4 things dealers hate about co-op advertising

Dealers and retailers have a great incentive to participate in co-op advertising programs: free money. Sometimes, however, the program itself is standing in the way of a dealer’s participation. Make it easier for dealers and retailers to participate by avoiding these four common issues with co-op programs.

  1. Poor support
    Dealers don’t have time for incorrect information or delayed responses. The best way to avoid these issues is to establish a core group of co-op experts who are responsible for providing all the answers in a timely and orderly fashion. Dealers will appreciate your brand’s effort when it saves them time and money. Don’t make dealers think about where to go with their co-op questions. Provide a dedicated, friendly support staff, a single phone number and a single email address. They will repay you by singing your praises and supporting the brand.
  2. Complicated guidelines
    Dealers should not have to read a set of guidelines multiple times to understand what they need to do or how they need to do it. Make the guidelines straightforward by focusing on organization and checklists. The organization factor will ensure that dealers don’t waste their time trying to find specific information in a long document. Checklists will ensure that dealers can easily digest that information once they have found it.
  3. Confusing audit results
    Audit results for prior approvals and claims should be thorough and succinct. Often that is not the case, and dealers become frustrated trying to decipher the ambiguous reason(s) their ad was denied. If a dealer requires clarification on a denial, the explanation of the denial was not sufficient. Take a look at some of the recent denials in your program and read the audit feedback. If you were a dealer, would it be clear to you what the change(s) needed to be?
  4. Outdated co-op fund management platform
    Does your co-op management site make your brand look technologically advanced or inept? Dealers will notice, especially when their user experience is poor. Your site should be simple and fast—not confusing and slow. In addition, think about how well your site captures and reports useful advertising metrics submitted with dealers’ claims.  Enhanced reporting provides useful insights that can be leveraged to further improve your overall marketing program. Your brand could be losing out on a ton of data due to an outdated platform and aged auditing process. 

Cooperate is a Chicago-based agency that solves complex problems for OEM’s and service providers through our insightful, collaborative and cost-effective approach. We pride ourselves on providing white glove service to our clients and their dealers. Do you have a co-op issue that you’re struggling to solve on your own? We’re experts in the field and would love to offer our perspective.

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