Emails from automotive companies have some of the highest average open rates — almost 34% and average click-through rates of 2.54%. To get the advantage of these rates, you need to follow industry best practices. So before we dive into the templates, let’s start from the basics. Here are some key tips to write a good car sales email.
Customers are more likely to engage with a message that feels tailored to their specific needs and preferences. In fact, they shop 3 times more from companies that do personalization well. Start with a personalized greeting, and try to use the customer’s name whenever possible.
Learn more about the person you are addressing, make them feel special — there are a lot of cars around, but you have just the one for them. You can use the customer’s name, segment customers based on the preferred car brand, send them deals on specific models they are interested in, use their past buying experience, etc.
This email directly addresses the customer’s recent dealership visit:
Want to see more email personalization examples? Go ahead and check our article!
Remember we started with how competitive the automotive industry is? Customers are looking for solutions to their problems. Focus on the benefits of your product or service, and show how you can solve the customer’s problem. When promoting a new car model, for example, don’t simply state the horse powers or engine improvements. Instead, tell customers how they would be able to speed faster on the highway, use less fuel day-to-day, etc. In short, describe how useful the vehicle would be in different life scenarios.
This email clearly shows the car model’s advantages for customers:
A clear and compelling call-to-action is essential to the success of any car sales email. Be sure to clearly state what you want the recipient to do, and make it easy for them to take action.
Here, a call-to-action on the banner image instantly grabs the attention:
The subject line is the first thing the recipient sees, and it determines whether they open the email or not. Use a catchy subject line that entices the reader to open your email.
✅ Good subject line: Our Great Deals 🤝 Your next ride
📛 Bad subject line: Buy the car now!!!
According to a study, 42.4% of people read their email on mobile, so it’s important that your emails are optimized for mobile viewing. All email templates in Selzy’s email builder are already optimized for mobile, so you don’t even need to design anything separately. In addition, keep your emails short and to the point, and make sure they load quickly.
Remember your “Thank you for registration” emails? That’s the most simple form of automation.
In a more broad sense, email automation is an email or chain of emails that are triggered by some user action. You set them up once and then a system does everything for you. You can use automation to send emails after customers visited your website, when they failed to schedule a test drive, etc.
Selzy provides great automation features — just set the scenario in a simple editor and make your emails work automatically.
If you work in a franchise business, you can make email marketing a part of your strategy as well. Note that the approach might be different, so it’s better to deep dive into our article on franchise email marketing.
Another important point to keep in mind is product positioning. You could deal with cars of a lot of different classes (luxury, SUVs, compact, electrocars, etc,) that may require different marketing approaches. For instance, luxury products are often associated with certain personality traits. People who look to purchase high-end cars may want to show their authority, power, and achievements. You can play this up in your promotional materials. On the other end, mass-market car promotions could be playful and even provocative in their tone of voice.
Here are some useful car sales email templates that you can use to engage with potential and current customers.
When dealing with potential leads, things could look very cold at the start. So it’s definitely a good idea to start with an introductory email to warm things up.
If someone has already shown an interest in a particular car model (by sending a request, for example), map a few possible options in an email response.
This is usually a starting point of a user journey — a good place to make a customer comfortable before the next steps.
Send this email in response to a trade-in request. This is perfect when you have info on the current car model of your recipient — you can additionally throw in the relevant model just for them. If not, it also works well.
You had your first touch during the personal meeting — that’s a great start! Time to follow up and build on this.
Test drive could be a great opportunity to make a perfect first impression — make sure your client feels like they are welcome and anticipated.
Yay! You made this sale! This purchase could be the start of a beautiful relationship — so don’t forget it and keep in touch. Who knows, maybe there is another sale right around the corner.
Review is a great source of feedback, and it is a good idea to ask the person how they feel about their car or your service in general.
Long time, no see… This scenario is familiar to anyone who deals with a lot of emails. Chances are your recipient could skip or forget the check-up — and this does not necessarily mean that they are not interested! Send a reminder to motivate your customers to stop by.
Newsletters are a great way to keep people informed. New offers could be a deal-breaker for your potential customers.
Your existing customers could be a valuable source for some new leads — and they could benefit from it too!
In the lease scenario, you need to maintain contact with your clients and gently push them toward an action after the lease time passes. Make it a good experience for your customers with considerate emails.
Time passes — but it is still a good idea to check in and have some feedback. So go ahead and reach out to your customers.
Email marketing is a powerful tool that can help car dealerships connect with their target audience. Plus, it can complement your automotive direct mail strategy. By using well-crafted email templates, dealerships can stay top-of-mind and encourage their customers to take action. It’s important to remember to personalize each email, provide clear value, and include a call-to-action. Remember to follow these key outtakes:
Use the above car email templates, customize them, and build stronger relationships with your customers and stand out from the competition.
Let’s drive!
