OEM co-op marketing programs are geared towards the lowest common denominator – not dealers who truly want to advance their business – but there are ways to get the most out of them.
Every co-op program has its differences on how they are funded and how the money is doled out/back to you, but typically there are ways to make those ‘available’ marketing dollars go further.
Some OEMs have a “preferred website vendor” list. If you select one of providers that is on the list, you can get back up to 50% of your website spend back each year. On the surface, that is great. In practice, it is a whole lot less than great.
The Math: How to Beat the OEM Co-op System:
Most of the dealership website providers are priced around $400USD per month – or around $510+CAN per month. Gross spend will come in around $6200CAN per year. If you get 50% of that spend back, the website will cost you $3100/year. Ah… but there is a caveat to that. You get 50% back until you run out of available co-op dollars for the year.
Let’s say you run out of co-op dollars by September 1st. You’ll get 50% back for 8 months. The math then becomes, 50% back of 2/3 of your yearly spend: 8 months @ $510CAN = $4080. $4080 x 50% = $2040. 4 months @ $510 = $2040. $2040 + $2040 = $4080. It gets worse if you are a multi-line dealer and can’t max out your co-op payback. If your claimable percentage goes down to say 25%, your overall spend comes in over $5000/year.
Forget your “preferred” vendor list (it is a preferred list, NOT a must-use list) and use AccSite! It has all of the functionality that you are used to but in a much easier to use package AND the math is in your favour!
If you spent $2000/year on AccSite, and by chance couldn’t claim it (which quite often you may be able to!), you’d still be saving your dealership $1200 – $3000+ EVERY year.
Now just do the math for the next 3-5 years. That kind of savings would allow yourself to re-invest back into your dealership. Maybe a family vacation. Maybe a well-deserved renovation, or just take the stress off of selling extra units just to make ends meet.
You owe it to yourself, your business and your family to take a few minutes to investigate whether AccSite would fit seamlessly into your dealership. Try contacting AccSite and book a time that works for you to talk to the owner directly.