Websites made by a company that doesn't specialize in dealerships?

[Kelly Wilson]

Chris, we went with a mainstream provider with some custom work. I looked outside automotive but didn't find anyone I felt would be able to give me more than what I saw inside without a large investment of time.

 

[Chris Cachor]

I'm not sure where this conversation is at, but I do have an extremely strong opinion towards a DIY, non-vendor, and/or in-house solution. I was a website/developer that came into the automotive industry with ZERO automotive systems knowledge. I had 60-days to bring our family of websites for our group in-house and away from a vendor. I didn't know what a DMS, an inventory management system, what a XML lead, how an automotive CRM system worked, or what a inventory feed was. Within those 60 days (actually 65, I rolled out 5 days late) I was able to design, develop the entire site front to back as a single person team. I received no help from any vendor (all were clueless on how to connect the pieces or didn't want to help), zero in-house, and zero external help.

Great job on the site. It's right up there in the top 3 dealer sites I've seen so far. CTA's are all well placed and awesome job on the testimonials graphics. Nice use of custom fonts as well. A+

 

[Chris Cachor]

BTW this is probably the best example of a dealer site I've seen that sells the dealership. If I was in market and you guys were local it's a clear winner.

 

[joe.pistell]

... I was just raised in a dealership all day and on a computer all night writing BASIC apps. This was the natural career path.

1. Outlier
2. ...In statistics, an outlier is an observation point that is distant from other observations... Wikipedia
   

Every facet of this discussion proves my point. If you think that building a website is as simple as hiring a geek and drawing some ideas on a napkin... your ego is about blow up a few years of your life.

"Just because it's a good idea, doesn't mean it'll work".


p.s. DR forums is a magnet for the "Outliers" in our space. Welcome you FREAKS OF NATURE

 

[csabatka1]

Chad,

Not taking anything from you accomplishment but could be that the vendor you used was terrible and you are excellent, so we have a case of 2 ends of the spectrum.

If the vendor would have been a really good one, perhaps your numbers wouldn't have been so different.

Just because someone is a vendor doesn't make it automatically good, and by the same token custom doesn't always hot the correct path.

Our previous website vendor was a pretty good one and they did a decent job, but a vendor "template" website can take you so far. I say template because they have to repeat the content, SEO, VLPs, VPDs across each and every market. They, along with every other website vendor, needs to provide a scalable platform which can fit into any dealership and market.

 

[csabatka1]

Yup, everywhere I look, there's another Chad or a Craig hanging out on the street corner looking for work.

Sorry Chad. You're an outlier (& you too Craig .

Thanks Joe for the compliment.

I would say there are plenty of talented companies and freelancers out there than can do the exact same thing I have done. It doesn't take someone from inside or knowing of the industry to provide a viable website platform. Dealerships tend to rely on vendors for everything and vendors have done a good job taking advantage of that.

Great job on the site. It's right up there in the top 3 dealer sites I've seen so far. CTA's are all well placed and awesome job on the testimonials graphics. Nice use of custom fonts as well. A+

BTW this is probably the best example of a dealer site I've seen that sells the dealership. If I was in market and you guys were local it's a clear winner.

Thanks a ton. I'm making a major push this spring/summer is dealership and sales advisor reviews and trying to separate us out more from the competition on the Why Buy message.

 

[yagoparamo]

Our previous website vendor was a pretty good one and they did a decent job, but a vendor "template" website can take you so far. I say template because they have to repeat the content, SEO, VLPs, VPDs across each and every market. They, along with every other website vendor, needs to provide a scalable platform which can fit into any dealership and market.

Chad,

I have to disagree with some of that.

Everything is a template until you work it. from a block of paper that becomes a book to a piece of clay that becomes a sculpture. All start with the same platform and become very unique pieces.

Repeated content, SEO, etc was repeated because nobody at the dealer bothered to work on it. I see that as an independent issue from whoever the website provider is.

As far as seeing an scalable platform that fits many dealers as a negative I see that as a positive. Joe can testify that the dev teams are working non stop like crazy. I think we have 10+ projects going on right now (some pretty amazing and some not so much).

 

[csabatka1]

As far as seeing an scalable platform that fits many dealers as a negative I see that as a positive. Joe can testify that the dev teams are working non stop like crazy. I think we have 10+ projects going on right now (some pretty amazing and some not so much).

This point I agree with fully. When going with an automotive vendor, they're constantly working on add-ons, features, etc. that are targeted towards a automotive website. If you go with an in-house or agency website you will not get this benefit.

 

[yagoparamo]

This point I agree with fully. When going with an automotive vendor, they're constantly working on add-ons, features, etc. that are targeted towards a automotive website. If you go with an in-house or agency website you will not get this benefit.

Chad,

I also think it is hard to keep up with changes in the business that are non technical.

You are exposed to 2-8 dealers, I have 1000+ in my system. My learning curve is much faster.

Sometimes we see a change happening in a state (we adopt a new form for example that provides a batter conversion rate) and we see it spread across the country. We now look for these patterns so we can adapt faster to what's working. The individual dealer has a hard time hitting the right idea without being able to see a larger picture of the market.

 

[mitchellharding]

A "regular" webdev company certainly has its appeal, but I think that if you're willing to put in the time to find a good one, there are enough solid, specialized developers to go around.