Striking a balance between sending too much email and not sending enough requires a profound understanding of your audience. Most automotive dealerships err on the side of excessive frequency and tend to bury their prospects under an avalanche of mostly irrelevant content – and thus have only themselves to blame for their elevated unsubscription rates. On the other hand, some actually under-send. These five ways to ensure you’re sending the right frequency of emails can help all dealers fine tune the timing of their email newsletter campaigns.

Start with a Monthly Frequency

If you have any doubts about your frequency or if you’re just launching your email marketing newsletter, you can’t go wrong with a monthly edition. This frequency keeps your automotive dealership’s identity in front of your customers without becoming intrusive. Many major brand e-tailers are successfully sending emails every other day but automotive dealers should be wary of overwhelming their readers this frequently. Whatever your frequency, ensure that you honor it. Skipping an edition is just as much of a taboo as slipping in an extra one for the holidays or new model premieres.

Set Your Frequency According to the Type of Customer

Your email segmentation data will provide ample insight into your customers’ demographics and behavior patterns, which you can cater to your prospect’s specific sending preferences and requirements. Your lease customer who trades in his car every three years like clockwork does not require the same newsletter frequency as your parts and accessories customer who runs into your dealership twice a week to pick up brake pads, taillight covers and fog lamps.

Structure Your Calendar around Dealership Events

Although the unveiling of the new model cars is now staggered throughout the year unlike the Golden Age when it was set to be on a specific day in September, you can still set your frequency around specific and pre-established event days, such as holidays, race days, test drive events and similar occurrences.

Keep Your Eyes & Ears Open

If you listen you will find that your subscribers will provide valuable input as to what your frequency should be. Are you receiving comments to congratulate you on your content and beg for more, or are you hearing grumbling and complaints about the blizzard of sends? Market conditions also dictate your frequency: in a down market customers may require additional incentive to visit your dealership; in booming times you may be hard pressed to serve the buyers who are already visiting your dealership.

Always Ask Permission for Your Frequency

Good email practices call for your subscribers to be informed about how often they will be receiving your newsletters at the time of signup, but there are some times when developments will force you to consider changing that frequency. In that case you should obtain permission from each and every single one of your subscribers to accept your new edition timing. It is extremely important to maintain the previous frequency for any customers who do not grant permission for the change. The alternative is to face a barrage of requests to unsubscribe.

Sensitivity to the needs of the motoring public is the foremost consideration. After all, the primary determinant is how well your email marketing campaign serves your customers, not how it serves you.