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TrueCar names AutoTrader veteran Chip Perry as CEO

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#11
At one point, TC wasn't so bad. I was never happy with the way they marketed themselves but the ROI used to be pretty good. They gave us free information that we could market to for everything, not just sales. The "showrooming" was never a problem because if we had the customer in our CRM prior to them visiting TC, we wouldn't have to pay them for the sale. The "race to the bottom" was never an issue because you could find our cars on our website for the same price or cheaper than TC.

Then they masked the emails. Next they taught prospects to use their app while at a dealership while putting heavy restrictions on crediting dup leads. So we dropped them at my previous dealership and won't use them at my current one.

Instead I have a blog on our site that explains what TrueCar is and how they operate. If I have a prospect mention TrueCar I'll direct them to the blog as well as do a mystery shop on TC myself, provide the prospect with the results, and then beat the best price. The only reason I can see why people want to use TrueCar is for the supposed transparency, so I figure I'll give it to them in spades and hopefully earn a customer.
 
#15
@JessicaRuth but didn't they also cancel autotrader at one point, and change their buying process, etc?

If TC offers them a sustainable ROI that works for them they will be back. The model is not the problem, the cost of the model is.
I think that @JoePistell wrote long time ago about TC lead acquisition cost. There are businesses that require heavy investment to gain customers, LifeLock is a great example (you can do some research on it). In the end that will make or break TC.
 
#16
My view of TC is it needs a creative leader to keep what works and blowup what's not working. If I were Chip, I'd get on a plane and see 10 of the most unhappy dealers and 10 of the most happy dealers. I'd tell my top execs to do the same. Then, have all meet on an island and don't leave until a new company is born. After that, I'd tell all to run it by the 20 dealers for feedback.
 
#17
@yagoparamo yes the cost of the model is the problem. TC forces dealers to pay the fee for shoppers they (the dealer) acquired through its own means.

TC's consumer message is good. They have that part down. With Perry concentrating on the dealer dynamic, which he has proclaimed he plans to, he should be able to get TC back on course. I imagine the dealer community will give him that chance too. They want it to work themselves.
 
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