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Dealership Message Board?

Jason Walter

Hat Trick
Jun 6, 2009
97
2
First Name
Jason
Does anyone here have experience with offering a message board simliar to this one for their dealership? I have the space on my server to install it and no bandwidth issues so that will not be a problem. I also have chosen the software in vbulletin.

We are a very large Corvette dealer and have a big presence in the gulf south for both sales and service. I think I will get the biggest bang for my buck out of the Corvette section I would create but would of course create other sections for service, new car sales, used car sales, customer satisfaction and even a locked employee section. I am thinking it will be a better way to get the customers to interact with us on a daily basis other than our blog. On the blog I find most customers read but do not comment.

I am curious if anyone here has done one for their store and if it worked for them?
 
We gave it a try and found the interest, from consumers, was really low. Of course, we did this a few years ago, so we may have been ahead of the time. I have a feeling Google Wave might open more people up to forums.
 
The ning platform would be a platform to consider for something like this as well.

The quick Good: great networking website platform, optimized for the SERPS, easy to use

The quick Bad: Limited to what ning has to offer, not sure if you ever truly own the content and if you do I'm sure it's not easy to export.

"Digital Ralph Paglia" likes to herald a few Ford dealers using the ning platform for "car dealer to consumer social networking" with these 2 examples:

My Jeep Community - Welcome Jeep Owners, Enthusiasts, Employees and Suppliers!
Ford Owners, Employees and Supplier Community - FordCommunity.com is an online exchange for all of us connected by the Blue Oval

Not sure if one can call them a true success with less than 100 consumers registered between the 2 combined (with most being industry professionals and not actual consumers), but then again social sites like this take some and perseverance. They can offer some added SEO value if that is another angle you are considering :coffee:

If you feel as if you have or can build a true following of Corvette buyers and have the time to really dedicate to something like this, then I would say got for it. I would have a full game plan mapped out before doing so though.

:2cents:
 
Thank you for the replies...It may like Alex said be ahead of it's time but I think I am going to at least try it and see where it goes. The one time license for the software is not very much and the server space/bandwidth is also not an issue so we will see. What I am hoping is that all the Corvette clubs in the area which we support will start it off good. I plan on getting them involved so we can really get some good contribution and support. From there I think we just need to market it well and hopefully it will grow! I will let you guys know how it goes!
 
You've definitely got the right idea by attacking the Corvette enthusiasts. Maybe to get things started you could get involved with the local vette club and attend one of their meets. Ask them what they think of your forum idea. All car clubs are ecstatic to find a dealership involved - at the very least you might win a few new customers!
 
When I first glanced at this thread I thought you were wanting a Intranet type board for employees which we recently installed wordpress for this and hosted it on a internal ip addy. Been getting lots of postive feedback since most users are banned from myspace and they have been using our swope connect in a myspace kind of way. Not sure of the blog that turned me on to wordpress:D anyway I already had my response to this question in my head so I thought I would share. Wordpress might be something for you to consider if you don't want a true forum look.