Ego Marketing Is Harming Your Dealership's Brand

Ego marketing is not a new concept. It's a type of marketing where the primary focus is on boosting the ego of the business owner or manager, rather than promoting the product or service itself. Ego marketing has been used for decades by various industries, including car dealerships, to sell more products and services.?

In the past, radio, TV, and print media sold commercial spots to car dealerships. However, these traditional media channels could not provide a true ROI to the car dealerships. The only things they could offer were an increase in brand recognition and top-of-mind awareness. To convince these dealerships to continue buying advertising on these traditional media channels, salespeople had to produce creative ways to make them feel important and unique.?

The solution was to boost the ego of the dealership owner, general manager, or principal by telling them that they could be in the commercials, on the billboards, and have their face and voice everywhere. The salespeople would convince these local dealership owners and managers that they could become celebrities and that this exposure would help sell more cars.?

The idea behind ego marketing is that people buy from people. By putting the dealership owner or manager's face and voice on all the advertisements, it makes the dealership feel more personal, and therefore more likely to attract customers.?

However, in today's world, consumers are much more informed and sophisticated. They are not as easily swayed by celebrity endorsements and catchy slogans. They want to know what a brand can offer them, and they are not interested in buying from just any person, but from a brand that can provide them with the best customer experience and the best value for their money.?

Ego marketing can often come across as self-serving and narcissistic, and can actually harm a brand's image rather than enhance it. Customers want to know that a business is focused on delivering a quality product or service, not just on promoting the owner or manager's personal brand.?

While ego marketing may have worked in the past, it is no longer an effective marketing strategy. In today's marketplace, dealerships need to focus on delivering value to their customers, building strong relationships, and delivering excellent customer experiences. Customers are much more discerning and sophisticated, and they are not impressed by flashy celebrity endorsements or self-serving advertisements. Ultimately, the success of a dealership depends on its ability to deliver value to its customers, not on the size of the owner's ego.??