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"Cardinal Sins" of the Past...and Present (from Need Help in Deep East Texas)
- Thread starter eddyshaf
- Start date
- Apr 10, 2011
- 139
- 19
- First Name
- Manny
Spending tons on money on stupid shit while your Cobalt site is all jacked up!
Here's another $4000.00 TrueCar!
Blame it on Cobalt my ass!
Here's another $4000.00 TrueCar!
Blame it on Cobalt my ass!
- Oct 7, 2014
- 29
- 1
- First Name
- Josh
1. Service coupons that don't have the look and feel of true coupons.
2. Pop-up coupons with just text.....any pop-up coupon at all really.
2. Pop-up coupons with just text.....any pop-up coupon at all really.
I don't think these are cardinal sins. I've seen far more attractive than "real life" coupons work plenty of times.
Popups are bad, but they do convert.
If I understand what you're looking for Craig, you want something you can show your boss that is digital where you can say: When customers see this it's as bad or worse than a stupid car missing from the front row.
Am I reading that right?
If so, my recommendation would be to head over to Google and search for something common from a mobile device search like: "Who has the best used car deals near (whatever city you're in)."
If you're not there above the fold on page one, that's a 'hole' in the front line. In my opinion.
If you're a Honda dealer, you may ask google: who has the best new Honda deals near (your city).
If you're not there, that's a hole.
I phrase things this way because I focus on mobile and when I use my phone I ask questions, like most of the people i know, using voice search rather than just typing things like: used honda.
Even if you boss is living under a rock you can show him an area where there's an opportunity here. In my opinion, this is a hole you can fill. I hope that gives you one more arrow for your quiver
Am I reading that right?
If so, my recommendation would be to head over to Google and search for something common from a mobile device search like: "Who has the best used car deals near (whatever city you're in)."
If you're not there above the fold on page one, that's a 'hole' in the front line. In my opinion.
If you're a Honda dealer, you may ask google: who has the best new Honda deals near (your city).
If you're not there, that's a hole.
I phrase things this way because I focus on mobile and when I use my phone I ask questions, like most of the people i know, using voice search rather than just typing things like: used honda.
Even if you boss is living under a rock you can show him an area where there's an opportunity here. In my opinion, this is a hole you can fill. I hope that gives you one more arrow for your quiver
- Apr 20, 2009
- 725
- 752
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- 10
- First Name
- Ryan
Great thread idea Edward!
Craig already covered the importance of a "real" review strategy. That can be a huge hole in the digital front line. I also know that you submitted a few chapters to the "how to do reviews in automotive" book when it was written.
I think the best idea is to take off your dealer hat and interact with your business in the same way that a consumer does. That really is the best equivalent to discovering a hole in the front line. You have a great list developing, but here are a few more things to check:
-Look at your VDP's on your website and 3rd party sites - What is missing? What could be better?
-Chase links to your site to make sure that you know where they land - Does it make sense to a consumer? Are they getting what they want?
-Use a tool to make certain that N.A.P. is correct and up to date on all business listing sites on the web - N.A.P. = Name, Address, Phone - Consumer Experience is NOT good if I call a dead 800 number trying to reach you.
-Check the "Meet the staff" page - SO MANY of these are just short of terrible. Blank pages, no pictures or bad pictures, no contact information etc. - We need to start merchandising the front line of our dealerships, the sales and service staff, just as well as our front line of inventory! This might be the biggest hole in the digital front line. It is a complex issue that could be its own thread, but I'll say this. If you are churning out your sales staff so fast that you can't keep your "meet the staff page" updated, your problem IS NOT your website provider!
One of the GREAT one-liners that I took away from DSES was this: "STOP trying to sell cars and START trying to help people buy them!" That concept is foundational and so much more than semantics. I could probably have summed up this whole post with that simple line. I'd try to use it as the litmus test for holes in your ENTIRE strategy not just your digital front line.
Craig already covered the importance of a "real" review strategy. That can be a huge hole in the digital front line. I also know that you submitted a few chapters to the "how to do reviews in automotive" book when it was written.
I think the best idea is to take off your dealer hat and interact with your business in the same way that a consumer does. That really is the best equivalent to discovering a hole in the front line. You have a great list developing, but here are a few more things to check:
-Look at your VDP's on your website and 3rd party sites - What is missing? What could be better?
-Chase links to your site to make sure that you know where they land - Does it make sense to a consumer? Are they getting what they want?
-Use a tool to make certain that N.A.P. is correct and up to date on all business listing sites on the web - N.A.P. = Name, Address, Phone - Consumer Experience is NOT good if I call a dead 800 number trying to reach you.
-Check the "Meet the staff" page - SO MANY of these are just short of terrible. Blank pages, no pictures or bad pictures, no contact information etc. - We need to start merchandising the front line of our dealerships, the sales and service staff, just as well as our front line of inventory! This might be the biggest hole in the digital front line. It is a complex issue that could be its own thread, but I'll say this. If you are churning out your sales staff so fast that you can't keep your "meet the staff page" updated, your problem IS NOT your website provider!
One of the GREAT one-liners that I took away from DSES was this: "STOP trying to sell cars and START trying to help people buy them!" That concept is foundational and so much more than semantics. I could probably have summed up this whole post with that simple line. I'd try to use it as the litmus test for holes in your ENTIRE strategy not just your digital front line.
If I understand what you're looking for Craig, you want something you can show your boss that is digital where you can say: When customers see this it's as bad or worse than a stupid car missing from the front row.
Am I reading that right?
Even if you boss is living under a rock you can show him an area where there's an opportunity here. In my opinion, this is a hole you can fill. I hope that gives you one more arrow for your quiver
Matt - you are reading that right and thank you for the really awesome and helpful reply - those are exactly the types of examples and feedback I am trying to garner from this discussion!
Of course, my name is Edward, not Craig, but you read the rest of it right, so who's counting...amiright?!? LOL
Thanks again - several of your blog posts and comments on various threads lately have all been very targeted and most helpful - we should really have a conversation sometime
Ed
Ed I'm sorry, I totally read Craig's reply and my brain went wonky. Happy to help anytime and always glad to connect. Email is [email protected] and Twitter is @konigco. Have an amazing weekend!
Ryan Leslie - great quote by the way. I have a dealer group whose leadership and sales team I've been working with for the past year and I have been saying almost the same thing. They only visit 1.6 dealers so they've done their research and their goal is to buy: our job is to help them accomplish their goal.
Ryan Leslie - great quote by the way. I have a dealer group whose leadership and sales team I've been working with for the past year and I have been saying almost the same thing. They only visit 1.6 dealers so they've done their research and their goal is to buy: our job is to help them accomplish their goal.
- Apr 22, 2009
- 430
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- 6
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- Ryan
Hahahahahaha. Read this again and realized it was a bit too Canadian. There are still dealers that are I-Framing their autotrader ads on their dealership website when you visit "used inventory".
This is most often done in an effort to save $500-$1000 a month by avoiding using a real automotive website vendor.
This is most often done in an effort to save $500-$1000 a month by avoiding using a real automotive website vendor.
✨ AI Highlights
The thread explores automotive industry "cardinal sins"—obvious digital marketing mistakes that harm dealership performance—prompted by a dealer owner's comment about physical inventory gaps. Contributors identify critical website issues including missing vehicle photos, hidden pricing, lack of online service booking, poor reputation management, and user experience problems like aggressive pop-ups and forced phone number requirements. The key insight is that while dealers intuitively know certain practices are wrong, the thread documents the specific, easily-auditable items (photos, pricing transparency, review management, contact information) that owners and GMs can quickly spot and measure to improve their digital presence.
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