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Volkswagen Dealer Digital Program - anyone using these vendors?

countzerro

Lot Lizard
Apr 20, 2009
9
0
First Name
Matt
Volkswagen has opened up their dealer program and is now allowing us to choose from more vendors than just Cobalt. Is anyone using Adpearance, Search Optics or Pixel Motion for digital marketing? If so, what do like or dislike about them?
 
@JD Rucker

When I saw your name on this thread I thought: Finally! Someone will speak the truth. Where is the real JDR?

These website programs are no different than the canned social media programs you fight so much against. Dealers are losing their personal identity on these the same way they have on social media.

We deal with this to the extreme in Mexico, a very interesting market to learn from what not to do. Dealers in there are 100% factory controlled on their advertising to the point that new car prices are fixed to MSRP just like clothing is at the Ralph Laurent store at the mall. They even have a company that audits their books to make sure they don't offer free things with the car or that there is no chance of discounts. Dealers earn 3% of the sale on average. Difference is that they get huge market areas, usually controlling upwards 1M population areas and having multiple satellite stores.

The loss of identity will yield a much less profitable business for the operator and a more controlled system for the manufacturer. It starts with something as simple as social media and your website. For a few hundred dollars the OEM is playing you with the biggest advertisement asset you will have in the near future (some may argue the biggest one you already have). It is sad to see a group of entrepreneurs getting ticked with such a cheap carrot.