CREATING NEXT DAY TRAFFIC™

A couple of years ago we wrote a post about conquest marketing, and we decided to build an updated guide. 

CREATING NEXT DAY TRAFFIC™

Recapping the original, by definition conquest marketing takes two main forms. You are either convincing someone to buy the same brand product from you or convincing them to buy a

different brand product from you. Either way you look at it, all marketing, outside of your current customer base, should be considered conquest.  You can read the entire article here.

WHERE IT ALL STARTED:

CREATING NEXT DAY TRAFFIC™

ARE UNSURE OF WHICH CAR TO BUY

WHEN CAR SHOPPERS ENTER THE MARKET60%

TWO PRIMARY TARGET PROSPECTS

A person who owns a competing product. 1 2A person who owns your

product, but purchased it from another dealer.

CREATING NEXT DAY TRAFFIC™

UNDERSTAND THE COMPETITION

Whether it’s a competing business or product you should definitely do your research, so you know what you are up against. This seems like a pretty basic step, but can often get overlooked.

HOW TO CREATE A CONQUEST MARKETING STRATEGY:

UNDERSTAND THE CUSTOMER

The key to defining the customer is understanding the problem. You need to walk a mile in their shoes and know the problems they face or need to overcome. Begin by segmenting customers into buckets based on demographics and then reorganize them by common problems.

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THE MOST IMPORTANT THING:

FOCUS ON SOLVING THE PROBLEM

12

First, if the customer currently owns a product you sell, your message

should be more focused on the benefits of buying from you.

Second, if the customer owns a competing product, you will also have

to include features and benefits that address a problem and solve it for them.

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USED CAR SHOPPERS KNOW THE EXACT MAKE AND MODEL OF INTEREST AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PROCESS

29% 38

%NEW CAR SHOPPERS

KNOW THE EXACT MAKE AND MODEL OF INTEREST AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PROCESS

CREATING NEXT DAY TRAFFIC™

86%OF SHOPPERS PLACE

MEDIUM TO HIGH VALUE ON PERSONAL RECOMMENDATIONS

67%OF SHOPPERS PLACE

MEDIUM TO HIGH VALUE ON ONLINE REVIEWS

CONSIDER THE BUYING FUNNELIf your target is in the awareness and research stage, you can focus more on features. If your prospect is farther down funnel, price and value will come into play.

Most importantly, don’t forget about people in the post-purchase part of the funnel. If your product requires post-purchase service, then you have an opportunity to create a

relationship, and at the end of the day, people buy from people they like.

CREATING NEXT DAY TRAFFIC™

CONQUEST MARKETING TACTICS:Your strategy can often dictate the tactics, but there is certainly the freedom to be creative. These are just a few of the ways you can execute on a conquest marketing campaign.

TV AND RADIO

Traditional marketing tactics are as strong as ever. Delivering a consistent message through traditional channels can help with the people still in the awareness and research stages of the cycle. More importantly,

it can help set the table for your other tactics.

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MORE OFTEN THAN IN-BRAND COMPARISONS

COMPETITIVE BRANDCOMPARISON

SEARCHES HAPPEN3XCONTENT MARKETING

Custom content marketing is so important to a conquest campaign because it gives you the opportunity to create information rich landing pages, and present a clear, concise case to would-be shoppers.

With both written content and video content you can easily expand your influence

and provide similar information in two mediums. Options are good when you hope to educate someone. Plus it gives you the added benefit of promoting the same information in various places.

CREATING NEXT DAY TRAFFIC™

Use the Facebook Graph Search to research people, competitors and cities:

“Pages Liked By People Who Live Near El Paso”

“Pages Liked By [Enter One Of Your Friend’s Names]”

“Pages Liked By People Who Like Atlanta Silverbacks”

SOCIAL MARKETING

Social channels will amplify your conquest marketing campaign, and produce incredible results. On a basic level, simply promoting your conquest marketing content through social media will help you deliver the message.

Leverage the power of social channels. Find and engage small groups to create advocates.

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PAID SEARCH

Paying for traffic through Google and Bing can be both effective and expensive. The keywords you target will make all the difference in a conquest campaign. You will want to start with searches that are higher up in the awareness and

consideration part of the funnel. Your ad copy needs to create interest, and offer to solve the perceived problem.

If you are fishing further down funnel, you will need to bring price into play. Once people leave the consideration phase, you will need a very compelling argument to bring them back.

*In some cases manufacturers have trademarked their “make model” keywords and Google will not show your ads.

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RETARGETING

Make sure you combine visitor retargeting with your paid search tactics. You are not targeting the very bottom of the funnel, don't expect a 1-to-1 conversion.

Consider the average time spent shopping for a vehicle prior to purchase. Some people spend months researching before the purchase. 

BEHAVIORAL TARGETING

An easy way to get in front of a targeted customer. Placement costs don’t take into account a conquest message. However, click thru rate will affect your CPC.

Run a consistent message to create brand awareness and preference.

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PEOPLE WHO USED YOUTUBE AS PART OF THEIR CAR BUYING PROCESS WERE INFLUENCED BY WHAT THEY WATCHED.

70%

VIDEO PRE-ROLL

Especially if you are advertising on TV (you already have the creative), you should be utilizing online video advertising as part of your conquest campaign. The cost is extremely low and engagement can be great.

Take the extra step of creating specific spots for your video pre-roll campaigns, you will see much better results.

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EMAIL MARKETING

Given it's age and relative lack of technical innovation over the years, it is still such a

powerful marketing tool. You can reach an exceptional amount of potential prospects

in your market with broadcast email campaigns. You can take two approaches.

Keep in mind, these lists will likely include more out-of-market prospects than in-market

prospects. Don't expect 1-to-1 conversions. But don't be discouraged. You are planting seeds and creating a much larger customer funnel for the future.

1 Targeted small groups. This takes much more time and effort, but can lead to some really fantastic results.

Target everyone. With a compelling message, you will create incredible traffic surges to your website.2

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GEO-TARGETING

This is inherent to your paid search and display campaigns, but it can also be used more strategically. You can research where your competitors are selling their products to target your advertising, and use geo-targeting or geo-fencing around your competitors stores.

While the theory is sound, a customer on the lot is the hottest of prospects, it’s not a tactic that I have personally seen a lot of return from. It's a very low percentage play. On the other side of the coin, if it is so effective, you should probably be

using it for prospect retention.

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If you found some value in here, please share the love and these insights with your audience or friends.

Don’t wait around for your competition. Get started using these strategies and tactics to win your market today!

Be a Conquest Marketing Rock Star and visit our website to learn more about specific Conquest Campaign Strategies.

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