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E-Mail Marketing For Car Dealerships - A Guide
Learn how you can use email marketing to grow your car dealership with this overview of email tips, ideas and tools.
If you’d like buyers to select your dealership over your competitors, then you have to build a relationship with them. Car dealership email campaigns are an excellent tool for that!
To make your emails as effective as possible, you’ll need the right strategy. That’s why we’ll guide you through practical tips, creative ideas, and tools to help your emails succeed.
But first, let’s talk about why investing in email marketing is worth it.
Why should you run email campaigns in your dealership?
Emails are more than a way to send invoices or confirm sales. They can help you:
- Connect with buyers
- Showcase your inventory
- Keep your business top-of-mind
In terms of money, this directly translates to more leads, higher sales, and better customer retention—complementing your other marketing channels at a low cost.
While you’ll probably see better results if you invest in some paid tools, email marketing is still a cost-effective channel. According to Forbes, it delivers a return of $36 for every dollar you spend, making it a smart way to get the most out of your marketing budget.
But there’s another reason to start sending emails.
If you don’t send emails, your competitors might! Seeing as 57% of dealerships send email campaigns and newsletters every month, it’s a good idea to join them and stay on your buyers’ radar.
All in all, if you’re not sending emails yet, now’s the time to start.
Campaign types and ideas for email marketing for car dealers
Another great thing about automotive email marketing is that there are plenty of ideas out there that can inspire your own emails.
We’ll now go through several highly effective email examples so that you can see what works and start creating emails that get results.
Idea #1 Welcome email
Welcome emails allow you to make a great first impression. They confirm a customer’s signup, set expectations for future updates, and encourage them to explore your dealership’s inventory, offers, or services.
Take a look below to see how Hyundai welcomes new subscribers to their email list.
Image source: Selzy
Simple, clear, and actionable—all you’d want of a welcome email.
Idea #2 News and updates
With news and updates, you’ll always have material for your email chains. Whether it’s new inventory, special offers, or industry updates, these emails keep your clients informed and engaged.
Image source: Drip
For B2B dealerships, you could spotlight bulk deals, vehicle trends, or upcoming auctions, all of which can help your partners make smarter, faster decisions.
Idea #3 Promo deals
If you want to grab your subscribers’ attention and make them click and ultimately buy from you, emails advertising promotional deals are your best bet.
You can share limited-time discounts, gifts, bulk purchase offers, or seasonal deals to encourage clients to take advantage while they can.
Image source: Drip
When sending promo emails, make sure you include clear calls-to-action and easy links so that your readers can proceed with purchasing smoothly.
Idea #4 Maintenance reminders
Maintenance and service reminders aren’t just a filler in your email chain—they show your buyers that you care about their vehicles and their investments.
As you can see below, these emails are often associated with new vehicles.
Image source: Moosend
However, used car dealerships can create their own version tailored to their audience.
For example, you could remind buyers of recommended checkups, offer discounts on parts or servicing, or share tips to keep older vehicles running smoothly.
What metrics should you track?
Let’s say that you’ve sent out your first car dealership email marketing campaign. Your next step should be analyzing how well your emails have performed. You can do this by tracking key metrics.
These will help you understand what’s working, what’s not, and where you can improve. Here’s a quick overview:
|
Metric |
What it measures |
|
Open rate |
The percentage of recipients who open your email. A good open rate means your subject lines are working. |
|
Click-through rate (CTR) |
The percentage of people who click on links in your email. This shows how engaging your content is. |
|
Bounce rate |
The percentage of emails that couldn’t be delivered. If your bounce rate is high, you might need to clean up and update your email list. |
|
Unsubscribe rate |
How many people unsubscribe from your emails. You can keep this low by sending relevant, useful, and infrequent emails. |
Tools and software you should know about
Now, if you’d like to approach email marketing as efficiently as possible, automation tools are your friends.
Since there are so many aspects of email marketing (like designing, segmenting your contacts, tracking your performance), it’s much easier to streamline the process with the right tools. So, here are the key tools and software, sorted by category, to help you get started:
Email marketing platforms
Tools like Mailchimp, HubSpot, or Selzy make it easy to design emails, automate campaigns, and track how well they perform.
Image source: Mailchimp
Customer relationship management (CRM)
Using a CRM like Salesforce or Zoho helps you manage your customer data and segment your audience for more targeted emails. This means you can send the right message to the right people.
By adjusting your communication to each stage of the sales funnel, you can engage buyers and move them closer to making a purchase.
Analytics tools
Tools like Google Analytics or built-in analytics from email platforms help you measure the success of your campaigns and see if the money you’re spending on emails is paying off.
Design tools
Platforms like Canva let you create professional-looking email templates quickly, making sure your emails stand out in your readers’ inboxes.
Best practices for any successful email campaign
Email marketing is half strategy and half science, so you’ll likely have to experiment a bit with different approaches before you start noticing results in terms of increased sales.
Still, there are some evergreen tips that always work well, so use this checklist to guide your efforts.
✅ Make your subject lines engaging: A good subject line grabs attention and gets your email opened.
✅ Segment your audience: Send emails to specific groups of customers so the content feels more personal and relevant.
✅ Add strong CTAs: Make sure your calls-to-action are clear and easy to follow so people know exactly what to do next.
✅ Optimize for mobile: Double-check that your emails look great and work well on phones and tablets.
✅ Send regularly: Stay consistent with your emails to keep your audience engaged, but don’t overwhelm their inboxes.
By following these practices, you’ll be able to create emails that not only look good, but also perform well.
Get to know more about marketing for dealerships with eCarsTrade
Gather your contacts, you’re now ready to start emailing! Over time, you’ll notice better engagement, stronger relationships with clients, and an increase in inquiries and sales.
If you’d also like to refine other aspects of your dealership’s marketing, these guides will give you practical tips:
Social media marketing for dealerships: Find out how to use LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and more to get your dealership noticed and connect with the right audience.
Automotive SEO: Discover strategies to improve your website’s Google search rankings and attract more customers to your dealership online.
Copywriting for automotive websites: Learn how to write clear, catchy content that grabs attention.
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