OEM APPROVED MANUACTURING PARTNERSHIP
Mazda has officially rolled out their Retail Go-To-Market Plus program and it’s leaving a lot of questions in dealerships’ minds. Primarily, is RGTM+ worth it? Let’s get into the details:
RGTM+ centers their pitch on first party data gathered through MazdaUSA.com visitor data as well as your site. According to Mazda, anyone within your dealership’s DMA that visits www.MazdaUSA.com will be assigned to your dealership. Those customers will then be retargeted by RGTM+ on behalf of your dealership. Keep in mind: You won’t have creative license when it comes to your ads. You selected OEM approved Marketing team will create them on your behalf.
QUESTIONS TO ASK ABOUT RGTM+ BEFORE SIGNING UP
Before you sign up, we’ve pulled together a few questions you should ask to help you determine if RGTM+ is right for your dealership.
How much am I paying for platform fees, commission fees, and program fees?
It’s helpful to have this information first, rather than after you have signed the agreement.
Are their recommended budgets mandatory?
In reviewing the recommended budgets from Mazda, the numbers might look funky. In our experience they provide the lowest recommended spend, not necessarily what will help you hit your growth goals.
They will likely include a hefty After Sales marketing budget based on an OEM goal (note: not YOUR goals) to grow that segment.
Same thing with CPO. If you have CPO vehicles this isn’t a big deal. If you don’t… It won’t be much help to you.
Are AIA ads on Social Media a part of the proposal?
Social for New and/or CPO was not included in their proposal. I am sure by now you know how firmly CBC believes in Facebook as an integral part of a dealership’s marketing strategy. If not, check out our blog on it!
Do you have a recommended Provider?
With the RGTM+ program you can choose from 10 different approved providers:
Adpearance, Dealer.com, DealerOn, Dealer Inspire, DEP, Force Marketing, l2tmedia, PureCars, SOKAL, Team Velocity. We asked this question there were only three the rep recommended
METRICS TO WATCH IF YOU SIGN UP FOR RGTM+
If you decide to move forward with RGTM+ below are some items, you should keep an eye on:
Click Through Rate – RGTM+ boasts CTRs of 1.19%. Comparatively, our Mazda Dealerships we work with are seeing Click through Rates of 20%+.
Cost Per Click – RGTM+ states they’re seeing CPCs at $1.33, but any model specific campaigns are going to be far more expensive than that (think anywhere between $5 and $10)
Don’t let them pigeonhole your dealership into a plan that doesn’t support what you need.
Don’t have room for more service? Don’t have CPO vehicles? Don’t let them spend your money on them.
FINAL THOUGHTS ON WHETHER RGTM+ IS WORTH IT:
Its no surprise that the OEM’s main focus is themselves not the individual dealership, but if you’re thinking about signing up for Mazda’s RGTM+ program, you need to be the one who looks out for the dealership.
Overall, based on conversations with Mazda it doesn’t deliver much confidence that this program was the best option. That may not be true for all dealerships but based on our conversation RGTM+ doesn’t have a deep enough understanding of the dealerships they are pitching to make a recommendation that fits their needs and relies on the dealership to make those decisions. All-in-All you may be better off with an independent agency that gets to know you, your staff, your inventory, and your goals over an OEM program.