The 6 Spookiest Email Marketing Mistakes

Email marketing can be littered with pitfalls that give dealerships nightmares when it comes to connecting with potential customers. While this can be one of the highest ROI channels for marketers, a few common missteps can quickly transform promising campaigns into frightful flops. 

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In this blog we will uncover some spine-chilling mistakes that can haunt your marketing efforts—but first, let’s explore why email is still a powerful channel that dealerships can’t afford to overlook.

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Why Email Marketing is Crucial for Dealerships‍

Email marketing isn’t a relic; it’s one of the most direct ways to connect with customers, whether they’re car shopping or need a service reminder. With 4.48 billion users worldwide, email campaigns are a powerful investment for building trust and fostering long-term relationships—often more effectively than social media or digital ads.
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Here’s why email marketing is so valuable for dealerships:

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• Targeted Outreach: Email enables dealerships to reach specific customer segments with tailored messaging, boosting engagement significantly—segmented emails achieve 30% more opens and 50% more click-throughs than unsegmented ones.
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• Personalized Messaging: Personalization drives results, with 79% of consumers saying they only engage with email offers personalized to reflect previous brand interactions, and 59% of buyers say email marketing directly influences their purchasing decisions.
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• Automated Touchpoints: Automated emails like abandoned cart or post-purchase emails allow dealerships to consistently engage customers without extra manual effort, generating up to 30 times more revenue per recipient.
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• Increased Engagement: email continues to be a powerful tool, with 77% of marketers reporting increased engagement over the past year—making it an ideal channel to stay connected with customers and drive results. 
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Not having an email marketing strategy is frightening, but avoiding it due to fear of mistakes is even scarier. Now, let’s dig into 6 of the scariest (and most common) mistakes that marketers make and how to avoid them.

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1. Neglecting Segmentation and Overlooking Personalization

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Failing to personalize and segment your emails can make customers feel unseen, or worse, annoyed. When messages are broad or disconnected, it can actually decrease the chances they’ll open future emails, because they don’t see the relevance. Personalization is the foundation of any impactful email marketing strategy: when emails resonate with a customer’s individual needs and interests, they’re far more likely to engage and take action.

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How to Avoid It: Start by segmenting your audience based on key behaviors, like recent purchases, browsing history, or service records. Platforms like Orbee’s CDP enable dealers to gather these insights in one place, allowing for the creation of highly personalized messages that connect. Instead of sending a blanket message to all, consider the needs of each group: offer service reminders to long-time customers, highlight trade-in offers for recent buyers, or share exclusive promotions with loyal customers. This kind of segmentation fosters stronger relationships with your audience by making each email feel relevant and timely, helping drive higher engagement and, ultimately, sales.

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2. Failing to Update and Clean Your Email Lists

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Over time, email lists naturally lose some of their relevance, which can directly affect your engagement rates and deliverability. If your list is filled with inactive or outdated contacts, not only does it hurt your sender reputation—potentially sending your emails straight to spam—but it also wastes valuable resources. Each email campaign you build costs time and effort. When sent to outdated contacts, those resources are essentially lost with little ROI. Imagine throwing part of your budget at a “phantom” audience that no longer exists.

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‍How to Avoid It: Regularly clean your email lists by removing inactive or unresponsive contacts and add in new recipients with up-to-date email addresses. By focusing on people who genuinely want to hear from you, you’ll boost open rates and engagement. Orbee’s data enrichment solution can help dealerships keep their email lists fresh by verifying which email addresses are correct and by updating outdated addresses. This way, every second you spend on email marketing is directed toward potential customers who are primed to engage with your dealership.

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3. Ignoring the Power of Analytics and Failing to Track Performance

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Neglecting to track essential metrics—like open rates, click-through rates, and conversions—means missing out on critical insights that could inform your strategies.

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Without this data, you’re left guessing about what resonates with your audience, leading to ineffective campaigns that fail to engage. For instance, if you have a high open rate but low conversions, you may not realize that your content isn't compelling enough to drive action. This disconnect can waste resources and erode your sender reputation, as unengaging emails may prompt recipients to unsubscribe or mark them as spam.

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Failing to monitor performance also prevents you from identifying trends or recognizing successful tactics, and overlooking analytics means you're likely to repeat mistakes, squandering opportunities to connect with your audience. Don’t let your efforts go unnoticed; ignoring performance metrics can haunt your campaigns long after they've been sent!

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How to Avoid It: Always check your email performance metrics to understand what’s working and what’s not. Customer Data Platforms can offer dealerships a comprehensive view of customer interactions, giving you insights into who is actively engaging and who isn’t. By analyzing these metrics—like open rates, click-throughs, and time spent on content—a CDP can help you identify patterns, adjust subject lines, test different content types, and optimize timing to increase engagement. With this real-time data integration, dealers gain the flexibility to adjust strategies on the fly, keeping campaigns efficient, engaging, and fully aligned with audience preferences.

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4. Failing to Comply with Regulatory Guidelines

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Nothing is scarier than penalties and fines, and neglecting email regulations can lead to costly consequences. Regulations like CCPA and CAN-SPAM are designed to protect consumer privacy, and ignoring them can damage your brand reputation and land you in legal trouble.

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‍How to Avoid It: Ensure every email is compliant by including opt-out options, tracking customer consent, and keeping up with relevant regulations. Adhering to best practices will keep your dealership’s emails safe and help you build customer trust in your brand.

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5. Not Utilizing Automated Email Sequences and Failing to Follow Up

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Neglecting automated email sequences is a critical mistake that can cost your dealership valuable engagement opportunities. Automated emails act as timely reminders and nurturing messages, helping you maintain connections without the need for constant manual follow-ups.

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By failing to implement automation, you miss chances to re-engage customers—like sending follow-ups to those who abandoned their carts. These emails often have high open rates and can recover lost revenue. Additionally, consistent automated communication builds trust and keeps your brand top of mind.

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‍How to Avoid It: Set up automated email sequences for key touchpoints, like welcoming new subscribers, following up with unengaged customers, and sending reminders for service appointments or maintenance. Orbee’s automation tools let you trigger these sequences based on customer behavior, ensuring each customer receives the right message at the right time.

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6. Not Sending Any Emails at All 🕸️

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Perhaps the scariest mistake of all is simply not sending emails. Many dealerships shy away from email marketing altogether, missing key opportunities to build relationships and drive sales. Without emails, customers may overlook your offers and turn to competitors who actively engage with them.

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Several factors can cause this hesitation, including:

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• Obsessing Over Automation: Some marketers become so focused on creating complex automated campaigns that they fail to send any emails. It’s better to send simple, targeted messages than to wait for the “perfect” setup.
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• Finding the Ideal Target: The desire to identify the perfect audience can delay email initiatives. Instead, reach out to existing segments—any engagement is better than none. You can refine your targeting over time.
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• Lack of Consistency: Some dealerships hesitate, thinking they can only send one or two emails a month. However, even a single email each month is effective. Consistent communication keeps your dealership top of mind and builds trust.

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How to Overcome These Challenges: Don’t be afraid to start small. A simple welcome email or monthly newsletter can make a significant impact. Over time, you can develop a comprehensive strategy that includes personalized offers, service reminders, and updates on new inventory. By consistently appearing in customers’ inboxes, you establish familiarity and trust, keeping your dealership top of mind.

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Turn These Email Nightmares into Marketing Wins

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If any of these email marketing blunders sound familiar, don’t worry—there’s a solution! Start by:

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• Leveraging CDP insights to segment and personalize your campaigns.
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• Cleaning and enriching your lists for better engagement and deliverability.
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• Utilizing analytics to fine-tune your strategy based on what resonates with your audience.
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• Setting up automated workflows to make consistent communication easy.
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• Committing to regular, relevant email campaigns that keep your dealership connected with customers.
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Email marketing can become one of the most powerful tools in your dealership’s strategy with the right approach. This Halloween, ensure your emails don’t give your audience a jump scare and embrace best practices that keep you connected, relevant, and top-of-mind with customers year-round. 👻

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If you're looking for the right partner to help take your email marketing to the next level, Orbee offers the tools and expertise to make your campaigns stand out and keep your audience engaged.

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