The regulatory landscape is undergoing some recent changes, but it’s still important for dealerships to comply with federal and state laws. A culture of compliance not only protects your business from fines and fees, but it also helps preserve your reputation with consumers. The transparency and care that go into regulatory compliance reflect healthy business practices that safeguard both your dealership and your customers.
Cox Automotive brand Dealertrack has been producing a compliance guide for dealers for the last two decades with this in mind. It’s available as a free download and we are making it available through Dealer.com because it includes numerous compliance topics that are highly relevant to dealership advertising, marketing, websites and email – among other subjects.
Vehicle Marketing and Advertising
Many consumer protection laws around vehicle marketing and advertising are focused on avoiding deceptive practices. These can include misleading price claims including “bait-and-switch,” hidden rates, and failure to disclose limitations of an offer.
The FTC considers an act or practice to be deceptive when:
- It is likely to mislead the consumer,
- The consumer’s interpretation of the act or practice is reasonable under the circumstances, and
- The misleading act or practice is generally significant enough to cause consumer harm.
Most deception cases involve some form of communication to consumers, including advertisements. Regulators examine both express and implied claims or representations about a product or service, as well as deceptive omissions from communications, to determine if a communication would be misleading to a “reasonable” consumer.
The keys to compliance are clarity, consistency, and disclosure. An advertised price or rate should be the same wherever it’s advertised and there should be clear disclosures to explain them.
It’s important for dealers to be aware that the same basic advertising compliance rules also apply to online and social media advertising.
Dealer.com Advertising solutions such as Retargeting & Display Advertising, Video Advertising and Social Media Advertising include functionality and expert guidance to help you set up and manage your digital marketing with the consistency and attention to detail necessary for conscientious compliance.
Dealer Websites
Online marketplaces offer car dealers new and exciting growth opportunities, but they come with additional challenges, compliance obligations, and risks. This is an ever-changing legal and data security landscape, so it’s important to keep up with federal, state and even local regulations that come into play.
Here are some of the compliance concerns that apply to car dealership websites:
- Dealership websites must adhere to laws governing unfair and deceptive practices, which include the same advertising and disclosure requirements outlined in the previous section.
- Clear terms of use should outline your dealership’s obligations and procedures, covering aspects such as the scope of services, data sharing, prohibited conduct, consent to contact the consumer, warranties, indemnification, and arbitration.
- Your dealership’s privacy policy must detail how consumer data is collected, managed, used, and shared.
- Ensure that your website is accessible to all consumers including those with disabilities, to comply with the American Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines. This includes considerations like screen reader compatibility and accessible design elements.
Creating a compliant website means developing and implementing appropriate policies, regularly reviewing website content for fairness and accuracy, staying updated on enforcement trends within the industry, and ensuring that advertised pricing is the same online as it is in-store.
Dealer.com Dealership Websites and Digital Storefront solutions have been developed with a strong focus on compliance and accessibility. Our website accessibility solutions align with Website Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), which are universally accepted standards created by online accessibility experts.
The federal CAN-SPAM Act, which has been in effect since 2003, mandates that commercial emails provide a clear and easy way for recipients to opt out of receiving further messages, typically through an “unsubscribe” link. The law also requires that opt-out requests be honored within 10 business days and prohibits misleading “from” names and subject lines.
Your Dealer.com content and creative team members are well-versed in the ins and outs of email compliance, and they can guide you in creating compliant campaigns.
Get the Guide
We’ve only scratched the surface of the compliance obligations that related to dealership marketing and advertising. For more detail, download the Compliance Guide today!
This is not intended as legal analysis, and we do not purport to provide any legal or regulatory advice. You should consult your attorney for any legal, regulatory or compliance questions you may have.