Have you been blitzed by team ATC yet?

[DogbertBH]

Just had a visit yesterday from my AT Rep and a guy from a different area. The new guy didn't say a word, and the existing guy just said "I'm not leaving" about 5 times.

Kinda funny that I came here & read this thread today

 

[Jeff Kershner]

Lightenup, you are one of the lucky ones to have not felt the furry. Furry is actually much different then fury. SFNM.


View: http://youtube.com/watch?v=S21BeoHNZPs


Ha, that's what I get for commenting 12:04 in the am. Deserved!

 

[Joe Pistell]

Fact: Auto Dealers nationwide are under financial duress not seen in decades.
Fact: ATC's ROI is not what it was.
Fact: ATC continues to raise rates.
Fact: Many of my "untouchables" will be getting the axe in 2009.

ATC rates are high enough for me to seriously experiment with "life after ATC". God help 'em if I find another venue to pick up the slack (ahem... will there even be any slack??).

Joe

 

[Brian (blog)]

I recently spoke with an autotrader rep I've known for a couple years who informed me they are seeing unprecedented levels of cancellation and or downsell. Seems to be the perfect storm situation for them in that the car market is the worst in decades and autotrader gouged another set of price increases at the same time. We cancelled them last year for much of the same reasoning mentioned here, the ROI was really lacking compared to what it used to be so we cancelled. Glad we did because we've been killing it with SEO & SEM for about the same ad spend we had with autotrader, maybe that's the "slack" afterall, bigger search engine audiences.

 

[Shaun]

Well...

I'm looking forward to UFC 86 tomorrow night when Rampage Jackson fights Forest Griffin for the light heavy weight title. If for some reason the fight is lacking I will be content after reading this octagon like beat down of AutoTrader.

Big thanks to all y'all!

Shaun

 

[Steven Isakson]

Hello everyone, first time post and a new reader. I too was approached by Autotrader. We were about to cancel our subscription when too corporate reps from the west coast showed up. They did present an excellent offer which we took because we priced locked for three years and can cancel at any time. In the first three weeks, we have had more contacts by going to a premium partner than we have had all year long. I would advise everyone to give this a try if they can get a deal like this.
Steven Isakson
Isakson Chrysler Dodge
Northwest Indiana

 

[Alan Bechler]

And the last comment says it all......from a dealer that no doubt knows what's going on in his dealership. Too many times I've called on ISMs that have "no clue" how to maximize whatever they have from whatever vendor. Amy was right earlier. Why would a consumer, very interested in YOUR car, reading about it click on one of the "leaks"? Not because ATC or Cars.com put it there. Because THEY DIDN'T LIKE YOUR CAR! Whaaah! Let's blame our vendor (no matter who it is) for our failure to put great photos, comments, a call to action!, competitive pricing, etc, and let our car outshine the others! Yes, when a dealer buys a newspaper full page ad, he dominates the page, but there are still LEAKS when the customer turns the page and sees another dealer's full page ad. Guess what? The customer DIDN'T LIKE YOUR CARS! It's not the newspaper's fault they have more than one page of car ads to look at. The real trouble that internet advertising has caused--laziness on the part of ISMs (some) that think, "duh, if we list our inventory on all these cool, popular sites, we just have to sit back and answer emails and phone calls." Hey, why don't you NOT wash and recondition your used cars, LEAVE the plastic shipping protectors on the new cars, turn all your lights OFF, take DOWN your signs, banners, flags, balloons, blow up waving men, painted windshields, spinners, flags (oh I already said that). And park your cars in an open field somewhere to see who looks at your cars? A word to all you struggling ISMs out there---use your brick and mortar marketing creativity on your virtual showroom and maybe leaks wouldn't matter! Next time your on Amazon or some other retail site, if you click off the product to a "leak" site, ask yourself one question, "why did I click off that product and not buy it, call them, send them an email?" It's the product you're selling online--not the channel that gets the customers there that matters. The dealers (and Mr. Isakson is probably one of them) that maximize every tool they have will win online. They don't have to spend the most money, but use to the fullest all the tools! Just trying to get everyone to look at another perspective.

 

[Alex Snyder (blog)]

Alan,

You're right. It isn't just a "drop a check, then sit back and wait for the customer" system - it is all about marketing. Of course, the easiest thing for a vendor to say is "it is your inventory" and that vendor would be right. However, don't you think every dealer in the nation tries to carry the "right" inventory? It isn't that simple. Dealers pay vendors to help move the "wrong" inventory because dealership lots simply are not enough exposure to show people our Hyundai store might have that BMW you were looking for.

In response to a vendor who says "it is your inventory" my response is, well....it is your inventory of customers. This is where AutoTrader.com becomes problematic for a dealer group like the one I work for. ATC is somewhat plagued by magazine distribution that was around long before ATC. Because you share the same name with the magazine, you're associated with a distribution cycle that appeals to an audience who wants a cheaper car in my area. Just like the dealer-facing Autotrader reps who sell us things, there are also outlet-facing distribution reps who try to get the magazine placed on news stands. Everyone has quotas and for the distribution reps it is easier to find placement in some of the lower-quality news stands-yielding establishments (7-11, Food Lion, KMart, etc) than it is to put them in say a Target or somewhere someone with a higher income would shop. Brand association goes a long way, and it is the same as having a site/magazine full of buy-here-pay-here lots vs. a site/magazine full of new car franchised dealers. It was brilliant for ATC to carry the same name as the magazine initially (instant name recognition), but the issues of that association are showing today.

That is the problem with Autotrader on the grand level. Selling tactics, what this thread is about, is just a smaller sub-set of their other problems.

 

[Alan Bechler]

Alex, you said: Dealers pay vendors to help move the "wrong" inventory......

That's a tall task for vendors to live up to. Holding the vendor to the same standards you place on other outlets to move the "wrong" inventory is just "wrong". You then challange the demographics of broad-reach, online classified sites as lower-quality. ATC has approx. 14 million uniques and Cars.com has about 10 million uniques a month. Are they all lower-quality? No, they are looking at all price ranges, all types of vehicles. There are many Lexus, Infiniti, BMW, Mercedes (Jeff?) dealers that do quite well on these sites with $30K+ used units. It goes back to how the dealer is utilizing the sites to their advantage. Being agressive with marketing their inventory whether its "right" or "wrong". My point was--as dealers: take responsibility in running your business and put your best effort forward in your marketing on any of the sites you use (or traditional media for that matter). It will pay off.

 

[Steven Isakson]

Alex and Alan both bring up great points of havingthe right inventory for the internet. We are the type of store that if we decide to buy a used vehicle or keep a trade in we stay with it till it sells. On this, we, at times, have inventory that is very old. Three of the 5 most searched and inquired vehicles that we now have our the vehicles that we have had in our inventory for over 300 days. They have been great flip vehicles for us so that have paid off, however they must now leave. Autotrader's premium listings have really helped in moving these vehicles. I know many out there, and believe me I was one, has had enough of their we are better than everything else opinions of themselves, however I am seeing some great results. I guess what I am trying to say is try many different products to find out what works best for your store and more importantly you.