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Volume, Fiasco, Titles, Consolidation, Arrogance and Big Decisions

We are at the next crossroads, for now let’s call it the end of 2015 and the beginning of a new year. There’s more road crossing later. Wow, the past year had a lot of ups (and ups) and downs. And in the end, more cars were sold with fewer showroom visits and more hours spent online. If you agree with that statement, you can stop reading now…

First, let’s hit volume. At the time of posting this, we’re on pace to possibly topple record sales in automotive, if not get extremely close to doing so. There are some surprise winners and some more surprise losers. All in all, the increase was predicted and, with some exceptions, most everyone will be keeping their lofty jobs at our glorified manufacturers (why do most people on automotive blog spell that darn word -and many others- wrong?).

Fiasco. Well, we didn’t see that BIG one coming, huh? It’s too early to say what will come of the Volkswagen TDI (as well as Audi and Porsche) debacle, so it’s suffice to say that the “ouch” outcome is due to come in 2016. The key is that people will still buy their vehicles, it’s a combination of consumer perception and how the retailers handle the opportunities.

Titles, the least favorite of ours being “millennials”, do nothing other than distract car dealers, enable marketing companies (and some barely-average people to become experts in the field) to take advantage of ploys and create enough hysteria to take people’s attention off of what matters: taking care of the customer, stupid.

Consolidation, especially the big one in 2015, serves the car dealer, right?!?!  Holy crap piles of nothing Batman, more dealers on a single-serving platform!! That’s got to be serving the shareholder more than the client, but don’t tell anyone Boy Wonder! Sure, you can see the episode with Adam West and Burt Ward roll out in your mind now, with the “BOOM”, “CRACK” and “UGG” blasts behind every customer service call now…  It’s a great idea when you want your business to be on cruise control, unless you take a good look at the while picture and realize that we’re not well-served until a point that all of the technology is integrated and the data is utilized across enterprises. Until then, it’s called dropping the amount of checks you issue and nothing else. Yeah, and the website will be fully responsive in 2016 (bwahahahaha!!!)

Arrogance showed its beautiful face again in ways we hadn’t since 2004-2007, when dealers were nearly printing money. Near-record profits with slightly more optimized operations after the shit hit the fan in 2008 and 2009 showed our dealer body to some very-needed net profits this year. Along with that came the thoughts that showed as an ongoing lack of understanding what the public wants with an automotive experience, still underutilized digital marketing (yes, please hand your capabilities to the OEM vendor. That’s smart) and a continued focus on increasing spends in unmeasured media or supporting digital vendors that should have died five plus years ago (you know who you are).

All that’s left is the big decision: are you going to wait longer or finally commit the right resources and people power to the proper partners, building your results, true bottom line efficiencies and leading in your market? More dealers have decided, or are deciding right now, to follow (i.e. relent to OEM control of their digital marketing) the herd to irrelevance. It can’t be said more easily or with more conviction, if you’re going to be led by the same company that works with everyone else in your market, or trust the advisor that works with your competitor, you lose. Done properly, most dealers can increase their digital spends at half of what they drop in traditional, increase their sales and service, put the rest into resources for their staff (including adding staff) and come out thousands of dollars ahead each month, net. They don’t because…….because…..because…they didn’t do it that way before.

For those who do it right, 2016 already started over a month ago. If you need to focus on the last 25 days of the year more than anything else, how well did you plan for and execute during 2015?  Or maybe, you simply have the wrong partner(s) in the first place…

 

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

Homogenization is for Milk (If You Drink That Sort of Thing), Not Dealers

“If digital were that easy, everyone would be doing it” said no automotive OEM executive, ever. But somehow, over the past few years, it seems as though they did. Meaning, for the most part, they don’t do anything digitally and yet…they expect their franchises to through some very forceful measures.

The dealers don’t win. The consumers don’t win. The car companies win. Concessions. That’s all. And not the kind that sell more cars. No, car sales are not up due to websites, erosion of gross or 84 month leases. Car sales are up because of demand, available loans and because, yes, the cars (all of them) are being made better today than ever. Oh, and of course, because your website company says their marketing rocks and they deliver the most low-funnel consumers to your doorstep (yeah, those reports make us puke, too).

Homogenization has never been greater at a time when nearly every smart person in marketing (automotive and non) says to create differentiation in every aspect of your business. Yet your OEM digital representative, who was in sales operations three years ago and brand communications a year ago, comes in and says that you have to/should use website provider A or B (that doesn’t have a fully responsive mobile platform, let alone one site), CRM vendor C2, search marketing partner D5B and consulting company WTF (who’s consultant was born the same year your rep graduated Northwood and worked at a Verizon store last).

If you’re smart and digitally savvy, you’ll run as fast as you can the other way. Why? Because selfishly, every digital know-it-all can do a better job? No. Because, unless you have a well under-performing store that you can plug any brainless automotive digital veteran into, buy more leads and sell more cars, they’re after your data, customers, results and ideas through managed programs. Yes it’s absolutely essential to have every retailer represented well digitally, however if a dealer wants to think that digital is a fad and not put resources into the top consideration generator, let them do so. It’s natural selection in business folks, let ’em sink.

Being made to look like every dealership with the same banners, offers, landing pages, newsletters, paid marketing and social media is a slow, miserable existence. An import dealer shared today that during his recent brand marketing meeting, an OEM digital overlord told him that he should have the ability to turn off all of the factory marketing if he had his own. Unfortunately, his website company (OEM-endorsed) didn’t allow him to and the third-party, in-the-way-of-your-results consulting firm didn’t have an answer on if he could or not. (the OEM guy did take notes and will report back!)

Another dealer chatted with us about not having proper used car data on their OEM-endorsed websites for their group. You think that the car company loses any sleep over used car anything, let alone mis-equipped listings potentially losing thousands of dollars?

It’s time to take your marketing over if you want to. Yes, it’ll take time, money, measurement (you don’t understand now), resources, patience and a die-hard willingness to learn, changing your dealership culture. And it has to start with the dealer and general management. Not for a dashboard or an award, not for a magazine cover shot or being called up at a conference. And quit talking about visits or sessions, that’s so 2008. Nothing cooler than telling your dealer “we had 1,000 people on the lot and in showroom, sat down with 28 and sold 4!”. By the way that’s what your website says.

All of this is because if something doesn’t sell or service a car, or get someone back to your dealership, it’s not worth buying or using. And nobody, not one person, after working with hundreds of dealers, on OEM programs, at 20 Groups, conferences and webinars, producing second-to-none content, social and SEO, can convince us that standardizing marketing and solutions across thousands of retail points across North America can do anything other than paint the industry with a bland brush.

You don’t deserve that and your customers don’t deserve that. Will Rogers once said “If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging”. Unfortunately these OEM digital programs have created a Crab Mentality by literally not letting those that choose to get ahead. Good intentions, poor execution.

You can do much better. We hope. (310) 377-6481 or info at imacsweb.com

 

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

A Week In Vegas Automotive Style (In A Few Paragraphs)

It's the conference time of the year for the automotive biz and this last week didn't disappoint. Having attended both the first-ever DrivingSales Executive Summit and the venerable JD Power Internet Roundtable it was clear, to some degree, as to what the leaders are looking for, discussing and sharing.  My first observation? Not enough dealers were present.

Nobody is trying to hold one group more accountable than the other and while budgets and money are tight, our industry moves at retail not at the supplier, vendor, media or marketing levels. Yes we need to have product that is appealing, ways to communicate effectively about it, means to get people buying the product (hello banks…), staying up with the breakneck speed of technology and keeping the general public excited. All those things aside, it's your good 'ol neighborhood retailer that gets the metal to move.

So, the DSES at the Hard Rock had two days to get the dealers that want to be in front in the best possible position with data, technology, new capabilities and compelling roundtable conversations. For a first-time event, it seemed to have hit its mark. With an agenda that covered current market data, SEO and relevant trends, new technologies and vendor offerings, analytics and social media, what was really impressive was the 'how to' part of the summit. Real conversations with real people answering the tough questions.

Networking is great and does has its immense value (including to this author) but the in-the-trenches, getting your hands dirty stuff is what moves the needle for any business. When someone is interested in doing something, they usually want to know the how, why, when and where. It was refreshing to be a part of the event put together by Charlie Vogelheim and Jared Hamilton.

DSES' range of speakers was atypical and that was a breath of fresh air. Compete's Skip Streets couldn't handle the glaring lights beaming down on him but the content prevailed. It was wonderful to get to hear BlueKai's new approach to media buying and consumer targeting from Dave Armitage. The presentation given by Driverside and R.L. Polk was very different considering it dealt with the back end of the retail business: service. Chris Brogan (New Marketing Labs) and Aaron Strout (Powered) quite frankly gave the road map to the industry without strings: customers, social media, branding, listening, content and value.

Switch gears to an event that I've been participating in since the first one back five plus years ago: JD Power's Internet Roundtable at Red Rock. Well attended by the OEMs, agencies, service providers, portals and dealers. The IRT has changed some over the past few years but it has lacked the 'punch' that it had a couple ago with the breakout roundtable discussions. One undisputed aspect: Everyone's socks were knocked off by Jim Farley's session Thursday morning, period. I've never heard more compliments and conversation after a speaker, ever. And if you haven't taken note of Ford's digital efforts over the past year, maybe you should.

In attending (and participating via Twitter) in a number of other sessions,the content seems to have drifted from subject at times but the speakers knew the craft from the social media, to the leads presentation to the media integration panel. Bar none, the crowd needed to be involved during or, at a minimum, after the sessions. The 'juice' comes from squeezing the *&$%!)#$% out of people and the occasional challenge to their stance.

Where JD Power's event always drives immense dividends for our industry is the lunches, dinners and hallway banter. I've always enjoyed taking part especially considering their influence and reach and, whether or not they are liked and appreciated at any given time, the company's heritage: focus on the customer. Hopefully our industry continues to listen considering consumers control everything today.

The IRT organizing team deserves props for getting social media on the agenda again but it still doesn't get the representation it deserves considering it makes up (along with online marketing and websites) the majority of automotive traffic now and for the future.

What both events need: more dealer participation, more dealer participation and maybe some more dealer participation. The media pays attention to SAAR, manufacturers, balance sheets, production, trends, bailouts and a whole lot of other things that have nothing to do with saving an industry. if you'd like to argue whether the magic number is 11.5M units or 13.1M, that's fine. Just as long as we're helping those that sell the cars in the first place.

The progressive dealers need to be up on stage talking about how they've changed their business and what ways they're moving forward. There may be a day in the near future in where the retailer is just as important as the company paying $20,000+ to speak or that changing up the agenda to showcase an undiscovered nugget is more relevant than some OEM's marketing exec giving the same presentation about their (somewhat) radical approach to marketing for the 20th time. (disclaimer: not talking about Mr. Farley here).

So this latest round of automotive Vegas-ness goes in the record books. Thank you DrivingSales Executive Summit and JD Power Internet Roundtable for having platforms that brought hundreds of thousand of dollars into Sin City. Now the question is: who has the guns to not make it a year until the next time the industry can learn?

Who can drive the education and engagement in the next 90 days without the trip, hotel, expense account and wad of one dollar bills (ooops, did I say that?).

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results