Google AIS Custom Search
All Posts (2767)
Sort by
Who is the BEST Automotive Dealership Website Company? And Why...???
Automotive Internet Sales is creating its TOP 10 LISTS! And the first section is Dealership Website Companies...
So, Please give me your feedback. Remember that is what this site is about... INFORMATION, IDEAS and FEEDBACK.
I look forward to all of your posts and thoughts.
SVB-
Ok,
This is an oldie but goodie :)
I want to hear all of your opinions...
What is TRULY Vital for a SUCCESSFUL Dealership Website...?
I have Dealership after Dealership ask me these questions:
* Who is the best dealership website company?
* What are the best features for a dealeship site?
* Should I have a Flash site or not and why...?
* How many websites should I have?
* What is onsite versus offsite SEO?
* How often should I update my website?
* What content is important for my website?
**** And on and on the questions go... Please understand these are NOT the ONLY questions... I am simply trying to start the conversation...
I would love to hear from all of you as to what makes the MOST POWERFUL and Successful Dealersgip Website Solution and WHY?
I look forward to your posts
SVB-
I have no problem weighing in on the subject, particularly when it comes to Internet Sales Departments. I have managed dealerships for 17 years with many different manufacturers in 3 different markets: San Diego, Orange County and Los Angeles. And for the most part I would say the answer is "it depends". :) I will try to explain my take here:
1.) Dealer 20 groups are typically of the same brand, and over wide markets. So, how many leads should be determined by manufacturer type, PMA, staff, dealership goals, and regional manufacturer's sales volume targets. There should be ratioed expectations, of course. However, the dealers that are really thriving right now are getting back to Sales 101 basics, and they are focusing more on the customer. In addition, there is a great talent pool out there so they are hiring slower and firing faster.
2.) I would want to discuss the origins of the dealership customers themselves. As internet salespeople, they are too often (if not always) called "leads" intsead of "customers". If your dealership is just buying leads and expecting unreasonable results, you need to be sure you have a full plate of your own local market by optimizing your web presense with your home site. How well are you indexing in the major search engine sites like Google, Yahoo and MSN?
3.) I would certainly discuss the quality of these leads, where they are coming from, and how much money those leads are costing. I would hope to discuss all of the lead providers, the quality of their leads overall, and talk to dealers that hold these people accountable for what they are selling you. After all, they are also selling those same leads to your competitors.
4.) I would discuss our home websites as well, particularly the quality of the sites. There should be discussion with other dealers about how they are able to make their dealership very user-freindly and accessible to the potential buyer as well as current owners. How do they optimize those sites? After all, your website is your new "front door".
5.) In terms of ratio expectations, an internet salesperson that can close 15% is great, but what about how they got there. These high-closing salespeople tend to make quick contact with their prospects, and are not afraid to call people.
6.) Good internet salespeople make contact early, but also listen very well to the needs of the potential buyer, which is why they typically average around 35% appointments, 30% of which are confirmed (by a manager or internet director). Of these 30/100 appointments, they should close 15 deals. Your best internet salesperson should be invited to these meetings to discuss their processes.
7.) There also needs to be more emphasis on the perception of the "internet customer". ALL customers now are "internet customers" and some discussion is certainly due to the fact that they are not all there to grind you out on a price. Too much money is left on the table with internet prospects because that money is taken off the table with incorrect perceptions. Not enough attention to selling the value of the dealership, the vehicle and the salesperson.
The internet departments accross the United States are all unique, but share a common goal. To sell more cars! The influence and effect on a dealership of internet departments deserve a 20 Group for sure. However, these Groups need to be more than just number factories and big lunches. Internet 20 Groups need to discuss the "hows" and the "whys" a bit more in detail, have in-depth best practice discussions and hold each other accountable like other 20 Groups.
I would want to have my dealership and the dealerships in my group have some targets to reach between 20 meetings, and hold myself and other members accountable for those targets. If there is some focus on these things, I think the numbers will take care of themselves.
Thanks and I am always available for discussion at rich@dealertraction.com
Rich Mertz
Hey, If anyone knows of a QUALITY Internet Director for the Chicago area.... one of my CLOSEST clients just lost theirs with NO NOTICE... Argh!!!!
This is for a BEAUTIFUL, HUGE and Brand New Honda Dealership!!!!!
Contact me for more details
Google has been adding new features to help small-to-medium sized businesses get noticed in search engine results pages (SERPs). This year, one big change was the renaming of the Local Business Center to Google Places. Along with the name change, this product was retooled to provide business owners with powerful yet easy-to-use tools to help people discover them when they search.
You’re probably already familiar with these free business listings, as they’re often included at the top of the SERPs for relevant search queries. What you may not be familiar with are the changes that might be coming to local search. With Google’s mission to give users the most relevant, high-quality results possible, the search giant has already begun testing a radically new layout, and possibly even a new algorithm, that may affect how your business gets found online. Among the changes spotted in these intermitted tests are as follows:
· The embedded Google Map has been placed along the right sidebar, pushing down AdWords advertisements.
· Reviews are being more prominently displayed.
· The placement, or ranking, of current local listings changes radically in the test.
One thing I noticed in my sneak peek is that organic seems to play a big role in the rankings.
More details: Google local search experiment.
That's a tough question isnt it? What drives you? Not the car that you drive ( I care about what you drive but not the point of this post). The car you drive is easy; a Mitsubishi right? Haha Just kidding.
When I first started in car sales years ago I have to say that my drive had one motivating factor. Money. Before I sold cars I sold furniture and let me tell you, you had to sell a WHOLE lot of sofas to get paid what I did selling one car. I was a batchelor living in a nice townhouse and I had a car payment and of course a social life that all costed money. The harder I worked the more money I made and spent. Then I got married, started having kids and money became more important in some ways. But my "drive" became more about my family being taken care of then just about the money I was making. My drive became "if I hit this goal then I can take this time and do this with my family." Being number one was important to me then too. I have a basement full of "salesman of the month" trophies.
That was all when I was a salesman. Now I am a Sales Manager and my new drive is to see my people succeed. The problem is The people need Drive. Let me stop here and say that my current sales staff is awesome. I would go anywhere and do anything for all four of them. If you have bought cars from my guys you know they are top notch. Stafford Horetz, Jon Allgeier, Jason Evans, and Gerald Price are great salesmen and I consider it an honor to work with them. However; I want to grow my sales force to achieve more.
This is where I ask for your help. What drives you? Is it material things like cars, houses, or boats? Is it vacations? What about being number one? Is that important anymore? I am looking for a couple of people looking for a career. I am posting this on numerous blogs because if you know me I know that this will work the best. I thank you for your time in reading this and if you are interested in a career in automotive sales please email me directly at jbrown@youngermitsubishi.com or comment on the blog itself.
Car sales has been great to my family and I. I get to help out customers and they are different everyday. Technology changes all the time so I am constantly learning new ways to sell. Ten years ago blogs didnt exist and here I am writing one now. If you have a little bit of drive you can go far, all you have to do is be willing to get in the car!
Chat is growing at a fast rate, and for good reason. With the right software, process, and people, you can increase your current lead conversion by 60 to 100% without lowering your original conversion. Want to see the results for free? Get 30 days of free 24/7 staffed chat support and leads, its simple to setup, and you can be live in just a few days. Why not try it? Tracey@carchat24.com 813-781-0491
As far as print advertising is concerned. Which magazines have the best (Return On Inquiry) I.E. - Auto Dealer Monthly, Digital Dealer, Auto Success, Ward's Dealer Magazine, etc...? Please share with me your opinions on this and why you feel that one over another is better for reaching the mass audience. Thanks in advance for your input and make it a great day.
Best Regards,
Bill Goodfriend
This was a case study I recently posted on my blog: Automotive Marketing . We ran this study on Dealer Refresh for 2 months. Below you will see the results before adding Car Chat 24 and after. Anyone on Automotiveinternetsales.com that would be interested in a 30 day free trial, feel free to reach out.
05 Oct 2010
Toyota of Irving – Success Story w/Car Chat 24
I’m happy to report that we have yet another fully satisfied customer using Car Chat 24. Toyota of Irving’s Internet director took part in our latest case study on DealerRefresh.
The #1 Hottest Thread on the popular DealerRefresh forum is none other than “Free 24/7 Live Dealer Support, Staff, and Leads (Case Study).”
Here is what Maria had to say after her 2 month trial:
You can see that Toyota of Irving after adding Car Chat 24 was able to increase their conversion by 60-70% and their website sales by over 40%.
Here is what Maria Jones had to say about her experience:
“As you can see the addition of a chat service (Car Chat 24) has yielded great results. At Toyota of Irving we are converting more visitors into valid leads and increasing guest satisfaction. It is truly amazing that we are capturing visitors as they are live on our site 24 hours a day! Some of them even get a response from us while they are still on-line after the chat. I will say however, this study focused on sales leads but I can’t tell you how many service leads came over as well and I know that we enjoyed some pretty good tickets from those leads as well! I hope that this data is helpful to you”.
I thought it would be important to display the data before adding chat and after.
Conversion Rate: The percentage of absolute unique visitors who submit a form on your website.
Numbers Before Chat:
Feb 2010
Unique Visitors: 4370
Web Leads: 94
Conversion: 2.15%
Sales: 24
Closing: 25%
March 2010
Unique Visitors: 7409
Web Leads: 219
Conversion: 2.9%
Sales: 42
Closing: 19%
Numbers After Chat:
Final numbers for June 2010 from Toyota of Irving:
Total Unique Visitors: 3728
Total Website Leads without Chat Leads: 87
Lead Conversion % without Chat Leads: 2.33%
Total CarChat24 Leads/Appointments/Queries: 62
Total Conversion % with Chat Leads: 3.99%
Total Lead Conversion % increase: 71.24%
Total Website Sales without Chat Leads: 22
Total Chat Lead Sales: 9
Total Sales: 31
Website Sales % increase: 41%
July 2010 Case Study Results (Final)
Total Unique Visitors: 4487
Total Website Leads without Chat Leads: 154
Lead Conversion % without Chat Leads: 3.43%
Total CarChat24 Leads/Appointments/Queries: 92
Total Conversion % with Chat Leads: 5.48%
Total Lead Conversion % increase: 59.76%
Total Website Sales without Chat Leads: 32
Total Chat Lead Sales: 14
Total Sales: 47
Website Sales % increase: 43.75%
Are you interested in the opportunity to win a Apple iPad? For a limited time, Automotive Internet Sales is giving its members the opportunity to win a free Apple iPad with their registration to
www.AutomotiveInternetSales.com. For more details see the rules and regulations outlined below.
Rules: To be eligible for a chance to win a free Apple iPad, participants must sign up for a free account at
www.automotiveinternetsales.com. After signing up, participants must upload a profile image and maintain weekly activity. The winner of the free Apple iPad will be announced once Automotive Internet Sales reaches a minimum of 1,000 members. If you have any questions, please contact us at 1-888-814-0429.
I have been selling cars for almost ten years. I have been through numerous training sessions on how to sell a car. Ask anyone in the automotive industry and they will tell you the same thing. Between manufacturers, "sales Gurus", heck even our Human resources rep has at least two training sessions with us a year. The question that I always leave with is how can I use this for the benefit of my customer. Or in my head I pretend I am the customer and ask what will this guy's training do for me.
That brings me to the point of this post. Social media is the cool name for it. It consists (but not limited to) Facebook, myspace, Twitter, linkedin,I could go on and on. So what does Facebook or any of these others do for you, the consumer? Why are dealerships spending hours of precious time developing blogs, and fanpages? The simple answer is to engage you. It is our feeling that if you like me enough and I offer you a connection to my dealership there is no need to go anywhere else. If I make us more "human". It hopefully takes out the bad stigma car dealerships sometimes have. Im reminded of that sleezy car sales guy portrayed in any tv show. I certainly hope that I am not percieved to be that guy!
I could go into all the ins and outs in Social media, but thats not what I want to do. I just wanted to tell you what it does for you, and how you the consumer can use it. I want to let you know what is does for me. Having you engage us is what it does for me. That's what Social media is all about. Its about you having a friend here,and me having an advocate in you out there. It's about us engaging into a nonconfrontational relationship that can be built and last a long time, and all it costs is time. I look forward to seeing you post on our fanpage, because the last piece of this is that Social media gives you a voice. Whether its a complaint about the lot guy scratching your car ,or a glowing review of how well we treat you. You have a voice and it is very effective.
My favorite of the "Social Media" is Facebook. In my opinion it is the easiest for anyone to use, and the huge numbers of people with facebook pages back that assumption up. Our Facebook fan page has been a moderate success. We have the most fans of any dealership in the area. I believe it is only because we use it. It is here where i ask you to go to the link here again and become a fan of us too. You will get to see pics of happy customers, (maybe yourself?). I also put info about upcoming models, info you wont get anywhere else! Last month to the chagrin of my service department I offered a $5 oil change! But, you have to be a fan of us to get the benefits. You have to engage us.
Social media is here to stay. My only wish is that I use it to help you more. From giving advice on tire pressure, to purchasing your dream car. Thats what it will do for you.
18 Oct 2010
DealerRater your new Ally?
DealerRater Dealer page
Just last month my girlfriend and I made a last minute decision to drive to Manhattan for the weekend. Without months to plan the trip we needed to book a hotel quickly. After spending only one night scouring Hotels.com, Trip Advisor, Travelocity, and another dozen sites, we settled on a destination. The hotel turned out to be great and the user review sites really helped us make the right decision in choosing our crash pad for the 3-day excursion.
Enter the car dealership. When I was on the sales floor I quickly understood that referrals and word of mouth were a big part of our business. Dealers should realize that it is just as important to be aware of what potential customers are reading and writing about their dealership. If you want to do a quick test, try typing “Toronto Toyota” in a Google search and make note of the dealers that appear beside the map (7 pack in geek terms). You will see that beside the phone number, the reviews of these dealerships are showcased. Such powerful reviews are just one click away from your potential customers. Ratings can be posted directly on your Google Place page or extracted from various review sites such as DealerRater. Want to see a dealer that has hit it right out of the Rogers Center on to Front Street? Try typing “Toyota dealer MA”. The last time I checked this dealer, Acton Toyota, it had 1,019 reviews associated with their dealership listing, with the vast majority of reviews coming directly fromDealerRater. Since Google Maps is so visible, it is critical for a dealership to have their page loaded with positive reviews from their customer base.
What the heck is DealerRater? –
Founded in 2002, DealerRater® established the first car dealer review website worldwide. As a social network and user review website, DealerRater.com features more than 30,000 US and International car dealers, 190,000 user reviews and over 1,000,000 classified ads. The site attracts more than 3 million consumers every year who visit the site to search for car dealerships, read current reviews, write their own descriptive reviews, and find car deals – all for free. Car dealers are rated on the criteria of customer service, quality of work, friendliness, price and overall experience. In addition, both consumers and car dealerships may post free auto classified ads. DealerRater’s users may request vehicle quotes and the company’s Certified Dealers receive free vehicle leads.
Source – DealerRater.com
How do I make DealerRater work for me?
With more than 250,000 people joining the DealerRater user community each month, DealerRater is quickly becoming an important online resource for anyone seeking third-party information on car dealerships. The site is equally important to today’s car dealers for a number of reasons. DealerRater helps Dealers stay in touch with customer feedback and also gives Dealers access to an ever expanding market of potential customers. In addition, the content on DealerRater’s site is jam-packed with customer reviews and classified ads, all of which appear in organic Google Search results. As a result, as a dealer you are able to expand your online presence and achieve higher search engine ranking across the Web with the help of DealerRater’s user-generated site content.
But what about negative customer reviews that may pop up from time to time? Through DealerRater’s Certified Dealer Program, DealerRater offers qualified dealers the opportunity to actively monitor and respond to customer reviews and save relationships. Certified Dealers can take advantage of a two-week reconciliation period to communicate with unsatisfied customers through a privatewebsite panel before negative reviews are publicly posted. Given this key feature of DealerRater’s Certified Dealer Program, as a Certified Dealer you can actively manage your online reputation and address customer feedback, enabling you to retain more customers and generate increased business.
Dealer Panel
Another interesting feature DealerRater offers its Certified Dealers involves complete integration with the popular social networking site, Facebook. This recent addition offered by DealerRater allows a Dealer’s most recent positive user reviews to automatically feed to a custom tab on the Dealer’s Facebook Page, which is updated real time. A Dealer’s classified ads also can feed to a custom tab on the Dealer’s Facebook Page, and are updated daily. As a result, as a Certified Dealer, you can draw leads directly from your Facebook fan page.Additional Program Highlights
- Positive Review Testimonial Feed – As a Certified Dealer, your most recent 10 positive reviews feed to your website and automatically update as new reviews are added, enabling you to gain instant website client testimonials that are labeled “Powered By DealerRater.com”.
- Unlimited Vehicle Leads - Certified Dealers receive instant email alerts for all leads generated for their brand in their state. Leads can be fed directly into a CRM system.
- Employee Review Pages - Certified Dealers have “MyReviews Pages” for your employees to showcase their respective reviews.
- Unlimited Auto Classified Ads -As a Certified Dealer, you can place an unlimited number of auto classified ads on DealerRater’s website. Ads also appear on AutoSpies.com and in organic Google search results. DealerRater provides inventory upload management from your Dealer Management System to the DealerRater database. Dealers can list vehicles with multiple photos and Dealer notes to generate leads on specific vehicles in your inventory.
There are a number of user- based review sites all over the Web that dealerships can utilize. DealerRater has created a model that works for both the buyer and the seller. Stop storing those thank you cards on your desk and start getting those positive reviews in front of potential customers.
By: Ryan Thompson
“Ryan is an active on-line marketer, blogger, and Canadian Account Manager for Car Chat 24”
If your hairstylist told you they were the authority on marketing, would you believe them? If you tried to cut your hairstylist’s hair, would they let you? The answer to both is probably no, and for good reason. I know that if I picked up a pair of shears, it would be more sheepdog than chic for my unfortunate client. I’m not an expert on haircutting, and my wonderful stylist is not an expert on marketing. We stick to what we know, which is exactly what you should do in social media.
A common social media pitfall is dabbling in the unknown, or what I like to call forgetting your brand. A car dealer should talk cars. A real estate agent should talk houses. Here at TaCito, we talk marketing. But anyway, back to my salon analogy. Whenever I get my haircut, I ask my stylist for her opinion. She references popular culture, shows me pictures, tells me anecdotes. I’m always sold on her opinion, and I let her do whatever she wants to my hair (no small feat for a woman, as most of you know). In other words, I listen to her because she is both authentic and an authority; those traits have changed me from her client to her evangelist.
Social media can have the same application. Why does this matter? Because customers are fickle, but evangelicals are passionate, loyal, and provide powerful word-of-mouth advertising. Somehow, people see you on social media because something has peaked their interest. Take the next step and engage your customer as an authority. People need to know that you know what’s going on in the world (not the whole world, your world. The car world, the real estate world, the marketing world.) They want to see pictures, they want to hear stories, and they want to believe that you are the expert on whatever you are selling. This does not mean sell yourself constantly. Much like I would be annoyed if my hairdresser only talked about how great she is at cutting hair, your customer does not want to hear about how you are the best dealership/agent/marketer. Plus, that’s dull. Show your customers how good you are at what you do, and then allow them to draw their own conclusions. If you’re as good as you say, they’ll be your evangelist, too. Here are some suggestions for being your brand’s authority:
- Be external. Do not incessantly talk about yourself; talk about things that represent your brand. Share photos, links, stories, videos, etc.
- Be conversational. No one likes a know-it-all but they do like new information. Share accordingly.
- Be polite. This means responding to people even if they are criticizing you. 24/7 feedback has its risks, so keep customer service in mind when dealing with someone that is displeased.
- Be interesting. Like I said, it’s not all about you. 85% of information you put online should be external and sharable (see point 1).
For a great example on a company that is an online authority on their brand, check out Anthropologie. Over 200,000 like them on Facebook and they have seamlessly been able to transition the familiar “best-closet-ever” feel of their stores into an online community. http://www.facebook.com/Anthropologie Or, check out To Write Love on Her Arms, a non-profit about supporting people who are at-risk to self-hurt. Almost 800,000 people like them on Facebook, encouraged by not only the wonderful cause but the integration of music, blogs, testimonials, and other media.http://www.facebook.com/towriteloveonherarms?v=wall
Ps- If you’re in the Dallas area and want to be as blissfully happy with your hairstylist as I am, go to Pure Salon in Las Colinas and ask for Ashley. 972.717.9200.
We are all used to hearing the same things....What is my trade worth? Can you ball park it? Are you flexible on the price of your car? Your store is further away than I realized...and the list goes on. Its very easy to hear things like this all day and get discouraged, but it does not have to be that way. Every single objection you hear over the course of a single selling day can be overcome by a good rebuttal and a positive and enthusiastic attitude.
Ultimately on every phone call one of two things is going to happen. Either you are going to sell a customer on why they should come in and do business with you, or they are going to sell you on why they can't or shouldn't. Mastering some strong rebuttals and constantly maintaining a positive attitude can make all the difference. Be sure you know (and can explain) why customers should buy from you, and build the excitement from the start!
All that being said, once you have the tools and even think you may know what to do with them, it never hurts to have a blueprint.....
There are lots of great rebuttals out there and also a lot of ways to use objections as a reason for a customer to come and visit your store. Please post your best rebuttals and stories of how you set some great appointments using the objection as a reason to come in. Everyone's expertise is what makes forums like this so helpful, so i'll thank everyone in advance for the input!
