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No Surprise: Pied Piper PSI® Internet Lead Effectiveness Report

Yet another wake up call to OEMs and dealers was quietly released today, showing no improvement in regard to Internet lead responses. While there were a few that made steps and improved their overall performance (Porsche, BMW and Mini), the industry average dropped a point to 56 (21 of 36 brands dropped). The report sites lack of transparency to senior management on the handling and performance of online sales leads.

According to Fran O’Hagan, Pied Piper CEO, the Prospect Satisfaction Index® Report showed that 50% of leads were responded to within 30 minutes, while 1 out of 11 were not responded to at all. Matched with a still-under-ten-percent closing rate for all leads in the automotive industry and those who understand the impact this creates look at how the OEMs and dealers deploy lead management tactics. In short, the OEM-mandated programs are not assisting dealers to better performance; they lead to standardization, lack of true engagement with and sales to consumers considering vehicle purchases, aggregation of data manufacturers don’t find useful, increases to paid marketing campaigns (mostly via retargeting and display with very poor results) and more revenue for unqualified consulting companies.

Not to mention that, while the industry sold more units in 2015, most dealers in the country didn’t increase market share last year (most of our clients did, though). That stems mostly from the inability of dealers to close more leads and execute on more effective SEO and SEM strategies for their markets. However, most dealers hear their vendors scream “we did a great job got for you last month” every month. Bullshit.

OEMs must wake up and realize that many companies selling consulting, lead management and other online services to them and the dealer body have no interest in anything besides adding top line revenue to their balance sheets, showing misleading reports of how “effective” their conversion rates are as well as how websites “convert” as more vendors count SRPs, VDPs and basic requests as sales leads. Data manipulation by many vendors in the industry hurts dealers and decision-making around and for dealerships.

While more speakers at conferences yell about “this one template kills it” and companies produce studies and white papers created to sell more duplicated templates and follow up processes, lead response effectiveness will continue to drop. And more importantly, the three areas that are the only ones that matter: lead-to-contact, contact0-to-appointment and appointment-to-show rates. And don’t even get us started on outsourcing lead management completely as some vendors pitch and a few have built their entire businesses off of, unless you have a death wish.

So with record unit sales, more dealers spending in traditional marketing again, very few dealers investing in digital education and true sales coaching especially around Internet leads and the homogenization of dealerships, don’t be surprised by the next Pied Piper report showing a further decline in results.

 

Want to discover how your leads are being handled without bothersome mystery shops? Contact IM@CS and improve your results with our lead scoring!

 

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

 

DrivingSales Executive Summit 2012: A To Unmarketing

The 2012 DrivingSales Executive Summit has closed its doors with an amazing, energetic event to show. Congratulations to the entire (growing) DrivingSales team, you have left a higher bar to be measured against, once again. With nearly 1000 in attendance, primarily dealers, the vibe was strong around leading-edge strategies. And the expectations were high…

Opening in one of the Bellagio's main ballrooms, with the shortest intro of the four-year event by Jared Hamilton, emcee Charlie Vogelheim introduced Dennis Galbraith to talk about "big data" for dealerships, emphasizing the importance of executable data-based strategy, followed by Luke Wroblewski, renowned mobile expert. The information shared by the former Yahoo design guru wowed the crowd. While not industry-specific, the impact of traffic and studies was easily translatable to both OEM and dealership tactics. The big question was, why are we not better around mobile strategies? The opening reception definitely reflected the excitement for the event.

Florian Zettelmeyer opened up day two with a deeper drive into "Big Data" with a focus on national brands. Like Luke's presentation the evening before, the practical application into automotive was significant and it turned quite a few heads. Feedback from dealers was overwhelmingly positive, and interesting. So were some tweets: one suggested a drinking game each time "Big Data" was heard, the other coining "Big Data" as the…..well you'll have to find and read it.

Rand Fishkin was next and the SEO oracle delivered. Talking points included off-site, social signals, long-tail and other critical search components. The feedback from the session was that it was top-notch. The SEOmoz founder gave dealers (and many vendors) information points that area critical to success, especially given lots of "enterprise" information that is typically given to the industry.

One of the marquee events of the DSES was next…the Best Idea competition. It's best to watch the videos on DrivingSales TV since this post can't quite catch the passion that the dealers being to the table. Everything, at the end of the day, is about the dealer and the industry moves as the speed of retail. So go watch! After the first round of breakout sessions, it was back into the main ballroom for the Innovation Cup. This year cDemo came out on top. Next year those in the running are going to watch to polish up their presentation and explanation skills….

Cobalt was next with their presentation that was supposed to hit on research and, wait for it…. Data that the industry could use relevant to websites and traffic. Some of the points were relevant while many points were already part of existing marketing for most of the dealers in attendance. Then, the full-capacity crowd was rewarded with a gem of a presentation from Billy Beane. The Oakland A's General Manager, who doesn't make public speaking a regular practice, talked about how businesses must be smart, agile and customer-centric, plus saving some tongue-in-check monologue about Moneyball. The audience paid full attention to his ideas, quotes and stories.

Tuesday opened with Facebook and Google…and a heavy dose of anticipation. The two biggest subjects on the industry's mind, Google reviews and Facebook advertising, were not covered due to both companies request. Tom White did as good as possible a job without a full quiver of questions to ask, still leaving some important aspects to be covered by both the search and social giants.

Then one of the most highly anticipated sessions in the industry in 2012: Jared Hamilton hosted TrueCar's Scott Painter for a one-on-one Q&A. Whether Jared took it easy or was tough on who represented the industry's pariah about a year ago or not is of opinion, there were some great questions and responses with some in the crowd wondering what position TrueCar will play into 2013.

Jim Dance followed with a leadership focused presentation that should immediately impact dealership operation. Rich in examples and strategy, Jim did have a post-lunch audience (always tough) that revealed many taking notes. Packed afternoon breakouts brought the event to the evening's joint keynote with JD Power's Automotive Marketing Roundtable. Mini's marketing head Tom Salkowsky talked about their passionate customers and gave chimerical and video examples of just how dedicated Mini owners are.

Then, Scott Straten of "Unmarketing" fame stepped on stage and gave the packed ballroom plenty to laugh, cry and think about. Between chanting "stop it" in regard to mediocre marketing and technology use to bits of "Awesome", his words danced throughout the mix of dealers, OEMs, agencies, media and portals packed i for the following conference. Sick as a dog, Straten simply engaged the audience with the same style and techniques he begged attendees to use.

Amazing event. What will the DSES team due to make 2013 shine? We only have 12 months to find out…

Special announcements: Jared Hamilton introduced industry veteran Kevin Root as President/COO of DrivingSales and revealed that in April 2013, the DrivingSales Automotive Presidents Club featuring Seth Godin. For dealers who want to attend the New York event, go to www.drivingsalespresidentsclub.com

 

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

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

 

2011 Will Be A Great Year…Even If You Don’t Participate

It's no secret that over the past three years, some pretty forward-thinking information was provided to the automotive industry franchise dealer body. All 24,000 plus of them (not ignoring the independents here, just making a point). Over the coming weeks, all 20,000 of the franchise dealers will get more critically important data. Just like before, it's up to them to participate.

2011 will be a great year. Fewer than last year will make up the bulk of increases in sales, count on it. The most web-versed, socially-minded, communication-skilled and forward-thinking will win. Many of those dealers will win impressively. So the same question bears repeating: why not more? Has the carnage not been great enough? Is there too much money in the coffers still? Or is it that management is still happy sitting on their "duffs" of the bay?

2011 will be a great year. There will be more talent available for dealers to select their next sales, service and parts teams and management from. Efficiency will increase, while hopefully not at the sake of bottom lines. In other words there should be more people working at dealerships unless dealerships ignore the potential increase to their business.

2011 will be a great year. The product lines continue to get better and consumer demand for a wider array of cars (not the same car re-badged) is greater than ever. Floor traffic at the dealers that deserve it will most definitely increase. Savvier dealer marketing and engagement will increase penetration in service departments, expect it. And many dealers will experience true conquest for the very first time because they did it, not the badge.

2011 will be a great year. Technoloy will continue to becon to a larger and larger customer base so those more comfortable with technology will take advantage of that. Chaging interests in Green and alternatives will compel a few more dealers to become as engaged with those movements as their customers. Building dealership brands will become a more heated conversation than building new dealership facilities (no, that won't go away).

So how great of a year will 2011 be for you and your store? Everyone, yes everyone, is betting their bottom dollar — and bottoms — that the numbers will be up. We even believe that will be the case. Remember: it's not what you make, it's what you keep. So if you didn't like what 2010 brought, you may not really be satisfied once 2011 closes it's doors.

2011 will be a great year. Oh by the way, for the ones that will be successful, 2011 has already begun. For those that want to join us, what's stopping you???…

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

What Have You Done For You Lately? (Ooh ooh ooh yeah…)

You're back but your bags (and head) may still be packed from your Las Vegas departure. The whirlwind of powerpoints, data, applications, widgets, speakers, vendors and pitches that opened October 12 with Digital Dealer and ran through DrivingSales Executive Summit at Encore, came to a close mid-day last Friday with the departure of over 1,000 from JD Power's Annual OEM and Ad Agency shindig called Internet Roundtable at Red Rock Resort (where more upfront talks than Internet dealings happen, but let's digress).

So your notebook, FlipCam, voice recorder and brain are packed with thoughts, visions, ideas and goals around everything you heard. But the "back to normal" is so gratifying that you may have not done a cotton-picking-thing since switching off the neon and turning on the flourecents. And besides, it was kind of touching to see that 88-day old unit turn 100 now that you're back (ooops!).

So if you're stuck with not knowing where to start, you didn't leave with goals. If you've got three or four places you want to start at, you may not know what your greatest weaknesses or opportunities are. And if you didn't gather enough information on how to get started and the first steps to take from that high-ranking speaker, call them for a freebie. And you may just want to "x" off that session or conference next year because the value didn't get delivered.

So, what have you done for you lately? (Sorry Janet, it's not about you). It's time to crank that Internet machine thing to the next level, right?! Do yourself a favor and start looking everywhere else but automotive and get your bearings. Why? Because there are Facebook pages selling more Snuggies than your website sells in service. There are blogs feeding more contacts to start-up S-E-O, K-E-Y, M-O-U-S-E companies than you get leads from $199-a-month leases. And we have ourselves (and many vendors) to blame.

Start Thursday with a goal to add one task from your volume of Notes 'de Las Vegas and start it. Not Friday, not next week. October 28. Haven't secured your Google Places/Maps location? Do that or learn about it. Haven't secured your Foursquare venue? Have 60 domains you registered a bunch of years ago and one is perfect for a blog? Start it and who cares what it says as long as it says something about what your store is passionate about regarding your customers and the products you sell. But what have you done for you lately?

"Good thing I cook or else we'd starve to death…" How appropriate is that today? Automotive retailers must thank their customers for coming in year after year and driving off in new and pre-owned cars with little more than a smile. It was about the badge, the new product, the incentives and the advertisements. Now it's about you. Matter of fact it always was but the industry lucked out for more than a decade. So what have you done for you lately?

Yes there's half-cooked information all over. Yes, there's "experts" who haven fallen into something that, for obvious reasons, they can't quite explain in an hour on stage. Yes, there's going to be more consolidation in the indsutry which means your ____________ company may become part of another company you're not doing (or don't want to do) business with. But what have you done for you lately?

There are many really good, and some extremely good, tools and providers out there to settle for what someone in your Twenty Group has or what your read in an ad or study. Last week it was amazing to watch the Innovation Cup at the DrivingSales Executive Summit. The "let's never settle for me-too" juices were really flowing there. Put easily, if something can't be verified by a neurtal third party, don't necessarily run away, rather gain more information before making a decision. Chances are you're right that it wasn't a good choice in the first place.

Today you have to be prepared to do something for yourself and stick with it. Even though it's so easy to quit and go back to what you knew. It's also more costly than ever. If you invested the time and money to be around that much addictive behavior for a week or two in Las Vegas, everything you brought back deserves to come to life in your store. That is if you can find your notes among the free schwag of flying monkeys, free model cars, light-up bounding balls, mints, pens, flash drives, logo hats, t-shirts, notepads, shopping bags and fliers for products that are pay-for-it-now-cuase-it's-almost-to-market-so-you-can-be-first (wink, wink).

So what have you done for you lately? Come on, we've got to …….uh, wait….come on…..wait for it…..wait for it……you know you want it…..SELL MORE CARS!

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

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…

The More Things Stay The Same, The More They Stay The Same

We're considering making a big alarm clock. No, a BIG %^&*#$@ alarm clock. That way instead of waking up 10-100 dealers at a time, we can wake up 10,000. And folks, we all should know how big that clock has to be. 14 years of the automotive Internet, over 6 years for most OEM website programs and CRMs, over 3 years of SEO chatter, social media, landing pages, microsites, email marketing and nearly 2 years of mobile, geo-location, widgets and integration. What do we have to show for it? The alarm clock is not big enough.

Two percent leadership and a bunch of blank stares. The season of automotive industry digital marketing events is upon us. It's time to move the needle. Even before massive fees, niclkle-and-diming- new widget this and new fandagled that. And it's not "back to basics" or "blocking and tackling". If you want to stick to blocking, the customers are going to be walking. The alarm clock is not big enough.

Many folks talk about how the people that have been moving the industry's training and messaging programs are right there in the comfort zone, what they like, the heart of the 20 Group, the flame to the cigar so-to-speak. Many dealers around the country are still FourSquaring and we're not talking about the social media game. Many dealers don't have photos up on inventory for a week or two (or longer) after receiving the units. Many dealers don't know the first thing about where, what, how and why there are reviews on the web (or, in some cases, all over it) about the poor experiences at their dealership. The alarm clock is not big enough.

We're talking about dealers having to buy leads since their own inventory doesn't display correctly, generating their own leads. We're talking about the leads that are received not being handled right nearly 70% of the time. We're talking about dealers struggling with finding the right people to handle the leads right, yet hiring the wrong people in the first place. The alarm clock is not big enough.

Consider the volume of content that is available to every dealership with an Internet connection*. Consider the wealth of knowledge that exists at the other end of the phone at nearly any time. Consider the amount of information available in one day with the right person. Consider how much consumers, us, are changing the rules. The alarm clock is not big enough.

*Blocking computers from accessing most of the web? Does the industry emply adults? The alarm clock is not anywhere close to big enough for people with that much control. My fricking gosh, lighten up.

Think about how much less the franchise matters today and how much more the dealer brand matters. Think about how your HTML website* won't load on a cell phone nicely but your United, Delta and American boarding passes do. Think about how much more you want your customers to spend at your store but they don't even open your emails (because hopefully you're actually looking at that). The alarm clock is not big enough.

*And the fact that your website company is using Flash-laden pages, can't deploy a PHP-coded application and won't be able to resize and deploy a widget or give real analytics? No alarm clock can wake that up.

Really, the more things stay the same, the more they stay the same. It's not that we believe there are people intentionally not doing what they should to move the industry forward or that they can't do it. No. It's that whatever has been done has honestly moved the ball forward about a yard but it's 4th down and 28 yards to go. This round of events in Las Vegas needs to get as much fire about them as profits because of them.

Not the same data. Not the same repackaged presentation. Not even the same presenter. Not the same expectation. Not the same end game. Not the same focus. Not the same anything. We all know dealers that are afraid today. Isn't fear supposed to promote change?

Here's a challenge: Every speaker. Every presenter. Every vendor. Follow up your sessions with a call or onlne meeting within two weeks of the event for everyone that wants it. And promote it. For Free. Answer every question. Refer other companies if you don't offer something that's being asked for. Give something away at your session. Really give it away. No strings attached.

Maybe it's a start. Maybe it's about time. Maybe it's about the dealer. Maybe it's about selling and servicing cars. What do you think?

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

Let’s Talk Next Spring (A Very Direct Monologue)

(Note: As a practice, IM@CS has not written in the first person. We
try to not call people out or make examples of them directly. This is a
slight departure from the past two years of blog writing for dealers. We
hope you enjoy it or are at least compelled to comment on this aspect
as well)

After talking with Internet sales staff and leaving
messages for management over the past months, I visited a prominent
LA-area import dealer recently to see about getting a few minutes with
the manager responsible for their web and eCommerce presence. After
finally having the courtesy to recognize that someone was trying to talk
with him (understanding two things very well: one you're busy and two
you likely have a lot of people calling on you and trying to sell you),
he gave me 45 seconds.

In that time, he was able to share that
the "departments are going through changes so it's not the right time
and we'll be able to put our eCommerce and Internet efforts on the
schedule next Spring". Not only is this one of the best qualifiers, it
is also a great indicator of how removed from reality most dealers
really are. This is not a judgement, we'll leave that to the customers,
staff and factory. But as a litmus test, that's just bad. Flat out bad.

Let's say you ignore every automotive publication. Let's say you never
attend a "digital" event in the industry. Let's assume you're not in a
20 group. Just for kicks, let's say you never talk with your staff.
Considering it's 2010, if you have spent any time on the Internet,
bought an airplane ticket, hotel room, checked a sports score or weather
conditions, how can you allow yourself to be ignorant of what ALL
consumers do?

By next Spring, your competition will be
significantly ahead of you. And maybe by my or another consultant or
vendor's doing. Maybe even intentionally. When you send that kind of
signal out, it's hard not to either try to convince you (unless the
manager was intentionally being dismissive) or leave the store and run
to the next closest store. I say this because it's being done. Every
day.

While I can't speak for others that may walk into the
store I'm referring to, I can guarantee you that if I take the time to
engage you, your website, templates, social media (if it exists), phone
skills and other aspects of your operation has been assessed. Don't even
think for a second that mine is a traditional "pitch", again
understanding that everyone that walks in with a briefcase is likely
trying to get money from you in exchange for services.

Just
know that sometime, really soon, your traffic will go somewhere else..
And with what your using for website and more, it won't even cause a
drop of sweat to fall.

With all the best intentions,

Gary May
IM@CS

Webinar: Ward’s eDealer 100

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Ward’s will introduce you to successful dealers
from the Ward’s e-Dealer 100, each of whom have implemented unique sales
strategies for driving sales. The Ward’s e-Dealer 100 is considered the
industry’s benchmark for measuring top franchised new car dealerships
by Internet sales, and we have selected dealers from our list to offer
insights into the business practices that helped get them on our
ranking. Our webinar discussion will offer real-world examples and best
practices to help you craft effective new Internet strategies. You can’t
afford to miss it!

Ward's e-Dealer 100
Wednesday, April 14th, 2010 — 2:00 PM ET | 11:00 AM PT

Sponsored by:

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Register_Button

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