Dealers United first offering for dealers? What do you think?

[yagoparamo]

So here you have it. Dealers United chooses KPA (Parent company of TK Carsites) for their first offering (SEO) to dealers.

Dealers United Announces First Deal for Members: SEO Services from KPA
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KPA beat out more than 30 other SEO vendors to be given the opportunity to present their best offer to Dealers United members.
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Sarasota, FLA – March 28, 2012 - Dealers United, the first service to truly leverage the buying power of individual dealerships, introduced their first deal to members today, search engine optimization (SEO) services offered by winning vendor KPA. Dealers United, which launched in October of last year and is free for dealers to join, put 35 different SEO vendors through a rigorous testing process that included surveys, interviews, reference checks, verification of white hat SEO practices and testing before naming KPA the selected vendor.

I doubt that lets say the top 5 out of the 30-35 they used came too apart on what/how/how much. Why not having more than one choice? Just my opinion. I think that the DU offering would be more complete for the dealers that way.

The result is an unprecedented discount for the SEO services, only revealed to Dealers United members, along with industry leading terms and conditions.

This one I don't get.

Most SEO companies charge 15-20% of what you spend (no discounts from Google!).

If you spend normal SEO money, like $3000/month. How much can the KPA discount be? 5%? If you take into account the DU also has to get paid something, the money left after you actually get the work done is miniscule. This could a "scorching earth tactic" from KPA (we don't want to make money and we don;t want you to make money either) or the whole thing can be a tedious grinding process to get things done/changed (how much do you expect me to do got $100?)

If you are planing to spend big money, then you already know you can get a discount anyway.

 

[Eley Duke]

Wow, the buzz around Dealers United sure did die after the big SEO announcement. I am curious, has anyone here in the DR community signed up, thought about it, or forgot about it? What was their booth like at DD12?

I am not an SEO expert, but I have to agree that this had me scratching my head, why SEO. Dealers have contracts with current SEO, sure DU said you can wait. But SEO isn't something I think you want to be jumping around a lot with.

It just seems like an odd offering to me, I was really hoping for something like 50% off copy machine services, since the copy repair guy was here this week for 5 mins and stuck us for $125 in Labor! 125 damn dollars to open the copy machine, take the drum out, shine his pencil flash light in there, blow some bottled air in there, say "hum" 3 times, shut the door and the damn thing worked! If dealerships said everything was a minimum 1 hour labor, we'd be thrown under the bus and called theives! Jump on that Dealers United!

 

[Billfred]

It just seems like an odd offering to me, I was really hoping for something like 50% off copy machine services, since the copy repair guy was here this week for 5 mins and stuck us for $125 in Labor! 125 damn dollars to open the copy machine, take the drum out, shine his pencil flash light in there, blow some bottled air in there, say "hum" 3 times, shut the door and the damn thing worked! If dealerships said everything was a minimum 1 hour labor, we'd be thrown under the bus and called theives! Jump on that Dealers United!

No, it was just $5 for the canned air, $20 for the labor, and $100 for knowing where to blow the air.

(I was about to post "...for knowing where to blow it", but then I realized someone was gonna twist that one around. Four years in and I'm learning a thing or two about car people!)

 

[ryan.leslie]

No, it was just $5 for the canned air, $20 for the labor, and $100 for knowing where to blow the air.

(I was about to post "...for knowing where to blow it", but then I realized someone was gonna twist that one around. Four years in and I'm learning a thing or two about car people!)

...unless you're talking about blowing smoke Billfred, and then it is the vendor people that have the lock on that.

I've designed this dispenser with easy applicator, rumor mill says I could have sold quite a few at DD12.


(PS. I am in no way taking a shot at Dealer's United. I have a couple good friends there and I think they are going to do very well over time. The great thing about the model is that if you don't need or want SEO services, next month's offering may appeal to you. I'm sure it is only a matter of time before they get to Copier Services Eley.)

 

[yagoparamo]

Wow, the buzz around Dealers United sure did die after the big SEO announcement. I am curious, has anyone here in the DR community signed up, thought about it, or forgot about it? What was their booth like at DD12?

I am not an SEO expert, but I have to agree that this had me scratching my head, why SEO. Dealers have contracts with current SEO, sure DU said you can wait. But SEO isn't something I think you want to be jumping around a lot with.

It just seems like an odd offering to me, I was really hoping for something like 50% off copy machine services, since the copy repair guy was here this week for 5 mins and stuck us for $125 in Labor! 125 damn dollars to open the copy machine, take the drum out, shine his pencil flash light in there, blow some bottled air in there, say "hum" 3 times, shut the door and the damn thing worked! If dealerships said everything was a minimum 1 hour labor, we'd be thrown under the bus and called theives! Jump on that Dealers United!

Eley,

Come on, you are a business owner.

The same can be said about your mechanics... the charge is not for changing the screw but for knowing what screw to change, having the screws in stock, paying for the facility (in his case for being mobile), etc.

My kid dropped a hot-wheels in the toilet a few weeks ago and I got a $400 bill but I thought that was better than having to crap in the backyard! We do pay for convenience too as he came in a moments notice on a week end.

 

[Eley Duke]

PS. I am in no way taking a shot at Dealer's United. I have a couple good friends there and I think they are going to do very well over time. The great thing about the model is that if you don't need or want SEO services, next month's offering may appeal to you. I'm sure it is only a matter of time before they get to Copier Services Eley.)

Ryan, and all, please don't think I was taking a shot at Dealers United, I apologize if it came off that way. I like the concept a whole lot, I am a member, and hope to find an offering to take advantage of! I agree not all offerings will be suited to everyone. I just found SEO to be very odd first offering. Of course it is a buzz word with dealers and the digital community. I think there were a lot better things they could have come out with out of the box, again, my own opinion.

I think there are a lot of things that would have been simpler for dealers to pull the trigger on than SEO. Such as reputation management from Dealer Rater, 25% off, its the same solution to all dealers, big or small, no matter where you are, etc. Or inventory feed at XX% off from Homenet or Dealer Specialties or ??. Again, same solution for all dealers, not complicated at all like SEO.

 

[Eley Duke]

Eley,

Come on, you are a business owner.

The same can be said about your mechanics... the charge is not for changing the screw but for knowing what screw to change, having the screws in stock, paying for the facility (in his case for being mobile), etc.

My kid dropped a hot-wheels in the toilet a few weeks ago and I got a $400 bill but I thought that was better than having to crap in the backyard! We do pay for convenience too as he came in a moments notice on a week end.

Not really, I think you missed my point. The point was that the copy repair guy charges a flat hour if he is here 5 mins or the hour. If a dealership charged you 1 hour labor for an oil change, you'd be pissed!

 

[ryan.leslie]

Ryan, and all, please don't think I was taking a shot at Dealers United, I apologize if it came off that way. I like the concept a whole lot, I am a member, and hope to find an offering to take advantage of! I agree not all offerings will be suited to everyone. I just found SEO to be very odd first offering. Of course it is a buzz word with dealers and the digital community. I think there were a lot better things they could have come out with out of the box, again, my own opinion.

I think there are a lot of things that would have been simpler for dealers to pull the trigger on than SEO. Such as reputation management from Dealer Rater, 25% off, its the same solution to all dealers, big or small, no matter where you are, etc. Or inventory feed at XX% off from Homenet or Dealer Specialties or ??. Again, same solution for all dealers, not complicated at all like SEO.

Eley,

I didn't take it that way at all! I was trying to disclaim my own lame attempt at humor. Canned Smoke with an easy applicator? ...Jeesh!

I somehow don't think the comedy clubs will be knocking down my door if this Online Reputation Management stuff doesn't pan out

 

[Eley Duke]

Eley,

I didn't take it that way at all! I was trying to disclaim my own lame attempt at humor. Canned Smoke with an easy applicator? ...Jeesh!

I somehow don't think the comedy clubs will be knocking down my door if this Online Reputation Management stuff doesn't pan out

Is the "applicator stick" for better insertion of the smoke? Don't you think that for some vendors that is a bit small, maybe more like a fire extinguisher?

 

[ewalraven]

Shot in the dark, but do you think "vendor packages" would work? For example, instead of paying X to ATC, and Y to Cars.com. You just pay Z for both of them to DU (at a discounted rate of course). Obviously I would like to see a package for the combined 10000 our inventory is sent to - Just pay one. Sure would help out with those invoices as well