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  1. JD Rucker

    Support #CalebvsCancer!

    #Prayers
  2. JD Rucker

    Are OEM-Mandated Marketing Programs Good or Bad?

    Choice is great. I like what Toyota and Nissan did, though it seems like both are heading away from choice, unfortunately. Maintaining consistency of manufacturer brand message is important, but there's true value in having choices that spark competition. I remember when TK was in on the Toyota...
  3. JD Rucker

    Are OEM-Mandated Marketing Programs Good or Bad?

    Pretty much every Refresher knows how this particular poll is going to go. Anyone who has worked at a dealership with OEM mandates for websites, PPC, social media, or anything else has likely run into a situation where they were forced to use a company, product, or service that they didn't...
  4. JD Rucker

    Yet another question about TrueCar sentiment

    This has been covered a million times I'm sure. I hate asking for further input but I've never really concerned myself with them until now. After reading an interview with the CEO, I'm starting to have concerns. Is this common? What do dealers think about TrueCar? Friend? Foe? Please post your...
  5. JD Rucker

    Salesperson Branded Presence: Who's the Best?

    We started noticing leads coming in recently, probably just in the last 6 months, asking about using social media as individual salespeople. We messed up big time by not listening to Subi Ghosh last year when she said we should extend our services to include that very option. At this point, we...
  7. JD Rucker

    Salesperson Branded Presence: Who's the Best?

    We've been watching this growing over the last few years and now it seems to be hitting a tipping point. We're even starting to get inquiries and frankly we don't know where to send them. Who's the best out there that maybe offers this type of training? Have you or do you know of someone that...
  8. JD Rucker

    Volkswagen Dealer Digital Program - anyone using these vendors?

    I have clients familiar with two of them. Feel free to reach out and I can connect you to them.
  9. JD Rucker

    Dear Vendors: What's the Goal?

    I've had the pleasure (and in some cases, displeasure) of sitting in on a lot of vendor pitches lately with clients. I have heard some tremendous data-driven discussions that impressed me, but the majority of what I hear in these presentations still seems to revolve around hype and excitement...
  10. JD Rucker

    Are all VDP Views considered equal?

    Any VDP view is good because it's an opportunity, but dealer website VDP views are definitely more valuable. Exclusivity, opportunities to generate a lead through other methods (trade eval, credit app, etc), retargeting cookies, presentation of reviews, control of tracking numbers... the list of...
  11. JD Rucker

    Edmunds's No Haggle Video - Offensive?

    Forgiven? Sure. People make mistakes and they were humble enough to apologize. I don't know Seth but the statement seemed sincere and the fact that they pulled it down means that truly regret doing it. Forgotten? Probably not. My recommendation to dealers is that they should do what their...
  13. JD Rucker

    Edmunds's No Haggle Video - Offensive?

    I think it's a great idea! Instead of haggling, every car dealer in America should go to no-haggle pricing that is in line with other retail items. Instead of negotiating, let's just set the gross profit margin at a flat 10%. Compared to deli meet, jewelry, or furniture, it's a pretty low...
  14. JD Rucker

    Is the Secret Sauce Spoiled?

    For retail stores like Amazon, apps are able to push notifications, attach more easily to instant payment options, and be more "embedded" in the mobile life of the consumer than a mobile site. Think of it like mobile sites are passive while apps are active. I haven't seen anything that has...
  15. JD Rucker

    Is the Secret Sauce Spoiled?

    Joe, that's just silly. My conclusion is that sites like Amazon can and do build a good experience on mobile websites, but that they do not have the same retail capabilities as an app. Nowhere did I say they were going for sub-optimal (other than Apple, and all I said was that I thought their...
  16. JD Rucker

    Is the Secret Sauce Spoiled?

    Sad truth: most responsive websites in our industry stink and some that are called responsive aren't truly responsive. Happy truth: the numbers (traffic, leads, sales) that I've seen on the handful of proper responsive sites out there have been very favorable. Now, regarding what Alex...
  17. JD Rucker

    Who's Going to DSES? Speak up!!

    Monday at 9:55 am. We're checking with the Bellagio to see if it's okay to offer free puppies to the first 100 attendees. If not, all I can offer is some fun and useful education.
  19. JD Rucker

    Gift Cards as a Dealership Visit Incentive

    After completing a lengthy study of the chat providers in the automotive industry, I thought that I would take on a smaller but equally debatable topic - gift cards as incentives to come to the dealership. As far as I know, there is Hook Logic, Showroom Magnet, and Intice. Am I missing any? If...
  20. JD Rucker

    Finally got the job.. Now I need help!

    Welcome, Joe, and congrats! First and foremost, I would recommend establishing a time frame with the GM/dealer. Determine what their expectations are of you as far as moving the needle because that makes a big difference in how you proceed. They will, of course, say that they want results now...
  21. JD Rucker

    New trend for Showroom Traffic vs. Internet Leads?

    There are really two contradictory answers to this question and I tend to agree with everyone so far, so I guess that puts me on some proverbial fence. I don't mind. I get a more clear picture of the landscape from this vantage. On one hand, dealers and vendors should strive to source traffic...
  22. JD Rucker

    Freed up some budget, what should we add?

    Great problem to have. I've been working on a write-up of the different lead/traffic providers out there searching for the answer to the question of quality. Getting more leads is easy based upon budget. Getting better leads is often more challenging and it sounds like you're in that boat right...
  23. JD Rucker

    Digital marketing manager wishlist

    Pinging to top as this is an important question. I'm not a dealer but I did play one on television for a while. We have seen buy-in as the biggest roadblock for a handful of our clients that have full-time marketing managers. I only know one (a mutual friend, Nick) who really has full control...
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