customer will enjoy while driving an EV versus a traditional gasoline or diesel-powered vehicle. Many times, its not the type of EV these shoppers are after, its more about what’s available.
Some Shoppers are After the Latest Technology
We all know those people that brag about having the latest tech gadgets. They look for the most advanced phones, best computers, and electronics that they can show off. This group of customers is looking for the best tech in the EVs and should be an easy group to work with. When marketing electric vehicles to this group of shoppers, you’ll need to show them the various tech items and cool electronics that can be something they love to use and enjoy. These tech shoppers could become repeat customers for EVs for several years.
2. Develop a Strong EV SEO Strategy
Normally, an entirely new market doesn’t open up as quickly as electric vehicles are being developed. Now is the time to begin to create the keyword mapping and SEO strategy that will help to bring web pages to the top of various search engines. Because SEO takes time to develop, you’ll want to start creating the content that will give you the search results desired. The content plan could be a huge factor in how well your marketing strategy performs and the results you’ll receive when you’re ready to push EVs to the masses.
3. Is Your EV Charging Station on The Map?
One of the greatest challenges EV owners face right now is finding charging stations in the local area. If your dealership has installed public EV chargers, you’ll want to ensure these chargers are listed in Google Maps. This is one of the most impactful but indirect ways of marketing electric vehicles. When you have a service that works for these customers you’ll enjoy the added stream of income from the chargers but also attract customers looking to take the plunge into the EV world.
4. Is Your Email List Segmented with EV Shoppers?
Even though you might have only recently begun selling electric vehicles, you’ll want to build an email list that has customers that have expressed interest in these vehicles as the subset used. This targeted list is perfect for your marketing efforts and gives you the names and email addresses where your EV advertising should go. You want to keep these customers informed of any new developments, of which there will be many, in the electric cars, SUVs, and trucks that are arriving at your dealership location. Create this subset and target them with the right marketing emails.
5. Put Your Social Media to Work for Your Electric Vehicle Campaigns
The hottest topics should always be on your social media platforms. This means developing the marketing efforts for electric vehicles that will build awareness of the new models arriving daily. Show pictures, take videos, offer polls, and create some excitement around these new electric vehicles. You could create an awareness campaign to discuss the benefits of these new EVs or showcase the driving experience shoppers can find with these new models. Your social media platforms need to work for you and EVs are a hot enough topic for your content to reach a large audience.
Bonus: Stick to What Works
For years, you’ve advertised your traditional vehicles to the local market to bring them into your dealership. As the market added hybrid vehicles, it was pretty easy to add these models to your marketing efforts. Don’t let the difference between EVs and gas-powered vehicles be a sticking point in your marketing campaigns. Develop campaigns that have worked in the past with the change being that you’re focused on electric vehicles and the audience looking for these new cars. If you stick to what’s worked in the past, you’ll find that you can quickly and easily attract a large audience to your dealership.
How will you go about marketing electric vehicles to your local area? Is your dealership ready to support these new vehicles?
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