Latest activity

bhoecht · Jul 16, 2009

Alex. Welcome back from the Penguin expedition!

I know we've spoken on this over the years, but for the other readers and in line with your post, here are some existential questions for how car are sold (near and dear to all of our hearts):

1) Is here is a picture/video/VIN decode, now "call or email" as good as we can do in online auto?
2) If not 1), then what? Jeff, Alex, help me here if I cross the vendor posting line.
3) Mike Sayer... you are right... in the absence of any means to differentiate you, your brand, your dealership... your gross profit via Google, YouTube, the Internet goes to zero. If that doesn't work for your profitability and sales commission model, what does?

I'm not trying to be a smart ass about it. I mean I can be a real ass sometimes (ask Jeff since we achieved true wisdom at the Ward's Spring Training together), but here I am being serious. What you describe is a very real problem in the industry and behind a number of the very real shakeouts occurring right now.

In the words of Michael Dell, "the Internet is not going away, but flawed business models are."

To date myself, the $24,000 question is "As an industry, how do we effectively harness the power of the Internet for PROFITABLE car sales?"

Low price? Low response rates? High effort? High technology costs? CRM response focused on "Get 'em in to the showroom?"

I'll hold my tongue so I don't cross that vendor line that Jeff reminds me of all the time.

P.S. Alex, all I could think of as I read your post was if the sailors of yore were the explorers, merchants and traders, then us car dealer software entrepreneurs must be Vikings.

P.P.S. A Battlestar Galactica quote on a car dealer forum? I so have a crush on the actress who plays the hot blonde Cylon. HOT!

Jul 16, 2009

Speaking of cutting edge philosophy, does anyone know how to sent text messages online, if you do not know the carrier? Is there a program or hopefully something free that does this? I'm trying to do my research, but having a road block.

Thanks!

mikesayre · Jul 15, 2009

Alex ur a very wise man.
We should chat one day online over some beers.

I struggle with the same stuff daily, trying too justify my reasoning or ideas to other people, educate them on what's going on with online stuff.

It's freakin exhausting tho, some get it 100%, most get it halfway - then need their hand held, and a few have no fkn clue, and the worst are the ones that don't know shet and then say I'm a stoopid putz that doesn't know anything to the owners, LOL.

We are in an information revolution, you're right on. The whole fighting amongst ATT, Yahoo, Google, MSN, GE, APPLE, AOL, ADOBE, etc......... it's all about the digital asset control online as i'm sure alot of us in the know, know.

Whoever holds the majority of the online content/data/assets/digital/media in the future has the nuts.
(a poker term not being crude, for any noobs out there

Google/Youtube has the nuts right now online, period.

I'm ok with that, but Googles needs too adjust their strategy a tad, quit setting ur base price @ zero just too starve off ur competition ~ while u dominate search and creep into other markets with ur free stuff?

No way in hell.

If that continues i'm calling the GOV and blogging my mind out, suggesting we ALL need to get our bailouts from Google.

Google has also hurt the car dealers, and the automotive market over the years, as well as craigslist.org imho!!

That's a whole other subject tho, and I'm going to try and stay on topic here.

We all need too remember capitalism is the USA's backbone. GOV has tamed the Bells phone companies, ATT, microsoft, etc.

If we all worked for Google someday would we be Americans?

I'm just curious.

-Sayre

Jul 15, 2009

Brian - you buying? I'm there!

We could certainly have a great philosophical debate on this whole thing.

Thanks for the comment!

Jul 15, 2009

"All of this has happened before. All of this will happen again."

Alex- you know your post was good if it is giving me an opportunity to quote the best show ever on TV...Battlestar Galactica!

Seriously- what a great post. I am a history maniac and truly believe the best way to figure out what's going to happen is to examine what has already happened. It's laid out in front of you (or behind!) like a roadmap.

I could down many a beer with you discussing some of your thoughts here...the transportation "evolution" vs. "revolution" concept and how it relates to the Information Revolution (BTW- for transportation, I would say it was evolution until about 100 years ago, then became revolution when mobility for the masses was introduced).

As for parallels between transportation and information, how about this? The info stage we are in now is where transportation has been for the past 50 years. Relative to cars, almost everyone (in the U.S.) was able to become mobile and afford more than one vehicle, etc. The concept of "transportation" became ubiquitous. Now, the concept of information is also becoming ubiquitous- it is available everywhere, on demand, via laptop, phone, etc. The parallel is the Transportation revolution made people mobile. The Information revolution made information mobile (mobile devices will become the primary way most of us get our information within the next decade...if not already).

Man, you put me up to some deep thinking while I was eating my lunch. Nice work!

Alex Snyder · Jul 15, 2009

As someone who has been playing on the eCommerce side of the automotive industry for some time now I find myself having to explain things quite often. Some folks get it, others don't. And that statement can be used for just about any venture I've worked on in the past 8 years of doing this.

I also have a degree in History and have always been fascinated with how many similarities can be found since man began recording things (yeah, I know I'm a dork). We seem destined to repeat ourselves over and over again, but with bigger toys. I will say that I have struggled to find a similar thread in history that can relate to this Information Revolution we're in. The only major event before, when things moved very rapidly, was during the Industrial Revolution, but things are much cleaner this time around. And you didn't have two major widespread-philosophies in the industrial revolution. Yes, there were the workers and the owners, but that was not as global as the users and the doers are in our current revolution. So, what piece of history can we correlate things to today?

I know! The transportation evolution. Not sure if we can really call that one a revolution because it took so long, and is still occurring even today. But if we look at the earlier parts of the evolution we have the wheel, the horse/camel, and the boat.

Sailing vessels did more for humanity than any other form of transportation. It brought villages together, it created commerce on a large scale, and it created exploration. Communication, Commerce, Advances - these

themes sound fairly similar don't they?

The sailors of the day were on the cutting edge. These were tough individuals who understood the mood of the sea, knew how their hull cut the waves, and what type of rigging material could get them to port before the competition. They were delivery men who were paid on how much and how often they could get a product to market. A product, in this case, could be grapes from Italy to France or a map of a "New World" with scientific studies of the indigenous people or wildlife.

Then there were the people who just booked charter on a ship, or simply waited at market for the latest products to come in. Is all of this really starting to sound familiar now? Sometimes products failed because it was too much for people to stomach. There might not have been the financial resources available for the expedition or nobody knew what to do with that silk you were hauling back.

Essentially, we had the doers and the beneficiaries. The sailors and the customers. And all the same principles that govern us today were in existence thousands of years ago.

Today, most of us on DealerRefresh are sailors and our customers are both our coworkers/bosses/vendors and the people who buy or service their cars at our stores.

So, what is the take-away from this article? Next time you find yourself against a wall, trying to get something accomplished, find some relief in that you are on the cutting edge attempting to take someone on a voyage with you who is just doesn't get it. And you're definitely not the first person trying to get the ship out of port amidst adversity.

And here's a little quote that popped up in Viigo for me yesterday of Putt's Law:

"Technology is dominated by two types of people: those who understand what they do not manage, and those who manage what they do not understand."

Disclaimer: I'm sure I am not the first person to ever compare the information revolution to the transportation evolution, but I didn't do a single bit of research on this article. I'm claiming it to be 100% original to me. It actually stemmed from a Sunday afternoon chat with my grandfather about the evolution of car sales from the horse trade and his struggle with technology. During that conversation I formed the similarities between these two different periods of human history in an attempt to help him understand things a little better.

bpulseadmin · Jul 7, 2009

Car Buyers Will Get Quick Access to Quotes from Qualified Dealers and a Better Overall Car Buying Experience; Dealers Will Have the Opportunity to Connect with More In-Market Buyers

Redwood City, CA, July 7, 2009 – Dealix, a division of Cobalt and an industry leader in automotive sales leads for dealers, dealer groups and manufacturers, announced today that it will power the car quote and dealer selector platform on Yahoo! Autos beginning next month. Yahoo! Autos, one of the leading automotive research websites, attracts a broad range of car buyers, with over 6.5 million unique visitors shopping on the site each month, according to May 2009 comScore Media Metrix data.

Car shoppers on Yahoo! Autos can research and compare vehicles, read expert reviews, and get information on vehicle incentives. Once they decide on a vehicle, Dealix’s new Lead Platform will present consumers with a choice of local dealers and quickly deliver the request to the chosen dealer. This will enable dealers to launch a fast response to consumers’ inquiries and deliver a better overall car buying experience.

“Yahoo! Autos’ extensive expertise in delivering a great online shopping experience for millions of car buyers, coupled with Dealix’s leading technology and strong relationships with auto dealers, creates a great experience for the buyer, while speeding sales for U.S. auto dealers,” said Ed Crawford, vice president of strategic planning and business development for Dealix. “Our research and firsthand experience show that when you present qualified, local dealers to car buyers and facilitate a seamless and quick connection between the two, the overall experience is better for the car buyer and helps the dealer to match them with their ideal car.”

Dealix will begin powering Yahoo! Autos New Car Leads on August 15, 2009.

About Dealix
Dealix, a division of Cobalt, is the world’s leading provider of quality leads for new and used cars for dealerships, dealer groups, and automotive manufacturers. Dealix has the broadest reach and the highest quality lead supply network in the industry, including Yahoo! Autos, Kelley Blue Book, Edmunds.com, AOL Autos, MSN Autos, and others. Dealix also represents Edmunds’ Premier Dealer Program and powers AOL Autos’ and MSN Autos’ price quotes. Dealix connects dealers with the millions of car shoppers who prefer independent Internet sites when shopping for new cars and used cars online. Dealix’s Lead Platform 2009 quickly matches thousands of serious new and used vehicle buyers to the most appropriate dealers daily, delivering a quality car buying experience for consumers and providing dealers with one of the most efficient methods available today for marketing and selling cars.

Contact
Amy Hatch
Cobalt
206.219.8132

Jul 29, 2009

Trading in an 2000 Malubu with 68,000 miles. What is the value of my car?

Jul 16, 2009

Grant - you're awesome! I am definitely seeing a lot of our employees outside their comfort zone right now and they're finally making things happen. I love it! The glass is half full in this economy because it is forcing people to eat the fire.

Brian Pasch · Jul 4, 2009

I agree that when I have pushed myself to a point of being uncomfortable because of past fears, I have grown both personally and professionally. This is a good reminder.

Aug 4, 2009

Alex,

Thanks for sharing this. I think these types of things will be the epitome of the coming years.

On a lighter side, The Onion had a (satirical) article about this. http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/twitter_creator_on_iran_i

Jul 1, 2009

People want information factual, without spin or commentary. The rise of social media is the failure of mainstream media to provide the above.

dtg · Jul 1, 2009

Social and Professional Networking are proven effective forms of communication... Mixing the two seems to be the rub. Given the recent success of (paid) commercials (at the beginning of videos) and the huge number of participants joining daily... I don't see it as a far stretch for both forms of social media to morph into something beyond what we see today. (I get the most up to date information from facebook participants not CNN or MSNBC)

Every car dealership (person) should be active with social media today to keep up with this growing (free) exposure. Social Media epitomizes what Top Of Mind Awareness (TOMA)is all about. You may not be able to get analytics on exact results (yet) but being front and center with interesting commentary will generate potential client interest and raise TOMA.

I can hear the saying burning in my head... "people buy from people they like"... How are potential clients going to get to know your dealership (you)?

Too much work? Not really. Try updating couple times a week with relevant current events and use tools like Ping.FM - Data Recovery, Apps, Software Tutorials & Tips. 2024

Good Selling,

DTG

Jul 1, 2009

Unless some major stories come out showing huge profits being made off of social media this stuff will fall on a lot of deaf ears. I think people still recall that eBay wasn't as fantastic as the hype made it out to be, and I'm sure everyone has another failed "new media" approach sitting in the memory banks.

Social media is the simplest of all e-things to understand and it is the most robust (think of all the things you can do on the Wordpress platform). But it is the least transparent to those who can't get out of their own shoes. Fine by me though! When it comes to advertising, I like the narrow-minded!

On a different note I am definitely wanting to see the news get out of Neverland. Let's see more of what affects us now instead of some weird dude who absolutely kicked ass in the 80's but hasn't done much for the world in 20 years.

Jun 30, 2009

Thanks for the story. This article is very short, yet very powerful. Social media will change a lot of things in the current and near future. Some people still don't get the power. I find more, current topics on Twitter and Facebook long before I see them on TV or hear about them on the radio or in the paper. That alone should be enough to encourage people to get involved. I hope this does not fall on deaf ears.

Alex Snyder · Jun 30, 2009

If you have no idea what has been happening in Iran, it is probably because you've been living under Iraq a rock. I'm going to try to stay out of the politics behind it, but Iran is the "religious democracy" with an Ayatollah as the head of government and an elected president who serves as the "faceman". The recent Presidential election ended up in conspiracy as many of the citizens did not believe the outcome (who, why, what are irrelevant for the purpose of this article). As a result Iranians poured into the streets in protest of the election results. During the protests, violence broke out and the Iranian government banned foreign news reporters from the country.

Without adequate reporting how is the world keeping up with everything that is happening in Iran? How are Iranian citizens rallying people to their cause? Social media!

Twitter, YouTube, blogs, and facebook have been the main forms of reporting and the coverage has been much better than any major broadcasting network could ever fathom. Of course the quality of the media might be a little off, but the number of stories, conveyed emotions, and believability more than make up for cell phone pictures and hand-held video footage.

Ladies and gentlemen, whether you care about what happens in Iran or not, this event is going to go down in history as a major change in the way people communicate and how much power a single voice can have.

I have read stories by newspaper journalists stating that the state of accurate information is going to decline along with the decline of the newspaper. I have also heard people say that things like Watergate will never be exposed again because the professional journalist will not be around to snoop things out. These could be true; only time will tell. However, there is a trend of information sources moving to social media that has now been exposed by the conflicts in Iran.

Like you, I am getting tired of reading all the stuff about social media. I am not going to tell you this is a must and you're going to go out of business if you don't use it. I just wanted to point out a major event in our lifetime and maybe give you a little something extra to think about.

Aug 3, 2009

Boring video. Now back to work. We canceled with AT.com, before they fired the fluff stuff staff.

mikesayre · Jul 22, 2009

Hey Glen, ur right on.
We should go do that one greek diner in monroe and talk some more
-Sayre

Jul 16, 2009

Another great DR conversation. I read this again and again before now finally commenting. A lot of good opinions are expressed here and I've been dealing closely with ATC since they became ATC. I can speak directly that they have recently relaxed some of their rigid standards to become more dealer focused on accepting video content without trying to strong-arm the third party providers... a welcome change! Hopefully, this is an example of a new face of ATC.

Lets assume the once-arrogant ATC organization is truly working on redefining itself. If so, I wish them well in that monumental task. It has taken a long time to sell a message at change at some of our Dominion companies, namely Dealer Specialties. In our case, that task has been very difficult to overcome the experience that a particular dealer had with one rep taking poor photos or perhaps a poor technological reputation. While we offer many DIY tools and some great technology, the reputation still hangs there with some people. So that task will not be an easy one.

I think the bigger, long-term concern for ATC is the consumer experience. As a consumer, my experience is lacking - having to scroll through all the premium placed ads, for instance. That is an issue that they really need to spend some time on!

Jul 13, 2009

So i'm sitting here this morning, going through my daily emails and hoping to learn more about what is happening in todays automotive world and I give tons of credit to Jeff and Alex, their efforts in bringing to light the underlying issues. I just forced myself to watch that Auto Trader.com video, from Mr. Chip and Mr. Alan. Their line reading skills need work and the only thing I can remember from the video is that they are reducing staff and spending 3x the money in advertising.

ATC is on blast here a lot huh?

I have a great rep and her manager is great too. My numbers are very similar to what Alex said in his post. But, i'm going to take everything I can get right now, and to lay to rest the "ATC consumers walk in the door too!" My suggestion is to list your ad that gives a discount on the vehicle if they print something from ATC and bring that in with them. Perhaps that may help?

Ok back to work!

Jul 9, 2009

Alex,
My post was not met to either defend or indict ATC. I worked for ATC for 7 years starting in Metro New York and finishing in South Florida when I left them last fall. Although I had issues over the years with the company, the people I worked with and friends that I made are still very dear to me. I am not quiet sure what Chip and Allan were trying to accomplish with their video, that however I won’t go into.

My passion lies with teaching and training dealers that the internet is not a static medium like traditional media, but a wonderfully useful medium that with a little inspiration and help from knowledgeable people can open a whole new world of people and customers to dealers. Dealers must realize that the success their granddaddy and daddy enjoyed in the traditional mediums available is no longer the case. These mediums have been supplanted by the internet. Because we live in“on-line society” marketing on the internet is constantly changing.

My last job in a dealership was 9 years ago; we had a very successful BDC because their job was to get people into the dealership. Once people where in the dealership, they were turned over to sales people to complete the sale. Early in my career with ATC I saw internet departments who tried to sell cars. The problem is no one understood the internet let alone computers. So originally the person put in charge of the internet department was able to turn on a computer, answer and email, and semi-talk on the phone. What this person was not is a salesperson. Given all this; dealers wondered why the internet did not work. Of course over the years professionals like your self have entered the field with very good results.

So what has happened over the last 10 years? The internet as come 180 degrees. It is the medium that everyone looks at for information. Traditional media still has a place, but not so much. The industry cannot become complacent it must embrace and grow with new technology’s. The funny thing is the more things change the more they stay the same. I currently am marketing a line of video players for web sites. With my players a dealer can personally welcome a customer to their website. They service director can welcome a customer to the service department. New and used car managers can video weekly specials. Customers can give live testimonials. Customers can send it there own videos using there vehicles, and much, much, more. I short people can talk to people. Wow, what an OLD concept. Plus the videos become viral, and are just as effective in moving dealers up in search results as PPC. However, what’s interesting is I still hear the same thing I heard when I was with ATC who is going to do this, who has the time? As this industry shakes it self out over the next few years, the dealers that find the time to do the right things will be the ones left standing.

By the way I always enjoy our articles. Have a great one!

Jul 8, 2009

Jerry - you're preaching to the choir. You probably wouldn't realize that if you only know me from my postings in Autotrader.com threads.

My argument is this:

Yes, most people walk-in. However a percentage of folks do pick up the phone or request information via a form. If I were to only look at Cars.com and Autotrader.com under this small percentage I find that Cars.com is double the effectiveness for more than half the money without a bunch of differing packages. On top of simply looking at non-walk-in traffic I also have this nifty tool from vAuto that they call "Merchandising" which looks at the impressions, detailed views, and form submissions for ATC and Cars.com on each car. Every single time I look at it Cars.com has double the detailed views and form submissions.

These are the tools of accountability I have at my disposal and when you simply look at the numbers it is 2:1 Cars.com to ATC in sales while it is 1:2 Cars.com to ATC on pricing. I can't make a more even playing field for both companies, so I have to assume (based on the hard numbers) that Autotrader.com is now half the product Cars.com is....Cars.com, feel free to quote me on that.

The thing that troubles me about the whole thing is Autotrader.com won't do anything for us to get the numbers more in line, so I will be campaigning to our 2 GM's that still want to be on the product to either cancel or justify the money. Thankfully it doesn't come out of my budget (it is a pure store-expense) but wasted money does bug me a lot.

I'm sure my rep will be reading this thread now, and I apologize to her. It is absolutely no reflection on her as she is someone who will put some real work in - I'd like to have her on my staff. I suggest working with Todd to help him find the deals if you want to shut me up on this one.

Jul 8, 2009

Alex, in these times the term “walk-in” must be clarified. Old school a “walk-in” was just that, someone who walked into the dealership to see what the dealer had in stock. Because, there was know definitive listing easily available of the dealer’s inventory.
Enter the internet age you have dealer web sites, 3rd party web sites, and a litany of other inventory listings. When a customer walks into a show room not only do they know what the dealer has in inventory but in which vehicles they are interested.

The 2008 Dealer Brand Image Study & Dealer Walk in Study showed very clearly that 80% of dealer traffic is walk-in that has not previously contacted the dealer by phone or email. The remaining 20% breaks down 17% phone, and 3% email. This varies greatly from the dealer’s perception which is 41% Walk-in, 42% Phone, and 17% email. This study was conducted in 17 markets and 59 dealers nationwide. These were exit interviews of people who had just bought vehicles.

I don’t want to be accused of heresy, however it’s time that dealers and internet managers realized that they don’t need internet departments, they need internet dealerships. 80 plus percent of there traffic coming into the dealership is coming off the internet, and that traffic is called walk-in.

Phone calls and emails are the most convenient way for internet managers to justify their work. But as long as there is internet sales and floor sales there will always be a fight over what is walk-in traffic.

Where as a BDC that get’s the customer to visit the dealership, introduces that customer to the Sales Manager or General Manager who then introduces that customer to a sales person to compete the process will have far more accurate numbers on traffic composition.

mikesayre · Jul 7, 2009

Hi DR blog!
First time poster, long time reader.

I've heard about these ATC postings here from sooo many people recently I just had to check it out.
I missed the last ATC blog-festival here and didn't want to re-live saying "no I didn't read it yet" in conversations.

I glanced at the thread history for this topic too; my gawd JK you must be lovin' this ATC controversy (and traffic

!

Anyway, I'm an agnostic party here in the digital trenches of automotive lead generation drama, I could truly care less. I'm also officially off-duty too, so screw that no blog posting corp mandate. I'm going rogue here.

First to ATC: I understand wanting to deliver an important message to your core biz ~ the dealers.
Excellent idea, I'm all for it, but why a video?
And why a video about tough times, changes, and blahhhh?!
And then why so dreary and canned?
Who approved that?

Please pump that video up next time!! Seriously, you're still a very crucial part of alot of dealers business!
I talk to dealers everyday that absolutely love ATC, and sell a bunch of units daily from it. Focus on the positive, read some Ziglar or something. There's still a bunch of light at the end of the tunnel, maybe go do some dealer testimonial videos, and put them on Youtube (btw i can help with that

.

Next to the ATC haters:
Bottom line is you've either been offended by ATC in a variety of ways as a customer or employee, or you don't believe the money invested in ATC is worth the return, right?

The positive I get out of this is; the former customers looking for ROI just want to see it first hand, prove it to them, be their friend, partner, work with them, and they'll buy again. (maybe not Tim, but hey ya can't win them all)

As for the former employees being offended; I have no answer, no thought, no comment, and I ain't touching that topic. I'm truly sorry to see job loss happen too anyone, it sucks.

On a final note, I won a national video parody contest with Automart.com back in the good ol' days with legendary "real" guitar hero Johnny Fink.

We submitted 2 videos out of 3 overall nationally, and took 1st and 3rd place... Now that's total domination!!
So next time ATC needs to deliver a message, someone might want to look towards captain video and Johnny Fink too get that done for ya, huh??

Login to view embedded media View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9fJELZruNY

BTW I never got my flip video camera for taking 1st place, or my "shop smart @ automart.com" bumper sticker for taking 3rd??

Johnny said he got his right away, SO who's ass do I need to kiss too get my prizes??

L8r
-Sayre

Cargurrl · Jul 7, 2009

sorry here not hear before everyone blasts me. Now, back to growing my business.....

Latest activity

Latest activity

Filter