"The Internet is a media that is reinvented every day". This is how Cecilia Villanueva, from CNN described the web during the First Pan-American Journalism and Communications Symposium in 2005. Today, 7 years later, we are able to prove that nothing is truer.
The Internet is no longer considered a “new media”. However, it is recognized as a powerful business, communications, marketing and investigative tool which has proven to be broad and in constant evolution. The Internet constitutes a matrix that comprises all communications media, both today and in the future. With this focus, it has become the largest direct marketing tool ever invented.
Internet has changed the way in which consumers buy. Equally, it has completely changed the way in which people do business in the automobile industry. Before, people had to physically go to a dealer in order to obtain vehicle information. Today, with a simple “click” they have access to all brands, models and even a variety of studies that may reinforce the consumer’s decision to buy a particular vehicle. The Internet has created a more intelligent, better oriented and therefore, a more demanding consumer. To that person, Internet marketing has become an indispensable tool.
Internet marketing is classified into two categories: Active Marketing and Passive Marketing. Active Marketing involves the interaction with others on the web, while Passive Marketing involves providing information to people so that they may access the information directly at their discretion.
The most common method of passive marketing is to establish a website. The portal may be used to obtain prospects, provide service to clients and/or as a sales channel. However, it has been proven that passive marketing and communications strategies do not drive sales any more than TV, radio or press advertisement. What does allow the Internet to work in its active mode, is its interaction with the audience, establishing a communication flow between client and brand. This creates a bilateral communication between them. This privilege is precisely what makes this tool such an effective one for the automobile industry.
