• Stop being a LURKER - join our dealer community and get involved. Sign up and start a conversation.

Is this Virus actually HELPING car dealerships at Digital Retail?

Can we actually take a pole once this is over and see which dealers actually saw an increase in digital retailing deals? Still a skeptic over here that it is anything more than a lead driver and changing my CTA buttons on my website to "AT HOME TEST DRIVE" seems to be just a easy and costs $0 in ad budget. Would like to be proven wrong if someone has data they want to share.

I think that's a great idea @John V. - let's see what we can get together after all this settles. I'm in the same camp as you. I don't see Digital Retailing making some climb in usage. But it sure makes for a great marketing ploy for the vendors that offer the service.
 
Brian Pasch held a webinar with some good ideas on how to keep customers engaged while this is going on:




The fucking fraudulent clown speaks! Whatever he says, run in the opposite direction, he's a thief and a fraud!! Shame on you for sharing his crap message.
 
I just created a quick list of tools that can help, if anyone here needs this:


EMERGENCY COVID-19 Remote Work Guide: 11 Tools for Car Dealerships

View attachment 4656


COVID-19’s realities make working from home – or working remotely – a way for car dealerships but also everyone involved in the automotive industry a way for us to continue fulfilling our job responsibilities and to contribute to our organizations.
With that in mind, Autobahn Academy would like to share some of the best practices we think can help car dealerships make the best of this unfortunate situation.
Unfortunately, car dealerships could have a harder time adjusting than other industries since a lot of tasks have to be completed on-site, especially in the fixed ops department.
If you haven’t seen my video about how “This virus will force dealers to get better at digital retail” I posted on LinkedIn, you should still know there’s a silver lining to all of this.
If you’re looking to get a set of tools that can help make this situation a little less frustrating, we have you covered. The good news is, when this is all over, these new habits could actually help you even when the people are back in their seats. Meanwhile, there are many benefits to running a remote team, so long as you’re equipped with the right tools to succeed.
In this article, we’ll share with you the best tools for working remotely so you and your team members can maximize productivity and secure more sales than ever before, no matter if you’re inside or outside your car dealership showroom.
TEAM CHAT
Slack
Slack is more than a tool for chatting—it’s almost a religion in the tech industry. You can use Slack to chat 1 on 1 but also create channels where you can interact as groups (Sales, Service, etc..). I’m still baffled on how few of you are actually using a chat tool.
HipChat
HipChat is another great chat tool that can help you daily communication. They have a great app everyone can install on their smartphone.
Workplace by Facebook
Facebook just launched this team collaboration platform that includes messaging, voice and video calling, and newsfeed features to help teams work together more efficiently.
MEETINGS & VIDEO CHAT
Google Hangouts
Google Hangouts is the default tool of choice for video meetings. Slack even lets you launch a hangout right from within a channel!
Zoom
An alternative to Hangouts, Zoom has a higher threshold for the number of people who can be in a meeting at once. You can get on the free plan too if you need to show anything to your customers the easy way. This can be used from any computer to any type of smartphone.
Youtube Live
Need to record a quick video? How about host a live broadcast or training to your team or even customers? YouTube Live is Google Hangout’s alternative to scaling a broadcast globally.
Join.me
Great app for screen sharing and team calls. It doesn’t freeze up as often as other tools do which makes it a great choice for quick meetings on the fly.
CLOUD STORAGE & TEAM COLLABORATION
Trello
Trello’s ease of use makes it easy to manage a flow of tasks through any of your teams inside the dealership. It’s also very flexible and free.
Google Drive
Google Drive needs no introduction. Store and collaborate on documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and more all with your Google Account. There’s so much you can do in here.
Dropbox
This is the cloud storage of choice for most design and dev teams I’ve worked with. Dropbox also recently announced Paper—a separate app similar to Google Docs that lets you collaborate in real-time.
TeamViewer
TeamViewer is a very easy to use program to help you see or take over control of a colleagues’ computer.
HERE’S WHAT YOU SHOULD DO NOW
Most of you are experiencing a slow down in the showroom, canceled appointments. It’s OK, you can’t control everything, but in slow times is the perfect time to dig into your CRM, update contact info and reach out to customers.
Start by emailing clients that were already in your short term sights and try to see if they are looking to wait to make a purchase. This is your chance to show empathy. Now is not the time to force things, you’ll be losing credibility and the chance to close the deal anyway.
HUH!? You're implying that dealers have the resources in order to run these tools. LMFAO! Meanwhile, 95% of dealers have no fucking clue. Plus, WTF are they going to do with those tools if no one is going to buy cars now or coming out of this thing... when they're broke?

:thinker:

Unless you're attempting to pimp yourself through social media with an automotive emergency kit, which in case and I'm being serious, great idea! HA HA!
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Marc Lavoie
Can we actually take a pole once this is over and see which dealers actually saw an increase in digital retailing deals? Still a skeptic over here that it is anything more than a lead driver and changing my CTA buttons on my website to "AT HOME TEST DRIVE" seems to be just a easy and costs $0 in ad budget. Would like to be proven wrong if someone has data they want to share.

Great point. I think it's good to be skeptical. On my end, the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced car shopping & dealers will go back to "normal" at the end of the year.

Car buyers are not going "Maybe I should by online from now on" but more like "I'm gonna wait it out".

Time will tell, but this will put everyone behind for sure.

Fear of not earning any money in the next few months > Test Drive at Home

I've updated the post for anyone interested : https://blog.autobahnacademy.com/emergency-coronavirus-guide-for-car-dealerships/
 
HUH!? You're implying that dealers have the resources in order to run these tools. LMFAO! Meanwhile, 95% of dealers have no fucking clue. Plus, WTF are they going to do with those tools if no one is going to buy cars now or coming out of this thing... when they're broke?

:thinker:

Unless you're attempting to pimp yourself through social media with an automotive emergency kit, which in case and I'm being serious, great idea! HA HA!

Thanks for your input Alex, always spot on ;)

I agree the guide could be better, I'm going to try to be better next time. It's my first pandemic.

P.S. Dealers are not the only ones who have no fucking clue, I think we're all in the same boat.
 
Thanks for your input Alex, always spot on ;)

I agree the guide could be better, I'm going to try to be better next time. It's my first pandemic.

P.S. Dealers are not the only ones who have no fucking clue, I think we're all in the same boat.
BTW, I wasn't implying that those communication tools were total crap. They aren't, in fact I use most of them myself for my automotive consulting, etc. businesses. I was referring to those tools being able to save dealers from this virus fiasco.

As for Brian Pasch and PCG, I will never, ever say that he's honest (overwhelming evidence and first-hand knowledge from angry, disappointed dealers he's hoodwinked over the years). That's the thing about having worked at the agency and attribution (although early) level, you can see who's worth the money (even ballpark-wise). SEO, PPC, Social, etc. And I completely agree and that's why all these agency and 3PA (third party auto) posers (especially the corporate ones) are asking the admins here to ban me, they get pissed off when I call them out for having such sh*t wares and ineffectiveness. It's almost laughable and you can easily tell the ones that are defensive.
 
BTW, I wasn't implying that those communication tools were total crap. They aren't, in fact I use most of them myself for my automotive consulting, etc. businesses. I was referring to those tools being able to save dealers from this virus fiasco.

As for Brian Pasch and PCG, I will never, ever say that he's honest (overwhelming evidence and first-hand knowledge from angry, disappointed dealers he's hoodwinked over the years). That's the thing about having worked at the agency and attribution (although early) level, you can see who's worth the money (even ballpark-wise). SEO, PPC, Social, etc. And I completely agree and that's why all these agency and 3PA (third party auto) posers (especially the corporate ones) are asking the admins here to ban me, they get pissed off when I call them out for having such sh*t wares and ineffectiveness. It's almost laughable and you can easily tell the ones that are defensive.

No tools can save us from what's going on, patience will.