A recent event showed "irrefutable proof" - as one unhappy customer said, that employees taking customers cars for a joy ride is not an uncommon issue dealership customers face.

The Joyriding Employee

A Californian couple took their car for regular servicing, only to spot it speeding down the road a while later. They realized it was their Special Edition Chevy Camaro being taken for a joy ride by an employee at the Chevrolet of Montebello dealership, so they confronted the driver as he drove the car into a food drive-through.

The unhappy customer, Mari Agredano-Quirino, posted a video of the whole event to her social media profile which showed her confrontation with the employee of the dealership, behind the wheel of her vehicle.

The owner of the dealership apologized for the whole situation and refunded the repairs for the car.  Although he asked Agredano-Quirino to share his apology video on her post on social media, she refused to do so.

Do your employees take customer's cars for a casual drive?

The public was quick to point out that this is not an uncommon issue at dealerships, so the question remains, how often does this really happen? And how do we go about preventing this? What else can dealerships do to protect their reputationin situations such as this one?

[highlight color="#f4b945" font="black"]Chime in on the DealerRefresh Forums[/highlight]

Artificial Intelligence used to be something you’d only see in science-fiction novels, comics or movies. But these days AI isn’t just for Terminators and space ships with an axe to grind. Car dealers are now able to use AI to improve personalization on their website and engage customers more fully – engagement that can be turned into conversions if you know how to use the tools properly.

[highlight color="#d65a3e" font="#ffffff"]
>> Infographic - AI Today: Reaching Customers with Increased Personalization <<

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In this live web chat from August 2017 with AutoLeadStar Co-Founder and CEO Aharon Horwitz we explored the Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools revolutionizing automotive digital marketing. We learned how to get started with AI today, and we even got a sneak peek at AutoLeadStar’s brand-new just-released machine learning tool coming in the Fall 2017, designed to solve some of today’s biggest online marketing challenges, including intrusive, mismatched popups and lack of personalization.

Learn how AI can customize every stage of the online shopping process by:

• Tracking user behavior in real time to offer relevant content
  
• Eliminating the busywork of campaign segmentation
  
• Scaling personalization to all customers throughout the buying journey

Login to view embedded media View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZdqWaxxQ8E


[highlight color="#f3b851" font="black"]Join the conversation in the Dealer Forums[/highlight]
[highlight color="#f7100d" font="black"]View the full 'edited' version of the webinar (29mins)[/highlight]

Contemplating the future of automotive at the Valley of Fire

I thought it might be a great idea to take some peyote, spend some time in the desert, and meditate on the future of our industry before starting Digital Dealer 23. As my mind wandered in the desert heat, a vision overtook me...

I should work to create a conference where dealers and vendors in the automotive industry can gather together to share the latest and greatest on how to be the best digital dealer in automotive. And I should have them gather in a city in the middle of a desert with bright neon lights, dazzling entertainment, and fantastic food and service. Wait? What? Holy hallucination! Someone already has done this and it is called Digital Dealer?

Time for me to straighten up and begin my recap of Digital Dealer 23 in lovely Las Vegas!



Joining Kevin Gordon and Alex Jefferson at Digital Dealer 23

Who remembers the Chevy Vega? I am convinced that auto dealers gave the name "Las Vegas" as a tribute to the city they love to gather in the most. I think it is fair to say that most of us in the industry are in Las Vegas at least once a year. Julie and I love it as well, but we are always looking for something different to do. Many thanks to Peyton "Peyote" Hoffman who recommended the Valley of Fire as a place to visit. We signed up for a hiking excursion on www.lovehikes.com and they picked us up early on Sunday morning to take us on an "intense hike" in the Valley of Fire.

We spent a beautiful morning hiking, jumping crevasses, climbing some peaks and enjoying the beauty of the desert. Thanks Peyton for the heads up, and I highly recommend it for all who visit Vegas (and you can pick the level of hiking you would like, everything is provided). You can see some video of our Valley of Fire hike here.



Smooth registration badge pickup at DD23

Smooth as a summer drawl...  Went down for early registration on Sunday afternoon and had my badge within minutes. Do you remember the log-jams we used to have for registration? It has only become better every conference and this was the quickest and easiest registration pick up yet. I also ran into Mike Roscoe who shared that after every Digital Dealer conference, they would sit down, wipe a clean slate, and ask "how can we do this better." Without giving away my entire recap - this was the smoothest run conference I have attended. Congrats to Mike and his team with the efforts to improve across all of these years - and welcome to Emerald Expositions who look to continue this legacy.



Lots of fun seeing Raiding the Rock Vault at Hard Rock Casino

Listen here whipper snapper, today's music is lame! Of course we had to take in a show. This year we went to the Hard Rock Casino and saw "Raiding the Rock Vault" where they assemble a band made up of rock stars from the past to cover songs from the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Great times listening to classic rock. Did I say "classic", oh boy...  Sitting in the second row made us very susceptible to some "power stances" from some 60+ year old guitarists with what appeared to be some impressive hair weaves. Who knew that leather pants go so well with leathery skin? Show was great, though Julie might have been a bit traumatized by this AARP lineup.

Video killed the car radio star... I started early on Monday morning to setup for my session "Why Bass-ackwards Will Take You Forward" and was pleased to find that Digital Dealer had sent over one of their best AV folks to help ensure my videos played correctly. Remember the issues several presenters had at #DD22? We were able to replicate the problem and fix it - THANK YOU!



Great to see Hunter Hale, Chad Worrel and Tony Rhoades with Gunn Automotive before my session

Conjunction junction, what's that disruption?  The 2 buzzwords of Digital Dealer 23 were "disruption" and "attribution", and my session addressed the first. Ladies and gentlemen - our industry is under attack. I shared how, and more important, why, our industry is at the forefront of retail disruption by several outside companies, to include Carvana and many others. Our shoppers have never liked the process of how they buy a car, and removing the friction points, such as negotiating, the lengthy process at the dealership, and more, is what our disruptors are bringing to the table.

Will Carvana make it? This is the most common question I have received in the last year. My answer is this - Carvana has spent hundreds of millions of dollars in capital, they have never been profitable, and their advertising cost per car is over $4000. Yet when you look at the brokerage firms on Wall Street they still rate Carvana as a "buy" vs. a "sell", why? The reality is that the disruption of auto retail as we know it is considered a top growth opportunity for investors. I don't know whether Carvana will make it, but I do know that there is a line of vendors a mile long behind them that will take their place if they fail. So what do we do? Do we sit back and continue to do business as normal while one or more of these disruptors moves in to take the business from us?



Don't Jessica Ruth and Steve Stauning look thrilled to see me?

Bass-ackwards will take you forward. Our industry needs to fight back. That includes doing things completely different than we have in the past in many cases to provide the consumer-facing experience our shoppers are looking for. Even the Internet as we know it is facing significant disruption. If you have not heard about blockchain technology, I highly recommend you start taking some time to learn about it. Blockchain stands to eliminate many of the current solutions we currently contract with today as information goes from fee to free. That's right, even the Internet is faced with doing things 180 degrees different. From serving and charging for information to sharing information for free via Blockchain technology. The upcoming years will be an even bigger transition time for automotive than what the Internet has done to us already. Will you be prepared?



Demo with Dealer Science at Digital Dealer 23

Thank you! I have asked for years that Digital Dealer would set aside some dedicated time slots for exhibit hall during the conferences. In the past, our team from Jeff Wyler would pick a time slot(s) to skip a session so that we could meet with our current partners in exhibit hall while checking out new solutions. Digital Dealer 23 featured several dedicated time slots, to include one on Monday to kickoff exhibit hall.



Uber for Business at Digital Dealer 23

It's none of your business! One of the unique solutions I saw in exhibit hall was Uber for Business. It took only a few minutes to demo, but the idea bears value for dealers. Rather than have a shuttle van at your dealership, you utilize Uber to take customers to work after they drop off their car, and then use Uber to bring them back when their car is finished. The dealership gets to utilize a "digital headquarters" software platform from Uber to get a clear view of trip activity and billing, and the dealer pays for the fare with a small surcharge.

With such a great focus by dealers on fixed ops as a primary profit center in this market of compressing margins, many dealers are extending hours of service. Would it be more cost effective to use Uber for Business with these extended hours, or even overnight hours, and only when needed compared to keeping a full time shuttle bus driver on staff? Great idea.



Yago Paramo inspires me with all of the races and obstacle runs he competes in

Why get married in Vegas when you can get engaged? Monday afternoon began with a visit with Kent Wilson, the new Director of Digital Marketing at Dan Cummins Chevrolet. Kent has spent his first 6-7  months at  Dan Cummins with an internal focus on their website layout and looking how to improve its performance. While he measured the traditional conversion metrics, he spent more time on how to better ENGAGE their online shoppers. Not sure how to best do that? Check out the deck from Kent as well as from Brian Pasch and myself from DD22 for a wealth of information on setting up to best engage and measure engagement with your site.



Joining Subi Ghosh and Ryan Gerardi for a DealerRefresh panel

SubiRyan - sounds like a Dealer-refreshing cocktail... Next up was the DealerRefresh panel moderated by Subi Ghosh and Ryan Gerardi in keynote hall. There was a lot of discussion about attribution (2nd buzzword!) and how best to measure it. Brad Paschal might have had the best quote with "Dealers don't really care about attribution as long as they are selling cars". Speaking of which,  I could insert several words to replace "attribution" and that quote would still be applicable. I was a bit discouraged to hear near the end of this panel that many dealers still believe "last click" attribution is the best model. Uh - no. Our industry is much better than this. There are many assists in the shoppers journey to purchase and we must continue to work on best measuring this. And for me, I lean towards the time decay model and I would love to hear your input.

Did you know that Brian Benstock was conceived at Woodstock? Just some more fake news for you folks - now my guess is that half of you believed that without question because of your political leanings, but let's move forward... Brian brought us back to "disruption"  and shared many of the same thoughts I had in my session - our industry is under attack, how do we best respond? In what was my favorite session of DD23, Brian shared how dealers should always focus on  their current return on investment (ROI) while constantly testing new ideas to maximize  their return on learning (ROL). Sounds like a great recipe on how to maintain profitability while getting best positioned for the future. Paragon Honda's challenge to our industry is that we must disrupt ourselves with leadership! I could not agree more Brian, well done!



LOVE these two, joining Eliana Raggio and Brent Wees

Me thinks with drinks...  Time for the networking hour in exhibit hall which was shortened from 2 hours to one hour for DD23. Another good idea as many folks are scrambling to freshen up for dinner plans after a long day at the conference. I completed some more demos with Podium and Friendemic, while speaking with other current partners like Dealer Teamwork and the great folks at Pasch Consulting Group.



The Jeff Wyler team dinner at Prime Steakhouse at the Bellagio

A prime dinner with a prime view... The Jeff Wyler Automotive team had a fantastic dinner at The Prime steakhouse at the Bellagio. It was a beautiful evening outside on the patio to enjoy great food, better company, and the infamous water show in front of the Bellagio. We welcomed Katie Richter with Cuneo Advertising to join us for dinner and lots of fun followed. Many thanks to Jeff Wyler Co-President Scott Bristow for hosting this wonderful evening.



Hot, tasty, and convenient breakfast to start off the day at Digital Dealer 23

Cars and eggs, yum... C'mon,  you know I am always up early for breakfast, where I sat with several great folks, to include my main man Alex Jefferson, Veronica Dunford, Frank Lopes, Brian Armstrong, and more. Our discussion centered on one topic. It's not the actual car deal that we should focus on, but rather the shopping experience for our customer.  That is what will bring them back in the future. Timeless advice (and breakfast was pretty good as well .



Do we need more coffee for this breakfast of champions?

Beatles make the best dessert for breakfast... I am trying to remember the first time I saw Shaun Raines speak (was it Digital Dealer 3???), however I do know that he never disappoints. Shaun used the Beatles music as a great theme for some sound digital marketing advice for dealers today. Did you realize that you can place an ad for your dealership in the map listings with Google? That is a prime opportunity when you consider that the number one inbound source of traffic to your dealership website comes from these map listings.



Shaun Raines literally rocks the house with the Beatles

Go ahead and test this, what is faster, typing in a search query or just saying it? If voice search is 3x faster than typing it in, do you think that being best positioned for voice searches makes sense? More sound advice. Shaun closed his session by getting all of us to sing along to a Beatles song - Hey Jude! Great job Shaun!



Erich Gail inspires at Digital Dealer 23

Let's have a meeting about having meetings... Erich Gail was next, sharing how to lead a world class meeting at your dealership. Erich shared that your dealership should have a 5 year target with a 3 year picture with attainable goals, and a one year plan. Everything you do needs to be specific, measurable, and achievable. The goal is to have one 90 minute meeting each week that is thorough and effective and keeps your team on track to achieve your targets. Erich, I love how you end your session with a personal call for each one of us to improve - I am with you friend.

Would you question my answer??? Ian Cruickshank led a session on attribution which gave good detail on the different models available to dealers today, and had a nice question/answer discussion that I found very useful. While I attended  several sessions that spoke about attribution, I could sense that many dealers wanted more. By more, I mean they want detailed examples of applying attribution modeling to our dealer budgets today. Here's a challenge for those applying to speak at Digital Dealer 24 - dealers want more "hands-on" advice and real life examples to learn from.



Frank Lopes and Josh Mitchell enjoy the Digital Dealer party

It's always good to see grace before dinner...  See, say, I guess I meant it is great to see James Grace, who is one of the smartest folks in our industry today, and is someone I admire and respect for his insight. What was James talking about? ATTRIBUTION. Here is what I loved about James' session. He gave this simple advice to dealers. If you are just starting to optimize your digital marketing, focus on getting quantity of traffic to quality of traffic. If you already there, then focus on taking your quality traffic and look to identify the assists with that traffic. And if you have advanced that far, now focus on establishing attribution value for each of those assists. Have you ever noticed that the smartest people know how to take something very complex and break  it down into something very simple to understand and apply?



Joining Brandon Boyd, Matthew Warren and Mark Boyd with Vin Voyager

A little bit of Vegas goes a long way... First stop was a great happy hour hosted by Mark Boyd. Mark has been a long time leader in our industry, with a focus on connecting the auto industry's top talent, startups, thought leaders and innovators. I will be keeping an eye on his next startup, Vin Voyager with CEO Brandon Boyd, with whom I had the pleasure to meet with at Mark's event. Brandon is a USMC veteran with several tours under his belt. Thank you for your service and sacrifice Brandon, and I look forward to following up with you. My hint on Vin Voyager? Watch out vAuto...



And the night begins for the Digital Dealer parties

Fresh air and fresh friends - the perfect party atmosphere... The after hours Digital Dealer party was packed and it was a great time. The weather was great for this outdoor party and I enjoyed seeing more friends while sharing some cocktails and enjoying some good music. Took a quick break for some 5 star cuisine and then  headed to the Aria for the next party.



Some 5-star pizza between parties

Boom boom boom boom... That is the sound of the bass with the music so loud you can feel it. Or is that the sound of my heart as I haven't slept in several days and my heart is pumping 5-hour energy drink. While I had a lot of fun, this guy was starting to slow down. Was great to say hello to Below Deck Mediterranean reality star Jerry Thibeau before Julie and I made the long trek back to our room to call it a night.



Clint Burns and April Rain bringing on the fun

A Honda dealer, Google expert, and Facebook leader sit down at a bar... After some strict instructions about "do not live stream this event", I mean, can you imagine Facebook and Google sharing a stage? Wednesday's keynote began with a panel talking about - disruption!  Kelli McNearney shared a great quote with dealers - "Do you look  at your Google  Analytics like you look at your financials?" I am pleased to share that when I look back at our earliest Digital Dealer conferences compared to today, dealers are much better with Google Analytics than ever before. Think about this for a second. If Google and Facebook are sharing a stage with one of our leading dealers to discuss how we can work together to address disruption in automotive retail, should this be a wake-up call? (hint - YES).



Digital Dealer 23 keynotes were well attended

From hill-billy to the hill-top... Preston Ford shared how they took their rural location and broke into Ford's top 100 dealer list. I liked how they branded "Why go to your local dealer when we can come to you". Their 3 core values were marketing, branding, and consistency. Great core values that are timeless. More important, in today's market, successful businesses are taking themselves to the consumer via the Internet - are you doing the same? I thought it was also interesting to see a common theme with these small dealerships that are achieving exceptional performance. They cannot afford to get regional and national coverage with their marketing efforts via traditional channels like TV or radio,  but digital marketing has given them that opportunity. We live in a great era with effective, targeted digital marketing that is affordable.



Two Men with huge hearts, Ryan Leslie and Brad Paschal

I wrote this on PURPOSE... And finally,  the most meaningful session, the Case for a Cause with Ryan Leslie. Ryan shared the common marketing values that we all learn - product, price, placement, and promotion. However he challenged that there was one additional "P" missing - purpose. Did you know that 73% of millennials have made an online friend because they have a shared passion? Is there an opportunity for dealers today to SHARE their passions with their consumers and capitalize on this. I don't mean this selfishly. Dealers are often one of, it not the biggest contributors in their local communities with charity, but do we share our efforts well enough?



Subi Ghosh, the lovely Julie Frye, and Brent Wees at the DD party

There is another, bigger picture. And that is how the automotive industry supports itself. You might know it better as #autofam. I can think of so many examples of how our great people have gathered together to support each other. Loving and caring for Ryan Leslie and his family. For Paul Jimenez and his family. For myself and my brother's battle with leukemia. While "car guys" often get a bum rap in today's market, these same "car guys" are some of the most caring and generous people I know.



My last photo with AJ Maida, from Digital Dealer 22

An "Admiral's" farewell... I must share that I stopped several times during the conference to think about AJ Maida. I could always count on hearing "Hey Admiral" while walking on the exhibit hall during Digital Dealer, only to turn around and see AJ coming up with a cheery hello, and "where is Julie?"  Autofam lost one of its favorite people this year and this DD seemed a bit incomplete without his presence. Losing AJ made me think how much I respect and love so many of you - even as I write these Digital Dealer reviews that mix a lot of my offbeat humor and my recap remarks. For those of you who helped lead the way, folks like Jeff Kershner, Alex Snyder, Joe Webb, Shaun Raines, Brian Pasch, and so many more, to those younger folks taking us to the next level, I am proud to be part of #autofam. Or should I say, Julie and I are proud to be part of #autofam. God bless each and every one of you, you have my admiration and respect.



Looking forward to seeing you in Orlando at Digital Dealer 24

Survey says... My final summary of Digital Dealer 23 is this. From beginning to end, this was the smoothest show I have attended. I did not walk away with any groundbreaking content - but in fairness I have not seen that at any other shows I have attended this year. I think we are getting ready for another huge transition in our industry. Get ready folks. Change is challenge, and challenge is the fuel for performance-driven folks like those in automotive. Staying on top of our market is more important than ever, and Digital Dealer continues to deliver. And it's back to Orlando for Digital Dealer 24, April 10 - 12 at the Orange County Convention Center - look forward to seeing you there.

How many applications (or vendor solutions) do you need to effectively communicate with YOUR CUSTOMERS intelligently, dynamically, and personally?

This question (and others) is/are what we discussed in this exclusive DealerRefresh Web Chat with Dropin Auto Brand Ambassador Larry West [LinkedIn]. With more than 30 years of Automotive experience including Dealer and General Manager roles of high volume franchises, Larry is uniquely qualified to advise dealers on best practices for sales and service processes and lead acquisition, and he has an important message to share:

• Three new consumer behaviors playing out in Google Search Data
  
• Customer Expectation: Speed, Ease, and Transparency
  
• Return of Face-to-Face Communications

Login to view embedded media View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev3XTUb5qXM


[highlight color="#f4b945" font="white"]Join the Conversation in the Dealer Forums[/highlight]

[highlight color="#0065b2" font="white"]Premium Members - Access the Full 'Edited' Webinar[/highlight]

[highlight color="#fd3e1e" font="black"]Listen to the Podcast on Soundcloud[/highlight]

[highlight color="#eeeee2" font="#000000;"]PS - Dropin Auto is offering DealerRefresh Members a Special Introductory Offer. Learn more in the Deals4Dealers section of the Forums.

[/highlight]

Dealers Can Now Tap Predictive Analytics to Maximize Turn & Profits

AUSTIN, Texas—September 19, 2017— CarStory , the automotive AI platform from Vast , today unveiled CarStory Insights , the first product to predict when cars will sell and for how much. CarStory Insights builds on 12 years of data and analytics expertise. Combining this with AI and machine learning, CarStory Insights alerts dealers to issues on their lot before they cost them profits. For the first time, dealers can use the power of AI to sell cars at the right time, for the right price, maximizing inventory turn and profit.



 

“With CarStory Insights , dealers can stop guessing and start knowing,” said John Price, CEO of Vast. “It not only predicts which vehicles will cut into your profits, but also gives recommendations on what steps to take next. There is nothing else like it on the market today.”

An expansion of CarStory’s proven analytics and AI platform, Insights constantly analyzes a dealer’s lot to provide timely alerts, accurate sales predictions and smart pricing recommendations. Instead of scanning historical automotive data to make inferences on sales, Insights uses predictive analytics to see the trends that are coming. As a result, dealers are empowered to make more intelligent sales decisions, increasing their efficiency by eliminating the need to constantly monitor the market.

Dealers can pinpoint slow or fast turning vehicles in their inventory in seconds—allowing more time to take the steps that mitigate a loss. Features of CarStory Insights include:

Turn Drivers
Highlights the vehicle features that help cars sell in a local market and compares those to every vehicle on a dealer’s lot.

Smart Pricing
Provides pricing recommendations based on how each price will change the days to sell.



Market Rank
Provides a detailed comparison how each vehicle stacks up against the local competition.

Sales Alerts
Get notified via phone or email whenever Insights detects an issue in the market or on your lot.

Instant Share
Notifications can be easily shared with members of a dealer team.

CarStory Insights is available to select dealers today. If you would like to get on the waitlist, please visit carstory.ai .

About CarStory
Powered by the industry’s largest database of inventory and shopper insights, CarStory uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to help both consumers and dealers make confident decisions. With a network of over 7,000 dealers nationwide, and touching over 15 million consumers a month, CarStory is the leading automotive analytics platform in the industry. To learn more or sign up, visit: carstory.ai.

About Vast
Vast is the leader in Automotive Vertical AI for automotive industry, applying domain knowledge, expertise and content to service customer-acquisition, vehicle sales and data analysis. Vast’s auto platform, CarStory, supports a number of products including CarStory Market Reports and CarStory.com. Founded in 2005, Vast is the premier provider of automotive big data solutions for the largest brands in automotive. Learn more at vast.com.

Media Contact
Treble
Ethan Parker
512-960-8222
[email protected]

CHICAGO, September 12th, 2017 - Cars.com is announcing its latest car shopping feature, Salesperson Connect, which helps connect dealership salespeople directly to in-market shoppers before visiting the dealer lot, creating a more personalized car shopping experience for consumers.

DealerRater, a Cars.com company, launched DealerRater Connections earlier this year to help connect consumers directly with dealer salespeople through dealer reviews. This latest feature upgrade integrates DealerRater data with the Cars.com Vehicle Details Page (VDP), providing shoppers with access to information critical to making a buying decision on what Cars.com refers to as the 4P's: Product, Price, Place and Person. Salesperson Connect is available for dealers nationwide who are currently DealerRater Connections customers.

"Real human relationships are a key to the next phase of the consumer-driven shopping transformation, and providing car shoppers with valuable data and information around a specific salesperson moves us towards that goal," said Tony Zolla, chief product officer at Cars.com. "Cars.com has created a Vehicle Details Page that provides a full range of data to help consumers make a more informed decision. The new Salesperson Connect feature surfaces top rated salespeople based on their DealerRater reviews and provides one-stop-shopping for car buyers on a single page, helping us streamline the process for consumers and connecting them to the right dealership and right salesperson to meet their needs."

"In a survey of over 6,400 car shoppers on DealerRater.com, 97 percent of them prefer to select a salesperson before walking into the showroom, which means that making a personal connection early is incredibly valuable," said Jamie Oldershaw, general manager of DealerRater. "Having access to reviews and information about specific salespeople at a dealership empowers consumers and helps them feel more comfortable about the car buying process. It also helps establish a baseline of trust before setting foot in the dealership and ultimately enhances the customer experience."

This feature can also help lead to stronger employee engagement at dealerships when salespeople know each experience with a customer could affect their review rating. In a recent survey of 233 DealerRater Certified salespeople, over 80 percent said their employee profile helps them sell more cars, drives more showroom visits per month, and speeds up the sales process resulting in a higher close rate.

"A shopper recently contacted me after reading a review on DealerRater, asking for me specifically," said "Wrangler Rob" McGuire, certified sales consultant at Garavel Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram in Norwalk, CT. "Leads that come through the VDP salesperson profiles are more substantial because the consumer is already committed to the car and to the salesperson. Integrating the employee (salesperson) aspect can drive more business to the dealership because a shopper can review the VDP and think, 'I can buy this car anywhere, but this salesperson has more reviews and this is a more reputable dealership.'"

About Cars.com
Cars.com is a leading online destination that helps car shoppers and owners navigate every turn of car ownership. A pioneer in automotive classifieds, the company has evolved into one of the largest digital automotive platforms, connecting consumers with local dealers across the country anytime, anywhere. Through trusted expert content, on-the-lot mobile app features, millions of new and used vehicle listings, a comprehensive set of research tools and the largest database of consumer reviews in the industry, Cars.com helps shoppers buy, sell and service their vehicles. Cars.com properties include DealerRater®, Auto.com™, PickupTrucks.com™ and NewCars.com®. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. For more information, visit www.Cars.com.

Video is king, there’s no way around it.

It’s the Tesla of marketing, ruler of the seven kingdoms, the end-all-be-all of content. It sells better, conveys better, and it’s found better.

In strategizing any sort of video efforts for your brand these days, it would be difficult to escape sending personalized video to your customers and prospects. After all, personalized video has a 16x increase in click-to-opens and a 4.5x increase in total/unique click-throughs (Vidyard).

If you’ve attempted sending videos via email, you’ve probably run into an important question: What’s the best way to send videos? Email and video have an interesting relationship, and they don’t always get along. (Read DR Forum "Why Is Video So Difficult.)

Here are some obstacles you may run into...

Size Matters

A big problem arises when Gmail’s message limit is 25MB per email (that includes text and attachments) and a typical 2 minute video recorded with an iPhone 7 is about 220MB. The math doesn’t add up for sending video via email. It’s important to mention, most private servers have similar size limits.

We took it a step further and tried sending a one-minute video recorded with an iPhone 6 (lower quality). Here’s what we got…



We were able to send an old 40-second video recorded on a iPhone 4, but this is what happened when we tried to open the attachment…



Not a very elegant solution for sender or receiver...

Stop Spamming Me

Anytime an email is sent with an attachment, Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) try to prove it’s not spam. They’ve become very weary of attachments and there’s good chance it will get blocked by spam filters, especially when sending to private servers with tight security. If it does get past the gates, your video still has to get past the recipients that are opening it, all of whom are wary of downloading large file attachments from people they don't know.

As with most computer viruses, victims are often first targeted with a fraudulent email. If hackers can get victims to open an email and then download an attachment, then they can infiltrate their computer—and any computer associated with that computer’s network.

—  Time Magazine

Click to expand...

The YouTube Blues

While YouTube is a great tool that helps tremendously with sales and marketing efforts, it still has its obstacles if you plan on actually sending the videos you’re producing. The biggest YouTube complaint we hear is the time it takes to upload a video and fill out the required information, and don’t forget you still have to write a corresponding email.

It’s no secret YouTube wants people to stay on their site and keep watching videos, understandable, but this means they don’t really care that you’re trying to sell a vehicle. It’s safe to assume your competitor’s ads and “related videos” of similar vehicles will be queued up and placed next to yours. Not to mention, the YouTube black hole of distractions like Carpool Karaoke and kittens playing tennis.

...So what are the best solutions...?

File Sharing

Services like Dropbox (also WeTransfer, YouSendIt) provide a place to store and send files. Everything is done from their respective sites and your recipients receive an email directly from the third party service.

Although they get the job done, receiving an email from these companies can be intimidating to customers, and there is a learning curve. It may not be intuitive for your end user, but typically instructions are provided with the email on how to download the file(s). After clicking "View File", recipients are then prompted to create an account.



Video Email Service

Now, I'm a little biased on this topic... but using a video email service has become the standard for any company that’s looking for ROI with video. Here’s why…

• The ease of use. For both the sender and receiver, this is by far the easiest and most efficient way to send and receive video. Pre-designed and branded email templates allow for a speedy process, while still supporting the video with a personalized message. The scope of work for the sender only depends on video production, because that’s pretty much all you have to do… Record. Send.

• There’s no sending of large files, the video usually streams through an HTML5 player. The downloading and transferring is all done on the service providers end before the email is sent.
  
• Most video email services now include an SMS package, which gives you the option to automatically text the recipient your video, along with the email. 75% of millennials choose texting over talking (OpenMarket).
  
• Imagine not worrying about which videos to delete to save space or if you have enough storage for a new recording. With a video email service, your videos are stored and saved forever on their servers… easily recalled at any time, and no storage required on your end. NOTE: Some service providers may charge extra for storage tiers.
  
• Performance reports are huge perks of email services. They allow you to see open rates, who has viewed your videos, and when.. An invaluable tool that can steer your video marketing strategy in the right direction.

No matter where you are in your video marketing process, it's never to late to try out one of these solutions, your customers will thank you for it! 

Before I wrap this up, I have to give a shout out to Jeff Kershner for being all over the video trend 9 years ago! He saw the value of it way back when and to his credit has stuck with it. I wonder if he still has that flip video camera.. Shouts to Jeff, he's a rockstar. Literally...

A guy walks into a bar and says, "Bartender...." -- oops.. wait.. different story.

A guy walks into a dealership and says, "I'd like to see an SUV with 3rd-row seating."

Who is this guy?  Is he a lead?  Is he a customer?

If you ask the Salesperson, he's an "Up," but again, that's a different story.

What is he in your system?  Does it matter?

If you've ever attempted to produce Lead ROI reporting, generate Customer lists for targeted Campaigns, or just generally wondered what the heck was going-on with your data, then yes, it matters. It matters a lot.  But it's really not that complicated -- let's make this easy.

Leads:

Rule of Thumb: you cannot shake hands with a Lead.

Think of a Lead as a starting point: data with a need to be understood:

A Lead is an entity with unverified information and unverified intent that has purposefully contacted the Dealer.

Sounds a little complicated, but think of leads as simply words on a piece of paper or words sandwiched between tags in ADF/XML -- just words sent to a dealer or dealer's system that need to be understood.  The words don't change -- ever.  Leads are immutable, a fact from a particular point in time.  Once we start to understand these words, the game starts...

Customers:

Rule of Thumb: you can shake hands with a Customer.

Customers are often people, although businesses can also be customers.  Therefore, let's use the word "entity" in our customer definition:

A Customer is an entity with verified and sufficient information that has purposefully been in contact with the Dealer.

"Customer" is synonymous with "identity;" the answer to "Who?" when the question is asked.

Does "Customer" indicate a transaction has occurred?  Not necessarily -- but a verified person or business has been in contact with the dealership.

We have the concept "verify" in both of our definitions because verification logic is a key to determining the maturation path of a lead: do we have enough data to make a determination that the words reasonably represent an identity?  Or are the words a bunch of gobly-guk destined for the trash can or in need of further information to make sense?

If we're shaking hands, it's pretty easy to verify that there's an identity.  Systems are not so fortunate, so verification logic is put in place to start separating the wheat from the chaff: the maturation of a lead.

This Maturation Path is what it's all about -- commonly referred to as The Road to the Sale.  In the old days, The Road generally started when a customer walked through the door.  Today, that door is no longer the glass rectangle hanging on the front of the building, and very often our systems are performing the first Meet-n-Greet. When a system understands the difference between a Lead and a Customer, the system's foundation is set to be an integral partner as the dealer travels the Road alongside his or her customers.

And when your system understands the difference between Customers and Opportunities.... then WOW!  But that's a story we'll save for next time

Have a comment you'd like to share? Post it here in the dealer forums

Nostradamus would be having a field day.

When pondering the impact of Autonomous Driving Vehicles, the predictions about the future of automotive (and the resulting impact to society) are, if anything, vast. In a world that requires constant content, everyone has an opinion and the ability to publish their opinions. So they do.

The Unbridled Technophiles:

• Less than 4 million autonomous cars will replace 50% of all commuter traffic in the U.S.1 With roughly 250 million people in the U.S. living in urban communities, 3.75 million autonomous vehicles will handle 50% of peak commuter traffic in the country.
  
• Overcrowding will officially come to an end.1 One thing that symbolizes overcrowding more than anything else is traffic. Once traffic flows smoothly, people will begin to regain control of their lives and our sense of feeling overcrowded will begin to disappear.
  
• Driverless technologies will cause 1 in 4 jobs to disappear.1 Over the next 2-3 decades, driverless technologies will be either directly or indirectly responsible for the loss of 25% of all of today’s jobs.
  
• We won’t need to teach our children how to drive. Today’s infants will wonder how or why we let people drive cars.

The Unbridled Technophobes:

• Self-driving cars will never be safer than the human eye. Even military fighter drones need remote human pilots.
  
• We can’t have machines running the world. "The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race." -- Steven Hawking2
  
• The insurance industry will never let it happen. Billions of dollars of insurance money will find a way to quash this fad.
  
• It’s already over. Apple laid-off it’s staff from Project Titan3, and Uber is crashing cars in Arizona4.

Start at the far left, and travel to the far right, and you will undoubtedly pass a few sensible predictions and even find a few realisms along the way. So let’s look at the items that reach easy consensus and see if there are logical conclusions.

The Demand for On-Demand Transportation Will Not Wane

In the future, there will still be distance, and there will still be time. People will want to get from X to Y and back again, and they will want to get there when they want to get there. Autonomous Vehicles (AV’s) certainly broach the topic of ownership and convenience, but they do not change the fact that multi-wheeled technology will traverse distance -- miles -- carrying a payload. Miles driven do not decrease, even if the number of units in the marketplace decreases.

If a shared or fleet-owned marketplace takes shape, fewer vehicles driving the same amount of miles creates the realism that these vehicles will quickly accumulate miles -- like taxis. And autonomous as these vehicles may be, they are not magic: more miles equals more maintenance. People get upset when their own vehicles break down -- imagine the drama when the Uber AV breaks down halfway between home and taekwondo practice with your 12-year-old in the car.

Prediction: Preventative maintenance will be more critical than ever.

The Demand for Specialized Maintenance Will Increase

Manufacturers build things. Things that are built wear-out and break. Things that are built to travel 60+ miles per hour over potholes, through rain, snow, heat and freezing temperatures carrying various cargo wear-out and break more often than manufacturers prefer. So manufacturers foster relationships with entities designed to care for and repair their things. The more intricate the thing, the more intricate the relationship between manufacturer and maintenance/repair entity.

Today’s vehicles are intricate things, and they are not getting any simpler (I recently witnessed an 11-year old get into a 2000 Jeep Wrangler and ask, “What is this?” while pointing to the window crank). Removing the driver from the equation substantially increases the intricacy of the vehicle.

When was the last time you changed your own oil? When was the last time you diagnosed a software anomaly that applies the brakes too soon before they are needed? The Dealership Service Department is the place where this knowledge is executed. The need for specialized knowledge will be tremendous and the ability to apply this knowledge to AV’s critical.

Prediction: The dealership’s Service Department will become the #1 focus of a dealer’s efforts.

Auto manufacturers already recognize the increasing need to emphasize the Service processes and practices of their franchised dealerships.   As vehicles become more intricate, and as customers become more demanding, the relationship between consumer, dealer, and manufacturer, as expressed through interactions in the Service Department, has never before been the subject of such scrutiny; just ask your friendly neighborhood dealer what they’re talking about with their OEM reps these days. A progressive dealer recently averred, “Think about where the Service Department was located in the 90’s and prior -- out in the back. Today’s dealership places the Service Department right up-front next to Sales -- a prominent entry point into the facility.”

Now, how the vehicle gets to the Service facility and who is paying the bill may very well be changing, but as mileage and intricacy increase, so goes the need for specialized OEM maintenance and repair. That space is the sole domain of the dealership Service Department. Technology companies wishing to expand and enhance their relationships with dealerships that recognize this need will be well served when emphasis begins to “shift” from Sales to Service. Some tech companies already are.

There was a great post in the forum that got me thinking. The post was titled, “Google Review Success Tips.”

As I was rereading the original post, I began to suspect that the poster was at least as concerned with generating reviews to boost search engine ranking as generating reviews for the sake of the store’s reputation. I get that – I understand. Dealers have been told that their rank on search engines is going to mean the difference between success and failure in the digital age. They may have been told wrong.

I’d suggest that ranking high up on a simple Google search is important if you are selling small, inexpensive, unimportant items. It is much less important when you are selling big-ticket items that consumers spend some time researching. I could argue that we are only looking at this from our perspective; We want to be found. But is that what we need? I contend that what we really need is to be chosen.

Being ‘found’ is only very small piece of a much larger puzzle. The larger puzzle is getting ‘chosen.' Google has laid out the questions most consumers need to have answered before they choose a dealer;

1. Which car is best?
   
2. Is it right for me?
   
3. Can I afford it?
   
4. Where should I buy it?
   
5. Am I getting a deal?

Your customers are not searching for you; they are searching for the answers to those five questions. Being ‘found’ doesn’t move the metal, being the answer to all of these questions does. Being ‘chosen’ sells cars. Being found is only vital if you believe that there is only one path to selling a car; being found leads to a customer picking a car leads to determining the right price leads to deciding that they can afford to buy, etc.

The reality is that there is no one path; a customer can be shopping for the vehicle first, or they can be shopping for a payment, or they can be looking for a dealer that can help them with a credit challenge or… you get the picture.

Working within the context of being chosen and not simply found, when consumers start to consider the sales person they want to work with early in the process (something real estate embraced long ago), this gives the customer an added path to choosing you.

The Internet helps shoppers choose the right vehicle (Product). The Internet helps shoppers find the right deal (Price). The Internet helps shoppers find a store they can trust (Place). Now, the Internet can help shoppers find the right salesperson (Person). The really cool thing about this approach is that a shopper can enter this path at any point. They may choose to start with the salesperson first and everything falls into place from there.

Being Chosen sells cars.

There were two inspirations for this post; The post from the forum, “Google Review Success Tips” and this blog post from Moz, “Location Data + Reviews: The 1–2 Punch of Local SEO”

Bringing Deterministic Attribution to the Auto Industry

NORTH ANDOVER, MA – (August 23, 2017) – Semcasting, creators of the patented IP targeting technology Semcasting Smart Zones®, today announced the acquisition of Orlando-based Transparency AI (TAI), an automotive marketing attribution company. The transaction was a purchase of assets for an undisclosed amount.

Since September 2015 Semcasting and TAI have worked successfully together to bring attribution and media solutions to auto dealer groups and the top online auto-listing publishers. Transparency AI uses Semcasting’s IP matching and Universal Data Exchange (UDX) to connect online and offline customer activity on online publishers’ sites that host individual and dealer group inventory for sale. Auto dealers can measure the impact of their promotional marketing spend against the traffic on publisher platforms and track it directly to the purchase of a car.

“We have been working hand in hand with Transparency AI for nearly two years, creating significant value for publishers and the auto dealer groups through attribution reporting,” said Ray Kingman, CEO and Founder of Semcasting. “This acquisition formalizes our partnership and is a natural extension of our core strategy of delivering deep insight through data to marketers in key markets – such as automotive, health care, finance, politics and retail.”

According to eMarketer, the U.S. automotive industry is projected to spend $9.94 billion on digital ads in 2017 and digital ad spend will reach $14.14 billion in spending by 2020. Semcasting and TAI offer a deterministic attribution solution for publisher’s and dealer’s ad spend.

With Semcasting technology, clients can deterministically identify an auto buyer across the entire customer journey. It links a customer ID across multiple online platforms; matches consumers to dealer repair, test-drives and website visits, and matches audiences served on behalf of the dealer and to select pages in online auto listing sites.

“The automotive industry has always been aggressive in its adoption of online and lead-generation technologies that improve results,” said Jon Lamb, GM of Semcasting Auto Solutions Group. “Being able to prove the impact of online and offline activity at scale across-channels, locations and devices ensures that auto dealers and publishers are going to have the insight they need to optimize their ROI on ad spend.”

The TAI team will continue to operate out of their Orlando and Minneapolis locations as the Semcasting Auto Solutions Group.

About Semcasting

Semcasting is the next generation in Data as a Service Platforms, providing actionable intelligence for marketing services, CRM enhancement, and manufacturing logistics on any Internet-enabled device. Our Semcasting Smart Zones® platform maps real consumers and businesses to their internet delivery points. Semcasting matches customers, prospects, and devices to the locations and media they prefer, enabling analytics and advertising to be targeted with nearly 100 percent reach and unrivaled accuracy. Semcasting is headquartered in North Andover, Massachusetts.

Most dealerships struggle to find quality applicants for their open positions. Merely acquiring resumes to review is not enough; your goal is to find a small number of motivated and qualified job applicants with whom you can invest time.

When attempting to fill an open position within your dealership, it is important to use your time and money efficiently. The best way to do that is to leverage your existing brand, to leverage your existing employee network, and to make strategic use of all the different online job boards.

three-ways-find-quality-employees-for-hire

Attracting the highest quality candidates can be difficult if you don’t know where to begin. Consider the following strategies:

1. Showcase Your Company Story and Culture With a Career Site

Adding a dedicated career site on your dealership’s website gives your applicants a portal through which they can learn more about your company. Stand apart from other dealerships in the area by providing a clear description of your culture, core values and history.

Your career site will allow everyone who is interested in a job to view open positions directly on any device. Using the right type of technology for you career site will deliver SEO value and reduce the overall effort and cost required. By utilizing a contemporary page design, you’ll attract higher-quality applicants who opt in to learning more about your career opportunities. As an added benefit, linking your career site to your dealership’s website will boost traffic to your consumer site.

Even candidates who are not actively looking for a job may be intrigued by what your dealership has to offer compared to others in their area.

2. Utilize Employee Referral for Retention

Word of mouth is a powerful tool when it comes to selling cars, and the same concept applies to sourcing qualified candidates. Ask your current employees to reach out to their networks, both online and offline, and let them know about the current open opportunities in your store. If you want to take your employee referral program to the next level, offer a cash bonus for referrals who are hired and who complete six months of continuous employment. In the long run, paying referral bonuses will be much more cost effective and time efficient than any other recruitment channel

Candidates that are sourced through employee referrals have better retention rates than others so you can start the onboarding process quicker and without worry. Allowing employees to recruit people they know and trust can also help improve morales. Current employees that take the initiative to find qualified candidates within their social circle can feel valued and trusted within the dealership. The candidates that are referred will feel an increased sense of connection from the beginning since they know the employee that referred them.

3. Online Job Boards Bring You Increased Traffic

Online job boards are an important part of the recruiting equation. However, maintaining quality is difficult if you don’t utilize an automated pre-hire assessment to weed out the obvious bad fits.

When considering the use of a paid job board, it’s important to set your budget - and expectations - accordingly. The average marketing-cost-per-hire for candidates sourced via a paid job board is just under $300. This budget will yield you on average around 20 candidates for your open role; the number for technician roles will be much less than that.

Job boards are a great option to utilize if you need a higher volume of candidates in a short timeframe.

The time you invest in sourcing quality candidates, as opposed to focusing strictly on applicant volume, will lead to a reduction in your overall turnover rate and will have the added benefit of lowering your subsequent recruiting costs. Try incorporating these three options into your dealership’s hiring strategy and begin to see a better class of candidate walk through your doors.

Strengthens TURN and Gives Dealers More Efficiency in Tracking and Measuring Results

CHICAGO, August 17, 2017 -- LotLinx, the leading VIN-specific digital marketing solution for the auto industry, today announced its collaboration and mission with VistaDash to give dealers unbiased marketing metrics and greater insight into how to better achieve their business goals. VistaDash is a platform developed with the understanding that dealerships need a better, more efficient way to track and measure their marketing efforts, and is the result of research from PCG’s Brian Pasch and is now fully linked to LotLinx TURN™, a platform that gives dealers valuable metrics on shoppers targeted, total spend, sold VINS, conversions, and engagements on VDPs. LotLinx customers can seamlessly access VistaDash metrics from their TURN dashboard, and now have an enhanced ability to make better marketing decisions to improve their ROI and digital ad spend.

VistaDash is the brainchild of automotive digital marketing expert Brian Pasch, whose book “Swimming with the Digital Sharks” has been hailed the auto industry for its research on digital advertising inefficiencies and dealers’ inability to obtain actionable marketing metrics. VistaDash’s metrics that inspect ad traffic quality allow dealership managers to quickly inspect and identify ways to increase their Return on Ad Spend (ROAS). VistaDash was developed by PCG Companies, an industry leader in online marketing strategies and education for the automotive community.

“With VistaDash, it’s our mission to help dealers finally understand their data,” said Brian Pasch, Founder of VistaDash. “Through this partnership with LotLinx TURN™, our products are working side-by-side to provide our clients with strategy, transparency, and actionable data to help them succeed—and that is invaluable in today’s digital age.”

“Dealers should demand transparency, and VistaDash delivers it. That’s why we are so pleased to add it, right alongside with Google Analytics, to our TURN platform,” said Len Short, founder of LotLinx. “Give dealers clear and accurate facts, and they will make smart decisions. That’s what TURN and VistaDash are all about.”

LotLinx and PCG will be at the upcoming Digital Dealer 23 Conference and Expo, September 18-20 in Las Vegas. Together, they’ll educate dealers about the importance of avoiding digital sharks and empowering the industry with data-driven solutions. Earlier this year, LotLinx was the primary sponsor for PCG’s seven-city Automotive Engagement Conference, where they joined industry-leading companies in showing dealers the latest online strategies for connecting with today’s shoppers and measuring consumer engagement. For more information, visit www.lotlinx.com.

About LotLinx
LotLinx is an award-winning digital advertising technology company, developed specifically to advantage automotive dealers and the agencies that work with them, up to the OEM level. The LotLinx TURN platform can transform dealer results, dramatically increasing online engagement and net-new shoppers while eliminating digital advertising waste. Founded in 2012 and based in Chicago, LotLinx works with thousands of dealers around the country to reach over 63 million unique car shoppers per month across more than 500 digital properties.

Reality check. We’re not living in the Information Age anymore.

Newspaper and banner ads have long been forgotten across sales & marketing meetings around the world. Our most basic vehicle for communicating and information gathering, text, is now being replaced with video, emojis, GIF’s, augmented reality, and voice assistants.

1. Consumers will purchase an average of $2,276 over the vehicle base price to get the tech features they want.

Here are a few of the latest tech features that are steering purchasing decisions: V2V Communication, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, 360-Degree Cameras, Bluetooth Connectivity, Mobile Wifi, Blind Spot Awareness, Wireless Device Charging, Autonomous Vehicles, Heads-Up Display, Keyless Entry, and Forward Collision Avoidance.

Focusing on tech features with your customers is a no-brainer, but it’s also important to know which features they have their eye on like connectivity, convenience, or safety. Your customers are already doing their research on auto tech before they get to you. 87% of consumers will research the latest vehicle technologies before purchasing a new vehicle. The key is to be there when they look. The beautiful thing is they’re all totally demonstrable. Turn the spotlight on these features when you’re selling, whether it’s face-to-face, in your walkaround videos, or on your website.

2. 4X as many customers would rather watch a video about a product than read about it.

The consumers have spoken, time and time again. If you’re not using video in your sales process, you should have started yesterday. Statistically speaking, your competition is using video and they’re gaining sales because of it. Shoppers who view video are 1.81X more likely to purchase than non-viewers. Here is just one of the ways to use video to sell cars:

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


3. US social-media ad spend will top $8.5 billion this year and reach nearly $14 billion in 2018.

There is a reason that 93% of marketers use social media for business, whether it’s spending money for advertising or simply having a presence. The reason is because there are 1.65 billion, with a “b”, active mobile social accounts globally. Your customers are there, so why can’t you be too? It doesn’t mean you have to spend your portion of the 8 billion, but start somewhere. Being that it's free, infusing your sales efforts with a social business account that's active and engaging is a great start.

4. 71% of millennials say it's important that my car syncs with all other technology in my life, versus 44% of baby boomers (Gen Z 66%).

Are you selling cars to millennials the same way you’re selling cars to baby boomers? This statistic isn’t so much about syncing your phone as it is about the vast contrast in priorities and mindset of these two generations. It’s key to adjust your style based on the generation you’re dealing with. Millennials value your transparency and resources over a lengthy sales pitch like the baby boomers are comfortable with. Millennials and Generation Z will increasingly dominate the pool of car-buyers as time goes on, so it’s imperative to do your research and adjust accordingly.

5.  The number of email users in the U.S. is projected to grow to 244.5 million by the end of 2017, and grow to 254.7 million by 2020.

There are 325 million people in the U.S., so that is a huge percentage of emailers out there. What does this mean for you? It means if you’re not taking advantage of email marketing in some form or another, you are seriously missing the boat here. Email marketing yields an average of 4,300 percent return on investment for businesses in the United States.

Don’t forget to focus on personalization and mobile when emailing customers and prospects. If your emails are not mobile-friendly and don’t display correctly, 71% of people will delete it immediately. Harsh, right? Also, personalized emails are proven to improve click-through rates. 74% of marketers say targeted personalization increases customer engagement, and emails with personalized subject lines are 26% more likely to be opened.

For even better results, send an email WITH a video! Marketing trends show that including the word [Video] in an email subject line can:

• Boost open rates by 19%
  
• Boost click through rates by 65%
  
• Reduce unsubscribes by 26%

Question...

What changes have you, and/or your dealership, implemented to keep with the current trends?

SAN FRANCISCO (August 2, 2017) -- Drive Motors, which builds ecommerce solutions for the largest car dealerships in the country, officially announced today that it has raised $5.2 million in total funding with the completion of its seed round, led by Bullpen Capital, with participation from existing investors: Y Combinator, Khosla Ventures, Perkins Coie LLP, Emagen Entertainment Group, and others. Drive Motors transforms car-dealership websites and showrooms into ecommerce destinations, and, since completing Y Combinator’s incubator program in 2016, has grown to over 1,000 car orders per month.

"We are excited to back Drive Motors as they have captured the elusive Millennial car buyer for dealers, by selling cars the way Millennials like to buy -- online with full information -- and yet delivering twice the profit to dealers for the convenience," said Duncan Davidson, a general partner of Bullpen Capital, who will join Drive Motors' board as part of his company's investment. "It's a great example of thinking outside the bubble, and leveraging the existing value of brick- and-mortar businesses, rather than being disruptive for the sake of it.”

Since launching online checkout for car dealers in 2016, Drive Motors has surpassed 1,000 car orders per month, and $250 million in annual order volume for its dealership customers. Current customers include top-grossing dealerships from the largest dealership groups in the country, including Atlanta-based Fortune 500 company Asbury Automotive Group, which was one of Drive Motors’ first customers and has since rolled out online checkout across their entire group of stores.

“It’s always seemed odd to me that buying a new car is so incredibly complicated. It seems like something that should just work, once I’ve picked out what I want,” said Aaron Harris, partner at Y Combinator. “Drive Motors is actually making that happen for the first-time ever, and they’re doing it in a way that actually aligns the dealers and the buyers. That’s a big leap forward.”

According to a recent survey from Drive Motors, which regularly analyzes data to inform the industry about car-shopping trends, nearly half of all online orders are placed between 5pm and 10am, and nearly half are placed on mobile phones. Drive Motors has observed that car buyers prefer to visit the dealership showroom as part of their research process, but prefer to make their purchase decision after-hours, from home. The company will use its new funding to expand its dealership network, and develop more features to streamline the car-ownership experience.

"Ecommerce is rapidly becoming essential to top-grossing car dealerships, and this funding will allow Drive Motors to offer dealers of all sizes a full-stack solution that streamlines marketing, financing, contracting, servicing, and more," said Aaron Krane, CEO and founder of Drive Motors. “Frictionless ecommerce is a win-win for buyers and dealerships, alike."

About Drive Motors
Drive Motors builds ecommerce experiences for auto dealerships. For dealerships, Drive Motors offers an online-checkout experience that integrates effortlessly into their own website and showroom, and transforms their dealership into an ecommerce destination. For buyers, Drive Motors offers a simple, end-to-end checkout experience that removes sales pressure from the showroom, and lets people buy at home in their comfort zone. For more information, visit www.drivemotors.com/dealers.

Your service department is integral to the success of your dealership. Service brings in vital revenue and often accounts for the majority of a dealership’s profit. Yet, it’s highly likely that your service department’s manpower and resources are already stretched to the max, limiting the number of service leads and appointments your dealership is able to generate.

In Part 1 of this article, I explained how live chat benefits your service customers. But, have you thought about what automotive live chat can do for your service department’s processes?

Live Chat Increases the Productivity of Your Staff

Your service advisors should not be sitting behind a desk all day picking up chats. A properly managed chat team, whether in-house or outsourced to a provider, can handle a much higher volume of service inquiries, increasing your revenue potential and decreasing your staffing costs.

You can also streamline procedures -- such as helping online shoppers set appointments and sending them straight into your DMS -- by offering live chat for service. If you think your service customers aren’t using chat to set appointments, A) your chat provider is pulling a fast one on you and B) you’re missing out on significant revenue opportunities. In fact, 30-40% of ActivEngage chats are related to fixed ops. And the #1 question asked is: “Can I schedule an appointment?”

According to the Cox Automotive 2016 Maintenance and Repair Study, while having appointments is convenient to shoppers, setting them is another story entirely.
Then again, today’s consumers have a weird sense of entitlement to fast, easy-to-do experiences -- so it could be laziness on their part. And while service scheduling software has made leaps and bounds towards simplifying appointment-setting, many online shoppers still prefer the easiest, quickest method available for setting a service appointment. That’s why they click to chat.

If your dealership’s service drive has been impacted by OEM recalls recently, your ASM was most likely going crazy juggling between scheduled appointments, walk-ins and everything in between. Having live chat in situations such as this one to manage online appointment setting takes a load off your service staff, which allows them to focus on people at the store.

Some managed chat providers even integrate with popular service scheduling software to set service appointments on your behalf. Having these tools working together will save you time, increase your team’s efficiency, and help you fill more service bays.

Live Chat Helps You Streamline Communications

How long does it generally take to build your repair order and answer all customer questions over the phone? Too long? Imagine what would happen to your service team’s efficiency if you could have all of the information for your service tickets delivered to you without even having to pick up the phone.

With chat, your staff has access to vital customer information ahead of time. And unlike lead forms on your website, it gives your team the opportunity to acquire additional need-to-know information and rapport, like:

• The last time the vehicle was serviced
  
• The car’s make, model, and mileage
  
• Any other concerns such as strange leaks

At the same time, the instant communication of live chat allows customers to ask and learn about warranty information, how long a repair will take, estimated cost of repairs, and loaner vehicle options. In that way, chat can streamline and enhance your service lead generation process while helping you build repair orders ahead of time.

Additionally, if you’re using your DMS for service (and I hope you are), you can opt for a live chat solution that integrates with it for access to and tracking of the lead information and appointment updates. This smooth transfer of data provides a more efficient way for the service team to obtain information.

Technology + Processes Drive Service Success

Like most digital marketing tools, live chat success doesn’t happen on its own. Incorporating chat into your service department’s processes takes planning. You can have the most amazing online conversations in the world, but if your staff isn’t properly following up with your customers, you won’t be reaping all the rewards from chat.

Plan for a successful lead follow-up system at your dealership, and you’ll see just how much chat can do for your business.

And remember, technology can be your service drive’s best friend; don’t limit yourself by refusing to embrace tools like live chat. By integrating technology with well-designed processes, your dealership can set the standard for convenience, value, and trust while maximizing your team’s performance.

New vehicle sales in the US came in below Spring’s market expectations, evidence the industry is starting to experience the decline analysts have been expecting despite new vehicle incentives. As new car sales flatten, the service drive will play a critical part in dealership revenue. Not that it hasn’t in the past:



According to recent NADA data, fixed operations account for nearly 50% of dealership revenue. But for some reason, dealers still don’t give the service drive any digital love. In fact, a recent study by the National Automobile Dealers Association indicated that dealers are only leveraging 3% of their digital marketing to optimize service drive performance. Fortunately, you probably already have the tools available to vastly improve your service department's digital presence and your bottom line. One of those powerful tools is live chat.

Before I get into the ways your service drive can utilize chat to boost ROI (I’ll save those tips for another article), let’s go into WHY chat is the untapped potential of your digital fixed ops and, specifically, service.

Live Chat Caters to Today's Automotive Consumers

At last year's NADA convention, Peter Leto, the Head of Automotive Retail at Google, shed light on some interesting consumer trends:


According to Google, online car buyers behave much differently than traditional car buyers. They prefer a digital conversation first, before making the commitment to come into the dealership to move forward in the buying process. As a result, online chat and text have become an increasingly popular method of communication to connect and communicate with online shoppers.

Advances in technology have created more lines of communication for the online consumer. They no longer want mass-produced, one-way messages, but rather personal and instantaneous two-way communication. Digital tools such as chat can provide real-time communication and provide the dealers with sales and service customers.

Think about it: tech giants like Google and Facebook understand the value of real-time digital conversations for both consumers and businesses, which is why instant messaging tools have propagated themselves into exciting new avenues like Facebook Ads and Google Adwords.

In fact, this evolution of social communication channels has allowed some of the most innovative chat providers to assist in bringing new integration features to market that help your dealership’s service department expand its reach online. So essentially, your service department can maximize its digital footprint across platforms, get more out of current marketing efforts, and ultimately give the people what they want with one tool.

Live Chat Can Vastly Improve Your Satisfaction Scores

Popular sites like Amazon invest heavily in review quality because they understand shoppers want to hear other customers’ experiences

More and more dealerships are following suit and leveraging reviews to build their service department’s reputation. And reviews are everywhere -- Google, Facebook, review sites, dealer websites, etc. But if you’re service drive gets the wrong kind of attention on any of these, it’s not so easy to move the needle on overall satisfaction.

Imagine a car owner whose check engine light turned on right after receiving service. Or a customer who came into the service drive and didn’t receive the care he or she expected. In situations like these, live chat can serve as a medium for mediation! Upset customers just want to be heard, and live chat gives them the opportunity to express their concerns. Meanwhile, you get a second chance to address the situation and protect your CSI.

Much like face-to-face conversations, live chat interactions have the power to create lasting impressions on your service customers. Just like a service advisor would in-person, online reps have the opportunity to:

• Build rapport with web visitors via text-based conversation
  
• Add value and transparency to the online experience through real-time education and customer service
  
• Assist in online service scheduling by leveraging software technology
  
• Guide conversations into conversions using word tracks and live chat data

Final Food For Thought

Look, today’s service customers aren’t easy to win over. They’re impatient, have preconceived notions of what to expect at the dealership, and even if the come in for service once, there’s a chance they might never come back.

But while building lasting relationships with your fixed ops shoppers can be a challenge, it’s not impossible. You just need to bring the human touch to the online world -- regardless of technology, people still want to buy from people. Tools like live chat will HELP you deliver an efficient, outstanding experience - both on and offline - that your customers will remember, and come back for.

Believe it or not, customers can be loyal -- if you treat them like people, one conversation at a time.

Continue reading Part 2

Information is power – it’s a truism we all know. But in the 21st Century, access to information is where the real power lies. This point has been illustrated with crystal clarity in the recent CDK / Reynolds & Reynolds lawsuit brought by Authenticom. The public fight between these companies is finally getting its day in court and the first round has made headlines throughout the auto industry.

CDK and Reynolds & Reynolds handle the vast majority of the data management software sales for the auto industry. CDK alone boasts more than 27,000 retail client locations and is the primary provider of data management systems(DMS) to most of the top US dealer groups.

Reynolds also represents a large portion of the market and bundles DMS solutions with consulting, training and management systems for the entire dealership. Both companies also offer data integration, the combining of separate data to present one, unified view. Simply put, the two companies represent the lion’s share of the data available in the auto marketplace.

When you’re dealing with that much information, you’re also talking about a lot of power.

CDK / Reynolds & Reynolds - The Story

The story begins back in the early 2000s. At that time, the data management system market was developing – and flourishing. Both CDK and Reynolds had come out publicly supporting the idea that data belonged to the dealers.

At the time, Reynolds emphatically stated “The data belongs to the dealers. We all agree on that.” CDK agreed and said they had "always understood that dealerships own their data and enjoy having choices on how best to share and utilize that data with others."

This inclusive and open environment allowed the data integration market to flourish. With more than a dozen providers offering data integration services, the competition kept prices competitive while fostering plenty of innovation in terms of user-friendly software.

But all that began to change in 2007, when Reynolds and Reynolds was acquired by Bob Brockman. At the time, Brockman was the owner Universal Computer Systems, a company he founded in 1970. Over three decades he built the company up to become a heavy hitter in the world of automotive services. When he headed up the acquisition of Reynolds and Reynolds, people expected a change – and Brockman delivered.

Almost immediately, Reynolds began restricting who could access the data their system had. Other data integrators found themselves with their credentials yanked and a wall built between them and the data they needed to deliver results to their own clients. It was a complete about face from the position of Reynolds just a few years ago, and the dawn of a new age when it came to data integration.

In a somewhat niche field like the automotive industry, the actions of Reynolds and Reynolds effectively cut off nearly half of the available data to other integration service providers. Over the next few years, this tug of war over access to information effectively killed off much of the competition.

But even as Reynolds was limiting the flow of data, they were placing a higher premium on the data they alone could provide. Fees to access their data climbed to almost staggering numbers, with some dealerships coughing up $150,000 or more every year simply to access and manage their data.

Meanwhile, their stranglehold was about to become even stronger. While the number of players was dwindling in the field, Reynolds clearly wanted to narrow things even further. According to the story laid out in Authenticom’s Complaint, in February of 2015 Reynolds and Reynolds reached out to CDK to strike a deal.

The two teamed up to freeze out everyone else. They would attack, undermine and thwart the efforts of everyone else in the market, ultimately leaving the two companies to reap the full rewards of a niche – but lucrative – market. Not only would this plan leave the entire market theirs for the taking, it would allow them to set any price they wanted. They would control ALL of the information – meaning they could charge whatever they wanted for it and dealerships would have to fall in line.

Since then, the companies have controlled the data integration system world with an iron fist. It became the Nasty Little Secret everyone knew about. As companies fell by the wayside, turning their focus to another area of service or simply going under, the pressure was turned up on the competitors that remained.

A Problem (Not Just) for Authenticom

One such competitor was Authenticom, headed up by President and CEO Steve Cottrell. Cottrell was another well-known player in the automotive data industry. With more than three decades of experience in the industry, he had spent 15 years building Authenticom into an impressive and well-respected company.

During that time he managed to grow their revenue from $3.7 million to $20 million in under 5 years. In 2015, the company was saluted by President Obama as "one of America’s own fastest-growing private companies”, so his efforts were clearly paying off.

Until, he says, CDK and Reynolds decided there wasn’t enough room for all of them. Authenticom, like other rivals, felt the pinch of CDK and Reynolds’ attempts to prevent data integration companies from accessing their data.

Then, Cottrell says, CDK offered to buy him out. They came in with an offer of $15 million – laughably low considering Authenticom’s track record. When Cottrell turned the offer down, CDK's Vice President of Product Management at the time, Dan McCray, got involved.

According to Authenticom’s Complaint, McCray asked Cottrell to “take a walk” during an industry convention in 2016. Once alone McCray began talking about the offer Cottrell had turned down, urging him to reconsider and reminding him that his company’s “book of Reynolds business is worthless to us because of the agreement between CDK and Reynolds.”

When Cottrell was unmoved, McCray allegedly got nasty telling Cottrell “For god’s sake, you have built a great little business, get something for it before it is destroyed otherwise I will f***ing destroy it.”

Less than a Month later, Authenticom filed their 96-page Complaint.

Since then, the fight between CDK, Reynolds and their competitors has become increasingly public. Authenticom’s complaint is full of allegations that paint CDK and Reynolds executives as shrewd and calculating at best, deceptive and aggressive at worst. The fight to control automotive data has pitted not only competitors in the field against each other, but it’s brought dealerships into the fray.

These days, CDK and Reynolds insist the data stored with them is theirs – and theirs alone – and only they can decide what happens to it and who has access to it. The companies have blocked Authenticom’s access to data repeatedly essentially plunging any dealerships working with Authenticom into digital darkness.

Over the space of two years, the relentlessly aggressive pursuit of Authenticom has driven the company nearly out of business. The same company that was once hailed for three consecutive years of record-breaking growth is now close to bankruptcy and, by their own account, on the “verge of collapse”.

Customers who are forced to leave Authenticom and work with CDK and Reynolds have voiced their concerns over and over, but to no avail. One customer who was forced to migrate his data platform simply so he could do business confirmed his choice to leave Authenticom was "solely the result of CDK’s aggressive and recurring disablement of our data access credentials” and went on to add, “being forced to do business with CDK is distressing."

If information is power and power corrupts then it’s no surprise that two of the titans in the world of DMS would eventually try and crush the competition. But when it comes to data integration, the real power still lies with the data itself.

This lawsuit focuses on questions over duopolies and anti-trust laws, but it has prompted a bigger conversation in the auto industry and beyond.

Who owns your data?

For years, dealers were assured their data was their own and they could control who was able to access it, no matter what integration platform they chose to work with. The arrangement between CDK and Reynolds did more than try to freeze out the competition – it changed the way dealers see their data.

Is the data they use and access really theirs or is it something a DMS company can restrict or cut-off access to depending on their mood? Will the auto industry be ruled by two companies who have already proven they’re willing to go to almost any lengths to lock down a market?

All this remains to be seen, but the court has already granted Authenticom’s request for an injunction against CDK and Reynolds, a decision both companies have vowed to appeal. In the meantime, Cottrell is waiting for his day in court – in front of a jury – to lay out his story and have them decide not only who’s right or wrong – but the future of his company.

[highlight color="#f4b945" font="black"]Want to chime in? Join the discussion in the Dealer Forums.[/highlight]

You know that thing that the Internet is really good at, buying stuff? Let's apply that to the most expensive stuff anyone wants to buy...new cars. -Aaron Krane, Drive Motors.

Click to expand...

This is not only the viewpoint of Drive Motors Founder and CEO, Aaron Krane, but also what inspired him to form the San Francisco based company in 2015. And it's this simplicity that is so infectious with franchise dealers.

During my recent interview with Aaron, our second in the last 12 months, one thing was particularly clear to me - Aaron isn't bent on being disruptive to the vehicle transaction process. Quite the opposite. He's seeking to enhance it, for dealers and consumers.

When I first spoke with Aaron in June 2016, we had recently published a piece by Prodigy CEO Michia Rohrssen titled, "Online Sales Isn’t The Future Of Car Buying…" that re-kindled a discussion thread in the forums that began in March 2015 titled, "Online Shopping to Online Buying." The debate was (and has remained) one of the most heated discussions on DealerRefresh of all-time.

The reason why is this...if you look at (or pursue) the idea of online checkout as a disruptive threat to the dealer and the sales professional, then you're missing the point.

As Aaron stated in our interview, studies continue to show that consumers prefer to purchase their vehicle from a person at the dealership. But by giving consumers the OPTION (and that's the key, the option) to facilitate some or all of the process online, on their own time, on whichever device they prefer, this can give your dealership a competitive advantage.
Why? Because nowadays, people are accustomed to buying things online and this it's become an expectation for them. 

When do people buy cars online?

During our discussion, Aaron points out that depending on which state you're in, car buying may never become a full online experience - as some documents can only be signed offline.

However, there is a growing segment of car buyers that prefer to make their vehicle purchase on their own time. In fact, based on 4,310 vehicle orders across 140 dealer websites using the Drive Motors online checkout within 5 months, 58% of the transactions happened during office after hours, from 5 PM to 10 PM.



More purchase intent than the average TV customer

Drive Motors is helping to facilitate more than 1,000 vehicle orders each month across its dealership base. This comes to about 50 per day, and 40-50 per month per dealership, with an average gross profit of $500-600 per unit.

Through all this, there are two key metrics they are observing:

1. The drop-off abandonment rate is relatively high compared with other forms of e-commerce. This is to be expected however when you consider the novelty and newness of buying a car online, and the fact that it's a car which requires significantly more time and information.
   
2. The return rate is noticeably higher than typical e-commerce levels, also to be expected when you consider the nature of the product being purchased.

But here's the most interesting point. Although the abandonment rate is high, the ratio of people who enter the online checkout funnel and complete the process entirely is higher than the average for e-commerce retail.

As Aaron suggests, the purchase intent of people doing online checkout is higher than your average TV customer.

Give Customers What They've Come to Expect

The average online checkout time with Drive Motors ranges between 15 and 30 minutes, plus about 30-60 minutes at the dealership. But as we stated earlier, most abandon the first time.

This is why Drive Motors recently added a feature to their checkout system which saves all of the buyer's preferences, including their trade-in and financial information, for a later time. When the buyer comes back to the dealer's website to complete the transaction, all of the information they entered remains.

This was a key feature introduced as an answer to the high abandonment rate - because as Aaron says, "almost no one will complete the transaction in the first visit, but they will the second or third time."
Aaron says that the online checkout system has to be developed to match the psychological buying process that buyers are used to.

It's about helping dealers integrate a simple online checkout

We want to help our dealers turn their customers' phones into cash registers.

Click to expand...

This is Aaron's goal with dealers - to turn customers' phones into 24/7 "cash registers." Those are his exact words. The online checkout system needs to complement the buying process, not turn it upside down and certainly not replace the existing one already in place. This is accomplished but giving dealers and consumers a simple yet intelligent tool that integrates seamlessly with the dealership website, inventory, and their back office.

Online checkout isn't a magic pill by any means. In fact, when you listen to the interview, you will hear how Aaron is clear about the online checkout component being part of an already well functioning process and customer experience.
Chat and Mobile

When I asked Aaron about mobile adoption, he stated that 30 to 40 percent of online checkout users are on a mobile device. Plainly put, your online checkout experience must be designed with mobile in mind - first.
Additionally, the chat experience is also an integral component leading up to the online checkout process. Listen...

Highlights of my interview with Aaron Krane

Login to view embedded media View: https://youtu.be/p8obXVaCet0


Continue the Conversation

Do you think online checkout is right for your dealership? Continue the conversation in the forums using the link below and also be sure to check out our new podcast featuring this interview with Aaron Krane.

[highlight color="#f7b32e" font="black"]Discussion: Online Shopping to Online Buying[/highlight]
[highlight color="#CCE6FF" font="black"]Podcast: Episode 1 - Online Checkout, 56k modems, and more...[/highlight]

About Drive Motors

Drive Motors builds ecommerce experiences for auto dealers. With the Drive Motors online checkout experience, car buyers can order directly from the dealership website, day or night, including financing, leasing, trade-ins, vehicle upgrades, and pickup or same-day delivery. For more information visit www.drivemotors.com.

CHICAGO, July 13, 2017 -- LotLinx, the leading VIN-specific digital marketing solution for the auto industry, today announced an expansion of their award-winning VS product suite with new CX solutions that enhance and customize the customer experience to generate more high-quality conversions for car dealers. New products include CX - Photo AI, which uses artificial intelligence to boost underperforming ads with optimized stock photos proven to convert shoppers at a higher rate. And CX - Amplified Mobile Pages (AMP), which offers dealers fast loading, mobile-friendly VIN landing pages optimized to drive high-value conversions such as click-to-contact and click-for-price for every car in their inventory. These new products are geared to strengthen VIN-specific consumer engagement and drive more profitable digital advertising campaigns for dealers of every size.

Recently, LotLinx expanded its VIN-specific solutions (VS) for Facebook to include VS - Lead-Enabled Retargeting and continues to roll out advanced product offerings to an industry facing a glut of car inventory. Because today’s online car shoppers are 90% more likely to view an ad that contains an image, and will wait just 3 seconds for a page to load before abandoning, the logical next step for LotLinx was to release the consumer experience-oriented CX suite. Photo AI was built to create more relevant and visually appealing ads for viewers, as well as detect when ads are running without any image. And as global consumers rely more on smartphones for their shopping, AMP delivers faster, conversion-enhancing pages allowing dealers to make the most out of mobile.

"The auto industry is constantly evolving, particularly with the shift from traditional ad spend to digital campaigns and outreach,” said Len Short, founder of LotLinx. “With these new consumer-oriented products, we’re taking a ‘dealer-first’ approach with solutions specifically designed for dealers who are faced with increased days-on-lot metrics. This is an exciting step forward for our company.”

The LotLinx TURN™ platform, which includes VS and CX product suites, offers dealers digital efficiency with marketing solutions that optimize spend - eliminating waste and increasing inventory turn up to 36%. Since the launch of TURN earlier this year, this fast-moving startup continues to grow and add seasoned marketing personnel to the team, including the recent addition of SVP of Channel Strategy Mark Connor, an auto industry veteran with a history of driving ROI and cost-efficient solutions for dealers nationwide. For more information, visit www.lotlinx.com.

About LotLinx:
LotLinx is an award-winning digital advertising technology company, developed specifically to advantage automotive dealers and the agencies that work with them, up to the OEM level. The LotLinx TURN platform can transform dealer results, dramatically increasing online engagement and net-new shoppers while eliminating digital advertising waste. Founded in 2012 and based in Chicago, LotLinx works with thousands of dealers around the country to reach over 63 million unique car shoppers per month across more than 500 digital properties.

We watch a lot of videos around here, that goes without saying. Almost 1,000 videos come through on any given Monday, so it’s pretty easy for us to have a grasp on what’s important to car salesmen.

Customer reviews are at the top of the list, it’s not surprising considering 84% of people trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation. They can make or break not only dealerships, but individual salesmen as well.

Over the years there has been an increase in videos centered around review requests; but in addition to that, the requests are getting more innovative and direct with a variety of strategies.

4 REASONS YOU DIDN’T GET A GREAT REVIEW, OR ANY AT ALL…


 1. You didn’t squash issues beforehand

This is a strategy we see a lot now, “Please contact me before submitting your review if for some reason you don’t feel completely satisfied, I can try to fix whatever it is.”  Address any negative feelings before the customer submits a review and tell them you need all 10’s and perfect scores for it to count.

2. You didn’t make it easy.

Most people will think it’s a hassle to leave a review... they’ll have to provide too much information, create accounts, it’ll take too much time, etc. Be sure to address these objections ahead of time. -- Provide links in your emails, online profiles, and social accounts. Let them know which ones will or won’t need an account along with detailed instructions. Give people ideas on what to say and prompt them when they’re most likely to be available, which is weekdays during work hours.



3. You didn’t ask

7 out of 10 customers will leave a review if they’re asked. The truth is most salesmen don’t directly ask for the review, and they don’t convey the importance of them either. Asking for reviews in person or on video is the best way to show customers how essential they are to your business. Try not to automate requests to multiple people at the same time, make it personal and genuinely ask each customer.

4. You didn’t give a good experience

Why wait until after the encounter to think about reviews? Go into every single sale with a “pursue the review” mindset. There is a great review in every customer, you just have to be good enough to get it out of them. Consider that a challenge!

Video can play a major role in helping you remind the customers to leave you a review, walk them through the process, etc... Check out this great video from Jennifer Baker at Causeway Honda. She sent this directly to the customer's inbox and phone:

Login to view embedded media View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYSRer9QWtM


A few tips about reviews…

The more engagement, the better the reviews. If you do get a negative review, always respond. There’s nothing worse than a negative review with no response. Studies show that dealer review response rates positively correlates to a higher average star rating.

Train your sales team on how to ask for reviews, or bring up a reputation marketing strategy at your next meeting. The greater success of the dealership, the greater your success. Use video to personalize the experience even further.
Reviews are essential to the millennial buyer. It’s no secret millennials are research experts. They rely on word-of-mouth and online reviews in making purchases more than any other generation.

What are you and your team doing to make sure you're getting perfect 10's? 

If you managed to catch the live webinar with Ian Cruickshank from Speed Shift Media, you were one of the lucky folks to learn how exactly to design a retargeting program to increase return visitors to your dealership website.

But if you didn't catch it... well bad luck.

Just kidding!

The most website traffic comes from return visitors

During the 'Increase Online Conversions by Increasing Return Visitors' web chat; Ian explained how the most traffic to dealership website comes from return visitors (your more loyal audience and potential customers).

Oddly enough, dealerships spend thousands of dollars each year trying to attract new website traffic to disproportionate to what they spend converting return visitors. This results in financial losses and poor web marketing results which is something we talked about in another recent webinar with Ilana Zur.

Design an effective retargeting program for your dealership

So, if you want to give your business a boost through web marketing (and you should), start with maximizing your web traffic by designing an effective retargeting program. You'll definitely want to know how to avoid the most common problems with dealership retargeting and how to measure retargeting performance based on return visitors.

Mini-Webinar

Below is our latest mini-webinar, which we've produced for your convenience to quickly obtain the key talking points and highlights from the original webinar. To view the full version go here.

These condensed versions are designed to help you acquire useful knowledge quickly to learn innovative ideas, tactics, and strategies that will help boost your dealer business. We've also created a mini webinars tag, so you can find all of them in one place, check the other ones out too.

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Join the DiscussionWant to chime in about this article or topic? Head on over to the Dealer Forums to discuss. You can create a new discussion or join an existing one.

[highlight color="#f3b851" font="#000000"]Proceed to Forums[/highlight]

 

Hiring new employees to your growing dealership can be EXCITING and STRESSFUL. 

Without a comprehensive human resources (HR) system, keeping track of your current employees’ payroll and adding new employees in the system can be difficult. It's fair to say your stress levels probably increase with the thought of the next pay period or the implementation of new compliance regulations.

Your dealership’s reliance on an outdated dealer management system (DMS) could be the reason for your continual struggle during the HR process.

Get Your Dealership’s Payroll Rolling...

Take a step in the right direction by incorporating a more conducive way to complete recruiting, hiring, onboarding and payroll. A DMS has strong suits in areas including inventory, sales and service operations, but it also possesses glaring flaws.

It is time for your dealership to consider an integrated HR system. Rather than putting up with tedious programs to complete payroll and administer benefits, your dealership can reduce inefficiency by incorporating an integrated HR system. For those dealer principals that are still on the fence, consider these limiting factors associated with your current DMS:

1. Limited Payroll Abilities

A DMS has the main function of yielding quantifiable information for dealerships. As time and technology progresses, a DMS provides increasingly limited services for your business. You are required to manually enter workflows to ensure your employees are getting paid. Completing extra steps to manage your dealership’s payroll and benefits are extraneous and unnecessary.

The manual system makes errors more prevalent for those who are responsible for the data entry. This creates a stressful environment for everyone involved because a DMS takes more time and effort to properly manage.

2. Difficult Onboarding

Typically, the first day of a new job is filled with paperwork and back office logistics. A DMS requires an extended amount of dedication to file and enter paperwork. An integrated system alleviates the paperwork process by providing a single location to enter all the information. You can focus on the other important training steps once the paperwork is entered quickly and correctly.

If your DMS is limiting the onboarding process then your new hire might not efficiently learn their role and your dealership’s expectations.

3. No Ability to Track Vacation, Training or Paid Leave

Providing your employees with a compliant PTO policy improves the morale within your dealership. You must be able to track your employee’s vacation and PTO days to provide a dependable policy. The dealership and your employees may experience distress if you run into snags along the way.

With a DMS you have no way to track your employees' vacation days. With no tracking system, you have three options:

• A manual system
  
• An entirely different system in addition to your DMS
  
• A combination that requires confusing cross reference

Manually tracking these hours is costly and time consuming regardless of the route you choose. Using an advanced and well-rounded HR system can ensure your dealership doesn’t fall into the red because you can’t properly keep track of your employees’ off days.

4. Difficulty With Dealership Compliance

With no human resource information system (HRIS), onboarding system, tax calculation, filing system or benefit admin capabilities, a dealership is forced to work harder than necessary to keep its business up to par. Your dealership is wasting time and money by manually inserting all your employee information.

When your dealership is missing the necessary tools, you will always be steps behind the rest as you adjust to the state and federal regulations. Upgrading from a DMS to an integrated system is the best way to use your time and energy productively. Your HR team will no longer have to track down every compliance regulation, allowing them to focus on components concerning your employees’ well-being.

Benefits of Using an Integrated System

For those that are sick of difficult onboarding, limited payroll features, and staying up to date on regulations, an integrated HR system can help. You can significantly improve your employees’ work life by changing to an integrated system and eliminating the need for manual entry and cross referencing.

The difference in performances between an outdated DMS and an integrated HR system are worlds apart. Sophisticated and user friendly solutions for HR processes are provided by integrated systems.

Your dealership can benefit from one simple switch. Integrated systems are much easier to navigate compared to the DMS systems of the past. A cohesive integrated system is the only way to go if you want to create a cohesive dealership.

Artificial Intelligence used to be something you'd only see in science-fiction novels, comics or movies. But these days AI isn't just for Terminators and space ships with an axe to grind. Car dealers are now able to use AI to improve personalization on their website and engage customers more fully - engagement that can be turned into conversions if you know how to use the tools properly.

Personalization is the newest way to connect with customers and stand out from the sea of advertisements and content jockeying for customer attention. By using AI technology, dealers can create smarter pop-ups, customized advertisements and better search engine results that place their dealership front and center.

Did you know that?

• Smart Popups increase conversions by an average of 30%
  
• Retargeting can boost ad response by 400%
  
• 82% of marketers report that SEO is becoming more effective

[highlight color="#d65a3e" font="#ffffff"]
>> Infographic - AI Today: Reaching Customers with Increased Personalization <<

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Learn how to apply AI to every step of the shopping process!

As AI develops, it will dramatically scale dealership customer service to reach a larger market, provide excellence to every customer, foster loyalty and return business, and increase revenue.

Get Your Free Infographic from AutoLeadStar Now

You've heard me talk about embracing a "new mindset" when it comes to the used car business. Some would argue there's nothing new at all, but I believe there is, particularly in how dealers source used vehicles and how they should be marketing to consumers.  I had the opportunity to recently to get with a few top pro's in the field and explore these ideas and see how they are embracing a new mindset within their used car departments.

Proactive strategy

During this recent discussion with Vehicle Acquisition Network Founder Tom Gregg (a DealerRefresh Sponsor) and Guests Aaron Gomez of Epic Auto Sales and Gary Wade of Morrie's Auto Group on "Buying Used Cars from Private Sellers," we concluded that based on our observations, there are only about one in five dealers that deploy a proactive strategy designed to source vehicles outside of auctions and vehicle trades.

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>> Free Download - More Profitable Auto Buyers Handbook <<

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Unique Approach

My guests explained how each of their dealerships has its own unique process of acquiring used cars. Aaron Gomez, Remarketing Director at Epic Auto Sales, explains:

The wholesale market is completely different from the way it was even just a few years. We are seeing dealers unable to acquire all the used vehicles they need from the auctions. One of the more effective ways for us to provide our dealers with the vehicles they need is to offer great value to customers off the street.

Click to expand...

Aaron and I talked about this in more depth during our interview on Vehicle Acquisition Network, where he explained what the new mindset is, how dealers can apply this way of thinking to used cars, and why a consumer would want to sell their car to a dealer.

Epic Auto Sales partnered with VAN earlier in the year and has been utilizing the network to build a more profitable used car strategy around buying more vehicles from private sellers.

Fundamental Shift

Many dealers are reluctant to change their approach and focus on establishing (and growing) a high-profit used car buy center. These dealers, I believe (and I'm not the only one) will be left behind. There's a fundamental shift in the used car business - Buying used cars from consumers is more profitable.

Four Elements Video

Watch this condensed version of this live web chat about buying used cars from consumers where we discuss the Four Elements to Running a More Profitable Buy Center. This will give you an idea of the core guidelines to follow in adapting to a new mindset and establishing a process which can lead to greater profit margins and a higher ROI with used cars.

Login to view embedded media View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAm9cpVtF24