These are among the findings of the Motor Trader Dealer Marketing Survey, sponsored by Experian.

The survey polled the views of franchised and independent dealers, including car supermarkets, to see which marketing channels are working best for dealers.

Seventy per cent of respondents said they had increased their online spend while 57 per cent had raised their direct mail spend. Meanwhile, 58 per cent had cut their print media marketing. Annual spends on telesales and radio/television advertising remained unchanged for the majority of dealers. The decline in importance of local newspaper advertising was further demonstrated when dealers were asked to judge which media offered the best value for money. Direct mail topped the list with 38 per cent of respondents, closely followed by online media at 36 per cent while print media and telesales were only favoured by 9 per cent. Radio and television were judged to be the worst value for money as they were both only favoured by 9 per cent of the respondents.

When it came to identifying which websites worked best for dealers Auto Trader stood head and shoulders above all the other sites as it was used by all the respondents. The second most popular site was Fish4Cars followed by Vcars. Commenting on the survey Kirk Fletcher, managing director of Experian's automotive division, said it highlighted a significant shift in dealer marketing. “The huge drop in local press advertising and increase in online activity highlighted by the survey shows that the automotive industry is now moving with the national trend in terms of their marketing techniques,” he said. However, he also highlighted that while dealers are changing the way they advertise themselves many are not accurately monitoring the success rates. “Businesses that measure the effectiveness of both on and offline advertising are significantly more satisfied with their efforts,” he said.