Four Incentives You Should Be Offering at Your Dallas Dealership

Dallas car buyers have many dealerships to choose from, which is why it's important to make yours stand out.

Marketing and advertising aren't your only tools for bringing in new customers and retaining current customers. Offering incentives, whether they are for purchasing a new vehicle or for returning for maintenance, is a solid way to show customer appreciation and build loyalty.

Encourage Test Drives

Get people to come into your dealership and look at vehicles by giving away something small for every test drive. A free movie ticket or a cup of designer coffee will draw people into your dealership.

You don't want it to be too expensive because you will pull in some people who are there just for the freebie. However, you'll also get people who are genuinely interested in the cars you're selling. Run this special offer for a set period to entice people to act now.

Offer Referral Perks

Word of mouth is still a powerful marketing tool, so encourage your current customers to recommend your business by offering them perks for referrals. Offer a free tank of gas or money off their next service appointment for each new customer they refer.

When you get a referral, make sure you thank the customer who referred the new business, too.

Sending a note or a card in the mail is a wonderful way to let customers know you appreciate them. If a customer consistently sends you referrals, consider sending that customer a gift certificate to a popular Dallas restaurant or some free movie tickets.

Add Extras to Purchases

Offer fun extras with car purchases. One week, do new floor mats for anyone who buys a used car. The next week, say the first oil change on a new vehicle is on the house.

These incentives might seem small compared to such a large overall purchase, but sometimes, they can be enough to push people from "maybe" to "yes" on a car. Extras can be a good way to target a certain market of car buyer, too.

Offering mud flaps might bring in people who love to off-road, for example.

Create a Loyalty Program

Almost every business nowadays offers some sort of loyalty program, and for good reason: they work. When customers know they'll build up points or earn rewards for returning to the same place, they do. Once you've sold a car to someone, give them an incentive to return to your shop for maintenance.

Offer a points system for work done, and once they hit a certain threshold reward them.

Alternatively, if they come in for five oil changes, the sixth is free. People love to save money, so let customers know that if they keep returning, they will. People can be fiercely loyal to businesses when they've had a good experience.

Make sure your incentives target both new and existing customers to continue to build your business and your reputation as a quality Dallas car dealership.