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In their "Automotive Mobile Site Study", J.D. Power & Associates found that the use of smartphones for vehicle shoppers has increased exponentially. For example, they found that compared to 2010, those who used their smartphones to access automotive information increased by a staggering 40 percent.
Additionally, J.D. Power and Associates also found that 30% of male car shoppers use their smartphone when browsing for a new car. On the other hand, however, only 18% of women revert to their smartphone when looking to purchase their next car. Not surprisingly, the study also concluded that collectively shoppers 40 years of age and younger use their smartphone 26% of the time, while those 40 years of age and older only use their smartphones 21% of the time. It doesn't stop at smartphones, however.
Thanks to the emergence of tablet devices such as Apple's iPad and Blackberry's Playbook, vehicle shoppers aren't limited to just using their smartphones. During their study, J.D. Power discovered that many vehicle shoppers used a tablet device (iPad, Playbook) to access automotive websites. Men used a tablet device 22% of the time, while women only used a tablet device 16%.
Arianne Walker, director of Automotive research at J.D. Power & Associates had this to say following the study: "While the proportion of vehicle shoppers who use smartphones to visit the Internet during the shopping process is still relatively small, it is expected to continue to grow during the next several years, which will shape the way automotive marketers will need to design their mobile sites and apps."
If you're still not convinced that smartphones are changing the vehicle buying process, take this into consideration: the 40 percent increase in automotive website visitation on smartphones is greater than the use of gaming (27%) and social media (17%).
As more and more car dealerships move their attention towards smartphone shoppers and invest in their own mobile app, the number of smartphone vehicle shoppers is only going to increase.
What do you make of this study?
I am in the hotel at 6:30 am getting ready for my day of training at a dealership in Ohio and I was going through my emails and google alerts and came across this press release from Market Watch. I thought it had some valuable information for you all on AIS, so I decided to repost it here but I wanted to add some commentary before you get to the great information...
I am a simple person, math is math. Numbers are numbers, they do not lie. I hope when you read this post you will absorb the magnitude of opportunity right in front of you. This press release speaks of Female Shoppers and Blogs. Granted I think that is awesome but it goes far deeper than just blogs. If you look at the numbers that are in this study you will see how important the "Female Shopper / Buyer" strategy is. If you are a dealership that does NOT have a proactive strategy to maximize this demographic you are seriously missing the boat.
The Key to being successful is NOT just working hard... Its working hard, working smart, being consistent and thinking outside the box.
Sean V. Bradley-
Women Car-Buyers Who Get Advice From Blogs and Social Media Show Double-Digit Increases in Excitement, More Confidence, and Say Blogs Influence Decision to Buy, Reports BlogHer, Inc.
"Put Her in the Driver's Seat" Survey on Women's Attitudes, Emotions and Favorite Information Sources on Car Purchasing Presented at JD Power & Associates Annual Symposium
BELMONT, CA, Oct 17, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- BlogHer, Inc., the premium cross-platform media network and publisher for women, today announced the results of "Put Her in the Driver's Seat," at the JD Power & Associates 2011 Automotive Internet Roundtable in Las Vegas. The survey, designed to explore how women feel and where they turn for advice when shopping for cars, revealed a significant positive impact on female buyers who used blogs and social media -- and a preference for blogs and official product information sources versus traditional media and social networks.
The Emotional Impact of Car-Buying
The survey revealed that, as a gender, women car-buyers were both more excited (74%) and more nervous (53%) about car-buying than were men buying cars (71% and 42% respectively). Of this group, women who sought advice from blogs and social networks during the car buying process demonstrated higher excitement levels: Women who consulted blogs about buying a new car were +13 points more excited than women who did not, and women who consulted social networks were up +12 points. Confidence levels also increased through social media use: Confidence among women who used Blogs for Auto advice was +8 points over women who did not, and +5 among women used social networks.
Blogs and social networks have different impacts on the stress levels of women car-buyers, the survey showed: The stress levels of women who used blogs for advice were -4 points lower than the total sample. However, stress levels remained the same for women who used social networks. Blog users also reported being slightly less nervous at -2 points lower than the total sample, while social network users showed an increase in levels of nervousness at +4 points higher than the total sample.
Information vs. Influence
Women's top five information sources for researching a car purchase were car dealership visits (65%), word of mouth (56%), car review websites (53%), auto manufacturer websites (43%), and blogs (31%). Other sources, such as auto magazines (21%), Facebook (17%), and TV advertising (16%), lagged significantly behind.
Of the top five information sources named above, the following four were also ranked the most influential on a woman's car-buying decision: Dealership visits, word of mouth, car review sites and blogs. However, one information source that women ranked as a top five information source -- auto manufacturer websites -- ranked dead last in influence on their ultimate decision.
"Women clearly articulated the features they need to see and the voices they want to hear when considering a car purchase," said Elisa Camahort Page, Co-founder and COO of BlogHer, Inc. "We see a huge opportunity for auto manufacturers to indeed 'Put her in the driver's seat' and let her buying preferences re-shape how the automotive community reaches the powerful women's market."
About the Survey With auto sales in the U.S. alone expected to top 13 million units in 2011 (A.T. Kearney, May 2011) and women making or influencing 85% of those purchases (JD Power & Associates) BlogHer's study specifically addresses the growing role played by social media and blogs in the automotive purchasing decision-making process, and the influence of such sources vs. traditional media and industry information sources. "Put Her in the Driver's Seat" survey was conducted using the following samples:
-- BlogHer, Inc. fielded a survey across two populations: U.S. online
general population in 7 markets and 26 million BlogHer network users.
The total sample size was 1,467 with a total of 1,090 women and 377
men across the United States.
-- The margin of error is +/- 2.46% with a confidence level of 99%.
-- All portions of the study were conducted in August 2011.
-- BlogHer was one of eight companies chosen to present research at this
annual automotive Internet industry event.
The survey presentation can be found here: http://www.blogher.com/put-her-drivers-seat-social-tools-empower-womens-car-buying-process
About BlogHer Reaching more than 27 million women each month (Nielsen Site Census, September 2011), BlogHer ( http://www.blogher.com ) is the leading cross-platform media network created by, for and with women social media leaders. BlogHer developed and leads the marketplace with the most robust economic and networking opportunities for women in social media and brands seeking to engage in authentic and persuasive dialog with them. Founded in February 2005 by Elisa Camahort Page, Jory Des Jardins and Lisa Stone, BlogHer publishes and syndicates news, information, advice and recommendations to and from 2,500 premium blogs, delivers uniquely insightful research on women in social media across interest areas, hosts the world's largest conferences for women in social media and curates a daily news service, BlogHer.com. BlogHer's investors are Venrock, Comcast Interactive Capital, and Azure Capital Partners.
SOURCE: BlogHer, Inc.
After 12+ years in Automotive Internet Sales...
I have learned a lot about what to do and what not to do. I have seen firsthand how powerful automotive Internet sales can be for a dealership. I have also seen how it can wreak havoc in a dealership that doesn’t execute properly. After speaking with and training more than 2,000 dealer principals and GMs personally, I have identified a lot of similarities that are consistent all over the country and do not discriminate.
First, dealers see the value, need and urgency to maximize the Internet not only to increase market share, volume and gross, but actually to retain current market share and profits.
The problem is that there is a lot of disinformation everywhere. Everyone has an idea and a strategy, but finding the right information that fits a particular dealership’s scenario and goals is hard to find. There really isn’t a lot of continuity out there. Sometimes “experts” contradict the ideas and strategies of other “experts.” The other issue is that there are a lot of these “experts” out there, but mostly these people have an “expertise” in only one or two fields — not enough.
Maximizing an Internet department is more than knowing how to build the “ultimate” dealership Website. It is more than having 5,000 followers on Twitter for your dealership. It is more than having a state-of-the-art BDC. The issue I see is that dealers are told if they do or buy something, it will be a “silver bullet.” There are no “silver bullets.” There never have been and I doubt there ever will be any. An Internet department (or any department, for that matter) is made or broken, maximized or underutilized in four key areas: Products, People, Process and Promotions. That means that all “4-Ps” need to be working “synergistically” to ensure maximum success. You cannot have all or most of your attention in one or two areas. You need to make sure that all four “cylinders” are firing.
Here are the questions that dealers should ask:
• What are you looking to accomplish with your Internet department? Increasing only Internet sales, or maximizing all profit centers online (parts, service, finance, body shop, etc.)?
• Do you want to sell volume, gross or both? Are you looking to increase new vehicle sales, used vehicle sales or both? Each possibility has a different strategy.
• Do you want to be proactive, reactive or not at all for special finance?
• Do you have all of the right tools (technology, resources, programs, etc.) for a viable department?
• Do you have the right people and the right amount of people in place?
• Have you developed a “mission statement”? Have you created a standard operating procedure for everything in that department?
• How are you planning to drive traffic? How are you going to handle your conventional advertising strategy? What is the proper formula between conventional and digital?
• How are you going to perpetuate success after initial launch?
After you answer all of these questions thoroughly and start to create a plan, you will need to prioritize. This is another sand trap for dealers. They have problems “putting first things, first,” and the result is that they do not focus on the most important items. The dealers who work hard but not smart are rarely successful.
Lack of consistency and acceptance of mediocrity are the biggest reasons for failure or limited success for a dealership’s Internet or business development department. That might sting, but that is the truth. We have found all over the country, no matter what the franchise or geographic region there are dealers who fall into this category. Sometimes it is the dealer principal, sometimes it’s the GM and other times it’s the Internet/BDC director, but it is the same story. Someone at the dealership heard of a successful Internet/BDC department or they read an article or they went to some workshop or 20 Group and were inspired and excited. So, they create a plan (with or without an outside consultant or trainer), and for a short while things are good (sometimes). Then, after a bit of time — or sometimes right after implementation — reality kicks in and they start to deviate from the plan.
Here is what I see on a regular basis from dealerships that succumb to mediocrity:
• They start to compromise their process based on outside influences, such as their competition doing business a certain way, and they feel they must conform.
• They are not consistent. They might do different parts of the strategy at different time. No continuity = No success.
• They do not track details of the department properly, if at all.
• They are not consistent with training, or don’t even bother to train at all.
• They are disorganized. There is no prioritizing of tasks, so the department is working and grinding all day but they are not being effective at their overall mission.
And, as important as all this is, people are the “wild cards” of the “4-Ps.” With money, you can buy everything else. But you have to find and cultivate and keep people. There are a lot of variables to think about in this area, including:
• Do you have the right person for the job? Do they have the right skill set and fit the profile for success? This is a common problem.
• Do you have the right amount of people? I have seen two Internet reps working 600 fresh leads per month. Not the best strategy.
• Do you have a schedule that make sense and maximizes business potential? Statistically, you will connect with more people between the hours of 6 and 8 p.m. So, it might not be a good idea if you have everyone leaving at 5 p.m.
Bottom line, you need to embrace Internet sales. You cannot wait until tomorrow to get it together. If you don’t create a plan for today, there might not be tomorrow.
If you have any questions about this article or if you would like examples (for free) Please call or e-mail 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
Behind The Scenes
Have you ever watched a “Behind the Scenes” TV show or DVD chapter? Ever seek to find what goes on in a studio, in a locker room, or in the white house during a closed door session? Sure you have. We all do because the analytical parts of our human brain want to know how things work. Today I want to talk to you about how I…as a national phone trainer…was developed.
My name is L.A. Williams and I am a long time music producer and certified engineer. All day and night I help singers, song writers, poets, instrumentalists … people with making themselves sound great!; whether live or recorded. I gave them countless ideas, suggestions and examples of what they needed to sound like to be successful and to make the money they wanted to make. The founder of Dealer Synergy (Sean Bradley) approached me with the idea of, “I want to do the same for our industries internet coordinators.”
To add to my credibility, Sean denotes that I am visually impaired, therefore audio is my world. We agree that if I can train pop artists on how to sound good in the studio, then I can definitely train willing internet coordinators on how to sound great on the phone.
See, for blind people like me (And your phone customers), the science of communication works a little differently. We must understand that we lose the 55% body language and other visual queues, so now that normal 38% voice inflection and 7% words we use become SO much more integral in how we need to communicate. I can help the sighted community understand and implement strategies to assist with that. :) Enough with all the technical jargon…let me invite you into my personal life and show you the real reason why I could be the best individual to coach your internet coordinators.
As a visually impaired gentleman, I never really fancied going out and meeting females. I was sure I could charm them and all, but I felt unequivocally that my strength was my smooth, deep, richly textured voice. I knew that I had great conversational skills and would meet lots of women on chat lines. Follow me now, the whole purpose of talking on the phone with these ladies was to get a face to face meeting. I engaged them in great conversation, I was patient and allowed them to talk and express themselves, I answered their questions and gave them a great value package proposition. By the time we met in person, the deal was already done, I just had to not mess it up. That’s the power awesome internet coordinators hold.
As internet coordinators we must understand, that our job is not to cell cars over the phone. We are not directly in the product business. We are however in the business of selling appointments to meet our establishment. The comedian Chris Rock says “When you meet a person, you don’t really meet them…you meet their representative.” Let’s all make sure that we’re being great phone representatives of our dealerships.
Another saying, “You Never get a second chance to make a first impression.” Effective phone skills are essential to creating a positive first impression which sets the tone for the rest of the customer’s interaction with our organization. A telephone call is often your customer’s first impression of your organization. Don’t leave it to chance! Implement an effective phone process from Dealer Synergy and sell more cars more profitably more often!
http://www.facebook.com/dealersynergy
http://www.internetsales20group.com
Sorry for ANY inconvenience but we pushed back the 20 Group 1 week. We have been overwhelemed with NEW Dealership Clients since NADA and wanted to properly prepare for this event!
The Internet Sales 20 group is in the same location (Philadelphia), the same hotel (The Radisson)...
I am excited to share that this 20 Group is going to be Co-Modereated by myself as well as with the President of Peruzzi Toyoa Bill Finocchiaro.
*** You DO NOT want to miss this Internet Sales 20 Group!
Do You have a Social Media Employee Policy At Your Dealership...? You Better Create one ASAP!!
I think that got your attention...
*** This is VERY important ***
Every dealership should have a "Social Media" EMPLOYEE USE Policy. What I mean by that is that EVERY Employee at the dealership (Front and Back) needs to know about Social Media and its effect it can have for the dealership during work hours and OFF work hours.
"Off Work Hours" ????? Confused...?
Let me give you an example... a REAL example, not just a cool story to throw in for training and impact reasons...
I had a dealer client call me a while ago and tell me he had a "unique" problem. I was intrigued and asked him what happened. The dealer goes on to tell me that he had a voice mail from a very upset woman. And then he went on to detail the voice mail. It turns out the woman came into the dealership to purchase a vehicle and was working with a sales person. She did not buy the vehicle there, but was very interested in purchasing from them. So, she went home to "think about it" she went online and "Googled" her sales person's name... You won't believe what showed up on the FIRST page of Google... The sales person's MySpace Page. The woman "Clicked" the link and right there on the sales person's TOP of his MySpace page was the Sales Person smoking a "Marijuana Bong" (TRUE STORY) and the CAPTION on the Photo Read "Party Animal" - WOW!!! The woman was very disturbed that this person worked at the dealership and she did NOT want to do business with him or ANYONE that employed a "Drug Addict". It did not matter that the dealership had no idea what the employee did on his own time. It did not matter the sales person was one of the top earners in the dealership, it did not matter that the dealer was a great guy and helped a lot of people in the community. It ONLY mattered what her perception of the dealership was at this point. And what she told the dealer in that message stung him... She said she was a 50 year old woman and if she can "Google" her sales person in 5 minutes then SHAME on the dealership for not doing a better job hiring people that represent their establishment... Ouch, what can you say to that?
The sales person had NO idea that their "Off Work" antics, habits, exploits would EVERY hurt the dealership that he worked at or was trying to build a career at. Some might say it is NONE of ANYONE'S business what they do AFTER work... or while they are NOT working.
*** The problem with that is that if a person, a sales person, service, office person posts their life, posts their beliefs, posts their antics for the public. Then is NOT "Their Private Life" anymore... especially if they work at a MULTI-Million Dollar establishment. There is WAY too much at stake here so I iMPLORE you to pay attention to your dealership and your employees.
Here is what I suggest:
Immediately create a Dealership "Social Media Employee Use Policy" something that states that if you are employed at ABC Motors, you AGREE NOT to post ANYTHING compromising online, specifically Social Media sites like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Tumblr, Flickr, YouTube etc... If employees choose to have accounts like these they MUST EITHER Post PG - PG13 Content OR KEEP Your Account on "PRIVATE". This also goes about personal beliefs about sensitive subjects.
Then after you create the policy, have the dealership's attorney create a formal agreement and put it into the employee handbook and make sure they all sign off on it.
* This might seem extreme BUT please think of YOUR Dealership RIGHT NOW and YOUR Employees... ALL of THEM. Can you imagine if you left your dealership's reputation uncensored online, allowed employees post anything and everything without educating them of the harm to themselves and the dealership's reputation unintentionally. PLEASE believe that Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, PhotoBucket, Ning, YouTube, Twitter, Tumblr... ALL of these site INDEX WELL!!! Meaning, that they show up on GOOGLE, MSN, AOL, BING etc... VERY VERY Well.
Protect your reputation-
*** Here is a COOL idea:
When you are about to hire someone... BEFORE you do, "Google" Them, "Facebook" them, "Twitter" them etc... Use the Internet as your own personal FBI Background Check :)
If you have any questions or if you would like some more information on how to secure your dealership's Online Reputation or if you need help educating your employees of Social Media / Online Reputation please email me at seanb@dealersynergy.com It would be my pleasure to help you.
Thank you for joining Automotive Internet Sales; we are becoming the fastest growing Social Community site in the Automotive industry!
I would like to make a small request... Can you please upload a profile picture of yourself :) I have received several requests from members asking me to ask the rest of the community to post a picture, its more personal than the AIS logo. This site is designed to be a "Social Community" for Automotive Internet Sales... actually TOTAL Automotive Internet OPERATIONS... Sales, Fixed, F&I, Digital Marketing etc... I want people to feel comfortable here, interact with each other, learn, educate, motivate, inspire, excite :)
THANK YOU AGAIN!!
*** Now, to let everyone know, this site has been live for a little over 2 months and we are working hard daily to build the site up... But this is a community and we are going to need your help to make this site truly amazing. So, please feel free to upload your own content... articles, blogs, pictures, videos etc... If you NEED help or are not sure what type of content to post. PLEASE JUST ASK ME and it would be my pleasure to assist you in doing so... * By you uploading content, you can properly do SEO to it and back link to your dealership or company and increase your overall SEO visibility! (I can show / tell you how to do this as well).
I am in the process of speaking to and recruiting some AMAZING writers, experts, moderators etc... to be a part of this community and lead / moderate discussions, groups and provide subject matter expertise. For example, I am NOT a fixed ops director but I have several that are AMAZING at fixed ops and are part of the community and have already been posting a lot of GREAT content for you all.
I would also like your advice and opinions as to the direction you would like this community to go in... The more feedback we get from the community, the better we can customize this for US!
You will notice that there are about 25 "Groups" that have been created, basically these are areas where you can find specific information in regards to your particular interests / needs... please let me know if you have any ideas on creating additional groups that are not currently there...? Also, I encourage EVERYONE to join and or create a group!
And Finally, I would also request that if you like what you see... if you see value in what are community is doing PLEASE tell everyone :) Invite everyone you can to join AIS!
Have a wonderful day!
SVB-
As I sit down to write this post, I’m reminded of a situation where I once had to break the news to the owner of a dealership that he needed $1 million cash infusion to keep his store running. He’d been doing things the same way for years and it cost him dearly. The signs of demise were always there, predictions were made, but he chose not to act.
It’s a similar story with Social Media and online reputations for dealerships today. Doing things the same old way will not cut it in this new economy. The following is a list of my top 6 Social Media predictions for dealerships in 2011. Some points could be considered wishes but hey, a girl’s gotta dream, right?:
1. There will be more Adopters and less Adopt-Laters. Dealerships will buy into the fact that a well-defined strategy for Social Media generates leads. It’s not about waiting for the customer to come through the door anymore. It’s about meeting the customer where they are and listening. Everyone will become better for this.
2. Dealerships will realize they can’t do it alone. Social Media is part PR, part marketing, part advertising, part geek…with a twist. The futility will become clear in the thought that Social Media and online reputations can be managed in someone’s spare time. They’ll see that the Internet Sales Dept is there to field the leads that come from Social Media and that those sales professionals can’t do that when they’re struggling to find content to attract new buyers.
3. Dealerships will allocate 25% of their advertising/marketing budget to Social Media and Online Reputation Management. Ford did it in 2010 and they’re now the leader on Social networks.
4. Dealerships will stop “blocking” Social Media sites from their staff’s workstations. They’ll establish a clear Social Media policy and fear will no longer blind management’s ability to see the value in having employees–their ‘brand advocates’–share cool things about the store to their trusted networks. Management will understand that staff is already using Social Media on their phones and laptops so blocking is pointless. Sure, it’s a shift in the way we measure productivity but by using positive reinforcement and recognition, management will be able to drive employee enthusiasm. The benefit will be that when the staff shares their enthusiasm with customers, it’s contagious.
5. Dealerships will recognize that content rules. Social Media is not only about a new medium, it’s about new and more meaningful marketing messages. Here’s what killer content does:
- Attracts customers
- Educates buyers
- Establishes credibility and trust
- Builds buzz throughout Social Networks
- Inspires customers to love you
- Increases your PageRank in SEO
….and it generates word-of-mouth and quality leads!
6. Dealerships and managers will have the patience it takes to build a following on Social Media. We all remember how comfortable it was to sit with the print advertising rep each week, design our ads and watch the customers come in the door. Dealerships in 2011 will see that today’s customer wants to buy or service their car from someone they know, like and trust. They’ll accept that Social Media relationships take time to build and this will encourage more dealerships to start using Social Media and integrate it into their budgets for 2011. The payoff is Customers for Life!
http://www.facebook.com/seanvbradley
