How do you market to clients with a big tax refund burning a hole in their pockets? How do you get to them before they mentally or physically spend the money?

Well, there are several approaches that work well. One is to get their attention during the filing process itself. This can be done several ways.

Signing up with a tax preparation service like TaxMax is a great way to have control of the funds. A.J. Ager, Finance Director from Al Serra Chevrolet in Colorado Springs, agrees. “We are signing up with TaxMax and have used them the last several years with a lot of success. We have control over the customer’s refund and that obviously means we have control over their purchase. All you do is enter the information into their system; they file the return and send the customer’s refund.”

One other great thing about TaxMax is they have a fourth quarter program that allows you to file a refund based off the customers last check stub. This will get the ball rolling faster for them to be able to get their money faster. TaxMax also has marketing materials that you can purchase and put on your lot letting customers know you can file their refunds and sell them a car all at the same location.

Another great tip that I have done is forming relationships with local tax preparation companies and setup referral programs. I would create brochures every year and pass them out to tax preparation companies close to the dealership so they could give them to potential customers. Then, we would spiff them when customers showed up at our store.

A.J. again agreed. I am pretty sure he got this from me at a Twenty Group several years back but he won’t admit it. “We set up referral programs with all the Jackson Hewitt, Liberty Tax Services, and HR Block locations within about 15 miles of the dealership. We pay their preparers every time a customer shows at our store regardless if they buy. If we can’t sell them, that is not their fault and we want them to keep sending us customers!”

Cindy Christensen, General Manager of Herbie’s Auto Sales in Greeley Colorado, has a marketing tip that works well for them. Herbie’s does a great job of taking care of their customer base and the majority of their sales each month come from referrals or repeat customers. “During tax season, we send emails to our database of customers letting them know we will match their down payments up to $1000,” says Cindy. “Plus, we also have flyers all over our showroom and in our service departments about this incentive so even if a customer isn’t in the market now; they can refer a friend or family member to take advantage of our Herbie’s Family Rewards program. Lastly, we make sure our BDC contacts all of our buy here pay here customers with low balances (under $2000) to invite them to take advantage of this opportunity to get a new vehicle.”

Lindsey Ford of Wheaton in the D.C. metro area has another approach to getting customer in their dealership that has been influenced by the current economic times. “We are focusing on marketing to less people but marketing to the multiple times”, says Mark Law, Finance Director. “There is a lot of mistrust with customers these days on if they can get approved so we try to reassure them by marketing to them with the same message just a couple different ways and through a couple of different mediums.”

Mr. Law continued, “We did a mail piece from our customer database and then did an email blast with the same message to the same customers. Also, we purchased an email list of customers in close proximity to our dealership and sent them four separate emails. We anticipate the multiple contacts will strengthen customers trust in us and make them are more likely to visit our dealership.”

These are all some great ideas but let me mention, marketing to your existing database should not just happen this time of year. Your database is your most precious sales asset and it should be treated that way. I truly believe a new position will be created soon in dealerships as Database managers.

Next week, we will dive into some things that you can do to make sure your inventory is ready for the tax rush. Until then, I wish you and your families a Happy Thanksgiving!!!