Sean V. Bradley's Posts (936)
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As you know or if you’re not already aware, Edmunds.com is going direct to dealers. They’re cutting out the middle man (AutoUSA, Dealix and Autobytel) and coming after our business with a newly hired sales team.
Dealers, WE/YOU have a very important choice to make that WILL help determine change (good or bad) to our industry. Keep in mind, Edmunds.com has never been one to treat the dealer fairly.
I’ve been watching this for a while, and it’s not rocket science, but follow me…
A few years ago, Zag is re-selling leads to dealers per lead basis. Zag changes their subscription model and starts charging dealers on a per sold basis.
“So I don’t pay unless I sell a car?” – nope. That is music to a dealer’s ears!
However, in order to determine what to charge you, Zag needs access to your DMS in order to match-up customer sold data (dare they say “transactional data to the dealer”) with the leads they’ve sent you over the last few months.
Dealers don’t think twice about signing up for the new Zag subscription model. But not thinking twice is the potential issue. You just signed an agreement allowing a 3rd party company to proudly scrub your DMS for YOUR transactional data! Only to use this data to power a CONSUMER facing price analysis tool – TrueCar!
TrueCar Inc. is an automotive solutions provider focused on changing how cars are sold by providing a significantly better customer experience while helping qualified dealer partners to gain incremental market share and reduce costs. TrueCar.com is a transparent, visual publisher of new car transaction data.
How much more transparency does our business need? Perhaps this is nothing more than the evolution of our business.
I’ve spoken to several higher-ups at TrueCar and trust me, this is a determined company. They “want to change the way cars are sold and bought”. Yeah, we’ve heard this before, but this time we dealers need to listen and pay attention.
The challenge; how does TrueCar turn TrueCar to be a household brand?
Let’s review the top visited online automotive research sites …
In order for TrueCar to become a household name, they need a platform to brand themselves. Edmunds.com fits the bill.
Before I go any further, allow me to inform you the following is pure speculation on my part… 
TrueCar’s people speak to Edmunds people about a possible synergy between the two. They consider a deal UNTIL Edmunds.com say “Whoooaa – wait a second, we already have a TrueCar piece and it’s over a decade old”. TMV – True Market Value.
For sure you haven’t forgotten about TMV have you?
Edmunds.com quickly figures out exactly what they need to do. Sell direct to the dealers. And in return suckering dealers into allowing them to pull their transactional data.
Click here for a copy of the Edmunds.com Dealer Agreement For Dealers.
TrueCar already claims to have over 40% of all transactional data In the United States. Dealers allowed this to happen due to our ignorance and oversight.
Are you going to allow Edmunds.com to have YOUR data as well?
The Truth About CRMs…
Customer relationship management (CRM) software is always on a dealership’s agenda in our 20 Groups, and they almost always come up in every single workshop. And this is how it should be — it is one of the most important tools and resources that a dealership has in its arsenal for automotive Internet sales. Over the last 12 years, I’ve seen Internet lead management (ILM) and CRM technology companies evolve to have amazing offerings.
But over the years I still get the same question “What is the best CRM for dealerships?” The answer is complex, because there are different “flavors” of CRM, and what’s right for one dealership can be the wrong fit for another; we’ll get to that in a moment. The goal of a CRM package is to reduce redundancy by offering with multiple tools and consolidate to one centralized platform. That means if you have multiple tools / products that do the following:
• Digital or manual showroom control system (desk log)
• Service reminders
• Permission-based e-mail campaigns
• ILM tools
• Phone up tracking system
• Inventory management system
• Call tracking software
• Service appointment system
• Data mining
• BDC campaign management
• Special finance
• Reporting and analytics
With the right CRM, you don’t need a separate tool to perform all these functions. Theoretically, the right CRM lets you consolidate all of this with a single technology platform. The benefit here is multiple. It’s certainly cheaper to pay for one CRM tool than having to purchase numerous tools individually. While an individual tool will almost always be cheaper than a full CRM, if you add up all of individual tools out there, the total cost would be much more expensive than the average cost of a CRM.
One of the most powerful benefits of using a single CRM solution, however, is the fact that all information is on one centralized platform. For example, if you have a prospect that sends an Internet Purchase Request, the CRM will have that in its database. If that prospect decides to walk in the dealership and is “logged” into the dealership’s CRM as a showroom prospect, it will be recognized immediately that that prospect was originally an “Internet opportunity.” Furthermore, if that prospect was ever in the dealership’s service department or did any type of business with that dealership, it would show up in reports. Most CRMs will calculate the amount of profit made from each customer, and the dealership can see the whole picture of a customer or prospect. This is important because if the dealership has the full picture on a situation, it can make better business decisions.
Not all CRMs are perfect fits with all dealerships, though. CRMs can be designed to focus more on one area of sales than another. If your dealership also focuses on this area, it’s a good fit. If you don’t have a particularly strong Internet sales department, but your CRM specializes in Internet lead management, that can be a bad fit. You have to do your research before committing to a CRM solution.
The best advice I can give is to stop trying to shove a round peg into a square hole. Too many dealers out there buy one tool, and then try to make it do what it wasn’t designed to do. I’ll give you an example. I have a dealer client that purchased a tool that was 100-percent designed for special finance. It was designed for a “special finance” depart ment, and was designed by a “special finance” branded company. But the dealership uses this tool for its entire store, and they depend on it for their Internet sales department. The crazy thing about this situation is that the dealership doesn’t even have a “special finance” department. They bought this tool without researching the situation, and are now paying the price.
Here are some steps you can take before you buy a CRM:
• First, simply ask yourself “What do we want or need a CRM for —Internet, sales, service, BDC?” When you answer that question, find a CRM that specializes in that area of need.
• If, for example, you have an extreme need for Internet lead management, compair CRM tools that specialize in that area with each other. Find out why they feel they specialize in ILM, and find out what credentials they have for ILM.
• Get references, and then actually call other dealers using the tool. Ask for references who aren’t in their marketing, and speak to the actual department you are investigating. Don’t ask the dealer principle or GM about Internet lead management; ask the Internet or BDC director. Get their real opinion from a day-to-day operational level.
• Accept the fact that you might need to have more than one tool. For example, I have a lot of dealer clients who have multiple tools. They might have a full CRM and an ILM tool, as well. Yes, this goes against the myth that a CRM can do everything, you’ll be better off in the long run with the right tools for your dealership.
Look at it this way: You wouldn’t go to the ophthalmologist if you had trouble breathing. The ophthalmologist is a doctor, but that’s not his specialty. Use this same mindset when selecting your CRM.
Please e-mail or call me if you have any questions about CRM or if you would like a free strategy session/assessment on your current CRM solution.
Sean V. Bradley is the founder and CEO of Dealer Synergy, a nationally recognized training and consulting company in the automotive industry. He can be contacted at 866.648.7400, or by e-mail at sbradley@autosuccessonline.com.
Paul Long on Customer Loyalty Programs - Digital Dealer 10 Conference from Paul N Long
http://www.internetsales20group.com
Discover what frequent flier programs already prove: loyalty programs will give you the best ROI in your digital marketing strategy
Increase your repurchase loyalty, service loyalty and overall profitability. Learn what the airline industry, hospitality industry and the top auto dealers already know: loyalty programs increase bottom line up to 85%. Paul Long defines what customer loyalty programs are and dispels five major myths about them. From his experience in building national loyalty programs in multiple verticals, Long will share what makes a loyal customer and why you want them in your dealership. He will also provide valuable tips to help your business build a loyalty program that will create and keep customers for life. Loyalty allows you to reap the benefits from customers' ongoing relationship to your dealership: increased car sales and fixed operations gross profit.
Learn how to build a loyalty program that motivates action. This seminar will give your dealership the tools and know-how to develop a loyalty strategy that will increase car sales and fixed operations gross profit.
Customer loyalty is a big buzz-word in the automotive world today—in fact most automakers are moving away from CSI scores and focusing on CRS—or customer retention. After all, what good is customer satisfaction if they still don't buy their next vehicle from you? Customer loyalty and retention has a huge impact on profitability, and it's right to focus on it.In fact, as little as a five-percent increase in customer retention can improve a company's bottom-line profitability between 25 percent and 85 percent.
Long will give you an overview of what loyalty marking is and dispel five major myths about it. Then attendees will be shown practical ways to implement a loyalty program in your dealership, and how to track its success. By the end of our session, you'll walk away with both the knowledge and the excitement for building a loyalty program for your business that helps you create and keep customers for life.
After completing this workshop, the attendee will know how to unify sales and fixed operations marketing with a loyalty program
The attendee will be able to calculate the effect which customer loyalty has on bottom-line profitability. • The learner will be able to identify and track three main benefits of successful loyalty programs and loyalty marketing initiatives.
The attendee will be able to develop a loyalty marketing strategy that works for all levels of the organization.
Paul Long, president of re:member group, has been increasing customer loyalty for 15 years. He was integral to the development of the Northwest Airlines WorldPerks Program and has since used his extensive knowledge of and experience with loyalty programs to help businesses worldwide. Long particularly enjoys working with auto dealerships, and he has employed new technologies and cutting-edge strategies to create a state-of-the-art infrastructure for effective communications, member tracking, and rewards distribution
http://www.dealersynergy.com
http://www.automotiveinternetsales.com
Automotive Internet Sales Process (First 30 Days) and WHY...
http://www.automotiveinternetsales.com
http://www.dealersyenrgy.com
"Ace of Spades" Example - Automotive Internet Sales (Phone Sales) Process
This is one of my favorite examples... I have been using it for YEARS :)
"Ace of Spades"... This example basically explains the concept of "Begin with the end" in mind!!
Watch this video a couple of times, it is awesome!!
I had an AMAZING class of trainees at Vara Chevrolet in San Antonio Texas!!
http://www.facebook.com/dealersynergy
http://www.internetsaels20group.com
How Google Social Search Has Changed the Way Dealers Do Social
http://www.internetsales20group.com
Every few months, we see a dip in sentiment regarding social media. It's been going on consistently since early 2009 and we know that it will continue. Dealers try social, see little reason to continue, and set things on autopilot or abandon it altogether. Then, something changes that makes social media more important and the searches for "Automotive Social Media" spike again.
Get ready to do the search. Social just got more important again. A LOT more important.
During the Digital Marketing Strategies Conference in Napa last earlier this month, I gave a keynote that highlighted Google's commitment to social media (as soon as Jared, Bart, and Arnold send me the video, I'll be happy to post it here... hint, hint). Google reaffirmed that commitment in a big way earlier today that will change the way savvy dealers do social media.
Google Social Search is a game changer - even SearchEngineLand, a blog that is often conservative about the impact of Google changes, agrees. It will insert links into the natural search stream based upon social connections that share and produce those links. While social search itself has been around for nearly 2 years, it has always been a side-note buried at the bottom and likely unnoticed by most. Now, it has the potential to change the search results important to us with a single Tweet, review, or blog post.
With access to Beta, I did 2 searches for "Washington DC Chevrolet." The first, I did while not logged into Google, personalized search off and cookies cleared:
Then, I did the exact same search while logged into Google:
As you can see, a post by good friend Paul Rushing popped up at the top.
What does this mean for search and social? It means that social sentiment, which many dealers are paying attention to more regularly, just got that much more important. It means that dealers who are unprepared have the potential to see their search traffic drop, particularly if a competing dealer in the market is able to take advantage of this.
It means that YOU can beat them all to the punch and start getting prepared today before it rolls out fully.
I am in the middle of exhaustive research on the subject right now, but here are some key points to think about while you wait for our next version of the Automotive Social Media strategy guide:
- - Tweets Matter. A Lot. - Imagine a potential customer doing a search for one of your makes in your metro area (the most common new car search; "Denver Ford," for example). They under one of the results close to the top your dealership's listing. It's not at the top, but something catches their eye... Co-worker Debbie tweeted your dealership URL. They click through and see that 14 months ago, Debbie bought a car there and tweeted about how good her experience was. Bingo.
- - If You Thought Reviews Were Important Before... - As Google always does when they roll out new search features, we can expect expansion. While Facebook is almost completely out of the question for integration, reviews are definitely part of the equation. Same scenario as above, except replace "Tweet" with "RatePoint." Bingo again.
- - That Pesky Blogger... - Remember the guy who thought he'd wreck your business by posting on his blog about how you low-balled him on his trade? You were smart and covered your Google page one results to keep his post off, but now it's showing up again for hundreds, even thousands of people who are either connected to him or connected to someone who shared his post on social media.
- - Your Connections. - Now more than ever, having a strong and well-maintained Twitter account is important. Do you still have an RSS feed handling your Tweets, driving potential customers to unfollow you, or are you growing your account and being interesting? If the subtle, intrinsic benefits of Twitter didn't get your attention before, how about moving your website up to the top of hundreds of searches? Still want to automate?
I'm not going to sit here and say "I told you so." Not here. Not on Driving Sales. The dealers here represent the top echelon of automotive social media knowledge so you're probably taking advantage of social media in one way or another. Don't let up. Stay aggressive. Keep up with the changes.
And don't forget to bug Jared about getting me that video. It has some information that may further change the way you do your social media.
Jeep® Brand Reaches Major Social Media Milestone: First Domestic Automotive Brand With More Than 1 Million Facebook Fans
SOURCE Chrysler Group LLC
AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Feb 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Jeep® brand reached an unprecedented domestic automotive milestone today, as fans on the brand's Facebook page reached and surpassed the 1 million mark. In achieving more than 1 million fans on its Facebook page, the Jeep brand exceeds the next closest domestic automotive brand fan's total by more than 450,000.
"We are honored to be the first and only domestic automotive brand that can claim more than 1 million Facebook fans," said Mike Manley, President and CEO – Jeep Brand, Chrysler Group LLC. "This reinforces the fact that Jeep is clearly one of the most well-known and loved brands throughout the world, and comes as we continue to gain sales momentum and begin to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the brand."
In 2010, the Jeep brand experienced triple digit growth in its fan base on Facebook. The brand continues to foster a vibrant and innovative social community for its passionate fans and owners. In July, Jeep brand fans tested the size limits of Facebook's photo album, "Photos by Others." Fans exceeded the 20,000 photo-limit resulting in a need for Facebook to accommodate the increased number of images.
Along with Facebook, the Jeep brand's social media initiatives include presence on Twitter, You Tube and foursquare web sites. The Jeep brand was the first automotive brand to have an official profile on foursquare.com, the popular location-based social network that allows users to "check-in" at any location. The official Jeep brand You Tube channel is among the top 10 sponsored-channels with over 4.3 million video views.
In 2010, Jeep vehicle sales improved 24 percent globally, and 26 percent in the U.S. versus 2009, with double-digit sales gains for each vehicle in the brand's lineup.
For 2011, Jeep has introduced all-new or significantly refreshed versions of each of its vehicles. With the greatest range of SUVs under one brand, the Jeep vehicle portfolio consists of:
- Compass: A compact SUV with a new sophisticated, premium design for 2011, the Jeep Compass delivers unsurpassed 4x4 fuel economy, freedom, utility, and Jeep 4x4 cachet and capability, all at a terrific value
- Grand Cherokee: The most capable and luxurious Grand Cherokee ever, balancing legendary Jeep capability with sophistication to deliver a premium driving experience for all adventures
- Liberty: The mid-size SUV from Jeep that offers Jeep Trail Rated® 4x4 capability combined with on-road refinement and numerous innovative features, including the industry-exclusive full-length Sky Slider® open canvas roof
- Patriot: A compact SUV delivering the fun, adventure and value only Jeep can offer, with unsurpassed 4x4 fuel economy and segment leading capability
- Wrangler: The icon of the Jeep brand, it remains true to its heritage as the original fun-and-freedom machine. For 2011, it boasts an all-new interior, and an available premium body color hardtop for Sahara models
- Wrangler Unlimited: The only four-door convertible SUV on the market with room for five adult passengers, Wrangler Unlimited receives an all-new interior for 2011 and an available premium body color hardtop for Sahara models
Jeep Brand
Built on seven decades of legendary heritage, Jeep is the authentic sport-utility vehicle (SUV) with class-leading capability, craftsmanship and versatility for people who seek extraordinary journeys. The Jeep brand delivers an open invitation to live life to the fullest by offering a full line of vehicles that continue to provide owners with a sense of security to handle any journey with confidence.
Whether identified by their ownership of multiple Jeep vehicles, or their regular attendance at branded events, or by their abundance of Jeep gear – branded products from clothing to baby strollers – Jeep owners all have one common trait: a Jeep vehicle delivering benchmark, all-weather capability that allows them to go anywhere and do anything. It's not unusual to see Jeep owners sporting a bumper sticker that reads, "It's a Jeep thing...you wouldn't understand."
To meet consumer demand around the world, all Jeep models are sold outside North America – and all are available in right-hand drive versions and with gasoline and diesel powertrain options. Chrysler Group LLC sells and services vehicles in approximately 120 countries around the world.
©2011 PR Newswire. All Rights Reserved.
marketing solution SusanGivens
video search engineoptimization increases salesby 45 percent
Video Search Engine Optimization (VSEO)
marketing solution SusanGivens
video search engineoptimization increases salesby 45 percent
Video Search Engine Optimization (VSEO)
their dealership dominates the most popularsearch terms on all of the major search
engines organically with high-impact videos.
This practice has become vital to successful
online marketing strategies. Online video is
fast-becoming a highly effective and cost-
effective means of advertising within the
automotive industry.
In the last two years, there has been an
undeniable surge in the number of online
video viewers, with approximately 175 millionunique viewers watching an average of morethan 900 minutes of online video each a
month, based on an October 2010 report by
www.comScore.com, and www.eMarketer.com
predicts nine out of 10 Internet users will beconsuming video by 2012.
In 2007, Google pioneered “universal search,”
otherwise known as “blended search,” where
multiple search results are returned in oneconvenient results display that includes
autosuccessonline.com
Websites, news
articles, images,
press releases,
maps, blogs, socialmedia, e-commerce
and video.
Google’s universal
search capabilityundoubtedlykicked online video
marketing into high
gear.
According toGoogle, searchersare 55 percent morelikely to click onthumbnail video
images than staticlinks and because
of this Googlegives more rankingauthority to video,
thus placing videoson the top of search
engine results.
“People would
rather watch the
movie than read the
book,” said KarryMoore, presidentand founder of
com, the company
is the process of ensuring that video assetsgenerate the highest-possible volume of
quality traffic to your Website. Dealerships
such as Gary Mathews of Jackson, in Jackson,
Tennessee, recently implemented a digitalmarketing platform to help them appear ontop of the leading search engines like Google,
Yahoo!, Bing and YouTube in their local marketto attract, sell and service more customers
profitably. “My Internet department has been
doing 40 to 45 percent of the dealership’sbusiness, and that’s true accountable sells,
not just sourcing,” said Duran Cage, InternetDirector for Gary Mathews of Jackson.
With more than 88 percent of ready-to-buy
consumers using search engines to shop,
most dealers are scrambling to outbid theircompetitors to appear on top for the most
popular search phrases in their market.
Gary Mathews uses a VSEO company thatautomates thousands of activities to ensure
that Gary Mathews uses. “VSEO is ‘targeted
TV,’ and VSEO allows dealers to deliver their
message to engaged consumers.”
Additionally, dealers can now have multiple
listings on “Page One” by implementing astrong SEO and VSEO strategy. Traditionally,
dealers could get only one listing for a
keyword or phrase such as “Jackson TN,
Hyundai Santa Fe” or “Hyundai Santa FeJackson TN” because they only had one
Website optimized for that phrase. Now with
VSEO, they can build on that single Website
return to have multiple video listings on thatpage, which creates more exposure for thedealership and keeps the competition relegated
to “Page 2” results.
Google indexes all video-sharing sites, not
just YouTube. This means that the more video
sites a dealer distributes their video content to,
the more opportunity that the search engineswill have to index those videos and consider
it relevant content for search returns; thus,
multiple listings for keywords or phrases such
as “Jackson Hyundai Santa Fe.”
Video has become such a game-changerthat VSEO companies like the one GaryMathews of Jackson uses have developed and
launched the automotive industry’s first truevideo search portal, www.CarBuyersEngine.
com, the only video portal of its kind whereconsumers can research and shop for new
and used vehicles, find a dealership, reviewvehicle comparisons or financing withoutthe typical online “clutter” — meaning, no
pop-ups or annoying previews to sit through
before video begins.
The Internet is an ever-changing landscape and
dealers need to keep pace with the changes.
There are no silver bullets, but clearly videoand VSEO need to be incorporated into a
dealers’ online digital strategy. “We want to
‘own’ the Jackson market and video is helping
take us to the next level,” Cage said.
Susan Givens is the publisher of AutoSuccess.
She can be contacted at 877.818.6620, or by
e-mail at sgivens1@autosuccessonline.com.
