A New Spin on the AutoTrader Buy-a-Thon

[joe.pistell]

Chris, I watched a local metro dealer cancel both AutoTrader and Cars.com. They invested that budget, plus a bunch more, in PPC. The result was a disaster.
Like it or not, the Internet determines the price. Dealers have to learn to deal with it.
92% of consumers shop the Internet before going into a dealership. On average, they spend 19 hours doing research. Beyond identifying the vehicle that meets their needs and budget, their prime consideration is price. I really don't see a way for you to drive people to your site to the exclusion of other sites like Edmonds, Cars, AutoTrader or other dealer sites.
Race to the bottom? The reality is that dealers have to become more efficient. They have to take a hard look at the three major variable expenses and deal with it.
The Internet is not going away. Some dealers are embracing it and learning how to leverage it. The rest?

Sorry DD,

I'm gonna take the other side. TV drives internet traffic.

"What!?!" you say, "This is Blasphemy!"

In our case we carpet bomb the TV and drive traffic past shopping sites to our site. I am here to tell you, IF a dealer has the inventory & mix of brands, carpet bombing TV works.

 

[joe.pistell]

On another tangent of the same topic...

Take the travel biz. Have you seen TV commercials for PriceLine, Orbitz, Expedia, Kayak, etc...? "Hell Yes" is the answer. These are INTERNET COMPANIES.

Have you seen ads for Delta, United, JetBlue and others? "Ahh.. yea, I think so" is the answer. Strange how the airlines have become SLAVES to the internet ticket sellers.

Only SouthWest Air dares to go it alone and sell tickets from their site.


Summary?
Every dealer is like a snow flake, no two are alike (and that goes for marketing solutions too)

 

[ddavis]

Sorry DD,

I'm gonna take the other side. TV drives internet traffic.

"What!?!" you say, "This is Blasphemy!"

In our case we carpet bomb the TV and drive traffic past shopping sites to our site. I am here to tell you, IF a dealer has the inventory & mix of brands, carpet bombing TV works.

Joe, I have visited your website. You can prove this by getting away from market based pricing; afterall, your loyal customers haven't been to those other sites. No doubt, you can always push customers to your site through electronic media. AutoTrader and Cars.com spend millions to do this.

As far as Blashemy ...someone get the soap

 

[Eley Duke]

Want to Book a flight?
Google flight search


Get out ahead of this Mr Perry. The Trains' a comin'... The evidence is everywhere AND IT'S GETTING LOUDER.


This plays right into the hands of the technical ad agencies (Duncan Scarry, Paul Potraz, Brian Pasch and others).



(Thnx to my pal at HomeNet, Matt Scalcione for that link)

Thats really cool, I can now hang up going to all those other sites and the airline sites trying to find the best deal and the flights I want. This is a much better one stop shop.

Can totaly see your thinking on this Joe!

 

[ryan.leslie]

Thats really cool, I can now hang up going to all those other sites and the airline sites trying to find the best deal and the flights I want. This is a much better one stop shop.

Can totaly see your thinking on this Joe!

So can Southwest Airlines. What do you think happens with them? Can they be the only holdout in a system like this?

 

[mattwatson81]

Joe your arguments about blasting the TV driving traffic and Orbitz, Priceline, Expedia all seem to support why AutoTrader.com is so successful. People don't go to AutoTrader.com because they do google searches, they go to it directly because of it's marketing and brand.

 

[mattwatson81]

Want to Book a flight?
Google flight search

Check out this cool way to look at flights as well

Hipmunk: Better Flight and Hotel Search

 

[joe.pistell]

Joe your arguments about blasting the TV driving traffic and Orbitz, Priceline, Expedia all seem to support why AutoTrader.com is so successful. People don't go to AutoTrader.com because they do google searches, they go to it directly because of it's marketing and brand.

Broadcast TV tactics work on a local level too!!!

p.s. thnx for the hipmunk find, very very interesting indeed!

 

[joe.pistell]

Thats really cool, I can now hang up going to all those other sites and the airline sites trying to find the best deal and the flights I want. This is a much better one stop shop.

Can totaly see your thinking on this Joe!

Be afraid Mr Perry... the Evil Empire is on the horizon.

 

[joe.pistell]

So can Southwest Airlines. What do you think happens with them? Can they be the only holdout in a system like this?

As long as LUV (SouthWest air) keeps advertising on traditional media and keeps bashing the enemy on its weak points, they'll be fine.