Top of Funnel vs Bottom of Funnel Marketing For Car & Truck Dealers

Understanding Top of Funnel vs Bottom of Funnel

Understanding top of funnel vs bottom of funnel marketing is crucial for any business, but especially for car and truck dealers. The extended research period most customers go throw when selecting a vehicle lengthens the distance between the top of the funnel and bottom of the funnel. This represents customers at different stages of their buying journey, and requires the dealership to have separate marketing strategies for top of funnel and bottom of funnel customers. 

What is a Sales Funnel in Marketing? 

A sales funnel in marketing is a visual representation of the customer’s journey from awareness to action. There are many different models, each with a distinct number of stages, but to truly simplify the concept, it’s best to break it down into 3 stages:

• Top of Funnel (TOFU): Awareness
• Middle of Funnel (MOFU): Consideration
• Bottom of Funnel (BOFU): Action

What is Top of Funnel Marketing (TOFU) For Your Dealership? 

At the top of the funnel, car and truck dealers focus on generating awareness and capturing the attention of prospective car buyers. They may not even be actively seeking a vehicle, but a little nudge from the dealer can help move them into the top of the funnel.

TOFU advertising can generate both awareness and interest through an offer that’s so good it gets their attention, by bringing awareness to pain points they might not be consciously aware of, or simply letting them know about a new model, feature, or benefit not previously offered.

Common TOFU Strategies: 

• Content Marketing: Create engaging, informative content that addresses common questions, concerns, or interests of car buyers. These can be model specifications, performance highlights, technical summaries, safety accolades, model awards, or even comparison guides, maintenance tips, or vehicle reviews.
• Social Media: Showcase vehicle content, monthly incentives, customer reviews, community events, charitable sponsorships, or industry information that adds value to the user’s personalized social media feed. 
• Search Engine Optimization: Optimize your dealership’s homepage, SRPs, Service Center, Parts Center, Tire Center, Leasing Center, and local city landing pages to rank high in search engine queries. Don’t forget to optimize your content marketing pages for valuable national ranking keywords, too. The expanded audience will help boost the authority of your website through E-E-A-T (Experience Expertise Authority Trust) signals. 
• Radio & TV Advertising: Never underestimate the power of radio and TV ads to generate strong brand awareness in your local community. Keep your name top of mind with a strong message, motto, jingle, or unique offering that differentiates you from the competition. 
• Local Advertising: Local advertising campaigns can take many non-traditional forms, as well. From non-profit sponsorships, to state fair raffles, to strategic partnerships and employee pricing, keep your eyes open for these opportunities. Chances are, you’ll know your local community better than anyone. Your ad agency should be able to help connect the dots between your connections and optimal ways to get your valuable message out to the public. 

Why Does Top of Funnel Marketing Matter?

Top of funnel marketing matters to your business because it is essential for building brand awareness, establishing trust and authority in your primary marketing area (PMA), and attracting potential buyers – some who are not even looking yet. By providing valuable information and promoting your own brand through various channels, top of funnel marketing plants the seed for a future car or truck purchase, while simultaneously nurturing a relationship that makes the customer more likely to buy from you, rather than your competitors.

What is Bottom of Funnel Marketing (BOFU) For Your Dealership? 

At the bottom of the sales funnel, car and truck dealers persuade interested shoppers to make a purchase. These range from lead generation (getting the customer to provide their personal contact information), to lead conversion (make a purchase transaction). While there are many customers that come to you ready to buy within the first five days, the majority will require 5-90 days to become ready to make their purchase. 

BOFU strategies provide a direct path for those ready-to-buy and address the doubts or concerns for those still working up the courage to make such a large purchase. Remember, not only will the majority of car buyers continue making significant monthly payments on their vehicle for years to come (+70% will lease or finance), but they will be spending considerable time behind the wheel of that vehicle for years to come, as well. (A 2022 study estimates that drivers spend 60+ minutes per day behind the wheel.)

As potential car buyers move further down the sales funnel, they become more interested in your features, benefits, and offerings.

Common BOFU Strategies: 

• Retargeting Ads: Retargeting ads leverage 1^st and 3^rd party data to target specific customers that have previously visited your web properties, most typically your website. In some cases, such as Full Throttle’s Shopper Suite tool, retargeting ads can provide personalized offers on the exact model the customer recently viewed. In other cases, retargeting ads promote more general brand values, sales propositions, or monthly incentives.
• Email Marketing: Email marketing campaigns are a perfect way to keep in touch with customers who have already provided you with their contact information. For shoppers on a buying journey from consideration to action (research to purchase), email allows you to add value and promote brand values. Emails can include personalized recommendations, special offers, dealer incentives, invitations to a special event, or the announcement of a newly released model. 
• Sales Events: Sales events can attract customers at any funnel stage, but are especially effective to convert sales at the bottom. Very often, these customers are just waiting for a better deal, reluctant to leave any discounts on the table. A strongly promoted sales event with a genuine value to the customer can be enough to nudge these shoppers through to a purchase transaction. (Pro tip: don’t miss the opportunity to sweeten the deal for this type of customer with service discounts in their first 6-12 months of vehicle ownership. It will be a win-win to their sense of value and your after-sales team’s ability to cement a long-term relationship through outstanding customer service.)
• Financing Options: Depending on your manufacturer, you may not have much leverage on this one, but similar to Sales Events above, the right financing offer can move the needle for some discerning customers. These limited time finance incentives create a fear of missing out and encourage potential car and truck buyers to finalize their purchase. 
• Test Drives and Demonstrations: Getting an interested car or truck shopper to set foot in the dealership to test drive a vehicle or witness a demonstration of a new feature is a powerful event. This is a significant step in strengthening your relationship with the customer and providing them with a hands-on, full sensory experience of the vehicle they’ve been interacting with on a flat digital screen. It also allows your team the opportunity to ask for the sale and address any remaining concerns or obstacles. (Pro tip: always avoid putting a customer behind the wheel of a vehicle that’s already been sold. Whenever possible, allow them to interact with the exact VIN they’re considering.)

Why Does Bottom of Funnel Marketing Matter?

Bottom of funnel (BOFU) marketing strategies play a central role in turning leads into sales. They directly support the efforts and talents of your sales team. By generating new leads and nurturing those leads with personalized communication, targeted offers, time-sensitive incentives, and showroom experiences, you can help them get behind the wheel of the vehicle they want or need. 

Balancing TOFU vs BOFU Sales Funnel Strategies 

Effective advertising for a car or truck dealer requires a strategic balance between top of funnel vs bottom of funnel advertising. Top of funnel increases your net pool of interested car shoppers, while bottom of funnel converts interest into overall sales. 

Neglecting or overspending on either one may lead to underperformance. Too much top of funnel without bottom of funnel can easily stress even the highest performing sales team. Not enough top of funnel will also stress a high performing team, but due to lack of leads and prospective car buyers.

Work with your automotive advertising agency, marketing director, general manager, OEM rep, or other trusted consultant, to ensure you’re balancing your top of sales funnel and bottom of sales funnel strategies on an ongoing basis.

By incorporating both TOFU and BOFU strategies into your dealership’s marketing budget, you can maximize your reach, provide value to your local community, and achieve sustainable growth and success in the competitive automotive industry.

Top of Funnel vs Bottom of Funnel Marketing For Car & Truck Dealers | Team MMG