Social Networking is more popular than emailing! What does that mean?

[DigitalRalph.com]

Jeff, this is an interesting post in that I am out here in Cedar Falls, IA working with the Mudd Advertising Agency and they have some very interesting marketing tools... When i discussed the use of UGC, Web 2.0 and Social Networking sites being included in a dealer's marketing strategies, they just flat out believe there is little to any promotional value in the category... I find this interesting, not surprising, but interesting... I am starting to form an opinion that UGC/Web 2.0/Social Networking genre's may have more value from the perspective that the auto industry has had towards CRM over the past ten years... Do you think that the real intrinsic value to dealers available in this category of site and related activity may actually come from the ongoing development and management of relationships with people who interact with the dealer's brand, people, products and services in a UGC/Web 2.0 environment? Man... That sure sounds like i am over-analyzing, but i am just trying to get a handle on what so many people seem to see as a waste of time, but which i have direct first-hand experience at realizing revenue and sale opportunities.

 

[Ryan Gerardi]

Ralph, your suggestion about social networking offering more value than CRM is in line with a big part of our message. CRM software does not facilitate a two-way conversation like social networking does. Additionally, CRM software requires the company to input and update the info manually whereas with social networking profiles they are (theoretically) always up to date. While you can not do mass emails in social networks unless you have groups, which most networks now feature, you can achieve the bulk of your mono-y-mono communications.

We are touching on this aspect of social media networking in our webinar tomorrow that I mentioned to you - http://tinyurl.com/cnmqpz .

 

[stantheman]

Social networking is where it is at. Dealers can network with previous customers and keep them updated with specials and new trends instead of sending emails. Vendors can network with dealerships and build a friendly relationship with them. This changes cold calling into warm calling because a phone call from a vendor to a dealer is more friendly as the dealer knows who they are talking to. Social networking is a great way to show people and prospects your role in the business as well as your role on the planet. If people see that I am not just a car guy but I am a great guy in general sharing similar hobbies and interest on a personal level, people will respect me and talk to me differently. Social networking allows us to have a personal touch and change the mood of any prospect. I believe that it also helps create a much better reputation.

 

[Alex Snyder (blog)]

Ralph - Ryan hit it on the head. It is a supplement to CRM that can be used in accordance with CRM if the CRM process implementer knows his/her stuff. Now talk about sounding too technical!

Social Networking is like Public Relations on speed. If you design your message effectively, you can have the world spread it for you in minutes. You're not going to reach everyone the TV would reach, but you're going to have "fans" working for you that you don't have to pay!

This is how social networking can be capitalized on. BUT, you need to be very careful in how you approach it.

 

[Walt Kustra (blog)]

Social networking sites the new CRM? Maybe? I would never have thought of it that way, but after reading the last few posts on here I certainly have a different perspective. This is coming from a guy who uses both daily (not at the same time of course

 

[Ken Gibson]

As I have delved into this exciting phenom, I realize it is one of the big waves that rock our world from time to time (fax, cellphone, internet, etc). It will not go away,; it will integrate into daily life for most.
As I meet with dealers and dealer associations, the curiosity factor is enormous. The acceptance factor is very low. The desire to understand and choose whether or how to apply is huge. As I research automotive on Twitter, Facebook and linkedIn, I see the early adopters using trial and error to make business sense of these new tools.
My primary focus is to get dealers to high proficiency in existing proven tools first, then add the SMM stuff as a way to leverage their use of the technology to build community and spread their web presence.
I'm looking forward to learning from the gurus at the Digital Dealer Conference in Vegas later this month, as to what works in selling more cars..

 

[Tom Berry]

Social Networking is not new. It’s been around forever - face-to-face, letter writing, telephone conferences, parties, luncheons, seminars, on and on. “Online” Social Networking is what’s new. It’s a way to use today’s technology to meet new people, reconnect with old friends, gather opinions, and get recommendations. Would you wear a banner ad around your neck when you go to a networking event or party? Then why would you do it on LinkedIn or Facebook? What has more value to a dealership, a little ad on a few profiles or 50 people saying what a great company they are? It’s all about relationships and credibility – not in-your-face advertising.

Use the online networking sites to position dealership executives, management, and staff as trusted, knowledgeable resources for purchasing new and pre-owned vehicles, financing, parts, service, and related products. Create, monitor, and manage, online ratings and reviews that can positively promote a dealership's reputation. Connect with people online to provide a source of referrals, recommendations, customer testimonials, and Internet visibility.

When you do advertise, create awareness of a dealership's unique features, benefits, inventory, and outstanding customer service through highly targeted traditional, Internet and mobile media campaigns. Use digital and traditional advertising to drive customers to a usable, useful, and enjoyable website and one that embraces online social networking. Use an advertising agency that knows how to help you connect online AND off. If you have an agency that doesn’t, or need one that does, email me - [email protected].

Here are a couple of recent articles in which I am extensively quoted about this very topic.

Automotive News March 16, 2009
"Studies: Luxury car shoppers on Web want instant info."

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home.autonews.com

Dealer.com Newsletter - Power to the Dealer April 7, 2009
"The Titan Agency Surveyed 50 Luxury Brand Dealerships"

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newsletter.dealer.com

 

[Larry K]

The bottom line; all the social networking sites have to be profitable in the long term they want to stay alive. They have to generate a revenue stream from businesses that have the dollars to spend. If they do indeed send buyers, willing to purchase and the ROI is there... why not use this as a medium. its inevitable and becoming acceptable as a method to provide the content and web-usage with advertising and visibility as a trade-off.

 

[DigitalRalph.com]

Ryan and Alex,

Thank you for your responses and commentary... It is good to know that I am not the ONLY car guy crazy looking at Web 2.0 from a relationship marketing perspective. Now, please don't get me wrong, I have used various social networking sites as advertising venues and have seen some successes in driving traffic to dealer sites that turned out to be far more qualified than I had initially expected... BUT, and this is a big butt (he he he), From just a few direct experiences from some prototypes and experiemnts, the power of "word of mouth" when the web is used to propogate it more effectively than offline ever did, can be truly amazing... And scary! Heck, just look at RipOffReport.com for the scary side. Yet, even with a stumbling and bumbling, haphazard, making a lot of guesses and trying stuff never done by dealers before, I have one dealer I work with who SWEARS he is selling 3 to 5 additional vehicles each week from the UGC/Web 2.0 experimentation we are doing for his store... And, I figure it must be true (he may be low-balling me) because his wife is the store's controller, who can't stand what they pay me per diem, AND she gave me a big hug during my last visit, and took me out for a nice seaside dinner, and picked up the check... Dealers buying dinner for me is proof enough that we as professionals have only scratched the surface of what is possible... Ya' think I'm leaving money on the table with my first dealer community, social networking success story? LOL... Truth be known, I think i would have PAID to see something with UGC/Web 2.0 actually generate some car sales!

 

[DigitalRalph.com]

@Joe Diaz (and Jeff K),

I started selling cars in 1981, and I am about as grizzled a veteran as any of the other old timers pushing iron over the curb these days... Even a knucklehead like me figured out over 20 years ago that RELATIONSHIP = GROSS! My first wife once told me what an idiot I was when I explained that CSI is determined by gross profit... Because when CSI reports first took hold I immediately saw that the highest gross deals we made generated the highest CSI scores... Doh... She was right (only time!), the gross was generated because there was a good relationship foundation! The customer ALLOWS us to earn a respectable profit margin WHEN A POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP HAS BEEN CREATED. Yes, I know car guys like Joe probably think that they are sooooooooo crafty and cunning that any high gross deals they generate are through slight of hand... NOT. Talk to the guys selling cars at Acton Toyota in MA about how the deal works when a customer drives 100 miles, past 8 other Toyota stores to buy a car from Acton Toyota because of the 200+ Positive reviews that consumers have created on DealerRater.com at the request of their salesperson... BECAUSE they had a relationship with that car salesman! When I first started selling cars, my mentor would wack me with his crutches (bad knees after 30 years on the blacktop) and tell me to stop selling cars and start building relationships with customers FIRST... He would ask me, "whattaya wanna be, an order taker? 'cause there's no gross in taking orders, and i ain't splitting no minnies with you, so start selling yourself before you distract these ups with the damn car!".

Anybody who does not understand the types of differentiation that Jeff commented on is doomed to a career (or lack of) of minimum commission, low CSI and job dissatisfaction... You know when I REALLY think a deal is real? When i hear the salesperson laughing along with the customers as they are writing up a worksheet! People don't laugh with car salesman, they might laugh at us, but they do laugh WITH professionals they have come to trust, respect and want to do business with... When was the last time you got a referral, someone you never met before and it was the easiest deal that month? Why, because you had a head start on building a relationship based on the transference of "relationship equity" from the person who sent his/her friend to you as a referral... Personally, the last car I bought was a used Ford Expedition, and i know I paid about a grand more than I could have paid, so that i could buy it from a manager I trust who works at a dealership that has treated me well as a supplier... It's ALL ABOUT RELATIONSHIP, or you can take orders for mini deals... You pick!