NADA 2008 Review

[Brian T in Etown]

@Mark
I am glad to see you’re passionate about your work Mark. I also have to give props to Jeff and Alex (pardon me if I left someone out) for maintaining a site that is of the quality of dealerrefresh.com that we can hear from the likes of folks that head some of the most important companies in our industry.
I for one do not have the talent or the knowhow of most of the folks on this board, which is why I come here. I want to learn from some of the best in the business. I have accepted the fact that this business will be driven by the internet in the years to come and I am sure everyone that visits this site has similar feelings. As a dealer.com customer I feel as though I am getting value for my dollars spent at dealer.com but as with anything in this business we can always strive for improvement. I have to give it to your support department, Jason is one that comes to mind off the top of my head, he is always willing to help me and improve my business. I have also had numerous other conversations with many folks up and down the dealer.com chain of command and I have to say sometimes I feel as though the only suggestions I get from most of the dealer.com staff involves me or more directly (my dealer) spending more money on something new. This could be my fault for not clearly stating what my issues might be or my lack of understanding this business. One of my first suggestions to dealer.com when we signed up a couple years back was to have better more in depth training not only for me but for the guys or gals that help me (support staff)
One of the basics of my business is to drive home the fact that we are here to serve our customers before and after the sale. I am on the fence about whether dealer.com has the dealer’s best interest in mind? Maybe you can shed some light on this subject for me. Thanks in advance for any help on this matter.

 

[Jeff Kershner]

"props to Jeff and Alex (pardon me if I left someone out) for maintaining a site that is of the quality of dealerrefresh.com that we can hear from the likes of folks that head some of the most important companies in our industry."

Thanks for the words Brian!

 

[mark Bonfigli]

First responding to Shaun,

Thanks for the clarification and detailed response.

I am assuming you have not seen our TotalControl Product? It actually allows starters to get into the SEM game fast and with proven results with full lead, phone tracking and dedicated landing pages or empowers the expert to create very custom keyword lists and geo-targeted campaigns.

It just makes running things faster and easier than ever...sort of like typing an email with spell checker on. Imagine if you had to grab a dictionary every time you were unsure how to spell a word? I guess my point is that we have created a system so simple to use but so powerful for the advanced user that it simply makes sense for dealers to use this as a platform instead of a generic one like google...etc Even the various search engine's people have remarked how far ahead this is from their own platforms and how much this will help all dealers conduct their campaigns more aggressively.

Let me know if you would like to see it in more detail, I think you would be very impressed!

-Mark

Mark Bonfigli
President, CEO
Dealer.com, Inc

 

[mark Bonfigli]

Now a response to Brian....

I think you bring up some very valid and needed points.

Over the past 2 years Dealer.com has made massive investments in our dealer support and account management staff and training programs. I would dare say they are breakthrough in the sense that we involved the State of Vt and various organizations to build a state of the art training solution that allows us to respond better to our clients issues than ever before.

As an example, just this week we added 8 new account managers that will all start at the same time and begin serving our dealers more and more over time as they become better experts in the field. In the past this was impossible since we did not have a large scale training program and the facilities to host it. We can now train anywhere from 1 to 30 people at a time and do it in an environment that is second to none. Our mission and focus is better than ever before since we were in a 4 story building for the first 8-9 years much like Cobalt's and it was a very disruptive environment that did not allow our people to talk in person and get "real" answers fast from each of our respective teams.

That issue was answered this past summer when we custom designed the ultimate customer service and technology center just down the street from our original HQ and created what is now the new Dealer.com home. View the full construction video here: http://sappo.dealer.com/slideshow/

You might ask, does the layout and flow of the various teams and staff really matter to me the dealer? Looking from a distance it may seem superficial and unimportant but I can tell you that will all the incredible talent we have at DDC it could be likened to a college basketball player practicing with his teammates for years and then all of a sudden moving to a new sports complex having direct access to playing Michael Jordan every day instead. The level of each person's game rises dramatically.

As you know we continue to add industry experts to our team to help us with our mission of being the #1 most effective dealer marketing solution possible, our most recent addition was Dean Evans (formerly of Dealix, Ford..etc) that has offered a wealth of expertise to our teams and is even helping to structure better training and education the account managers that assist our clients every day. This will continue as our compensation plans for the industries top professionals are top notch and we will not settle for anyone but the best to join our teams.

We can always do better and that will be our mission in 2008 to deploy the very best possible training, support and proactive care the industry has ever experienced.

-Mark

Mark Bonfigli
President, CEO
Dealer.com,Inc

 

[Alex Snyder (blog)]

I can back-up Mark on his new DDC facility claims - the new building is nice! I can't imagine a better setup for a progressive tech company - I'm sure it would make some Silicon Valley groups envious.

Let me see if I can explain the layout...

The main part is a huge circle split into four parts to separate the various departments: sales, support, development, SEO/SEM with their prospective managers easily available on the outside of the circle. The middle of the circle has plush couches and vegetation that inspire people from the various departments to sit down together at. The second floor is a loft/balcony where the executives sit, able to see over 90% of the operation just by stepping outside their office door. There is a gym and tennis courts to go along with the casual-dress environment. It is a great place for anyone to work.

What does it mean for us (the dealers)? Happy Dealer.com employees for a start. Since the move, I have noticed an uplift in demeanor from all the people I work with at DDC. I've watched things happen much faster - my requests that need development work are done in days instead of a week or two. I can get tons of answers in one call as the rep I speak to can easily get to whomever has the answers right then. I'm sorry to ramble on about it, but I didn't realize how much things had improved until I read Mark's last post - thanks Mark!

 

[esietsma]

Hello hello,

Jeff it was Reynolds we went to Monday night. And while we didn't go to this one, because we had plans with KBB, I heard the Aspen party was great - that will be a must do next year.

I didn't even make it over to the west building - totally missed all of my peoples over there!

And while Jeff likes to beat up on Autobase - they did get most improved booth this year. Worst booth went to this service training company that was literally under a stairwell next to the Paul Cummings booth and I believe they just gave up on Tuesday, bc their lights were off and no one was home.

Anything new? Uh No.

People that I missed that I am mad at - ALEX SNYDER!!!! You are in trouble. We are going to be in VaBeach in April - you better have on your entertaining shoes.