What We Heard at the NCM Clients & Friends Digital Success Workshop 2026

A dealership faced a common challenge—customers declining recommended services, resulting in lost revenue and missed service opportunities. Without a structured follow-up process, these potential service customers were slipping away, leaving money on the table.

Labor Day weekend is a major sales opportunity for dealerships, but it also brings plenty of competition. Shoppers are comparing vehicles, offers, and dealerships, giving retailers a short window to capture attention and influence where those buyers ultimately purchase.

Over the past decade, dealership marketing has become increasingly specialized. Most teams now rely on multiple vendors to manage different parts of the ecosystem—digital advertising, email marketing, data management, equity mining, direct mail, service campaigns, reporting tools, and more. While each solution may perform well on its own, the overall system often becomes fragmented, harder to manage, and more expensive than expected.

A Chevrolet dealership in the Northeast wanted to increase service appointments by connecting with local vehicle owners actively searching for maintenance and repair services. Their goal was to maximize ad spend efficiency while driving measurable growth in service bay traffic.

This August 11–14, that momentum continues in Miami as the 46th Annual NAMAD Conference brings together some of the most influential voices in automotive retail. The event will spotlight the strategies, partnerships, and innovations shaping the future of the industry — and how dealers can stay ahead in an increasingly competitive landscape.

Last week, automotive leaders, emerging voices, and industry innovators gathered in Austin, Texas, for the Women In Automotive 2026 Conference, an event focused on connection, development, and the future of the automotive industry.

Fleet and commercial business doesn’t behave like traditional retail—and treating it the same way is where most dealerships leave money on the table. The reality is simple: commercial customers operate on lifecycle triggers, utilization, and uptime. If your marketing isn’t aligned to those signals, you’re missing both immediate revenue opportunities and long-term retention. That’s where a unified approach changes the equation.

Google Marketing Live 2026 made one thing clear: digital advertising is being rebuilt around AI. Google is moving to an AI-first model powered by Gemini, where campaign execution—targeting, bidding, and creative—is automated. That puts the focus on what advertisers control: data, content, and strategy. For dealerships, this shift is already underway.

With demand for pre-owned vehicles continuing to surge, one dealership group with three Kia locations decided to get strategic—and resourceful. Instead of relying solely on auctions or outside channels to restock inventory, they turned to a source they already knew and trusted: their service lane.