- Apr 7, 2009
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- Joe
Ryan,
Do you get all the "I can't print" and "the wireless isn't working" and "I think I got a virus" and...
I feel your pain!
Autotrader, Cars.com or KBB?
- Thread starter ryanabbott
- Start date
Ryan,
Do you get all the "I can't print" and "the wireless isn't working" and "I think I got a virus" and...
I feel your pain!
- Dec 12, 2011
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- Ryan
Yes.. All the time. I then try to explain that I am a "Marketing" guy, not an IT guy. My newest IM at CDJ is an IT guy as well. He's a great asset to our company and we use him now to fix these little bugs! That helps me out a lot! I just deflect the questions to him now.
- Apr 28, 2009
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- Jerry
No worries Ryan, you really don't know me and my writing style can be a bit abbrasive, but that's who I am. In rergards to vendors, yes there are a lot of options. Too many dealers shut the door of opportunity when it comes to vendors. The more successful dealers are ones who are open to hearing what a vendor has to offer and then making a decision as to what's right for them. There are a lot of great opportunities out there and there will be a lot more coming. Every one starts out small and those with a better mouse trap will succeed. Keep doing your DD.
On another note, look at what somebody wrote on my TrueCar Scam video:
Of course that one won't see the light of day since I must approve all comments
. TrueCar is going to drop the automotive industry to a new low. I think I saw a poll where we were above politicians and lawyers. I can't wait to see that poll in a year from now.
On another note, look at what somebody wrote on my TrueCar Scam video:
Of course that one won't see the light of day since I must approve all comments
. TrueCar is going to drop the automotive industry to a new low. I think I saw a poll where we were above politicians and lawyers. I can't wait to see that poll in a year from now.
Honda, Toyota, Chevrolet, and Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge, life should be good.
Are your vehicles competitive? My friend, Ed Brooks might run his special program that will give you a market days supply. I did go to AutoTrader and you are a featured dealer. Honestly, I think you should be premium or nothing. It is all about being on the top.
I like that you have actual pictures of your new cars but the ones that I clicked on I didn't see a description. Looking at Cars.com, how well does the Toyota dealer in Ithaca do?
Are your vehicles competitive? My friend, Ed Brooks might run his special program that will give you a market days supply. I did go to AutoTrader and you are a featured dealer. Honestly, I think you should be premium or nothing. It is all about being on the top.
I like that you have actual pictures of your new cars but the ones that I clicked on I didn't see a description. Looking at Cars.com, how well does the Toyota dealer in Ithaca do?
- Dec 12, 2011
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DD, who are you talking to? Our Toyota Dealer is in Auburn, NY. We don't have anything in Ithaca. We are focusing on Used Car descriptions at the moment. Our guy we just hired last week has been writing them since last week. I don't see the need at this time for new car descriptions. New cars are mostly the same and new car buyers in my opinion, are just shopping price.
Ryan, I'm asking how well that Toyota dealer is doing. Why new car descriptions? What works for used cars will do the same for new. Anyone looking for a car (new or used) is shopping price.
- May 1, 2005
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My dealers that spend the extra time to merchandise while pricing their vehicles to market perform very well on both Cars.com and AutoTrader.com
My average cost per VDP view is well under $1.00 for each of these dealers. It's one way I measure the effectiveness of our 3rd party listing sites. Obviously ROI is the end measurement but my cost per VDP view allows me to track trends and red flags when comparing across the group.
If you're not set up to maximize these sites, then yes I would agree it's a waste of money spent.
I've never received much from KBB on the vehicle listings side.
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Jeff, I also track the average cost per VDP and I pretty much hover $.10 above and below the $1 mark with AutoTrader. This pretty much breaks it down into a pay-per-click model, which is great to see. Another metric that is useful to look at is average clicks per car (#VDP's / # of units in inventory). This can help to determine how tuned in to the market your inventory is or if your huge inventory is the reason for the # of VDP's. My AutoTrader rep says that the top performing dealers average anywhere from 50 to 75 clicks per car.
My question is, do you base your ROI measurements for ATC & Cars off of strictly phone ups and email leads (trackable's), or do you include walk-ins as well and trust the sourcing was accurate? (We base it off of phone,email & walk-in, I'm just trying to get a feel for what everyone else does)
The first thing that comes to most dealer's minds when talking about VDPs is Penicillin. You realize that you spend more time analyzing than most dealerships do on merchandising. Then they say, "this shit don't work".
- Dec 30, 2009
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- Yago
Ryan,
What do you mean "I haven't gotten all parties on board yet"? Off topic but--I ask because I see many ISMs like you complaining about this and I'm amazed. What is holding their eyes shut? Superglue?
In regards to Truecar not going away... I don't know about that in lieu of recent bad press from associations getting after them.
