13 Automotive lead generation ideas you can use right now

Leads are everything for car dealerships and auto shops. Without them, it’s impossible to sell any products or keep the business going – it’s simple math. But many dealers don’t know how to generate leads. 

They might try a handful of outdated methods from yesteryear that don’t get the results they’d hoped for and so they go back to aggregate sites and old-fashioned mailouts. 

Learning what automotive lead generation strategies to implement and – more importantly – how to implement them is crucial for attracting new customers and providing a great experience. 

Then there’s having the right tools. Implementing automation through integrations for automotive CRMs is the key to streamlining your entire lead management process. Automated systems help you make sure no lead is overlooked, and each customer interaction is maximized. 

These integrations also allow your dealerships to achieve a seamless flow of information, which is crucial for timely follow-ups and personalized customer engagement. If done right, this system could drive higher conversion rates and improve customer satisfaction.

But when it comes to running campaigns, where do you even start?

Facebook is a great starting point, which is also considered one of the main automotive lead generation sources for automotive businesses.

Automotive Facebook lead generation

Lead ads have become the go-to tool for lead generation on Facebook for many businesses. This is a quick and easy way to grab the essential contact details from prospects. 

With these ads, you can potentially get a solid 9.21% conversion rate, while cutting down on the risk of losing your customers’ interest before they’ve even finished filling out the forms. 

These ads simplify the user’s journey to connect with businesses by getting a pre-filled form when they click on an ad. 

The forms can be customized to capture exactly the information the advertiser needs, like name, email address, phone number, and more. Because these forms are pre-populated with the user’s Facebook account info, the process calls for minimal effort from the users. This feature accounts for the lead ads’ high submission rates.

Why should car dealers use Facebook lead ads?

Given the right strategy, lead ads can give you a competitive advantage and boost your sales potential by generating high-quality car sales leads. 

Facebook’s large and active user base can give your ads the opportunity to get maximum exposure. The platform’s targeting options also allow you to reach potential customers by their demographics, interests, and behaviors—like those interested in automotive topics. 

Facebook lead ads are also cost-effective compared to traditional advertising while offering a fast-paced lead generation process. 

Lead ads also allow you to send lead data to Facebook by automatically integrating it into your dealership’s CRM system. This means having a more robust follow-up process and automotive lead management.

Here is what you can expect from running a well-designed Facebook lead ads campaign for your dealership:

• Higher engagement
• Highly targeted advertising
• Cost-effective ads
• Immediate lead generation
• Integration capabilities with a CRM system

Learn more about how to advertise your car dealership on Facebook here.

Examples of Facebook lead ads for car dealers

New model launches

When a dealership introduces a new model, they can create a lead ad campaign to invite potential customers to get in the know, or even schedule a test drive.

The lead form could collect contact information and preferences on the model type, color, or features they’re interested in.

Offering financing options

A portion of your buyers are always interested in the financial aspect of their car selection journey. You can create lead ads inviting users to learn more about financing plans or to facilitate easy payment.

The form can include questions about their purchase timeline and budget, which helps sales teams provide relevant information and options.

Streamlining your automotive Facebook lead generation

Many car dealers find that marketing automation through LeadsBridge has significant benefits. Anything from streamlining their data management to boosting the efficiency of their marketing and sales processes. 

LeadsBridge specializes in integrating various marketing tools and CRMs with advertising platforms and allows car dealerships to automate the transfer of lead data from Facebook lead ads and other sources directly into their customer management systems. 

Here’s why these integrations are important for car dealers:

No more manual data entry

Automating the data transfer process eliminates the need for manual entry. This also improves your data management processes across your data marketing stacks.

Robust CRM integration

As soon as a lead is captured, you can send out a series of predefined actions in the CRM. For example, it can set off welcome emails, SMS messages, or alerts to sales representatives. And the speed of follow-up can greatly affect your conversion rates.

Improved audience segmentation

These integrations allow your team to segment leads based on detailed criteria such as the type of car they are interested in, their budget, or their timeline for making a purchase to create highly targeted marketing campaigns. This is usually done via custom audience integrations.

Better lead nurturing

Integrating your ads with a dealership’s CRM allows for the implementation of sophisticated lead nurturing workflows. These can include a mix of automated emails, SMS messages, and targeted ads that guide potential customers along the buyer’s journey. 

Detailed tracking and analytics

Facebook conversions API or Conversions API for CRM tools can be integrated through LeadsBridge to provide valuable analytics. These help dealerships track the effectiveness of their lead generation and marketing campaigns. Understanding which strategies are working and which aren’t, so you can optimize your spending and tactics to yield better results.

Automotive lead generation strategies for dealerships 

1. Valuable content in exchange for an email address

Consumers come in all shapes and sizes, but there’s one thing they all have in common: they want value before they give you their details.

It’s highly unlikely a potential lead will hand over their email address without an incentive, like a discount, a free guide, or a complimentary test drive. 

Relevant and useful content works well for this. Consider creating ebooks, whitepapers, and quizzes that can only be accessed when a prospect gives you their contact information. 

Once you have that, you can nurture them via email and over the phone. On top of this, you can find out a lot about your target audience by the content they download. This means you can provide even more personalized experiences moving forward. 

This dealership offers a free ebook about car finance. 

2. Ads and retargeting ads

Ads help you reach people who might not have heard of you. This is crucial if you’re up against a ton of competition in your local area, or if there’s a competitor that dominates your market. 

Both Google Ads and social ads offer laser-focused targeting capabilities and allow you to run specific campaigns for specific groups of people. Get the best results by segmenting your audience and serving them ads based on their unique needs, like: 

• The type of vehicle they’ve shown interest in
• Whether they are a new customer or a returning customer 
• Their demographic information, like age and location 

You can use lookalike audiences to target people who are similar to your existing customers as well as retarget leads on your email list with relevant offers and content to help you stay front of mind and ramp up your automotive lead generation efforts. 

3. Host interactive Facebook Events

Facebook Events is a great lead generation tool for engaging with your potential customers. Plan and host virtual webinars, Q&A sessions, or live product demonstrations directly on Facebook.

Designing an event ad gives you a chance to interact in real-time and showcase your expertise. This allows you to encourage your event’s participants to register through a Facebook lead form to access exclusive content or offers, so you can capture their contact details for future nurturing.

4. Sync new customers with your lead management platform

Managing your leads can be a nightmare, especially if they’re all coming from different sources and contacting you in different formats. Make sure you don’t send a message to the wrong person or miss a potential conversion by managing your leads in one place with car dealer lead management software. 

The best solution is to integrate your car dealer lead management platform like VinSolutions, DealerSocket, or elead through platforms like LeadsBridge. Then, you can update customer preferences based on their interactions. Also, take note of their interests and behavior so you can provide a personalized experience. 

5. Run a referral campaign 

There’s nothing quite as powerful as a recommendation from a friend or family member. This is what makes referral campaigns so effective. By giving existing, loyal customers an incentive for recommending you to someone they know, you cement their trust and get a new lead at the same time. 

Offer a discount, a free test drive, or a freebie as part of your referral campaign. 

Nissan offers customers a few freebies if they refer a friend. 

6. Double down on the best third-party site

It’s tempting to spread yourself too thin across every third-party site going – the more visibility you have the better, right? But not all third-party or aggregate sites are the same and spending time and energy making it work on them could be time better spent elsewhere. 

Instead of throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks, identify which third-party sites are bringing you the most leads and focus specifically on those. 

7. Practice local SEO 

The majority of leads will come from your local area. People tend to buy cars from dealerships near them, which is why it’s important to optimize your site for local searches. 

Start by claiming your Google Business profile and populating it with reviews, your opening times, and key information about your dealership or store. Doing this will give you a good chance of showing up in the top three results when someone local searches for a brand like yours. 

Businesses that have a high star rating and lots of company information tend to show up the highest on local searches.

8. Offer online chat support

Customers who are in buy mode often have last-minute objections, particularly when making a large purchase like a car. 

Don’t make them work to find the answers to their questions or you risk them going elsewhere. Instead, implement a live online chat (or a chatbot) that is set up to send answers to common questions or that can tackle in-the-moment objections and collect pre-warmed leads. 

9. Run re-engagement campaigns

Existing customers are often your best customers. 

Not only do they spend more, but they’re more likely to refer you to their friends and family (see the referral program we mentioned above). Instead of letting customers disappear off into the sunset after they’ve bought from you, create re-engagement campaigns to keep them warm until the next time they need something from you.

Start by sending re-engagement email marketing campaigns to remind them about your services, offer a discount to returning customers, or suggest another incentive that will have them coming back for more. 

Arnold Clark gives customers a freebie if they claim a test drive to re-engage those on their email list. 

10. Cross-promote with local businesses

Local businesses are your best friend as a car dealership. Customers that shop at other places may also need your services at some point. So, it’s a good idea to team up with organizations in your local area and promote each other. 

You can offer a discount code to customers who come to you via other businesses or run a referral program that provides other incentives. 

11. Use Facebook Groups for used car lead generation

You can either create or participate in Facebook Groups that are relevant to your industry. This can be a highly effective way to gather leads. 

These groups help you build authority and trust among group members. For instance, you can offer group-specific promotions as a used car lead generation strategy. Or, present them with a chance to join exclusive webinars or whitepapers. 

Basically, the idea is to encourage members to provide their contact information in exchange for more personalized and direct benefits.

12. Automotive SMS lead generation

Since smartphones and mobile devices are now a big part of everyday life, using SMS campaigns has become a common practice. It’s a simple and effective way to reach potential customers without being pushy. 

Here are some SMS campaigns that car dealerships can use to attract leads:

1. Sending special promotions and discounts only through text messages to make your prospects feel special and motivate them to visit your showroom.
2. Letting your customers know when a car they’re interested in has had a price drop in order to encourage them to come in and buy it.
3. Texting reminders to customers who have been to your service center to prompt them to schedule their next visit.
4. Reminding customers about their upcoming service appointments to reduce no-shows and ensure they follow through.

13. Automotive lead generation through AI

Using AI for automotive lead generation helps dealerships improve customer interactions, manage inventory, and streamline services. AI tools can:

• Analyze customer behavior
• Create personalized content
• Automate tasks like writing vehicle descriptions
• Sending promotional offers
• Enabling remote vehicle inspections

Additionally, AI can predict maintenance needs and optimize inventory. This ensures dealerships meet customer demand while reducing unsold stock. Overall, AI helps dealerships attract more leads, boost sales, and improve customer satisfaction by offering efficient, personalized experiences.

Car dealer lead management solutions 

Struggling to manage a new influx of leads? Use these tips and solutions to organize your prospects and increase your conversions: 

• Use a CRM: LeadsBridge provides multiple different integration options for automotive lead generation in the automotive industry
• Sync customer’s data: Make sure you’re keeping customer information up-to-date and changing customer data depending on preferences and interests
• Automate customer management: Connect up your marketing data with your CRM to monitor customer behavior and create personalized experiences
• Sync new leads: Turn social media followers into leads by syncing up your new leads with your CRM 

Lead generation in the automotive industry is crucial. You need a constant stream of incoming prospects to keep business going and to increase your conversion rate and revenue. 

Get started with LeadsBridge today.