Just noticed that you do have a link to dealerrater. Question still stands though. How do you make this work for your dealership??

Matt,

"To illustrate, Acton Toyota’s Internet department was delivering 35 - 40 new and used vehicles per month on the day I began as their Director of Internet Business Development. Today that very same Internet department is delivering 140 - 160 new and used vehicles per month. Is this not a compelling case for usefulness to-date?"

So during this time you only changed one thing? You started using Dealerrater.com? Not to say it is not possible, but it seems hard to believe that dealerrater can make and impact to quadruple your Internet business. Please tell me if it did and if so how you did it???

Another question I have for you is why you do not have the logo and link to dealerrater on your website? Do you only hand happy customers info on posting a rating, or do you give it to anyone that stops by and test drives a car? Most of your buying customers should be happy but what about the ones not buying?

Not trying to shoot you down or anything, just want to know how you optimize this for your dealership.

Appreciate any input please...

I tend to agree with CS. I am almost at the point where I go to Amazon to get advice on everything short of groceries. It’s great because you get an unbiased opinion, and you can see how a couple hundred people feel about a certain item. Unfortunately, there are way too many variables involved in purchasing a vehicle (from tough trade negotiations, to service writers telling dirty jokes behind the building). If everything goes well, the salesperson is just doing their job. If something goes awry, it’s time to go to DealerRater.com.

Back in my retail days, I would send a personal email to my customers a day or two after delivery, just to ask how everything went. If everything went well, I’d ask if we could share their response as a testimonial. We created a page on our site that listed the testimonials. If there was an issue with a customer being on the fence, we’d direct them to the testimonial page. It’s handy to have 80 positive testimonials to offset a couple negative postings on RipoffReport (etc).

Don't forget eBay, one of the best examples of integrating seller reviews with online shopping. It's not that dealer reviews aren't useful, it's that no site has quite done it right. Getting a good volume of reveiws is key to making it valuable, as pointed out, which is why eBay's model has worked. It's not required, but it's an unwritten rule that for every transaction you rate the buyer and the seller. And you rarely run into the mistake of rating the wrong seller or having multiple names for one seller.

Also, since people purchase cars much less frequently than they go out to eat or travel (the core of sites like Yelp or epinions), it's hard to get hundreds of reviews in a short amount of time. I still think the industry needs to prepare itself for reviews to gain a foothold and start thinking about how they will handle what is written about them online. I think dealer reviews are still in their infancy right now, and as you said, there's ample opportunity for a big player like eBay to do it right.

I'm a HUGE fan of NewEgg - pricing, selection, user reviews. I don't think I've been steered wrong by the reviews on that site - even with the more obscure things I need to buy.

Off topic
Speaking of NewEgg and other online retailers, one of the great resources of yesteryear was resellerratings.com, which seems to have transitioned from providing ratings abour sellers to providing information about products. Maybe they saw the same trend Alex saw, but it's a shame because their homepage really has buried the store ratings feature.

On topic
We have the ability to integrate with DMS systems, however it brings up the problem of trust with the consumer. The consumer has already created a relationship with a particular dealership, either through a sales or service visit. An email coming directly from their sales or service advisor has a much better chance of being acted on, than one coming from a third party that the user has no existing relationship with yet. I think most CRM's can be setup to automatically send out this email a few days after their visit - and the key here is to have the dealer link not to their review page on a rating site, but directly to where the customer can ADD a review. No distractions, just results.

This was a tip we received from one of our Certified dealers, and they just received their 400th review.

Chip-

Like CS said earlier, people prefer to review the product - especially the product they just bought. People care where they buy from, but I think loyalty is more to a brand than a retailing outlet these days. If Edmunds, DealerRater, or Yahoo had access to our sold DMS records, then they could contact our sold customers to solicit their reviews.

I like looking at the Newegg, Zappos, or Amazon models for reviews. They ask the consumer to rate the product, and then you can read mentions about the retail outlet's customer service amongst the product reviews. I just based a decision on two pairs of arctic boots on Zappos last night through this kind of system - it works. In fact, I wasn't even going to buy from Zappos, but the reviews pushed me over the edge.

Yep, this is definitely the route I'm going.

@Matt

i don't think you're missing anything if you've found a way to motivate the customer base. there's no better way to reinforce a brand name in a local space.

i would ask if you've been able to port this success to another medium. if you've done it on dealerrater what's stopping you from switching the website for a few months and swamping angieslist.com? i can't view the mass chapter, so maybe you've done so. same thing goes for yelp and other sites, too.

Knowing that Acton Toyota conducts business ethically, and tired of being stereotyped alongside other not so ethical dealers, Acton Toyota began requesting that sold customers please share their experiences online at DealerRater.com. Before long, hundreds of Acton Toyota consumers were sharing their very positive experiences. The dealership was then able to leverage this 3rd party consumer generated DealerRater.com content to radically increase market share. To illustrate, Acton Toyota’s Internet department was delivering 35 - 40 new and used vehicles per month on the day I began as their Director of Internet Business Development. Today that very same Internet department is delivering 140 - 160 new and used vehicles per month. Is this not a compelling case for usefulness to-date?

By the way, since Acton Toyota began receiving leads from DealerRater.com, the store has closed an astounding 41 percent. As it turns out, after people read what a great dealership Acton Toyota is, they then proceed to submit inquiries right there on the DealerRater.com review page (in many cases having already made up their minds as to where they will be conducting business...at Acton Toyota).

Am I missing something?

the difference between dealership ratings and amazon, epinions, etc is what is being reviewed. i could find thousands of reviews on an acura but none on the guy who sold me the acura.

there arent a lot of people reviewing dealers because there isn't a lot of interest in reading reviews of dealerships. most people think all dealers lie and cheat, there's no best product just the least of all the evils.

the car shopping experience is about which car. it doesn't matter who has the car, if you want it you are going to find it wherever it may be. a sect of the buying public may be loyal to a specific dealer, but the majority shops for the product and not the seller.

Maybe it's more of a local thing, but try Yelp.com. Here in San Francisco it started with restaurants, but spred to all kinds of businesses, including car dealers. Our dealership has over 130 reviews combined (they also have a name problem, we have more than two). Customers read these reviews and base their decisions on them. Also there is a "cold war" going on between auto chops, dealers and others - we have found evidence that other dealers are sabbotaging our ratings by posting multiple bogus negative reviews, and it is hard to take them off.

I have had the same problem. I believe a sucessful Internet department has two sides Sales-- Marketing. Most dealers think approximately 30 days out with marketing. I believe the parameters should be at least six months. Review of year over year sales show push months,and can be modified with manufacturers specials as thry occur. If you drive them in and have good internal process the rest takes care of itself. JMHO

You find the same problem in tracking down information for mass media advertising, only there generally are substantial dollars at stake. When you think in terms of these guys who are too lazy to get the offers in time for a schedule that can sometimes exceed $100k in media you have to develop a system that doesnt slow down your work flow to compensate for theirs. A "Weekly Advertising Traffic Report" is a simple one sheet document that list the previous offer, disclaimer, stock number etc. that gets emailed to the sales manager and the GM gets cc'd on. We created this because rather than all these guys having to be called or emailed multiple times, the offers are taken from an in person meeting (where the GM is present)and dont get changed unless the there are updates or sold vehicles that have to be corrrected. You only take the GM's time once a month, but the salesmanagers are all informed as to what products and offers are being run. You use the words "Advertising" & "Traffic" in the title of the report because anyone who works a desk or sales floor is very aware of the power these words have. If you have no response or any updates to your status report - it is easy to forward to the GM and ask what you can do to help create more traffic, because from the fact that nobody updated the offers, they obviously arent selling any cars.

Alex-

This is a classic example of using punishment/reward which should work well. The first thing that must happen is for the Principal and each GM must be on board in supporting you. Next, I would sit down with each manager and set a time where you can receive the specials in person if possible, or by email so you can go over them together. Get this time placed on the calendar.

After that, thank the early adopters publicly, and reiterate your need for the help of those not already doing it.

Last resort might be to use a little more aggressive discount than they would want, so when a customer comes in and they feel the pain on a loss-leader they may put you a little higher up on their to-do list.

I've been visiting the site for quite some time. I forgot when I joined. Just usually a silent reader.

If I'm feeling particularly sassy that day, I'll pick a bunch of sold cars as vehicle specials. That usually prompts phone calls from the sales managers about how I don't know what I am doing. In which I can reply, please email me stock #s of your weekly specials! Lol.

Thanks for the comments everyone. There are some excellent replies!

Hello Pat - glad to see some local folks are finding Dealer Refresh. How did you discover this site?

Hi Alex,

I'm right across town from you and I have similar issues. Except my 18 locations are spread out all over the country. It is difficult. To me there are 2 solutions:

1) Escalate the issue up your latter so the proper managment can be educated by their superiors (basically they don't believe in it or they wouldn't screw around getting you the info. XXXX rolls down hill, let the owners/upper management drive it home)

2) Come up with your own specials. I am in the mix of things just like the sales managers. Often times I'll post my own things. If they call to complain I educate them on the fact that I'm going to put something there, if they would like it different, get with the program. (I'm sure this doesn't necessarily make it better but sales managers do have to buy into your process. Otherwise, it is like a football team with 3 guys who are always sitting on the ground. You're going to lose until you make them change or the coach fires them). I find that when I post a few things and then that leads to a conversation with them, I make it known that I'm on their side and trying to get them the business. Help me help you! A couple of months like that and usually they are calling me after that.

my 2 cents!

I never have problems getting the new car specials up for our site unless the month end on a weekend and we have to wait for the manufacturer to come out with their specials. Service specials are a different story. I always have to wait a week or two and most of the time I just keep last months specials active.

For the pre-owned specials, we actually involve the Internet Managers to update those so they are more exited about the specials and know what is on the website. We started this about 6 months ago and it really seems to work for the pre-owned specials.

HI. Edmunds.com (incentives & rebates tab) is a great resource to find the regional new car offers....the info is usually posted by the 5th....I often go there instead of waiting on my dealers when i am putting their vehicle specials online. Its not a perfect solutuion but it does work in getting info to consumers.

Autotrader.com has great new vehicle specials that you can plug into your website. they are easy to manage and look great. just a thought....

Back-in-the-day I was a Yellow Pages sales rep, a once a year sales call. There is no sense of urgency; Decision makers would drag their feet.

YP management creates false deadlines before the real deadline to force advertisers to set appointments and make commitments because everyone would wait till the final hour. It works.

Many of us do this with our service depts. "I need it by 8am Tuesday" when the delivery is on Wednesday.

I say, get aggressive with your slackers and set early deadlines, create a sense of urgency and become a pain in the a**. This is the world they live in, so you might as well turn up the heat and toss them into the fire.

Joe

Kudos Alex on your past efforts of communication with management to speed-up the internet advertising process to help them sell more cars and put more money in their pocket through your knowledge and hard work.

How about putting past results in front of them from your previous efforts? I think we can all agree that management is all about ROI from any money or time spent towards advertising in the dealership, correct?

Examples:

"Based on this last incentive you created, here is the traffic/sales/profit the store generated from that. With a few minutes of your time..." OR

"Great, understanding you will contact me with this information in the next day, just sign (or read receipt) that we had this conversation to cover myself. The owner/GM has been questioning why his customers were not notified of this special via email/website specials..."

I recently showed the results from some free ATC new vehicle special ads and my manager was happy to oblige.

And Kershner... be nice! Sales managers get hungry too!

Do not forget about the sales manager that uses the old idea of invoice less holdback less all rebates less everything else. Great job of cutting our throats.

I have a used car manager that is on top of specials every week, he is always in my office asking what can we do to drive more traffic, if I ask him for specials he finds the cars, has the lot porter line them up outside so we can take pictures if need be. He is the best, Now, new car manager is another story, he says he is going to do it and ,,,,,,,,,well I guess he just forgets

I would give them the form the last week of the month. At the risk of sounding harsh, I wouldn't pay them the month's commission until they submit the form. I would present the idea to management as if the company paid $4000 for a full page ad and when you opened the paper it said...Sorry, nothing this week-check back soon! There is no reason your company should be paying money for your salary and the website AND still pay those people-use their money instead if they can't get the job done in time.

Alex, I think you're suffering from a popular illness known as "Every Sales Manager in this industry is a lazy idiot". I think that's how it's pronounced.

You're not alone, and furthermore, think about how frustrating it is for Dealer Principals when they realize that all the ad meetings they went to at the beginning of the month with their agency - all the budgeting, positioning, brainstorming - goes out the window when the agency faxes over the form requesting the week's ad cars.

You think the SM does any research? Visits a competitor's website to see what they're offering? Analyzes their recent store traffic to see which cars are driving people away due to payment? Do you think they would ever think of asking the agency what the other dealers' ads are running? Nope. They spend about 5 minutes intentionally putting together an ad that doesn't take risks or go beyond the norm (you wouldn't want the DP to find out you dared to be adventurous, right?).

The Dealer spends huge sums of money on empty advertising templates (websites, print ads, etc). By the time the opportunity gets to the desk, it's free advertising. Free opportunities. You are asking the desk what they want to do with their free opportunities, and their response across the entire nation is "I don't have time for that... I got cars to sell." Then they go back to eating their sandwich.

All I can say is keep learning, stay optimistic, and eventually people like you will be putting SM's out on the street where the only job they'll be qualified for is door-to-door cutlery sales.