Category: Automakers

I personally work with some of the top dealers across the country and speak to, consult with and present to hundreds of others.  I see a common thread of concern on the decrease of lead form submissions. The flip-side to that is that phone calls are way up!  And my dealers say that’s just fine with them.  Consumers are spending more time researching online, but still desire and need to buy a car from a human being. Many of my dealers experience higher closing ratios (conversions) on phone calls, then actual lead forms.  Therefore, equal weight should be focused on the “digital phone up.”  Especially, now that more than 50% of searches are on mobile devices, the top action on a mobile device is the “click-to-call” button.

I know, I know, your BDC manager says “I need more leads.” And there are so many lead choices, that you don’t know which ones are the best [...]

You’re Wasting Your Marketing Budget

“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted. Trouble is, I don’t know which half.”

-Jon Wanamaker, Philadelphia’s most famous multi-location retailer, is credited with uttering this phrase in 1910.

Dealership management can relate to his frustration. Traditional marketing investments; newspaper ads and TV spots, may sometimes feel more like a necessary evil than an effective way to spend your hard earned revenue. Primarily because you’re spending thousands of dollars every month with little data to know if your efforts are attracting customers.

What if I told you there was one thing you could do right now to attract more customers, get real data on effectiveness, and stop wasteful marketing spending?

The trick is to be present online AND off-line, with a consistent message during the moments that matter most.

Woody Allen is often quoted as saying, “80% of success is showing up.”

How many of you feel you’re [...]

Dealers constantly battle the implementation of social media as a marketing and sales tool.  Most are just happy to have the part-time college intern posting on the top social sites a few days a week. Social Media represents a huge potential opportunity for your dealership if used correctly.  And it’s becoming increasingly difficult to stand out from the crowd. You wouldn’t have your intern layout your newspaper ad, negotiate media buys, administer your PPC campaign, manage your BDC follow up….would you?  If you treat social media like a hobby, it will reward you as such.

Social Media has become a powerful element in today’s marketing efforts and Facebook is still the 800 pound gorilla in the room.  If you only have the budget to optimize one social media channel, this would be the one.  Facebook also offers [...]

I personally work with some of the top dealers across the country and speak to, consult with and present to hundreds of others.  I see a common thread of concern on the decrease of lead form submissions. The flip-side to that is that phone calls are way up!  And my dealers say that’s just fine with them.  Consumers are spending more time researching online, but still desire and need to buy a car from a human being. Many of my dealers experience higher closing ratios (conversions) on phone calls, then actual lead forms.  Therefore, equal weight should be focused on the “digital phone up.”

I know, I know, your BDC manager says “I need more leads.” And there are so many lead [...]

I’ve had the great fortune of working with some of the top eCommerce directors and digital dealers across the country. I continue to see a trend in the qualities and habits these top performers share. Although each dealer possesses more than just five, I’ve decided to document these common threads and share them with you.

1. Every top dealer has a “digital champion” at the dealership. This is an executive leadership position and responsible for overseeing all eCommerce programs; including the strategy, implementation, execution, and reporting. The compensation plan should not be measured solely on cars sold through the internet department (that is the function of your internet manager). He/She should be able to connect all the dots from your traditional to digital marketing budgets and be able to forecast based on the success and failure of each [...]

Today, dealers are more confused about their digital strategy than ever. Their digital footprint looks fine from afar, but up close it’s fragmented and the dots are not connected. They employ multiple vendors to provide programs and services but fail to deliver a unified message across marketing platforms.

There’s information overload regarding big data. To auto dealers, that equates to “paralysis by analysis.” The savvy dealers are becoming digital disrupters by harnessing technology to change consumer online behavior and forever alter the competitive automotive landscape. Shopping for a car is no longer a linear path to purchase. Dealers chase consumers through multiple online channels, who typically criss-cross between them to meet their needs and whims. The successful dealers are able to immediately provide the right message at every intersection, across every channel.

Dealers can no longer [...]

A successful PPC campaign is not for the faint at heart. It should be managed and executed by someone who has experience and knowledge. The best campaigns are assisted by some sort of technology that applies science to the art of pay-per-click. It’s also impossible to list all the details of a successful campaign in a condensed article. If you want a customized plan for your dealership, please email me at the contact info below.

The first step to a successful campaign is the initial planning and organization. Since most dealers don’t have an unlimited budget, my strategy is to “own your backyard” first, which should be considered twenty-five miles around your dealership. The preliminary stages include determining who your hyper-target market is, where they are located and what time do they research and buy. This stage [...]

Let’s face it – if you want sell cars you have to get people to click through to look at what you have to offer.  We’ve all seen the studies that show 63-69% (depending what study you read) of customers’ first contact with a dealership is when they walk in the showroom.  The big question that most dealers are asking is: “What can I do to strengthen my odds that they are going to come see me?”

Unfortunately, there’s not one specific answer to that question; it’s a combination of many things.  If you look at the auto buying survey that Google did, it shows that consumers look at 18.2 sources of information before they buy a vehicle.

If consumers are looking at that many sources, it’s obvious that the answer to the big question is [...]

What does that mean to you? Lots of foot traffic and opportunity to turn those window shoppers into repeat customers!!!

Our Creative team is hard at work every season to come up with new and fresh ideas!

Why not connect with your customer base over an Opening Day Baseball Event or a Spring Cleaning Event?   Vehicle sales rose 8% to 1.4 million cars in April, and the industry’s annual sales pace hit about 16 million for the month, according to Autodata.

So again…Are you ready for Spring?

Relax…We are 100% prepared! This spring we can help you clear your lot and make a record selling  event!

      We target your message over multiple platforms!

What’s our Secret?

SMART DATA Data is paramount! We properly clean your database and verify your information. Our vast database is the most accurate and up to date data on the market. CREATIVE MESSAGE Our team of designers work to provide the most innovate and relevant artwork creating dynamic response rates. We have the data to prove our Omni Channel approach WORKS!!!