Are your shoppers spending more time on their phones than with your sales team? Studies show that 63% of shoppers are actively searching for other dealerships while they're in your showroom. How can you compete with other dealerships on that mobile device? Samantha discusses some strategies you can implement to make your dealership more mobile friendly.

Have you been using price points and incentives as a crutch in your video advertising? If so, you are limiting your creativity. There's so much more that you could be doing to showcase your product and your brand. 

On this week's Think Tank Tuesday, I explain how you can channel your inner creativity to increase the effectiveness of your advertising. 

When it comes to marketing (and just about everything else), there are right-brained thinkers and left-brained thinkers. The right-brain thinkers are more subjective and often more creative and would not like the concept of social media having two options. It makes it too black and white. Left-brain thinkers are guided by logic and wouldn't necessarily believe that there are only two categories in social media marketing. In other words, neither type of person will likely agree with the assertion of this article, at least not at first.

One can make an argument that there are definitely multiple sub-categories, styles, and strategies that go into social media marketing, but there are really only two stances that businesses should take. These two categories can be called "outbound" and "inbound" social media strategies. They shouldn't be confused with inbound or outbound digital marketing strategies. In the case of these social media categories, we're being a little more straight forward than that.

An outbound social media marketing strategy is what most who believe in social media want to achieve. They feel that social media is a venue through which to reach people, communicate, improve branding, and expose the company's messages. Its goal is to be aggressive and take advantage of the fact that the masses are using social media regularly. In many cases, customers are spending more time on social media than any other digital activity.

An inbound social media strategy is very different from a pure inbound marketing strategy. It can be viewed as a defensive posture, a way of covering social media without much time or effort. It's about checking off the social media task box. This is the type of strategy that a business should employ if they either do not believe in social media as an appropriate marketing venue or they do not have the time and/or budget to put a true effort towards an outbound strategy.

Let's take a look at each strategy in more detail.

Outbound Social Media Marketing

This is an "all in" strategy. It focuses on the beliefs that lots of people are on social media, that sites like Facebook have the data that can be used for hypertargeting them with the right messages, and that either ideas or website clicks can be driven through an aggressive advertising component.

In the case of car dealers, for example, social media offers a venue to target people who intend to buy a certain vehicle in the near future. By taking advantage of this data and putting the right messages in front of them, dealers are able to pull people in from social media sites onto landing pages on their website.

To do it the right way requires an investment. It can take time to craft the messages, monitor the profiles, and participate in conversations. It takes advertising dollars to get the message out to the right target audience. Social media in general and Facebook in particular is a pay-to-play model. The old concepts of organic reach are dead.

Inbound Social Media Presence

You'll notice that I did not call it "marketing". With an inbound strategy, a business is simply creating and managing a presence so that they are there without putting in much effort. It's not a defeatist strategy by any means. For many, they have not found the benefits of social media or they're not ready to invest what it takes to have a strong marketing strategy, so they simply get their social media covered.

This is important because people will visit your pages and profiles. Most businesses have buttons that lead to their social media profiles right there on their website. The search engines will often rank social media profiles and pages high on search results for the business by name. Making sure that your pages have an ongoing flow of content is important while not being too time consuming or expensive.

It doesn't look good when people visit your social profiles and they haven't had anything added to them in some time. It's even worse when people are going to these profiles to converse with you or to leave a comment (such as a review) and it goes unnoticed. In extreme cases, Facebook pages can be "hijacked" by spammers leaving their links to unrelated pages. When this type of spam is found on a page, it can be worse than an embarrassment.

Why There's No In-Between

Some will balk and say that there are ways to have a good marketing strategy without going all-in. They are wrong. The benefits of a toe-dipping, low- or no-budget strategy that is trying to do more than establish an ongoing presence are no greater than a purely defensive inbound strategy. In other words, you can spend very little time and money on a basic inbound strategy or you can spend some more time and a little money on an attempted lite marketing strategy and the end results will be the same.

The gap between a basic presence and a "good" presence is minimal. However, the difference between a "good" presence and a full-blown outbound strategy is huge. If you're not going to go all-in, then you should focus on having a good presence rather than trying to work in a little marketing. It's a waste of time and money to go halfway. Either invest into it or keep it simple. There's nothing wrong with either strategy; they both have their benefits. Trying to be there in the middle, not quite bought in but more than just covering the basics, is a limbo that yields nothing more than keeping it all inbound.

It's a lot like poker. On some hands, you'll play it tight, particularly if you believe your hand is weaker than your opponents. On other hands, you'll play aggressive, even going all-in when the time is right. The fish in the middle who are trying to tiptoe through hands are the ones that end up losing their chips the quickest.

Two Dealer Synergy employees talk about the upcoming IS20G Event coming to Boston, MA in September!

Check out this conversation, I can guarantee you'll click the link and take advantage of our Early Bird pricing that ends this FRIDAY! 

Brittany and Chris cover IS20G

http://www.dealersynergy.com 856-546-2440
Make Money Mondays with Sean V. Bradley - Special Edition - "Prior Proper Planning"

Lately, vehicle recalls have been a major issue for manufacturers. That doesn't mean it has to be a major issue for your dealership. When a recall occurs, there are several ways your dealership can become a resource. They can also be a great way to generate potential new leads. On this episode of Hard Facts, Samantha discusses some ways you can use vehicle recalls to your advantage.

Digital Dealer 17 Conference's Keynote Speaker Convicted Criminal (Fraud, Money Laundering & More) - Jordan Belfort "Wolf Of Wall Street"

http://www.internetsales20group.com

A special VIP event is coming to next Internet Sales 20 Group, we're not joking when we say Bigger. Better. Boston.

This year we are making our event bigger by taking it to the Spirit of Boston! This private chartered yacht will take all attendees that register for the VIP party around the harbor while they enjoy a live DJ, fully catered dinner AND a 3 1/2 hour open bar! The IS20G workshop is September 22^nd-24^th, but the VIP event will be on the first night, September 22^nd! We provide the transportation from the hotel to the Spirit and Back to the hotel after the Networking Event.  

One catch though, we do need you to RSVP by September 18^th to Ana@DealerSynergy.com.  Come join us as we go bigger in Boston. For more information you can visit here!. Hope to see you there!

http://www.dealersynergy.com 856-546-2440

Internet Battle Plan - "How To Actually Make Money Selling Cars"

Last month there was such strong interest in our mid-year report “Dealers Websites are #1 with Women Buyers” we have decided to follow it up with more nuggets regarding your site, engagement and women shoppers.

As competition rises, it’s the right time for dealerships to focus on areas of improvement, engagement, and delivering a quality experience to women customers. Today we are focusing on low cost, positive and quiet changes that can make a big difference in showcasing transparency to women.

1. Provide Email and Direct Number Details: Make it easy for your women prospects to locate and contact the people that they are working with. Email addresses, direct phone or even a cell number is ideal.

2.  Professional Photos of the Staff on the Website: By posting professional pictures of your staff with their names and titles, it is easy for customers to give a face to the voice they have spoken to. Or, at least, it will lower any anxiety or mystery about whom they will be working with during the car buying process

For more "Small Changes in Your Digital Footprint Create Easier Access for Women," Click Here.

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!

Do you remember the last time you were excited to watch a commercial on television? If you're like most people, that probably never happens. Over 50% of new automotive shoppers are more likely to watch your commercials when you use this tactic. 

What tactic? Tune in to this week's Think Tank Tuesday, and I'll explain what it is and how you can get your commercials in front of the right audience.

IS20G can provides you with over 180 combined years of automotive knowledge in just 3 days of learning! The following 6 men will be sharing their secrets of success, and will be available for you to learn as much as you can.

1. Mike Udell

2. David Blassinggame

3. Danny Benitis

4. Paul Sansone Jr.

5. Ron Bauss

6. Scott Dube

We’re blown away at how fast this even is selling, you should get your tickets now and join us in Boston September 22-25! 

So, let’s talk about Website engagement. We spend thousands of dollars to drive traffic to our Websites, so why don't we proactively talk to 100 percent of our customers who go there? As a dealer or GM, would you want your sales people only talking to 50 percent of the customers who are on your lot right now? After you spent all that money to get them there, shouldn’t you engage the customers who show up?

In short, ask yourself this question: Why do I treat my online leads differently than I treat customers on my lot?

Think about this, as well: How many people do you know who would rather text that talk? We all know lots of people who prefer a text to a verbal conversation, so if you don't have it on your Website, you are missing a vital section of the modern-day consumer by not communicating in the way  they would prefer.

Websites can spur three types of communication:

1. The phone: This method only works, however, when your store is open.

2. Forms: Customers can fill them out, but it does nothing to obligate the customer to continue the sales process or make you stand out from the dealer down the road.

3. Proactive live chat: Just as with your customer on the lot, it makes sense — once they have landed on a product or service — to proactively engage that customer and offer some type help in navigating your Website.

With live chat technology, an algorithm is available that tells live chat agents when a customer is most open to being engaged in a conversation, and when this conversation will yield the result. When this technology is used properly, businesses often see their lead count from their own Website double and triple — and we all know a lead from your own Website is the best lead there is.

But don’t forget about your service and parts department. The same practice can be followed in every department with great results. Remember: Every little bit helps and, at the end of the year, a properly set-up live chat program can lead to a fantastic ROI.

So, here's the takeaway for setting up live chat at your dealership:

Get professional help. Live chat is only effective if it’s properly done.

When getting that professional help, make sure you only sign month-to-month contracts. That way, if you don't see the results, you can fire them immediately.

Make sure it's proactive.

Live chat, when done properly, will also help you build a marketing database.

Make sure the live chat is available 24/7/365 in sales, parts and service.

http://www.dealersynergy.com 856-546-2440

Make Money Mondays with Sean V. Bradley - Special Edition - Joe Cala - "Measurement"

http://www.internetsales20group.com 856-546-2440

David Blassingame, Dealer Principal of Autoflex Leasing Shares Secrets Of Leasing & Profits 

So you won the customer and you made the sale, but now what? For most businesses, this is where the relationship falls apart. There is more you need to be doing after the customer drives off of your lot. On this week's Hard Facts, Samantha discusses how you can turn your past customers into a lead source for drawing in potential buyers.

Typically we love to find a solid article to share with you and compliment it with our thoughts, but for this podcast we decided to take a different approach. We have been hearing numerous reports of the possibility that Twitter will become a paid platform. There are many positive and negative  ways this could go. Listen now as the  social media team sounds off on our thoughts and of course, we would love to hear your thoughts as well.

PODCAST - Paying For Twitter

It's Not Too Late to Keep Your Ad Budget Healthy And Your Dealership Profitable

Stop valuing quantity over quality when you're purchasing marketing services. Stop purchasing cheap packages because they're ineffective. Other dealers have succumbed to this disease but you can rise above.

On this week's Think Tank Tuesday, I expain this sickness and offer my prescription. Learn how to cure it before it jeopardizes your brand.