GM Reputation Management "Required"

[kevinfrye]

Re: GM Rep Management "Required"

We are participating because our local Chevy marketing group out-voted us. I have concerns about this, because one of the big reasons that Google and Yelp removed reviews earlier this year was because of non-active reviewers. If we send out an invite encouraging someone to leave a review and they never do again, it does not sit well with Google and Yelp.

Our current process is to only encourage "active" Google+ users and Yelp users to leave reviews on those sites, otherwise we stay with DealerRater, etc. I had some other concerns as well that I submitted, but never got a response.

If you think this is aggravating with what GM is forcing us to do, let me tell you about the waiting room chairs that cost $4000 apiece that they are telling us to buy...

 

[Eley Duke]

Re: GM Rep Management "Required"

We are participating because our local Chevy marketing group out-voted us. I have concerns about this, because one of the big reasons that Google and Yelp removed reviews earlier this year was because of non-active reviewers. If we send out an invite encouraging someone to leave a review and they never do again, it does not sit well with Google and Yelp.

Our current process is to only encourage "active" Google+ users and Yelp users to leave reviews on those sites, otherwise we stay with DealerRater, etc. I had some other concerns as well that I submitted, but never got a response.

Amen Kevin! I said it previously and I am not trying to Monday morning quarter back here, but the whole Google review hype by certain vendors was just that; hype. A lot of dealers bought into it and wasted a lot of time and money. Google is too smart to fall for all the fake mess and gaming the system. This is why I like Dealer Rater, is verified real reviews, I have not heard of anyone gaming that system yet and for good reason, they have the best process. I am sure some vendors were doing what I hope they think was right at the time, but if they stand on their soap boxes claiming to be the experts how could you not see that Google was going to tighten down on the whole review deal as it was too easy to game it. Any way, enough on that.

If you think this is aggravating with what GM is forcing us to do, let me tell you about the waiting room chairs that cost $4000 apiece that they are telling us to buy...

HA! We just met this morning with our GM regional rep about our exceptions to the DID. Let me tell you how unhappy we are that we have to rip out all the tile that is only 6 years old in our showroom to replace with what GM wants to meet a certain color. And the tile we put down 6 years ago was what GM approved then! I understand everything is going to a uniformed look, but the damn color of the tile is not helping us sell anymore Chevy's than we already are. Our rep is great and worked with us on furniture exceptions cause it is almost an exact match, so we do appreciate him doing all he can to help us save on cost.

 

[ddavis]

Re: GM Rep Management "Required"

Maybe the First Lady is involved making sure that Government Motors is presenting the proper image.

 

[Eley Duke]

Re: GM Rep Management "Required"

Just came over from GM:

Date: November 15, 2012

To: SFE Enrolled Dealers
Subject: Enrollment is Now Open for Reputation Management!!!


Reputation Management is the practice of monitoring and addressing what people write online about your dealership. Car shoppers are doing their research online before heading out to make a purchase. A great percentage of customers are deciding whether or not to do business with your dealership based on what they read online about your dealership. 73% of car shoppers consult online dealership reviews before starting the car buying process, making your online reputation more important than ever. 69% of consumers said review sites had an impact on choosing the dealership they visited and nearly 70% of shoppers said reviews have aided them in their purchase decision.


Reputation Management is essential to:
Understand and address what your customers are writing about your dealership
Improve how your dealership experience is rated by your customers
Manage the online perception of your dealership
Promote your great reputation and increase traffic to your dealership


Go to www.GMSFELIVE to watch a 3-minute video on Reputation Management.
GM is pleased to announce a new SFE 20% Quarterly Dealer Performance Bonus Opportunity designed to help you actively manage your dealership’s online reputation. The GM Reputation Management program helps you understand and address the online perception of your dealership, generate credible customer reviews, address issues before they impact your reputation, and improve your dealership rating on review sites such as Google+ Local and Yelp.
To discover what the GM Reputation Management program offers, including certified vendors and enrollment information go to GM Excellence | Home Page. The deadline to enroll is January 15, 2013.
What do I get with the GM Reputation Management program?


GM has designed a base package to be offered by every certified vendor which includes:
Dealer-branded surveys emailed to your customers within two (2) business days of every retail purchase and lease (new and certified pre-owned) and service (warranty and customer pay) transaction. Your customer will be asked to rate and leave comments about their dealership experience. Customers are also invited to share their experience on review sites like Google+ Local and Yelp.
 Customer Reviews Displayed on Dealer’s iMR website. Beginning April 2, 2013, ratings and reviews from the customer survey will be publicly displayed on your website.
 Monitor and Respond to Customer Reviews. You will be able to monitor various review sites such as Google+ and Yelp for comments about your dealership. You will also be automatically notified via email of a negative review so that you can quickly address and comment on the review. Your responses to these reviews will be available for public viewing on your website.
 Dealer Dashboard & Performance Reports to monitor your customer reviews and insightful reporting and analytics that reveal how your dealership’s reputation is improving.


How much does it cost?
 Price varies by certified vendor and range from $295 - $329 per month for the base Reputation Management package. Some vendors may charge a one-time set-up fee. Each vendor offers a range of plus-up options to enhance the base package. Please refer to each vendor’s enrollment site (available through GM Excellence | Home Page) for detailed pricing and available options.


What vendors can I choose from?
 Cobalt
 Digital Air Strike
 Naked Lime Marketing

 

[Michael Blake Powell]

Re: GM Rep Management "Required"

What vendors can I choose from?
 Cobalt
 Digital Air Strike
 Naked Lime Marketing

Does anyone have any recommendations between the three?

 

[DrewAment]

Re: GM Rep Management "Required"

You know what is one of the most lamest things about this whole process... you have to give the vendor access to your DMS to pull the client info and email address to be able to send (beg) them the "please write a nice review". Doesn't GM have all the info in the customer RDR...and wouldn't it make MORE SENSE to get the info direct from GM via the required/reported RDR info? Did anyone think about security and convenience to the dealer? Esp ones that use non-mainstream DMS systems?

Also -- so not only is the dealer graded on the customer CSI (email sent), and now gets a "please write review" (email), and thanks for buying (email) and welcome to the dealer (email) and we want your service too (email).... some of those from the "required" CSSR program. And, then you have CRM vendors promoting auto thanks/service/etc emails ..... makes you think why people won't or are hesitant to give their emails. I advise everyone to look at their processes and adjust accordingly.

 

[Eley Duke]

Re: GM Rep Management "Required"

Here is some additional info.

Cobalt's screen shot of how they will integrate the reviews on to the Cobalt sites. Everything I read and learn is how 3rd party reviews are one of the biggest influences in marketing today. There is nothing 3rd party about this.


Here are 2 dealerships I got from a phone call with Cobalt as live references.

Diver Chevy Testimonials

Bob King VW

Here is a link to each website for the vendors;

Naked Lime

Cobalt

I don't have any info on Digital Air Strike yet.

 

[Eley Duke]

Re: GM Rep Management "Required"

We had a meeting today with our 2 Chevy reps and our SFE facilitator. At this they proposed we sign up for SFE as a multi-line dealer versus Chevy only. Here was the kicker, only Chevy dealers MUST do reputation management through SFE.

If you are multi-line, you can sign up as a multi-line dealer and not have to participate in the required reputation management. So you may want to talk to your dealers if they don't know this already.

For us, we have a very good grasp on our reviews and reputation with Dealer Rater, so we are glad we do not have to sign up for the GM reputation management.

Vendor note - in talking with my friends at Dealer Rater, they knew nothing about this until it was too late. And Jennifer Sanford with Dominion was in our dealership yesterday and told me the same thing. It is concerning to me that GM doesn't do a better job of talking with vendors and having a broader selection. Because of this dealers might not get the right solution for their dealership with such a limited list of vendors to choose from. Kind of like the monopoly Cobalt has with GM websites.

I plan to write an email to the Chevy Dealer Counsel voicing my concerns about the direction the reputation management requirements have taken. I am not against any of the vendors, I am against limited choices, and the cost imposed on the dealers. For example, we pay about $99 a month for Dealer Rater. GM is forcing this reputation management at $299 - $349. The other part is that it's not 3rd party. Anyone with half a brain knows that 3rd party reviews are a top influence for consumers.

Maybe I am wrong, maybe some others that I have talked to are wrong too, but this feels like Chevy is going backwards a few years in terms of reputation management and reviews by it not being 3rd party. I just don't see how this is the best approach or choice for Chevy could offer dealers not being 3rd party.

 

[Michael Blake Powell]

Re: GM Rep Management "Required"

While I dont like the direction either, I decided to give each of the three a shot. We are a single point Chevy dealer so we don't have much of an option. The choice was narrowed down to two pretty easily as I have YET to hear from Naked Lime. That was after a message left and an email. NOT EVEN AN AUTO REPLY.

So I have between Cobalt and Digital AirStrike. Cobalt was the first to call me back. They claimed to be the only company of the three to have their system ready for all the GM dealers (which would be of no surprise considering they've had their hand down GM's pants for sometime now) and that the other two were still finishing up their program. He also told me that if i went to another webex later in the day I would get a $250 gift card (bribes...why yes I will take it thank you very much!) This turned out to be untrue. It was only if I agreed to sign up today. My main complaint with the product was that their testimonial widget would link my VinSolutions site to my Cobalt site. So no thanks Cobalt!

DAS has been pursuing us pretty heavily for the last three days but I was too aggrivated to call them back. But I sent them an inquiry today and one of their sales team members contacted me not too long after. Their platform looks to be simpler than Cobalts (big surprise again, right?) plus they have an app if you sign up for the upgraded package for an extra 100. I figure if I'm going to use it I might as well make it more user friendly for myself. And it doesn't hurt that the bribe they threw in (ipad mini) is exactly what my wife wants for Christmas. Just bein honest folks.

Decision made. Digital Air Strike it is.

 

[Dukesbiz]

Re: GM Rep Management "Required"

Eley,
You could not be more right...The last place a prospective customer is going to trust reading customer reviews is from the dealership's own website. DealerRater would be much better suited.

Going back to what we should always be focused on when discussing a product is "What is the goal we are attempting to achieve?". Is it to protect our online presence? If so...That is weak. Like the great brands out there why don't we focus on creating "brand defenders" that will go out online and protect your reputation due to their engagement with your dealership/product.

Overall I believe the real thing we are battling is not protection from online comments but the lack of positive engagement we have with our customers in this industry.
The future is bright as technology is forever changing and new start-ups are finding ways to bring this sort of engagement though ; )

I've thoroughly enjoyed reading the posts in this thread. Nice comments everyone.

-Garrett J

We had a meeting today with our 2 Chevy reps and our SFE facilitator. At this they proposed we sign up for SFE as a multi-line dealer versus Chevy only. Here was the kicker, only Chevy dealers MUST do reputation management through SFE.

If you are multi-line, you can sign up as a multi-line dealer and not have to participate in the required reputation management. So you may want to talk to your dealers if they don't know this already.

For us, we have a very good grasp on our reviews and reputation with Dealer Rater, so we are glad we do not have to sign up for the GM reputation management.

Vendor note - in talking with my friends at Dealer Rater, they knew nothing about this until it was too late. And Jennifer Sanford with Dominion was in our dealership yesterday and told me the same thing. It is concerning to me that GM doesn't do a better job of talking with vendors and having a broader selection. Because of this dealers might not get the right solution for their dealership with such a limited list of vendors to choose from. Kind of like the monopoly Cobalt has with GM websites.

I plan to write an email to the Chevy Dealer Counsel voicing my concerns about the direction the reputation management requirements have taken. I am not against any of the vendors, I am against limited choices, and the cost imposed on the dealers. For example, we pay about $99 a month for Dealer Rater. GM is forcing this reputation management at $299 - $349. The other part is that it's not 3rd party. Anyone with half a brain knows that 3rd party reviews are a top influence for consumers.

Maybe I am wrong, maybe some others that I have talked to are wrong too, but this feels like Chevy is going backwards a few years in terms of reputation management and reviews by it not being 3rd party. I just don't see how this is the best approach or choice for Chevy could offer dealers not being 3rd party.