7 ways to improve your cars valuation through proper marketing practices

With the opportunities that the internet offers, the odds of selling your car at a fair price have increased. Previously, car owners had to compromise with whatever prices they got in the traditional market even if their ride wasn’t very old.

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Edmunds reveals that new rides can lose as much as 20% of their value as they are driven off the lot. However, you can always improve your car’s worth by sketching a proper marketing plan for it.

Of course, your first step to selling your automobile should be to clean it. Kelly Blue Book’s manager of vehicle valuation, Alec Gutierrez, stressed on the significance of car cleaning to CNN. Gutierrez pointed out that “You could probably negotiate an extra $300 to $500 if it’s properly cleaned.”

If getting your car cleaned can make such a difference, imagine what proper marketing practices will yield. So, without further ado, let’s walk you through some effective marketing practices that can ante up your car’s worth:

1. Do your research work

Research is the soul of the marketing steps that you take to improve your car valuation. The key is to know your automobile’s market value and plan a marketing strategy that revolves around it. Research the market by viewing things from a buyer’s lens instead of a seller’s.

Think of yourself as a buyer and look for what you would want to know about a car. Start with how a buyer will search for your car. Moreover, understand what features and factors will best appeal to your audience. Then, highlight those features in the marketing tactics that you follow.

2. Ensure that your car is visible in the search engine

If people can’t find your vehicle, you won’t be able to market it to them. So, an important marketing step is to make sure that your car shows up in the search results. To this end, list your ride in as many online directories as possible.

Try tools such as Yext, which allow you to scan local listings. You can proceed with enlisting your automobile on these. Ensure that all the information that you enter on these sites is up-to-date.

3. Improve your traditional advertising game

If you plan to jump into the business of selling multiple automobiles or you are already a car dealer, then this marketing strategy can prove to be valuable for you. Buy media space in classified listings and local newspapers. Run ads on the local radio station if you can.

In fact, if you are not on a shoestring budget, then you can consider billboard advertising. A crucial point to remember here is to target the right demographic. It is useless to run a radio broadcast for 16-25-year-olds if you are selling executive cars. For one, they can’t afford such high-end rides, and secondly, you can tap into this audience on social media for free.

4. Tap into the potential of social media

Social media is great for relationship marketing. You can directly connect with potential leads and convert them into customers by showcasing your car in the right way. What’s more, social media gives you the chance to answer questions that the buyer may have.

On a larger scale, an active social profile puts you forward as a credible source. Running an active blog can also help. You can engage with your audience and subtly market your automobiles to them. On top of all of this, social media marketing allows you to inject personality to work online, which attracts potential buyers.

5. Post videos that show your car

Posting a video of your car is an inexpensive way of showing your vehicle to your audience. You only need a video recorder or a webcam for this purpose. If you are shy of the camera, then you can always ask someone else to help you put your car on a video display.

A video is an excellent way of showing your car, gaining points in favor of pictures. Studies also confirm that an average viewer remembers 95% of a message when he sees it. In contrast, only 10% remember the content they read. Another great marketing idea is to do a Facebook live video with your car.

6. Post-how-to videos on YouTube

YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world. Additionally, video content ranks well on the search giant, Google. This makes YouTube video content gold for marketing your vehicle.

President and Founder of Anvil Media, Inc., Kent Lewis, told Smallbusiness.com, “Specifically, develop videos for all four stages of the buying cycle: awareness, interest, intent and purchase.” For instance, you can post how-to content regarding your car. Plus, you can also develop video content around the best features of your car or what makes it better than the rest.

7. Offer test-drive incentives

Run an incentive to attract people to ride your car. For example, you can give away car accessories as a present. Again, if you are doing this on a larger scale, you can quickly get people to come to your showroom.

Enter everybody who visits your showroom into a competition and give away a prize to the winner. Ensure that you have a staff that can handle all the work though. You can reveal such an incentive on social media or traditional marketing channels.

Summing up

All in all, selling your car at a price according to its worth takes time and effort. A golden tip is to remain realistic in your expectations and patient throughout the process. Don’t sell your car for the first price that is offered to you.

Instead, search around and amp up your marketing tactics. At the same time, don’t expect to get the price that you mention. Customers can haggle the set price. It is up to you to either accept or decline. You can always deal with this by pricing your vehicle slightly higher so that you can take down the price as per a buyer’s interest.