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

Dealer Synergy Supports National Breast Cancer Awareness Month & Asks Dealerships To Do The Same

Yume and IPG Media Lab just released a really interesting study regarding how viewers engage with online video ads differently than they do with television ads. To draw their conclusions, they took measurements of facial expressions, eye movement and placement and biometrics to determine the interaction and engagement levels of both TV and online video...and the winner is...

Do Viewers Interact With Online Video Ads Differently From TV?

First thing first: the what, why, and how. They set out to answer three major questions in their research:

SEE ALSO: Attention, Excitement and Video Ad Recall Levels are Screen Dependent?

Do people pay attention to online video differently than they do when watching TV?

If they are different, should an online video ad impression be valued the same way that TV ads are?

What are the quantitative and qualitative differences between TV watching and online video?

It seems that these guys really got it because their basic assumptions included the fact that a controlled environment adds bias to the behavior. Ad avoidance is normal; an ad on-screen doesn't mean a view. How people watch is as important (or more) than what.

Now this was a very limited study, there were only 48 participants who were chosen based on demographic diversity and their viewing of online and traditional TV.

They they showed them an hour of video and did facial tracking analysis and some biometric analysis.

That's as technical as I'll get for you. Let's get to the results!

Online Video Ad Recall Vs. TV: The Results!

It seems that short attention spans and instant gratification needs have teamed up in Americans to show that we can't just watch most shows for their entire length. Or maybe the content of the shows just isn't totally engrossing and so we fill the attention gap with other media. Our mobile phones are the biggest distraction in regards to ad avoidance with 60.4% of subjects using it and DVRs play a big part of that as well with 45.8% using that. Having a laptop in the room is also a major distraction for TV viewers.

For online media, the phone still reigns supreme but surprisingly, 27% of the subjects had no distractions while online. One might say that online video content is far more engaging, or it could have been a fluke (remember, only 48 subjects in the test).

Using a DVR often brought attention levels up, but that was mainly to actively avoid commercials by skipping over them.

Overall, online ad retention and recall were far higher for online than they were for TV. This is mostly because of the DVR-memory gap effect (my term) where people are actively avoiding ads with the DVR, after all, that's half the reason to use one right?

Catch programs you might miss and skip the ads.

This graph is really quite strange if you think about it and shows that DVR memory gap effect. For TV the unremembered ads is increased by the DVR and yet, unaided ad recall is about the same level while aided ad recall is lower than both. It almost seems counter-intuitive. Perhaps what's happening is that people are actually seeing the ad images while DVR ad-skipping and because they weren't completely bored, as they didn't have to sit through the whole ad, they remembered a single frame with branding on it which flashed by as they were fast forwarding.

The New TV Ad Format?

That could be something really interesting to investigate more thoroughly. I've noticed a lot of remotes don't have ad-skip buttons so that means if you're actively ad-skipping you're going to push the FF button until you see a frame of the show you're watching and then hit play.

What if advertisers were to know exactly how many frames were generally skipped, how often a frame showed up on screen and how often a viewer stopped short? Those would then be the ideal places to stick big, branded, static images because then those frames would be seen, even somewhat passively, by the viewers and could be far more effective than fancy live-action ads which don't show the brand much of the time.

This might be the new way to start designing ads for TV.

The Big Win for Online Video Ads

For the online video crowd, i.e. us, this is far easier to deal with. Anytime a video is fast-forwarded over an ad or where an ad would be placed, the ad simply plays when the viewer stops scrubbing or presses play. I've seen this on places like Hulu, who actually show you where the ad will be. Since Hulu is giving me the content free, I don't even bother skipping the ads (see how tolerant I am sometimes).

Here are the big results from the survey if you ask me: online ad recall was twice as high as TV ad recall, both aided and unaided. Check out the chart below.

Perhaps that's the anti-DVR effect. You generally can't get past the ads online whether you're scrubbing or fast forwarding, so it means you'll see them more often. However, I think that the ads also need to still maintain both a short length (15 seconds) or be entertaining and not too frequent.

Because the other thing this research shows is just how easy we, as online video viewers, might simply start multi-tasking far more and mentally blocking out the ads. So advertisers...be warned.

Source: Video Advertising Recall 2X Higher Than TV, According to Study http://www.reelseo.com/tv-online-video-attention-levels/#ixzz2giggkbFw 
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The Evolution & Natural Selection

Of Automotive Sales

Evolution is defined as a process of gradual, progressive change and development. The “Evolution of Automotive Sales” in the last five to six years has been incredible to say the least. The way the manufacturers market and advertise vehicles is different. The way that dealers sell cars has changed. And even the way that individual sales consultants engage prospects and create opportunities has evolved to an entirely new level.

The Automotive Industry is about to have the best year since the collapse of the economy in 2008. NADA is projecting that we will deliver over 15 Million+ units in 2013! Dealers are selling more cars, more often and more profitably. This is a dramatic difference from the scary times of dealers being shut down and consolidated.

What did we learn from the last five to six years? A lot!

• Firstly, dealers learned that NOTHING is promised and in a blink of an eye it can ALL GO AWAY. That is right, it can all be gone. I have seen dealers that had been in business for almost 100 years either go out of business or were pushed to the brink of bankruptcy.

• Secondly, the dealers that did survive learned that they could NOT keep doing what they were doing and expect different results. (Isn’t that the definition of insanity?) They needed to embrace the concepts of “Who Moved My Cheese” if they wanted to survive, never mind thrive!

• Thirdly, and one of the biggest learning lessons since the collapse of the economy, was the realization by dealers that the Internet was here to stay. Let’s be real. At first the industry perceived “Automotive Internet Sales” almost in the same way “Hip Hop” music was classified merely as a “fad”. It was incorrectly predicted that Hip Hop music would go away once kids got it “out of their system”. That assumption could not have been further from the truth.  Not only did Hip Hop survive, it has grown to become a multi billion dollar industry today and has merged with mainstream “pop” culture. In the same way, Internet Sales, Business Development and Digital Marketing have merged into total Dealership operations. It’s NOT just Internet “Sales”, it is Internet “Service”, “Parts”, “Aftermarket” and “F&I”.

What I have found to be rather shocking is that there are dealers that hear about this “great news” of rebound sales and they don’t believe it. They choose not to believe it. They simply can’t believe it because they personally are not selling more cars. They are not net increasing revenue. So, how can they share in the excitement when it is passing them by? How is it that the economy is coming back for some people and not for others? The answer is simple. The economy is coming back for EVERYONE! The problem is that some dealers are still trying to sell cars like it is 1980, 1990, 2007, etc. But, it’s not that era anymore. Business simply is conducted differently. And until that statement is realized, dealers will continue to get the same results. With the year 2014 just around the corner, times have changed, people have changed, technology has evolved and communication has evolved.

With 85 percent of the world connecting via Email and 62 percent of the world connecting via Social Media, the Internet has become even more prominent and vital to the evolution of the dealership. I truly believe that it was the Internet that saved a lot of dealerships from going out of business and saved a lot more people from losing their jobs during the big recession. The reason I say this is because the dealers that embraced Internet Sales, Business Development and Digital Marketing during the turbulent times are the dealers that survived and thrived and some stronger than ever. They viewed the economic collapse as an opportunity to rise while others fell. Some were even strategically buying up the dealerships going out of business! While some dealers strategically utilized the Internet with a blueprint in mind, other dealers were just lucky and happened to engage Internet Sales and Digital Marketing by default. Either they were desperate or they couldn’t afford traditional marketing anymore, so they turned to digital initiatives as a last resort and found that they had profound success. And at a much cheaper cost! Regardless of how dealers wound up enveloped in Internet Sales, they all found results of success at some level. I am not trying to falsely claim that every dealer that engaged in Internet Sales was successful.  I am simply saying that the dealers that DID engage in Internet Sales were more successful than the dealers that rejected it and felt the Internet was irrelevant and a waste of time.  

We’ve touched upon the evolution of Automotive Sales, but how does the theory of Natural Selection play a role? Natural Selection is defined as the process by which forms of life having traits that better enable them to adapt to specific environmental pressures, changes in climate, or competition will tend to survive and reproduce in greater numbers than others of their kind, thus ensuring the perpetuation of those favorable traits in succeeding generations.

The correlation car dealerships have with Natural Selection is simple. The weaker, antiquated, bad dealerships will either be consolidated or go out of business and the more evolved, professional, modern “good” dealerships will thrive, grow, conquest and continue to evolve.  

Successful Dealerships of the present and the future are completely immersed in Internet Sales, BDC and Digital Marketing, possessing either Internet or Business Development Centers. They buy and generate leads proactively to drive business to their dealership(s). They participate in a proactive approach. They do NOT wait for floor ups to simply walk into their dealerships and buy cars. They find the people to come into the dealership. They are where the people are…the Internet.

Evolved Dealerships understand:

• That 92-99% of Americans go online BEFORE they ever step foot into a dealership
• The average buying cycle is between 45-90 days. NOT 72 hours as was the reality 15 years ago
• Internet Leads are a FRACTION of the cost compared to traditional advertising. Specifically, NADA says that the average cost per sale in advertising is $640 per car. On the other hand, Internet advertising is approximately $200 per car.
• Conventional advertising is when and where people do NOT want to be bothered. On the other hand, Internet advertising is “on demand”. It is ONLY when and where people want to be engaged. On their terms.
• Digital Marketing is completely transparent. Every dollar can be tracked back to clicks, leads, attempts, connections, appointments, confirmations, appointments, shows and deliveries. Whereas traditional advertising is dubious and very difficult for tracking ROI.

What is next for the evolution of Automotive Sales? Through my experience through training, I have found the answer is in Automotive Sales Professionals themselves. Excitingly, they too are EVOLVING! Evolved Sales Professionals are taking the old saying “The Car Business Is Like Having Your Own Business” and putting it into play at a whole new level.

“Car Sales Is Like Owning Your Own Business” is as powerfully true as it is tremendously misleading! After all, words are just that, words…unless of course you put those words into action. But how can an Automotive Sales professional put those words into action if the Sales Professional isn’t properly trained on entrepreneurship? Most dealerships falsely mislead their Sales Consultants into thinking that they are trained Automotive Sales Professionals and entrepreneurs, which is NOT the case.  You do NOT own or run your own business if all you are armed with is the “Road to the Sale”, especially if you don’t even use it consistently.  

Truly evolved Automotive Sales Professionals have learned that to own your own business, sustain that business and evolve that business, you must:

• Have a Methodical “Road Map”. You must have a business model with a Plan A, B, C etc. You must begin with the end in mind. You cannot just show up to work and expect to sell 30, 40+ units per month by chance. You need turn by turn GPS precision guidance created via planning and preparation.

• Diversify the way you sell cars. You cannot expect to just live off of floor ups. You need to have multiple streams of revenue or multiple ways to sell automobiles.

• Understand that the Internet is the KEY to your success. Google’s ZMOT confirms how important and relevant the Internet is for ALL businesses. So, if you are in fact “Your Own Business”, then you need to be ALL OVER the Internet! Over 80% of ALL transactions start on Search Engines…

• An individual Sales Professional needs to think of him or herself like the dealership thinks about its Internet Sales Department.  Meaning that Sales Professionals need to emulate the strategy of the Dealership and even the OEM.  If an OEM, such as Ford (for example) has a full online division and specializes in:

• Search Engine Optimization
• Search Engine Marketing
• Video Search Engine Optimization
• Video Production
• Social Media
• Retargeting
• Online Reputation
• Websites
• Focus Sites / Micro Sites
• Blogs
• 3^rd Party Leads / Aggregators / Online Classifieds
• And more…

And then a Ford Dealership, ABC Ford, has an Internet department and duplicates their own digital strategy like the OEM, then it makes all the sense in the world for Sales Professionals to emulate the strategy of both their Dealership as well as their OEM. 

• Proactive Mind Set - Evolved Automotive Sales Professionals cannot wait for magic to happen, they must create their own results… proactively. The way a sales professional views the “sales process” determines the behaviors they exhibit and in turn directly determines their results.

• Must be methodical with “Follow Up” – With the average Internet prospect gestation period being between 45-90 days on AVERAGE. Sales Professionals need to become experts in:

• Inbound / outbound Phone Process
• Inbound / outbound Email Process
• Social Media Communication(s)
• Video Messaging (Skype, GoToMeeting, Video Email)
• Voicemail Communications
• Reputation Management

• Must Have Excellent Time Management Skills –

Entrepreneurs know that you must be careful of distractions disguised as opportunities. This reality is one of the most powerful concepts for evolved Sales Professionals to master. Poor time management skills kill a lot of careers in the automotive industry. There are too many Sales Consultants that work a “Bell to Bell” and get NOTHING accomplished. This happens because they do NOT know how to prioritize. They do not have a “Roadmap for success”.

• Accountability  - True professionals must hold themselves accountable. In order to hold themselves accountable, there must be checks and balances. There must be benchmarks, standards, projections, tracking and reporting.

• Must “Master Your Craft”- At the end of the day, it’s all about being the absolute BEST automotive sales professional you can be. In order to be the best, you need to master your craft. That means:

• Mastering your dealership’s “Road To The Sale” process
• Have AMAZING Product knowledge
• Be able to present FULL Features and Benefits and articulate “WHY” your brand is BETTER than ANY other brands in market
• Be able to articulate (passionately) What is your dealerships unique value package proposition (VPP)… “Why Buy From Us” package.
• Know how to PROPERLY qualify a prospect and identify their wants, needs and expectations.
• Have a thorough library of the TOP 10 objections as well as at least 5-7 STRONG rebuttals for each (That is 50-70 powerful word tracks in your arsenal).

All of my tips and ingredients for success listed above are derived in part from when I was on the front lines selling cars, as a “30-Car Guy”, and in completion from my post front line days as the CEO of a national training and consulting company. I evaluated my automotive experience as a whole and mapped out my formula that helped me achieve 30 units per month, over and over again. Then I modified that formula with the additional information and experience I obtained through working in diverse dealerships all over the country and overseas. I then took that formula and converted it to workshop form for dealerships all over the country, including state associations such as the Detroit Auto Dealers Association (DADA) and the Greater New York Auto Dealers Association (GNYADA).

Let me break down my philosophy for you:

As mentioned prior, a Sales Professional should not just show up to work without a methodical plan and just try to sell as many cars as possible without a defined plan. As Dr. Covey says (Author of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People), You must “begin with the end in mind”.  That means that you should start by identifying:

• Exactly how much money you want to make in a particular month
• How many units you must sell to achieve that financial goal
• Where those units are coming from
• How you are going to sell all of these vehicles

Once you identify the “plan”, you must identify the “how” or the implementation. There are eight main ways an Automotive Sales professional can sell an automobile:

1. Fresh Ups
2. Be-Backs
3. Internet Ups
4. Phone Ups
5. Repeat Clients
6. Referrals
7. Service
8. Prospecting (The Lost Art Of Car Sales)

Unfortunately for the success of the automotive sales professional (and ultimately the dealership), MOST Sales Consultants only sell from 2-4 areas and some even from 4-6, but very few Sales Consultants engage ALL eight opportunities to sell an automobile.

Below you will see a grid that I created, which allows a Sales Professional to truly “Mind Map” their projections.

It breaks down:

• How many units you want to sell per month
• Where you are going to get those units from (within the eight categories)
• Exactly how many people you have to have in front of you, at the dealership, to sell “X” amount of units.
• It further shows you that in order to have “X” amount of prospects in front of you; you need to speak to “X” amount of people (in person or on the phone).

For example, if an Automotive Sales Professional wants to sell 30 units a month and generate over $12,000, how are they going to do it?

Firstly, you need to know the following variables:

• What is your pay plan? You need to not only know what it is, but you need to UNDERSTAND it as well, so you can work it to your advantage. You should identify: 
  • What is the commission percentage
  • What are the bonus levels / tiers
  • What are the bonus units
  • What vehicles have “spins” from the OEM
  • If there are any fast starts or power closing bonuses in existence.

• What is your AVERAGE commission amount? If you don’t know, develop an “estimate”. For example, $400 per car. That is the average, including all bonuses, spins, etc. in total at the end of the month.

• If you are solely on commission or a draw, then you need to calculate how many units you need to sell to earn $12,000.  With that end financial goal in mind, you need to back into the numbers:

• Take $12,000 divided by $400 = 30 units!
• Now you need to identify where you are going to get those 30 units utilizing the following sources:
  • Fresh-Ups
  • Be-Backs
  • Internet Ups
  • Phone Ups
  • Prior Customers / Orphan Owners
  • Referrals
  • Service
  • Prospecting

• Once you calculate where you are going to “fish” for your prospects, you need to calculate how many in dealership prospect engagements you are going to need to close those 30 units.

• After you identify the number of in dealership prospect engagements, you will need to calculate the number of people you need to “speak to” in order to mathematically get that amount of people in the dealership. Remember when I say “speak to”, I mean “communicate” with via:
  • Showroom up
  • Phone up
  • Social Media
  • Email Correspondence

• With that given number, you can calculate how many people you need to:
  • Call
  • Email
  • “Up”
  • Meet (prospecting)
  • Social Communicate / Network with

In the end, the right amount of “conversations” will result in the right amount of “in dealership” visits, which will ultimately result in the 30 units delivered, satisfying your “end in mind”.

Automotive Sales has evolved tremendously since the economic collapse in 2008. It was through Natural Selection that the “strongest” and “adaptable” dealers survived. The same evolution that was responsible for the dealership’s survival then has transferred to the newest evolution of the Automotive Sales Professional today. With that being said, I guarantee, if you follow the plan herein, you will be successful.

In my next article I am going to break my philosophy down even further and provide even more tactical strategies. Specifically in my next article, I will discuss how Automotive Sales Professionals can prospect utilizing advanced technologies and strategies that will empower them to truly “Own Their Own Business”.

If you have any questions about this article or if you would like a sneak peek of the information I will elaborate on in my next article, please feel free to call me at 267-319-6776, email me at sean@dealersynergy.com OR, please visit me at the www.internetsales20group.com  

I'm joined on this week's Think Tank Tuesday by auto industry thought leader, Cory Mosley, to discuss how to keep your customers engaged in your dealership with all five senses. It's time to hear, feel, smell, touch and taste why you need to know about sensory marketing. Tweet along with hashtag #alonetimewithcory and tell us how your dealership enhances the experience!

It's that time again! AutoUSA is collecting responses to its annual Fall Internet Marketing survey. Sales Managers, Sales Directors, Internet Sales Managers, BDC Managers, Internet Directors, General Managers, dealer principals and others involved in auto dealership Internet Marketing are invited to participate.

The survey is just 15 questions and will take less than 15 minutes to complete. When all responses are collected, we will randomly select one survey participant to receive a $300 Visa gift card. But you can't win if you don't answer the questions! Please click on the link below to get started, and in less time than it takes to finish your cup of coffee, you will be entered into the prize drawing. In order to be eligible for the prize, you must work at a dealership and be a resident of the U.S. or Canada.

Thank you so much for your time and participation!

Click here to get started:http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/AutoUSAFall2013AIS

http://www.webgreeter.com/blog/tips/5-ways-to-get-a-customer-talking-on-your-website

Edmunds just announced their Hackomotive 2014 contest where folks come up with ideas on how to improve the car buying process etc., and as a former employee I was initially excited to see this but within 60 seconds something caught my eye that was disappointing.

Last year's #1 Winner - My Motive which paints the picture that up until now the Dealer has made the consumer their "Bitch" yes, that's in there, and that this new My Motive lets the consumer turn the tables and finally make the Dealer their "Bitch" (yes it really says that).

Why does this bother me so much? We'll frankly because I was with them and helped launch their direct to dealer program and when I went to work there I remember in my interview saying: "I've been a dealer and for years we really haven't had much love for Edmunds so how are you going to fix that because, as a dealer, I need to know you're there for me if I buy your program."

My boss at the time shared the vision of Edmunds still maintaining their integrity with consumers but not really being focused on creating more content like 'confessions of a car salesman' anymore.

I bought into the idea that they would finally respect the dealer community and helped enroll well over 100 dealerships in their program in my first year with them.

Apparently I was wrong about their true motives and if all of this doesn't tick you off as a dealer, you need to get your head examined.

You can see the award of $10,000 they paid for a 1st place idea in hackomotive 2013 right here http://www.hackomotive.com/presentations/06_my_motive/mymotive.pdf

If you don't want to click over to their site, here are actual screen shots (Note - I've added the arrows and comments on the side)

In my not so humble opinion, vendors should work to help Dealers do two things: Get and Keep Customers. Rewarding a "Make the dealer my bitch" idea only furthers what many already believe about Edmunds.

Simply put, they don't care about your dealership, they only want your money and behind the scenes they're all still high fiving each other when they disrespect the dealer.

In this case, the high-five had a $10,000 bonus.

What's the best idea for 2014 going to be: "F@€K Dealers, buy direct from Edmunds" ?!?!?

I'd love to hear your feedback and please everyone, share this with other dealers ASAP but really I have a question for everyone seeing this:

ARE YOU DONE BEING Edmunds"BIT¢H"?

Helping the best get better,
Mat Koenig
CEO & Founder
KonigCo & iCarMedia

http://www.automotivedigitaltraining.com
Make Money Mondays With Sean V. Bradley - Don't Give Up! REMEMBER "The Sky Is Not Falling"

Are you ready for another dose of the Hard Facts

In this week's episode we focus on your employees and what keeps them excited each day. Everyone needs motivation to reach success. Do you know what it takes to keep your team motivated and ready every day?

If your first thought is, "More money!" then this is one video you can't miss.

Marketing results don't change based on what you think, feel, wish, or believe. What you need are the Hard Facts.

It's tough out there, not knowing what works and what doesn't. I will make sure you have all the Hard Facts to help your business succeed.

Get the Hard Facts on motivation now:

http://www.internetsales20group.com 

What Are Your Most Important Assets?

Guest Post By Sean V. Bradley, CEO, Dealer Synergy

I have been immersed in automotive Internet sales, BDC, and digital marketing for almost 15 years. Needless to say, in this time there have been countless evolutions in social media, lead generation, mobile devices, and every other form of technology.

Through it all, one thing has always remained constant and important – PEOPLE. We have always needed, and continue to need, good quality people. No one has invented robots that sell cars, and no one has eliminated the need for automotive sales professionals, Internet directors, or appointment setters. Through all of the technology upheavals, social media fads and the Google ZMOT craze, the ONLY thing that has not been eliminated or genetically enhanced is the “People” aspect of the department.

People are the backbone of this industry. People sell cars, people conduct product presentations and demo drives. People qualify prospects, identify their wants, wishes and expectations, and then meet them and exceed them. No matter how much technology we have at our disposal, it is the “People” that make everything happen – before, during and AFTER the sale!

That being said, dealers must make sure they have the RIGHT people in their departments, and not settle for anything less than what is needed for success. Too many times dealers take “ANY” “body” that is available. They only recruit when they are desperate and need “bodies.” It is rare to see dealers proactively recruiting for the right candidates.

The scary truth is that this is true throughout the dealership – but it is becoming an epidemic in the Internet Sales Department, the BDC / Call Center, etc. In these departments, many dealers are not staffing correctly. Horrifyingly, they are either hiring the wrong people to run their multi-million dollar department, and / or they do not have the appropriate number of people in their department. It is common to see departments with way too many leads and only one or two BDC reps managing 500, 600, or more leads.

If you’re not staffing these departments properly, know that this practice is just plain badon many different levels. Here’s why:

• You are BURNING through Internet Ups, only capturing the “low hanging fruit.”
• You are NOT able to effectively communicate with your individual Internet Prospects because you are spread too thin to have the proper amount of e-mail / phone call follow-up protocol.
• You will have prospects slip through the cracks and potentially buy elsewhere.
• It’s NOT just the leads for the current month that are not being handled properly; there is also your Residual Flow Factor to consider. The average buying cycle is 45 – 90 days. So, if there are 500 leads (fresh for the month), there are an approximately 250+ carry over leads that you’re still working.
• Most painful: lost revenue.

Dealerships must have a consistent and proactive recruiting protocol. They must also know which sources are the best for recruiting top talent. Here are a few proven resources:

• www.indeed.com
• www.carjobsonline.com
• www.craigslist.com
• www.monster.com
• www.simplyhired.com
• www.careerbuilder.com

Here’s another, more creative way to attract qualified candidates for employment: Create a TV / Web Commercial. That’s right, a commercial for HR. Here’s an example of a commercial we created for one of our dealer clients, Bill Dube Hyundai (Scott Dube is the President of the Massachusetts State Auto Dealers Association):

Whether you create your commercial in-house or outsource the job is up to you. No matter how you do it, my strong advice is to produce one.

Once you have a Web / TV commercial created, I recommend you syndicate widely for maximum visibility through resources including the following:

• Facebook and Facebook ads, sponsored posts, etc.
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• YouTube
• Pinterest
• Instagram
• Google Ads and Video Pre-Roll ads

You can even create a “We are hiring” button on your website!

Remember: you are only as strong as your weakest link. And if your weakest link is your people, you need to – and CAN – do something about it immediately.

If you have any questions about this article, please email me at sean@dealersynergy.comor feel free to give me a call at (267) 319-6776.

Sean V. Bradley is the founder and CEO of Dealer Synergy, a nationally recognized training and consulting company in the automotive industry.

This is a truly great article written today (9/25) by Phil Laboon, a contributor for Forbes Magazine.

If your company relies on leads from your website, then your online presence is your brand. Online branding is especially important for service providers who don’t have a tangible product that clients can look at. Instead, customers are buying the information you present about the service — and the reputation you’ve built up to support it.

The Internet rules in this “digital era,” and Google GOOG -1.21% controls 80 percent of the search results, so make yourself stand out. Search engines want to reward the brands that real people find valuable. You can’t assume users will easily search and find your brand or business only because you have a live website. Instead, you must focus on building your online brand to create a personable impression for first-time users, while continuing to engage and reward long-time customers.

If you’re noticing a high bounce rate in your site visitors, it’s time to take a look at the image your website is projecting and consider revamping it with the following tips.

1. Add credibility with customer testimonials. Make sure to capitalize on the great customer relationships you already have by gathering and sharing client testimonials and reviews on your website. A testimonial is much more than an ego boost. They have tremendous power to persuade other people to seek out your business for products and services. Having real clients share their experiences boosts your credibility because it shows that your service has been “tested” by the public.
2. Capitalize on press and publications. Promote and link to any publications where you, your brand or your services are mentioned. The ability to get press adds to your brand’s legitimacy. These announcements can be published under a “Recent Press” or “Recent Mentions” section on your website. Receiving third-party commendations positions your company as an authority in your field, and often, fame leads to more business.
3. Boast about your recognitions. Any awards or recognitions that your services, business or employees have earned indicate the quality of your brand. Display recent accomplishments on your website where users can easily find them. Take advantage of any widgets or icons as well. Having a “Recent Recognitions” section on your website can be very valuable for enhancing your credibility.
4. Display your social following stats. Use a social stats widget or plugin on your website to display your social following stats. Positive engagement on social media can increase the likelihood that viewers will find your brand likable. Social media is an opportunity to make your brand more personable and human, and less like a faceless corporation.
5. Establish yourself as a resource. Establish yourself as industry leader by sharing free educational content. Offer useful white papers, e-books, and other downloadable materials that your viewers will actually need or benefit from. Aim to establish yourself as a resource for knowledge, humor, current events, or whatever else you can capitalize on. You should be willing to educate your customers and readily give them the information they want. If you’re not willing, then your users will find a competitor who is.
6. Avoid jargon. Avoid using your own industry’s jargon on your website. Speak in the potential customers’ terms instead. One common mistake is filling website content with industry language and buzzwords. Instead of pitching to a client with fancy terms, speak to them in language that they would use to search for your products or services. You must get in the mind of your potential customers. Don’t try to woo them with insider jargon.

Developing a strong online presence and paying attention to your overall online branding increases both positive customer experience and search engine optimization results. Your reputation is not out of your hands. Take control of your online identity and gain leads from enhancing your online presence.

http://www.dealersynergy.com
Internet Director That Sold 150+ Units Per Month ONLINE Gets Promoted To General Manager
Joe Cala has 12 years Automotive Sales Experience, holding positions in:

* Showroom Sales

* New Car Sales Manager

* Used Car Manager

* Internet Sales Manager

* Internet / BDC Director

Joe Cala also worked for 1 year as an Autotrader Account Executive.

Joe is going to make an incredible General Manager of Dealer Synergy

Let me tell you about 7 key things you are likely doing that is costing you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. These are the real budget killers, the ones that keep you up at night. I assure you that this is an episode of Think Tank Tuesday you cannot afford to miss!

http://www.internetsales20group.com
http://www.automotivedigitaltraining.com

Make Money Mondays With Sean V. Bradley "Leadership" "Lead By Example"

Want to learn how to market to your existing customers through facebook?

I am just wanting to see if I have enough interest in a webinar on setting up and marketing to your existing customer base.

It will cover start to finish how to setup and administer a facebook marketing campaign to your existing customers.

Please message me to show your interest.

http://www.internetsales20group.com

Yelp and Siri Integration

Want to learn how to benchmark your throughput time? Dennis will show you how in this week's HARD FACTS.