http://www.automotiveinternetsales.com ;
One of my Dealers just forwarded me this official email from Vehix sent him yesterday...
Dear Vehix Dealer,
As you may know, Comcast Spotlight has owned Vehix since 2008. As part of an ongoing evaluation of Comcast Spotlight’s business strategy and focus, it was determined that the Vehix business does not currently align with the company’s strategic direction. As a result, Vehix operations will be winding down by June 30. This business decision does not change Comcast Spotlight’s commitment to the automotive segment. In fact, we are continuing to devote significant resources to ensuring Comcast Spotlight remains the advertising services provider of choice for the automotive community.
Q: What does this mean for your business?
A: Vehix leads and dealer advertisements will be delivered through June 30, 2012.
Q: What does this change mean for dealer support?
A: The Vehix dealer team will provide regular support through this process. This support includes questions about inventory feeds/photos, lead disputes and credits. To ensure your invoice is accurate, please review and submit all lead disputes and credits by July 10, 2012. Your prompt payment on all invoices is appreciated.
Q: Who do I contact with questions about the transition?
A: Please call a Vehix dealer specialist at 801-401-6060.
As Vehix leaves the highway, I want to sincerely thank you for your support. Vehix.com has long been a valuable place to promote your vehicles and reach buyers as they search for a new or used car. It’s easy to look back and say with pride that it has been a great ride.
Best regards,
Derek Mattson
Vehix CEO
Inquiries from members of the press/media should be directed to Chris Ellis of Comcast Spotlight (chris_ellis@comcast.com,215-286-7771).
*** I couldn't help it, but this song popped into my head immediately. What are your thoughts about Vehix being phased out? Do you care? Does it even matter?
Comments
That's an interesting question. I would assume we do. We purchased this dealership back in September of last year and changed all of the software over. I'm sure the data is buried somewhere, if not in our current DMS than most likely archived somewhere. Our BDC is about to blow up with the things Van, Sean, and I have been working on recently so that is definitely a route we will be looking to pursue.
Thanks Christopher! I'm adding that to our outline for 100% leverage of our BDC.
Jason, if you don't mind me asking, does your DMS have data mining tools/ reports that allow you to pull customer info from say, 3-4 years ago that have progressed to a positive equity position? These customers could move into a new unit with no money down based on their equity as a down payment, and the measured follow-up by your sales staff helps manage customer retention too...
We use a lot of 3rd party providers, I can't really say which is the best. Our overall best source for leads however is our dealership's website. Our SEO is working for us better than most of our lead providers in terms of ROI. There are plenty of 3rd party providers that give us a lot of low quality leads which helps hit the phone calls we expect from our coordinators, but SEO is probably the most important thing we're doing (thanks in large part to Dealer Synergy) to generate sales from leads.
Miki, I see your point. Do you have a "preferred" lead source provider...? If so, why?
Thanks-
Wow Jason, well said!
Just curios... what other 3rd party providers are you working with and which ones work the best for you...?
Thanks-
I liked them better when they were a flat rate( way back) and they used to promote quite a bit on TV in english and spanish. They were way cheaper than other sources at the time. But the pay per lead is the same recycled nonsense as all the others. Too much work staying on top of returning leads.
At first I was not happy about it. That's 63 leads we got from them last month (a lot were duplicate and bad leads). We only set 8 appointments from them, 5 show, 1 sold, all were tough credit and the one we just barely got by. We paid $1,197 for our Vehix leads last month. Even utilizing Dealer Synergy's process to contact more people and set stronger appointments we had a 12.7% appointment set ratio, 7.9% of those total leads actually came through our door, and only 1.6% of those leads were a sale. In essence, we had to pay Vehix $1200 last month for the one sale we were able to pull out of them.
By the way, if you think that last month may have just been a bad month, since the first of the year we've paid the same $1200 a month, got a total of 275 leads, 36 appointments set, 22 show, and only TWO deliveries.
I would be more than happy to see our lead budget spent on another lead provider. I will not mourn the loss of Vehix as a lead source provider. When I look at the evidence, they're actually making a pretty good business decision as I'm sure lots of dealerships have already dropped them.