Latest activity

Mitchell Brenner · May 19, 2011

A year or two ago I would have been very worried about this news. I
hated AutoTrader and they were my least favorite Internet company
for years. They have really changed the last couple of years and I've
grown to understand them and have changed my perception of them. They also have left VAuto alone and that
relationship hasn't changed since they bought it so I am going under the
assumption that they will leave Vin Solutions alone to do what they do
and just support them with $$$ to help them continue to grow! Vin Solutions has been a great addition to our Dealership and I look forward to even more success!

May 19, 2011

Jeff,

went to your site and saw you have presto on your dealer site. Just out of curiosity, what is the monthly cost of that program

JCollins · May 18, 2011

I feel the next acquisition has to be a review platform. Question is which? DealerRater or PrestoReviews??

May 18, 2011

The question of whether this and similar consolidation of providers will be a "win" for dealers... I tend to think, yes... while obviously a generalization, I think companies have learned from the mistakes of previous acquisition companies which sought to do just for their own financial gain. I truly believe that Dominion and other similar companies, will have a win/win mentality because you always needs to be #learning to get better!

May 18, 2011

Congratulations to the VS team! I only have one question: Matt - which Miami dealership will you be buying your next car from?

May 18, 2011

AutoTrader's "World Domination" strategy fits nicely with VIN's "Eat Crap and Die" strategy.

Mitchell Brenner · May 18, 2011

I'll take a wait and see attitude on this one. VAuto seems to have survived the acquisition and AutoTrader has appeared to have learned from their numerous past indiscretions towards their dealers. We'll see!

May 24, 2011

Hi Laurie
Sorry to gripe, but it's what I do best.

"While these truths will never change, there has been a fundamental change in the way Press Release is delivered. Below I’d like to share some of the more common changes coming:"

.. a press release is delivered ..
.. press releases are delivered ..
.. more common changes ..

Measure twice, cut once.

Kind regards
RogerG

May 17, 2011

This week I’ve seen an overwhelming amount of blog posts and twitter feeds surrounding the “new” PR. But I have to say, the new PR looks a lot like the old PR, just gift wrapped with nicer paper. Relationships still matter. Pitches still need to be compelling. Press Release pros still need to be creative.

While these truths will never change, there has been a fundamental change in the way Press Release is delivered. Below I’d like to share some of the more common changes coming:

The Press Release is Dead.

Perhaps I should say the way we use it as a tool is in the advanced stages of rigor mortis. Today’s press releases are more about SEO and driving up page rankings than a vehicle for getting news out. I still send releases, but today they’re more to drive additional traffic back to landing pages and fill Google with company news. Bylines, videos on YouTube and blogs written by thought leaders are emerging as the new vehicle to push a company into the spotlight.

Relationships still reign.

While it’s easier than ever to bombard editors and reporters with pitches through Twitter, relationships still reign in new media. Why shotgun messages to bloggers email boxes and pitch via Twitter if you don’t have a personal relationship with the reporter? I’ve been the recipient of several pitches from PR rookies who don’t know what I blog about or who makes up my audience. (Clue to PR peeps, my blog is attached to my website that proves; I too, dabble in PR.) It still makes sense to take the time to build a relationship BEFORE the pitch. Otherwise, it’s just white noise.

You are the publisher.

With blogs, paper.li and Twitter anyone and everyone can be their own publisher. Become a thought leader in the space by building your own community. Guest post on blogs, write bylines and tweet your thoughts. It’s much easier than it used to be to create buzz. A word of caution here; ensure what you’re putting out is useful and educational. Online readers can see through promotions and douchey posts. I promise.

AVE needs to just go away.

Ad Value Equivalency (AVE) is the old way to measure PR progress. It’s based on multiplying the space occupied by a clip by the ad rate of the page. I understand the need to quantify PR, I do. But there are many better ways to measure PR than this antiquated method. One great way to do it is the amount of buzz that has been created. Are people engaged? Are they responding to your posts? Are your website numbers up? Determine what customer engagement looks like and then use that number to measure success.

I know this might be a little in left field for the DealerRefresh reader at the dealership, but if you are taking your dealership blog serious, working community events while tying it into your dealers online social presence to engage the consumer, then you know what I'm talking about.

If you want to delve deeper into the new reality of PR, I highly recommend the book, The New Rules of Marketing and PR by David Meerman Scott or check out his blog at WebInkNow. Not that he needs any further buzz, he’s already using the tips above.

Sep 4, 2011

I use original photos of the cars that are actually being sold on my site and not stock photos. I too have seen an increase in sales

amykins · Sep 2, 2011

I don't sell new cars as a dealer but I sold Lincoln Mercury not that long ago. I think that in this world where instant gratification is the order of the day it is a must to put a photo of the actual car or one with the correct colors, equipment etc. There are used car dealers near us who will actually run print advertising with "stock" photos of 10 or 15 year old cars! There is one guy in particular who will run a two page spread of nothing but "stock" photos - wrong color and all. Yikes.

Aug 29, 2011

Your own new car pics are a must! My 2 cents (well I have 2)
Take the pics in FRONT of your dealership. Get that branding of your dealership and location in there. I am not a big fan of taking pics in front of banners and the like. (one local dealer actually puts big ugly MAGNETIC signs on the cars, yikes)
Another note is HOW MANY PICS? Back a few, we were all excited to post 30 or 40 pics.. wow! Now I am settled down to just 15-20. Customers attention spans are so damn short. Just give them the good quality shots that show the options, the trim level and gadgets. Oh and a "marketing tile" would not hurt. Like on Certified vehicles or a map or even a combo pic of the inside of the dealership.

Lenen · Jul 25, 2011

The most frequent objection I hear as a Cars.com rep is time it takes and who will do it/get credit after the sale. A clear process for when/how/who is absolutely needed. We see a ton of increased views for the dealers who take photos of new inventory. A good setting for the photo is worth the investment. Additionally, the 'story', we call them seller notes, is a great place to talk about the vehicle as well as other highlights at the dealership. I'm amazed at how few dealers take advantage of this opportunity. Point is, if the dealer takes the time to do it, it works.

Jun 28, 2011

I used actual pictures of new vehicles, market based pricing and custom descriptions for 5 or 6 years. On AutoTrader, we had more new vehicle VDPs than any dealership in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. It didn't happen every month but it should never happen at a Nissan store.

Jun 18, 2011

Our Toyota store has recently started using Dealer Specialties to post photos of new car inventory. I am not in that store daily but the staff tells me that it has definitely made a difference. Customers appreciate looking at the actual photo of the vehicle instead of a stock picture. In our case it is not just the picture that gets the customers attention, but the typed in comments and description about the vehicle listing equipment and features, as opposed to the random computer generated stock comments.

Jun 6, 2011

The benefit is not only Autotrader, once you have the photos is also your own website, cars.com, craigslist, etc. Pay once to take the photos and use it in several dozen sites.
When was the last time you bought something that had a 'comic' or fake photo of the item? Never.
Cars are the same thing. We like to see the OEM photos but surely we would like to see the one I can drive right now and buy today. I've never been more bored in my life than checking a website that has 35 F150's in stock withstock photos and they all look exactly the same. They have a disclaimer that says: 'photos may not represent available unit'--so what the h... am I looking at then?

craigh · May 19, 2011

Mitch, if you can find a provider who can automatically update our incentives for dealerships - this would be incredible. We are currently using a very messy and difficult method of updating it manually each month.

craigh · May 19, 2011

This just seems like common sense to me. Many dealers don't do it, but it still seems like common sense. A stock photo to me, as a consumer, is a turn-off.

In the same regard, I hate shopping for electronics and finding that every site is using the same 200px x 200px blurry image of the electronic's box. I can go to NewEgg where they unbox the product and take proper images from every angle. It only makes sense to me.

May 19, 2011

We've been putting tons of photos on our new vehicles and it's a pain in the ass but we do it because it helps conversion, helps co-navigating with a prospect on the phone while talking new and our sales staff has commented numerous times that it helps them have the photos on there... not gonna get into some of the BS reasons.

Conversion has gone up dramatically but take that with a grain of salt. We did a few things, like more PPC driven to deep links and it's always going to be dramatic when your baseline number is a single digit of leads/month.

I'm trying desperately now to find a data provider who can help me and get the programs and incentives up to date and juice some more out of our new efforts.

May 17, 2011

Very insightful. No Joke, I spent 75 minutes going through this post and taking notes.

May 15, 2011

I started using actual photos of our new cars about a year ago. I am definitely seeing the same results as you Jeff. I think people want to see the car that they are interested in. They can see stock photos on any car in the world, but what makes yours unique is what they want to see. I have heard it from customers in the showroom 'you're website looks great and I love how you have photos of everything.' I will say this, being a Honda dealer or a Nissan or a Toyota dealer, it is easy to do. I have a huge file with all of the exteriors of each model, then a file of all of the different interiors. When the car hits the system, I go to the appropriate files and upload them from there. An silver SE Accord is a super SE Accord just like a black Altima S is a black Altima S.

DennisGalbraith · May 13, 2011

Great call to action Jeff!

Adding actual pictures doesn't make your new vehicle any better than an anyone else's exact same vehicle, but it does make your store the right place to buy. You've demonstrated that you actually have the vehicle and you know your product. You care enough about your customer to provide the highest level of transparency possible online. When dealers think about actual photos for new vehicles they often get hung up on its minimal impact for establishing preference for the vehicle, but that's not the point. The objective is to maximize preference for your store. It works on AutoTrader.com and it works on Cars.com. My hypothesis is that is will even work on the dealer's site, where a fair amount of preference for the store often exists already. Any dealer paying to expose their new-vehicle inventory on a variety of services should consider doubling down by investing in actual photos. A good test is to start with photos for the slowest moving inventory. Paying for a competitive boost may not be worth it for a vehicle if you only have 30 days supply. If you have 90 days supply, making sure that vehicle is properly merchandised and maximizes preference for your store starts to look like a darn good investment.

May 23, 2011

Please tell me you blocked your number, its safe to presume if you didn't and your caller ID said NY or maybe had an NY area code, these 100% commission salespeople may not want to push you too much, and knew they'd lose the "just get them into the dealership" battle like call #3. Your idea of only telling the customer what they want to hear seems flawed, in an era where dealerships are fighting the old stereotypes of telling someone what they want to hear, just to get them in honesty works more than you think. This seems like the old school approach to phone and internet department. Believe it or not customers tend to enter the dealership more to get questions answered if you leave them with some questions. Next time you may want to let the above salespeople know they are being recorded, which I know for a fact you didn't. Good luck with your flawed mystery shops! A real tip would for managers to include their associates in training.

May 16, 2011

Don't forget to ask about financing! 94% of car purchases last year were financed. As a franchise store with a captive lender that offers the best financing there is little reason to let the customer direct you to "best price" when it's going to be about payment anyway and Mr. Customer I wouldn't want to concern you with a payment on a vehicle you haven't driven yet so when is the earliest I can schedule you to drive this and our many other certified pre owned __________.

TorreyRussell · May 14, 2011

No offense but your list is kind of lame... what the salesperson should have done is first secured a contact profile of the consumer. I would have used GoToMeeting Video Conferencing & Online Meeting Software and asked if there were near a computer... then instantly we could be looking at MY desktop, Now I have control, I would now have their email and of course the proper spelling and phone number ... lets start the selling process. First I would have prepared a compare what you get form us chart... the old Ben Franklin Close (http://tinyurl.com/3q3nq6f). Now you have their trust established. Explaining that their trade-in and that the features you want may affect what the price is.... you should of course have more than one of these on the lot with variation of features... Now, bring them into the dealership to LOOK AT THEIR CAR... and take the car they want for a test drive. I would also have an upsell and lowsell vehicle to walk them up and down to make sure they have a car they want/afford. Basic 101 stuff really - doesn't surprise me you got such mediocre sales people - If you put your sales people on 100% commission they will first sell their customer's soul, your soul, then their soul as they slide into desperation to make a living... is this the world you want? When will Dealer's get with the modern world! Look at Redfine in the Real Estate market - they are killing everyone else (who have people on 100% commission). ).

Latest activity

Latest activity

Filter