Are you tired of using the same old marketing strategies as everyone else? Get creative and stand out from the crowd.

When you look at your advertising compared to other car dealerships is there much of a difference? Has your team gotten into a rut and lost that little bit of special that you had? Use some of these tips to get your juices flowing again and start thinking outside of the proverbial box.

Hire an Expert to Give your Marketing a Spark

Sometimes, when you stare at a problem for too long you forget there are other ways to approach things. This can be true with your marketing strategy. Bring in an expert or team of experts and let them show you how you can give your marketing a boost. This outside view of what you’re doing can give you the creative boost you need.

Become a Waze Advertiser

More people are using the Waze app for their traffic and direction information. When you stop at a traffic light, ads show up on the app and this could be a great way for your business to boost its advertising. These ads are localized, which means when drivers are near your dealership, your ad can show and remind them that you have some excellent cars for sale.

Give Out Pre-Loaded Gift Cards for Loyal Customers

The service department of your car dealership likely has a group of customers that come on for service regularly. Get creative and reward these customers with pre-loaded gift cards that can give them a discount on their next service. Offer a gift card is better than a coupon because the customer has more say in how it’s used and isn’t limited to parameters such as an “oil change coupon.”

Have You Explored Bing?

If you want to lower the cost of advertising or add another channel without paying as much as Google, check out Bing. Many uses do have Bing as their default browser and it will cost you a lot less to advertise than what Google charges. This is a great way to get creative and let your marketing show through on a channel that you have not explored previously.

Become the Place to Go in the Car Community

As a car dealership, you have a large lot where your products are on display and for sale every day. How much attention would you get if you used part of the lot for a monthly car club meet, a “Cars & Coffee” event, or as a place that hosts community events? When you’re a place where the community knows they can go for some entertainment, they will think of your dealership when they need a car.

Use Seasonal Postcards to Remind Customers of Upcoming Service Needs

Every season requires some form of service and maintenance for your vehicle. This is a great opportunity for you to send out postcards to remind your customers they need to come in and have their car checked for the next season. If you want to get truly creative, combine the postcard and gift card ideas together.

Use Social Media for “Behind-the-Scenes” Content

Rather than using social media for the same content as every other car dealership, get creative with your marketing and offer them a look at what your team does when they aren’t around. Show off your fun side, offer your grumpiest team members, get a little wild, and show off how much fun you can be. Get rolling with videos and let your social media audience see what’s going on behind the scenes.

Host On-Site Car Care Clinics

Will you hurt your business if you teach your customers how to care for their cars? Not at all. In fact, by teaching your customers about car care you’ll find better trade-ins, develop customer loyalty, and build relationships. Advertise your clinics on your website and social media accounts and host them regularly to teach interested shoppers how they can do different things that will help to take care of their car better.

Partner With Your Local School Driving Programs

High School students should learn more than just how to drive when they are working toward earning their driver’s license. With so many households that have both parents working, you could sponsor car care clinics at the school and offer literature with your dealership name and logo on it. This will help your business by putting paperwork in the homes of the parents who will look for the car their new driver will use every day.