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Jeff Kershner

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A DealerRefresh Recap: Our New Redesign, SpinCar, Digital Retailing, and More

We’ve wrapped up October’s work and we’re swaggering into November with our site feeling so fresh and so clean, clean. The DealerRefresh site got a redesign, offering a sleek appearance, easy navigation, and more. We also saw some pretty interesting topics on the forum, from dealership blogs to digital retailing to data drama. Jump in to see what you might have missed!

DealerRefresh Redesign

Our site redesign is up and running and our forum friends are loving it. While there were some bumps in the road at first, we’re happy to report that functionality and ease of use are exactly what we imagined. Be sure to check out the Resources tab for whitepapers, pay plan downloads, job descriptions, and more. We envision this new section of the site will evolve over time, and we’re all ears to hear how you’d get more value from it. Feel free to drop us a line with any ideas or suggestions you may have.

You’ll also notice that blog navigation is simpler, making it easier for our Senior Refreshers to find older content they’d like to revisit or our Noobs to search through previous posts for helpful information. Some of the plugins we used before are now no longer available, but there are several new ones that are going to be BIG.

If there is something missing that you’d like to have in the redesign, post it in our redesign thread and we’ll see what we can do. We hope you continue to enjoy using DealerRefresh and look forward to continuing to improve the platform for you.

SpinCar Data Conundrum

SpinCar has been a topic on DealerRefresh forum threads in the past and has bubbled up to the surface yet again, bringing up the topic of third-party scripts, lead leaks, and new data regulation coming down the line. @Steve Saorta , SpinCar CTO, and Steve White from Clarivoy both chimed in about how dealer data is handled through the SpinCar product. We’ll leave it up to you to decide whether or not you want to give SpinCar the benefit of the doubt. If you have any information that will aid in the understanding of the SpinCar data usage or data regulation as a whole, please share your knowledge with our community!

If you missed the RefreshFriday discussion with Jeffrey Tognetti around this topic, set aside some time to watch it. How do you put a value on data? How will third-party data be used in the future? When you boil it all down, data is the most valuable asset we have. We should know what’s happening to it.

“‘Data is the new oil’ is an understatement. Data is air.” - Jeffrey Tognetti

Dealership Blogging

Is it important? Should dealers still focus on blogging, or has everything moved into the social and video sphere? @Ryan Thompson posed this question, and the responses provide great food for thought. As @Alex Snyder reminded us, “Content is and will always be king… as long as it is relevant.” If you’re thinking about starting a new blog or bringing an old one back to life, take a look at the comments on this thread. Nail down your audience, deliver the content they’re asking for, and dive into analytics on a regular basis to measure time on site, page views, new sessions, and other metrics that will help you refine your content and delivery methods.

Today, blogging should be less about shoving content down consumers’ throats and more about answering questions. It’s a great way to provide shoppers with the information they need to gain trust in your business. If you’re going to run a blog for your dealership, it all comes down to understanding what type of content converts.

Do you have a great example of a dealership blog that drives substantial traffic to the showroom? Share it in the thread and let us know what strategies work for you.

Digital Retailing - Shiny New Object Syndrome?

Back in February, @John V. inquired about digital retailing and heard crickets. He revived the thread a few weeks ago, and I’m glad he did. The conversation on the thread is one everyone should read. @Zhendrix posed some thoughtful questions about testing Digital Retailing and defining how it should operate within your specific dealership should you elect to have it, and @john.quinn brought up the disjointed work flow between the different factions of the dealership, leaving customers lost in the process. Does Digital Retailing help close those gaps, or does it leave the customer asking questions and moving on to a competitor?

Be sure to read @Greg M response as a Digital Retailing start-up for a perspective from the other side. Weigh in and let us know about your experiences with Digital Retailing. Maybe one day soon we’ll get John V. answers to the questions that kicked this thread off to begin with.

P.S. @Alex Snyder will be on a panel discussing this exact topic at the Automotive Attribution Summit in Palm Beach November 17th through 19th.

DealerRefresh Forums

October was certainly a month full of hot topics and lively discussions, and we expect the forum will be jumping with content this month as we prepare to end the year on a high note. Remember to check back for new discussions around strategy, product offerings, and more.

If you’re not a member of the DealerRefresh community, sign up today and get first-hand access to a community of knowledgeable automotive industry experts.