The Long Way to the Lot 1

Imagine Jerry is looking for a brand new pickup truck to pull his boat that he just acquired.

It’s not a fantasy boat, either. It’s real. Sun-faded hull, trailer lights that mostly work, and a name on the side that Jerry’s wife pretends not to hate. He bought it on a Thursday night after three weeks of “just browsing,” because that’s how Jerry buys things: slowly, methodically, until the moment he doesn’t. Now it’s parked in his driveway like a promise he hasn’t figured out how to keep yet.

He steps outside with a cup of coffee, looks at the boat, and does the math every boat owner does sooner or later: I need a truck.

Not a truck like a vague symbol of masculinity. A real truck—payload, towing capacity, hitch options, bed length. Something that won’t sweat on the ramp when the wind kicks up and the trailer starts doing that little sideways dance that makes you question every decision you’ve ever made.

Jerry pulls out his phone. He doesn’t search for a dealership. He doesn’t search for a brand. He searches for reassurance.

“Best truck for towing a boat.”

That’s the first domino.

The First Phase: The Search That Doesn’t Feel Like Shopping

The internet does what it always does: throws an ocean of opinions at him. Lists. Rankings. Forums. People arguing about torque curves like it’s religion. YouTube thumbnails with wide-eyed guys pointing at tailgates. Jerry scrolls like a man trying to solve a problem without getting sold to.

He clicks a couple articles. Watches thirty seconds of a video. Bounces. Watches another. Bounces. This isn’t “shopping” yet. This is Jerry trying to understand what he’s even supposed to care about.

Then he gets more specific.

“Best pickup truck for towing 6000 lb boat.”
“F-150 vs Silverado towing boat.”
“Towing capacity 2026 Ram 1500.”

Now he’s not just learning. He’s narrowing. He’s building a mental shortlist. He’s making micro-decisions that will eventually feel like destiny.

And here’s the part dealership marketing teams already know—this is where the battle is being fought. Not when Jerry types in “dealership near me,” but here, in the messy middle, where he’s searching in plain language for a problem to be solved.

The Second Phase: Local Becomes Real

By day three, Jerry has opinions. He has tabs open. He’s annoying to talk to at dinner because every sentence begins with “Apparently…” He’s leaning toward two models. He’s trying to figure out which one makes him feel less like he’s about to overpay for a dream he barely understands.

And then the search changes.

It gets local.

“Trucks for towing near me.”
“2026 Silverado towing package [city].”
“F-150 max tow available today.”
“Best truck dealership near me for towing.”

Now he’s close. Now he’s making contact with the world.

He taps into Google results. He taps into inventory pages. He looks at photos. He reads reviews. He checks hours. But something subtle happens here—something that has almost nothing to do with price.

He starts looking for signals.

Is this dealership alive?
Is it current?
Do they feel like real people?
Does it look like a place where someone would actually help him, or just run him through a process?

Jerry doesn’t phrase it like that. He wouldn’t say “brand trust signals.” He’d say, “I don’t know… I just got a good vibe.” But it’s the same thing.

This is where content stops being “nice” and becomes the deciding factor.

The Moment He Gets Hooked: Not a Commercial, a Human

He clicks on a dealership’s Facebook page. Or maybe it’s Instagram. Or maybe it’s a YouTube result that’s buried just far enough down the page that only someone with real intent gets there.

He expects the usual: glossy manufacturer clips, generic promos, the same stock footage every dealership is handed like a uniform.

But instead, he sees something else.

A walkaround video.

It’s not perfect. It’s not trying to win a film festival. But it’s real. A salesperson standing next to the exact trim Jerry’s been researching, in the actual lot, in the actual weather, saying the words Jerry has been typing into search bars for three days.

“Okay—if you’re towing a boat, here’s what you want to pay attention to…”

Jerry pauses. His thumb stops scrolling.

Because now he’s not watching marketing. He’s watching help.

He watches another. Then another. He sees a quick clip about towing packages. Another about bed length. Another about how to set up the hitch. Another about what people forget when they buy their first tow rig.

The dealership isn’t screaming “BUY NOW.” They’re just… showing up. Answering. Being present. Sounding like people who know what they’re doing.

And this is the crucial thing: Jerry starts trusting them before he talks to them.

That’s the entire game.

The Third Phase: The Invisible Win—Familiarity

By the time Jerry finally clicks “Call,” it doesn’t feel like a cold call. It feels like reaching out to someone he already kind of knows.

He’s seen faces. Heard voices. Learned from them. He’s watched enough content that when he pulls into the lot, the place doesn’t feel foreign.

He’s not walking into a dealership.

He’s walking into a continuation.

And now the dealership has a massive advantage that most people underestimate: Jerry is relaxed. He’s already oriented. He’s not bracing for impact. He’s not defensive. He’s not scanning for a reason to distrust them.

He’s thinking, Let’s see what they can do for me.

That is priceless.

Why This Matters for Dealership Marketing (And You Know It Does)

No one needs to be convinced that buyers search online. Everyone knows that.

The point of Jerry isn’t to teach a lesson. The point is to remind you what it feels like from the other side of the screen—how a real buyer moves through the world now.

He starts broad.
He gets specific.
He goes local.
He looks for signals.
He chooses the dealership that feels current, helpful, and real.

And the dealerships winning that moment aren’t necessarily the ones with the biggest budgets or the fanciest ads.

They’re the ones producing fresh, authentic content consistently—content that answers real questions, builds familiarity, and makes the dealership feel like a place you can trust.

Not “viral” content. Not complicated content.

Just the right content, often enough, so Jerry keeps bumping into you while he’s still deciding.

The Quiet Conclusion

Jerry didn’t find his dealership because they were shouting the loudest.

He found them because they showed up when he was searching like a human being—with questions, uncertainty, and a problem he needed solved.

And when he finally walked in, it didn’t feel like he was meeting strangers.

It felt like he was meeting the people who had already been helping him.

That’s what consistent video does.
It doesn’t just market inventory.

It builds belief.