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Five Things You May Not Know About Pinterest

Posted by Kevin Lyle Dillon on August 1, 2012 at 10:24am

Think you know all there is to know about Pinterest? Think again. Here are Five things that perhaps you may not know about the Pin-loving social network:

1) Pinterest is the Third Most Popular Social Network

  • Of course, we can classify a website's popularity in many different ways. However, since launching in 2010 and gaining a head full of steam this year, Pinterest has cemented itself as the 3rd most popular social networking site, just behind Facebook & Twitter
  • In March, they received 104 MILLION visitors. (I'll let that sink in.....) 
  • That is immense growth for a site that is barely two years old. 

2) It's not Just Women....

  • Once Pinterest gained traction earlier this year, a narrative grew around the social networking site claiming it was just for women. But, a closer look indicates otherwise. 
  • The percentage breakdown is this 65% women/35% men. While this isn't necessarily a balanced scale, it does indicate that the website isn't just used by one specific gender/group of people. 

3) You're spending more time on Pinterest than...

  • Believe it or not, users are spending more time on Pinterest than they are on Facebook. A recent study found that the average Facebook user spends approximately 12 minutes on Facebook, keeping an eye on what their "Friends" are doing, while Pinterest users are spending 16 minutes on the site.
  • For some perspective, the average YouTube user spends 16.5 minutes. 

4) Silicon Valley?

  • While most tech startups seem to originate in the depths of Silicon Valley and some in New York City, Pinterest started in the Midwest. It goes to show you: a great idea can take you anywhere, regardless of its latitude!

5) Self Promotion is indeed allowed

  • When Pinterest was first unleashed into the virtual world, it was simple: pin a few recipes, a few photos to a board, and interact with others. 
  • However, now the folks over at Pinterest (as of March), have allowed self-promotion for businesses. 

Are you a Pinterest addict? 

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Why Didn't Customers Buy From You? (Re-Post from Carsdirect)

Posted by Sean V. Bradley on July 24, 2012 at 1:31pm
Why Didn't Customers Buy From You?


In today's world of the Internet, smart phones, and apps for everything, communication is supposed to be easier and more efficient than ever before. But when it comes to dealers communicating with potential customers, plenty of opportunities are still slipping through the cracks. That's one of the major takeaways from our latest exclusive quarterly survey of customers who submitted leads on CarsDirect.com.

Take a look at the following survey excerpts from customers who did not end up purchasing a vehicle after submitting a lead:





Looking at the first chart a full 41% of consumers said they either weren't contacted by a dealer or were not sure if they were contacted. In today's world, there's almost always a way to reach a potential customer, but almost half of leads are passing by unconverted due to something as simple as making initial contact with the customer.

To avoid missing these opportunities, focus on what customers see as making contact, and on your current process at your store. While your process might consist of sending an e-mail shortly after receiving a lead, it could be that the customer is expecting a more personal phone call. Experiment with different ways of making initial contact with customers to see which one garners the best response. As illustrated above, there are plenty of opportunities other stores are missing that you can seize on.

Moving onto the second chart, again we see that by far the top reason or not purchasing: no contact. If there's no communication with customers, it's impossible to make sales. That's why it's imperative to examine and refine your processes so your sales team knows they did everything they could to contact a customer and get them in the door.

The second most-cited reason customers gave for not purchasing was that they are still looking for a vehicle. These are the cases when contact is made with a customer but they drop off the radar. In these cases, it's important to examine why your team hasn't closed the customer. Are they still working the customer? There's usually plenty of opportunity to win a customer back if they're undecided.

Finally, the third most common reason that customers gave for not purchasing was price. Here, make sure that you're giving customers a price online so that there is no surprise about price on first contact. Also, make sure you're priced competitively in your area. It sounds simple, but your prices could be out of line with the rest of your local market if you're not keeping tabs on pricing trends in the surrounding area.
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