Little in the world of retail is as competitive as selling used cars, where
the slightest gimmick can mean a sale, online or off. So you have to hand it
to CarDay.com – they just launched a guerrilla marketing campaign that has
their employees out on foot, combing through parking lots looking for new
business.
Employees at the New York City-based start-up are being asked to hunt for
privately owned cars with “for sale” signs stuck in the windows. They leave 3
x 5 cards with the headline “Sell Your Car On CarDay, It’s The Better Way”
under the windshield wipers.
CarDay said its employees are checking their neighborhoods after work and on
weekends for target vehicles — cars that are less than 10 years old and have
less than 100,000 miles.
“This guerrilla marketing campaign is an excellent way to target the private
seller market at the point of decision, ” said Dean Harris, CarDay’s chief
marketing officer. “The challenge for us has been to find private sellers at
the right time, and this campaign helps us do just that.”
CarDay is a brick and click used car sales operation in which privately owned
cars are certified and sold with a minimum of a 6 month/6,000 mile limited
powertrain warranty. CarDay takes four digital pictures, lists the car on its
Web site, and promotes it via advertising. There is a $99 listing fee and
CarDay receives a small percentage of the sale price only if the vehicle
sells on CarDay.
The company incorporates a franchised network of real-world auto retailers
and now operates in nine states — New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.