http://www.DealerVideoProduction.com 856-546-2440
Example of An Effective Video Email Template For Your CRM
EXAMPLE of an AWESOME Video Email Template for the "End of The Month". Dealerships should be creating a Video Email Template Library and programming their CRM action plans to deploy automatically. Remember a video in an email increases "read open rates" 200-300%
http://www.BradleyOnDemand.com 856-546-2440
Re: Your Internet Purchase Request Response (Video Email EXAMPLE)
Here is a quick example of a Video Email Response to an Internet Prospect. Think about how different this type of an email will be to the prospect compared to the bombardment of static emails from other dealers…
Differentiate yourself!
http://www.internetsales20group.com
Example Of Video Email From An Internet Sales Coordinator / BDC Rep
http://www.rclacy.com
Example Of Video Email To Internet Prospect That Does NOT Respond To Follow Up Attempts
http://potofgoldprogram.com
http://www.automotivedigitaltraining.com
Pot of Gold is a turn-key email marketing program that allows dealerships to reactivate dormant prospects from their CRM (the average dealership has over 20,000 unsold internet leads).
The Pot of Gold, will reactivate these old dead leads, generate a new revenue stream and will double your internet closing ratio in 90 days. GUARANTEED.
Special Program and Pricing for Chrysler Dealers. PAP Eligible
Pot of Gold Program Advantages:
Superior email deliverability through spam filters.
Mobile-enabled emails. (36% of people read on a mobile phone)
Automated email messaging
2 sales/service campaigns a month to the ENTIRE prospect database
Detailed analytics and revenue reporting
Dedicated account manager
Hot leads are passed to dealership contact for follow-up
Professionally designed and written email campaigns
Increased web traffic
Double internet lead closing ratios by up to 50%
Real Statistics from Pot of Gold Customers:
A Chrysler store in Maryland has been using POG for 10 months and sold 232 cars due to POG email campaigns.
A Chevrolet dealership in Maryland saw a 7-8% open rate in emails and a click through rate of 21% and saw revenues in their service department over $150K within 90 days.
A Honda Dealer in Ohio generated 57 sales in a 90 day period marketing to a prospect database of 17431 emails.
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http://www.dealersynergy.com 856-546-2440
Example of How To Handle An Internet Prospect That Says They Are No Longer Interested In Buying A Car… Send Them An Email Like This From The GM or Dealer
How involved is your connection with each of your customers? Excellent personalized customer service is what sets a great dealership apart from others. Providing superior customer service is an essential part of gaining repeat business. If you routinely followed up with every customer, in a way that would not increase your workload, how much more business could you do? Let's take a look at the customer experience process, from the perspectives of two different customers.
Without Automated Targeted Communication
The online lead (Buddy): Buddy is viewing vehicles on the dealership website. He wants to purchase a truck, and he sees two that he likes. He reads about them and views pictures on the website, then signs up for the dealership's email newsletter in case they are having any good deals.
Buddy forgets his search for a few days, then decides to check out another dealership website. He also views their trucks, and does so on a variety of other local dealership websites as well. After several months of searching, no one from any of the dealerships has contacted Buddy and he has not made a purchase.
The customer who has purchased (Minnie): Minnie purchased a car about a year ago. She received a call from the dealership three months after her purchase, letting her know that her car was due for an oil change. Minnie has not heard from the dealership since, and has discovered a shop that can do her regular maintenance for slightly cheaper than the dealership.
These situations are common. Most automotive customers now research vehicles online before visiting the dealership. In many cases, dealership staff do not have the tools to reach out to all the online leads they receive.
Once customers purchase vehicles, they require ongoing maintenance, and routine appointments are a great way to drive repeat business back to the original dealership. Does your staff contact every customer to let them know each time that their vehicle requires routine maintenance? Oil change notices, appointment reminders, updates about winter tires and special promotions... Are you contacting each customer with this important information?
If you are contacting each customer, that requires a lot of time, effort and organization. You could spend your whole day just calling customers. Is there a way to simplify the process of reaching out to customers, while still effectively connecting with them and enhancing the level of customer service that you provide?
With Automated Targeted Communication
Now let's imagine how the customer experience could be enhanced with the help of an automated communication solution.
The online lead (Buddy): Buddy views the trucks that he likes and signs up for the dealership's email newsletter. He immediately receives a welcome message: “Hi Buddy! Thanks for signing up. Use the promotional code TIRE2014 to get 20% off your purchase of windshield washer fluid or gas line antifreeze.” He receives another email the next day, with a list of “deals of the month” and he spots a truck. He clicks the link to view more information.
Two days later, he gets an email entirely focused on trucks, with links to pages highlighting the features of each of the dealership's trucks that are currently in stock. He sees the truck he likes, and clicks the link. The next day, he receives an email “Hi Buddy, would you like to test drive a Brand X 2014 truck? If you find the truck of your dreams, we will throw in three months of satellite radio free, just for you!”
Buddy goes to the dealership and tests out the truck. The salesperson is friendly and helpful and soon Buddy has decided to purchase.
The customer who has purchased (Minnie): Minnie just purchased her car. She told the salesperson that the best way to reach her is through text messaging. Two weeks after the initial purchase, Minnie receives a text message: “Hi Minnie, we hope you're enjoying your new car! If you have any questions or feedback, please let us know. You can always text us or call us at ---.”
Every three months, Minnie gets a text message letting her know that her car is due for an oil change. She even books her appointments through text messaging. On the day of each appointment, she receives a text message reminding her of the appointment time.
Every few months, Minnie receives messages and promotions that are tailored to her car type and purchase date. She always receives routine maintenance notices so her vehicle stays in top shape, and she also gets reminders when she should put on and take off her winter tires. Each year on Minnie's birthday and on the anniversary of the day she purchased her vehicle, she gets exclusive text message discounts and promotions. The communication process is quick and easy, and Minnie has never been so satisfied with customer service, so she continues to return for her maintenance and has recommended the dealership to friends.
Conclusion
Automotive salespeople and customer service representatives provide the most important connection to customers, and their hard work and friendly attitude encourage customer loyalty. Yet it is difficult for staff to contact each customer on every important date with updates about their unique vehicle and personalized promotions.
With the assistance of automated software that is currently available, staff can contact hundreds of customers with a single click. They can set up a communication plan at the beginning of the year to ensure that every customer receives maintenance reminders based on their purchase date and date of last appointment, a special promotion on their birthday and more. Automatic messages are sent on the customer's preferred mode of communication. All messages are sent from a single automated solution.
Imagine how much more new and repeat business you could gain if you could follow up with every online lead and in-store customer, and provide information that is directly relevant to each unique individual. Your daily workload is reduced, yet you are able to provide more personalized service to each of your customers.
Branding yourself on Youtube is no simple task however Elise has managed to make her videos so popular amongst those in the auto industry that some stores are using them for training purposes. The Youtube Diva is on the cutting edge as far as incorporating the technology available to us today into her sales process. She’s also become quite good at it; being recognized by the likes of Jim Zigler as far back as 2010. She’s now sharing a lot of her insights at automotive industry conferences and of course via her YouTube channel.
In the beginning Elise’s videos were very focused on the vehicle, that the customer stated they were interested in, per the customers email or form filled out on the dealer website. Her videos strained to hold the attention of the prospect in todays busy world. They contained loads of information up front and rounded out at about 5 minutes run time. Elise found that by paring these videos down, to focus on starting that relationship with the customer, she had a lot more success and better customer response. Focus on the customer experience and the personal relationship, more than the vehicle and sales pitch right off the bat. You want to put the customer at ease, show them you are a real person and begin a friendship. Including referrals has also become a trademark of Elise’s videos to customers.
This process has been tried and tested with exceptional success by Elise. Below is her process for contacting new internet leads step-by-step:
1. From your Office Line, Call the customer at about 9am.
a. Tell the customer that you have “Some Great News” and ask for a return call
b. Keep it short and non-specific but give your hours and contact information
c. Let the customer know that if you don’t hear back from them you WILL try them again later today
2. Send your Video email message immediately after your first call attempt.
a. Introduce yourself and your store
b. Tell the customer briefly what you discussed if you got ahold of them and thank them for speaking with you
c. If you left a voicemail then give them your vehicle options that match the customer enquiry e.g. “We have the 2013 Honda Accord available in the red or white today”
d. Give the customer your direct contact information clearly and your hours in store
e. Make it Personal. Use the customers name and be casual and conversational
f. Keep your video under 90 seconds and under 60 seconds is optimal
g. Ask for the Call back and let the customer know that you WILL contact them again if you don’t hear from them.
3. From your Mobile Phone, Call the customer at about 11am.
a. Do NOT leave a message
4. From your Mobile Phone, Call the customer at about 2pm.
a. Again Do NOT leave a message
5. From your Office Line, Call the customer at about 5pm.
a. Leave a Message again with your contact details and hours in store today
b. Ask for the call back and explain that you WILL call the customer back again tomorrow if you do not hear from them before then
Some people may call this borderline harassment, but the simple fact is that the customer has requested this information about a car that interested them on your lot. You may get some negative feedback on occasion however for the most part it is your job to reply to these leads and you aren’t doing your job if you don’t get in touch with the customer.
The goal is to Set an Appointment. You can’t sell a car if you don’t get that customer on the lot. How you begin your relationship with each lead will determine if you get that appointment set. Treat each lead as Elise suggests above and I bet you set more appointments. It’s our job to sell cars and put the numbers on the board sure, but giving the customer the most wonderful car buying experience should also be high on your personal agenda. Once you get the customer on the lot they can fall in love with the car. Videos and that personal touch will build trust and help the customer to fall in love with your store. It also removes the awkward from your first appointment as the customer feels that they have already met you and you can get straight down to it when they arrive.
And just like that... all your emails fall into the "promotions" box.
That's right... the promotion box. The same box that will soon land all your email blast, your special offers, and anything else sales related that you wanted to get across to your customers. Google just said - "ACCESS DENIED" Now what? I can your dealer principle now... "OH NO! Its Friday and I want to do an "eblast" to over 30k customers to let them know that we have 0% and we have leases starting at $99 a month. Our customers and prospects need to know this!!"
WRONG...
They know we sell cars. They know we move metal. They know all of the above. They know the programs just we do, they know the interest rates before they walk into the dealership... They are well armed.
The game has changed again. Anything with any kind of "promotion" content will not reach your "primary" inbox. So what now??
SEND SOMETHING DIFFERENT. Like JD Rucker talks about his "content burger" send people something that they want to see. The most successful email that we ever sent out was a blooper reel. People loved it. They emailed us back "WOW, that was great. By the way, i still didn't get the Altima, can you shoot me a quote on a 24 month lease?"
Marilyn Monroe once said "If you can make a women laugh, you can make her do anything." The same thing applies to our customers. Right now our customers are defended by their gmail shield. Best Buy just emailed me and IF i clicked on the dreaded "promotions" box... That is the only way I would view their offer.
Break the Game open and get away from sales. Make your customers laugh, email them about an event you are having or a charity you are working with. Remember, they contacted you in order to get this "email blast." They know the deal...
Share any and all thoughts, I would love to hear it.
Here's a quick post for you (I know many of my recent posts have been pretty long).
If you have an email database of your customers and prospects and you are using Facebook advertising to promote your page or posts, there's absolutely no reason why you shouldn't be advertising directly to your database. While I don't recommend jumping in headfirst, you should be jumping in nonetheless.
It's easy. It's almost too easy. This is where, as I've posted in the past, you have to be measured and strategic with your advertising. If you advertise the wrong content or with the wrong message, you can actually do more damage than good. The last thing you need is a high percentage of users who are seeing your Facebook ads to block or report your posts as spam.
Remember, it doesn't have to be true spam for users to report it. People take their Facebook news feed seriously. If they don't want to see your posts, they'll block you. This prevents others from seeing your posts as well, which means that you quickly start to get a much lower effect for the same amount of money.
Facebook is an excellent venue to generate retargeting, to garner foot traffic through offers and events, and to gain exposure. Your email list is powerful, but it's simply not as effective today as it once was to use it directly for emails. They get blocked. They go unopened. You can reapply their usefulness to Facebook if you do it the right way.
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
I truly belive in all my heart that CARS.COM is trying to do the right thing!!
THANK YOU to all of the dealers, Trainers/Consultants/Advocates, especially Jim Ziegler and Sean V. Bradley that made noise about this new program that was launched.
As of today here is a message from them :
http://dealeradvantage.cars.com/da/2013/05/moving-forward-testing-new-ways-to-drive-exposure/
He did also refer to a 23 minute video from Brian Pasch FOR the idea, which I have personally NOT watched. I think overall, this "test" was a good and bad one.
Good - we are engaging customers more and following up, and anything that does slip through the cracks on the dealership level, we can find out if the customer is still on the market with another automated email process. This does increase value to Cars.com to me as a dealership....ONLY if we fix the BAD!
BAD - ...which really should be "horrible"! Bottom line, a company we are paying for a car buyer...is now turning that buyer into a shopper with other suggestions. They are also providing financing options and other 3rd party validations, and that part is OUR JOB as the dealership to do!
**(Please refer to Robert Wiesman article EXACTLY about that written a few days ago!)
We can ALL work together (aka Synergize!!) to make this a HUGE WIN/WIN/WIN situation for us as the dealership, Cars.com as a trusted vendor and advertiser, AND the customer looking for the best deal!
Andy Fedo
Director of Internet Sales, Lithia Nissan Hyundai of Fresno
Peter Martin Speaking At The Internet Sales 20 Group On "Permission Based Email Marketing & Data Mining" from Dealer Synergy on Vimeo.
http://www.internetsales20group.com
Peter Martin, CEO of Cactus Sky, Speaking At The Internet Sales 20 Group On "Email Marketing & Data Mining"
Email Customers - Hot or Not? Earning the right to the phone number.
I decided to write this as soon as the deal ended while it was still fresh on my mind. I've noticed in my personal department that over time email customers become looked upon as dead or cold leads before they have even been touched. I was recently reading an article about a very successful Internet Department that explained how we must "earn the right" to have the phone number with many customers. Dealer Synergy has taught the same principle on the phone through their phone scripts that enable the coordinators to earn the number. The same goes for email only leads. Hopefully this short example will remind us to work email customers just as hard as phone customers.
The customer submitted the lead this morning, it was an email only lead. Right off the bat my coordinator was upset. I stated this is a hot customer, but instead of sending an email template as usual, send the Value Package followed by a personal email to start the trust building process. The customer replied within a few minutes wanting price, like most. From this point I personally took over the customer and worked the customer. We emailed over price, trade value, and financing options. In each email I was very personal and expressed my confidence in the dealership, the product, and in myself. Not in a single email did I ever give the customer an exact price whether it be on trade or on the vehicle he was interested in. Rather I continued turn the customers focus from absolutes to the value of our dealerships. I did give the customer a range to keep him confident. After about 4-5 emails the customer said "outstanding" and emailed me his number. I immediately called the customer and was greeted by a happy customer. He was excited and enthusiastic about the deal and set the appointment. In the end the customer wanted all the paperwork done before he got here so he could sign and drive.
The conclusion is this "Email Only" customer turned into an easy sign and drive customer. This deal might have even been easier than a simple phone up appointment. Through building value, gaining trust, and gaining confidence, the customer bought. Not every deal turns out this way, and this is in no way an attempt to blow smoke. I am sharing this to remind everyone that every lead is considered hot. Buy or Die right? Remember to treat every type and source of lead equal, you just might not know which one is ready to buy today.
Create a Customer Testimonial Video and include it in your email signature. It's a cool idea that may take some time to put together, but once you do, the response can pay some major dividends in terms of customer Rapport.
Sincerely,
Edward Tomilloso
Internet Manager
Honda of Santa Maria
Despite social media’s rapid ascent to its current status as the “must-have” channel for all marketers, the most effective marketing tool for business may still be email marketing. A well planned and executed email campaign has the ability to produce higher rates of engagement and user action than a similar social campaign. Not bad for a channel that’s been around since before Mark Zuckerberg was even born.
However, email can be a difficult medium to master for many marketers. From subject lines to send times, there are hundreds of variables that affect the success or failure of a given email campaign. In a recent Pardot survey, respondents reported using email marketing for a number of different purposes as well. With so many elements to consider, email can be overwhelming for many marketers. It’s for this reason that we have created the infographic below to help marketers design successful campaigns quickly, by focusing on the steps that matter the most.
Source - http://www.pardot.com/infographic/6-steps-effective-email-marketing-infographic
Most professional copywriters know that in a sales letter, the most important item after the headline is the postscript (P.S.) at the bottom.
Research shows that when people open a letter, they often scan to the bottom and read the P.S. before they actually read the letter itself. A good writer will take advantage of this opportunity to maximize their message with a strong P.S.
Do your salespeople know that including a P.S. in their emails is also incredibly effective?
It is such an easy way to increase the impact of your emails. That simple sentence at the bottom of a two or three paragraph email can help you increase urgency, reinforce your main message and add value.
Here are a couple of ideas on what you might include in your P.S.:
1. Main Theme with a Twist
Restate your main benefit from a different perspective. Whether or not they read the whole email, this gives you another chance to deliver your most important information.
2. The Time is Now
Use the P.S. to add urgency. Are the incentives expiring in a few days? Do you only have two left of the particular model in the color they are looking for? Let them know.
3. Add Social Proof
This can be a great place to add a customer review, especially if the review reinforces your particular offer or deals with a common objection or concern people have.
4. Sweeten the Deal
Is there a bonus offer you can add? Here’s the place to do it. For instance, “P.S. – Since it’s raining today and the showroom is a little quiet, my sales manager is including floor mats with the next vehicle sold.”
The P.S. should appear right below your signature line and should only be a sentence or two. Make sure it includes a call to action at the end as well.
Are you using P.S. in your’re emails and if so, what are you using in your postscript?
P.S.
If you want to see exactly how adding a P.S. to your email makes a difference, include a unique tracking URL in the P.S. so you can measure the clicks.
Source - http://www.dealerrefresh.com/using-ps-dealership-email-follow-up-sales-letter/
