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In today’s competitive marketplace, women buyers are crucial for auto dealers' success. Just take a look at numbers and reported growth opportunities in a recent Wall Street Journal article.

It may be no surprise that car buying is an emotional purchase for women. Even on the heels of a recent survey showing women are comfortable with negotiation than men, there is still a huge upside for dealers to create an empowering buying experience for women.

Did You Know?

Every other woman in the United States purchases a car by herself. While many women are confidant and excited, others walk in with different emotions. Consider, that 3 in 10 women report being apprehensive about their visit while 20% are nervous and overwhelmed. You don’t know which woman coming in your door is feeling what. Nonetheless, it is vital to encourage and boost women's confidence, respect and trust from the get-go. Establishing trust-based relationships and assisting them in a considerate, flexible, non-intimidating manner is the equation for having a browser convert to a buyer. Anything short of that, she walks.

Tips to Empower Women and Increase Buyers + Retention:

  1. Respect and Trust are the building block to every car sold today. It begins with greeting her in a timely and friendly manner. Eye contact is locked in and the smart phone is put away.
  2. Invite women to use your wifi or child play area. Would they like a cold or warm beverage?
  3. Have them lead the conversation, but it's your job to ask questions. What distance does she drive to work? Does she have children? What type of activities does she do? Talk to women like you are having coffee with her. Don’t be in a hurry to get her into the car for a test drive.
  4. When asking about features, be sure to use full sentences with women, not “leather or cloth.” Our senior trainer friend, Vicki Parker, provides these tips that make a difference when engaging with prospects. Women don’t want to be rushed, they want to build and create a sense of relationship.
  5. The four-corner-around-the-block-11-minute-test-drive doesn’t serve all customers anymore. Let women make their own trail. Bring the car to their work place to test drive when needed. Better yet, let her take it overnight so the family can give it a true road test. That is one way to surprise and delight your customer.
  6. The average length of time it takes a woman to buy a car is 3 hours and 30 minutes. How about a “Buy a Car in 120 Minutes or Less”? Women love saving time.
  7. Have an open door Car Wash Policy.
  8. The #1 concierge item requested by women is an overnight vehicle. It is no mystery women do not want to have to wait for someone else to pick her up, be dropped off by a van, or — have to pay for a rental car. Make it easy for your customers.

Want to Sell More Cars and Distinguish your Dealership to Women?  Click here

Did you receive a Free copy of the 2014 Women’s Car Buying Report? Click here

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Am I Doing This Right?

Like most people, you've seen your fair share of video testimonials. But what separates the good ones from the bad ones? Most people aren't aware of some basic practices that can make your video testimonial look professional instead of cheesy.

Stefanie and I give simple advice that you can use for your video testimonials on this week's episode of Think Tank Tuesday.

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In the event that you somehow did not know, the Internet Sales 20 Group is an interactive workshop in the automotive industry that,is specifically designed to gather the most elite professionals in the industry. You won’t want to miss out on this three day workshop of training, instruction and enthusiasm.

 General Manager of Dealer Synergy Joe Cala, will be speaking at the Internet Sales 20 Group in Boston, MA September 22nd-24th. His workshop is titled, “the difference between information and transformation." In the automotive industry, there are handfuls of resources, from conferences, social sites, websites, and education training, to on demand training and more. Joe Cala’s workshop explains that if these resources are not properly put to use, then all we will ever have is information.

 Joe Cala will be discussing proper execution and application of training and education in order to start your transformation process. He assures that you will walk away from Internet Sales 20 Group full of new and useful information, and he will provide you with a proven formula to ensure that you can properly apply all the things you’ve learned and begin to transform.  Don’t miss your chance to begin your transformation! Register today.

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What's More Important Than Open Rates?

Your emails have high open rates. But is it the most telling measurement of your email performance? It's time you broke away from the old industry standards and started considering what's really important.

On this episode of Hard Facts, Samantha explains how you should be measuring the success of your emails.

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Why proactive chat mobile

Here is the most recent information on how Live Chat compares to other forms of communication in the highest customer satisfaction to website visitors.  Live Chat is second only to live phone calls with text messaging being last.  This was from a survey conducted in 5 countries including the US, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and Europe.  
According to more than 70% of consumers now use mobile devices to research products and services. However, the same study found that many businesses have not adapted quickly enough to meet the needs of today’s mobile consumer, with consumers rating more than 40% of their mobile shopping experiences as unsatisfactory.
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It's Time to Pop the Question

You could have the most talented team on paper, but how can you know they're the right fit? Many businesses struggle with this issue when hiring new team members and promoting current employees

There's one question you may need to ask your team: "Are you committed?” On this episode of Think Tank Tuesday, I explain why.

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Benefits of Attending IS20G


The Internet Sales 20 Group has changed the way dealers look at workshops. The workshop emphasizes Internet Sales because it’s a very important area of the industry. By participating in the 2014 Internet Sales 20 Group interactive workshop, you will learn how to strategize what you’ve learned in order to see better results. You will see a positive difference in the way you sell cars, and the money you make. The knowledge and motivation you gain from the workshop will only continue to grow after the workshop ends.

 

During the workshop, you will meet, and network with automotive professionals from across the country. Along with the specially designed curriculum, you will listen to twenty-five speakers and experts, who will teach you about the steps they took to successfully make money.  Not only will they tell you what to do, they will tell you why you should do it. After the workshop, moderators will personally contact you to ensure that you are acquiring success from the event, making this event unlike any other in the Automotive Industry.

 

Internet Sales 20 Group is not just a 3-day workshop, it is handing you the keys to automotive success and allowing you to obtain multiple resources at the same time!

 

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Being successful as an auto dealer in the US is hard. Each year, there are a ton of companies in the US that default, because they fail to beat the competition, can’t craft and execute an effective market strategy, or simply neglect to keep up with industry innovations. But we learn as we go along, and there are many organizations and people in the business from whom you can “steal” an idea or two.
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Where are they coming from?

Facebook just added new advertising features for businesses looking for more return on their investment. The new features allow for improved lead attribution and device reporting.  

What does this mean for your brand? Samantha explains how you can use these new features for your Facebook advertising!

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Car Sellers Refine Pitch to Women

Among Millennials, 53% of Car Buyers Are Female

Aug. 20, 2014 6:52 p.m. ET

Cathy Anderson, right, owner of Woody Anderson Ford, a Huntsville, Ala., dealership, discusses a car with
Connie Hicklen. Shawn Poynter for the Wall Street Journal

On a recent hot summer night outside Detroit, a 62-year-old woman sat in a chair watching the Telegraph Cruise, a classic-car parade on Telegraph Avenue in Taylor, Mich., when a stranger approached and began asking questions.

What kind of car did she drive? Why had she chosen that automobile? What did this choice say about her identity?

The stranger, it turned out, was Chris Lezotte, a Ph.D candidate at Bowling Green State University, in Ohio, who was doing ethnographic research for her dissertation on the relationship women have with cars.

Ms. Lezotte is one of a small army of researchers trying to get inside the heads of women who need transportation—"to uncover the various meanings women ascribe to cars in a variety of contexts," as she puts it. The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute put out a study in 2012 showing that the number of women drivers in the U.S. had surpassed that of men, 105.7 million to 104.3 million, as of 2010.

Ever since, researchers have been wondering why the car-shopping and buying experience is still such a man's game. The National Automobile Dealers Association says last year some 91% of car salesmen at franchised dealerships were men.

Women accounted for 39% of car purchases in 2013, up from 37% four years earlier, according to J.D. Power. That may not seem like a big change, until you consider that Americans bought almost 15.6 million cars last year. A 2% shift represents more than 300,000 vehicles.

When a man buys a car, there is often a woman behind the decision, according to the buzz in auto circles. Globally, women are "making the final decision on more than 60% of new car purchases," said Carlos Ghosn, president and chief executive of Nissan Motor Co, in a speech in July.

Chris Lezotte, a Ph. D candidate studying women's relationships
with their cars, in her 1949 Ford Coupe. Alan Kalter

Melody Lee, director of brand and reputation strategy for General Motors Co.'s Cadillac division, says she believes women wield influence in anywhere from 85% to 95% of car purchases. "That's what we're seeing in our showrooms and that's what our dealers are telling us," she said.

Here's another statistic, culled from her research: "If 74% of women feel that they are misunderstood [by car marketers] but they're influencing up to 95% of our car purchases—that's a huge missed opportunity there," she says.

Researchers say demographic shifts offer more reasons for auto makers to refine their sales pitch to women. Women earn more, marry later and divorce more often than they used to. And both women (and men) can be formidable customers, arriving at the dealership armed with research found online, so they aren't at the mercy of a salesman.

At the same time, social media give women "a voice that can impact brands like no other time in history," says Jody DeVere, chief executive of AskPatty, a women's automotive-advisory website.

AskPatty.com is a kind of automotive matchmaking website for women. Its panel of female experts, from automotive executives to magazine editors to race-car drivers, give women advice on buying, maintaining and insuring cars. At the same time, it sells services to automotive companies who want to attract more women customers.

By completing Web-training modules, retailers can be certified by AskPatty.com as "Female Friendly." AskPatty also offers webinars on how to reach women buyers who are Hispanic or baby boomers.

A newer company with some similar aims is Women-drivers.com, which serves as a forum for women to discuss experiences at specific car dealerships. It also offers support for dealers with feedback from women, content for social media and its own market research. Even before Chief Executive Anne Fleming founded the company in 2013, she had begun compiling her own research on car buying, by sending a questionnaire to some 500 women. The company's continuing research has found that women visit an average of 1.9 dealerships before buying. And 47.5% of women who bought a new car went to the dealership by themselves.

Experts have found women are more likely to rely on online customer reviews and friends' opinions when shopping, while men are more likely to turn to expert reviews.

Ford Motor Co. has created a program called "Live.Drive.Love," which offers women 24-hour test drives. Chantel Lenard, director of U.S. marketing for Ford and Lincoln, said, "It's an opportunity [for women] to experience the product on their own time, in their own environments, so they can show it to friends."

What's down the road? Consider this statistic, Ms. Lenard says. Among millennials—the young adults all industries will soon be fighting for, if they aren't already—53% of car buyers are female. A 2013 Autotrader.com study also projects U.S. millennials will be the wealthiest generation ever.

"We're seeing a shift where females are becoming the majority," Ms. Lenard said. "It's an important market and we want to make sure we're delivering on their needs."

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Today’s Women’s Wednesday we are focusing on the up$ide of reviews and what they really boil down to with women shoppers, prospects and buyers.

While you know that women buy almost half of all cars purchased and influence even a much higher number, are you aware of the real upside in selling more cars to women by distinguishing your store as a women+family friendly marketplace? Why is this important? Let’s take a closer look.

Men shop at 1.4 dealerships while women visit 1.9 dealerships prior to buying a car. One-third of women are apprehensive about the buying experience and 20% report being overwhelmed. In fact, a recent poll shows that women are 50% more likely to rely on car dealer reviews than their male counterparts. Why? They want to get the purchase right and avoid getting it wrong. Elite dealers leverage reviews in advertising to mitigate any negative emotions of some customers and to showcase that their dealership is a pain-free company with which to do business.

A brilliant way to distinguish their store from the competition.

Did You Know?

JD Power reports women are more generous than men when rating their dealership experience

Women relate to other women and trust these reviews more than ones written by men

Certified Dealers Upside is in the Million$
Let’s be frank. Women can buy a car anywhere in your city for within a couple of hundred dollars from another dealer. Distinguish your store from the others by using your certified logo in your advertising and branding yourself as a Certified Women-Drivers Friendly Dealer. Benchmark with your sales team how many cars you sell to women each month and keep track of it.

By selling just 5 more cars each you will add $2M to your sales at your store.10 more cars will add an average of $4M in sales and 15 more will bring in $6M more in sales annually! Get your team on board and turn those women browsers into women buyers by having them walk into your dealership as a destination store they have come to do business with because of your stellar reputation with women+families.

Want to Sell More Cars and Distinguish your Dealership to Women?  Click here

Did you receive a Free copy of the 2014 Women’s Car Buying Report? Click here

 
Good Selling!

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Are You Ahead of The Curve?

Chances are you've heard of digital marketing. You may use it in your current marketing strategy. But are you really ahead of the curve? Is your dealership actively engaging shoppers who have visited your website? There's a cutting-edge tool now available to change the way your brand does business online. 

On this week's Think Tank Tuesday, I explain this new technology and how you can use it to engage with your shoppers online.

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