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Plugging into digital marketing strategies is more important than ever. In this issue of The Quarterly Driver, we've gathered resources to help master EV shopper questions, analyze the digitized car buying process and turn data into insightful marketing strategies.
Read on to learn the latest Acura Digital Dealer Program (ADDP) enhancements and industry trends, and surge on with our robust training schedule.
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CHARGE UP ON FRESH PROGRAM IDEAS | |
ACURA EV HUB: THE ULTIMATE TRUSTED RESOURCE FOR EV SHOPPERS | |
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Shoppers considering EVs have a lot of questions -- and Acura EV Hub has the answers! In fact, dealers that were enrolled in EV Hub performed better in the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Sales Satisfaction Index Study (SSI) than those who were not enrolled.
Educate consumers and overcome objection challenges with an Acura EV-specific video landing page for your dealer website.

What You Get
Dealer EV Shopper Assistant | Provides on-the-go answers via mobile app or desktop about charging, range anxiety, total cost of ownership (TCO), incentives and more.
Educational Video Content | Offers topics ranging from charging and electric vs. gas, to the ownership experience, EV myths busted and more.
Tools for Consumers to Explore | Shopper tools include EV tax incentives and utility rebates by location, public charging maps, TCO calculators, competitive model comparisons and more.
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EV Shopper Tools
Tax Incentives & Utility Rebates | Incentives can reduce vehicle costs by up to $10K, depending on car buyer, vehicle and region.
EV vs. Gas TCO Calculator | Learning the true cost difference between gas-powered and EV vehicles includes not just the make and model but also price, incentives, fuel and maintenance fees.
EV vs. ICE Emissions Comparisons | Shoppers want to be able to calculate emissions savings.
Public Charging Maps | Charging and range are big concerns for EV shoppers.
Home Charger Catalog | Home charging options can be daunting.
Electrician Finder | A qualified, local electrician will help install the charger.
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Dealers that were enrolled in EV Hub in 2023 had more vehicle knowledge and expertise, more effectiveness of communicating outside of the dealership, and a 48-point improvement in SSI with the dealership's website.
Be sure you can answer your EV buyer's questions. Click on the link to watch the demo or email us to learn more.
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HOT PROVIDER AND PROGRAM EVENTS | |
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Search Engine Optimization
Join Jessica Schievella, SEO Manager at Dealer.com, for an exclusive webinar designed to review the state of Google's algorithm and how to position your business to yield the most success.
June 12 | 12 p.m. Eastern / 9 a.m. Pacific
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AI & P-Max Campaigns
This session covers the use of AI to increase dealership leads. What is AI and why does it matter? Topics covered: Reach more consumers with Broad Match search and drive leads with Performance Max.
June 13 | 2 p.m. Eastern / 11 a.m. Pacific
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The Dissection of the Mobile User
Digital Quick Wins presented by Nabthat. Because 70% of dealership traffic is mobile, it is more important than ever to look at how mobile users explore your site, how they interact with it and what is important to them.
June 25 | 3 p.m. Eastern / 12 p.m. Pacific
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The Importance of Your SRP
Digital Quick Wins presented by Nabthat. Consumers now spend less time browsing your site, making your SRP the most crucial. Create better experiences through video and advertising on the Nabthat Platform.
June 26 | 12 p.m. Eastern / 9 a.m. Pacific
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The Ultimate CTA Deep Dive
Digital Quick Wins presented by Upstart. Learn just how important the call to action (CTA) is. In this training, Upstart will cover best practices and data driven results for optimal CTA placement and functionality.
June 27 | 2 p.m. Eastern / 11 a.m. Pacific
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QUICK LINKS TO RECENT TRAINING REPLAYS | |
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Missed a session?
Dealers can check out the Online Resource Library available within the HDS Program Home, located within the Acura iN.
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QUARTERLY PROVIDER SPOTLIGHT | |
UNDERSTAND HOW CONSUMER PREFERENCES ARE EVOLVING WTH TWO PIVOTAL CASE STUDIES | |
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Learn how consumer preferences are evolving in the car buying process and use buyer data insights to help offer the best car buying experience. | |
2023 Car Buying Journey Highlights
Vehicle ownership is here to stay. The pandemic shifted mindsets to more personal vehicle usage, resulting in more consumers adding vehicles to their household fleet.
Satisfaction with the overall buying journey improved, especially for used-vehicle buyers.
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Higher inventory levels, moderating prices, and better purchase tools combined to improve the vehicle buying experience last year after two years of declining scores.

Vehicle ownership is here to stay. The pandemic shifted mindsets to more personal vehicle usage, resulting in more consumers adding vehicles to their household fleet.
Satisfaction with the overall buying journey improved, especially for used-vehicle buyers. Higher inventory levels, moderating prices, and better purchase tools combined to improve the vehicle buying experience last year after two years of declining scores.
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The dealership experience is consistently positive. Buyers were most satisfied with the test drive experience, delivery process, and interaction with the sales teams. Seventy-four precent of all buyers, and 79% of new-vehicle buyers, were highly satisfied with their dealership experience.
Buyers overwhelmingly prefer an omnichannel approach to car buying. Most buyers prefer a process that combines and aligns the in-dealership and online activities. Only 7% of vehicle buyers purchased a vehicle entirely online in 2023.
EV buyers were the most satisfied with the buying journey in 2023. EV buyers were far more digitally engaged than buyers of traditional vehicles, resulting in a more efficient, faster, and more satisfying experience.
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4 Dealer Implications of Digitized Car Buying
1 Invest in digital and AI-powered tools intended to provide a single view of the customers, synthesize shopper’s online behaviors and vehicle data, and predict shopper preferences to keep dealers well-informed for conversations when shoppers transition into the store.
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2 Maintain a comfortable, trusting environment for shoppers to provide personal, vehicle and online data by prioritizing data security and communicating privacy standards to customers.

3 Enable and Encourage shoppers to leverage online capabilities, including financing tools for pre-approvals and aftermarket selections, to improve experience and personalization.
4 Build shopper confidence by incorporating digital tools into the in-store process, enabling a more efficient way to co-review information submitted online, ensure data accuracy and consistency online to in-store.
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PROGRAM UPDATES AND RESOURCES | |
NEW DIG AD PROVIDER PACKS A MARKETING PUNCH | |
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Strong Automotive, an Acura Certified Partner, accelerates dealership digital marketing by offering tailored solutions. As a Google Premier Partner for almost a decade, they customize plans to meet your specific needs, providing dynamic, cost-effective services.
From targeted ads to social media engagement and website optimization, Strong Automotive offers comprehensive digital services with a commitment to drive dealership success.
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MAXIMIZING YOUR DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY THROUGH DATA INSIGHTS | |
In the realm of digital marketing, success hinges on more than just a flashy campaign or a catchy slogan. It requires a deep understanding of consumer behavior, platform dynamics, and performance metrics. To help you navigate this ever-evolving landscape, we've delved into the latest DSO data to uncover actionable insights that can supercharge your marketing efforts. | |
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Unveiling and Defining the Numbers
Let's dive straight into the numbers from the past year, focusing on key metrics across various platforms and multiple brands:
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Discovery: Reflects the number of users who come across your content, often through organic means. For the last 12 months year-over-year, we witnessed a steady rise in discovery, through it this channel matches to the lowest number of known buyers at 0.7% of the total matched sales.
Display / Video (OLV): Impressions matter, and the data shows a significant uptick in display metrics. While this channel only matches to 4.9% of the known buyers, over the last 12 months, it is good for awareness of great offers and competitive advantages in the market.
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Performance Max: A surgical approach to audience targeting. This channel matches to almost 18% of the known buyers over the last year. The channel has seen exponential growth in 2024, matching to almost 22% of the known buyers. It underscores the effectiveness of your strategies, especially when combined with a solid SEM approach.
Search, Shopping, Social: These platforms play a pivotal and role in reaching and engaging your target audience. The data reveals substantial traction across all channels, matching to more than 76% of all known buyers over the last 12 months.
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Turning Insights to Action 4 Ways
Armed with this data, next it's time to translate key insights into a strategic action plan:
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1 Invest in Paid Advertising With search, shopping, social, and P-Max platforms driving a significant portion of your traffic, consider allocating resources towards paid advertising campaigns. Target specific demographics, leverage retargeting strategies and continuously monitor performance to maximize ROI. If you are aligning your spend to sales opportunities, these channels of SEM, Shopping Social and P-Max should be the foundations from which you build a solid advertising campaign strategy.
2 Optimize Your Content Leverage the insights gained from data metrics to fine-tune your content strategy. Focus on creating compelling, relevant content that resonates with your audience across different platforms. In today’s market, competition is high, inventories are rising, and some dealers are struggling to reset after the last few years of low inventory. Those dealers with a well thought out plan every month will optimize their market opportunities and aggressively make it easy for customers to do business with them.
3 Embrace What Works for Your Market The surge in Tier 3 traffic this year presents a prime opportunity to harness the power of advertising. Invest in high-quality market appropriate advertising content tailored to each platform. Our data shows that an always on or Evergreen strategy provides the greatest effect on known buyers. Our data shows that customers who see your ads and come to your websites and ultimately purchase a vehicle take 27-32 days from the time they see your ad to complete this journey.
4 Monitor and Adapt The digital landscape is dynamic, requiring constant monitoring and adaptation. Utilize analytics tools to track performance metrics in real-time, identify trends, and pivot your strategy accordingly. Our dashboard provides deep insights into your specific campaigns to help you identify which ones have the highest opportunities for you.
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In a digital world overflowing with content, data-driven insights are the key to staying ahead of the curve. By leveraging the findings from our analysis, you can optimize your digital marketing strategy, amplify your brand's reach, and drive tangible results. Remember, success isn't just about the numbers—it's about the meaningful connections you forge with your audience. So, roll up your sleeves, embrace innovation, and let's make waves in the digital sphere! | |
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IN THE FIELD: MEET DIGITAL DEALER ADVISOR GENO ADAIR
Hailing from Seattle, Digital Dealer Advisor Geno Adair spent the last six years in the auto industry: two with the Honda and Acura digital dealer teams and four in the telematics industry. Adair has over 20 years experience in the technology space with roles in lead development, sales and customer account management.
Adair attended Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, CA before transferring to the University of New Haven, where he earned a BS and MBA while playing and coaching football. As a celebrated kicker and punter, he also went to training camp with the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent!
Married to his wife Barbara of 17 years, they have three daughters. In his free time, Adair plays FootGolf, and even represented Team USA this past summer in the FootGolf World Cup in Orlando.
Adair supports Acura dealers within Zone 1, Districts E, F, G and H.
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HIGH PERFORMANCE: REPUTATION TOP 10 DEALERS | |
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Congratulations to the top leading dealers who are achieving the highest scores*:
Hendrick Acura Southpoint - 954
Hendrick Acura - 947
Acura of Pleasanton - 928
Ron Tonkin Acura - 919
AutoNation Acura Spokane Valley - 918
AutoNation Acura Stevens Creek - 905
Weir Canyon Acura - 896
Crown Acura Clearwater - 896
Duval Acura - 894
Acura of Brookfield - 893
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ADDP Enterprise Services are fully funded by Acura, and there is no cost to dealers. Click or scan this QR code to set up your dashboard today!
*Industry average is 651 / Acura National Average 710 / Best in class is 955
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