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Digital Dealer 9…In A Nutshell

So we're in what many call the automotive industry's event olympics, digital dunking chair, online opinion onslaught, guruexpertvendorspeakerconsultantpitchyouintosubmissionsession and more (is that a word or an insult?!?!). Anyway, last week's Digital Dealer was one heck of a kickoff with around 750 dealers in attendance.

Over the three days, we heard both the good and bad, awesome and ugly and got to share time with the companies in what was easily the largest expo at any of the series of Digital Dealer events. With an opening panel that seemed to be more about defending third party lead providers and attacking other ways to drive traffic, it may have put an interesting asterisk on the event: One of the calls-to-action that is consistent of Digital Dealer conferences (as well as growing) is the ability for dealers to create more eyeballs, consideration, conversion and sales themselves without paying large sums to the marketing companies.

The rest of day one seemed to bring an overwhelming good vibe with some frustration but nothing more than past Digital Dealers. The evening was filled with various receptions, dinners, parties and (required?) gambling. Walking around The Mirage, you could see a kalaiedascope of dealers, OEMs, vendors, consultants and service providers roaming, playing and chatting. Ralph Paglia's ADM reception was well attended again (Ralph, two words for you and ADP: larger suite. Two more: air conditioning). The first day can be marked as a success.

Day two flew out of the gates and we had hop between meetings and sessions. Overall strong buzz, especially around lunch. However there seemed to be more dissention in the ranks when it came to enjoying the speakers. Obvious or not, blatent or passive, it's hard to control speakers. One session we heard about from a lot of people seemed to end up being an over-the-top pitch along with aggressive words toward competition. There's no place for that. The popular speakers seemed to reign more supreme at DD9 which represented a good amount of feedback. One that stood out for us was Kevin Frye's. He had a classy presentation and style that seems to be more prevelant in dealer sessions. Add the trust from the crowd and it's a recipe for success.

IM@CS hosted our second #imacswebpoker tournament and ended up hosting 22 players. We'd like to thank AutoData, AutoFusion, Cargigi, GetAutoAppraise and PCG Digital Marketing for their involvement. AutoFusion presented with Reno Toyota with a complete complimentary package of website, mobile site and Facebook inventory app. Thanks to the other dealers in attendance and congratulations to Dennis Colome of AutoByTel for taking the top prize and trophy. The evening was long but distinguished.

Day three is always a short one and we attended a session and a half. Didn't get a chance to talk with a lot of dealers as they went to the peer session as we headed to the airport. The morning started off with what appeared to be a full breakfast and expo which is a great sign, considering some left Wednesday night. Jumping between sessions from Brian Pasch and Ralph Paglia, both were packed in an apparent tip-of-the-hat to their reputations for delivering the right data and engagement. Dealers tackled their last-minute vendor meetings and some started making plans for next April's Digital Dealer 10 in Orlando.

Overall, Digital Dealer 9 was a success for the majority of dealers and others in attendance. In our opinion, Mike Roscoe and his staff still have items to address to make it an ongoing success, some they commit they're already working toward but still have to focus harder on.

Next week there's DrivingSales Executive Summit and JD Power Internet Roundtable so we'll report from Las Vegas again…

Week At IM@CS: Chats With The Industry

What drives the traffic in? We haven't addressed that much so let's look at a few smaller providers in the realm that IM@CS believes provides the service, backs it and provides additional value:

GetAutoAppraise: Barry Brodsky and the crew at GAA have been doing appraisals for quite a while and know what is most important: the lead, not the value of the car. While the other companies focus on their own traffic around appraisals, GetAutoAppraise gets it done for the dealer with a great admin tool to boot. Check them out at http://www.getautoappraise.com

SEO For Dealers: When dealers ask about complex services they don't understand, they request to "keep it simple". In regards to SEO/SEM and the areas around that, Jeremy Hambly at SEO For Dealers knows how to get it done right: http://www.seofordealers.com

DealerBug: What in the world would drive a 'car guy' to build a widget for consumer to add to their desktop from their favorite dealer when most dealers can't even communicate effectively with their leads? Thank goodness for engagement and for Mike Jennings (former Ford and Compete guy) who understands one of the things that will drive people to and back to your store: http://www.dealerbug.com

We'll try to keep these updates weekly and ultimately have an area where you can get in touch with the vendors.

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