www.dealersynergy.com 856-546-2440
Re: Internet Manager Best Practices (Aaron Harris Question) - Sean V. Bradley & Joe Cala

Your website provider should be able to provide you with a monthly report that lists the number of hits your site has garnered, the sources of those hits, how long the average visitor spends on your site and what they are visiting on your page.

Most dealerships now have an Internet department. Some stores have gone full speed by appointing an Internet manager, hiring representatives to follow up on leads and creating an advertising budget. Other stores have approached the digital age more cautiously, just dipping their toes into the vast pool of online media.

I visit dealerships across the country, and there seems to be no similarity at all in how Internet sales are handled and accounted for. Some dealers think they are maximizing their online sales revenue just by answering every e-mail and chat request.

There is a lot more to it. It just depends on how much money, time and resources you are willing to commit to the project. Full speed or not, from an accounting standpoint, it may make sense to set up a separate department to manage the income and expenses you derive from online sales. Here’s a six-step plan:

1. Hack Your DMS

It should be very simple to set up a new department on your dealer management system (DMS). Assign your new department a number and name, set up income and expense accounts and assign them a factory financial statement line number so they show up on your monthly financial statements. This step forces you to decide how you are going to track your Internet sales, as most factory charts of accounts don’t have separate accounts set up for Internet sales, cost of sales and expenses.

2. Track Your Sales

To properly track your Internet sales, you must set up separate sales and cost-of-sales accounts for each model of new vehicles you sell. Do this for your used inventory as well. If you don’t track these sales, cost of sales and gross profits separately — whether on a spreadsheet or in your accounting software — so you can subtract them from your financial statements, you will probably not have a clue if the money you are spending for this department is worth it.

3. Establish Your Structure

Decide whether your Internet personnel should handle the lead all the way to the finish line or hand the lead over to one of your regular salespeople. If it changes hands, you have to decide how you want to record the deal on your books. If not, note each Internet sale on the deal jacket so accounting knows which sales account to record it in, where to post the commission and where to list other costs associated with the sale.

4. Separate Your YTD Expenses

Once you have the department and the general ledger accounts set up, you can move the year-to-date (YTD) expenses from the accounts you have posted transactions to all year to the new accounts. That will allow you to start your department analysis in the current month.

Once you begin posting the sales and cost-of-sales accounts separately, you can easily see whether your Internet department is profitable. Make sure you allocate the correct payroll costs for the personnel working in this department. It should be based on the percentage of time they are spending there. Now you can calculate the average gross profit per unit sold, the commission or cost to sell it, and the variable expenses associated with it — the same as you would with your new- and used-vehicle departments.

Make sure you have set up accounts for Internet-centric expenses such as website design, in-store Internet usage, monthly web hosting maintenance fees, search engine optimization and lead-management software costs, not to mention your manager and sales representatives’ salaries and commissions.

5. Separate Your Fixed Expenses

If you really want to do it right, you should be allocating some of your semi-fixed and fixed expenses to the Internet department. How much is up to you. This can be a real pain to analyze and allocate, so you may want to have the department up and running for a while before you take this step. Your office manager or accounts payable expert can probably tell you which expenses pertain to your new department.

For the most part, your largest expenses are going to be personnel and electronic media software and usage fees for each click, etc. These are the ones you need to pay the most attention to, as they are variable and controllable costs. If the cost of each sale is larger than the revenue you are generating, you will need to decide how to drive more people to your site that may buy, or start reducing some expenses so the department is not a drain on your dealership’s profits.

6. Order Your Reports

The profitability of any department depends on performance. Your Internet manager should track how long it takes to respond to a lead and how many leads are closing as actual sales. Your website provider should be able to provide him or her with a monthly report that lists the number of hits, the source (e.g., Google search terms), how long the average visitor spends on your site and whether they are visiting different departments.

With the right information at hand, you should be able to compute your cost for each lead and unit sale. Better yet, you can make intelligent decisions on how to improve your website, your inventory mix and your process for handling Internet leads.

Under Review

Once you have set up new accounts for the income and expenses generated by your Internet department, you can determine whether the department is profitable. If it isn’t, you need to act fast. Look at your site from the perspective of a potential customer and ask yourself the following questions:

• Is your site graphically appealing and easy to navigate?
• Does it look as nice as your competitors’ sites?
• Is your inventory easy to find?
• Are your vehicles listed with good photos, videos and descriptions?
• Are your online prices competitive for your market?
• Do you know how many of the same vehicles are for sale in your market area?
• Do you make it easy for customers to contact you?

Source - http://www.autodealermonthly.com/article/story/2013/10/a-web-of-lies.aspx?utm_campaign=Enews-20131029&utm_source=Email&utm_medium=Enewsletter 

http://www.dealersynergy.com 856-546-2440 

Sean V. Bradley has 15 years Automotive Internet Sales experience selling over 110 INTERNET units per month when he was an Internet Director at Pine Belt Automotive in NJ 

Joe Cala was the Internet Sales Manager at Nelson Mazda in Tulsa Oklahoma that took their department from 7 units - 80 units per month online. Joe then went on to Gateway Toyota, a Penske store to become the Internet Director for 6 years. Joe was delivering 150 INTERNET units per month. Cala also worked for Autotrader.com for a year.

Both Cala and Bradley have extensive Automotive Internet Sales experience and have created a 5 part Internet Director responsibilities series. 

If you would like more information please go to www.automotivedigitaltraining.com or call them at 856-546-2440 

BEWARE of YOUR Internet Or

Business Development Department Infrastructure

For more than nine years, I have traveled the country conducting consulting and training for approximately 500 dealerships, and before that I worked on the front lines for five and half years. I have tracked trends, patterns, common situations that effect dealership’s success, and what is crystal clear is that region, franchise or demographics don’t matter. I want to share some revelations I have identified that will help you sell more cars, more often and more profitably.

Dealerships are not staffing their Internet or business development department the right way.  I see the same thing over and over at dealership after dealership. For example, dealers will have 500 leads in their CRM and have one or two appointment setters working those leads — or worse, they have no appointment setters. They just rely on showroom consultants to handle all of those leads.

Let me just dive into my concerns in this scenario, beginning with having too few appointment setters. This doesn’t work because there are far too many leads to be handled for only one to two appointment setters. Understand that you only have an 11 to 14 percent connection ratio from phone call attempts. I train clients to make 120 calls per day, no exceptions. However, we find that the average dealership’s appointment setters are making only 50 to 75 calls per day.

Let me break this data down for you:

• On average, 50 call attempts will only convert to five to seven conversations. Does that sound productive for an eight-hour day? Of course not. With two appointment setters each making 50 calls, they will have 10 to 14 conversations for the entire day. Remember that is only 10 to 14 conversations out of 500 leads. Leads mean opportunities to do business. These prospects are in the market but we do not engage them?

• Even if your people were making 75 calls each. One rep’s connections would be seven to 10 conversations and two rep’s connections would be 14 to 20 connections. That’s still inadequate compared to the lead volume.

Now, let’s discuss the scenario of having no appointment setters and just utilizing your showroom sales consultants. The average dealership has approximately 10 sales consultants, and they have lots of responsibilities as well as ways for them to sell an automobile. Let’s look at the eight different ways a showroom sales consultant can sell an automobile:

1. Walk-Ins

2. Be-Backs

3. Phone-Ups

4. Internet

5. Referrals

6. Prior Customers

7. Service

8. Prospecting

Lets be honest: I believe the vast majority of automotive sales consultants do not engage the full eight ways to sell an automobile and even if they do, the majority do not do it consistently. But, let’s pretend for a second that they do. How can the average sales consultant handle their full sales responsibilities plus handle the 50, 75 or 100 fresh Internet leads they receive per month? If an appointment setter — who does not have to do a product presentation, demo drive or a delivery — only makes 50 to 75 calls per day and converts only five to seven conversations per day, how many phone call attempts do you really think your sales people are making?

Exactly.

Let’s add another crazy, but important, variable called the residual flow factor. That means the “carry over leads.” Remember that the average Internet prospect is approximately 45 to 90 days. So, if you receive 400 leads in the month of June and you sell 40 units, it doesn’t end there. Just because you close your month doesn’t mean that all of those 370 other leads that didn’t buy are garbage. On the contrary, those are actual working (“cooking”) opportunities. So, let’s say that out of the 370 remaining leads, 200 are still active and viable opportunities. You will start July 1 with 200 “carry over” leads, plus you will receive an additional 400 “fresh” leads for a total working lead opportunity of 600 leads. This is known as your residual flow factor.

Now, let me give you the “secret formula” to success. I have numerous nationally recognized client success stories. Clients using this formula have graced the cover of every major automotive magazine, including AutoSuccess (The most recent would be Alan Vines Automotive, in the September 2012 issue).

Alan Vines Automotive has five appointment setters:

• Five coordinators X 120 calls per day = 600 calls per day

• 600 calls per day X five working days = 3,000 calls per week

• 3,000 calls per week X 4.3 weeks in a month = 12,900 calls

• 12,900 calls X 12 percent connection ratio = 1,548 connections with prospects

• 1,548 connections X 25 percent appointment made ratio = 387 appointments

• 387 appointments X 60 percent appointment show ratio = 232 appointment shows

• 232 appointment shows X 42 percent close ratio = 97 units delivered.

• 97 units delivered (as documented in the cover story)

Alan Vines Automotive receives 600 to 700 fresh leads per month and has a residual flow factor of 800 to 900 working leads.

My final point is that your Internet sales appointment setters should not be doing anything other than dealing with fresh and carry over Internet sales leads. The only exception is if you have them take incoming phone-ups. That is perfectly in alignment with the system. Do not, however, have them working on:

• Unsold showroom traffic

• Service

• CSI

• Data Mining

• Credit

• Getting lunch, coffee, etc.

• Taking pictures

• Greeting

If you think your one or two appointment setters (if you even have them) can work 300 to 500 fresh Internet leads plus do any or all of these things, you are wrong. If your dealership has these efforts tasked to the Internet appointment setter, I suggest that you delegate to someone else, hire BDC appointment setters or accept mediocrity.

If you have any questions or comment about this article, or if you would like me to personally review your Internet or BDC infrastructure with you, please feel free to e-mail or call me.

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.

                   Ten Steps to Surviving a Start-Up

When reflecting upon my last 10 months in the auto industry I’ve found it necessary to write a short re-cap of what I’ve learned working for two different start-up companies, so that in the future those of you who find themselves working for a start-up, has some sort of step by step process to help you succeed.

The following 10 steps may not apply for every start-up, but the core lessons learned are here and can be tailored to your particular situation.

 Steps:

1. When researching the company that has extended an offer to you. Make absolutely sure that you whole-heartedly believe in the product or solution the company has to offer. Don’t just simply take the job out of necessity, because all that is going to do is cause you more pain and potentially cause you to garnish your relationships with your current book of business. Unless you’re a self-proclaimed seller of ice to Eskimos, selling a product that you don’t necessarily believe in, is almost impossible to do.
2. If you have found your way past step 1 and landed on step 2 then more than likely you are encouraged that the product and or solutions that the company has to offer is solid, but you still have some work to do. Do your due diligence and make sure that the people that you will be working for and with are on par with the people whom you normally like to surround yourself with. What I mean by this is simple. Before you take the offer of employment, research the CEO. Find out what he or she has done in the past. Are they cutting edge? Find out how the CEO has treated his or her employees in the past. Research the current staff that is in place, these are the people that you will be working with hand in hand on a daily basis. Find out how they handle themselves under pressure, because when you work for a start-up there are going to be days when the pressure can be insurmountable.
3. So if you have found yourself on step 3 then you have completed some heavy research and have liked the results that you come up with. Now you need to see what processes the company has in place. Every start-up has a business plan that will include a process and or processes that circle around how the product or solution is to be sold, maintained, handled, and executed. Depending on the position that you have been offered these processes may vary, but the idea still stays the same. A company without a process/plan is like a car without wheels. The car may start, but I guarantee its not going to go nowhere.
4. If you have made it this far you’ve probably established one of two things. You are either a good fit for the company or you’ve decided that the company may not be a good fit for you. So now you have reached the pivotal moment of truth. Do you take the job or do you pass on the opportunity for something better. If you have decided to take the job, then proceed on to the next steps.
5. No matter what position that you have been hired for, more than likely you have been hired because you are a subject matter expert in a particular field that in some facet pertains to the companies plan. Now this is great because in some way you have established yourself in the industry as a leader in your particular field, but remember when you are hired on at a start-up you may or may not be asked to perform tasks that doesn’t pertain to your field. Now I am a firm believer that you should always be learning new things and stepping outside of your comfort zone is always a good way to broaden your intellect, but remember that you have been given a task and even though you may be asked to do other things to help the company, don’t loose site of what you were hired for in the first place. If you are not a seasoned at multitasking then I would say a start-up is not the place to further your career path.
6. Staying motivated is key when it comes down to making or breaking the start-up. You not only need to be motivated 24/7 but you need to learn how to motivate others as well. When working for a start-up you can almost guarantee that there are going to be days when you feel like licking your wounds and going home. Being motivated and motivating others through these rough patches can really make a difference when you or one of your colleagues are having a bad day.
7. Being persistent is always a good trait to have, but when working for new start-ups persistence really plays a key role in business development. A new start-up has a core business plan with a product and or solution they want to present to the core audience. The only problem is sometimes the niche needs crafted into a diamond and that comes from persistence. You have to constantly take your core product or solution and evolve it into something that is constantly making sense to your audience.
8. Don’t be afraid of change! No matter what industry you are in, you have to be able to adapt to change. In order for a new start-up to survive, change is has to be a constant and if you are not susceptible to an environment that is always changing then destination frustration is just right around the corner and its going to reach out and smack you square in the face. There is a great book that I read a long time ago called “Who moved my cheese?” that I recommend all young business students and anyone who is thinking about joining a start-up or starting a business of their own read. The book really puts into perspective how important it is to be able to adapt to change.
9. No matter how well you think you may be doing, you always need to have reports to back up your results. This can be simple excel sheets or ornate, robust power points with pie charts, bar graphs, or whatever you seem fit to show your progress. Having these reports, whether they are asked for or not can really be great tools to not only help you develop, but help the company develop as well, because when its all said and done results are the only thing that matter when it comes down to getting the start-up off the ground.

10. Last but not least, put in the time! Working for a start-up is not a 9 to 5 job. Be prepared to start early and work late, because you are going to have deadlines that need to be met and depending on how many projects have been assigned to you, you always have to make sure everything is done right, and done on-time, which may require you to put in more hours than what you initially thought would take to get the task completed.

Please remember that I am basing these steps on what I have learned working within the auto industry, but can be used and adapted to whatever industry that you may be in. The core principles are the same, just try to follow these steps and I am sure you too can survive a start-up.

If you have any questions or would like to comment on this article, please feel free to do so, also if you feel the need to share I welcome you to share with your networks and pass on what I have learned.

Thank You

Jason Parman

Why am I seeing so many dealers with business listings UNCLAIMED? Reminds me of the old days, circa 1998 and URL’s for the company name we're not claimed. Didn't that suck when you found out the URL was taken by someone or some company much less deserving of that URL. Same with your listing.

I’ve seen what happens to your face when you find out your competitor has claimed your listing. Signing up for a listing is one thing but much more important is CLAIMING your listing. For some this may seem like a no brainer, however based on how many dealers we support for reputation management, I’m shocked at how many have major review listings for their dealer name unclaimed.

Business listings should play a role in your marketing plan because who wants to waste time with promotions that don’t benefit your bottom line. Business directories are a great form of targeted advertising.

Google has some great suggestions you can do to Optimize your listing and lift your Google score to help users find your dealership. The third recommendation is my favorite…..

Include images and videos to help your listing stand out.

Can online directory listings increase my web traffic?

Knowing how many cars and R.O’s are coming from your preferred dealership listings is a reality many are tracking, in terms of where they rank and traffic. I’m really impressed with BDC directors that are aware that Yelp makes it pretty stinking ridiculous in terms of NOT allowing us to know which keyword was used before your vehicle prospect clicks to your Yelp listing, but I digress.

Listing your company and company URL on online review sites and directories not only helps your ROI, but can also help your website appear higher in search results for certain terms. The more quality web pages that you can get your site listed or mentioned in, the more authoritative Google will begin to think your website is. When Google chooses where your webpage will appear in search results, Page Rank (the authority of the webpage) is one of the factors that can significantly increase your chances or being ranked first, or at least on the first page, for a particular search term or phrase.

What does my dealership need to do now?

Claim your unclaimed listings!

It may take some time to find the right mix of directories to advertise your business in. Implement some sort of analytics or tracking system to see which directories are giving you the best return, either in click throughs to your site, in direct revenue, or in call volume. This could include using special tracking campaign links for online directories, or a unique phone numbers or URLs for print ads. Over time, cut the zero- or low-performing directories and re-invest in new ones until you find a good mix of print and online directories that perform well for your dealership.

Finally, it’s important to keep in mind that listing your company in directories isn’t just a one-time project. It needs to be maintained and your strategies adjusted based on what your competitors are doing, and based on your changing business goals. However, studies are proving the maintaining business directory listings as part of your marketing plan can be a profitable business strategy for your dealership.

I highly recommend ChatMeter and Yext if you need help with managing, optimizing, and monitoring your online listings.

Jerry Hart
President
eReputationBUILDER
888-810-0441

http://www.internetsales20group.com

Secrets To Being Successful In Automotive Internet Sales / Business Development - "Relationship Selling"

14 Experts Predict 2013 Social Media Marketing Trends for Car Dealers and Local Business Owners

First of all, I want to thank Mr. Bryan Armstrong for posting a link and article snippet on the Google+ Community titled "Automotive Social Media Marketing" which led me to an article... which referenced and led me one step further to the AT&T Networking Exchange Blog that I am re-posting for the benefit of ADM Professional Community members below.

My goal is to get our community of automotive marketing practitioners to think about where the car business is heading with our use of social media marketing strategies and tactics, in the hope of stimulating some valuable discussion and commentary.

For example, take a look at Jeff Bulas' (#3) prediction (more of a projection?) where he describes what sounds like car dealers connecting the dots between search engine marketing strategies and how they will begin to understand the correlation between sound content creation and publishing programs as part of their overall marketing strategy. There are few areas within the very large world of automotive digital marketing that has more effectively captured the attention of car dealers than taking action to ensure having their websites and published information show up in the Google Search Engine results which appear for their customers making automotive related inquiries... To Jeff's point, as more and more dealers grasp the connection between publishing "User Generated Content" as part of a daily Content Marketing and Earned Media strategy, their perspective on Social Media Marketing and how it delivers a Return On Investment (ROI) will evolve and become a lot more sophisticated.

All 14 of these predictions are well worth carefully reviewing and considering in your dealership's 2013 marketing strategy, but take a close look at Margie Clayman's (#4) predictions. Her words make a lot of sense and sound very likely to occur, at least to my admittedly biased ears... Here's a quote from Margie predictions:

"I predict that in 2013 small businesses will start seeing social media more as a tool and less as an entity unto itself. Instead of asking what social media is, they will ask how they should be using it and why."

What Margie says under the guise of a prediction makes a lot of sense, and is just plain good guidance, whether or not labeled with the "Predictions for 2013" moniker or not. As you read through these 14 so-called predictions, you will find that most of them should be considered good advice, and brimming with opportunity for competitive advantage.

All of the renowned and highly respected writers, speakers and practitioners whose "predictions" are listed in the article below are knowledgeable and obviously put serious thought into their answers to Cheryl Burgess's questions. I found that reading the predictions caused me to think and consider many of my own strategies and tactics, so as to be positioned for a competitive advantage in 2013... When it really comes down to why any of us would bother with social media and the marketing, engagement and communications capabilities it offers to car dealers; if there were no opportunity for competitive advantage, then why would we bother with it?

After you check these predictions out, please post a comment about which ones you found credible and ringing of truth, and which ones you considered to be more fantasy than fact... Finally, the question that Cheryl closed her article with, which I have boldened and highlighted in red font. I will echo to our professional network... What are YOUR predictions regarding social media and the way car dealers will use it in 2013?

When Cheryl started this post, she wanted to share 13 Social Media Predictions for Small Business (including car dealerships) in 2013. However, for those of her readers who might be superstitious, Cheryl didn't want to jinx the New Year before it even began. So, she decided to go with 14 predictions instead. Cheryl suggests that there is no need to worry about doomsday prophecies from the Mayans or Nostradamus. As shown by their predictions for 2013, the experts Ms. Burgess consulted see only a bright future ahead for small businesses, car dealers and their ability to receive business benefits from social media marketing practices. ADM Professional Community members are encouraged to visit Cheryl's article on the AT&T Networking Blog for Small Business at NetworkingExchangeBlog.ATT.com/Small-Business.

1. Meghan M. Biro @MeghanMBiro – Founder and CEO of TalentCulture Consulting Group and the TalentCulture World of Work Community. “In 2013, for businesses small & large, I predict that the quality of online relationships and content will rise to the occasion in the vast sea of social media. Also, crowdsourcing will become a more active player in the mainstream social enterprise.”

2. David Brier @DavidBrier – Chief Gravity Defyer at DBD International, Ltd. – “In 2013, small businesses will need to strengthen their ties to their customers as the world keeps getting smaller. So much more is available than ever before. Thus, the competitive edge will be built on those relationships and bonds. In addition, small businesses can become the official ambassadors of excellent customer service in a world that’s going increasingly automated. As more and more “touch points” become “streamlined” at the expense of personal human contact, the companies with excellent personnel and live customer service representatives will outshine and outperform their competition.”

3. Jeff Bullas @jeffbullas – Account Director- Infinity Technologies, Social Media Marketing Blogger, Speaker and Strategist – Author -”Blogging the Smart Way – How to create and Market a Killer Blog with Social Media” “Google has realized that people voting for content they like with Retweets, Facebook likes, plus +1′s and comments is important and increasingly relevant in what they serve up in Google search results. Google+ was launched just over 12 months ago to capture those social signals, and today the Google +1 button is used over five billion times every day. In 2013 you will see small companies starting to realize that social media is also important for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Companies will begin to understand that social, content, and SEO are linked and more integrated than ever.”

4. Margie Clayman @MargieClayman- Vice President of Client Services, Clayman Marketing Communications, Inc. “I predict that in 2013 small businesses will start seeing social media more as a tool and less as an entity unto itself. Instead of asking what social media is, they will ask how they should be using it and why. In the end, this will increase the effectiveness of their social media marketing efforts.”

5. Jon Ferrara @Jon_Ferrara – CEO Nimble, Inc. “Nearly every small business is experimenting with or planning on using social media because they understand they need to go where their audience is. Listening and engaging and being discoverable online is critically important today in growing their businesses. 2013 will be the year Social Media moves out of Community Management and Marketing to Social Selling and Customer Engagement.”

6. Sam Fiorella @samfiorella – Partner at Sensei Marketing and Author of Influence Marketing “Small Businesses in 2013 will tire of broadcast social media campaigns and messaging and invest in monitoring tools like Jungoo.com, Shoutlet.com or others to better segment their audience, effectively target influencers and accurately measure the impact of those efforts. Next, employees—the businesses’ biggest brand ambassadors—will become trained and empowered to become actual influencers across social channels.”

7. Mike Johansson @mikefixs – Lecturer in Communication at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and Social Media Strategist for Fixitology LLC – “2013 is the year that small businesses finally acknowledge that social media needs to be part of the daily workload. Depending on whose numbers you believe, somewhere between 20 and 25 percent of small businesses use social media for customer engagement, customer service, community building and selling. In 2013 small businesses will realize they either get on that bus or they’ll be waving goodbye to the opportunity to be in front of people … and some, if not all, of their business.”

8. Wendy Marx @Wendy Marx – President – Marx Communications-“In 2013, for B2B small businesses it will be more use of content marketing, especially content curation, as a way of engaging customers. Small businesses will make greater use of LinkedIn as the platform continues to expand its offerings. Finally, the coming year will see a greater integration of social media into all marketing practices so it becomes a part of a small business’ way of doing business.”

9. Steve Olenski @steveolenski – Sr. Content Strategist at Responsys – “In 2013 I think (and maybe it’s wishful thinking) that more and more small businesses will begin to dive into the visual side of social media, (i.e. Pinterest and Instagram). I have said this a million times, but you have to look at your computer/mobile screen the way you do a TV. People do not read TV, they watch it. Consumers want to see something—not just read it.”

10. Tom Pick @TomPick – Digital Marketing & PR Consultant – Webbiquity- “In 2013, small businesses, and larger ones too, will get more sophisticated about their measurement of social media results. They will view social media marketing tactics within the larger framework of their overall Web presence—how it supports what they are doing in PR, website optimization, search advertising and other areas of marketing. Their measurement will be less about direct, linear ROI and more about how social sharing and engagement fits into and enhances their overall web marketing and lead generation strategies.”

11. Alex Romanovich @AlexRomanovich – Managing Partner - Social2B, Inc, Adviser – The CMO Club – “SMBs will continue to test social media, while more aggressively increasing their budgets allocated to social media in any form. By now, the SMB community is seeing some positive results via social media and will continue to test the channel, conversions, ecommerce or social commerce, etc. For the first time, SMBs will start paying even closer attention to metrics and analytics—they will want to know more about their conversion rates and ROI, although they will continue to be challenged by the complexity and growing pains of the social environment. SMBs will also use more social networks—besides LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, SMBs will continue to discover Google+, Slideshare, etc.”

12. Gary Schirr @ProfessorGary – Assistant Professor – Marketing, Radford University - “In 2013 savvy small businesses around the globe will learn valuable photo and video-editing skills to help drive their social media marketing efforts. Using their own cameras, smartphones and tablets, small businesses will leverage newly found creative skills to create content that impacts their audience. They will also solicit visual content from employees and customers. Small businesses will develop an eye for visual content marketing opportunities while learning editing tools such as iMovie, MovieMaker, Photoshop and PaintShop to help energize their business marketing approach.”

13. Deborah Weinstein @debweinstein – President & Partner, Strategic Objectives “2012 saw a major surge in mobile adoption rates, and 2013 will be all about the apps that lead to social sharing. Mobile is an effective brand building tool for small business given its powerful ability to geo-target consumers and promote local sales. In 2013, we will see a focus on quick, easy and highly visual apps, including Instagram, Viddly, Cinemagram and Keek. These apps are the ‘140 characters’ of visual, social sharing. Small business can use these free, easy-to-use tools to get the message out to their audience on such a short, quick-consumption platform.”

14. Patricia Wilson @brandcottage – President/Founder BrandCottage - “The biggest shift we will see is in content creation. It is relatively easy and inexpensive to create beautiful photos and videos for social media. Small business are beginning to reach their comfort level with social media and will employ more tactics with Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr and other social nets.”

What trends in social media do you see taking shape in the coming year?

Check out the original source of this post:

networkingexchangeblog.att.com/14-experts-predict-2013-social-media...

The following Automotive Social Media Infographic gives us some historical perspective on where the car business was with our use of social media back when we were headed into 2012... A lot has changed, so what will 2013 have in store for the ways in which automotive marketers seek to gain a competitive advantage via innovation and more effective use of social media channels?

Are Buzz Bands Better than Business Cards?

http://www.skanz.com

http://www.dealersynergy.com

Have you heard the Buzz? All convention attendees are getting a complimentary Buzz Band from Wizard Studios. This band allows you to share all your contact information and social media connections through your own QR Code on a wrist band. You can even create your profile prior to convention so it's ready to go as soon as you get your band! With your new Buzz Band you can wear and share your digital life with everyone you meet. To Get Started Before You Go: Go to www.skanz.com and click on the button "Get Started", then create a new account. Use an easy to remember email and password. Load your profile with, pics, social media, videos, links and contact info. Just scan the free Buzz Band you get at convention, enter your email and password - and it's all linked up! Share your scans with anyone you meet - take notes and save your contacts. Or Get Started When You Arrive: Pick up your free Buzz Band. Scan the QR Code. Enter your email to create a new profile. You can add your social media, videos and links on your phone. Start sharing scans, making notes and you'll have a database of everyone you meet.

( I am going to the http://www.nsaconvention.org this weekend with my wife Karen and the N.S.A. sent us this email about the Skanz product / service. I thought it was AWESOME and wanted to share with you all. Let me know what you think).

SVB-

Google Enters New Car Lead Generation Business

Another prediction that I wrote about has come true.  Change is in the air again at Google.  Paid Search just took a big step forward or backwards, depending on how you think.  It's called "Google Cars"

In November 2011, I wrote about a product called "Google Advisor" which will change the landscape of paid search marketing for new car sales.    It has taken a very long time for this product to get off the ground.  This type of product has been around in the mortgage lead generation business for years.

Well the Google Advisor product for automotive leads is here and it has a name: Google Cars.

I finally was able to see the product live today and so can you.  Just change your browser location to Zip Code 94301 and conduct a search on Google with this phrase:

Palo Alto Toyota

What you will see might shock you, as Google has clearly entered into the new car lead generation business.  I created a few screen shots to explain how the model works, and I am sure this will be evolving.  I would love to get your opinion on this strategy and if you would be interested in testing this new service.

San Francisco Bay Beta Test of Google Cars

Currently, this product is only available in the San Francisco Bay area.  We will find out when this will open up to other markets.   This is only for new cars and it requires a dealer to provide and inventory feed of their new cars.

Google Cars Inventory Model Results Page

When you Click on the first photo of the Toyota Camry in the red box above, you will be shown this page 

Google Cars Pricing Info

If you click on the "Google Price Info" link, you might get a chill down your spine, like TrueCar did for car dealers.  

The Google Price popup box is shown on the right.  If you click on the "Learn More" link, you can read about how these prices are determined.

The "regional price paid" data according to Google comes from data shared by dealers to the DMV in their state.   Here is what Google says:

Regional price paid tells you how much the vehicle you want tends to sell for in your area. It is calculated from real new car sales in your area over the past 90 days, as reported by dealers to the DMV.

Regional price paid is specific to the make, model, trim, packages, and options shown. It includes destination charge; it excludes taxes and fees. It may include incentives and other promotions running at that time that may have impacted the average price paid."

Google Cars VDP

When you you click on a specific vehicle, you will be taken to a VDP page that looks like this:

Google Cars Email Contact Options

And when you click to contact the dealer, you have three options.  Clicking on the "Email Dealer" choice reveals this screen.

Notice that the consumer can easily select other local dealers to quote on the same vehicle.  Today, I have no details on how this advertising product works and the costs associated with it.  Give me a few days.

Source - http://www.dealerelite.net/profiles/blog/show?id=5283893%3ABlogPost%3A305517&xgs=1&xg_source=msg_share_post

http://www.dealersynergy.com 

Automotive Internet Sales - Example of How to Handle "Bought Elsewhere" / Dead Deals - Don't WASTE Opportunities!

Everyone knows that the hardest part of Automotive Internet Sales is getting someone on the phone... I get it. As a matter of fact on average you will only connect with approximately 11- 14 percent on the phone. Meaning that if you make 120 Out bound phone calls, you will connect with 14-17 people on the phone (Not a very good ROI on your efforts). But, it is what it is... 

Now it gets EVEN more frustrating when you FINALLY get someone on the phone after following up with them for days or sometimes even weeks / months and hearing "Sorry, I bought elsewhere". You have to FIGHT the urge of getting mad, or even being rude. Or worse, being indifferent and just letting it slip into the "Dead Deal" folder on your CRM.

Even though you lost the opportunity to sell a vehicle, you can turn that prospect into a service opportunity. Why would you care...? Because a service customer is 7 times more likely to purchase a vehicle from where their service their vehicle from. AND... your dealership might have lost the "sales" revenue, but THEY might be able to secure "service" revenue.

Furthermore, It is a well know statistic that a prospect that buys a vehicle, someone else in THEIR HOUSEHOLD will buy another vehicle within 90 days! That means, even though you lost that initial sale you can possibly secure a strong referral for a future opportunity if you handle the situation the right way.

If you would like me to elaborate on this post or if you have any questions what so ever, please feel free to email or call me.

http://www.seanvbradley.com 

http://www.automotiveinternetsales.com 

Does your dealership have its own blog? If your answer is no, then, I suggest you keep reading.....

The Importance of Blogging:Generation of Leads and Traffic

If you're reading this and your dealership does NOT have its own blog, consider this:

-B2C companies that blog get 88% more leads per month than those that don't

-Overall, companies that blog have 55% more website visitors

(Source: An Introduction to Business Blogging by Hubspot)

How Often Should You Blog

As evident in those statistics above, a blog can increase your website traffic, as well as your leads. However, it's not as simple as just creating a WordPress account or logging into Blogspot. A blog, just like social media, has to be kept up, maintained. In fact, companies that blog at least twenty times or more a month, see a SUBSTANTIAL increase in website traffic and leads. This is just one of the many benefits of having a blog. It gives you another avenue of customers to explore and reach. It helps to amplify your voice online for your dealership.

For your blog to be effective and useful, you must blog at least four/five times a week, or in between 16-20 times a month. There's no point in setting up your blog if you're only touching it every few weeks. That's what they call wasted real estate! The more you blog, the more likely you'll see an increase in your dealership's visibility online, and this is where SEO comes into play.

Blogging and SEO

All right, so you're blogging full-time and you should be showing up on the first page of Google in no time, right? Not so fast. With each post you create, there should be optimization taking place. You need to be do some research when it comes to SEO (Search Engine Optimization). You need to know the keywords your customers are using when they head to Google to do research. Once you begin blogging more frequently and using the appropriate and industry-relative keywords in your posts (Optimizing), your online visibility will increase. 

The benefits are obvious. You'll see a bump in website traffic. You'll receive more leads. You'll become a trust named and dealership online your customers can trust, and therefore, someone they could recommend to their friends and family.

If your dealership doesn't have a blog, why not?

Hey dealers, is your website equipped to out-perform competition this holiday season?  Your 2011 holiday planning should already be well underway but there a few last-minute tips to get you in the spirit of closing sales from web leads.

Cyber Monday is a marketing term created by companies to persuade people to shop online on the Monday immediately following Black Friday.   Between November 28 and December 31, a record number of consumers researching their next vehicle purchase will be visiting your dealership website.

Forrester Research predicted in its U.S. Online Retail Forecast, 2009 to 2014 report that the web would influence 48% of 2011 in-store sales, predictions which are set to come true.  The average holiday shopper plans to do 36% of their shopping online – whether they’re comparing prices, researching products, or making a purchase (or an appointment to make a purchase). Data from Experian Hitwise indicates that website traffic increases in a troubled economy because buyers research purchases more carefully online to stretch shopping budgets.

Is your digital showroom (dealership website) ready for this spike in traffic?

To capture these leads, streamline your sales process and put your holiday marketing into high gear, try these tips:

1)  Review online sales and customer-support options for better, more personalized service.

Integrating a live-chat option into your online sales strategy will help both you and prospective customers.  Live-chat allows consumers to receive the full automotive shopping experience without having to leave the comforts of home.  With the majority of consumers doing extensive research online prior to visiting a dealership, live-chat gives dealers the opportunity to engage website visitors in a personal sales process, answering questions, providing information and obtaining contact information.  Live chat will save you time and money by transforming your already present website visitors into ready-to-buy leads and appointments.

2)  Review last year’s SEO strategy

Which keywords sent the most and highest converting traffic to your website?  This holiday season, create content and paid search campaigns with a high density of these best performing keywords.  Drop the season’s worst performing keywords and determine which holiday-relevant keywords should be added.  Doing so will maximize the findability of your dealership and inventory online.

3)  Create a Mobile Site

Many holiday shoppers will be researching online and on their smartphones both before and during their trips to your dealership.  Dealers would be wise to integrate the showroom experience with relevant, timely and personalized website and mobile app info.  This can be done using QR codes that link to relevant videos, vehicle specs and inventory comparisons.  Google is forecasting that 15 percent of total online search this holiday season will come from mobile.  Dealers interested in quickly and cost-effectively building a mobile site should try out Google’s new GoMo initiative.

4)  Ask for an email address wherever you can, both online and in-store.

Design an email strategy that includes holiday purchasing incentives and promotions.  ”Email is still the king of Web marketing,” says Allison Howen, Associate Editor of Website Magazine.  ”There are about three times as many email accounts as there are Facebook and Twitters users combined, according to a recent study from Smarter Tools.

5)  Act fast to plug your leaky conversion funnel with split testing.

Use your web analytics to determine the pages on your website critical to conversion that have the poorest engagement.  Use Google’s simple A/B Split testing solution to see how subtle changes to buttons and forms can make a big impact on your conversion rate.  There’s no better time to start testing than now and there’s no more critical time to achieve your highest conversion than the holiday season.

6) Add social sharing to product pages to turn customers into sales channels.

Ask showroom visitors and customers alike to rate your dealership on your Facebook page (as well as other rating sites).  Encourage consumers on the lot to check-in via Social and incentivize the sharing of photos and testimonials of their in-store experience.  Keep your social profiles updated with holiday specials along with pictures and videos of inventory.  Also, resolve customer service issues on Facebook or Twitter to publicly display your customer service chops.

Remember dealers, these strategies are not just for the holidays.  Don’t stop just because it’s December 25.  Take advantage of the last six days of the year by ramping up the promotion of year-end sales on your website and social media.  Don’t forget to record your holiday season metrics too.  They will come in handy next year.

When did you start your holiday season digital marketing strategy?  Do you plan on implementing any of the mentioned strategies?  What can you share with the online community that will help dealers be better prepared for next year?

http://www.dealersynergy.com

I am telling you all that this dealership... John Hinderer Honda is AMAZING. Look at this dealership!! They have a GREAT team. Lets wish them luck and assist them anyway we can in growing their department.

SVB-

Every year, people start lining up on Wednesday to take advantage of $3 appliances and $1DVDs, 80% off electronics and deeply discounted appliances. I know that I comb the mail Sunday, looking for deals that can't-be-beat. If you plan on playing the Black Friday game and don't utilize direct mail, you are missing out. It gives you the perfect opportunity to showcase your deals and your merchandise; don't worry about being lost in the crowd. Focus on designing a unique piece and your mailer can be the difference between boom or bust. Check out www.blackfriday2010.com to further understand why mailers are so critical to Black Friday success; these blogs are scanning in your mailer for people so that they know what your deal is. No mailer = no awareness. However, in times where information flows freely, your mailer has an even bigger impact than the audience you targeted. It's just another example of direct mail's added value.

Your Ford Focus Global Drive is a smartly packaged promotion, filled with altruism, goodwill, and finally tied with a great, big incentive ribbon. So, why after 3 weeks of being live, do you only have 9 videos uploaded? Reuters reports that you want to choose 100 people to participate. The December 31^st deadline is fast approaching. How are you going to convert people from low-involvement likers to high-involvement evangelists?

MacKenzie

972-458-2026

http://www.internetsales20group.com

http://www.dealersynergy.com

Internet Sales 20 Group, November 8th 2010 - Mid Day Recap - Automotive Internet Sales - Sean V. Bradley

This morning was VERY exciting! We have dealerships from all over the country in attendance as well as a diverse group. Most of the attendees are executive management (Dealer Principals, GMs etc...). We also have a Video Production and Photography team. We are going to create a TON of content that we can post to this site as well as provide to the attendees to reference back. This is going to be a POWER PACKED 3 day workshop with a ton of valuable information...

We first introduced the group to each other... discussed their internet operations as well as identified their individual goals for attending this Internet Sales 20 Group. I also asked what challenges are they experiencing at their dealerships / departments... After we collected all problems, questions and issues. I went one by one and addressed each and every issue. Gave action plans, advice and direction.

We also went over metrics, statistics and benchmarks.

*** We also as a group came up with the 20 Group composite / data metrics we are going to follow and analyze in this group.

It was truly awesome to moderate this group... I am learning as much as I am educating.

After everyone comes back from lunch we are going to do some break out sessions as well as some Mystery Shopping Calls, Some ILM / CRM disecting and investigations...

Then later on tonight we are having a VIP Dinner... all of the 20 Group will get together and network and socialize with each other.

Internet Sales 20 Group-