Savvy Dealer — DealerRefresh Vendor Library

Here is the fully sourced sales brief: --- ## Company Research — Savvy Dealer --- ### About Savvy Dealer Savvy Dealer was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. The company specializes in digital marketing and website solutions for franchised and independent automotive dealers, offering a comprehensive suite of services including automotive Facebook advertising, paid search advertising, SEO, and customized dealer websites. As of mid-2025, the company has approximately 12 employees — a lean, privately held boutique agency. Co-founder Dave Frost serves as Director of Strategy and Analysis, with Adam Gillrie also listed as a key strategist/co-founder. --- ### What They Do They unify website, SEO, paid media, and AI visibility into one strategy so every marketing dollar works harder. Core services include: - **Dealer Websites** — They build landing pages and websites designed to decrease marketing costs as leads go up. - **SEO / Content Marketing** — They optimize sites to create a user experience that works for Google and target visitors, fueling organic growth with regularly produced content. - **PPC / SEM** — Industry-leading Google and Bing ad campaigns. They run highly competitive Google Ad campaigns and focus on individual vehicle-level inventory bidding. - **Facebook / Meta Ads** — Hand-built Facebook ads with top performance reporting on inventory both on Facebook and beyond. - **AI Search Optimization** — Something big was teased at NADA 2026 around how AI will transform automotive attribution and analytics. - **Vendor Auditing** — Services include automotive marketing vendor auditing and independent marketing consulting. - **Notable Clients** — Trusted by franchise dealers including Brighton Ford, Banner Chevrolet, St. Pete Mitsubishi, Jarrett Auto Group, and Thunder Chrysler. - **Recent Research/News** — Savvy Dealer published a study of 100 dealer websites finding that 84% had a failing AI-search compatibility score below 60 on a 0–100 scale, with an average score of just 34. This study was picked up and cited by Car Dealership Guy News in January 2026, giving the company notable industry visibility. - **Expansion** — Savvy Dealer is actively expanding and recently hired new employees. --- ### DealerRefresh Audience Fit Savvy Dealer sells directly **to** the same people who read DealerRefresh — GMs, dealer principals, internet directors, and marketing-focused ops leaders. However, for DealerRefresh advertising purposes, Savvy Dealer is a **vendor/solution provider** looking to reach those exact buyers. Here's how each product fits: - **Forum Banners** — Strong fit. Savvy Dealer works with franchise auto dealers and dealer groups across the country under a "one team, one strategy" model. Internet directors and GMs evaluating website/SEO/PPC agencies are active on DealerRefresh daily — exactly the decision-makers Savvy Dealer needs to reach. Banner visibility puts the brand in front of 3,000+ operators at the moment they're researching vendor options. - **Retargeting Pixel** — Strong fit. DealerRefresh visitors who are actively evaluating digital marketing vendors can be followed across Facebook/Instagram. This aligns directly with Savvy Dealer's own strength in hand-built Facebook Ads that lead the industry in performance — they understand the channel and will immediately grasp the ROI case. - **Demo / Review Video** — High-value fit. Savvy Dealer's core message — "Dealers are paying for websites that make them invisible to the future of search. Most don't even know it" — is an urgent, compelling problem that a 5,000-view video with Alex & Jeff would land powerfully with DealerRefresh's operator audience. Their AI website visibility research gives the video a concrete, newsworthy hook. - **Sponsored Forum Post** — Excellent strategic fit. Their offerings of websites, SEO, PPC, Facebook Ads, and AI search optimization map directly to topics DealerRefresh readers search and debate. A permanently indexed post on AI search optimization for dealerships would also support Savvy Dealer's own stated emphasis on AI visibility — and would itself rank in AI-generated search results, closing the loop on their brand message. --- ### About Nick Chivinski Nick Chivinski is the Vice President of Sales and Strategy at Savvy Dealer, which provides digital marketing services for dealerships. His resume includes decades of auto retail experience, including positions in finance and pre-owned. He has also previously held a role as a Performance Manager at vAuto (a Cox Automotive company), giving him deep familiarity with both the dealer-side and vendor-side of automotive digital operations. He describes himself as possessing extensive knowledge of the automotive retail industry, with an understanding of market trends, sales strategies, and