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CarGurus Overstating Search Results (SRP's)
Recently, I shared a new metric that CarGurus now includes in their dealer reporting. This new metric is called “SRP Impressions”, and at the time I posted, CarGurus was showing this new metric in addition to their normal SRP metric.
A week or so later, I along with many other dealers received an email from CarGurus explaining what this new SRP Impressions metric was, and how it will eventually replace their current SRP metric. What was most shocking to me was their explanation surrounding the old vs. new SRP metric...
CarGurus defined their previous SRP metric as, “…the number of times that you had inventory match a shopper's search.” They then defined the new SRP Impressions metric as, “…how often your vehicle's load and display as search results.”
So, it sounds like the old metric was measuring any time a dealer had a vehicle that may have been searched on, but not necessarily seen by a consumer. The new metric means the consumer actually viewed the vehicle on an SRP listing. I suspect most of us in the auto industry assumed an SRP meant that your vehicle actually appeared in the listing, right? I then wondered how the other “Big 3” Third-Party Classifieds (TPS) sites are measuring SRPs, since a common definition is critical for many of my success metrics I report on for dealers.
Here is what I found:
Autotrader.com defines the SRP as, “…the number of times your vehicles appeared in shopper searches…”. Sounds good, that is what we all would have assumed.
Cars.com defines the SRP as, “…the total number of times your inventory was exposed to consumers on Search Results Pages (SRPs).” Also sounds good, what we all likely assumed.
So…it sounds like CarGurus is now reporting in the same way that Autotrader and Cars.com were already reporting. CarGurus indicates that “…until January 2019, you will see both metrics reported on your dashboard, and that you may see a higher or lower SRP metric due to the new calculation.” So far, for the dozens of dealers I track CarGurus stats for, none of them are seeing higher SRP metrics, and all of them are seeing lower SRP metrics. The new SRP Impressions metrics are between 18-58% of the old SRPs, which means CarGurus was overstating their SRPs for these and many other dealers.
What will be the impact of this change?
Dealers will likely now also see lower SRPs going forward, but at least these will be real-SRPs. Another change will be in key metrics and ratios. One of my favorite metrics to measure for dealers is the VDP-to-SRP ratio, which helps a dealer see how often they “win the click” from the SRP to the VDP. For most of the TPCs, that ratio lives in the 1-2% range. Carfax has always been the exception to that rule with the one of the biggest VDP-to-SRP ratios, around 5-6%. However, with this change I predict CarGurus will now jump to the top spot for this ratio.
Calculating the change for the dealers I sampled, their CarGurus VDP-to-SRP ratio will likely jump from a low of 1% to as high as 7%. Why do some sites have a higher ratio than others? There are many potential explanations, including what information is (or is not) included on the SRP, compelling thumbnail photos, competitive pricing, or even how down-funnel the shopper may be.
A week or so later, I along with many other dealers received an email from CarGurus explaining what this new SRP Impressions metric was, and how it will eventually replace their current SRP metric. What was most shocking to me was their explanation surrounding the old vs. new SRP metric...
CarGurus defined their previous SRP metric as, “…the number of times that you had inventory match a shopper's search.” They then defined the new SRP Impressions metric as, “…how often your vehicle's load and display as search results.”
So, it sounds like the old metric was measuring any time a dealer had a vehicle that may have been searched on, but not necessarily seen by a consumer. The new metric means the consumer actually viewed the vehicle on an SRP listing. I suspect most of us in the auto industry assumed an SRP meant that your vehicle actually appeared in the listing, right? I then wondered how the other “Big 3” Third-Party Classifieds (TPS) sites are measuring SRPs, since a common definition is critical for many of my success metrics I report on for dealers.
Here is what I found:
Autotrader.com defines the SRP as, “…the number of times your vehicles appeared in shopper searches…”. Sounds good, that is what we all would have assumed.
Cars.com defines the SRP as, “…the total number of times your inventory was exposed to consumers on Search Results Pages (SRPs).” Also sounds good, what we all likely assumed.
So…it sounds like CarGurus is now reporting in the same way that Autotrader and Cars.com were already reporting. CarGurus indicates that “…until January 2019, you will see both metrics reported on your dashboard, and that you may see a higher or lower SRP metric due to the new calculation.” So far, for the dozens of dealers I track CarGurus stats for, none of them are seeing higher SRP metrics, and all of them are seeing lower SRP metrics. The new SRP Impressions metrics are between 18-58% of the old SRPs, which means CarGurus was overstating their SRPs for these and many other dealers.
What will be the impact of this change?
Dealers will likely now also see lower SRPs going forward, but at least these will be real-SRPs. Another change will be in key metrics and ratios. One of my favorite metrics to measure for dealers is the VDP-to-SRP ratio, which helps a dealer see how often they “win the click” from the SRP to the VDP. For most of the TPCs, that ratio lives in the 1-2% range. Carfax has always been the exception to that rule with the one of the biggest VDP-to-SRP ratios, around 5-6%. However, with this change I predict CarGurus will now jump to the top spot for this ratio.
Calculating the change for the dealers I sampled, their CarGurus VDP-to-SRP ratio will likely jump from a low of 1% to as high as 7%. Why do some sites have a higher ratio than others? There are many potential explanations, including what information is (or is not) included on the SRP, compelling thumbnail photos, competitive pricing, or even how down-funnel the shopper may be.
Online Reviews Made Easy: 5 Steps to Build Your Google Review Link
It is a well-known fact that your online reviews are your first foot-in-the-door with a new customer. It is also widely known that it is essential to respond to ALL reviews - be they negative or positive - but the struggle with online reviews is keeping them up!
Your dealership may be one of the lucky ones. You may have a dedicated staff member that daily monitors your online reviews, but if your dealership is one of the many that do not, I'd like to show you a great way to continue to build consistent online reviews, by creating your Google Review Link.
As technology progresses, consumers collectively have become more and more reliant on what is "easy." How many times has a company directly asked you to review them online, and you think to yourself, "I'll get to it when I get to it."? Most likely that has happened more than you can count, but think of the times when a company has directly sent you a link that you just click on to review them. I know that as a consumer myself, I am 100 times more likely to click on that link and post a review of my experience if the source to do so is sent directly to me.
Setting up a Google Review link for your dealership is easy, and it only takes 5 steps to get started.
Step One - Head to Google Maps Place Id.
Step Two - Search for your dealership's name.
In the text block on the map, you will enter your dealership's name, and your exact location should populate.
Step Three. - Copy the ID
Copy the ID directly under your dealership's name and paste it into the BOLD section of the URL - https://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid=<place_id>
Step Four - Save this code in a safe place on your desktop or phone.
There is nothing worse than making an effort to create a new tool and then lose it. Paste the completed code on your desktop so that you know exactly where to find it when you need it.
Step Five - Follow up for reviews
Use the link to send as a follow up to customers who have recently made a purchase. Not only have you provided a new customer with a new car, but you have made it extremely easy for them to rate and review your dealership at the click of a mouse.
Your dealership may be one of the lucky ones. You may have a dedicated staff member that daily monitors your online reviews, but if your dealership is one of the many that do not, I'd like to show you a great way to continue to build consistent online reviews, by creating your Google Review Link.
As technology progresses, consumers collectively have become more and more reliant on what is "easy." How many times has a company directly asked you to review them online, and you think to yourself, "I'll get to it when I get to it."? Most likely that has happened more than you can count, but think of the times when a company has directly sent you a link that you just click on to review them. I know that as a consumer myself, I am 100 times more likely to click on that link and post a review of my experience if the source to do so is sent directly to me.
Setting up a Google Review link for your dealership is easy, and it only takes 5 steps to get started.
Step One - Head to Google Maps Place Id.
Step Two - Search for your dealership's name.
In the text block on the map, you will enter your dealership's name, and your exact location should populate.
Step Three. - Copy the ID
Copy the ID directly under your dealership's name and paste it into the BOLD section of the URL - https://search.google.com/local/writereview?placeid=<place_id>
Step Four - Save this code in a safe place on your desktop or phone.
There is nothing worse than making an effort to create a new tool and then lose it. Paste the completed code on your desktop so that you know exactly where to find it when you need it.
Step Five - Follow up for reviews
Use the link to send as a follow up to customers who have recently made a purchase. Not only have you provided a new customer with a new car, but you have made it extremely easy for them to rate and review your dealership at the click of a mouse.
Digital Dealer 25 Review with Kevin Frye #DD25
- By kevinfrye
Old Men Reunion at Digital Dealer 25. Barry Brodsky, Amir Ammirrezvani, David Metter and Shaun Raines
“What’s that you say sonny?”
Digital Dealer 25, which means hmmm, how many years?
It must be a lot since my first Digital Dealer (3...) as I got off to a brilliant start when I arrived in sunny Las Vegas to pick up my badge at registration.
“Mr. Frye, we cannot find you anywhere in our system…”.
Guess who forgot to register for DD25?
YOURS TRULY! Was this my first senior moment?
Thankfully I saw Melissa Green nearby and begged forgiveness as if I didn’t get that elusive badge, there would be a room full of folks waiting for a presenter the following morning – and that person would be me. Thank you Melissa!
Maybe I should start a DD conference for seniors, it could start at 6 am, end by 3 so that everyone could make the early bird dinner, and be in bed by 8. We could host the conference in Branson, Missouri - what do you think? Brilliant!
Digital Dealer 25 - back at The Mirage in Las Vegas
It is hard to believe that this has been the 25th Digital Dealer, and DD25 delivered as the best yet. Remember those long registration lines? Now it only takes as long as you need to scan your registration and pick up the badge.
Keynote speakers? First time I have seen the exhibit hall packed for each one.
Breakout sessions? Selection cut down to focus on quality content and more folks attending each one. Let’s get this review rolling…
Would you like some Ribbit with your Ribeye?
Monday Funday
C’mon, you should know that Julie and I celebrate our anniversary each year by arriving a day early to enjoy the fabulous entertainment, food, and world class service that Vegas offers, and maybe even a spa day. After my badge fiasco and wrapping up registration, the Jeff Wyler folks celebrated their team dinner with Tom Mangino and Les Abrams with Cox Automotive at the Lakeside restaurant at the Wynn. I must say this is the first time I have been serenaded by a huge singing frog during my dinner - and ribbit - we had a great time and laughs with the lakeside show and first class dinner. Always a great way to kick off the conference.
Talking about Wyler FastLane and auto subscription at DD25
Subscribe and Drive is alive in Cincinnati.
After launching the first ever auto subscription service in Cincinnati, Wyler FastLane, we have been barraged with questions about our experience with this revolutionary mobility solution. I started off the first day with my presentation on auto subscription where I focused on the consumer - isn’t that what we should always focus on?
I shared multiple video testimonials from our highly satisfied customers, as well as a Facebook live that we had just shot the previous day when we had David Wyler surprised one of our customers when he personally delivered a Corvette for one of our Wyler Prime subscribers. The most important thing I can share about auto subscription is that we are creating highly satisfied customers by providing them with an affordable, flexible mobility solution combined with world class service.
Frank Lopes and Eliana Raggio continue as great moderators at DD25, and always love to see Candace Crane #respect
LOTS of questions at the end of my session, and I was encouraged that dealers are looking at this seriously. Do I believe that auto subscription will have a majority position in meeting the transportation needs of folks in the future? No, but I believe it will be an important part of meeting some of those needs. Further, there are a handful of dealers that are leading the way testing this, as well as many of the OEMs. All of us share a common goal, can we find a profitable and scalable model that works for dealers while creating a more consumer-facing experience for our customers. This is a high-risk business, and I am proud to be part of an auto family that puts customers first not only now, but in the future.
Time to meet, greet and eat! Always great to head over to the exhibit hall and meet with our current partners, great friends in the industry, and possible partners for the future.
I was thrilled to see…
Super proud of Eliana Raggio and her new position at Digital Air Strike
Who is this... Webinar Goddess? Navy Veteran? Moderator extraordinaire?
That would be Eliana Raggio who is now the new Director of Industry Relations with Digital Air Strike. Eliana is one of the best connected folks I know in automotive, as well as a strong woman that I deeply respect. Folks - if you are looking to improve yourself with continuing education, there is no better than Eliana for leading an online webinar. Stay tuned as Eliana will be starting her next series with Digital Air Strike hosting.
Great good - and healthy choices. Yes, it is possible at a conference (and loved that wedge salad)
Arrrr, give me some hardtack and rum!
Actually - best food ever. I am not kidding. Let’s face it, conference food can often be mediocre at best, which is understandable when you are trying to feed LOTS of folks. However, all meals were really good – and with healthy options. Well done.
So many great folks here, aren't the best discussions made with family over a good meal? #AutoFam
Zuckerberg Schnuckerberg, it’s all about the DATA.
Big changes in privacy this year which is making data a higher priority for dealers. Think of it this way folks. Dealers will have to lean more on great data partners to ensure they can best target in-market shoppers, especially for folks outside of your direct customer database. Sure, you can still upload your customers to create look-alike audiences and targeting lists, but this is becoming more time-consuming and difficult to do with more stringent privacy requirements. With that said, my first session to attend was "The Big Data Ecosystem Revolution".
Alex Jefferson, Chris Hill, Glen Dakan, April Rain, and Hunter Swift, whew, did I miss anyone?
Go Ahead – hate me for using the words “Big Data.”
Brent Towne, Director of Cox Automotive Analytics Product, gave a great presentation sharing how dealers can leverage data to best target in-market customers for their respective brand, but more important, to then match these customers back to actual sales. He reviewed all of the latest advanced great technology available to us, and while we are slowly starting to see solutions that can show us direct results for our marketing efforts, there is one large missing link in my humble opinion.
Don't get stuck in a hotel room in Vegas - explore the Valley of Fire
As Ric Flair would say, this is Real Time, wooo!
Ok, maybe Ric said “hard time,” but I am still disappointed to see the lack of real time data solutions available to dealers today. Would someone please tell me why?
I know that many of you have been following our 4 year journey building our log cabin home, and during that time there have been countless times that my wife has been at home researching eg. "new sinks", and within minutes I am getting ads at work on my phone and laptop for not just the sinks she was looking at, but for other sinks in the market. How?
Big brother is watching you.
I hope that each of you realize that the big data warehouses know who we are, and who is in our household, what devices we use (smartphones, desktop, iPads, laptops, etc.) and what we are doing online. That same data is available to savvy marketers who want to buy the data when you are searching for what they are selling, so that they can then target all of the devices in your household with highly relevant marketing.
Is big data important to dealers? Is real time data even MORE important to dealers?
Absolutely! I would like to see some great real time data solutions available to dealers in 2019.
Fun with Julio Gonzalez and Sean Stapleton in exhibit hall
Time for a bowl of chicken google soup.
Next up was "Google's Top 5 Strategies to Drive More Value with Digital" with longtime friend Julio Gonzalez. Guess what folks, it’s time to move away from focusing on just generating leads, and focusing on your business objective.
If there are 24 touchpoints in the car buying journey, and 19 of those are digital, shouldn’t you have a digital first strategy? Understanding that, shouldn’t smart dealers work to fully understand and leverage the digital buying behavior of consumers?
Proud to have Jeff Weinkam and Jenny Harris with the Wyler eCommerce team join me at DD25
We have an auto epidemic.
I call it the “all or nothing mentality” that many folks have in the automotive industry. Why do I bring this up? The reality of today’s consumer is that they do NOT like the long amount of time it takes in the showroom to buy a car. They want to complete as much of the car buying process online as they can so as to minimize their valuable time in the showroom.
What is our solution? Digital Retailing solutions for automotive.
Is this review "fake news" since Trump has made an appearance?
I am disappointed to see how cynical dealers are about online digital retailing. The all or nothing mentality asks this question “how many cars have you sold this month 100% online”. The answer is ZERO - in our state it is illegal, you have to get a wet signature, etc. Cranky dealers then state “well, digital retailing does not work.”
It does work. It is working. Wake up! This is a forward thinking solution.
Dealers that are integrating digital retailing solutions today are thinking about tomorrow. You can raise engagement with your consumers while building value, and help minimize the delivery time, even if it is not fully online. Do I believe the day is coming when folks can completely buy a car online? Absolutely. We have to take this one step at a time. Meanwhile, why do you suppose there are so many digital retailing solutions in exhibit hall?
Keynote presentations were well attended throughout DD25
Am I a 52 year old virgin?
No, but I am a 52 year old who went to see someone from Virgin share their keynote presentation "The Art and Science of Wow" - which was packed. Simply put - Virgin focuses on creating delight for their customers, and Alex Hunter shared how we could do the same as dealers.
Why am I excited about auto subscription? Because I have not seen anything like it that creates delight with our customers. Did you remember my challenge is to always ask yourself "Does this make us more consumer-facing?" when making decisions moving forward?
Owen Moon, Chris and Julie Branum - FixedOpsDigital.com team
Fixed Ops is not about getting your pets neutered.
Great to see Owen Moon, who has co-founded FixedOpsDigital.com. I will readily confess that I focus on sales at Digital Dealer. Am I really being that smart considering how important fixed ops profitability is to the dealership? Especially during a slowing market?
FixedOpsDigital.com is looking to take dealership websites beyond just focusing on "schedule service" or "share with a friend" with their conversion tools. I strongly encourage you to take a look at how they can help improve your fixed ops efforts.
Love Beatles Love while at the Mirage, so much fun with Julie and Ceren Isildak
Love Love Love
Ask me “what is your favorite show in Las Vegas?” and I will tell you Beatles Love Cirque du Soleil. I have seen it 4 times. Make that 5 times as I joined Ceren Isildak with Cloud One to see Beatles Love, and we loved it again. Didn’t realize that they had changed the show while using the same soundtrack, and it is still the BEST show in Vegas.
Alex appears to be babysitting the crew at this unnamed party
Pssst, I know where they are having a party at Cher’s house, with fountains spewing Pappy Van Winkle bourbon and mermaids swimming in the pool, wanna come?
Let’s just say that a lot of folks attended a party just like that - and still had a great time. I am not gonna share names, but it was kinda funny to see dealers bite on some of the same marketing ploys we use each day to get folks to our showroom...
So happy to see Katie Richter with Cuneo Advertising, with Julie Frye and Brandi Booker
Throw the ball, catch the ball, hit the ball, it’s that simple.
Yes, back to the basics, and let me tell you the Google User guidelines continue to evolve. I am approaching 20 years with online experience and yes, I return to review this again and again. And I saw one thing that should certainly catch your attention. Google has followed a consistent pattern where they hint about upcoming changes multiple times, and then eventually you finally see them implemented.
Ladies and gentlemen, if you have a poor online reputation, we are starting to see evidence of Google suppressing your dealership in the search results. NOT unique to automotive, we are talking businesses across all types of industries. Google does not want to rank sites with reputation problems. If we won’t clean up our behavior, Google intends to help drive that behavior.
Great job to Dr. Marie Haynes with Marie Haynes Consulting and her presentation "Google's Quality Raters Guidelines."
Barbi Brand and Greg Gifford with DealerOn, and Kerry Kolde with Social Dealer
Fonzie, please don't jump the shark!
Multiple great ideas shared at the DD25 Tech Tank Competition panel where I was privileged to hear/judge some innovative solutions. The winner was great.
Let’s say you have a time sensitive special that you need to get a video created for ASAP. However, you don’t have time or a lot of money to book a studio, get the piece produced, and ready for online display. Waymark allows you to modify pre-built video templates and create your video message in minutes. Great idea for dealers (and heads-up, make sure to run through OEM compliance where relevant.)
Part of the reason I visited the LetGo folks at DD25 - they were at their booth early in the day (hint)
Oh no, Let’s go, let’s go crazy.
How about LetGo? Am I just some country bumpkin that is not very familiar with Letgo? I understand that Letgo users perform hundreds of millions of searches per month, and a large percentage of cars listed on their site bring in a message, call or text within the first 7 days. Looks like they have a strong presence on the coasts and major metropolitan areas, maybe I need to test this one out. Have any of you tested this and have some insight you can share with the rest of us?
Love these 2, together 5 minutes and we are all laughing. Two of our best, Heather MacKinnon and Ryan Leslie
Brrr, it’s colder than a Sales Manager's heart when you ask to leave early.
Ok, a fireside chat does sound a bit crazy in the Vegas desert but I enjoyed a panel moderated by Paul “Buffalo Bill” Caldwell sharing how we can best leverage data (see that pattern I am displaying?) with "Capture Consumer Attention." Why don’t dealers look at customers who bought last MONTH vs. last year? And create the real-time like audiences we are seeking? Reaching true in-market buyers today and driving consumer action is becoming more challenging without a great data partner.
Pete Petersen with Dealers United leads a packed session on setting up a Facebook/Instagram strategy for your dealership
"I want to say one word to you - plastics. Plastics is the future."
Who knows what movie that was from? I want to say one word to you - MOBILITY. Mobility is key. Mobility was the next keynote. Listen folks, nobody is saying that personal car ownership won’t continue to be the solution for the majority of folks in the future. In fact, most studies show there will be more cars in the future, but how they are utilized is key, and providing alternative mobility solutions that best meet our consumers' needs is the key to future success.
If you look at ride sharing, car sharing, auto subscription, what do all of these 3 have in common? FLEET. Fleet is the future folks.
What is the most important concern for fleet customers? SERVICE. Successful dealers will position themselves to be ready to provide the best fleet service solutions.
Great food, live entertainment, and some quality time with my friend Alex Jefferson
Riddle me this - Rose. Rabbit. Lie.
Another great dinner - this time at the Cosmopolitan at Rose. Rabbit. Lie. care of the great folks at FlowFound. Watch out for Flowfound, they are growing rapidly and we are proud to call them partner. Virtual reality, augmented reality, these are FAST moving technologies and FlowFound should call themselves FastFound as they are pushing the edges leading in these areas. I am glad they didn't take us out for fast food though. And still haven't figured out the riddle.
Why don't I see Bill Playford more? Joining Subi Ghosh and bringing great smiles
Are you amped up for Thursday?
After 5 cups of coffee I was amped! If you look at shopper behavior on your websites, did you realize that 70 – 78% of them are shopping from a mobile device? AMP (accelerated mobile page) technology allows you to setup a mobile friendly page that loads rapidly and gets your shopper to what they are looking for with minimal content (think 8x less data on the page). AJ Herold lead his presentation "How to use Google Accelerated Mobile Pages to Optimize your Website for Search" to include details of how to code AMP pages yourself for your individual websites. If Google is lifting AMP pages in the search results, why aren’t we seeing more AMP pages in automotive websites?
April Rain bringing life to the party with Julie
Calling all website providers! Would you please provide more AMP content on our sites?
Listen, I understand. Your paying customers (dealers) like the fireworks and pizzazz of flashy, data intensive webpages, but we can do better. If you have 11 website templates that do just that, why not have one additional AMP focused template that dealers who know better can choose? And for those of you coding in your own AMP pages on your current website platform, don’t forget to add it to your sitemap.
Team Wyler at Valley of Fire, with Jenny Harris and Jeff Weinkam
Finishing on fire.
It was so good last time, that I brought the rest of our Wyler team to the Valley of Fire this time. What a great way to end the conference with some challenging, yet beautiful hiking in the Valley of Fire. Also a great way to get tired before the red-eye flight returning home to Cincinnati.
Some tight fits while hiking at Valley of Fire
Overall thoughts?
Digital Dealer 25 was a great success. I am incredibly impressed with the high caliber of dealers who are attending. We have younger folks that have a significant grasp of the importance of digital to automotive, and they are leading the way into the future. I believe the changes we are going to see in the next 5-10 years will be even more significant than what we saw with the introduction of the Internet to automotive, and I am encouraged by the next generation of dealership folks leading the way.
Until next time from the Wyler team #WylerWay
Do you know what is unique to our job?
If you are the eCommerce Director, Digital Marketing manager, you name it, for your dealership, the scope of our job is changing every 6 months. Those who take continuing education seriously while growing with our market will succeed in the future. Whether you attend Digital Dealer or any of the other great conferences available in our industry, I commend you for the invaluable investment you are making in yourself and your dealership.
Until then - sell more cars, sell more service, and do it while becoming more consumer-facing!
“What’s that you say sonny?”
Digital Dealer 25, which means hmmm, how many years?
It must be a lot since my first Digital Dealer (3...) as I got off to a brilliant start when I arrived in sunny Las Vegas to pick up my badge at registration.
“Mr. Frye, we cannot find you anywhere in our system…”.
Guess who forgot to register for DD25?
YOURS TRULY! Was this my first senior moment?
Thankfully I saw Melissa Green nearby and begged forgiveness as if I didn’t get that elusive badge, there would be a room full of folks waiting for a presenter the following morning – and that person would be me. Thank you Melissa!
Maybe I should start a DD conference for seniors, it could start at 6 am, end by 3 so that everyone could make the early bird dinner, and be in bed by 8. We could host the conference in Branson, Missouri - what do you think? Brilliant!
Digital Dealer 25 - back at The Mirage in Las Vegas
It is hard to believe that this has been the 25th Digital Dealer, and DD25 delivered as the best yet. Remember those long registration lines? Now it only takes as long as you need to scan your registration and pick up the badge.
Keynote speakers? First time I have seen the exhibit hall packed for each one.
Breakout sessions? Selection cut down to focus on quality content and more folks attending each one. Let’s get this review rolling…
Would you like some Ribbit with your Ribeye?
Monday Funday
C’mon, you should know that Julie and I celebrate our anniversary each year by arriving a day early to enjoy the fabulous entertainment, food, and world class service that Vegas offers, and maybe even a spa day. After my badge fiasco and wrapping up registration, the Jeff Wyler folks celebrated their team dinner with Tom Mangino and Les Abrams with Cox Automotive at the Lakeside restaurant at the Wynn. I must say this is the first time I have been serenaded by a huge singing frog during my dinner - and ribbit - we had a great time and laughs with the lakeside show and first class dinner. Always a great way to kick off the conference.
Talking about Wyler FastLane and auto subscription at DD25
Subscribe and Drive is alive in Cincinnati.
After launching the first ever auto subscription service in Cincinnati, Wyler FastLane, we have been barraged with questions about our experience with this revolutionary mobility solution. I started off the first day with my presentation on auto subscription where I focused on the consumer - isn’t that what we should always focus on?
I shared multiple video testimonials from our highly satisfied customers, as well as a Facebook live that we had just shot the previous day when we had David Wyler surprised one of our customers when he personally delivered a Corvette for one of our Wyler Prime subscribers. The most important thing I can share about auto subscription is that we are creating highly satisfied customers by providing them with an affordable, flexible mobility solution combined with world class service.
Frank Lopes and Eliana Raggio continue as great moderators at DD25, and always love to see Candace Crane #respect
LOTS of questions at the end of my session, and I was encouraged that dealers are looking at this seriously. Do I believe that auto subscription will have a majority position in meeting the transportation needs of folks in the future? No, but I believe it will be an important part of meeting some of those needs. Further, there are a handful of dealers that are leading the way testing this, as well as many of the OEMs. All of us share a common goal, can we find a profitable and scalable model that works for dealers while creating a more consumer-facing experience for our customers. This is a high-risk business, and I am proud to be part of an auto family that puts customers first not only now, but in the future.
Time to meet, greet and eat! Always great to head over to the exhibit hall and meet with our current partners, great friends in the industry, and possible partners for the future.
I was thrilled to see…
Super proud of Eliana Raggio and her new position at Digital Air Strike
Who is this... Webinar Goddess? Navy Veteran? Moderator extraordinaire?
That would be Eliana Raggio who is now the new Director of Industry Relations with Digital Air Strike. Eliana is one of the best connected folks I know in automotive, as well as a strong woman that I deeply respect. Folks - if you are looking to improve yourself with continuing education, there is no better than Eliana for leading an online webinar. Stay tuned as Eliana will be starting her next series with Digital Air Strike hosting.
Great good - and healthy choices. Yes, it is possible at a conference (and loved that wedge salad)
Arrrr, give me some hardtack and rum!
Actually - best food ever. I am not kidding. Let’s face it, conference food can often be mediocre at best, which is understandable when you are trying to feed LOTS of folks. However, all meals were really good – and with healthy options. Well done.
So many great folks here, aren't the best discussions made with family over a good meal? #AutoFam
Zuckerberg Schnuckerberg, it’s all about the DATA.
Big changes in privacy this year which is making data a higher priority for dealers. Think of it this way folks. Dealers will have to lean more on great data partners to ensure they can best target in-market shoppers, especially for folks outside of your direct customer database. Sure, you can still upload your customers to create look-alike audiences and targeting lists, but this is becoming more time-consuming and difficult to do with more stringent privacy requirements. With that said, my first session to attend was "The Big Data Ecosystem Revolution".
Alex Jefferson, Chris Hill, Glen Dakan, April Rain, and Hunter Swift, whew, did I miss anyone?
Go Ahead – hate me for using the words “Big Data.”
Brent Towne, Director of Cox Automotive Analytics Product, gave a great presentation sharing how dealers can leverage data to best target in-market customers for their respective brand, but more important, to then match these customers back to actual sales. He reviewed all of the latest advanced great technology available to us, and while we are slowly starting to see solutions that can show us direct results for our marketing efforts, there is one large missing link in my humble opinion.
Don't get stuck in a hotel room in Vegas - explore the Valley of Fire
As Ric Flair would say, this is Real Time, wooo!
Ok, maybe Ric said “hard time,” but I am still disappointed to see the lack of real time data solutions available to dealers today. Would someone please tell me why?
I know that many of you have been following our 4 year journey building our log cabin home, and during that time there have been countless times that my wife has been at home researching eg. "new sinks", and within minutes I am getting ads at work on my phone and laptop for not just the sinks she was looking at, but for other sinks in the market. How?
Big brother is watching you.
I hope that each of you realize that the big data warehouses know who we are, and who is in our household, what devices we use (smartphones, desktop, iPads, laptops, etc.) and what we are doing online. That same data is available to savvy marketers who want to buy the data when you are searching for what they are selling, so that they can then target all of the devices in your household with highly relevant marketing.
Is big data important to dealers? Is real time data even MORE important to dealers?
Absolutely! I would like to see some great real time data solutions available to dealers in 2019.
Fun with Julio Gonzalez and Sean Stapleton in exhibit hall
Time for a bowl of chicken google soup.
Next up was "Google's Top 5 Strategies to Drive More Value with Digital" with longtime friend Julio Gonzalez. Guess what folks, it’s time to move away from focusing on just generating leads, and focusing on your business objective.
If there are 24 touchpoints in the car buying journey, and 19 of those are digital, shouldn’t you have a digital first strategy? Understanding that, shouldn’t smart dealers work to fully understand and leverage the digital buying behavior of consumers?
Proud to have Jeff Weinkam and Jenny Harris with the Wyler eCommerce team join me at DD25
We have an auto epidemic.
I call it the “all or nothing mentality” that many folks have in the automotive industry. Why do I bring this up? The reality of today’s consumer is that they do NOT like the long amount of time it takes in the showroom to buy a car. They want to complete as much of the car buying process online as they can so as to minimize their valuable time in the showroom.
What is our solution? Digital Retailing solutions for automotive.
Is this review "fake news" since Trump has made an appearance?
I am disappointed to see how cynical dealers are about online digital retailing. The all or nothing mentality asks this question “how many cars have you sold this month 100% online”. The answer is ZERO - in our state it is illegal, you have to get a wet signature, etc. Cranky dealers then state “well, digital retailing does not work.”
It does work. It is working. Wake up! This is a forward thinking solution.
Dealers that are integrating digital retailing solutions today are thinking about tomorrow. You can raise engagement with your consumers while building value, and help minimize the delivery time, even if it is not fully online. Do I believe the day is coming when folks can completely buy a car online? Absolutely. We have to take this one step at a time. Meanwhile, why do you suppose there are so many digital retailing solutions in exhibit hall?
Keynote presentations were well attended throughout DD25
Am I a 52 year old virgin?
No, but I am a 52 year old who went to see someone from Virgin share their keynote presentation "The Art and Science of Wow" - which was packed. Simply put - Virgin focuses on creating delight for their customers, and Alex Hunter shared how we could do the same as dealers.
Why am I excited about auto subscription? Because I have not seen anything like it that creates delight with our customers. Did you remember my challenge is to always ask yourself "Does this make us more consumer-facing?" when making decisions moving forward?
Owen Moon, Chris and Julie Branum - FixedOpsDigital.com team
Fixed Ops is not about getting your pets neutered.
Great to see Owen Moon, who has co-founded FixedOpsDigital.com. I will readily confess that I focus on sales at Digital Dealer. Am I really being that smart considering how important fixed ops profitability is to the dealership? Especially during a slowing market?
FixedOpsDigital.com is looking to take dealership websites beyond just focusing on "schedule service" or "share with a friend" with their conversion tools. I strongly encourage you to take a look at how they can help improve your fixed ops efforts.
Love Beatles Love while at the Mirage, so much fun with Julie and Ceren Isildak
Love Love Love
Ask me “what is your favorite show in Las Vegas?” and I will tell you Beatles Love Cirque du Soleil. I have seen it 4 times. Make that 5 times as I joined Ceren Isildak with Cloud One to see Beatles Love, and we loved it again. Didn’t realize that they had changed the show while using the same soundtrack, and it is still the BEST show in Vegas.
Alex appears to be babysitting the crew at this unnamed party
Pssst, I know where they are having a party at Cher’s house, with fountains spewing Pappy Van Winkle bourbon and mermaids swimming in the pool, wanna come?
Let’s just say that a lot of folks attended a party just like that - and still had a great time. I am not gonna share names, but it was kinda funny to see dealers bite on some of the same marketing ploys we use each day to get folks to our showroom...
So happy to see Katie Richter with Cuneo Advertising, with Julie Frye and Brandi Booker
Throw the ball, catch the ball, hit the ball, it’s that simple.
Yes, back to the basics, and let me tell you the Google User guidelines continue to evolve. I am approaching 20 years with online experience and yes, I return to review this again and again. And I saw one thing that should certainly catch your attention. Google has followed a consistent pattern where they hint about upcoming changes multiple times, and then eventually you finally see them implemented.
Ladies and gentlemen, if you have a poor online reputation, we are starting to see evidence of Google suppressing your dealership in the search results. NOT unique to automotive, we are talking businesses across all types of industries. Google does not want to rank sites with reputation problems. If we won’t clean up our behavior, Google intends to help drive that behavior.
Great job to Dr. Marie Haynes with Marie Haynes Consulting and her presentation "Google's Quality Raters Guidelines."
Barbi Brand and Greg Gifford with DealerOn, and Kerry Kolde with Social Dealer
Fonzie, please don't jump the shark!
Multiple great ideas shared at the DD25 Tech Tank Competition panel where I was privileged to hear/judge some innovative solutions. The winner was great.
Let’s say you have a time sensitive special that you need to get a video created for ASAP. However, you don’t have time or a lot of money to book a studio, get the piece produced, and ready for online display. Waymark allows you to modify pre-built video templates and create your video message in minutes. Great idea for dealers (and heads-up, make sure to run through OEM compliance where relevant.)
Part of the reason I visited the LetGo folks at DD25 - they were at their booth early in the day (hint)
Oh no, Let’s go, let’s go crazy.
How about LetGo? Am I just some country bumpkin that is not very familiar with Letgo? I understand that Letgo users perform hundreds of millions of searches per month, and a large percentage of cars listed on their site bring in a message, call or text within the first 7 days. Looks like they have a strong presence on the coasts and major metropolitan areas, maybe I need to test this one out. Have any of you tested this and have some insight you can share with the rest of us?
Love these 2, together 5 minutes and we are all laughing. Two of our best, Heather MacKinnon and Ryan Leslie
Brrr, it’s colder than a Sales Manager's heart when you ask to leave early.
Ok, a fireside chat does sound a bit crazy in the Vegas desert but I enjoyed a panel moderated by Paul “Buffalo Bill” Caldwell sharing how we can best leverage data (see that pattern I am displaying?) with "Capture Consumer Attention." Why don’t dealers look at customers who bought last MONTH vs. last year? And create the real-time like audiences we are seeking? Reaching true in-market buyers today and driving consumer action is becoming more challenging without a great data partner.
Pete Petersen with Dealers United leads a packed session on setting up a Facebook/Instagram strategy for your dealership
"I want to say one word to you - plastics. Plastics is the future."
Who knows what movie that was from? I want to say one word to you - MOBILITY. Mobility is key. Mobility was the next keynote. Listen folks, nobody is saying that personal car ownership won’t continue to be the solution for the majority of folks in the future. In fact, most studies show there will be more cars in the future, but how they are utilized is key, and providing alternative mobility solutions that best meet our consumers' needs is the key to future success.
If you look at ride sharing, car sharing, auto subscription, what do all of these 3 have in common? FLEET. Fleet is the future folks.
What is the most important concern for fleet customers? SERVICE. Successful dealers will position themselves to be ready to provide the best fleet service solutions.
Great food, live entertainment, and some quality time with my friend Alex Jefferson
Riddle me this - Rose. Rabbit. Lie.
Another great dinner - this time at the Cosmopolitan at Rose. Rabbit. Lie. care of the great folks at FlowFound. Watch out for Flowfound, they are growing rapidly and we are proud to call them partner. Virtual reality, augmented reality, these are FAST moving technologies and FlowFound should call themselves FastFound as they are pushing the edges leading in these areas. I am glad they didn't take us out for fast food though. And still haven't figured out the riddle.
Why don't I see Bill Playford more? Joining Subi Ghosh and bringing great smiles
Are you amped up for Thursday?
After 5 cups of coffee I was amped! If you look at shopper behavior on your websites, did you realize that 70 – 78% of them are shopping from a mobile device? AMP (accelerated mobile page) technology allows you to setup a mobile friendly page that loads rapidly and gets your shopper to what they are looking for with minimal content (think 8x less data on the page). AJ Herold lead his presentation "How to use Google Accelerated Mobile Pages to Optimize your Website for Search" to include details of how to code AMP pages yourself for your individual websites. If Google is lifting AMP pages in the search results, why aren’t we seeing more AMP pages in automotive websites?
April Rain bringing life to the party with Julie
Calling all website providers! Would you please provide more AMP content on our sites?
Listen, I understand. Your paying customers (dealers) like the fireworks and pizzazz of flashy, data intensive webpages, but we can do better. If you have 11 website templates that do just that, why not have one additional AMP focused template that dealers who know better can choose? And for those of you coding in your own AMP pages on your current website platform, don’t forget to add it to your sitemap.
Team Wyler at Valley of Fire, with Jenny Harris and Jeff Weinkam
Finishing on fire.
It was so good last time, that I brought the rest of our Wyler team to the Valley of Fire this time. What a great way to end the conference with some challenging, yet beautiful hiking in the Valley of Fire. Also a great way to get tired before the red-eye flight returning home to Cincinnati.
Some tight fits while hiking at Valley of Fire
Overall thoughts?
Digital Dealer 25 was a great success. I am incredibly impressed with the high caliber of dealers who are attending. We have younger folks that have a significant grasp of the importance of digital to automotive, and they are leading the way into the future. I believe the changes we are going to see in the next 5-10 years will be even more significant than what we saw with the introduction of the Internet to automotive, and I am encouraged by the next generation of dealership folks leading the way.
Until next time from the Wyler team #WylerWay
Do you know what is unique to our job?
If you are the eCommerce Director, Digital Marketing manager, you name it, for your dealership, the scope of our job is changing every 6 months. Those who take continuing education seriously while growing with our market will succeed in the future. Whether you attend Digital Dealer or any of the other great conferences available in our industry, I commend you for the invaluable investment you are making in yourself and your dealership.
Until then - sell more cars, sell more service, and do it while becoming more consumer-facing!
Should Your GM be Required to Use Facebook?
One of the universal truths I’ve found in auditing the digital advertising budget for dealers is that they overspend in many areas (third-party classifieds, paid search) and underspend in paid social media (Facebook).
There are many reasons dealers underspend in social...It could be that they’ve had agencies take a cookie-cutter approach with poor results. It may also be that the dealership doesn’t understand or buy into the idea that Facebook can drive shoppers to sales or service. It is around this latter point that the education process begins. I help the store to understand the way the platform works, and show them success metrics other dealers have experienced.
But what do you do if the General Manager or decision-maker at the dealership doesn’t have a Facebook account, has never used the platform, and can’t begin to understand what a newsfeed or Facebook retargeting ad is?
Unfortunately, I find this to be a problem at a surprising number of stores.
I usually discover this when explaining to the dealer what a successful paid Facebook advertising campaign looks like. The general manager begins to give me a blank stare. I finally get to the bottom line question, “Do you have a Facebook account yourself?.”
The answer is no, and here is where the challenge really begins.
The agency is asking the general manager to approve spending thousands of dollars on paid advertising campaigns on a platform they know nothing about and don’t use. Of course, this same problem doesn’t exist with pay-per-click search, retargeting campaigns, or email blasts since if the GM uses the internet at all, they have experienced these products. However, there are many working adults who either don’t like social media or feel they don’t have time for it. The table below shows that depending on the age and sex of a dealership general manager, 22% to 35% of them are not current users of Facebook (even less on Instagram). I would argue that without direct experience in the social media platform, the general managers are putting themselves in a position of weakness in decision-making around these paid campaigns.
So, as an owner or a reflective general manager, what should they do?
For the dealer principal, I feel they need to require their decision-making-managers to set up their own Facebook account and get comfortable with it. For the GM, they need to recognize that they must use and be familiar with the platform, or they are doing their store a disservice. That doesn’t mean they need to create a massive circle of friends, or create any of their own posts, or feel that they’re giving up some of their privacy. A GM can certainly create a profile with the minimum required information, little or no photos or private information, but at least they have an account so they can begin to see how the platform works. The GM can experience ads in the newsfeed, retargeting ads, etc. Within a very short period of time, they’ll grow to be a better decision maker on these campaigns, as they will have direct experience on how the messaging reverberates.
I would also recommend the GM should find their competitors and “like” the competitors’ pages. This way they can start seeing their competitors’ ads and get an idea of the messaging and approach. GMs should also periodically visit the actual competitor pages and observe both the posts and comments, observing the way the competitors engage with visitors and the “personality” of the page.
The bottom line is, if a dealership manager doesn’t understand or use a media platform, then how can they effectively make advertising buys on that platform. Without the required understanding, the manager is forced to simply trust the vendors recommendations and success metrics. As with all things technology, if you don’t understand it, you must immerse until you do. General Managers at dealerships need to use the internet, own a smartphone, and yes…set up and use a Facebook account so that they understand the platform, lingo, and methods for delivering paid advertising to shoppers.
There are many reasons dealers underspend in social...It could be that they’ve had agencies take a cookie-cutter approach with poor results. It may also be that the dealership doesn’t understand or buy into the idea that Facebook can drive shoppers to sales or service. It is around this latter point that the education process begins. I help the store to understand the way the platform works, and show them success metrics other dealers have experienced.
But what do you do if the General Manager or decision-maker at the dealership doesn’t have a Facebook account, has never used the platform, and can’t begin to understand what a newsfeed or Facebook retargeting ad is?
Unfortunately, I find this to be a problem at a surprising number of stores.
I usually discover this when explaining to the dealer what a successful paid Facebook advertising campaign looks like. The general manager begins to give me a blank stare. I finally get to the bottom line question, “Do you have a Facebook account yourself?.”
The answer is no, and here is where the challenge really begins.
The agency is asking the general manager to approve spending thousands of dollars on paid advertising campaigns on a platform they know nothing about and don’t use. Of course, this same problem doesn’t exist with pay-per-click search, retargeting campaigns, or email blasts since if the GM uses the internet at all, they have experienced these products. However, there are many working adults who either don’t like social media or feel they don’t have time for it. The table below shows that depending on the age and sex of a dealership general manager, 22% to 35% of them are not current users of Facebook (even less on Instagram). I would argue that without direct experience in the social media platform, the general managers are putting themselves in a position of weakness in decision-making around these paid campaigns.
So, as an owner or a reflective general manager, what should they do?
For the dealer principal, I feel they need to require their decision-making-managers to set up their own Facebook account and get comfortable with it. For the GM, they need to recognize that they must use and be familiar with the platform, or they are doing their store a disservice. That doesn’t mean they need to create a massive circle of friends, or create any of their own posts, or feel that they’re giving up some of their privacy. A GM can certainly create a profile with the minimum required information, little or no photos or private information, but at least they have an account so they can begin to see how the platform works. The GM can experience ads in the newsfeed, retargeting ads, etc. Within a very short period of time, they’ll grow to be a better decision maker on these campaigns, as they will have direct experience on how the messaging reverberates.
I would also recommend the GM should find their competitors and “like” the competitors’ pages. This way they can start seeing their competitors’ ads and get an idea of the messaging and approach. GMs should also periodically visit the actual competitor pages and observe both the posts and comments, observing the way the competitors engage with visitors and the “personality” of the page.
The bottom line is, if a dealership manager doesn’t understand or use a media platform, then how can they effectively make advertising buys on that platform. Without the required understanding, the manager is forced to simply trust the vendors recommendations and success metrics. As with all things technology, if you don’t understand it, you must immerse until you do. General Managers at dealerships need to use the internet, own a smartphone, and yes…set up and use a Facebook account so that they understand the platform, lingo, and methods for delivering paid advertising to shoppers.
Future of CRM
- By john.quinn
- CRM, ILM, Chat, Desking, Emails, Phone, SMS
- 40 Replies
You really have to chuckle when you step back and really see the silos through which these systems were built.
So it came to pass that God created the Internet Lead... (LOL). and 100 of these leads would hit the sales department every month. And if you were really good, you could close 15 of them. DMS has absolutely zero provision for managing this type of interaction/communication... so Lead Management and automotive's own version of CRM is born, basically so we can sell 15 cars a month...
Meanwhile, 100 people every day are calling the Service department -- and 90 of them "close." So many phone calls that we have to make a choice: answer the phone OR take care of the people in front of me. Rough.
But Service/Fixed wasn't sexy... so it came to pass that still, today, the telephone predominately serves as the path of least resistance to gain entrance to the Service Department.
Nuts
So it came to pass that God created the Internet Lead... (LOL). and 100 of these leads would hit the sales department every month. And if you were really good, you could close 15 of them. DMS has absolutely zero provision for managing this type of interaction/communication... so Lead Management and automotive's own version of CRM is born, basically so we can sell 15 cars a month...
Meanwhile, 100 people every day are calling the Service department -- and 90 of them "close." So many phone calls that we have to make a choice: answer the phone OR take care of the people in front of me. Rough.
But Service/Fixed wasn't sexy... so it came to pass that still, today, the telephone predominately serves as the path of least resistance to gain entrance to the Service Department.
Nuts
Future of CRM
- CRM, ILM, Chat, Desking, Emails, Phone, SMS
- 40 Replies
john.quinn said:
↑
100% a great idea, that last.
As a fairly decent end user I've found that none of the big name CRM companies have the full package when it comes to the full customer experience. e-Leads is starting to work with it but it's so rudimentary as to not be fully useful. On the other side, a company like AutoAlert should have thought about expanding in to the CRM market years ago. That type of full scale system that would be created, along with adding a chat and and phone monitoring system (or as you mentioned customer interfaces right online), would streamline the user experience, streamline the costs, and reduce the number of vendors a store has to deal with (and I don't know of any dealership that wouldn't like reducing vendor count). Then integrate an accounting system in to that? It would be the Mona Lisa of systems and would control the market in short order. But no one wants to take the risk because they are afraid o screwing up a good thing.
Many many years ago, in the mid-90's, Reynolds actually started to build a system with that in mind (CRM, desk, finance, and accounting all in one) but they botched the programming (I was there: it was one of the most amazing screw-ups of all time) and lost a ton of money before they scaraped the whole thing, and they haven't really taken any more risks since then.
They all have paid for systems which are cash cows that no one wants to mess around with, although I will give Dealersocket credit in that their new Bluebird (Blackbird? Not sure) does take a radical departure from their previous system. But it's still mired in old thinking of what a CRM should be.
It will be a startup that makes it happen, not any of the established players.
↑
I respectively have to disagree here... are there actually CRM's who DO NOT have the basic features mentioned above today?
Building features is easy! Building features that streamline existing, sometime intricate processes is a completely different story.
Features that do not seamlessly integrate with the accounting system are quickly tossed-aside. Features that add to an already cluttered desktop are quickly discarded.
I have a small bit of experience in this arena -- here's another truth: talk to 10 dealers about their 10 absolute MUST HAVE features, and you will certainly end-up with a list of 100 features. And these 100 different features will have to work for 100 different processes.... and you start to get the most basic inkling of why the marketplace is so differentiated -- absolutely no such thing as One Size Fits All.
Now... build something so that your customers are using the same set of tools as your staff... my ears perk-up a bit
Click to expand...
100% a great idea, that last.
As a fairly decent end user I've found that none of the big name CRM companies have the full package when it comes to the full customer experience. e-Leads is starting to work with it but it's so rudimentary as to not be fully useful. On the other side, a company like AutoAlert should have thought about expanding in to the CRM market years ago. That type of full scale system that would be created, along with adding a chat and and phone monitoring system (or as you mentioned customer interfaces right online), would streamline the user experience, streamline the costs, and reduce the number of vendors a store has to deal with (and I don't know of any dealership that wouldn't like reducing vendor count). Then integrate an accounting system in to that? It would be the Mona Lisa of systems and would control the market in short order. But no one wants to take the risk because they are afraid o screwing up a good thing.
Many many years ago, in the mid-90's, Reynolds actually started to build a system with that in mind (CRM, desk, finance, and accounting all in one) but they botched the programming (I was there: it was one of the most amazing screw-ups of all time) and lost a ton of money before they scaraped the whole thing, and they haven't really taken any more risks since then.
They all have paid for systems which are cash cows that no one wants to mess around with, although I will give Dealersocket credit in that their new Bluebird (Blackbird? Not sure) does take a radical departure from their previous system. But it's still mired in old thinking of what a CRM should be.
It will be a startup that makes it happen, not any of the established players.
Future of CRM
- By jscole86
- CRM, ILM, Chat, Desking, Emails, Phone, SMS
- 40 Replies
Last time 
@Alex Snyder wrote some blog posts on crm related stuff, a new crm popped up not too long after. What's taking so long Alex...? haha
@Alex Snyder wrote some blog posts on crm related stuff, a new crm popped up not too long after. What's taking so long Alex...? hahaFuture of CRM
- By john.quinn
- CRM, ILM, Chat, Desking, Emails, Phone, SMS
- 40 Replies
Baron Ringler said:
↑
I respectively have to disagree here... are there actually CRM's who DO NOT have the basic features mentioned above today?
Building features is easy! Building features that streamline existing, sometime intricate processes is a completely different story.
Features that do not seamlessly integrate with the accounting system are quickly tossed-aside. Features that add to an already cluttered desktop are quickly discarded.
I have a small bit of experience in this arena -- here's another truth: talk to 10 dealers about their 10 absolute MUST HAVE features, and you will certainly end-up with a list of 100 features. And these 100 different features will have to work for 100 different processes.... and you start to get the most basic inkling of why the marketplace is so differentiated -- absolutely no such thing as One Size Fits All.
Now... build something so that your customers are using the same set of tools as your staff... my ears perk-up a bit
↑
I respectively have to disagree here... are there actually CRM's who DO NOT have the basic features mentioned above today?
Building features is easy! Building features that streamline existing, sometime intricate processes is a completely different story.
Features that do not seamlessly integrate with the accounting system are quickly tossed-aside. Features that add to an already cluttered desktop are quickly discarded.
I have a small bit of experience in this arena -- here's another truth: talk to 10 dealers about their 10 absolute MUST HAVE features, and you will certainly end-up with a list of 100 features. And these 100 different features will have to work for 100 different processes.... and you start to get the most basic inkling of why the marketplace is so differentiated -- absolutely no such thing as One Size Fits All.
Now... build something so that your customers are using the same set of tools as your staff... my ears perk-up a bit