Autotrader.com Annual Sales Meeting 2009 - Another Side of AutoTrader?

[Alex Snyder (blog)]

If Autotrader is just paying things lip service, then I'll be right back to what I've been saying for the past 5 years. There was actually a time when I liked ATC.

SJBconsult - If you were in my marketplace, as a customer of ours, and we treated you unfairly you'd go somewhere else right? That's all the protest you would need to make - right? If I continued to call you and show up at your front door unannounced every couple of weeks what would you do to get rid of me? What if you even tried my services multiple times after we split ways years ago but still found the whole thing to be the same old dog and pony show? You'd leave again, and smack yourself for giving me another shot because you knew better. But I keep coming back - I keep calling, emailing, sneaking behind your back to talk to other people in your family, and still just dropping by unannounced.

So I ask again - how would you get rid of me? Call the cops? Get a restraining order? Maybe you're a forgiving person and would like to lend some criticism to help me see the follies of my ways. Maybe you have been telling exactly what I need to do to earn your business back every time I contact you. Maybe you know a day will come where I will get my act together in a way that makes you happy again. Maybe you're hoping one of your respected colleagues will come back from a trip with my company excited to hear all those things you've wanted to see from me are being committed to. Now you're just going to wait to see if they really happen.

Hopefully, once you've publicly come out to say something positive about my company someone from my organization doesn't come out to take a short stab at you.

If you think Dealer Refresh has only become a place where vendors are bashed, have you ever wondered why one in particular takes the vast majority of it? Might be a reason for that...

 

[David Metter (blog)]

Hey, guys! I am trying to run a love fest here. This is why I don't come out from under my rock that often. Can I offer the two of you some Kool-Aid?

 

[Cargurrl]

Can't we all just get along??? LOL!!! God I love passion!!!!

 

[SJBconsult]

Thanks Alex,

My intentions were to engage you on a positive note and to not discourage the positive message in this post. I think I failed in that attempt

Anyway, I appreciate your input and will work harder within my circle of control to change a perception that I believe reflects a time when we were getting our act together at ATC.

I ask my dealers to hold me to the same level of accountability that they do for the other partner vendors. When we are on a level playing field -- it is clear to my dealers and myself that we are providing a great service.

I spend countless hours with my dealers on a weakly basis, creating specials, helping with pictures and other merchandising, reaching beyond what another vendor would do to earn their respect and to keep their business. It's paying off and it feels great and I'm absolutely excited to work with ATC given the effectiveness of our service. We're putting our dealers in front of targeted audience (whom are proactively looking for a vehicle in your market) and doing it at a fraction of the cost of what they are spending on Traditional Media. This is the bottom line for our DP's or GM's.

 

[autoresponder]

David I understand what you're saying and it is a positive message and often those who fail or fall short usually follow with an automatic build-in excuse list. NEWS FLASH, The auto industry is tough, it's been tough from the beginning and will be tough the rest of our lives. Life is certainly easier, for those of us who work in this industry, if we can continue to point to our vendors as the reason for our failures. This is the first and most likely the last post to this site for me; I've been coming here about twice a month for the last year plus. The absolute best thing about it is that every time I log on and read all the anti-atc postings, my faith is renewed. So I want to thank all of you built-in excuse makers. I hope you continue to blame at.com for all of your failure. Continue to discount to sell your cars. Continue to find more important things to do than spend time with your autotrader or cars.com reps; i recommend blowing up more balloons because we all know that will sell us more cars...HEY! if that doesn't work try painting the windows of the dealership, or maybe, just maybe a nice GORILLA blowup out front; all can't miss options. My point, if not obvious enough, if you continue to blame anyone for anything you have control of,....

 

[Joe Pistell]

hahaha... ya gotta love those "I ain't comein' back here no more" posts.

I see:
-Sellers defending value
-Ad Buyers upset about ROI

This is exactly how dealers feel about the Yellow Pages and NewsPrint. If you look into the DR archives, you'll see a anti-Yellow Pages rant in there.

BUT, I'll say something that no other "ad buyer" will admit here.

We've abandonded YellPages and NewsPrint. We can't abandon the AT platform. So what's the bitch? You can summarize the DR rant in one sentence "We buyers are upset about the 600% increase in 5 years."

Its so simple, we're locked in a love-hate stalemate.

Joe

 

[SJBconsult]

Joe, thanks for your thoughts and for your honest opinions. Here is something you wont from other vendors -- please give us the opportunity to make things right with respect to untimely rate increases and other mistakes of the past.

In fact, we as the reps stepped up and fought for No rate increases until 2010 (and no that wont mean a double increase in 2010) and our company felt that was a great step toward the healing process. We understand the mistakes and we're taking steps to rectify it.

Here's some food for thought -- until this year every advertising medium has had an annual process of increasing rates and it's not unique to ATC. It's the way advertising works but the question is [what are we getting for the increase?]

ATC (and internet in general) is the only media that can confidently say that we've increased our reach and exposure by double digits year after year and that value is a win for our dealers.

Meanwhile other media were still asking for more money without the justified increase in exposure and that's bad business. In fact, everyone else was showing a decrease in those ever important metrics that determine value/rates in the advertising world.

I have a dealer that really gives me a hard time when comparing us with other media -- I asked him to invite all his advertising reps to a meeting and line us up -- and then make each of us give #'s on exposure and basically justify increases in spend and any other value points that we felt were important.

I'm not saying that ATC is the end all -- but internet in general (CARS.com and other 3rd party sites) were coming out on top of that meeting.

The result, the dealer was spending somewhere around 75% of his budget with (high cost, mass reach, untargeted traditional media)even in the face of current industry facts that show that somewhere north of 75% of consumers either begin their search online or stop their at one point of their sourcing process! It was very difficult pill to swallow but for him to continue to ignore the disparity in spend between the traditional vs. digital (where the consumers were really fishing) would have been irresponsible of him as the DP.

It was never a matter of asking dealers for more money -- but more so to ask them for a fair share of their current spend based on performance (reallocation)...

 

[Cargurrl]

Here is how traditonal media gets their rate increase..."Mr. Dealer but I have value added products that go with this awesome drive time spot I am charging you out the A$$ for...but WAIT! If I really like you I will park an obscene van with a huge sign and oh hold on.....our 2PM personality FOR FREE!!!!" And one last thing...MR. Dealer, for a low low price I will give you 500 15 sec spots (did I forget to mention it's between 1AM-5AM) so your $800 30 second drive time spot is worth it! Sorry did I just turn your Franchise into a BHPH dealer? The "audience" is so great at that time. TRUST ME they do this to dealers all of the time. Value Add what???? Online..dealer websites...SEM/SEO/Cars, Autotrader...anything online is better than that. Your lot traffic will respond with what you put into that laptop thing. I always notice that no one really knows how to respond to traditional media posts. IM's learn this so you can have that money to spend where it sells more cars putting $$$$ in your pocket!!!

 

[L Rider]

Well written and insightful...thank you for taking the time to participate in the conference and provide a review!

 

[Kat]

AutoTrader.com is just GREAT!!!!LOL. While they were having a good ole' time in Vegas, people were getting canned everywhere else with Cox AutoTrader. Greed comes back to haunt companies. You watch and see!!!