Automotive retailers have long been using showroom sales events to hit targets at key times of year. However, hosting such an event is not without its challenges, especially for premium brands. How do you promote lower prices and financial discounts without devaluing the brand? Or avoid downgrading the showroom by littering it with tactical point-of-sale? What’s more, they’re pricey, costing an average of £5,000 to £10,000.

By listening to our clients’ challenges, we’ve come up with an innovative online sales event concept that offers all the positives and none of the negatives of the offline alternative.

• 22 sales from one event
• 10% click-through rate on event emails

The retailer’s database was emailed with an invitation to attend the online sales event within a limited time. The email contained a unique PIN number that the customer could use to access the offers once the event had begun. The bespoke landing page drove the customer to enter their contact details for the dealership to follow up, should an offer be of interest.

Highly targeted

Low-volume, high-quality engagement is the name of the game. The sense that all the offers are individually tailored is heightened by a unique password issued to each prospect that can be used to unlock a series of bespoke offers. By being discreet and targeted, retailers can drive incremental sales while avoiding cannibalising their own database. It also provides us with even more consumer insight as every user has a specific log-in ID.

Astounding results

The results speak volumes. Take retailer Lancaster Mazda as an example; 1,709 emails were sent with an open rate of 34% and a click-through rate of 10%. 44 appointments were made, 29 test drives taken and an incredible 22 sales made. This equated to nearly half of their quarterly target – not bad for a weekend’s work.