For dealerships looking to bring in more leads than ever in 2024, the key may be one crucially overlooked audience: stale leads. Cheap, understood, and accessible, targeting leads-gone-cold is yielding results for many dealers and sales teams across the US and Canada. Here’s how to become one of them:
Stale leads are potential customers who, at some point, showed interest in products or services but did not convert for whatever reason (budget constraints, timing issues or commitment issues, etc). While many businesses dismiss these leads as lost causes, they might be overlooking opportunities that could significantly impact their bottom line.
According to a study conducted by the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), nearly 80% of leads generated by automotive and power sports dealerships end up going cold or unresponsive. However, the same study revealed that a significant percentage of those leads can be reactivated with the right approach. Businesses that actively pursue and re-engage dead leads have reported that these leads are not only re-activating, but also being successfully turned into sales.
A study by HubSpot found that 80% of sales require five follow-up calls after the initial meeting, yet 44% of salespeople give up after just one follow-up. Think about it– that means that many of the leads in your “cold” or “lost” segments are sales that just need a few more contact points to convert. This statistic emphasizes the importance of consistent efforts in rekindling relationships with leads that may have fallen off the radar.
Obviously, where high-ticket items are often involved, the decision-making process can be more complex and time-consuming. This makes the follow-up process even more crucial, as potential customers may need additional time to evaluate their options and make informed decisions.
One of the advantages of re-engaging a lead gone cold (besides no additional cost to acquire the lead) is the fact that they are already understood. CRM systems and analytics tools recording your interactions with this lead provide valuable insights into the customer behavior, preferences, and engagement patterns. By analyzing the data associated with dead leads, dealerships can tailor their approach, offering personalized incentives or targeted marketing campaigns specific to that lead– giving you greater chances to win over the audience than available when trying to attract new leads.
Chasing dead leads is not only about acquiring new customers but also about fostering customer loyalty and increasing their lifetime value. According to Bain & Company, increasing customer retention rates by just 5% can boost profits by 25% to 95%. Dead leads, when successfully reactivated, contribute to this customer retention strategy by expanding the customer base and ensuring ongoing business.
So now that we know why chasing dead leads works, here’s the quick road map for getting started:
1. Segmentation and Targeting: Divide dead leads into segments based on common characteristics and behaviors. Tailor marketing strategies and incentives to address the specific needs and concerns of each segment.
2. Personalized Communication: Craft personalized and relevant messages when reaching out to dead leads. Highlight new products, promotions, or exclusive offers that align with their previous interactions and preferences.
3. Multichannel Approach: Utilize a multichannel approach to reach dead leads through various mediums, including email, social media, and direct mail. Different customers may respond better to different channels, so diversifying outreach methods increases the chances of re-engagement.
4. Incentivize Engagement: Offer incentives or exclusive deals to entice dead leads to re-engage. This could include discounts, special financing options, or extended warranties. The goal is to make the prospect feel valued and provide added value for choosing your dealership.
5. Data-Driven Insights: Regularly analyze data to refine and optimize dead lead strategies. Identify patterns, evaluate the success of different approaches, and adjust the strategy based on real-time feedback.
Our favorite way to re-engage stale leads? Targeted email offers specifically tailored to the leads known interests. Check out how we can automate finding stale leads, their interests, and sending targeted email drip campaigns for you here. Or send us a text to learn more
