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Here is the thread on the Cars.com situation...
Automotive Internet Sales Reviews Jim Ziegler's Concerns About Cars.com & Brian Pasch's Response...
The subject of http://www.cars.com has been getting pretty heated lately. It has achieved over 6,000 views on the local blogs like:
http://www.dealerelite.net/profiles/blogs/double-cross-or-not-a-double-cross?xg_source=activity
Brian Pasch, CEO of http://www.pcgdigitalmarketing.com/company/meet-our-team/brian-pasch/ has come out and said that Jim Ziegler is wrong and he thinks that Cars.com is NOT doing anything wrong. As a matter of fact, Brian has created a blog post
That basically says that Jim has it all wrong...
I shot this video to explain why I support Jim Ziegler's point of view on the Cars.com situation.
If you have any questions, please feel free to call me or email me-
Comments
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi1ZRZHGnik
I just spoke at the Detroit Auto Dealers Association and this Cars.com & Car Gurus conversation was a HUGE topic and I have to tell you that DEALERS are VERY UPSET!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DYXCRsT5Uc
Just so we are all up to date...
http://automotiveinternetsales.com/profiles/blogs/confessions-of-an...
The automotive community is like the marathon runners we come together in times of need....
Wow! Just Wow! What a racket they've got there.
Imagine how much the value of that company would drop if all dealers stopped submitting their inventory feeds to all of the parasites?
Is Autotrader sending inventory feeds out I wonder?
Here is the response from our Cars.com rep: "More often than not, the first couple suggestions come from that same dealer’s inventory. But other vehicle suggestions could be from the inventory of another dealer in the area, if the make and model are the same and the price and mileage are close. While this is the issue that some people are objecting to, it’s important to remember that other vehicles from that dealer’s inventory are also being suggested as alternative options to other consumers that have submitted leads to competing dealers. The idea of the program is to increase engagement levels for everyone.
Initial results have been good in that it’s elevated the visibility of dealer’s inventory through increased page views, leads and contacts. And the biggest beneficiary of those increases has been the initial dealership, which gets the largest share of the increased engagement.
Here’s the blogpost from our CMO, Linda Bartman on DealerAdVantage:
http://dealeradvantage.cars.com/da/2013/04/why-cars-com-engages-sho..."
He included the link to an Executive's blog on the issue, and I already made my comment and did what I could. My corporate office is aware of the problem, and I was the first of all the Lithia stores to test the system. The blog post above also suggests that Cars.com will send a total of 3 follow up emails....2, 5, and 8 days after the lead is generated....and no one I spoke to seemed to care about the fact that they are suggesting other competitive dealerships...
Like I said, I did my part....DID YOU? LEAVE A COMMENT ON THIS BLOG (link) ABOVE!!
Andy Fedo
Director of Internet Sales, Lithia Nissan Hyundai of Fresno
I spoke to my rep today about it after sending him emails yesterday. He only found out when myself and another dealer brought it to his attention. He didn't try to defend the policy (good on him) but also said he was told that it is only in test markets right now. I did a test email when Jim first broke the news and so far (4 days now), no emails from Cars.com nor any competitors, so we seem to be free from this at the time. Will keep watching however.
What if Cars.com sends our prospects links to our competitors who don't spend as much as we spend with them? Would that not be an injustice to us?
To spend the amount of money that dealers spend with Cars.com and to have them send your leads multiple cars from different dealers is a not acceptable. Like Sean talks about in the video dealers are spending not thousands but hundreds of thousands over the life of the contract and to have Cars.com undercut the dealer reminds me of bitting the hand that feeds you....
For what it’s worth I don’t have a problem with this policy. As long as Cars.com is not sending out any competitive units within the first 48 to 72 hours I could care less. Why? Process, process & more processes.
First: If your BDC or Internet team has a good process for responding to leads; turning leads into phone calls and calls into appointments than you are golden. No matter what happens you have the first shot at working the client.
Second: If your pictures, comments, and overall process make a consumer believe your offering is better than everyone else you are in great shape. I for one love looking at my online listings compared to all the others. I believe it’s like comparing the first hole from a local municipal golf course to the first hole at Augusta National. You have the opportunity to play 18 on both but if all things (like price) are equal or similar where are you going to play? The fact that Cars.com is sending clients other dealer’s vehicles is just going to make my listing look that much better.
I also think dealers who are upset are missing the opportunity that is being presented. Yes, Cars.com is sending your “potential” client an email after the fact about other cars in the market. You do realize that if it is your competitor’s vehicle the “potential” client has chosen and not yours within 48 – 72 hours your vehicles might be served up to this client. The client may have never gotten to your car because it was on page 2 or 3 of their search but now…look, they are exposed to it.
If all things are equal in the algorithm Cars.com uses to send out the subsequent vehicles I’m ok with it. The only thing I would want to get clarity on is the “algorithm” used to send out the other vehicles in the market. I would hate to think that if another dealer spends more than I do his vehicles will show up more often.
In the long run I would much rather deal with this than being overcharged by the “other” vendor to be in their “premium” listings section. That to me is the real crime. In the case of the “other” vendor you can have the best price, best pictures, best comments and the car the client wants but still be on page 7 because you didn’t agree to get your pocket picked (not bashing the “other” company but the truth is the truth).
Let’s face it. We can choose who we want to advertise with but in the end it’s up to the customer to choose who they want to buy from. Our jobs are to make sure we are in front of them when they are ready and when we get an opportunity we treat it as such…an opportunity.
Again, just my two cents.
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