Category: Leads

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 [...]