Do you succumb to the ever present marketing sickness of wanting to do everything you hear about? It's better to have a solid, strategic marketing plan in place rather than numerous messages that will overwhelm and confuse your customer. Find out more on this week's Think Tank Tuesday.
Would you like to learn about how search algorithms work? Did you know that your own digital body language helps tailor the ads you actually see? Find out more on this week's Think Tank Tuesday.
The Maverick. Procrastinator. Complacent. Do any of these seem like they describe you, or others at your dealership? Find out how different personalities can affect your business and the way to ensure success. That's this week on Think Tank Tuesday.
On January 22 at 3:00PM, Potratz – a full service automotive marketing agency– is set to launch its latest web series, Digital Marketing Dialogue. The series will feature live discussions on best practices associated with all aspects of digital marketing. Sarah Adamo and Renee Benedetti, Search Engine Marketing Managers for Potratz, will host the new bi-weekly series. The company has also launched both a Facebook and LinkedIn group for discussing latest episodes as well as current trends in digital marketing.
The live event will encompass all of the major digital avenues that Potratz currently offers for clients. These include search engine marketing, social media marketing, marketing automation, web and graphic design as well as content marketing strategies. The hosts will take on-air questions from a live online audience looking to gain insights into the latest trends in the digital marketing world.
Digital Marketing Dialogue will follow in the footsteps of Chief Operating Officer Paul Potratz’s web series, Think Tank Tuesday in delivering quality marketing tips and best practices for professionals seeking advice to improve their business and sales. “Think Tank Tuesday has become a staple in the field of automotive marketing; we hope to continue delivering quality information through our series,” said Benedetti.
Adamo and Benedetti have led trainings for Potratz’s current digital marketing apprenticeship program, a paid training that assists young professionals looking to obtain Google Adwords Certification. “We have an opportunity to improve the amount of qualified individuals in the area and to position our company as a resource for young professionals looking to gain experience,” said Adamo. The last group of apprentices all obtained certification and some were offered full-time positions as members of the Potratz team.
To keep up-to-date with latest episodes for the series, sign up for email updates at digitalmarketingdialogue.com. The team is also set to appear at National Automobile Dealers Association convention January 25-27 in New Orleans, and will be offering live demos and workshops on current products and services.
If you would like to make an appointment to speak with Paul or the team, please call 518-631-5505 or visit ppadv.com.
Throughout the automotive marketing industry we have seen potential buyers adjust their shopping trends. Buyers have begun to migrate from traditional desktops to their smartphones and mobile devices. To support this trend, it is crucial to have a mobile strategy in place for all automotive dealers.
Danny Brown of American Express OPEN states that, “ Seventy-two percent of small business owners planned to increase or maintain their mobile ad spend this year, with 65 percent of these increasing their spending by up to 30 percent.” This trend is not just for small businesses. Brown continues, “Google and Facebook have now begun to shift more of their revenues to mobile devices.” Your digital strategy should have a robust digital presence. With competition on AdWords becoming increasingly competitive on mobile devices, you must tailor your campaigns to appeal to mobile searchers. An example of this can be editing your keyword list to include terms more likely searched on mobile devices (short terms & abbreviations.)
Let’s face it: mobile advertising is beginning to sweep the marketing world. Due to its convenience and accessibility, it is now the preferred way to do business. Before you know it, this inevitable change will be here in full swing!
Do you have your contact information on your home page? Have you ever Googled your dealership? Find out why you should stop doing these two things to increase conversions. Learn about the tools you'll need to succeed.That's this week on Think Tank Tuesday.
Have you climbed on board the video marketing train yet? If you own a small business or are in business for yourself, there’s a lot of compelling evidence suggesting that online video marketing should be a major focus of your advertising and marketing budget. Here’s just one big number that should make you sit up and take notice:
That’s the value of one minute of video, according to Dr. James McQuivey of Forrester Research.
Do you have the time and energy to write 1.8 million words? That’s the equivalent of 3,600 typical web pages. If you write an average of one web page an hour, it would take you 150 days of writing to achieve the impact of one minute of video.
When you look at it that way, online video marketing is the single most practical use for your marketing time and energy. Not convinced yet? Here are 15 more big video marketing numbers that should make you sit up and take notice.
According to comScore, which measures online engagement and use, that’s the percentage of Internet users who view at least one video online over the course of a month. The average user is exposed to an average of 32.2 videos in a month, increasing the chances that your marketing message will be seen. But what does that work out to in real numbers?
That’s the number of Internet users who watch online video each day. Granted, a lot of those are watching the latest viral video with a goofy cat or a cute kid, but an awful lot of them are looking for advice on how to do something or how to make something work better. And a whole of them are looking to buy a service or product.
The percentage of online shoppers at a major retailer’s website who said they find video helpful in making shopping and buying decisions. Retailers who provide online video to show off their products report that the products with video sell a lot more than products with no video.
That’s the percent of executives who told Forbes that they watch work-related videos on business websites at least once a week. The results breakdown:
According to comScore, that’s how much time the average user spends watching online video ads every month.
Takeaway: If you're not using video marketing, you're missing out on a huge market opportunity. It’s not just the number of people who are watching videos that’s important – it’s the reasons why they watch it. When you post an online marketing video to a business website, you’ve got a great chance of engaging with a busy executive who is specifically looking for your services but might not have reached out to schedule a meeting for a presentation. Your marketing video is a great way to get your elevator pitch out into the ether and let it reel in leads.
8 Big Video Marketing Results Numbers
According to the Online Publishers Association, that’s the percentage of Internet users who recall watching a video ad on a website they visited in the past 30 days. It gets even better. Of that 80%, 46% took some action after viewing the ad. In fact:
That’s how much more likely website visitors are to buy a product on an online retail site after watching a video. In addition, visitors who view videos stay on the site an average of 2 minutes longer than those who don’t view videos, comScore says.
Online Video Marketing Is Not Just for Retailers
An Australian real estate group reports that real estate listings with videos receive 403% more inquiries than those without videos. In other words, real estate ads with videos generate quadruple the leads of those without videos.
According to Forbes Insight, that’s the percentage of senior executives who’d rather watch a video than read text. About 65% of those who view a video click through to visit the vendor website, 50% look for more information and 45% report that they contacted a vendor after seeing an online video ad. About 50% of those who viewed an online marketing video went on to make a purchase for their business.
And It’s Not Just Online
In 2010, an Implix email marketing survey found that including a video in an introductory email increased the click-through rate by 96%. That’s nearly twice as many people clicking through to your website when you include a video in your marketing emails.
The Forrester Marketing group surveyed businesses in 2010 and found that video did even better. When marketers included a marketing or explainer video in an email, the click-through rate increased by 200% to 300%.
Do your email subscribers drop like flies? Eloqua, an automated email marketing provider, noted that including video in an introductory email reduced the number of subscriber opt-outs by 75%. Maintaining that contact is a vital part of establishing a relationship with prospects.
One online marketer reported a 51% increase in subscriber-to-lead conversion rates when video was included in an email marketing campaign.
Takeaway: Video marketing increases sales and leads. If you're not using video marketing, you're losing customers to those who do. Businesses that incorporate video marketing into their overall marketing strategy see higher engagement rates, higher click-through rates and higher conversion rate. Why would you leave all that value sitting on the table?
4 Big Numbers About User Engagement with Video Content
That’s how long you have to grab the attention of viewers in a video marketing clip. According to research by Visible Measures, 20% of your viewers will click away from a video in 10 seconds or fewer.
And it doesn’t get a lot better than that. You’ll lose about 1/3 of your viewers by 30 seconds, 45% of them by 1 minute and almost 60% by 2 minutes. And those numbers remain the same no matter how long the video is.
There’s good news, though. While desktop viewers tend to stick with videos for 2 minutes or less, mobile users seem to have a longer attention span. iPhone users tend to watch for about 2.4 minutes. Android users give a video three minutes to engage them and Symbian users stick around for just over 4 minutes. iPad users have the longest attention spans of all, sticking with a web video for an average of 5 minutes.
That’s the percentage of YouTube videos that are embedded, linked or shared on Tuesdays between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., according to Sysomos.
According to research conducted by Jun Group (2011), videos that are 15 seconds or shorter are shared 37 percent more often than those that last between 30 seconds and 1 minute. If you make your video longer, that stat goes down. Those shorties are only shared 18% more often than videos of longer than 1 minute.
Takeaway: Effective video marketing has to be engaging right from the start, but how do you know where your video is going off the rails? That’s where video analytics comes in. Detailed video analytics will tell you who’s watching your video, how long they stay engaged and exactly where they click away. Armed with that information, you can sharpen your message and target it more precisely. If you haven’t started your own video marketing campaign, isn’t it time you jumped in with both feet? There’s nothing to lose and about 403% more profit just waiting for you.
Source: http://www.videobrewery.com/blog/18-video-marketing-statistics
http://www.automotivedigitaltraining.com 856-546-2440
http://www.dealersynergy.com
Sean V. Bradley Is Speaking & Dealer Synergy Is Exhibiting (At Booth #4401) at the 2014 NADA Convention in New Orleans
Lets connect at #NADA2014 in #NewOrleans I will be a #Convention #Speaker and Dealer Synergy will be exhibiting at booth #4401
We will have SPECIAL Guests at our booth like James A. Ziegler Debbie Ziegler Peter Martin Danny Alkassmi as well as some Dealer Synergy Team Members like Joe Cala Chary Rodriguez & of course our President, Karen Uriarte-Bradley
We look forward to seeing you in New Orleans!!
Times have changed when it comes to leads. "Think digitally;" that's where shoppers start these days. Some elements can be learned, while others will take some training. Learn about the tools you'll need to succeed.That's this week on Think Tank Tuesday.
Palm Harbor, Fla. - ChatLead.com, Inc. / CarChat24, a leader in 24/7 Staffed Auto Dealer Chat Support, and Dealer Chat Software as a Service, announced today the appointment of Jason Good as Vice President of Marketing and Strategic Alliances. Good joins the team in a leadership role and will focus on the continued growth and positioning of CarChat24 in North America and emerging markets. Good will be located in the Palm Harbor, Florida head office; reporting to Shereef Moawad, President and CEO of ChatLead.com,Inc / CarChat24.
Good brings nearly 20 years of sales management leadership experience (12 in retail auto sales) to CarChat24 and most recently was the General Sales Manager of a 1,200 new car annual volume Mercedes-Benz store for the past 6 years. According to CarChat24’s CEO, Shereef Moawad, “Jason Good’s experience in the automotive sales business will be a real asset to CarChat24.” Additionally Shereef commented “We look forward to continued strong growth under Jason’s leadership and expansion of both our domestic and international footprint.”
When asked about his decision to join CarChat24 Good said “CarChat24 is a progressive, fast-paced and entrepreneurial company. I'm elated to be joining this growth company.” And with respect to the marketplace, “2014 is going to be an exciting year for Auto Dealer Chat with adoption expected to more than double 2013. This year, Car Dealers will embrace new and innovative chat technologies and staffed/managed automotive specific chat support service alternatives as a way to drive growth and profitability. Whether its desktop dealer chat software, mobile dealer chat solutions, or Staffed/Managed 24/7 dealer chat support solutions, CarChat24 is well-positioned to serve its customers and partners in North America."
Email Jason at Jason.Good@CarChat24.com, or Call Jason at 800-510-7567 ext 707. To learn more about Jason Good connect with Jason at linkedin.com/in/jasongoodcarchat24.
About CarChat24.com (http://carchat24.com)
CarChat24 provides 24/7 hosted Live Chat Support & Dealer Chat Software for new and used car dealership websites. CarChat24 helps dealers sell more vehicles by converting a higher percentage of their website visitors into quality leads. Since June of 2006, CarChat24 has been helping car dealers improve their sales and customer service on the Internet. Our mission is to empower car dealers with cutting edge live chat technology, and provide the professional staff and superior processes needed to obtain the best possible results. We are committed to helping our clients get the best return on investment from their websites. We strive to make our support service the very best and are always looking for innovative ways to give our dealers the edge over their competition. Follow CarChat24 on www.twitter.com/CarChat24 and fan CarChat24 on Facebook.com/CarChat24
For more information visit www.carchat24.com or call 1-800-510-7567
ChatLead.com, Inc/CarChat24
1592 Lago Vista Blvd.
Palm Harbor, Florida 34685
800-510-7567
www.CarChat24.com
Are you constantly shifting between exposing inventory on your website and merchandising? If you're looking to maximize your ROI, striking that perfect balance is key. That's this week on Hard Facts.
Often I find myself having a recurring conversation with my dealers. The topic? Website Chat. Chat is essential to a dealership if they want to capitalize on all potential leads. Many argue, “It’s a waste of money…it’s a waste of time… and it requires too much attention.” This is where I beg to differ. The average chat provider charges about $250 a month. Even if your dealership only sells three cars in a month directly from chat leads, wouldn’t you say that it’s worth it? As far as managing the chat leads, it’s really not that tasking. Most chat providers allow you to have the leads sent directly to your Droid or iPhone. Let’s be honest, if you work in an automotive dealership, you’re most likely glued to your phone anyway.
Still not sold? Consider the traditional car shopping experience. A consumer visits your brick and mortar store and is immediately greeted by a salesperson to determine their needs and answer any questions they may have- right? So how would you expect a consumer to react if they came to your dealership and there was no one around to assist them? In today’s world, the shopping experience begins online. Your website is a virtual showroom, and live chat serves as your sales person.
With all of the money spent trying to get consumers to your website, what are you doing to engage the prospect once they’ve arrived? Usually they have come looking for information, so give it to them! Over time, shoppers have become increasingly needy and seek instant gratification. Even I want to be able to keep my shopping time to a minimum. I could be shopping for product at 7PM and by 7:15pm, I’m out walking my dog. Although responding to chat leads may take a few minutes, it’s certainly a worthwhile use of time if your goal is to move inventory and appease shoppers.
It's been a great year for car sales, and if you're like most dealers, you want to close out the year strong. What is your Internet marketing department doing to ensure that ready-to-buy customers will choose to visit your dealership?
By now most of us have read or heard the statistic from J.D. Powers and Associates, that customers visit an average of 1.8 dealerships in person before purchasing a vehicle. I believe this one statistic is the most transformative statistic in terms of its impact on Internet marketing and the sales process. Quite simply, it means that you win the customer before they set foot in your showroom.
Ideally you want to accomplish this by outshining your competition along every step of the customer's purchasing journey. You want to have presence where consumers are conducting research on various makes and models; you want to have useful information and conversion tools on your website; you want to give great customer service and prompt communications if they call or e-mail your dealership to gather information; you want to be able to give them accurate pricing and payment information, and you want to have great online reviews when the customer researches dealership reputations.
But at crunch time, giving customers an extra incentive to visit you before the end of the year may be just the thing that gives your dealership the edge. Incentive offers like ShowProSM offer a small financial incentive to a customer if they come in and take a test drive.
For customers who are seriously in the market and in the process of narrowing down which dealership to buy from, visit or test drive incentives have been proven to increase the show rate for appointments. Almost every dealership we work with reports closing rates over 50% for Internet appointments that show, so we know: if you get them in, you make the sale.
While most dealerships will see a spike in lead volume the last week of December, they’ve also seen a drop-off in sales from leads over the last 3 months. See that as an opportunity to recapture customers right now. I recommend using incentive cards as a tool to re-engage "dead" leads and target customers who may be interested in key vehicles. Here are two campaigns you can put together right now:
1) Create a list of prospects from the last six months who did not purchase a vehicle. Send them a holiday message with an incentive card of $25-50 to come in and take a test drive.
2) Is your manufacturer offering any incentives for particular models, or do you have any models that are overstocked right now? Some manufacturers are offering bonuses to dealerships that sell a particular number of a certain model. Offering a financial incentive to come in and test drive that particular model is a very cost-effective method for helping your dealership to reach this goal. At an average price of less than $50 per show, and an average close rate on appointment shows of nearly fifty percent, this more than pays for itself.
This time of year many people are grateful for every extra dollar they can get; and $50 is a tank of gas, a dinner out, or an extra gift for a loved one. Incentive marketing works best when the reward is time-sensitive, so end-of-the-year sales offer a great opportunity to draw new customers who might have otherwise chosen a different dealership to visit.
Do you find yourself energized to learn more and better yourself through higher education? If you are unsure about the benefits and value provided by earning an MBA, watch this week's Hard Facts to learn from my personal experience.
How Often Should Your Advertising Messages Change?
► How Consistent Is Your Content?
► When Should You Update Website Sliders?
► How Long Should Campaigns Run?
► When Do You Need A New Commercial?
Do you have the type of personality that you feel you must always be changing your marketing strategy for it to work? To build your brand you need to convey a consistent message with content that is recognizable across multiple platforms. That's this week on Think Tank Tuesday.
On October 24, 2013, Instagram announced that they would become the next social media giant to offer up advertising space on their mobile platform. From the consumer’s perspective, it’s easy to understand the resentment towards the announcement. One of the biggest perks of the platform was that users could actually choose the content they were exposed to. You didn’t have to worry about an overabundance of promoted posts or news stories getting in the way of the information you were truly concerned with ¾ information pertaining to our friends and family.
On the business end, however, Instagram’s announcement provides branding opportunities for companies worldwide. According to Instagram’s website, there are currently 150 million active users with over 60% of that population lying outside of the United States. To date, there has been 16 billion photos shared, 1.2 billion daily likes, and an average of 55 million photos shared per day. There is no arguing that Instagram has become one the most popular social media sites to date, but how will users react when advertisements pop up in their newsfeeds?
Instagram users got their first taste of what can be expected from Instagram advertisements when the platform released its first official ad by Michael Kors. While the ad did receive mixed reviews amongst Instagram’s population, the results were visible within just a few hours. According to Mashable, “as of mid-morning Friday, the ad had more than 65,000 Like and more than 540 comments,” a statistic which speaks for itself. Over the next few weeks, it will be interesting to see how consumers react to more businesses adopting advertising on Instagram, as well as how businesses incorporate Instagram into their existing digital marketing strategies.
Engaging Your Mobile Shoppers
► Keep Customers In The Store
► Share The Mobile Experience
► Eliminate "Be Back" Mentality
► Use Competition To Your Advantage
You learned last week in part one how to use mobile marketing to keep your customers on your website. This week I'll share how you keep those customers around once they are in your showroom. That's this week on Hard Facts.
Use These Two Tactics To Increase Conversions
► You Won't See This In Brick-and-Mortar
► Create A Hard-To-Ignore Call To Action
► Get Customers Taking Action Sooner
► Attract Those Looking To Buy Right Now
Today, I have two proven tactics for you to increase your conversions. One tactic appeals to those shopping to buy now and the other will bring in those with selective interests. That's this week on Think Tank Tuesday.
Attracting Mobile Shoppers
► Over 80% Shop For Vehicles Online
► Numbers Are Decreasing For Desktop Users
► More Customers Are Turning To Mobile
► Tune Your Message To These Customers
Automotive shopping habits have evolved rapidly over the past 18 years. Customers quickly adapted to shopping on the internet and now those habits are changing again. Are you prepared to keep up? That's this week on Hard Facts.
