Rachel Pullen, president of Brown Automotive Group, which has 16 stores in Virginia and Maryland, first started working on Digital Air Strike ten years ago.

At that time, Pullen, like many of his colleagues, worked in reputation management and social media marketing. Since then, the size, reputation and products of Brown Automotive Group and Digital Air Strike have grown, and continuing the relationship has proven increasingly profitable.

“I started at the Toyota store because Toyota recommended it,” says Pullen. “We were all learning about reputation management, but this was pretty new. We knew it needed expertise. continued to work with

“They ask our team all the time, ‘What’s keeping you up at night?’ Tweak it until it’s perfect.”

Auto industry insiders say there is a severe shortage of technology that dealers use in their business for all the technology that is in cars on dealer premises. Rather than looking for a company with a proven track record in digital marketing, many companies struggle with their own ideas, leaving digital marketing to the store staff. As a result, many miss out on free or cheap tools that could benefit their entire business.

More importantly, you dive into your digital tools without knowing how to best use them. With sales slowing, new automakers on the rise, and new model launches, digital marketing is critical for dealers who want to reach and retain customers. But it also benefits other trouble spots that plague dealers.

According to a Cox Automotive survey, 45% of respondents reported that finding and hiring the “right technician” was one of their top job frustration. More than half (57%) of respondents report that their service department is understaffed.

Scott Pechstein, senior vice president of business development at Digital Air Strike, told Wards: “They don’t even use the world’s biggest search engine. It has to be for, it’s special. It could work very well.

Jonathan Pittman, dealer principal of the Radley Chevrolet Cadillac in Fredericksburg, Virginia, turned to Digital Air Strike expertise when he needed to fill the first vacant collision shop position in 20 years. Did.

“I didn’t even know where to start,” says Pitman. “They explained everything to me, we launched the recruitment program and got results.”

This is just one of the highlights of the partnership between Pittman’s dealer group and Digital Air Strike. Guidance on ad placements and campaigns that tripled his number of positive reviews and increased customer satisfaction are just some of the rewards Pittman has found. Like Pullen, he credits his Digital Air Strike’s customer-centricity and quick response times as key factors in its success.

Pechstein said Digital Air Strike works with all 50 dealer associations in the United States. Because these days he struggles to buy cars and find talent. But once you start analyzing your dealer system, you’ll find many other areas that need help.

“They’re asking a lot of vendors for help, so it’s not just Digital Air Strike,” Pechstein said, citing dealer concerns about changes in the auto market. “We’ve been through some really, really bad but great times over the past few years from a dealer perspective and the process is out the window. It’s not good, and if it stops, some dealers will be really in trouble… We really need digital marketing.”