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The Dealership Environment: Inspired By Everything, Motivated By Nothing

Face it: You’re whipped. Which way is up? Which way is down? Is flat the new growth? Is the shiny object the new thing keeping you from the golf course of from your sales course? Fact: the dealership environment is as fragile and unsteady as it’s ever been. Yet there are more opportunities than ever.

Look around for a little while at any dealership and on the surface it looks functionally no different than it did just a few years ago. Dig a little bit and everything changes. But you already know this. You’re obviously more progressive or being informed by someone who is because you won’t find the sports score ticker or a reality show recap here. It’s all business. But is it new business?

With more advice than ever, including a massive dose of simply republished (or regurgitated) articles and data, and more tools than ever, including predominantly recreated, re-skinned and relicensed  products, it easy to get inspired by everything while ultimately motivated by nothing. So how do you stop the regression and inevitable redirection?

Have a plan. Plan your work. Work your plan.

More than ever, and especially with the speed of all things “new”, it is critical to write everything down, have a plan (including accountability for yourself), build support and see things through. Anything less is simply “blocking and tackling”, which is crap. Is this advice sage? Not at all!

In order to succeed you’re likely doing a number of the things listed above anyway. But are you doing it for everything, every day and do you have a plan of action? Can you get uncomfortable long enough to become perpetually motivated? Can you create the buy-in needed for at least a year? Two?

With the level of community support available, on DrivingSales for example, it’s easier than ever to get the motivation necessary. Remember, the platforms are for sharing and doing. DrivingSales and the other networks are some of the most underused resources! They are not supposed to be selling platforms. Simply reading and not sharing is akin to watching an accident unfold in front of you and not helping. Considering most dealerships are not the most positive environments around why, aside from the ego and time excuses, would you not go to where you can participate, learn, ask and excel?

While there are some great people sharing and answering questions, the purpose of the forums is to engage. The challenge ahead of us is not the economy (national or fuel) or the products. Our collective Achilles heel is not process or response times or the OEMs enforcing programs they don’t understand. Our greatest faults are relaxing, waiting for things to automatically happen for us and not participating. Not asking more questions and letting go of our egos. Not taking more responsibility for our staffs, interactions and brands. Being in the store but not being aware or active. Like most dealers in social media, we might be inspired but by not listening, involving and really trying, we are limiting our success. All of us.

1,000 people at the largest events for dealers, vendors and the OEMs? If those in attendance were just dealer staff, that would represent only 0.0005% of the retail industry. 50 people involved in a community with 50,000+ that touch the content? That’s a slightly better 0.001% involvement.

How can we motivate an industry? It’s not a CRM. It’s not going to happen with a DMS. And it’s surely not going to be spurred by a dealership website (have you actually looked at yours? Really?!) We must be motivated by what can move or change things for the better. We must be motivated by those things that last longer than 30 days. We must be motivated by how much more we can do. We must be motivated and then validate those that did the motivating, then motivate others.

Our industry does have more leaders than are presently obvious. It’s just not obvious. Not for now.

Businesses, already challenged, are going to be challenged more in the foreseeable future. Do you want to go into that future armed with only a pea shooter? Why not an arsenal? Why not a team? We are better than that. An industry that represents the largest part of our (shrinking) GDP deserves to be better, not lethargic!

Take the challenge and get a plan together with solid fundamentals and a road map. Let your inspiration without action turn into something greater.  What would happen if 2,000 people were active on communities? What if 3,000 showed up at the best events? We don’t know.

Best practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

 

Why 2010 Is The Year For The Dealer In The Automotive Communities

You've seen them. You've registered. You've looked a couple times. You've even mentioned them at some of the events you attend to be in the 'know' . But the most you've been involved with what is likely the greatest area of information and opportunity for quicker growth ends with exactly that: not much. Post a comment on a forum? Nonsense. Ask a tough question of your peers? Waster of time. But your processes, results and even poorly rated vendors don't change and the answers are staring at you, through that nice flat screen you convinced your general manager you had to have.

So what will it take to propel dealership involvement in the communities? If we don't change retail, as great as the products have gotten, the fact that new cars are now launched on the web or mobile devices exclusively rather than traditional advertising (about stinking time), the fact that you read reviews of hotels and restaurants on review/forum sites and a list of other valid reasons, the dealer voice online is about as frequent as (fill in your least favorite 80's or 90's pop star here, mine's Cher) appearing on the Billboard Chart's number one spot today.

We can all agree, or let's just say we can, that a lot has had to change in automotive retail. And some are doing it with rewarding results. Even with 'better' results, it's not enough to drop your marketing expense by $50,000 a month compared to a couple years from now, redesign your website and expect cars to fly off the showroom floor. We must share and help each other.

Considering how many have chopped expenses including travel and 20 groups, stopped attending most events and don't even see their reps as much as before, how can you not leverage the online automotive industry communities? That is a rhetorical question considering how many dealers still step over a dollar to pick up a penny.

And let's have real involvement rather the same old list of suspects. A changing of the guard is totally needed, appropriate and refreshing. Does your favorite publication use the same contributors every month? (yawn) Boring! It's no different online.

Dealers, here is the challenge: write down your two or three biggest challenges. Everyone posts them starting tomorrow, for the next 50 weeks. Stupid questions? No such thing! Someone already asked the same or close question? See who else can answer it. What are you afraid of? This is your opportunity to learn while everyone else does. No two people will execute exactly the same so make sure you've got your spin on it.

As an example, after last October's DrivingSales Executive Summit, the comments were consistent not only about the value of the event but the content was more in line with what dealers needed. It was dynamic. The speakers were fresh. The subjects impacted attendees. Then, crickets on the website.

Folks, this is THE year for the automotive online community. Our future success depends on what we do today and for the next 354 days. We have one of the best industries out there, we should treat it as such.

Best Practices: Profession Insight, Powerful Results

What Are You Doing About What Your Competition Is Not?

Everyone's worried about their bottom line, revenues, expenses, marketing,future and what's going to happen next. Worrying so much they have forgotten how to think forward and act intuitively. Better yet, they're not even paying attention to what is not being done by competitors (in and out-of-brand) that can easily be capitalized on.

Two years we were talking about 'an edge'. Now most every dealership is talking about falling off of it. Nothing has changed…nothing! Now, you may have to be more selective and conscience. But you have to market, you have to connect, you must communicate and you absolutely need to build.

Here's a little secret about what 80-90% of dealerships in your market are not doing (or doing effectively at all):

  • Online marketing: SEO, SEM (paid search/PPC, banner ads, etc)
    • Google Analytics (please!)
  • Customer Relationship Management: email, events, incentives
  • Social networking: Facebook, Twitter, Plaxo, etc for increase engagement
    • And drives first two bullets!
  • Reputation management: DealerRater, CarFolks, MyDealerReport, Yelp, etc
    • And drives first three bullets!
  • Capitalize on resources for education
    • Automotive Digest, Digital Dealer, AutomotiveDigitalMarketing, Driving Sales
  • Capitalize on resources for training
    • Consultants, brand events, networking (chamber, local businesses, etc)

More often than not, 10% or less of the 'things that must get done' are and even when they do get done, they're not maintained. Some of the MOST fundamental activities are just not being done and for what?

  • The road to hell is paved with good intention
  • The road to debt is paved with discounts
  • The reason that 90% of people fail is the inability to deal with people
  • Nobody ever earned a dollar without spending one

These are the times when (as a good friend of mine in the industry put it) you can get a larger piece of a smaller pie or you can save yourself to death. Most everything listed here can be done for free to hundred of dollars per month.

One of IM@CS' clients has reduced their marketing expense by nearly 85%, increased their brand exposure, delivered more cars in the past month than they did over the past six, is driving over 25% more web traffic and nearly doubling their own website leads over the past three quarters. They're doing all of the above.

It's completely up to you. So what are you doing about what your competition is not? Someone has to wake up first and get going. It might as well be you!

Best practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

What Do You Think It Will Take To Change? Hello?

Sometimes it helps being a cynic and a pessimist, or at least devil's advocate but at the end of the day you're either your own worst enemy or best ding-dang advocate.  It is always beneficial to see things with a different perspective but critically important to maintain your identity and job jump in the pool for the sake of it, no matter how fun the party.

Recently I've read two good articles. One by Joe Webb (President of Dealer Knows) in Digital Dealer Magazine. The other a blog post by Matt Watson (VIN Solutions) on AutomotiveDigitalMarketing.com. Both deal with perception versus reality, pitch versus practice and simply understanding what you have and need before you're had.  Two common carriers of bias at the dealership level: a rep and an excited, overzealous  employee. Both are doing their job but if you to change anything you've got to address everything.

While results typically flow bottom up, change is managed top down. Changing your online results will not come from some videos on YouTube and some 'vSEO' on your website. Update all of your touch-points, become contextually relevant and timely, make sure your brand connects and apply process consistently. Changing how your employees act will not come from a new company policy solely either.

SEO and SEM are hot topics…and should be managed in tandem with your website and CRM. Having a bunch of disparate systems and efforts out there is like fishing with two poles…3,000 miles apart from each other. It just doesn't make sense!

Search engine optimization is an ongoing task with great opportunity, not a "got it with my website two years ago" item. When was the last time you looked closely at your analytics or, better yet, looked at your site with an overlay so you can see real numbers and statistics against what you think your consumers see. That's always an interesting meeting with my clients.

Change is never done. If you don't continue to change because you need to, because your competition is or because you can and make the right changes…you lose. The change everyone has been talking about for months is cutting everything and everywhere with very little regard. You see, that's not a change from troubled times in the past, especially for dealers and OEMs.

Our greatest changes are still in front of us. Are you ready? And what do you think it will take to change? Think about it and do it.

Best practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

Branding 101?…Not Until You Understand And Have A Brand

What is a brand? If reputation is a brand, a visit to a dealer ranks below one to the dentist. If awareness is a brand, most portals slaughter dealers in search where roughly 90% of automotive shopping takes place. If trust is a brand…well let's not go there. What is your brand and how do you build a brand today?

Recently my most engaged response to someone describing a brand was after spending some time on Dave Armano's blog http://darmano.typepad.com/ (click on the video on the right side about personal branding). You see, 'brand' has nothing do to with your inventory, your facility or your finely made espresso. Brand has everything do to with the experience your provide, your customers' beliefs in you, your handshake, your smiling staff and your ability to invite people back like they're coming some place special.

At the end of the day, your brand is all you have. Yes folks, 'what have you done for me lately' is in lockstep with 'will I ever return here'. While there are some great companies out there that will take your money and promote you online, offline, inline and out of line…what in the heck will they promote?

Sitting down with dealer principals and general managers, their responses to identifying their own brands are as canned as the marketing emails that every dealer in the same DMA sends out (yes, I've mentioned that lately and will again until dealers stop doing it). Everyone knows that a Lexus dealer will treat you like a guest in their own home, it's part of the covenant. Frankly Scarlet, we want to give a damn about something else.

With dealers (and other businesses) unfortunately in a position to provide much less to their communities as of late, the real brand and equity test is soon to come. If you do one thing this year well, build a brand. While there is no guarantee of eminent success, chances are your positive results will follow. Nobody asks for facial tissue, they ask for Kleenex. Nobody makes a photocopy, they make a Xerox. Unless you're from the Midwest, you ask for a Coke (but asking for a 'pop' just has a certain ring to it!) and not a soda.

Do everything you can to become a brand and more. There are those of you that do, don't get this message wrong. It's just that for most of the car dealers out there, your brand ends where the driveway meets the street. There is more you can and must do.

Start with your entire staff. Get them together. Ask what they believe your brand is. If the meeting lacks consensus, you have your work cut out for you. If you have one, get your customers to help. Want to get really 'techno-dealer'? Set up Facebook, Twitter and other networks that will work for you. Get reciprocal links from local businesses that are your clients and partners. Get influential people in your local area into your store, take care of them and they'll blog or contribute to forums about your business!

OK, enough for today. But Just Do It…and do it now…(you recognize that brand, don't you?)

Best practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results