Steve,

Your thoughts about "during bad times" dealers create better process, stuck a cord. During the past weeks I have been advising....time to Develop a REAL ecommerce strategy, starting with home delivery.

During these crazy times I keep thinking a Napoleon Hill quote, “Every adversity has the seed for an equal or greater benefit for those who maintain a positive attitude.”

Maybe is will force dealers to, “walk the walk,” that, “we like to talk….”

What do I mean?

Well for the past 10 years almost every car dealer advertises, promises, and/or touts, “Buy a car from the comfort of your home”, “We’ll bring it or ship it to you…”, “Complete your transaction and never step foot in the showroom.” While some dealers live by those words, I found for most it’s more of “marketing campaign” or “me too”, than a solid ecommerce strategy. "Get 'em in here" is still the advise from most managers.

It’s 20-20, a paradigm shift was inevitable and maybe this global health crisis is the tipping point. Maybe we are forced to figure out how to make ecommerce work. We might look back 20 years from now and say, “well the Corona Virus forced us to figure this ecommerce thing out for real.

Link to a related video...https://youtu.be/rAgatMd7dBA

What are your thoughts on this topic?

Here's what we've been seeing.

We have quite a few dealers in Pennsylvania and California who are definitely down, but things seem to be holding steady overall into April.

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Can’t wait to see how this plays out through April.

Here's all of March for FRIKINtech.

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Any updates on this?

We saw a small dip on the 23rd, but engagement in the illumiQUOTE product is encouraging!

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Can you refresh me on what size the data sample is that provides this? I know we are watching the search trends too and this is compelling data to stay the course.

Keep in mind Saturday sales always lag a bit and get added on Monday. Reports are dynamic and will back fill accordingly.

john.quinn said:

How's it look after the weekend?

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As you know, Driven Data and FRIKINtech don't share every client, but the trends continue to grow for digital. Based on Jon's numbers this morning (he shared on Facebook) we are seeing the same thing. Here are pure FRIKINtech illumiQUOTE visits:

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How's it look after the weekend?

What an unprecedented time to be tracking automotive stats. During this time of uncertainty we want to help by providing some real metrics on what is actually happening in dealerships today. I designed a data command center to track everything we can see across all of our integrations.

nduplantis said:

We were seeing this and I think we figured out a work around. It's been 45 days but we've seen our connection % double. What we do is use a tracking number for outbound calls and change this number every 30 days to give us a fresh start every month. Like I said small sample but it seems to be working.

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Good to hear you are finding success!

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ChrisR said:

We put together a plan, fixed & variable, to pick up/drop off vehicles, do deals over the phone/online, and anything else we can do to assist people, and help them through this time.

Going over the symptoms, my wife is 99% certain her and our daughter had COVID19 in January, a lot of our friends in Vegas had the same symptoms, and everybody was baffled by this new "flu" that wasn't responding to traditional treatments. Now we all have to weather the slowdown, and work to keep things moving forward, until they are back to a steady volume.

On a comical side note, everybody hoarding TP, did you think 3 moves ahead?

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NSFW!

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DJIA below 20,000.

19,898.92
−1,338.46 (6.30%)

down 36%...Boeing was $300 4 weeks ago...$93 last I saw today. fuckers need broken up but they won't be. they'll get their $60B - but here's the rub...they've spent $43B in stock buybacks over the last several years instead of making planes that people will fly or putting some rainy day money aside...fuck'em.

Delta parked 600 plans today...

this puppy's gonna leave some scars...wonder which chika will be stupid enough to name her kid Corona? kinda rhymes with Sheniqua...

Alexander Lau said:

For your sake, I hope you're right and I'm being serious. I just don't see it. Call me a smart ass if you will, but it's tanking.

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Well of course it's tanking now -- when the tornado hits, people hunker down. When it passes, they come out of the basement.

AS said it well above: worse than the actual virus right now is the FEAR of the virus. That FEAR will not last - people will adjust to the new normal -- and they will adjust relatively quickly. Right now the tornado is swirling in the sky directly overhead.

While the actual virus numbers haven't yet peaked the actual friggin RHETORIC meter is off the charts -- the fear and panic far outweighs the actual consequences of the virus.

And let's be real: the political nature of the national narrative is in full swing -- one Leader is doing his/her best to outdo his/her neighbor leader, lest they be pegged/viewed/blasted "complacent" by the media. All the while, the doomsday profits who make a living drawing eyeballs for clicks are having a field day... there is a monetized, vested interest in panic. That "panic money model" is very real. Fucking morons like Bill Ackman stoking the flame, driving the panic, laughing all the while as he's Buying Low.

NOW is when we need to heed the immortal words of Aaron Rodgers:

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john.quinn said:

Smart people who recognize a deal and their sudden IMMENSE buying power.

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For your sake, I hope you're right and I'm being serious. I just don't see it. Call me a smart ass if you will, but it's tanking.

As the virus spreads, it will continue to have a negative impact on the auto industry, said Jeff Schuster, LMC president of global vehicle forecasts, adding, “volatility will remain with us until there is evidence of containment globally, and the lasting effect could spill into 2021.”

Alexander Lau said:

Just bored, plus you posted it, too damn easy... and that's optimistic - who the fuck is going to buy cars coming out of this thing when they're broke?

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Smart people who recognize a deal and their sudden IMMENSE buying power.

Alex Snyder said:

You 100% miss the point. And I don't feel like explaining it to you because you are hell-bent on being a total asshole. Many of the other automotive communities have asked us why we haven't banned you yet - the ones who have given you the boot. You're making it awfully tempting with your other posts today.

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Oh no... I got the point and don't really care. I'm pretty damn sure my credentials still work on the other forums. Chances are you'll find nothing but the elderly and noobs pestering those waters and no one in between with very little practical knowledge indeed. I'm entitled to my opinion on Pasch, etc. You talk shit on him and then act like he's worthy. Give me a break dude.

Alexander Lau said:

You posted it, too damn easy... and that's optimistic - who the fuck is going to buy cars coming out of this thing when they're broke?

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You 100% miss the point. And I don't feel like explaining it to you because you are hell-bent on being a total asshole. Many of the other automotive communities have asked us why we haven't banned you yet - the ones who have given you the boot. You're making it awfully tempting with your other posts today.

Alex Snyder said:

You are dying for attention today, huh @Alexander Lau?

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Just bored, plus you posted it, too damn easy... and that's optimistic - who the fuck is going to buy cars coming out of this thing when they're broke?

*Back to being bored, yeah this site is definitely boring... meh, outta' here.

You are dying for attention today, huh @Alexander Lau?

Coronavirus Wrecked China's Car Sales, and America Is Probably Next
How the pandemic's supply chain disruptions and chilling effect on car buyers could spell trouble for U.S. auto sales.

Buyers Staying Home
It may not matter, though, if customers stay home. Individual outbreaks and precautionary measures like bans on large gatherings across the country will keep potential car buyers out of showrooms. Dealers in affected areas are already reporting lower foot traffic. Even areas not yet touched by the coronavirus are seeing smaller crowds at dealerships as people avoid public areas and practice social distancing.

More than just a fear of catching the virus, many people are likely to put off a major purchase over economic uncertainty. After all, a car is the second-most expensive purchase the average person makes in their life behind a house. While the economy hasn't crashed as of this writing, Wall Street has had several of its worst days on record in just the past week and the cancellation of major festivals and sporting events will have a noticeable economic impact. With a great deal of uncertainty over the state of the economy, consumers are likely to keep their money in savings until things get better, just as they did during the Great Recession. If people start losing their jobs or the country falls into a serious recession, it will only exacerbate the downturn in car sales.

What does Google want? They want relevant, real content on the internet that people want to read and tell other people about. If Google doesn’t bring you the most relevant content when you search, they aren’t doing their job. So by definition, even the word Search Engine Optimization (SEO) means to “game” the Google search engines (and others) to get your valuable content ranked higher than it would be if left alone to the forces of the Web. The bottom line is that all external SEO efforts are counterfeit other than: writing, designing, recording, or videoing real and relevant content that benefits those who search, within a quality user experience.

We can sit around and act like we're not trying to take advantage of Google's algorithm (would be a lie), but the fact of the matter, they change it up because SEO groups get VERY GOOD at manipulating it for organic ranking purposes. Google (I was just out there) is quite happy fiddling with their algorithm for "best practice" reasons, but in reality, they just want to convolute the ranking equation process in order to get you to BUY more of their PAID AD space. Now that the space (itself) has been limited, it's even more competitive.

BTW, don't get me wrong, there is NOTHING wrong with fundamental SEO work and choosing quality web platforms (Dealer Inspire, Dealer Fire, DealerOn, DealerX, fusionZone, etc.). However, let's not lie to ourselves about the manner in which many SEO groups attempt to get ahead of competitors through gray and dark gray hat SEO techniques outside of core fundamental work and quality platform provisions. I am not saying anyone here does that, BTW.

Sorry... I'd rather be honest.