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Dec 3, 2008

Thanks Gilbert - my long lost brother from another mother.

Bill - most ISM's are of a different breed than their bosses. They're much more open to the customer's needs and wants. The problem isn't in that portion though. The problem is that most dealership personnel are 30 day visionaries. I can't say that I'm not guilty of this myself, but when we get too wrapped up in the now we forget to strategize for the future. Not gluing the Internet department to the marketing department is a single example of that short-sight.

Stew - yes, this does speak well to most of Dealer Refresh. However, I'm not sure a lot of folks can handle what I'm proposing. I'm not even sure I can. I just know that marketing messages need to be congruent and there is a lot more to it than just the regular mediums we think of around the term "advertising".

Selling is the passing of emotions. It is purely relationship based and does not have anything to do with product knowledge or demonstration skills....but those help. I don't think it is possible to have car sales without that human-to-human relationship. I do believe the dealership website is just as important as the brick and mortar that make your showroom and should be treated as such. But I don't believe it will ever replace the brick and mortar.

Dec 2, 2008

Alex what a great post for 90% of the readership to get a promotion, or get fired

You're right on tho. Obviously to any ISM in any given dealership, they know where the dealership strengths will transform into sales.

The dealership website will be the ONLY medium in the future needed. Maybe 10-15 years away, but let's face it, eventually people will be buying cars from a dealership website without meeting anyone. Interactive online sales/shopping applications are already here, and will only continue to be more accepted and adopted by dealerships. Not to mention service, body shop, and parts being absorbed online too in some capacity.

The dealership ISM today will become the GM of the near future.

Bill_Playford · Dec 2, 2008

Well put, as always. I totally agree it is time for "the ownership" to embrace ecommerce, and accept that it is hear to stay. Customers are speaking every single day, and no one at the top is listening. An owner needs someone to be in charge, and make the crucial decisions that are necessary to get the job done. An owner needs someone not to ask, and just do.

However, I think some of the hard working folks in the trenches need to look in the mirror, as well. ISMs know their customers, and what it takes to get the job done. They don't need the "four-square" to make it happen. Why do they let someone who knows little to nothing about what they do tell them what they can and can't do? They need to stand up for themselves! Fire up Excel, and create a spreadsheet that shows why it makes financial sense to create such a position. Show the ownership that by fully utilizing the existing systems that the dealership could save, or dare I say, make more money. Speak to the ownership in their terms! The worst that can happen is that one gains the respect of those who sign the checks.

Dec 2, 2008

Professor Snyder, you again are so eloquent in your writing and hitting the nail on the head, the cover off the ball, and assuredly, a home run. It’s time many dealers pull their head out of……..the sand and see what they are doing is wrong. The only way out is online, CRM, etc…..exactly what you have described. Guys like us are kindred spirits when it comes to this stuff because we know if works. I hear these stories of woe every day, from all parts of the country. It is coming from huge metro markets to the little tiny single point stores in the middle of BFE. Sound the trumpets! You want to save your ass and your store? Read the words that Professor Synder has put down and heed the hell out of them. Great job my friend as always.

Alex Snyder · Dec 2, 2008

The time has come to promote the Internet Director into a much larger role

It was announced yesterday that America went into a recession in December of 2007. We have now reached a full year in a down market. By now, all of us in the automotive industry are feeling it on some level. I've heard some people saying they just want to break even and hope things will get back to at least 50% of what it was before 2010. A lot of businesses are trying to save their way into a profit. I've taken Econ 101 and even some 200 level classes, but I'm not an economics expert. I do think the notion of saving your way into a profit is silly. If you down-size, you down-size everything. So the real question is, where should investments be made in this recession? Where can a dealership get the most bang for the buck?

To everyone on Dealer Refresh, there's a very simple answer when it comes to marketing: the Internet.

However, let's take "the Internet" in a different direction. We all know online advertising has further reach than traditional media and costs much less than traditional media as well. However, traditional media is still a very viable marketing tool. Television, radio, and even the newspaper still have a place in the marketing mix. The mix has just shifted.

There are a few hang-ups in dealerships right now when it comes to truly utilizing the new marketing mix:

People who do not know how to use a computer are still pulling the major strings - the "HIPPO"
Internet marketing is too cheap to be taken seriously
People spend so much time online that it is taken for granted as an advertising source - customers don't mention it like they would a newspaper ad or radio spot
Online measurements are different than traditional media and so precise that some people cannot comprehend them
Online marketing changes too often
Online dealer marketing is also internal - it is a CRM system and it can be IT driven

Some of these points are obvious. Let's look at number 6 for a minute, "Online marketing is also internal - it is a CRM system and it can be IT driven."

Yes, your internal software usage is part of your marketing mix. Before I expand on that, I should say that if you're not using your CRM to direct your sales staff's work days, you're wasting your money on that fancy CRM. Did you ever think you could use your CRM to direct the message your sales staff is delivering? You can, and you should. If you're doing that, sending email blasts, automatic emails, scheduling follow-up calls, printing letters, or doing some sophisticated data mining through your CRM, then it is a marketing tool. What about products like vAuto, Auto Exchange, Manheim, ePencil, HomeNet, or any of the other tools you've probably invested in? Guess what, they're part of your marketing mix too. If one of those systems is a chore to use because your IT department has strangled bandwidth for security or blocked useful websites with Websense then your people are probably not using those products. Guess what, that makes IT part of the marketing mix too.

If you're a large dealership or dealer group, then you probably have a hard time getting all of these elements working together:

Traditional media message + Online advertising displays + Internal software usage to drive the message

Are all of these areas spouting the same message? Are they pushing your clearance sale this month? Are they helping to let the public know you're giving away a free Garmin with every car purchase this Christmas?

If not, here's why...

I'm making a major assumption here, but I assume your dealership has someone (or someones) who decides what the marketing message is going to be this quarter/month/week/day. Then that message is passed to the creative people (ad agency perhaps) who will turn it into a PDF for the newspaper, a recording for the radio, and video for the TV...and maybe even a banner for a website. After the creative is done and scheduled for this weekend it is shown to the sales staff in the Saturday morning meeting...where it is forgotten 5 minutes later in lieu of a Starbucks run and the toughest question of the day: "what's for lunch?"

Maybe you've got someone proactive in the Internet department who decides to turn this message into an email blast. Maybe you've got someone proactive with the CRM who sets up calls for the sales agents to make informing recent customers of the new specials. Maybe...maybe...maybe...

Why wait till Saturday morning to do all of this?

Wouldn't it make more sense to have a central person who understands how all of this stuff works? Someone who can put an internal software campaign together with a television ad? Someone empowered to get through all the red tape with the vendors, General Managers, and IT departments to get that marketing message out. I believe the time has come to promote the Internet Director into a much larger role. And it will need to be the Internet Director because the most crucial part of the whole mix is the technology/online side. This Chief of Marketing needs to know how all these systems work. We need some glue.

Dec 3, 2008

Alex,

That is very wise. I believe that we should not give up on resources. We should just look at more resources and cut back a little. In other words, do not put all of your eggs in one basket. Expand, get your name out there and let the community online know your dealership and build an awareness. This is why I believe in using both cars.com and autotrader.com instead of one or the other. This is why I believe in using Dealix and AutoBytel. Instead of focusing on one, split your budget and try a little of everything. Maybe I am wrong but I feel that the more resources you tap into the bigger your outcome with be. Get your SEO/SEM working properly and let the whole world know that you are one of the top internet dealers in the country or you are the highest volume dealer in the area or the country. Excitement and awareness brings traffic and sells cars.

Dec 3, 2008

In that case Edward, I have to recollect something my grandfather taught me a long time ago when I told him I thought the newspaper should die.

He said:

"Alex, it isn't where you advertise, it is where you've advertised. If you change something it will affect business for a short while until people get used to your change."

-other post is here: The death of the Internet Director – DealerRefresh

Dec 3, 2008

Alex - thanks for the insights...we don't utilize any other medium to advertise/market our pre-owned inventory. No newspaper, no radio, no tv...just the internet and some grass roots/community involvement strategies. We noticed a differnece after going back to the higher level subscriptions with Auto Trader and Cars, so we do think that there is a direct relationship. That brings the question of "ALPHA" to mind - is anyone using this new product? Any results?

We do have a group that manages the interactive marketing platform including two IBDM's, a Marketing Director, our CRM/IT guru, and our Agency Representative. Sometimes the 'layers' can get in the way but we have found it to be largely beneficial overall.

Looking forward to your post on the subject!

Dec 2, 2008

Jeff - nice review!

Edward - marketing isn't just one thing or one site. It is a broad picture that tells a story on many different levels at many different places. You never know what piece of the mix will be the part that motivated that consumer - even if that consumer tells you (he probably doesn't even know). So you have to be in a number of places.

Don't believe that cutting back on one thing caused less cars to be sold. Are you privy to all of the dealership's marketing expansions, schedules, and cuts? Did a radio spot end a few days before something was cut on a website? Did your television ad change?

We, as an industry, have siphoned these "Internet Departments" off into their own little corners and are either pulling the rugs out from under them now with major cuts or just doing anything the "Internet Manager" says to do because "he knows that online thing". We need to bridge the gap. I think dealerships need a person, or group of in-house people, to handle their entire marketing platform: traditional, online, and internal (yes, internal: PR, CRM, IT). In fact, I think this is going to be the next article I write.

Sorry Edward, I got off on a tangent and didn't even conclude the tangent. The answer about what part of the per car advertising cost should be directed toward online resources is a personal one. It requires someone with the complete picture to figure out what works best for your dealership.

Dec 1, 2008

Jeff - thanks for the review and insights. Ever since you moved the Refresh to this new platform it has definitely improved!

I actually envy you getting to listen to Cory go on a "tangent about something about something else"...he is always ahead of the curve! And the rest of the assembled group - must have been a real treat - kudos to Cars.com for their choices!

My 2 cents on the measurement thing...I can totally see the metrics working in the new car arena - those of leads/sales/ratios/costs etc. We have invested an incredible amount of time and effort in making that information as accurate as possible at our dealerships.

I don't think that it tells the whole picture pertaining to pre-owned advertising, however. A funny thing hapened on the way to the internet...we attribute more and more sales to "the internet", but we don't ever seem to sell more cars overall.

If you just look at the traditional metrics for pre-owned, the cost per sale is astronomical for the two big players, Auto Trader and Cars.com...it even led some of our stores to drop features from both (which did ultimately cost us sales). We ceratinly look at the traditional measures as one component of evaluating our pre-owned online spend, but we have slowly come to the realization that we don't spend significant $$ anywhere else to advertise our pre-owned cars.

I guess my question is this...does anyone else (outside of AutoTrader.com - I must've drunk the KoolAid) look at it this way? If so, what percentatge of the traditional $300 - $450 advertising cost per car should be attributed to internet in pre-owned?

I also think that there is a great post/discussion lurking about the whole "lead scoring" / "microtargeting" topic - I am looking forward to that one!

Nov 29, 2008

Those events are always fun and exciting.

Nov 29, 2008

Looks some good inside info was given at this. Can't wait to hear more about it and see how it evolves.

Nov 29, 2008

Thanks for the kind comments Jeff; glad you enjoyed yourself, and great to see you got as much out of the Summit as we put into it. Also, good to see you again, and hope to see you at the next one.

Dan Perry
SEO Manager
Cars.com

Apr 26, 2010

I loved V-SEO. We started popping out videos left and right and immediately they started showing up for the keywords we had targeted with them. The only problem was they weren't professional looking. I think this was a big set back for us. Some of the videos did really well in traffic but few to none of them sold cars. I think if you are going to do it you have to really be prepared to put out a good walk-around.

Jun 16, 2009

Here's an example of how we here at Flash Point are utilizing YouTube as a marketing tool for car dealers:

Login to view embedded media View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgDh820j77Y

Let us know what you think!

Feb 11, 2009

Justin, your idea is cool and probably someday will be standard. I checked out your website, it looks like you're using Sister tech's Video carlot automated slide show videos for your dealers.
I noticed they've been hyping 5fifty free, which on their website says free walk around videos for a website, w/youtube uploads..?
What's up with that? What's the catch?
Why would they give dealers free videos? And I've heard they make videos every month w/5 uploads to youtube for free???
Is anyone doing this free video from them right now?

Justin Duff · Dec 18, 2008

Derek-

I'm glad to see someone doing videos like you are. Currently we can provide our clients with an automated used car video. It's the best product out there but I really think the future is to have stations set up where you have a live camera on a track loop around the car. You'll produce steady shots at every angle and really give customers a movie-like experience when viewing the vehicle. I know this is going to be expensive but the first dealer to do this right will really benefit from this.

Dec 2, 2008

Man thanksgiving set me back on reading the posts for sure!

Great post on video Karry, I agree the dealership branding is key and essential to set yourself apart from competition.

Tony, dude!? Seriously... do you have a wiki or a video walkthru on this vseo thing you did? LOL, That's alot of work bro! The tubemogul prop is good stuff too, btw.

Derek, I've seen your videos, very nice work!
I like the recorded voice option, that's strong! You mention easier ways to do vids, do you mean the slideshow videos? Are you using that too, and getting autouploads to youtube? Hit me off post if you want.

Dec 1, 2008

Here's the example I promised.

Login to view embedded media View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIgVo9kCENE

Dec 1, 2008

I've been doing this for some time for my eBay auctions using real video made on my digital camera. I'd piece it together using Windows Movie Maker adding titles and smooth transitions. I originally wanted to do this just to add another element to my eBay auctions. In addition to good photos, documentation, and an emotional description, I included a video that walked around the car, up and down the sides and throughout the interior, but also highlighting what made the car special. You would hear the engine start and run, and sometimes I'd take it for a spin. I tried to shoot the video as if I were looking at the car for myself, from the buyer’s point of view. The response was good and I think it built confidence in our online presence. Because of the branding from the titles like name and phone number, people still do call on the video ads long since the cars have been sold. I also used videos from YouTube from shows like TopGear. Embed one of these somewhere. I even used them live with the client at my desk and left them watching the segment of TopGear while I sent a car to cleanup or worked the managers.

I don't recommend that every ISM go out and make custom video ads for their cars this way. It's not practical, is it nor efficient. Take a look at some of my videos on YouTube. Too many RedBulls and my hands are shaking. There are simply some better alternatives out there.

I like some of the video slideshow products available. Specifically, those that allow you to produce a slideshow with recorded or text to speech options. The best I've seen have the ability to record and send to an email contact. Imagine how strong of an impression that is to get a video slideshow with your own recorded voice in front of a buyer explaining how this model has the specific wheels or package you were looking for just as it pans over the picture. Throw in automatic distribution to YouTube and CARFAX integration...all I know is never had a tool like that.

Also...
David - Good point on clicking the cog to not include related videos.

epainter · Nov 29, 2008

I have worked with Karry and I can tell you firsthand he knows exactly how to VSEO and make it dominate the search engines. Great points througout the article.

Nov 25, 2008

We have applied all the methods of video branding that Karry Moore explains above. We have deleted 99% of our videos as we are heading to a new platform (better quality video), but here is some useful information to help add to this post.

If you have a video account on Myspace, Metacafe, AOL, Google, Youtube, Blogger, & Yahoo you can be on your way to owning the search engines. I am not promoting a product, but to get your video out there applying everything that Karry Moore explains you have to have a way to distribute it.

I use www.tubemogul.com. I actually have multiple free accounts there. You can take one video and upload the video to up to 20 different sites. Take note, the video web sites see duplicate videos, so only post a video to a site one time. To get the same video up you can change the title, keywords (descriptions) and meta info, but you have to change the video too, then it will post. This is easy as you can simply change the introduction and ending with different credits.

When you upload and distribute a video it only allows you to have one title, one description, and one set of meta information in the mass distribute. The great thing about this is you can dominate over any other company by trying to get on a number of targeted searches you are going for. Just remember you have to title your videos, with Keywords that you think a customer is searching for, back up those same keywords in the description and Meta tags.

If you search for your own dealer by name in Google look at all the third party venders trying to get the consumer to their site instead of yours on the first page in Google. With video, you can push the competition off the entire first, second, even third page in. This works in my area but search for “Berglund Toyota” in Google. Here (our area) we have the first 15 listings (the 16th is a job posting for us) in Google. Then look at page two and three… You can do this for every search for your site, but be carful as you can trump you own URL with video and you do not want to do that!

Then you move in on the competition by using your used inventory. If you are a Toyota dealer and you want to get in on the Nissan and Honda pages it is very quite simple, you just basically manipulate the title, Meta info and description. BTW I found that if your title and the first sentence in your description are the same, and you have your number in there, it helps both for organic placement in your targeted searches, and an increase in phone calls.

You also need to name the dealership you are going after in the Meta tags, this may or may not work, just depends on how savvy you are at making the search engines think this video is relevant to that dealer. Never name the dealer in your title or description! You can however; Say a competitors name is Roanoke Ford, simply do a play on words, like “In Roanoke, Ford F150 4x4 for sale 888-757-7550”. See how Ronake and ford are together, but not as a name? This will come up on searches for that dealer, and for Ford F150 Roanoke search, and others like it. The more you put in the description the more searches the video will appear…

I pulled most of our videos down as we are moving to a new platform, but if you type in Google, “Nissan Frontier Lynchburg” which may not me the greatest of search phrases, you will find we are number 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 10. We used to have the first 20 listings. Anyway, you can dominate every make and model this way. Branding baby!

There is a lot more to it than this but with a little playing around you get placement within an hour. This works well for sales events, walk-a rounds, & testimonials- (which are great for your dealership name search)...

As far as tracking goes, you can get you results on Tubemogul.com by all video accounts, or individual video accounts.

Hopefully on this post I will not get any crap from people who think the videos we have up suck or whatever as we are moving to a new representation. I am just offering more information on how to do it yourself. Good luck!

Nov 25, 2008

Has anyone seen the Johnson Automotive commercials with the Badger on you tube?

Funny!

Nov 25, 2008

Thanks for mentioning the various things that now come with Google local search: phone number, address, map, images, reviews, and now videos. I think this part of Google is widely missed.

Nov 24, 2008

VSEO absolutely works for Google ranking. We have used YouTube video for a few of our Micro Sites and the videos on YouTube get great ranking when optimized.

Not only can you harness the power of YouTube to drive traffic to a Micro Site or Dealer Web Site, you can also embed the same video into your sites from YouTube.

You may also submit the video URL to blogging web sites for submission into their database as well as gaining ranking. You can submit the video link to Digg as a video and this will help in Google ranking the video.

Make sure you use all of the available tools on YouTube as the Stats can also be very valuable. Geo Map your dealer location. Track the insight stats.

One more video submission not mentioned is video.google.com. Even though they own YouTube, you can still submit your video here.

Use the manufacturers videos in your own YouTube account and optimize it for your web site and dealer location.

Lastly, make sure when you embed the video on your sites, that you click on the little blue cog wheel next to the embed code and click on Don't include related videos, then you can choose your color and embed the video. You want to do this so you do not include your competitors videos.

And have fun making your own videos. Some dealers have their sales people make videos and optimize them on Google. It's a great way to motivate your staff and get them involved as well as something fun to watch.

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