Should I kill Cars.com and use that money to enhance our AutoTrader package?

[David Jackson]

Hi Paul,

The Internet is very different now. Selling cars on-line is a very competitive business and most of the dealerships rely on pay-per-click or pay-per-lead via third party vendors. The missing element to greater success is making your web site or web sites rank high organically. People are researching Vehicle Models, not necessarily a dealerships name. They know the vehicle thay want to buy, and so they are researching specifications and prices. So Micro Sites are a very vital option to providing you with organic or natural Search Engine rankings while providing IN-HOUSE leads at no extra cost. This is huge for your dealership. These Vehicle Specific Micro Sites also help raise the ranking of your main dealership site through link popularity. The combination of multiple Micro Sites, organic search ranking and PPC for this industry is the answer you are seeking.

Keyword "2007 Tahoe" #2 Site Courtesy Chevrolet http://www.2007tahoe.com
Keyword "2007 Suburban" #4 Site Courtesy Chevrolet http://www.2007suburban.com
Keyword "2007 Avalanche" #5 Site Courtesy Chevrolet http://www.2007avalanche.com
Keyword "2007 Silverado" #2 Site Courtesy Chevrolet http://www.2007silverado.com
Keyword "2008 Chevy Camaro" #1 Site Courtesy Chevrolet http://www.2008chevycamaro.com
Keyword "2007 Chevy HHR" #6 Site Courtesy Chevrolet http://www.hhr-chevrolet.com
Keyword "2007 Dodge Caliber" #4 Site Hartzheim Dodge http://www.2007dodgecaliber.com
Keyword "2007 Dodge Charger" #7 Site Hartzheim Dodge http://www.haywarddodgecharger.com
Keyword "The Audi Q7" #12 Site Page 2 Fairfield Audi http://www.theaudiq7.com
Keyword "Mercedes GL450" #3 Site Nanuet Mercedes http://www.mercedesgl450.com

If you know Ralph Paglia of Courtesy Chevrolet in Phoenix or Jeremy Beaver of Hartzheim Dodge in San Jose, they will testify that our Micro Sites really do work. Courtesy has received hundreds if not thousands of leads from 20-25 Micro Sites as well as other dealers across the country who have used our successful techniques building Micro Sites.

David Jackson
Fresh Start Studio, LLC.
480-703-6377

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www.freshstartstudio.com

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www.freshmicrosites.com

 

[ISM in Training]

Learned a lot over the last week

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I had a question recently posted over at DearlerRefresh.com that caused quite a stir at the dealership and with some vendors. I obviously dont like the current...

 

[Jesus is Lord]

Hi Paul,
I have been employed for an auto manufacturer as a sub-contracted trainer / consultant with dealerships across the mid-western and northeastern states of the US for the last 7 years. (Spent 13 in automotive retail prior). I just want to offer info based upon 3 things you had stated in your original question. The 3 things that stand out to me are "...The dealer was very negative about internet marketing – had a manager that was sharing a dual responsibility - internet marketing and the Hyundai manager", "...die hard, old school used car guy" and "...maximize what you have".

My statements aren't really too profound, but to start, I have found that the old school guys I have worked with in recent years are obviously still very loyal to profitability no matter which dept it comes from. Hence, while they may not admit that they have a sales philosophy which is antiquated or unique, and an internet philosophy which is in left field somewhere, I believe that deep down, they truly want to pick up new ideas on how to be profitable in a volatile marketplace. There are great dealers, good dealers, dealers who pretend they are good, dealers satisfied with mediocrity, and then there are just bad dealers. Before I ever go to work for anyone, I need to know who I am working for to start with, what challenges they face, how long have they been in business, why do they face these challenges, how do they treat their employees, how committed are they to their company's financial success, what evidence do they have to back that commitment, and how open are they to hiring someone for a dept that needs help who is an innovator with logical, statistically proven ideas, and then go out on a limb to invest company capital in such solutions to help overcome the problems?

If this guy is old school, and he is negative on the internet, then it’s obvious he wasn't raised selling on the internet, probably doesn't understand the internet, and he has had people working for him who also do not understand it, hence giving him the impression which he currently holds fast to. Now that the internet marketing has not proven itself out for your dealer, and this based on bad experience, he has his guard up. After all, he has already come up on the short end of the stick because he threw his New Car Manager to the lions by asking him to manage another department which he WANTS a piece of the action in, but had no idea how to approach it. The NCM now has too much on his plate, and was obviously a beginner at internet marketing himself, and the formula for disaster has begun.

Hence, the solution in my mind at this juncture, is not necessarily to drop one or the other remembering that our audience is not necessarily limited to the local geographic Mason-Dixon line scenario, and the frame-in partnerships between the 2 sites give you effective exposure on over 300 sites nationally. If committed to success, how persuasive can you be, and how stubborn can your dealer be? Is he strapped for cash, or just plain stubborn? Stubbornness is a lot easier to overcome than cash flow problems. I can share that, as I have learned from reliable sources on corporate perspective, Cars.com has been a very good investment this year for what I will call "Manufacturer A", and this on a national level in the specific arena of used car marketing. Now I'm not sure how far out of Atlanta you are, but I'm guessing if you're not far off, you probably need a premium listing with A.T. there because of the intense competition. So I see that you are between a rock and a hard place.

One solution might be to present an "old school car guys" version of an in-depth data analysis of what you are working with now (short, sweet, and to the point), how it has fallen short, why it has fallen short, and then cross referencing with ideas that you know will work, and how you could begin to prove that with an objective performance prospectus. I think you also need to surf the net with your dealer too, put in your ZIP, and show him where your cars come up in the search with what you have now. I’ve had pretty decent success getting an old school guy’s attention when all he see’s in an online comparison is his competition. Someone as yourself, who has been around this business a while, I'm sure you'd agree that you need to talk to him in language he concurs with, unfortunately for you, I realize a die hard isn't easy to deal with. I'm a firm believer however that if you do what you always did, you’ll get what you always got in terms of dollars and cents or otherwise.

I personally believe that a very high percentage of good dealers want to find people they can trust amongst other obvious qualifications. Here lies the dilemma-can you trust him, can he trust you? Experience and education typically doesn’t reveal the trust factor. How often have people let him down in the past? I think that this is the biggest issue of all issues because people always project what looks good on the outside to someone they want to impress in interviews, business relations, etc. I have to say that your dilemma is not simple to produce the best results possible given the budgetary limitations, but if it’s not considered beating of a dead horse, I might take another run at getting him to spend a little more on his dealership’s profitability. He could never expect investment returns from the stock market without investment - Do what you always did, get what you always got.

Blessings-
D.D.

 

[J-gainesville fl]

Obviously AutoTrader.com is the logical choice. I have had my ups and downs with them over the past couple years but we meet in the middle-EVERYTIME. They employ some of the best consultants that I have ever worked with. Cars.com is constantly coming into our dealership and begging me to switch to them and cutting out ATC. I asked the cars.com rep, "why would I cut out ATC for Cars.com" her reply was- we have a larger audience, we provide more leads, we are better, we are the best, we PROMISE double the calls (Promise???)---- I asked my ATC rep the same question- His reply was- "I would not suggest cancelling ATC for CARS.com I would try to take a little something away from other media and incorporate both audiences, bottom line ...sell more cars". WOW what a difference- he made the remark-"Competition is a good thing for all of us-my job is to make you successful"

Cars.com is about 4 years behind ATC with their product and their staff- they will grow up one day but I am afraid that by that time they will be owned by AutoTrader.com.

 

[Brian T in Etown]

Hmmm....lightnup on cars.com????

 

[Julia]

I would suggest you encourage your boss to get on cars.com and Auto trader both great sites. With 80% of shoppers starting their searches online you would be in a great position. Cars.com would be my first choice since you don't have to pay for top positioning, on Auto trader you pay to be on top -- really pay, but if you have the budget then I would get on both sites ASAP. Start with cars.com, Once you get started and it reaps the benefit you'll be able to show cold hard numbers to support internet marketing/advertising. Where else could you get your entire inventory seen by millions of car shoppers 24 hours 7 days a week. Internet advertising is Priceless

 

[tj]

Few quick thoughts:
About dropping autotrader.com - I would simply track my referring links from their site, setup goals in analytics to track if they are converting at all. You no doubt know how many people contact you via autotrader. If running any banner ads on their site, you should be tracking the results with 'google' analytics as well.
Add it up and see if your ROI is worth it. If not, drop them. Same with any other sites.

tj