Not every dealer partnership starts with a problem to solve. For one Stellantis dealership in New York, it started with a relationship they already trusted. After their first month of running paid search with Catalyst IQ, they were outpacing their entire competitive set and grew sales +218%.
The dealership was already working with Catalyst IQ through the Stellantis BCDF promo program while running paid search with another certified vendor. When their Digital Success Manager (DSM) had the opportunity to show them what Catalyst IQ could do with always-on services, they were open to it.
Rather than leading with features or campaign specs, their DSM started with these questions:
From there, they built a report tailored to the dealer’s specific market and competitive set, showing exactly how their vehicles were performing month over month.
The dealership appreciated that their DSM cared about selling cars, not just clicks. And with visibility into real-time automotive data for their market, they could see that there was more opportunity in their market than they were currently capturing.
With paid search identified as the right starting point, the DSM got to work building a campaign around one important reality: This dealership's market is not where you might expect it to be. They are located in the New York area but their customers don't come from New York City. Getting the geography right from the start was critical.
Rather than casting a wide net, the campaign was built around the specific areas where the dealership could realistically win customers and where competitors were actively gaining ground. In the first month, the DSM kept adjustments minimal, a deliberate decision that gives new campaigns room to perform before making changes.
Meanwhile, the dealer was doing their own work. Using the MarketAI dashboard regularly, they made pricing adjustments, inventory decisions, and strategy calls based on what the data was showing them in real time.
After one month of working with Catalyst IQ and utilizing MarketAI data, the dealership's results were ahead of their competitive set.
Every dealership's situation is different, and the right strategy depends on what the data and the market are telling you. In this situation, experience told the DSM that getting the foundation right from the start was the move.
That meant one critical decision before the campaign ever launched: Making sure the geo targeting reflected where this dealership could realistically win customers. For a store whose market doesn't follow the obvious boundaries, it was the decision that drove everything that followed.
While the campaign found its footing, the dealer stayed active in MarketAI, using real-time pricing and inventory data to make decisions that kept them competitive in their market every single day.
Ultimately, the combination of an experienced DSM and an engaged dealer is what helped them sell more cars, outpace their competition, and reach their sales goals faster.
This dealership didn't win because they had a bigger budget or a more complex strategy. They won because they had the right person in their corner, asking the right questions and making the right calls—and a platform that gave them the data to back it up.
If there's untapped potential in your market, our team can show you exactly where it is. Schedule a free 15-minute demo to see real-time inventory and competitive market data for your dealership and find out where your biggest opportunities are right now.