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Apr 27, 2012

You had mentioned third party tools that can help with website personalization. Do you have any examples? I was looking at Reedge.com, they talk about personalized content based on past visits.

Apr 27, 2012

Kyle, great post. I come from a varied background of B2B and major retail B2C, so I get the perspective from both sides. The "online" experience is all about personalization and personal choice. We're a small company trying to push through in the auto dealership world, and the tools we produce are all about making the web and purchase experience more personal. But hand and hand with that is the need of the dealer to understand that a two-way conversation is so much better than a one-way. It seems the paradigm is still heavily favoring a "push" model albeit on a new communications platform.

The cookie issue will hurt re-targeting strategies. Consumers are wiser to this issue than some would like to believe. In a proprietary study I worked on for a digital marketing company, consumer who noticed they were being followed immediatly cleared all tracking cookies. The percentage was over 80%. But re-targeting and following are still one-way conversations . . .

I really appreciate your thinking and understanding that what we do can and should be different than what we had been doing.

Apr 27, 2012

@NetBizCoach Thanks, Mike. I tried to avoid implying that these tools were the responsibility of the vendors after our previous conversation. I understand the vendor business model is to appeal to dealer wants & expectations, so I think it's important to only offer these items if they are tools that dealers request.

We ran some multivariate testing on our website a while back regarding calls to action on our vehicle detail pages. I believe I may have chosen too many variations, but I found that we don't get enough conversions to generate a statistically significant winner in a reasonable amount of time. I think the data you suggest would be much easier to gather if it were done by a vendor with access to a portfolio of dealer sites to test. But then they probably wouldn't want to just hand it over, now would they

I agree though -- let's have the users tell us what they want. I imagine different markets will yield different results as well. I'd like to see dealer sites turn into more of a smart 'web app' than an online classified tool, but who cares what I think! Let's ask the people that matter.

Apr 27, 2012

@lgoering Gotcha. Yeah, I feel like it would have to be more well known to gain traction. That being said, I know a lot of people value their online privacy, so we shall see how this pans out.

It is possible to customize site content based upon whether or not a session cookie exists though. So theoretically, these tools can be turned on/off with ease. I don't really see it being an issue.

Larry Goering · Apr 27, 2012

@Kyle Suss @lgoering From what I understand, the Do Not Track button would prevent the cookies from being stored so there would be no information for your proposed tool to personalize a return visit based up the history from the previous visit(s). However, at this point, most people do not know about this button existing in their browser settings so unless it becomes more widely known through media coverage, the average user may never use it anyway.

Apr 27, 2012

Nice post Kyle.

The key in my mind to getting this kind of tool working as intended would be to allow anonymous user feedback along with extensive A/B testing (which requires the ability to change quickly). Like you mention in your post both dealers and us as vendors have assumed what the customer wants to some degree. Of course there are focus groups and testing involved to come up with these assumptions on the vendor side, but it is within the traditional dealer marketing "box".

To really make a change and evolve the tools we need to take bold steps and let the users honestly tell us what they want. With this kind of feedback/change loop we may all be surprised as to where the users take us, and it will probably be WAY outside the current "box" we are currently in.

Apr 27, 2012

@lgoering Hadn't heard of Do Not Track until now; however, I just read an article that said:

"Once finalized, these standards won't be enforced by the W3C. Rather, enforcement would likely involve advertising industry associations, who could require their members to comply with Do Not Track. In addition, any U.S. advertiser that said it complied would be held to account by the FTC, as well as by privacy monitoring organizations, such as TRUSTe--also part of the Tracking Protection working group--and the Better Business Bureau."

Doesn't seem like it would really affect a dealership website just yet unless browsers implement something for privacy. If a user opts-out, what exactly would Do Not Track prevent from happening?

Larry Goering · Apr 27, 2012

I have also been a supporter of personalizing the users experience on our group's sites but is it feasible to develop right now with the onset of the "Do Not Track" options being built into all of the major browsers and the W3C, Center For Digital Democracy, Interactive Advertisers Bureau and who knows who else all trying to decide what the correct behavior or response a web site should be to it?

Apr 27, 2012

@DealerPeak Hello. First question that comes to mind is are you charging extra for these features, or do they come standard with all of your websites?

Also something that I believe is important is the target demographic for the website. For a younger audience, these features will soon be a must on a website, but will the 60 year old Chevy Impala buyer care about them? I doubt it.

This is the first time I'm hearing of DealerPeak (no insult intended), but I don't see very much in terms of marketing regarding the dealer sites on your own website. I don't want to have to 'request a demo' to see what you offer. Show me why I should get excited about it with well constructed landing pages that appeal to my emotions. Show me photos of the features in use. Show me stats that show how user engagement & time on site increases w/ new tools such as these. 1 website example isn't going to cut it (to get me excited at least).

I believe the features themselves are not the only piece to the puzzle -- the implementation is also very important. I notice you have to register to save vehicles on DealerPeak sites (which you don't have to do on Edmunds) and the 'save vehicle' feature is not promoted heavily save for the vehicle detail pages. If you're going to require registration, show me why it's of value to me and promote the tool! I should be seeing a link to "Your Saved Vehicles" on every page of the site in the navigation so I can easily get there on a return visit or so that I know your sites are different if I'm getting there for the first time.

Just my .02. Hopefully you found this to be constructive.

Apr 27, 2012

As a Website / CRM vendor I am very interested to hear feedback on this. Our website platform has supported these types of "Personalization" features for many years, but we've had limited success in getting dealers excited about this ability. I suspect it's because there isn't a clear short term ROI that they can sink their teeth into. Our view is that Personalization is one of the most important aspects to offering a great User Experience on a dealers Website.

Apr 27, 2012

Love your post but please change your bio.

Apr 27, 2012

When I first joined the auto industry, I was shocked to learn that some dealers had yet to solidify their web presence with a full-featured web site. After all, the Internet is the most utilized research tool in the vehicle purchase process and the easiest way to garner attention toward your vehicles from those who are in the market. Fast forward a few years and we’re now at a point where the vast majority of dealers use a third party website provider to manage their web presence. It was a slowly adopted change that was necessary for the advancement of the industry, but now that all dealers have their own website, what’s the next step?

What will it take to adopt the latest trends and break free from the pack of like- minded web properties?

One Sided Experience

As it stands, the function of the “dealer website” that we’ve all come to know so well is highly one sided. The experience of the vehicle shopper is similar to that of a classified site whereby the content is dominated by specials, promotions, and inventory that the dealer thinks the user will appreciate. We’re guilty of this as well. We tag vehicles as specials that we believe will attract attention in the hopes of generating quality leads, but do users really care what the dealer thinks is important?

Innovation From Netflix

Netflix has an amazing website that tailors the experience to the interests and browsing patterns of each visitor. They do all of this with the help of some fairly robust infrastructure & engineering teams, but the principles remain relevant -- give users what they want so they’ll spend more time on your site & come back more frequently to utilize your tool.

Every visit to the Netflix website is different, providing a sense of identity for an individual user that is unmatched on other platforms. Furthermore, Netflix makes use of prediction models to suggest content on the site that will be relevant to an individual user. The more accurate the prediction model, the easier it is for users to find what they’re looking for and the higher the likelihood that they will return in the future.

Application on Dealer Sites

Modern dealer sites are a great tool for taking a selection of inventory and filtering down options to ultimately reach a match that suits the user’s tastes. From a macro perspective though, this process requires a fair amount of work on the user’s behalf before any tangible decision can be made and there is no tool available to bypass this process during a return visit. We can start utilizing modern web technologies to create a new breed of dealer sites – sites that function as more of a smart web app than a standalone classified tool.

Prediction Models

The average dealer does not have the resources available to implement complex prediction algorithms in the same fashion as Netflix. Luckily, there are third party tools and APIs available for developers to utilize these functions without having to invest in the entire infrastructure necessary to predict content. As time goes on, these tools will become increasingly accessible to the forward-thinking dealers – the question is whether or not this is of any priority to website vendors (or dealers for that matter) in the industry and who will make the first move in adopting the technology.

Once implemented, the experience on a dealer site quickly turns toward a user-centered shopping experience similar to that of Amazon where the site is not only a listing of all available inventory, but also a tool for helping the user find what they’re looking for based upon their unique interests.

Favorites

For the first 4 months of 2012, 30% of our web traffic consisted of returning visitors. Many of these visitors will have undoubtedly viewed our inventory and gone through the process of filtering our vehicles multiple times before eventually moving elsewhere. Is it in our best interests to force them through this same monotonous process each time they visit?

User favorites are a current trend being under-utilized in the auto industry. I recently noticed Edmunds.com added a tool for saving vehicles (without requiring registration), but I have yet to see a widespread adoption of this idea across individual dealer sites. When users save vehicles, they have an increased incentive to return to your dealership’s website because they have already shown interest in something and they’ve made it easy to locate. Smart websites like Amazon use this data to offer increased incentives for returning visitors to convert online and increase revenue. With so many dealers being involved in a single shopper’s buying decision, every additional tool counts.

Browsing Activity

Prediction models make use of browsing activity in their algorithms, but when I refer to browsing activity, I’m talking exclusively about tracking the pages that users view via cookies. Keep in mind this doesn’t mean that some webmaster is sitting in a room looking at every single page that you’ve viewed on your computer at 2am. This is merely a method of tracking browsing history in order to create a tool for users to access information that they’ve already seen on your site.

We’re aiming to make the experience on a dealer site as easy and painless as possible, so if I have to go back to a search page and repeatedly input filters to find vehicles, then we’re doing it wrong. Giving users access to vehicles they’ve already viewed is a great way to easily get them back to that vehicle details page to convert and start working with your sales team.

What do you think? Are these features important enough to your dealership/group to implement?

What challenges do we need to overcome as an industry to make it happen?

bpulseadmin · Apr 25, 2012

HookLogic and PureCars Work Together to Increase Dealership Walk-In Traffic

NEW YORK, NY — HookLogic, the leading provider of ecommerce media solutions and services, today announced its new partnership with PureCars™, an automotive research company dedicated to answering the top concerns of car shoppers. As a result of this new relationship, PureCars will now leverage HookLogic's popular Lead-to-Show incentive solution for the over 1,500 automotive dealerships they represent.

PureCars' mission is to answer the top concerns of a car shopper using a fully automated technology for the dealership. This goal is in part achieved by providing car shoppers with PureCars Value Reports, which showcase a wealth of detailed information that clearly conveys the value in a vehicle. HookLogic's Lead-to-Show solution will now generate additional walk-in traffic from car shoppers that view the Value Reports, resulting in incremental sales at an exceptional ROI for dealers.

"We are excited to have Hooklogic as another industry leading integrated partner. The result of our partnership allows dealers, who subscribe to both products, an even higher ROI, which is what our integration partnerships are all about," said Jeremy Anspach, president of PureCars.

When people are shopping for cars, they typically spend hours researching on websites, such as PureCars.com, before stepping foot inside a dealership. HookLogic helps accelerate the decision process and provides in-market customers with an easier and better buying experience. The partnership between these two leading technology providers in the automotive industry will create an integrated solution that drives unprecedented results for dealers and a better shopping experience for their customers.

"We are excited to partner with PureCars. This is just the first stage of a very synergistic relationship of two progressive companies. We are now poised to build industry-leading solutions for car dealers," said David Metter, president of automotive for HookLogic.

To learn more about Lead-to-Show, visit www.leadtoshow.com or call 646-532-4707.

About HookLogic's Incentive Solutions for the Auto Industry:
HookLogic powers targeted incentive programs that drive in-market shoppers to auto dealerships and other lead-driven businesses. HookLogic solutions are easily implemented, work with nearly any marketing medium and enable end-to-end reporting and optimization. Headquartered in New York City, the company has offices in Ann Arbor, MI, Atlanta, GA and Manchester, UK. Clients include MileOne Automotive, Germain Motor Cars, Suburban Collection, Acton Toyota, and AutoTrader.com. Learn more at www.leadtoshow.com.

About PureCars:
PureCars is an automotive research company dedicated to answering the top concerns of car shoppers. Car shoppers want to make sure they are getting a good value, buying a reliable vehicle and dealing with a reputable dealership while shopping for their next vehicle. PureCars Value Reports answer these top concerns and more! They are available for $14.95 on PureCars.com and are free of charge for PureCars subscribing dealerships. To learn more about PureCars visit www.PureCars.com or call 877-860-7873.

colson · May 17, 2012

Joe you know I love you, but I have to present a dissenting view on this. While response time may improve by "removing the manager from the equation", our experience has been that your total gross and total sales will suffer when the decisions about a car deal are left in the hands of sales people and not sales managers.

It's the rare occasion you've got salespeople who don't go to the lowest common denominator and send out quotes on a car they're not likely to buy anyway because most people end of rolling out in something other than what they originally requested.

The real issue involves putting yourself in a position to have to make a decision as to whether or not a quote is warranted. Most of the mystery shops we do on dealers every day shows a complete disinterest in actually making phone contact with a customer and asking for the appointment when you get two way with them. Sending out quotes to everyone who submits a request in hopes that a customer is going to rush down to buy that car is like skeet shooting blind folded.

Keep in mind, you're not going to sell everyone who submits a lead. The goal is to make contact with as many people as possible, and then use contact as an opportunity to find out if you have someone who is reasonable or not. Reasonable people say yes when you ask for the appointment. Lets just start there. Everyone else gets a manager live turn!

Apr 26, 2012

Absolute right @Joe Webb

Apr 25, 2012

I think paranoia over a steady pricing matrix might find in its source an underdeveloped sales staff. Since it is not uncommon for customers to ultimately purchase a vehicle other than that about which they inquired the price quote can be seen as a lure of sorts. Good rapport building, needs analysis, and value building through a focused presentation make the initial quote less important. How many customers, having had a consultant listen to their needs and pair them with a vehicle that is for them a better match are really going to go home and calculate ratios and such to make sure they paid proportionally the same for the vehicle they ended up buying? Weak profits should be firstly a clarion call for better sales training!

Apr 24, 2012

What you are proposingb hyere is not just an every now and again Mystery Shop. You are proposing regular, continuous Mystery Shops to use as the basis of your pricing matrix team meeting. How do you accomplish that?

Apr 23, 2012

Agreed. If your store isn't doing a price matrix, expect HUGE results after you implement such a necessary tool.

Jun 17, 2019

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Nov 12, 2012

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Nov 12, 2012

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May 7, 2012

Reynolds has long been known as a DMS company. Now, they will tell you that while a DMS is still a necessary tool, it is not a sufficient business tool. And they are moving away from DMS just like CRM companies are moving away from CRM. What's called for is a retail management system, with ALL the requisite components. The tier one DMS companies already have the most difficult core component - its the CRM companies that will need to get to work to keep up.

May 1, 2012

For the attackers on Brian, please... cool your jets and assaults. What exactly is getting you so angry? I don't think it is at all naive to think that CRM is becoming the dashboard of the dealership from a sales and marketing perspective. As @tomwhitejr Tom White stated, I think everyone is sick of the industry be pushed around by a couple of DMS providers and would welcome competition both for innovation sake and overall operating costs.

I also agree that we are a long way away from a fixed ops and accounting perspective, however that might be as much of a Herculean task as you might believe.

Brian's post is one that should excite you because the ultimate CRM/DMS blurred line creates a system that is better for our business. Dealers and consumers alike.

Apr 28, 2012

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Apr 25, 2012

Blake
Thank you for contributing to the thread and yes, companies that are creating open API platforms do give dealers the flexibility to add new marketing and analytics partners that come to market. Today, for some DMS products, the barriers to creating integrated products are high upfront fees and sticky contractual agreements, which may just very well hinder innovation. Companies like Autobase and DealerTrack obviously want to change that image of DMS software providers.

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