While I think everyone here has valid points, I'd like to say that I do at least know first-hand what some of the problems are that TK faces. While industry professionals may know what's best for ease of use, SEO, etc., the dealers sometimes do not. In the event a dealer insists on having things their way, regardless of how bad their ideas might be, as a website provider we sometimes just have to accommodate. Our company has been forced into this situation on a few occasions. After being advised against it, one dealer insisted on using a third party inventory management platform and having us frame it into their site. Another dealer insisted on so many custom elements to his site that go against all web design conventions that it's truly the epitome of a bad site design. It makes it tough when you know the site you design isn't set up the way you think it should be, but since the customers pay the bills it's ultimately their call. At the end of the day both of our example dealers are happy with our services, and more importantly, happy with the amount of leads they receive. I think the "easiest to use" comment is a bold statement and don't necessarily agree with Richard, however TK has made a name for themselves in the industry, so they must be doing something right.
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TK Carsites - Dealer Website Services Profile and Reviews
- Thread starter Jeff Kershner
- Start date
I worked with TK Carsites in my prior position as Internet Sales Manager at Gary Rome Hyundai in Holyoke MA and found them to be very helpful in every aspect. Andy is superb and right on top of things. Some tools we used worked, some did not (based on customer type) but they always gave us a free trial and were incredibly helpful...and available! I plan to contact them when I start my new position. You can't beat the 30 Second Credit App for success. We had a 70% closing ratio with that.
Thank you for the feedback Sharon. Keep in mind, the 30 day free trial is still available on many of our products. We have some new stuff coming out in June I'm sure you'll like. Call us when you're ready.
I am very glad that TK Carsites is on here with Dealerrefresh! Our Dealership has been with them for quite a while now. The most impressing part of them is Customer Service! I have never been so pleased with Vicky Perkins during the time of her customer service position. Very quick and accurate. They have a large variety of tools and easy to navigate for my on line customers. I am again pleased to have the TK CARSITES recognized for what they can do and offer!
They will go out of their way to help fix a problem if any. The very nice thing on the TK Carsites has is the Digital Brochures. I send a digital brochure on the first email to the customer so it is there for them to further their purchasing needs!
You Rock TK Carsites!!!!
Jennifer Schrader
Williams Honda of Traverse City
They will go out of their way to help fix a problem if any. The very nice thing on the TK Carsites has is the Digital Brochures. I send a digital brochure on the first email to the customer so it is there for them to further their purchasing needs!
You Rock TK Carsites!!!!
Jennifer Schrader
Williams Honda of Traverse City
I had stopped considering TK because of some of the comments here, then I was looking through the April Auto Dealer Monthly which had their Dealers' Choice Awards. TK not only won, but has done so 3 years in a row.
I'm starting to wonder if some of the negative comments were posted by competitors.
I'm starting to wonder if some of the negative comments were posted by competitors.
- May 1, 2005
- 5,999
- 1,914
- Awards
- 12
- First Name
- Jeff
"Auto" - If you read the rules I usually do not allow anonymous commenting and since it looks as if you are posting to push your own website I'm not sure if your comment or question has any validity to it.
BUT since I you brought up something that strikes a cord, I'll let it fly.
I'm sure TK offers plenty of valuable products to many dealers and does well for those dealers. We all have our own experiences and opinions.
As for the Dealer Choice Awards..that's total crap and nothing more then a marketing ploy of you ask me. I'm not knocking TK here, I'm sure it generates a lot of business for them and since most of those magazines are basically nothing more then advertisements then who why not leverage it?
I just personally hate all these "AWARDS" that all the dealer magazines have. Read my posting 2007 Dealers’ Internet Sales Choice Award for Favorite Blogs they Really Like…Alllot!
Again, I can't speak for TK or their products since I have never used them but I do give props to Mr. Valenta for taking the time to participate in the comments here on dealerrefresh.
BUT since I you brought up something that strikes a cord, I'll let it fly.
I'm sure TK offers plenty of valuable products to many dealers and does well for those dealers. We all have our own experiences and opinions.
As for the Dealer Choice Awards..that's total crap and nothing more then a marketing ploy of you ask me. I'm not knocking TK here, I'm sure it generates a lot of business for them and since most of those magazines are basically nothing more then advertisements then who why not leverage it?
I just personally hate all these "AWARDS" that all the dealer magazines have. Read my posting 2007 Dealers’ Internet Sales Choice Award for Favorite Blogs they Really Like…Alllot!
Again, I can't speak for TK or their products since I have never used them but I do give props to Mr. Valenta for taking the time to participate in the comments here on dealerrefresh.
So many of these web site designers today are using this "cookie cutter" approach they all begin to look the same. It is like being at the super market check out counter and you see all the "trash
magazines."
If a dealer wishes to make a statement to the comsumer then they need to develope their own image and design to seperate themselves from the competition just as they would their physical property.
Take a look at Jeff's dealer site and it makes a statement, it seperates itself from the competition.
When you look at BZ and many of the other "cookie cutters" the only thing most of these dealers are able to compete on is the price. The site is inpersonal and indifferent. The clients; most opt out because they are bombarded with emails they do not want and then you have lost the client
These dealers have forgotten why they embraced the web in the first place.
The funny thing is they pay through the nose ($5-6,000.00 a month) to all have the same look and feel... Go figure.
magazines."
If a dealer wishes to make a statement to the comsumer then they need to develope their own image and design to seperate themselves from the competition just as they would their physical property.
Take a look at Jeff's dealer site and it makes a statement, it seperates itself from the competition.
When you look at BZ and many of the other "cookie cutters" the only thing most of these dealers are able to compete on is the price. The site is inpersonal and indifferent. The clients; most opt out because they are bombarded with emails they do not want and then you have lost the client
These dealers have forgotten why they embraced the web in the first place.
The funny thing is they pay through the nose ($5-6,000.00 a month) to all have the same look and feel... Go figure.
- May 1, 2005
- 5,999
- 1,914
- Awards
- 12
- First Name
- Jeff
Lao,
Thanks for the props.
I do want to take a second here and try and defend some of the vendors. From my experience, I would say 99% of the dealers out there are NOT willing to spend anymore then $700-$1200 a month on a dealer website. What do you get for that? Templated websites!
The vendors have had to find a way of streamlining their process of building dealer websites. Unfortunately they have gotten so used to this way of business that it's hard to find a company that wants to think outside the box and do anything custom past the homepage.
Dealers would rather continue to spend thousands on newspaper ads while cringing at the thought of spending $3-5000 a month on a truly effective dealer website. I'm sure this will change with time though.
You said - "When you look at BZ and many of the other "cookie cutters" the only thing most of these dealers are able to compete on is the price. The site is impersonal and indifferent. The clients; most opt out because they are bombarded with emails they do not want and then you have lost the client"
Very well said! And this brings it back to the dealers not wanting to spend the money on an effective website. But too the vendors have been and continue to take advantage of dealers with their subpar products.
It took me over a year to decide on who I wanted to go with for our new DriveMB.com website. It's no where near where I want it to be but it has all the right elements from the admin side with the flexibility that I need to push forward into the future. My overall conversion has more then doubled and my SEO is stronger then ever!! Just Google "Mercedes Dealer" and you should see it in the top 4. It changes as Google dances between #1 thru #4.
If we could just get rid of that damn Automotive.com (the search engine spammer of automotive websites).
Thanks for the props.
I do want to take a second here and try and defend some of the vendors. From my experience, I would say 99% of the dealers out there are NOT willing to spend anymore then $700-$1200 a month on a dealer website. What do you get for that? Templated websites!
The vendors have had to find a way of streamlining their process of building dealer websites. Unfortunately they have gotten so used to this way of business that it's hard to find a company that wants to think outside the box and do anything custom past the homepage.
Dealers would rather continue to spend thousands on newspaper ads while cringing at the thought of spending $3-5000 a month on a truly effective dealer website. I'm sure this will change with time though.
You said - "When you look at BZ and many of the other "cookie cutters" the only thing most of these dealers are able to compete on is the price. The site is impersonal and indifferent. The clients; most opt out because they are bombarded with emails they do not want and then you have lost the client"
Very well said! And this brings it back to the dealers not wanting to spend the money on an effective website. But too the vendors have been and continue to take advantage of dealers with their subpar products.
It took me over a year to decide on who I wanted to go with for our new DriveMB.com website. It's no where near where I want it to be but it has all the right elements from the admin side with the flexibility that I need to push forward into the future. My overall conversion has more then doubled and my SEO is stronger then ever!! Just Google "Mercedes Dealer" and you should see it in the top 4. It changes as Google dances between #1 thru #4.
If we could just get rid of that damn Automotive.com (the search engine spammer of automotive websites).
Jeff,
I am suprised at your comments regarding the Dealer's Choice Awards because you obviously have not looked into how they are derived. If you took a minute to find out, you will see that they're not crap. It all depends on how well you treat your clients and how well you get out the vote. You have to do both right to succeed.
Had it been a result of ad dollar spending, BZ would have beat all of us every year but they never even placed the past 3 years! At least not in the website category. Furthermore, TK had the highest score of all vendors in all categories including names like Toyota Motor Credit and Auto Trader.
With all due respect, I would suggest some fact finding before just making a blanket statement that they are all crap.
Auto Dealer Monthly puts out a good magazine and they do not have bias on this award. Trust me on that. They called many of our clients to confirm the votes. Harlene is one tough cookie on this one.
By the way, when can we advertise on Dealer Refresh or would you consider that a "sell out"? I want to place a big banner on the top of your site. How about a Dealer Refresh I Hate These Awards Award? Better yet, The Crappiest Awards Award? You can rank the awards from the crap to the crappiest.
I am suprised at your comments regarding the Dealer's Choice Awards because you obviously have not looked into how they are derived. If you took a minute to find out, you will see that they're not crap. It all depends on how well you treat your clients and how well you get out the vote. You have to do both right to succeed.
Had it been a result of ad dollar spending, BZ would have beat all of us every year but they never even placed the past 3 years! At least not in the website category. Furthermore, TK had the highest score of all vendors in all categories including names like Toyota Motor Credit and Auto Trader.
With all due respect, I would suggest some fact finding before just making a blanket statement that they are all crap.
Auto Dealer Monthly puts out a good magazine and they do not have bias on this award. Trust me on that. They called many of our clients to confirm the votes. Harlene is one tough cookie on this one.
By the way, when can we advertise on Dealer Refresh or would you consider that a "sell out"? I want to place a big banner on the top of your site. How about a Dealer Refresh I Hate These Awards Award? Better yet, The Crappiest Awards Award? You can rank the awards from the crap to the crappiest.
