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Want R.O.I. on Anything? Start Using Anything! (Or Settle For B.S.)

One of the first questions that is asked of us when engaging a dealership is “what is the R.O.I. of (fill in the blank)?” Well our friends, from leads to software, to websites and PPC, the question that is being asked is wrong.  If you ask what is the R.O.I. of a product, let me ask you what is the R.O.I. of air?

Well, it’s noting if you don’t use it.

Over the past seven years, we have proven over and over a multiple R.O.I. on all digital aspects compared to before we arrived. And remember, that is usually with no or little vendor changes. Why is this? Because there is no return of investment without education, understanding and utilization.

Dealerships usually buy due to fear or loss, standardization or acceptance of a product, or a unique opportunity (first-in-market). Rarely are those opportunities truly vetted out. While we are not saying to stop before purchasing a product or service that has market penetration because there is a compelling otherwise to do so, we are advocating full assessment prior to signing.

Take lead providers, for example. While most have taken a (B.S.) marketing position and away from you buying leads, most dealers have more “opportunities” in their ILM/CRM than they know how to handle. Buying more leads? Usually you drop your R.O.I.

Also, return on investment is calculated improperly. Is it closer to income and expense or profit and loss? Yes. Until you are properly educated, coached and assessed regularly, there is no R.O.I. because the assumptions are in the wrong place. Show me a dealer closing 10% of their leads, add another provider and, after six months, you will have a dealer with a higher cost structure closing 10% of their leads. Insanity.

Spoiler alert: do the math, work it and get results. For every new website, software, marketing tool and process, you must back it up with hard-core training (no matter how much that word sucks) and sustainment. That is how our average client that buys in fully to our processes and business rules doubles results in less than a year.

Recently we have heard about more catastrophic website or software installs than ever before. What’s the R.O.I. on a vendor search, pitches, proposal and negotiations, set-up fees, months frustratingly lost followed a switch back to the previous or another new provider?

Stop talking about R.O.I. until you spend more on your personnel, education, accountability, scoring, bonuses (not get-it-done spiffs, by the way) and intra-staff support. That’s when you get return.

Until then, you can continue to buy based off of “your competitor is using this and they’ll eat your lunch” or “only 5 more cars sold with our biz-bang-boom and you’re in profit!” or any other snake oil sales job you fall for.

Oh…and one more thing to consider. Results occur top-down with an true ownership, understanding perspective. Not bottom-up make this work garbage. So take that pill and swallow it…

 

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

 

August 27, 2014 by Gary May 0
Peeling Back The Social Onion: Are You Just A Puppet?

2013 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for automotive retail (again). Results are in for March and the first quarter showing that, with exception to some brands, you're making money. However are you making enough money to make bad mistakes for your business? Look at your social media, chances are you're doing just that.

There's just no excuse for not participating in one of the essential areas for grown, increase in traffic, creation of leads and retention of clients. And by participate, what's meant is not completely being hands-off. Outsourcing your content (SEO, SEM, social, etc.) is critical for the majority of dealers but you must stay involved: review, analyze, modify, challenge and hold accountable. Never, ever let your vendors run wild on your content. Thousands of dealerships are, regardless if they pay for services.

Dealers will write checks to vendors from $300 to $4,000+ a month for social media content services for six months, not realizing that their pages look identical to hundreds of other dealers. Remember the following tips related to all of your content:

    1. The majority of Facebook pages are not crawled by Google, Bing, or other search engines. The fact that your Lexus dealership has the same posts and a hundred other ones won't bother Google, just the people you're trying to engage. And if you have most social vendors and a large "Like" count, you've likely bought fans or acquired them through giveaways. On average, less than 2% engage on dealership Facebook pages because they're not authentic, don't represent their neighborhood/area or extend their brand. It's useless if it doesn't look, sound and feel like you. "Caption This" didn't work, doesn't work and won't work.

    2. Add to the above a little annoying Facebook detail that dealers (and many businesses) continue to ignore: if you have a profile ("friend") page, you are not only in violation of Facebook Terms of Use (TOU) rules and can lose your page, you can't get all of the analytics, advertising and other functionality that come with a business page.

    3. Google doesn't like duplicate content. You've heard it at least 10-20 times but you don't know what it means. Simply put, if you have the 78th blog to post a redundant article on the Chevy Volt from the auto show you're not an authoritative site and Google won't drive traffic to your blog from searches. That is unless you can get a lot (A LOT) of people to your post, to talk about and share your post as well as re-post. Good luck.

    4. Twitter is an amazing tool, that most dealers' vendors simply automate posts from Facebook, YouTube and their blog. It's a shame. With Twitter you can actually listen. Yes, listen. Google doesn't show you real-time results for posts and discussions about your brand or franchise. Twitter does. And you can reply to them, unlike on Facebook. It's amazing what will happen in Twitter, over time, if you simply use it, ask questions and engage.

    5. Google Plus is being underutilized by you right now. Google what? Yeah, Google Plus, which should now be integrated (merged) with your Google Local page (reviews). And oh boy, are there a lot of "experts" giving out the completely wrong information on using Google/Google Plus/YouTube and their other tools (as well as all things social) and your vendors are just responding with "thank you" or "we'll get back with you" on your positive and negative reviews. One thing that happens with G+ consistently? Content indexing quicker than any other platform. Well, Google owns it…and you're not posting on it.

Typically a quick (10-15 minute) review of all your social network assets will reveal nearly no advantage by paying your vendors for 80%+ of dealerships. Better yet, look at your Google Analytics and see if you have actual links to your website(s) from your social media networks. Even if you're not paying for your content services, why even do it if you're not doing it right? And if your social vendor happens to also provide you with "SEO" services, look twice as hard.

Puppets are cute, for puppet shows. Not for business. Stop being a social media puppet or just another case study for your vendor to get an OEM endorsement. It's not a silo. It's not "we have a social presence" or "we do social". Everything that carries your name must be known and understood by you. Quit turning over your business to others because you don't want to invest or because "it doesn't sell cars".

This post likely won't change much but so much improper marketing for data purposes or to perpetuate automation is being done in the digital realm today. Maybe we can change it. Don't be another puppet…

 

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

April 2, 2013 by Gary May 0
Wow… New Auto Industry Pain Point!! Um… This Is Not A New Issue!

The constant challenge in the auto industry is for retailers to implement strategies, execute on their plans, follow process, create awareness, promote accountability and stop making excuses for doing anything less. There will always be a party to throw a finger at, many times deservedly so. That, however, does not take the greater point of responsibility away from an operator of a business and the business's staff.

There are always opportunities to learn, grow, adjust and review. There will always be new opportunities to add capabilities, add products, add services, add partners and add resources. You need the first group before the second, always.

Products and services, good and bad, make any industry go 'round. Companies tend to follow the herd, good and bad. It's why 20 Groups, marketing associations and other collections of automotive retailers are so attractive to companies selling their services and the reps who speak. People will buy blind without the first grain of sense…"My golf buddy uses that website company", or "my 20 Group chairman recommends the third party lead company we just signed", or "It was hard to make up my mind on which new CRM company to call so I looked at the ads in the back of Automotive News/the NADA directory/fill in the blank source" and other oft-heard stories are nothing close to strategies and typically are doomed to fail.

Car dealers need to start looking at track records, company histories and more before even considering where their hard-earned money goes. The majority of dealership spends are not very different today then fifteen years ago. Yes, some are doing thing very differently, it's just not the majority or even close to parity. Stop and ask yourself "do I really need to buy this service or product?" and then ask others than are AND are not for at least some benchmarks and common sense. And start realizing that companies incapable of answering the tough questions before you sign are almost always less equipped to do so after you sign. Which is harder: losing money due to an improper commitment or not making enough from not executing well with the right one? Either way…. this is not a new issue!

The ongoing rants and discord due to one service provider are well warranted, regardless of which position you take (or none at all). At the same time, they are absolutely no surprise at all. If anyone had done their homework, they'd realize that what is being asserted should not be a jaw-dropper to anyone. People just followed the bounding ball/shiny object without question… this is not a new issue!

Sometimes we're fortunate to be in the right place at the right time. Another ongoing issue in our industry (while not as hot as the one just mentioned), as well as every other industry, is what's happening to search – predominantly Google – around content propagation/redundant content, link building and more related to site quality and ranking. Back in 2006 the company that employed me was warned by Google to stop syndicating their content all over the web as it was lowering quality scores and other factors that would affect their traffic and revenue. Fast forward to today and website and SEO companies are struggling with issues under Google's Panda initiative? Who thought that it was a good idea to have 100 blogs all over the country with the same exact content, let alone 700 auto-related websites with the same car reviews? And what to think of website companies that give 40 pages in your site the same name and/or metadata, let alone missing metadata??? The reasons to not go with these strategies are over six years old…this is not a new issue!

If more businesses (dealers) would be willing to listen more, learn more, challenge more and measure more, we'd all be a lot better. And dang it so would our websites. Stop following the heard, start paying attention and making sense even if it hurts a little or you're not in the "product of the week" club. So much $10 garbage gets purchased by $10,000,000 businesses every day it's amazing, but…. this is not a new issue!

 

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results


p.s. I just checked the market value of this post and you're not paying enough!!!!!

 

December 8, 2011 by Gary May 2
When The Cover Comes Off The Onion

Let's face it, we still live in a marketing-based world. And nearly all of it still screaming for attention, sales, mass following, validation, acceptance and more while typically ignoring what matters most. Yes, it's morphed and transitioned and (partially) gone to the place called online but it is created and delivered in the same way it nearly always has. And for automotive, in both B-to-B and B-to-C arenas, the deliverables suck (we'll try to not use any more technical terms in this post).

It's not that the market, the public, the customers, the industry or even the actual providers don't expect any different, it's just that it's what's done. Is it that when you stop screaming "we're #1" it allows another company to scream the same thing, making it true? In the experience garnered by partnering with dealers all over North America, the most dissatisfaction expressed comes from dealing with companies screaming about top results while not backing it up.

Have we become so skewed that we'll actually do what we don't want to take part in ourselves? Or have we become so numb to the barrage of messaging that we don't notice? So let's take a layer off!

1. Old school. We practice what we preach, right? There is a lot of talk, once again, about "back to basics" and "blocking and tackling". Are you practicing what you preach, or is it time to get real? For starters, look at how salespeople are being "taught" typically, if at all. Motivational speakers? In-your-face, Glengarry Glen Ross "coffee is for closers" stuff (even though it may be true)? "Seasoned veterans that can do everything" sessions in your store? So…do you actually do that to customers? Do you talk to them that way? If not, why do you need it?

Salespeople are motivated by, wait for it, MONEY! If a salesperson is not on the ball, they may need a pep talk from an outsider for $5,000-$30,000. Right? More likely they need a couple days off, fresh air, a good book, some exercise and to get away from the naysayers at the dealership (which can also include management!). The first layer of the onion feel like the first burn of summer vacation…

2. Hyped 20 Group sales. For good and for bad, dealers talk to dealers that talk with other dealers. They recommend things. They invite speakers and presenters (don't forget the pitch masters) to their groups, associations and getaways. And then it happens: after providing a dealer/group with some great info, recommending appropriate partners, showing them how to best get the true answers as they consider the next move…you walk into the store that has been desperately needing a real kick in the behind treatment to get going, and alas…they had a round of golf with their buddy 86 states away and bought the same (fill-in-the-blank solution/vendor) because "they're selling cars like water".

No real research, no real competitive bids, no idea what they're doing. And, being as how it's automotive retail, after the install and training, the 30 days of excitement wears off and it's just another check. Until the next company comes in and…"nope, we don't need any new fill-in-the-blanks…we're all over it!". Yeah Bill (if you're a Microsoft fan or Steve if you like Apple more), you're all over it. That layer of the onion just put a divot in your business way bigger than the one you did on the 14th hole with your buddy.

3. Media. While that should be enough said, it still needs clarification. You are what you eat right? So, it is worth venturing a guess that you are what you read as well. Did you ever like a newscaster so much that the news was somewhat not as believable when someone else was on camera? That sure explains a lot in the automotive industry. A change of scenery is becoming more and more what the doctor ordered. Social media has surely facilitated the fact that a handful of sources is not as good as many good sources. Considering, at the same time, that there is definitely garbage out there called news, the world would just not be the same place anymore without the streams of great, timely and absolutely valuable information.

Or do you still get it from the same 10 people over and over and over? Better yet, do you get it from a place that sells what you end up seeing? Trust is absolutely required and good data is needed. So is a great line of questioning that deserves an honest, unbiased answer. Have you got your answer yet? The pain from that layer of the onion comes with a tear, a grimace and a cost.

 

Change is necessary, more than ever. And more than ever, things are remaining the same: The OEMs' ads. The Tier II ads. The vendors' pitches. The automotive media. The balloons. The gorillas on roofs. The radio spots. The newspaper. What are you trying to tell a public that is wide awake and ignoring it all?

Look outside, there's a new day. It's called opportunity. And it's not wearing yesterday's clothes. It's not driving a….oh boy. Better not go there. That onion might end up being really sour….

 

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

March 28, 2011 by Gary May 0
Hey, It’s Digital

Another event in the history books. Digital Dealer 8 provided a new round
of talk, perspective, conjecture, ideas and repetitiveness. Well
attended, the eighth iteration of the event made way for a full expo,
some great sessions, loud receptions and the proverbial automotive
industry buzz.

It was a bit funny last week when two things occurred that caused me to
think about what it is to be "digital", take the leap of faith, change
some (ok, a lot) of the broken practices in our business and bring as
many willing people along with us. Brian Pasch and Ralph Paglia both had
digital device "snafus" in front of a bunch of people. And it was
funny. While some loudmouth from the crowd chirped "it's digital"
(please, no guesses) , it caused me to reflect on how connected we are
to everything digital. And what we continue to do wrong, including the
so called education of the dealers looking for assistance.

Automotive retail's entire existence is based on success in the digital
realm. We don't need a bunch of people, many barely versed themselves,
standing in front of rooms of people telling them that the train has
left the station. Dealers need real assistance, in real time, in real
terms, from real people to build real results.

One thing that tends to rub me is the intention versus goal aspect of
the conferences. What's happened to AAISP? certification programs? "put
the dealer before profits" and all of the other chatter over the past
four years? This is not a post meant to call bullshit on everything but
to avoid it completely would be a disservice. At many conferences, more
netowrking and business happens away from the event than at the event.
And…there is a belief structure that has to be maintained.

It strikes me as odd when people attend events that can have a
significant impact, offer extremely relevant information and otherwise
influence attendees in a positive way are charged the most, treated as
less-than-desireables and not invited to particiapte in the most basic
way. Actually it's flat out wrong. The leading events let the audience
and industry decide what's best. Not the promoter.

Changes in the industry are happening at such a rate now that those in
position to create, promote and execute on large-scale events need to be
more in line who they claim to help. Watch the bottom line? Sure you
should make a profit if you're going to be bold enough, especially in
these economic times, to front cash (which can be significant) and put
an agenda together.

Ego and enforcement also have no place in today's events. Protocol,
yes. Guidelines, yes. Omnipotent overlords focused on anything besides
what drives the most value need to, well…be somewhere else. The
digital shift is about practices, assistance, positioning, data and
more. Our industry has been dealt a deserved blow in the digital space
due to ignorance, denial and a refusal to recognize our own customers
and public. How can the auto industry be so large yet engage and learn
so little?

In my opinion, there should be more Internet department directors
(pardon the phrase), field reps for the larger companies and consultants
that are not beholden to vendors on stage. Those are the people moving
the industry digital every day. Attendees don't want pitches. They need
honest answers. They need examples. They absolutely want to understand
what to do. Not being told. Not being sold. Remember, just like a
customer at a dealership, they want to buy from someone they trust, that
listens to them, that can deliver on value and promises. Why should the
B-to-B part of our business be any different?

It time to start doing the work instead of talking the talk. No more
"we do that" and then scramble to execute it for the first time. No more
canceled cook-offs. No more delays in production. And a lot more
customer service. That's what we need at retail. That's what we need
from the companies making the claims and filling the magazines with ads.
The one's retailers are trying not to do themselves anymore. Because
they're listening to us.

Because, hey. It's digital.

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

May 1, 2010 by Gary May 0
Is It The Chicken Or The Egg? Nope. It’s The Customer!

A long time ago we lost focus. Then got it back. A while ago we lost focus, and got it back. A short bit ago we lost focus. Somehow it came back together. Ah, the joys of the automotive industry. Factory, retail, supplier, service provider…all of us. It's about the customer, always has been, always will be. Why does the perpetual machine forget so easily?

In a world that where everyone expects to be right, as customers, it's amazing how far off base we are. This goes for how retail thinks about, talks about and, most of the time, treats customers. And unfortunately this is the way most dealers are treated as customers, too. Simply put we're in a world where commitment wins but when you look for support, it seems to have "left the building".

This is the case in today's world: consumer controlled content. Dealers wanting to move forward and their vendors standing in the way (many times backed by the factory/headquarters standing in their way). If you sell a car with rear seat entertainment and heated/cooled leather seats, you can't tell the customer "we're working on it, it'll be here soon" or "Oh, I'm sorry, that package can't get those options. Did I tell you it came with those?". So why is that what happens and, more often than not, is accepted by 20,000 dealerships from their vendors?

What may need to happen is a reevaluation of what is expected. What may need to happen is putting the customers (along with the chicken and egg) first. What may need to happen is more participation of online groups and communities rather than just a few speaking and providing a real value. Lately we're watched as the value has slipped, content to validate positions is more re-purposed than ever, pitches and and vendor tirades rule. Nobody can hear the egg break above the screaming.

Generally speaking, people don't want to be accountable. Are you a dealer or management? Beware of broken focus. Maintain your commitment to improve your business consistently online and offline. Remember that once a decision has been made, every decision is on purpose. We've (happily) watched dealers do this for the past two and a half years.

If you're selling, are you treating your business as an entrepreneur? Are you treating every customer as your next ticket or your last? Ask yourself: what's the most important part of my business? The walk, the drive/demo, the pencil, the close or the prospecting? If you didn't answer 'prospecting', and we're not counting walk ups, you've got to ask your self what you're doing.

Take time to take a step back and ask yourself why you're in business. If it's to excel, make it happen. If it's for a check, then you know what to do…hopefully.

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

March 15, 2010 by Gary May 1
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

October 17, 2009 by Gary May 1