A handful of digital giants dominate the online car sales space—and it’s tough for most local dealers to compete with their size and scale. One tactic to combat this is to lean into the opportunities you can find at the local level and engage in your community. As a locally run dealership, you are uniquely positioned to create a trusting, loyal customer base and drive revenue in that way. How can you get started? Let’s explore some strategies you can use to become a go-to car dealer for your community. 

What’s Behind the Strategy?

The key is to strengthen your reputation, improve brand recognition, and put a face to a name throughout your community. By getting involved, and introducing your dealership through local events and groups, you can work to build trust, become more familiar and recognizable, and expand your employee base to truly become a bedrock of your local area. This will encourage customers to turn to your dealership when they are interested in working with a trusted dealer.  Here are some ideas for places you can get involved.

How Your Dealership Can Connect With the Local Community

Participate in Community Engagement & Outreach

• Join a church: By getting involved in a group organization, like a church, you can make a name for yourself in that community and also demonstrate your values. This can help future customers trust you and your business, which can sometimes be hard for those in car sales to achieve.  
• Get involved in the PTA: Getting immersed in the local school district—if you have children—can help you build a customer base from the parents in your area. Plus, you will be notified of all of the events and activities are holding, which can give you the option to provide sponsorships.¹
• Sponsor kids’ teams and local sports events: By sponsoring local teams, you may be able to get your dealership name on the back of sports jerseys or banners, or you can set up a table to hand out drinks and snacks with branded signage. This can help increase brand awareness and build on your efforts to humanize your brand. 

Be a Local Resource 

• Join local Facebook and Reddit groups: Becoming a local expert can help you turn into the go-to car person in your area. Join town and community groups online and offer your insight and expertise when people pose questions related to their vehicles.  
• Host a car care 101 class: Offer your expertise in the form of a workshop that covers basic repair skills like changing a tire, how to care for your car in the winter, or other maintenance tips. This can help establish you as a trusted figure and resource.² 
• Seek community awards: Some towns newspapers or Chambers of Commerce give out awards to local businesses by category, or overall business of the year awards. Find out what it takes to get nominated and work to build up to that point. 

Pursue Local Marketing 

• Use social media to build community: Post regularly on your Instagram and Facebook accounts and feature the faces of your business to make it more of a community. Follow and share content from other local businesses to become an advocate for the whole community.  Local businesses—like nail salons, yoga studios, local restaurants, hair stylists—all have social media accounts.
• Build your referral network: Work with other businesses in your community to identify referral opportunities. For example, you may be able to coordinate with local auto mechanics and body shops so they refer customers to your dealership when they’re in the market for a new vehicle.

Find the Cars Your Customers Want With ACV Auctions  

As you work to grow your car dealership, improve efficiency, boost sales, and secure the best inventory in the area, partner with our team at ACV Auctions. Our online auction platform features wholesale inventory and detailed inspection reports. Each car in our marketplace has been individually inspected by our trained vehicle condition inspectors, so you can be certain that you are getting exactly what you need. Learn more about how ACV Auctions can help your business grow. 

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Sources

1. Clarity Voice. 2023. “Strengthening Your Dealership Brand Through Community Engagement.” LinkedIn. Retrieved February 19, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/strengthening-your-dealership-brand-through-community-engagement/ 
2. Sherry Merideth. 2024. “Building a Thriving Community Around Your Dealership.” LinkedIn. Retrieved February 19, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/building-thriving-community-around-your-dealership-sherry-merideth-gwsle/