Latest activity

Alex Snyder · Nov 4, 2024

Care to do the points of a Kamala win? :poke:

P.S.

DrewAment · Nov 4, 2024

Ryan Everson said:
No consent popup:
❌ Autotrader
❌ CarGurus
❌ Edmunds
❌ TrueCar
❌ Asbury
❌ Group1
❌ Driveway
❌ Carvana
❌ Chase
❌ Wells Fargo
❌ CapitalOne
❌ Target
❌ Walmart

Has consent popup:
✅ ComplyAuto clients

Updated 11.04.2024 ==

No consent popup:
❌ Autotrader
❌ CarGurus
❌ Edmunds
❌ Asbury
❌ Group1
❌ Driveway
❌ Carvana
❌ Chase
❌ Wells Fargo
❌ CapitalOne
❌ Target
❌ Walmart

✅ TrueCar (Added)
✅ ComplyAuto clients

Wondering what/who made TrueCar cave in?

[email protected] · Nov 4, 2024

Having a recurring issue with ComplyNet blocking some of my third party tools (Trade Pending), it was fixed back in February, but now it is happening again. Anyone else experiencing this? It there a better option for the banner that might not create this problem?

Alex Snyder · Nov 4, 2024

Brian Michael West said:
Engagement is everything

Think people will hold off on buying for a few weeks?

Traditionally, elections pause people for a day or two. It isn't a pause for waiting to see who the winner is and reacting, it is just uncertainty in the market. People always pause spending due to disruptions and uncertainty. This MFing election has the potential to be like nothing we have ever experienced before. Be ready for disruptions.

Alex Snyder · Nov 4, 2024

You sir are a Baiter… a Master Baiter :rofl:

I'm not worried about tomorrow. I'm worried about how things go down after a winner is announced.

Alex Snyder · Nov 4, 2024

People are always looking for the best deal. That doesn't always mean it is the cheapest thing on the planet. It can mean paying less than retail and they're willing to have some "perfection" removed to save some money. This is why Open Box items are so popular.

One of the nicest enhancements in the Open Box realm has been the online disclosure of what is in the box and condition of the product. B&H and Adorama are phenomenal at their rating system to help you know that item has scratches or no longer has the original packaging. Best Buy's system is decent too. If you haven't discovered the Amazon warehouse yet, you've missed some incredible savings there. They do a fairly good job of rating returned products at scale.

I am an Open Box shopper and a Used Car shopper. My years in the car business give me an edge on the latter. However, in my last purchase I forgot to ask some basic questions. One in particular was whether the car came with both keys (that's a $500 ouch).

It occurred to me this morning that consumers could benefit from dealers utilizing a rating system of their used cars that would better justify the asking price. That would also include whether the car came with:

both keys
owners manual
service records
Clean CarFax
etc.

And the rating system needs more work, but here's a start on some ideas:

Air Conditioning: blows cold air and has no odor.
Alignment: there are no pulls to the right or left. The car drives straight at highway speeds without significant driver effort.
Rust: surface rust is present on the exhaust system. As this is a replaceable part of the undercarriage, there is no significant rust to be concerned with.
Scratches and dings: minor scratches and dings are common with road use. This vehicle has less exterior wear and tear for a vehicle of this age.
Tires: passes state inspection and should last many more miles with proper tire maintenance and PSI.

I recognize this will require merchandising tools and websites to adopt this at scale. This is why I call it an idea :light:

Anyway, I know this would have been very helpful in my shopping.

George Nenni · Nov 3, 2024

Receiving and seeing a lot of questions about GA4, ASC, etc. in Linkedin, and on this forum, especially around ASC implementation and basic setup. Wanted to let you know we just released a free GA4 tutorial videos specifically made for dealers.

Already posted on the Generations Digital channel:

GA4 initial setup walkthrough
ASC events implementation guide
Basic reporting essentials
Data streams setup
Exploration reports basics

Trying to put together short, clear walkthroughs focused on what dealers need to know.

You can find the new YouTube channel here: bit.ly/gendigYT

More content coming. If there are specific GA4 topics you'd like covered, let me know here or in the YouTube comments.

- George

GA4 Youtube Tutorial - LI Post 11-1-24.png

Alex Snyder · Nov 2, 2024

Saturday morning coffee thought…

In an industry where the incentive to be accurate with customer data is for transactional purposes, the only source of accurate data will be the transactional softwares. That is the DMS today.

As long as we have customers who try to mask themselves (leads), salespeople who don’t value data, and service writers who are rushed any of the softwares with “customer” in the name will never reach full potential.

We know the flaws of CRM all too well and we know how well the fancy stuff on top works due to the basic foundations of inaccuracies corrupting the greater features. Especially reports. Any CRM report that focuses on leads needs to be highly scrutinized, for example.

How can a CDP be any better? Is it going to give you 70% accuracy? 60%? 50%? Is it possible to know and will that accuracy remain constant or ebb? If it is inaccurate, how accurate are your decisions? If you’re the main person in your dealership making calls off this system, might it be a good idea to remind yourself that “black and white” stuff on your screen is incredibly grey?

Alex Snyder · Nov 2, 2024

joe.pistell said:
Heads up, the ChatGPT web search feature is bad ass.
#GoogleKiller

Aside from hallucinations, AI is a far better search experience. But even with hallucinations it is still faster and more relevant.

faster = gets straight to the right result. faster does not mean results in .00000001 milliseconds. Quality trumps speed.

joe.pistell · Nov 2, 2024

Heads up, the ChatGPT web search feature is bad ass.
#GoogleKiller

flosho · Nov 1, 2024

Ryan Everson said:
^ Warning: The tactics listed above are black hat practices.

Buying fake Facebook accounts, auto-posting, and using "unofficial" APIs all violate Facebook's terms of service and could put your personal Facebook profile, Facebook page, ad account, and business manager at risk of being banned.

I mean, posting dealership owned vehicles to marketplace through individual accounts or sales person's personal accounts is probably against the rules too and could be considered "Black Hat Practices"

Along with 3rd party companies posting vehicles on behalf of a dealership.

Not saying I disagree with you or that your warning is valid, but.. this entire topic is gray area at best.

Baron Ringler · Oct 31, 2024

willandre said:
Interesting physics problem, but can you clarify what you mean by "Service mining" in this case? Presumably you mean "vehicles sales opportunities from open ROs"(?)

Semantics aside, without a dedicated team member, you'll probably have to work the mining into existing technician workflows. Of course, that means looking at spiffs or comp plan changes, and even then you might not get buy in from them.

Yeah, I was shot down on that one. One of the first things I thought of. My hands are completely tied right now as they won't spend money either.

Baron Ringler · Oct 31, 2024

Hey all,

So, running a BDC, when discussing our lease specials, I have told the Reps not to get into money down, taxes, or inceptions, etc. Make the appointments and let the salespeople do their jobs when the customer comes in. Reasoning, that customers know that there are the intangibles behind the lease, and two you chase them away when you start talking thousands out of pocket. I've now been told not to do that, as sometimes people get upset when the lease is broken out in-store. When I asked how else they would like me to do it, or input on a different approach, other than breaking out the entire lease (which I've NEVER had rotational Reps do in 20 years), I was told "You're the BDC guy. You figure it out.", and that is the 100% accurate quote.

Second, referencing retail retention customers, I use the old stand-by with a slight modification, "Would you be interested if we can keep your DEAL (not payment) close to the same as last time (this addresses the fact that they may have put thousands down last time), and I was told not to do that either. So, for retail retention, someone who is 30-months into a 60-month term, "yes" we want to hit upgrades and such from their last vehicle, present warranty termination, or even the possibility of leasing, but failing those (and most of the time there is no sizzle to those steaks), what are some Processes you are all using that I am just not thinking of?

joe.pistell · Oct 31, 2024

Rick Buffkin said:
On a side note, I'm not a fan of this badging. It can be misleading. ..[snip].... They're not taking into account the reconditioning time and money that has been invested into the vehicle to make it FLR. ...[snip]...they overlooked ...[snip]... the real value is that we've added 4 new tires, completed the next major service to the vehicle and did a oil, filter and air filter change.

RICK NAILED IT. CarFax employees, get this thread to your product leaders. Give Dealers API access ASAP.

Example: 2018 Chevy Equinox [Dealer VDP link] [CARFAX Link]

CARFAX product leaders, you're IGNORING this data! (below)

I gave this to Perplexity.ai

Estimated costs:

• Oil Change and Filter: $80-$100

• Air Filter Replacement: $60-$80

• Front Brake Rotors and Pads: $300-$400 per axle

• Engine Oil Cooler Line(s): $200-$400

• Tire Replacement and Service: $600-$800 for all four tires

• Cabin Air Filter Replacement: $80-$120

Total Estimated Cost: $1,320 - $1,900

"If it's free, it has no value"
-Uncle Joe

CARFAX leaders, Industry wide, pre-purchace service $$ is a black hole for all GSMs. As a Merchandising Agency, this info is GOLD! Also, please find a way to get this into your pricing algo. It adds real value to all parties.

I preach this story to everyone I talk to at CarFax, GIVE US AN API and let us run with it!!! Anyone that would like to talk about this, DM me here or email me:

Joe Pistell
Founder, AutoMagic Labs
[email protected]

JC AutoMagic Inc | Automotive Dealership Analytics

Leading the Way in Digital Operations and Merchandising for the Automotive Industry. We offer two specialty services, Digital Operations Consulting and Merchandising As A Service (MAAS)

www.automagiclabs.ai

joe.pistell · Oct 31, 2024

@Rick Buffkin and @Ryan Everson, thank you for the complements.

@Mico Silver, our industry has undervalued the power of merchandising. Somehow, no one sees our marketplace thru the eyes of a shopper. Shoppers are dazed and confused. Strategic merchandising ATTACKS this.

@George Nenni quote:

I've run GA4 reporting for @joe.pistell for a few years now, and when he made merchandising improvements, injecting interior photos early, adding text to explain options, his conversion rate quickly went to 2-3X our conversion rate benchmark (math=forms, calls, chats divided by sessions). Tough to argue against these results. Link to comments

Way before the internet, Car Dealers were the best merchandisers in retail, but, mastering digital merchandising is technically complex, It's highly strategic and very hard to scale. This is why no one does it... and it's why... to those that do commit to merchandising, crush their competition.

joe.pistell · Oct 29, 2024

Mico Silver said:
Here is what happens when a customer clicks on this link:

It does NOT ....

Micro, dude, your logic is flawed, step out of your car guy uniform and shadow car shoppers*. CarFax delivers real value to car shoppers. Hard stop. Do the work.

Micro, for every sale you make how many internet shoppers DID NOT buy from you? Look into it, it'll make you sick (i.e. you sell about 1% of your website visitors... ask yourself, what if I could double it to 2%??))

Micro, Look at the closing rate of your Carfax leads, 100% higher? 200% higher? Shoppers clicking on CarFax on your VIN means YOU ARE A FINALIST. FUCK LEAD GEN, it's ~40% of your sales, 60% are stealth walkins, work hard on attracting those invisible shoppers. Get more of them to click on your VIN's carfax.

Micro, Selling cars is a Zero Sum game. While you're fighting for more leads, I'll be stealing your sales with superior merchandising user experiences.

*Observing my Brother… the car shopper.

Mico Silver · Oct 29, 2024

Ryan Everson said:
Hello @Mico Silver, Shift Digital Rep,

Viewing a CarFax report is actually an indicator of an engaged user with a higher propensity to submit a lead. Ask @joe.pistell.

This is inaccurate - the vast majority of website providers use a nofollow link on CarFax links.

How is CarFax "getting" our customer? The report is dealership co-branded, and there’s no navigation or options to view another dealership’s inventory.

Yes, CarFax could potentially retarget our customer, but so could the 20+ other scripts that OEMs and their various partners install without our consent.

Yes, dealers pay thousands of dollars to partner with CarFax. Should we limit CarFax vehicle history reports to an in-showroom benefit rather than offering them upfront and transparently online?

It's worth noting that Cars.com has also chosen to install it on their SRP because they too see value in it:
View attachment 9201

If this was truly hurting conversions, a marketplace with millions of website visitors (whose entire business model depends on demonstrating value to dealers through leads) would be the first to eliminate an external CarFax link on their SRP and VDPs.

It is great that Carfax gets an indicator of an engaged user, too bad that the dealer will not know about it.

A simple test shows that the Carfax links are NOT "nofollow".

There are at least two links on the report to Carfax.com, where they list cars and solicit leads, which then they sell back to dealers.

If Cars.com or your dealer group chooses to have the badge on your VLP - it is literally your business. My concern is that nobody was asked. The badge was implemented without dealers asking for it, agreeing to it, or knowing about it.

Mico Silver · Oct 29, 2024

Rick Buffkin said:
To turn the deal rating badge feature off on your SRP and VDPs on your website, simply go into you carfaxonline.com account. Go to My Account> Dealership (View Profile). Scroll to the lower section for Settings and then toggle off the CarFax Value Badge. Normally takes about 48 hours for it to fall off.

On a side note, I'm not a fan of this badging. It can be misleading. I don't need Carfax telling my customer / website visitor that my car possibly has a crappy price. They're not taking into account the reconditioning time and money that has been invested into the vehicle to make it FLR. Ex: They could be saying my truck is priced fair in the marketplace and could possibly be overlooked because of the "Fair Price" badging but, the real value is that we've added 4 new tires, completed the next major service to the vehicle and did a oil, filter and air filter change. Alot of customers see value in this and this is something that a price badge doesn't give you.

Just my .02 cent.

That is very helpful, thank you!

Mico Silver · Oct 29, 2024

Rob said:
Time to calm down. While I agree that Carfax logos / report links don’t belong on the SRP - they absolutely belong on the VDP.

Having a link to a Carfax report doesn’t hurt your SEO. That’s not how this works.

The link opens the Carfax report - it doesn’t punt you to Carfax classified listings. No competitor cars are shown.

There are a ton of reasons to be concerned in life. This isn’t one.

I will try to match your condescending tone: please enlighten me on how SEO works, and how sending a customer to a third party site after you spent thousands to get them on your website does not hurt your SEO.
And for those with reading comprehension issues: the topic is a badge on VLP, not VDP.

Mico Silver · Oct 29, 2024

garbe said:
The higher-level question with anything on a VDP is: Does it help the customer make a purchase decision that leads to a sale?

One could make a decent case that a Carfax badge/button contributes. I clicked on this Carfax from a VDP and I think (1) there's a lot of helpful info for shoppers and (2) it's not immediately apparent that they are trying to harvest leads.

Now, if it dumped people onto a lead form... that's a different story!

Good discussion to have, except that the badge in question is on the VLP, so the customer can open it without going into the VDP. It is an accepted and expected practice today to offer a free Carfax report, my question was about Carfax giving out the information without even going into the VDP. I don't see how this will help the dealer to increase traffic conversion.

Rob · Oct 29, 2024

Mico Silver said:
Check your dealership website used cars vehicle listing page: do you see a Carfax logo link/CTA? Did you authorize Carfax and/or your website provider to put it there?
A random sampling of various franchise dealer websites shows these CTA on ALL websites:

View attachment 9199

Here is what happens when a customer clicks on this link:

It does NOT convert your customer to a lead/phone call

It opens a Carfax domain browser window, which improves Carfax SEO while hurting yours - on your dime

Once Carfax gets your customer - they are free to market any cars they want and convert them to 3rd party leads, which they then will sell back to you

Carfax captures the customer's data, which they will use for targeted marketing to the best customer you could get to your website.

Mico Silver said:
Did you agree to Carfax do this to your website?

Time to calm down. While I agree that Carfax logos / report links don’t belong on the SRP - they absolutely belong on the VDP.

Having a link to a Carfax report doesn’t hurt your SEO. That’s not how this works.

The link opens the Carfax report - it doesn’t punt you to Carfax classified listings. No competitor cars are shown.

There are a ton of reasons to be concerned in life. This isn’t one.

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CARFAX product leaders, you're IGNORING this data! (below)​

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CARFAX product leaders, you're IGNORING this data! (below)