The Importance of Digital Marketing to Your Auto Racing Business

Advertising in the mainstream media used to be an excellent way to propel companies in the motorsport industry toward growth. Particularly, advertising in magazines, newspapers, race programs, and on the billboards posted at the track helped raise awareness for racing brands.

While that might still work for some businesses, most companies are no longer deriving significant ROI from these tactics. That's because, today, eyeballs are on screens (not magazines), buyers have access to more information than ever, prospects no longer rely on salespeople to make a purchase decision, and people still buy. Still, they don't want to be sold to.

Therefore, to be effective in today's dynamic marketplace, you must live by the mantra of "helping" first:

• First, clearly communicate that you understand your prospects' problems and provide helpful content that addresses those issues
• Next, relate to the problems they have through your business experience
• Finally, lead them (do NOT push them) to your service or solution - a solution that helps them solve their problems

While this may sound daunting, the good news is that you can do this with a well-thought-out digital marketing strategy. Here are five tangible benefits of crafting and executing a digital marketing strategy for your motorsports business.

1. Digital Marketing Increases Brand Awareness

Google is the most-visited website worldwide, registering approximately 89 billion visits per month. Even more mind-boggling is that almost half of all product searches begin on Google. So if you're not leveraging this search engine giant as a digital marketing tool, you are missing out on an opportunity to increase your brand's awareness.

But Google is just one of the many online platforms where consumers go to find products and services. And with so many options available, knowing which ones will work best for your auto racing business is important. For example, Facebook has nearly 3 billion monthly active users who spend about 35 minutes daily on the site. This is a great platform for reaching customers, especially those already interested in your brand.

Other excellent platforms to promote your auto racing business include:

• Twitter - 450 million monthly active users
• Instagram - 1.44 billion monthly active users
• YouTube - 2.1 billion monthly active users
• Vehicle and motorsport websites

2. Evolve Beyond the 4 P's of Marketing

If you have a background in marketing, you've likely heard of the 4 P's of marketing (aka the "marketing mix" ): price, product, placement, and promotion. These are the four primary factors in marketing a product or service. While these principles are still sound, their relevance has waned as marketing has changed and evolved over the years.

In the past, the typical plan included acquiring or renting store space, placing a good-looking product, pricing it competitively, and doing some promotion. Think back to the old adage in the car business, "win on Sunday, sell on Monday - where car dealers would see a bump in sales depending on who won the race over the weekend.

The 4 P's ruled when there were more people shopping at fewer places for fewer products. Today, however, this strategy is less reliable because a lot has changed. We now live in a global economy, where there are more distribution sources than ever, buyers have infinite choices, and it's never been easier to create a product.

Moreover, consumers are now looking for value, quality, convenience, and personalization when purchasing. They want to see how your company solves their problem, not how much they'll pay to use your product.

And that's why you need a well-structured digital marketing strategy to supplement these traditional methods. Your marketing needs to evolve (beyond just the 4 P's) as your prospects' buying behavior has evolved. You need to meet your prospects where they are (online) and create digital campaigns that speak to your potential clients in ways that resonate with them and move them along the buyer's journey.

3. Digital Marketing Creates New Opportunities

In addition to increasing your brand awareness, digital marketing also creates new opportunities for your auto racing business by allowing you to reach new markets. You can target different demographics, such as young adults, retirees, families, etc., and even set up campaigns based on location.

For example, you could run a Facebook ad campaign targeted at people living within a certain radius of your shop. Or maybe you'd like to advertise to people who are fans of NASCAR, specifically. Whatever the case, you can easily tailor your ads to suit your needs.

4. Digital Marketing Is Cost Effective

The cost-effectiveness of digital marketing is undeniable. Unlike traditional advertising methods, which require significant upfront investments, digital marketing allows you to test and measure results without spending much cash. Plus, you don't have to worry about printing, distributing, and mailing flyers, brochures, catalogs, or other promotional materials. This gives you creative flexibility over time, meaning you can change your promotional materials frequently (if you so desire) without worrying about how many existing catalogs or brochures you still have on the shelf.

The bottom line? Digital marketing can be cheaper than traditional marketing methods. And since it's relatively inexpensive, you can afford to experiment with different strategies and tactics to determine what works and deliver maximum impact for your business

5. Digital Marketing Helps Build Loyalty

One thing that makes digital marketing so effective is its ability to build customer loyalty. By offering free content, discounts, contests, giveaways, etc., you can encourage visitors to return to your site. This helps you develop a loyal following of repeat customers.

Plus, you can track customer behavior through analytics tools, which allow you to understand what works best for your audience. With this information, you can make changes to continuously improve the experience for your prospects and customers both online and offline.

Final Remarks

Digital marketing has many benefits for your auto racing business. You have the ability to increase brand awareness and evolve beyond the traditional 4 P's of marketing, all while saving some time and money and driving more value out of your marketing spend. Adding digital marketing to your marketing mix will be a powerful tool that drives growth for your business.

Not Sure Where to Start?

If your current marketing efforts are not driving the results you expect, and you aren't sure where to start when it comes to digital marketing, we can help. Book a free - no obligation - assessment call with Chuck today.