Digital marketing has seen incredible growth over the last decade. The popularity of social media, the development of automated emails and the analytics that inform marketers of the effectiveness of each method have significantly changed how dealerships work on lead generation.
Tech experts say that even more disruption is coming to digital marketing. There are advances already in place that will soon become evident as game-changing tools that provide a competitive edge to those dealerships ready to embrace them.
Blockchain technology: Blockchain makes it possible for data to be stored and distributed but not changed or copied. It’s useful in a variety of ways, including examples like updating bank records in real time without needing to lock other users out of the system, or in cases where multiple people are editing the same shared document. Rather than passing around multiple rounds of updated files, the individuals all work simultaneously on the file.
Blockchain technology will have a major impact on digital marketing because it will give marketers the ability to target their audiences directly, without the need for a middleman, such as Google or Facebook. With blockchain, you have a direct connection to a consumer and can market straight to them.
When a user goes to search on a particular type of vehicle they are interested in, they decide how much information to share with advertisers, and they can be compensated for that data. Instead of Google making money from a consumer’s data, the consumer makes money for sharing their data.
Smart contracts for cross-promotional advertising: Smart contracts allow for dealerships to do business in a conflict-free and transparent way, and without having to add in additional people. Smart contracts utilize blockchain technology that only allows the contract to be complete once the terms have been met.
Smart contracts will help dealerships that hire a third party for cross-promotional purposes, such as an SEO specialist, get promoted on a variety of platforms.
The third party will only be paid once the terms of the contract are satisfied. For instance, if the SEO specialist is tasked with cross-promoting a series of content pieces to drive up search rankings, but those posts never materialize, the smart contract will not allow them to be paid.
As digital marketing continues to advance, dealerships will find ways to grab a competitive edge by embracing the latest tools. Dealerships that use blockchain technology to market directly to the consumer will quickly outpace other dealers.
