Latest activity

Mike@Carfeine · Oct 27, 2008

seriously good work to you and Groove!

bpulseadmin · Oct 22, 2008

ActivEngage (www.ActivEngage.com), the automotive industry's premier provider of proactive live chat for dealer websites, today announced the expansion of the full-service ActivConcierge to include new features to decrease abandonment rates and increase lead submission. Since the service launched in March of this year, the company has carefully monitored the consumer traffic patterns on their dealers' websites and listened to feedback to continuously improve and offer the most effective, comprehensive live chat service. Orlando, Florida (PRWEB) October 21, 2008

ActivEngage (www.ActivEngage.com), the automotive industry's premier provider of proactive live chat for dealer websites, today announced the expansion of the full-service ActivConcierge to include new features to decrease abandonment rates and increase lead submission. Since the service launched in March of this year, the company has carefully monitored the consumer traffic patterns on their dealers' websites and listened to feedback to continuously improve and offer the most effective, comprehensive live chat service.

ActivSubmit is a key component of ActivConcierge's new enhancements to increase lead submission rates. Website abandonment rates are typically highest on "forms" pages, where site visitors can request information and submit their contact information. ActivSubmit alerts a chat representative when a site visitor begins to complete a form on the dealership website. The representative can then invite the site visitor to chat and help the person complete the form and answer any questions. Alternatively, the chat rep can get the visitor's contact information directly through the live chat.

In addition, dealers using the expanded ActivConcierge service can now collect the data a site visitor entered on a form, even if the person does not fully complete or submit the form. As a part of the new features, chat representatives can also be alerted when site visitors are on specified pages. For example, chat reps can be notified when visitors view particular vehicle pages and offer consumers customized specials, based on their behavior at the site.

"The new enhancements are a big part of our ongoing goal of providing dealership website visitors the right message, at the right time, to increase overall lead generation," commented Ted Rubin, ActivEngage co-founder. "Abandonment is a huge issue for dealership websites, and this is especially true on forms. The new features can dramatically improve lead submission and offer a way to really pay special attention at critical junctions in the online car buying process."

About ActivEngage: (www.ActivEngage.com)
ActivEngage's proprietary business logic was designed in dealerships to meet the needs of sophisticated automotive shoppers. It laser targets each website visitor with the exact right message at the exact right time to get them to take action. The system has been strenuously tested for every type of dealership. It works because the company founders have over 30 years of retail automotive and technology experience, giving ActivEngage a true 360° understanding of the needs of automotive shoppers. Partnering with ActivEngage increases lead generation and offsets the increasing marketing costs associated with the sale of new and pre-owned automobiles. ActivEngage offers three tiers of service to ensure that all website visitors' experiences are enjoyable and uncomplicated, thereby increasing the value of dealership websites through better lead generation.

bpulseadmin · Oct 20, 2008

Portland, OR October 1, 2008 -- ProfitRunners, providers of leading dealership technology solutions, today introduced WideStorm™, a division of ProfitRunners and a revolutionary platform that enables auto dealers and website visitors to negotiate a vehicle deal solely online. The system can be used in conjunction with any existing website and DMS. WideStorm™ goes well beyond standard enegotiation systems by enabling dealers and consumers to work together and negotiate the entire purchase online, including vehicle selection, add-on features, trade-in value and financing.

"We want to give forward-thinking dealers a competitive selling advantage by empowering their customers to negotiate the deal from home," said Jock Schowalter, CEO of ProfitRunners and DealerPeak. "We believe this approach will attract and engage the most advantageous group of prospects, serious car buyers well down the sales funnel, and deliver them to dealerships like no other tool currently on the market."

WideStorm™ is a screen-driven, step-by-step process that walks the car shopper through a purchase as if he or she is sitting across the desk from a dealer. Customers have the option of self-evaluating their trade-in and may apply for financing directly online. When ready, the customer submits the requested contact information and deal terms to the dealer.

It is at this point in the negotiation where most online efforts end. With WideStorm™, the negotiation is just beginning. The customer's request appears on the dealer's computer in the Dealer Control Panel. The dealer uses the tools in the Dealer Control Panel to structure the most lucrative deal and emails a "presentation" to the customer that gives the customer a series of payment options to consider. Each customer has a secure, personalized microsite for viewing their personalized terms and for storing details of their negotiation. The process repeats itself until a deal is reached or is taken offline.

ProfitRunners, parent company to Dealerpeak, developed WideStorm™ in response to a growing demand by early adopter car shoppers for more Web-based transaction capability. The platform is based on CRM, desking and website technology that has been serving hundreds of dealers for over 8 years. The company is currently accepting forward-thinking dealerships to participate in a beta test of the technology. According to a recent report by J.D. Power and Associates, two-thirds of new vehicle buyers and three out of five used-vehicle buyers used the Internet at some point during their purchases. A survey by AutoNation reported similar results with two out of three consumers finding a "start-to finish" Internet car sale process appealing.

"We envision WideStorm being used by only the most progressive dealerships. The target customer for our solution is the early-adopter car shopper who has already done the research online, has completed a test drive and knows the price they're willing to pay. All they want at this point in the game is a fairly negotiated price and the vehicle is sold," said Schowalter.

"The beauty of Widestorm is it delivers on its promise - to bring serious car buyers into the showroom, ready to purchase. Even if the buyer arrives at the dealership and decides at the last minute to select a different vehicle, the dealer has a chance to up-sell and keep the deal under their roof. Ultimately, it's a better experience for both buyers and sellers," said Schowalter.

For more information, visit www.widestorm.com or email [email protected]. Visit booth #19 at the Digital Dealer Conference, October 6-8.

About ProfitRunners:
Along with Widestorm, ProfitRunners is the parent company to DealerPeak, headquartered in Portland, Oregon, and has created trend-setting customer relationship management and website solutions since 2000. Since its launch, the company has attracted hundreds of loyal dealer clients, including major auto groups such as Ron Tonkin Auto and Dick Hannah Auto Group dealerships.

Oct 27, 2008

Great idea, they just need to pick a fighter who can fight. Pick Diego Sanchez or JSP next time.

Oct 21, 2008

so how was this sponsorship executed? i watched the fights and the rerun at 1am, and i saw nothing.

Oct 21, 2008

Yeah That is awesome!

Oct 21, 2008

That is awesome. It is great publicity and I believe it will help the company stay strong in the market.

jonathanord · Oct 20, 2008

Thanks for all the great comments and kudos. This was actually a test for us that worked out really well. (aside from the him losing...) To give you some information to some of the assumptions above:

1. The sponsorship was driven by some of our internal people that train with Sokoudjou and Team Quest

2. The sponsorship was relatively cheap due to the relationships in play and compared to how much some of the other direct to the industry related stuff that we do... NADA, Autonews, etc... are not cheap.

3. We have had a tremendous response from those that we thought we would hear from as well as a great response from people that I thought we would never hear from... We will have some great follow up ads coming in some of the publications building on the theme. And Sokoudujou will also be at our booth on Sunday and Monday at NADA.

Regardless of the lose he is a great guy and is extremely thick!

On a side note we also helped the Galpin Automotive group this last weekend at a charity event for three charities in LA... Galpin did a great job and had Ozzy, Slash, Dave Navaro... all playing on stage together! It was an amazing time and good to be a part of... Hopefully we can all find better and more efficient ways of getting people to understand more about our products and services with the end result to SELL and SERVICE more cars.

Thanks to all for commenting and giving us some other good ideas... if you post some additional ones we will try to try them as well! Best, Jonathan Ord if you have not seen our stuff lately please take a look!

Oct 20, 2008

Jake, This is a wonderful exercise in exploring the variables in marketing. Your review was a top down. You start with the advertisement/sponsorship itself, look at its audience and drill all the way down to your prospect base. You run the numbers and you see a lot of waste and... You are right. Flip your study and go bottom up. Start with projected profit per sale (over the life of your avg contract), put a number on the size of your prospect base (25k dealers?), estimate how many of your unsold prospect base are UFC followers (example: if 3% then = 750 dealers) and NOW you've got an idea on how to "work" the UFC sponsorship. If you can identify 750 rabid UFC fans in your audience, what would that be worth to you? UFC has a big Vegas connection and has a tour. How hard would it be to exploit? Can you get 75 dealers from this group to give your product a good hard look for 2009? I'd say so. ROI time. Lastly, what's your break even? How many NEW dealers are needed to reach break even? We'll never know, but, we do know that subscriber based software gets exponentially more profitable the higher your counts get.

thnx for the fun!

Joe <---marketing is my middle name

Oct 20, 2008

Sokoudjou did get pounded. He did come out hard and strong and damn! His legs are HUGE!! That boy has a lot of power but as they said there are the disadvantages for the large muscle mass. Too Bad. Dealersocket did a good job on getting their name out there that way. Maybe I will have to throw in my sponsor! Can you see JEN SCHRADER on one of their rears? I sure can, okay enough of those thoughts but it was a good idea for that short hot moment!

Oct 19, 2008

I think Mile One should sponsor Anderson Silva!

Oct 19, 2008

I'm with Joe on this, it's about the spirit. Sometimes I think we get too cynical within this industry, so something like this is refreshing. Now I have to get back to work, I have a 3rd party lead vendor coming in with their new Sales rep, his name is Kimbo Slice and I hear that he will offer me a deal I cannot refuse...

Oct 18, 2008

Jake, This sponsorship is more about spirit than ROI. It's an exercise in branding and branding is all about connecting emotions to a product. A frustrated CEO's Example: If your sales have plateaued and your daily efforts are not changing the trend, then, it maybe time for a good hard look at your branding. Branding experiments are big and expensive and not easy to find ROI (quickly). Pulling the trigger on these kinds expenses often require leaders take a chance and go with their gut. UFC is new and fresh and has a killer under 50 male demo. Possibly DealerSocket has been to enough of our auto industry events to see that a lot of the decision makers are into UFC and the UFC demos are expanding (aka room for growth). just my $0.02 Joe

Oct 18, 2008

Agreed Joe, branding is a good thing. My only point is that branding to the entire UFC fan base (in my opinion) is the equivalent of using a sledge hammer to hang a picture. Would your dealership run a national superbowl ad with hopes of selling more local customers? A large portion of your reach would be to prospects that would never buy from your dealership. Seems like too much waste to me, and it just doesn't make sense. Sure, a lot of your local shoppers would see the ad, but would it be worth the price tag (even over the long term)? Would DS money be better spent in targeted media like an industry publication or conference sponsorship? I think so. Again, I'm not sure what sort of rates they've negotiated, but I'm assuming they're fairly high for something on the national stage. I would bet that for whatever they're paying they could instead pay for an entire campaign targeted to their actual market which would make a bigger impact. Again, I hope for their sake it pays off, but even over the long term I don't think they'll see a good ROI. I do have to give them credit for an unconventional campaign though, and I hope it works out for them.

Oct 17, 2008

Good marketing medium? Yeah, I'll give them that, but it seems like a lot of "muda" if you ask me. Perhaps they got some great sponsorship rates but still...not very targeted advertising. What percentage of viewers are going to be decision makers at the dealerships? What percentage of those DM's are going to pay attention to the logos on his robe or trunks? What percentage of those are going to research what the product actually is? And lastly, what percentage of those are going to be in the market for the product? Will dealers be watching the fight? Without a doubt many will. In my opinion though, this sponsorship makes about as much sense as sending a direct mail piece to the entire state of Virginia with hopes of reaching a few dealers. I hope for their sake the ROI is there.

Oct 17, 2008

That is insane but smart! I would agree with Kevin. I have very close connections with my dealers that are all about UFC!! Hold on Mr. Dealer I also have my close friends Bisping & Leben coming with me I hope you don't mind? Along with the CAGE!! Guaranteed sale! BANG!! UFC is huge and now that the ladies are into that now ( not to be bias ) maybe I should start doing that... Hmmmm? Now I am thinking. I would wear the TK shirts pounding out a deal or two! haha Again great way of marketing!

Oct 17, 2008

If the local Dealer Socket rep brings this UFC fighter with them on sales calls, I don't think there will be any other choice but to sign on...

Oct 16, 2008

Didn't you get into the Ultimate Fighting ring last Wednesday night at LAX in Vegas?????

Oct 16, 2008

Jeff,
That is really cool. As huge UFC fan I am glad to see DealerSocket think out of the norm for advertising. GO FAST, a Colorado sports drink was an early adopter to the UFC back in the day. MMA has really taken over. The Vera vs. Jardine fight is going to be a good one.

Jan 28, 2013

Stay far away from Michael daseke and liquid motors I have very nasty txt from him about my wife stay far far away I have also received many threats toward my family me my wife and daughter from him I'll show proof if someone ask watch out people!

bpulseadmin · Oct 16, 2008

Liquid Motors Inc., a provider of comprehensive inventory management and marketing solutions for automobile dealers, has enhanced its Pricing Analysis System and Vehicle Marketing Systems with the addition of Kelley Blue Book Retail and Wholesale Values. Kelley Blue Book is a leading provider of vehicle information to consumers and the industry. Dealers across the country subscribing to Liquid Motor's services now have the ability to incorporate Kelley Blue Book Retail Values into their eBay Motors and CraigsList vehicle listings. Dallas, TX (PRWEB) October 16, 2008

Liquid Motors Inc., a provider of comprehensive inventory management and marketing solutions for automobile dealers, has enhanced its Pricing Analysis System and Vehicle Marketing Systems with the addition of Kelley Blue Book Retail and Wholesale Values. Kelley Blue Book is a leading provider of vehicle information to consumers and the industry. Dealers across the country subscribing to Liquid Motor's services now have the ability to incorporate Kelley Blue Book Retail Values into their eBay Motors and CraigsList vehicle listings.

"Effective pricing and disposal decisions have proven to improve sales results and the financial performance of automobile dealers" said Michael Daseke, president of Liquid Motors. "We are excited to extend are existing partnership with Kelley Blue Book to give our dealers a competitive advantage in this challenging market."

This new edition to Liquid Motors Pricing Analysis system allows dealers to utilize the Blue Book Wholesale and Retail Values to effectively price inventory and make more informed vehicle pricing decisions when marketing and selling vehicles online.

"Recent Kelley Blue Book data shows that consumers have more trust in dealers that display Kelley Blue Book Values," said Mike Romano, Kelley Blue Book, senior vice president of dealer sales and strategy. "By providing consumers with the information they need, levels the playing field and allows both the consumer and the dealer to start negotiations on the same page."

With more than 80 percent of car buyers starting their search for their next vehicle on the Internet, dealers can build consumers trust and confidence, a critical component in converting online listing viewers into leads and eventually into sales.

About Liquid Motors: (www.liquidmotors.com)
Liquid Motors Inc., a Dallas, Texas based corporation, offers automobile dealers a comprehensive Internet marketing solution designed to maximize lead generation. We provide a variety of software and services that create competitive advantage for automobile dealerships by generating and capturing more cost effective Internet leads using no-cost Internet classifieds, eBay auctions and listings, leading pay classifieds and dealer websites through the implementation of strategic pricing analysis, search optimization and marketing, and compelling multimedia.

About Kelley Blue Book: (www.kbb.com)
Since 1926, Kelley Blue Book, The Trusted Resource®, has provided vehicle buyers and sellers with the new and used vehicle information they need to accomplish their goals with confidence. The company's top-rated Web site, www.kbb.com, provides the most up-to-date pricing and values, including the New Car Blue Book® Value, which reveals what people actually are paying for new cars. The company also reports vehicle pricing and values via products and services, including software products and the famous Blue Book® Official Guide. Kbb.com is rated the No. 1 automotive information Web site among both new and used vehicle shoppers, and half of online vehicle shoppers visit kbb.com. Kbb.com is a leading provider of new car prices, car reviews and news, used car blue book values, auto classifieds and car dealer locations. No other medium reaches more in-market vehicle shoppers than kbb.com.

Oct 30, 2008

Buyer Confidence and Fear is the problem.

Great article today in the New York Times featuring Valencia Acura an AskPatty.com customer on this topic.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/30/automobiles/autospecial2/30loan.html

Excerpt:

At Valencia Acura in Valencia, Calif., Cheri Fleming, the owner, has witnessed something she has never seen before because of that fear. Customers come in, negotiate a price and even get so far as to allow the dealer to help procure a loan, and then “a lot of times, they just get up and leave.”

“Consumer confidence is crushed,” Ms. Fleming said.

Jody DeVere
CEO/President - Ask Patty, Inc.
www.askpatty.com
www.carblabber.com

Oct 20, 2008

I was in the middle of an instore meeting when the owner got that emailed to him regarding the GMAC 700 Beacon store deal last week Tuesday. All of us had the "Deer in the headlights look". But we did all have a great discussion regarding that. Justifying the spending in the dealership from newspaper ( the low ROI advertising ) I am not saying that spending money in the newspaper is bad but as mentioned the ROI is low and the cost is HUGE! Allocating those cost to any dealership online presence will surely pay off. There still are shoppers out there, you may be asking where in the world are they? They are not coming into the dealership! Things have changed the way the consumer is spending their money: The Smart way and its online!

Amanda Marsal · Oct 18, 2008

Not only are the consumers afraid to spend the money, so are the banks. Last week all of the Used car managers in the area that sell GM products had a meeting to announce that GMAC can't get the capital to make their loans. What does this mean for us? A customer must have a 700 to even be considered, and even then they are only financing Black Book values... Are they trying to sell less than they already are? Speak of the devil, I just told my new AutoTrader rep that I couldn't justify $8k a month just to break even...we are probably going to cancel...

Oct 18, 2008

I just recently heard of the autotrader layoff, from what I've heard it was mostly Sales Service Reps (SSR's) throughout the country as well as some reductions in inside sales positions throughout the country also. I spoke w/my Rep last week who expressed his concern in possibly seeing alot of dealer cancellations between now and the end of the year as many dealerships are reducing ad spends across the board.

Latest activity

Latest activity

Filter