My Recommendation

Courtesy of Insignia guest blogger Delia Passi, CEO of WomenCertified Inc., home to the Women’s Choice Award.To learn more about how you can get women to recommend your dealership, email Delia at dpassi@medelia.com.

A popular quote often attributed to George M. Cohan (and others) is “I don't care what the newspapers say about me, as long as they spell my name right.”  It’s an interesting perspective but it is definitely not my advice, especially in this information age.  What is said about you in the global forum of the Internet is very critical to your success.

A recent study by Cone Trend Tracker (Aug. ’11) found that “80% of consumers have changed their minds about purchasing a recommended product or service based solely on negative information they found online.”  This figure is a significant increase from the prior year’s 67%.

It is becoming increasingly easy to find online reviews, comments, complaints (and praise), and blog entries about most products and services, and the companies that deliver them.  That is why you need to do all you can to make sure that your happy customers have opportunities and encouragement to praise your great products and services.

Women are even more likely than men to turn to online sources to reaffirm their purchase decisions before they make them.   And they’re also quite likely to turn to the web and other sources to offer their opinion of their buying experience after the experience, so make it great.

Your job is to incorporate feedback opportunities into your interactions with your customers, and to make that feedback available to prospective customers.  Your website should have be a forum for customers to comment, hopefully positively.  (If you get negative feedback then address it immediately.  An unhappy customer has many places to complain online other than your website or Facebook page.)

Don’t plant glowing feedback to counter that of unhappy customers.  If it is uncovered, the repercussions can be more trouble than the complaint.

Do what you can to let customers both on and offline know that you are doing wonderful things to keep them coming back.  That’s the WomenCertified® Way!

In the early ‘90s an acquaintance received a new job assignment. He was to set up an outbound telemarketing department to sell off millions of dollars of off-lease computer equipment.

He assembled a team of “telemarketers” – accountants and administrative assistants from within the company. He sourced and obtained a prospect database. A sales and call management system – a CRM -- was evaluated and installed. In the meantime, caller phone-skills training got underway while he developed daily call goals and quarterly revenue quotas.

In the second year of its operation, this in-house effort generated $20 million for the company.

Do you see an application here to your business?

What’s your CRM doing for you?

Your CRM should be a money machine. A detailed plan for its use, operation, reporting and management is vital. Hold accountable every user in sales, service and F&I accountable for capturing customer data into it. Be sure these individuals use the CRM to stay in contact with their customers.

It should go without elaboration that daily CRM use for customer communication is important. However, to create a money machine from it put it in the hands of individuals capable of riding it hard.

Start your engines

The following steps are a guide to CRM profitability:

1. Train internally or hire an individual to be your CRM specialist who likes speaking by phone. Their personality should project well to the listener.
2. Establish specific calling goals and make them aggressive. Define specific calling objectives: mining customer data for equity-play customers; customers soon to come off lease; or, older vehicles you’d like returning to your service department.
3. Ask your marketing person or agency to draft phone scripts. Scripts should detail key benefits and selling points for each call type. Train your specialist to use them to guide conversations.
4. Include in these scripts a variation of the Road to the Sale. Craft the script so your specialist’s conversation brands your dealership.
5. Determine your calling specifics. These include calling hours, call-out quotas and revenue expectations. Here’s a model: The number of dial-ups per day required to achieve X number of live calls X number of these calls that convert to X number of fruitful discussions = X number of sales opportunities. Decide to whom you will assign resulting live opportunities. This is the individual who will meet-and-greet the shopper when they come into the store.
6. As management, track this activity to hold your specialist accountable for making the calls as required. Use these reports to monitor performance.
7. Compensate based on the caller’s adherence to and meeting of the quotas and objectives. Add a spiff for every call resulting in an appointment set. Layer another spiff when the appointment shows (incentivizes proper appointment reinforcement efforts), and consider adding a percentage or flat commission when the appointment converts to sale.

These seven points provide a framework for turning your CRM into a true profit center. Truly, CRM application like this is a “numbers game,” which the right structure, the right objectives and the right specialist can turn into more “solds” on your lot and more ROs in your service department. 

Source - Automotive Digital Marketing (RePost)

http://www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com/profiles/blog/show?id=1970539%3ABlogPost%3A370558&xgs=1&xg_source=msg_share_post 

Find more videos like this on Automotive Internet Sales

This is a Video MY production company created for one of our clients (We did this one years ago).

Jim Lecinski created an amazing PDF for his ZMOT concept:
http://www.zeromomentoftruth.com/google-zmot.pdf

This video was RePosted from ZeroMomentOfTruth on YouTube

Social Media & Sales: A Good Combination Automotive Digest Inverviews Phil DuPree, President of AutoUsa

David Stringer, President of Insignia Group, Named to “Forty Under 40” by Charlotte Business Journal

How Dealers Can Leverage YouTube to Sell Accessories

Courtesy of Insignia’s Guest Blogger: Jason Lancaster President of Spork Marketing, LLC

With the ability to reach almost half of the U.S. population¹, YouTube.com offers tremendous opportunities for dealers. By observing a few Internet video best practices, you can promote vehicles, sell accessories, and build a fan base. Here are two examples of auto dealers that promote vehicles and sell accessories with video that we can all learn from.

Auto Styling by Berge Ford

With more than a dozen videos that have 10k+ views, Berge Ford of Mesa, Arizona, boasts solid YouTube stats. Here's their most popular video (40k+ views):

What they've done right:

• Berge Ford used popular keywords “lifted truck,” “2011 F150,” and “6” lift” in their video title, video description, and video tags. YouTube's keyword tool shows that these are all popular search terms.
• Berge shows the truck right away, which increases the likelihood that viewers will stay tuned – if your videos start with promotional advertising, some viewers will skip it and move on.
• Detailed specs appear both in the video and in the video description – accessory enthusiasts generally love to read about specs, so it's very smart to focus on them.

 Finally, the fact that Berge's video has achieved success with low production values should prove once and for all that any dealership can make videos that get attention on YouTube.

Big Bad Trucks at Paddock Chevrolet

Paddock Chevrolet of Kenmore, New York, has uploaded almost 1,000 videos to YouTube, and this one has more than 10k views:

What they've done right:

• Paddock Chevrolet placed their name, phone number, web address, and logo on the video, which keeps dealership info in front of the consumer without making the video feel too commercial.
• The video spokesperson worked jokes and personality into the video.

 If they've done anything wrong, it's that they didn't spend enough time and energy on the “big bad Chevy,” which is the search term people used to find this video. One of the keys to YouTube is to be as informative and entertaining as possible. If  you have to choose between one or the other, choose to be informative – that will build your dealership's credibility and establish you as an authority on accessories.

Questions? Comments? Feel free to leave a link to your video in the comments for a free critique!

Author Jason Lancaster is the President of Spork Marketing, an Internet marketing and consulting company, as well as the editor of ExhaustVideos.com, a website dedicated to exhaust sound clips.

Citation:

1. comScore January 2012 U.S. Online Video Rankings show that 47.3% of the U.S. population watches Internet video.

10 Popular Car Accessories among the Customization Generation

Young people are excited about accessories and car brands are taking note. Hyundai Motor America recently announced that they will be rolling out about 30 accessories on their models starting with the Veloster. Usually each model only has about 12 to 15 accessories. Cars like the Veloster, and the Hyundai Elantra coupe, have strong appeal to the younger generation who are obsessed personalization via accessories.  Hyundai plans to have Veloster body graphics, interior lighting kits, bigger stereos and more. Take note from Hyundai and make sure you have a nice line up of OEM accessories that appeal to the younger generation.  Here are ten car accessories that are popular among the younger generation.

1. Body Graphics

2. iPod Adapters and Advanceed Sound Systems

3. Wheel Kits

4. Body Kits

5. GPS/Navigation systems

6. Chrome Accents

7. Exterior and Interior LED Lighting Kits

8. Dashboard Kits

9. Security Systems

10. Custom Upholstery

Insignia Group, the leading provider of accessories sales systems and training has helped dealers maximize profits for over 10 years. Supporting 20+ brands and dealerships nationwide, we help our customers establish and grow their Accessories Profit Center. Call 888-579-4458 to learn more or schedule a demo.

‘KONY 2012′ Tops 100 Million Views, Becomes the Most Viral Video in History [STUDY]

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shWith more than 100 million views in six days, Kony 2012, a 30-minute documentary about Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony, has become the most viral video in history, according to one researcher

In a blog post, Visible Measures found Kony outpaced other record-setting viral videos. For instance the video featuring Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent in 2009, hit 70 million views in six days. Old Spice’s “Responses” campaign didn’t hit 70 million until five months after it launched.

Visible Measures got its figures by tracking not just the original Vimeo version of Kony, but also responses to the video. By March 8, three days after Kony went live, there were 200 such responses, which ran six minutes on average. The video has also netted more than 500,000 comments.

Despite the rapid rise of Kony 2012, the video has brought a shower of criticism to Invisible Children, the organization behind it. Many of the negative critiques have been targeted at Invisible Children’s practices as an organization, not whether Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army, is a war criminal.

In particular, a Tumblr blog called Visible Children, outlined how just 32% of Invisible Children’s money went to direct services, while the rest went to staff salaries and other overhead.

Invisible Children responded with a blog post outlining its expenses. The post didn’t dispute the 32% figure, but illustrated how another 26% went to “awareness programs.”

I don't think it's a secret that millions of Americans own a smartphones. See here: There Will Be More Smartphones than Humans & here: Afraid of Losing Your Phone, You Might Have Nomophobia

To affirm this even further, the brilliant folks over at Nielsenwire conducted a study: "New U.S. Smartphone Growth by Age and Income." While their study has produced a plethora of paramount statistics, there are just a few I'd like to touch on and examine their importance in regards to your dealership's mobile marketing strategy.

• In the 25-34 age group, Neilsenwire found that 66% own a smartphone. 
• • 8 out of 10 who purchased a new device in the last three months chose a smartphone over a traditional mobile phone.
• Of the people who purchased a new device, more than half under sixty-five years of age specifically chose a smartphone. In other words, they're adapting to a new world. 

Neilsenwire also examined the relationship between income and age as it pertains to smartphone ownership.

• Those aged 55-64, with an income over 100k/yr, are just as likely to own a smartphone as those in the 35-44 age bracket with a substantially lower income.

What does this mean?

It simply means that people in the age bracket 35-44 view a smartphone as a necessity even if they're making only 35k/yr, while older folks view a smartphone as luxury. If I can afford it, then I'll buy it.

What does this mean for YOUR dealership?

Believe it or not, it all falls back to ZMOT and winning that Zero Moment of Truth. Seems like everything leads back to ZMOT these days, huh? In all seriousness, given these statistics, now you know your demographic in regards to smartphone users. It's time to utilize this information to inform your marketing strategy in the coming year. Several dealerships have already adapted by creating their own mobile app or a mobile program. For instance:

• "TEXT 12345" TO ABC MOTORS to receive specials to your smartphone"

Additionally, more and more people are purchasing smartphones, regardless of income. This is opening up a new avenue for you to reach your customers. If you're not adapting to this new, tech savvy world just like the 55-64 age group is, then you're going to be left in the dust.

Is your dealership implementing the proper strategy geared towards more mobile customers?

KONY 2012 from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.

http://www.dealersynergy.com
If There is ANYONE who thinks Social Media is NOT Important, Valuable, Amazing, Useful, Needed - WATCH THIS VIDEO!

I was BLOWN away by this video!
If they can accomplish ALL of that... You can ALL leverage Social Media for your dealership(s).

*** PLEASE FORWARD THIS VIDEO TO EVERYONE YOU CAN!!

I Just saw this commercial on CNN a couple of minutes ago and it is EXACTLY the TYPE of Commercial that Auto Dealers should be doing on TV and online...

It seems that someone at Midas has been paying attention to Google's ZMOT Philosophy. People are talking about things they like and do not like on social media, on cell phones via a myriad of apps and sites. Dealers need to embrace this culture and reality.

Have you been having a hard time trying to create revenue with a limited client base and find your service department has slowed along with wholesaling more vehicle then you would like? As most organizations know that their fixed operations are what keeps the lights on and is their dependable source of income. What do you do when that slows? and sales have fallen horribly?

The answer is simple! OPTIONS!!! Give the customers You have more options. I am going to give you the outline automotive dealers should be following, SALES and SERVICE working together.

All vehicles traded in need to have the following: 1. A Budget Check(aka Safety Check) pays the tech 1.0hr  incl. Oil Change  $99.95 2. If the vehicle needs under $400.00 in additional repairs to be frontline/sale ready, GET IT DONE! 3. For the vehicles that need a list of items (oil leaks, axle boots torn,4 tires etc..) yet the body is clean, create a list of those items/create a estimate. DO NOT CONDEM THE VEHICLE TO WHOLESALE! 4. Sales now will create 2 window stickers, One for the price of the vehicle and options, Second one with a itemized check list of what the vehicle needs mechanically, with SPECIAL pricing aka (Club Pricing Discounted with the purchase of the vehicle) Example   front pads and rotors  $328.95   Club pricing with the purchase of the car/truck $259.95, which can be financed with the price of the vehicle.

The customer now has the choice to get done what they want and at a discounted rate, creating a sold unit for sales and additional work for service along with locking in a customer with the special CLUB pricing they will now recieve for all their automotive needs. This eliminates alot of up front monies that dealerships can not afford to risk in a vehicle they think might sell  at this time. Why wholesale a clean vehicle that we will lose money on only for someone else to reap the benefits at the sale, instead lets offer the public exactly what no one else is currently offering OPTIONS!

I convinced a Large Audi dealership to use this program, the results where extra ordinary!  The vehicle that could not be certified due to paint work or high mileage yet very clean vehicles now were being sold!  Service was making money, techs where happy, sales moved a unit they thought was definetely gonna be 500-1000 loser at the auction, a customer was happy...did I mention that we averaged over 3k per unit between sales and service as well. Talk about a WIN/WIN situation. Time for all the conventional automotive dealerships to dust off their thinking caps and realize that as long as a customer has OPTIONS they will always feel comfortable and buy. No matter what OPTIONS they chose WE WIN!!!!!

Richard A. Browne

Region President of TTwR

(Source: Web Marketing Group)

Infographics are quite trendy these days throughout the marketing and tech community. It's not difficult to see why. Through infographics, marketers and researchers are now able to provide substantial information/statistics while still be able to appeal visually. But, what exactly is an infographic?

Put simply, an infographic is 50% informational (INFO-) and 50% visual (-GRAPHIC). It's that simple. An infographic is the result of both research and analysis on a specific topic. (i.e. car shoppers during the holidays) While some may knock the infographic as just being another fad or trend, you must remember this: More than half of us are Visual learners.

What Purpose do Infographics serve?

• They build links. Chances are if someone finds your infographic useful, they'll share it and it link it back to your website, blog, etc. This helps immensely to increase your visibility. And, when people continue to link back to your website, you'll receive more traffic.
• Possibility of Virality Is there anything more powerful than Word of Mouth? More specifically, is there anything more powerful than a "Viral campaign" in 2012? Yeah, I didn't think so. If you create a stunning infographic with substantial facts and stats, the more people will share it, and the more people share it, the better the chance of it going viral. It doesn't have to be shared by everyone on the internet. It can go viral in your field (automotive).

• Branding If you create a visually attractive infographic embedded with logo on it, it will help to increase awareness of your brand in both your local area and a more national scale. As Web Marketing Group points out, "using infographics are scalable, shareable and brandable."

My Take on Infographics:

I think infographics are awesome--and, that they're here to stay. Being a writer, it's hard to admit, but the truth is that people don't read as much as they used to, meaning that they're more likely to click on your infographic than they are to click on your blog post. "Hey, look it's shiny!" Infographics are not only appealing visually, but they also enhance and inform your marketing strategy in regards to SEO, online visibility and brand awareness.

So, perhaps, the next time you plan on writing a blog post featuring different statistics, you might want to hold onto those stats and embed them into a nice little graphic for everyone to enjoy.

[Source: Web Marketing Group]