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Reviews on Personal FaceBook Walls or Google

I think you'll find that this group is not totally sold, nor do they "waste time" seeking value in social media.

As a mass reflex, it's hard to lead consumers to find the value in posting a link to a review on their wall. I'm sure a few might, but most won't. A photo or video of them next to their new car is personal, and I think that's your best bet for positive local brand exposure.

Maybe a follow-up ecard with a "Congratulations on Your New Baby" theme,
with a photo of your new ride and a prominent call-to-action politely inviting them to review might get them excited enough to take a few minutes and write something favorable.
 
I healthy dose of skepticism keeps everything real. Things are always changing. A decade ago not every dealer believed in the value of a having a web site. Just two years ago most dealers didn't believe in the value of proactive reputation management. Dealers who were late to adopt those trends lost revenue.

Social media might be new but it is also way pass being a fad. Its popularity is rapidly growing, capturing increasing amounts of people's Internet time - it bypassed Google last year. No one knows where social media is going, but something that large is worth giving a look and testing the waters.

But you are right, most customers who are happy with their new car purchase haven't a great deal of motivation to go out of their way to write a review. But when they do write one, giving them a one-button option to make it social might be a good thing!
 
Alex,

The responses have been great! :thumbup: I was trying to get sentiment, but to reduce ambiguity I could phrase it as a “feature†question which would look like:

How valuable would it be if customers who wrote reviews (that got picked up by Google) could optionally post their reviews on to their personal facebook wall with a single click?

The responses would be:

- I like the idea.

- I like the idea but I would want the ability to reconcile issues if they exist before the FB post.

- It’s a silly idea. Facebook may have over 500 million users but personal reviews will not generate leads or drive incremental sales.
 
Most people will not take a picture of their new ride and post it on their facebook since they do not want to appear as a vain individual. But deep down inside we all want our facebook connections to see how well we're doing. What signifies success more than buying an expensive new car. So if the salesperson volunteers to take take the picture and post it for the customer, then that's okay. Now if I just purchased a beater from a buy here pay here lot, that might be a different story.
 
Alex,

Thanks for making the change to the poll question. But, I see that brevity has eluded me once more and my question was truncated.:banghead: Could you shorten the poll question to:


What if customers could display reviews on Google & post to personal FB pages with a single click?


Hey - i'm from Jersey. At least i didn't drop the F bomb.
 
Alex,

Thanks for making the change to the poll question. But, I see that brevity has eluded me once more and my question was truncated.:banghead: Could you shorten the poll question to:


What if customers could display reviews on Google & post to personal FB pages with a single click?


Hey - i'm from Jersey. At least i didn't drop the F bomb.

In a shared situation, even the single click scenario would not yield a great amount of click-throughs. Not on reviews, anyway. What's the value proposition to share? It's only for the dealer.

I dunno; people are vein in general. And if you give them an easy opportunity to show off, most will. I get that a photo may or may not be best in "beater" sales. But it never hurts to ask.
 
In a shared situation, even the single click scenario would not yield a great amount of click-throughs. Not on reviews, anyway. What's the value proposition to share? It's only for the dealer.

I dunno; people are vein in general. And if you give them an easy opportunity to show off, most will. I get that a photo may or may not be best in "beater" sales. But it never hurts to ask.

Im a little bit confused by this because the first part of your post seems like a glass half empty response and then the glass flips to half full. Maybe you are just saying that "the glass may have some water in it?"

The value proposition to the owner is not having to actually take the picture of their car and then post it on their facebook page and then share it with their friends. The ability is there (if they want it) to click once and have it shared with everyone. You will never get everyone to do it BUT if asked correctly theres no reason why you should have to offer someone free dinner to share their car with their friends. And if it doesnt bring in a lot of click throughs it will bring in some.. free word of mouth advertising is worth it to me all day long even if it doesnt bring in anyone right away. Its the best form of branding...

Also everyone buys cars for a different reason, some of those beater owners are just as proud of their beater as someone is of an 2011 (enter make/model here). Remember 100% of the people you dont ask, dont have the opportunity to say yes.

-Lou
 
I agree with a photo, but not with a review. There's no value to the customer to share their review on their wall. I was brainstorming with the restaurant gift card--I retracted that idea.

I'm 100% for a photo with a tag, or better ... a short video with a scripted tagline. Videos statistically will get more play and user interaction.