I remember the moment that changed how I thought about marketing.
It was ten years ago. I ran into a former client at the grocery store someone I had sold a car to six years prior. We shook hands. He said all the right things. “Loved the car.” “Great experience.” “Sent a few referrals your way.”
And then he said it.
“We just bought a new one a few months ago. Went with a different store didn’t even think to call, honestly. I figured you’d moved on.”
It didn’t sting because I lost a deal. It stung because I had built a great experience, but I didn’t stay visible enough to matter when the time came again.
In that moment, I realized what so many salespeople eventually learn the hard way:
It’s not just about delivering a memorable transaction.
It’s about building a relationship that stays remembered.
The Myth of Nostalgia in Automotive Marketing
We love to think that a great delivery day will last in someone’s memory forever.
We talk about “client for life” culture. We send handwritten thank-you notes. We take the photo next to the car and post it with pride.
But the truth is, most customers forget us faster than we think.
Because nostalgia fades and in today’s market, attention is rented, not owned.
According to a 2023 Deloitte study, 57% of car buyers could not recall the name of the salesperson who sold them their last vehicle. That number rises to 72% among buyers under 40.
It’s not that the sale wasn’t good.
It’s that the follow-up never became marketing.
Why Great Salespeople Think Like Brands
Brands don’t rely on memory.
They invest in mindshare.
They stay present. They stay helpful. And they stay relevant, even when you’re not in market.
That’s how you build the kind of relationship where people don’t just remember you — they refer you.
And that’s why I started using a quarterly customer newsletter. Not a flyer. Not a sales pitch. A real, thoughtful message built to inform, educate, and reconnect.
Because the best time to market is not when someone is ready to buy
It’s all the time between.
The Strategy: Building Marketing Muscle Between Sales Cycles
The modern buyer doesn’t want cold calls.
They don’t want hard closes.
They want value — and they want it in the moments when there’s nothing to buy.
That’s where marketing steps in.
Here’s what I built into my quarterly newsletter and why it worked:
1. Personalization Beyond the First Name
I segmented my list by vehicle type, purchase date, and lease status. That meant I could deliver content that felt like it was written for them, not just for “my customers.”
Lease coming up? Include trade-in equity trends.
Bought a high-performance model? Share a seasonal maintenance checklist.
Service never redeemed? Highlight an incentive or tip.
The message was always this: “I haven’t forgotten you and I’m still thinking ahead for you.”
2. High-Trust, Low-Ask Content
Instead of promos, I shared insights:
New EV tax credit updates
Tips on how to maximize trade-in value
A short behind-the-scenes look at new model allocations
This wasn’t content for content’s sake. It was me proving that I had a pulse on the market.
It turned me from “that salesperson I liked” into “my car guy.”
3. A Brand Voice That Felt Like Me
No stock graphics. No boilerplate language.
Every word read like I was talking directly to them because I was.
That consistency matters. People don’t build relationships with newsletters.
They build them with voices they trust.
The Results: Retention by Design
After four newsletters, the results were clear.
I had replies. I had reengagements. I had customers forwarding my updates to friends with messages like “this is the guy I told you about.”
The number of return buyers went up.
The referrals picked up.
And most importantly I stopped being forgotten.
This wasn’t a CRM hack.
It was a mindset shift.
The Bigger Picture: Marketing Is the Memory You Leave Behind
Great closers don’t just manage deals. They manage attention.
They understand that the moment after delivery is when the real work begins.
Because what you’re building isn’t just gross.
It’s gravity.
The kind of brand gravity where your name surfaces automatically when someone says, “I think I’m ready for a new car.”
That kind of marketing doesn’t come from nostalgia.
It comes from intentional, relationship-driven communication.
And in an industry where everyone’s chasing the next lead,
the smartest salespeople are focused on keeping the ones they already earned.
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