I’m an avid reader of the Compete.com blog where they constantly monitor site traffic all over the internet.  How they do it?  I don’t have the slightest idea, but they have some really cool data.

# 1  So where are your customers today?  Let’s start off with the search engines.

Big shocker, Google owns the market at 68%, but is your dealership there?  Let’s state the obvious: everyone is in the market for a car.  If you are not on 2 of these 4 search engines as a paid sponsor then I suggest you march down to the General Managers office and create a campaign to get started.

#2  So where are your customers everyday?  Here are the top 50 domains in the U.S. and I’ll extract some sites to talk about how dealers can have a presence there.

• Yahoo & Google – I’ve worn out this subject, but incase you haven’t heard there are a lot of people on these websites.  Get your PPC campaign started now!
• eBay – either a small or big presence on eBay is imperative for auto dealerships.  I suggest every dealer post at least 5 on eBay Motors national listing format each month.  There are buyers here.
• MySpace – creating a MySpace page is simple and free.  Even the Dallas Mavericks have a MySpace page.  Set one up and talk about your dealership, internet department, finance team, and most of all YOU!
• YouTube – another great spot for dealership presence.  Post video tours of your dealership, your people, you, vehicle walk-around tours, and much more.
• Blogger.com – if you don’t have a blog, you need one.  There is more than enough topics to post on as an internet car sales person.
• Craigslist – we have dealers posting cars on craigslist.org with great success.  Best of all it is free and the traffic to your inventory is high (just don’t over post).
• Flickr & PhotoBucket – post photos of you, the dealership, staff, happy customers, and more.  This is highly indexed and badges can be created to embed in your blog, website, myspace, and anywhere else you wish.

Look at all of the opportunities for auto dealerships to be visible online!  This is the chance we have all been waiting for so get on the stick and take action.  What better way to build a presence for the masses.

Request a Demo Today!

There is a new school of dealers taking advertising into their own hands. Dealerships that control their inventory are going to win the internet game. I often get asked “Why would I want to take my own photos?” the answer is simple – control.

Why DIY works:

• As a dealer you can take photos and have online advertising from the moment it comes out of make ready. If you have a lot services company come out on Monday and take photos. Tuesday you get more cars in stock, you will have to wait a full week before getting them online and seen.
• Complete & thorough descriptions of your vehicles (how many times have you had to explain inaccuracies)
• Window Stickers / Buyers guides can be printed from just about any printer, so no longer is the dealer not in State / Federal compliance.
• Every lot has someone that can learn to take photos.
• Cars.com and Autotrader.com now allow 28 – 32 photos. Take advantage of this and not have to pay extra to a company to come out and do it for you.
• The cost savings for the average franchise dealer $700 – $1500

Everything that goes up must come down. So here is the down side to doing it yourself.

• You need to have a good digital camera.
• You need to train someone on how to take good photos.
• If you are not dedicated to the process it cannot work.
• Turnover – and having to retrain someone to do the job.

Companies like Dealer Specialties and CDM Data (the list goes on and on) are in business today because of the down side you see above. Sometimes having a company come out to take the photos is the right answer.

I suggest to all dealers to evaluate your current situation. Look at current staffing levels and make sure you have someone in place to do the job before moving forward. Also be aware that DIY is not plug and play. It will take a little time to get off the ground and to make sure all the needs are being met.

Request a Demo Today!

If this guy doesn’t light your fire for life, your wood is wet.  Check out this short clip:

http://www.youtube.com/v/Meb_-wVop8I&rel=1

More videos on ABCNews.com
Randy Pausch website

Request a Demo Today!

I’ve done many posts on viral/social marketing because I believe in it and know the element of reproducing it online will be the future in the car business.  Here is a great video I found at YouTube on this very topic.  Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/v/vj29qmLnBiE&rel=1

Request a Demo Today!

So last night I get the common request of a family with 5 people….honey, can you go to the store and pick up some milk and bread?  Evidently we don’t have waffles or oatmeal for breakfast and further more no bread to make the boys sandwiches for lunch tomorrow…..big shocker!  We get the boys down for bed (and make sure they fell asleep before I leave) and off I go to Super Target for a most important but short grocery list.

Naturally, while at the store I get a call on my cell for additional items, one of which was a new shampoo.  Hmmmmm, I can’t remember the last time I personally bought shampoo.  Our Super Target has a whole aisle dedicated to shampoo (must be a big market for this stuff).

As a man here is what I saw: florescent green bottles with a cute name, clear bottles with the lowest price, fancy packaging at a higher price (the kind that stand on the lid), shampoo only, shampoo with conditioner, promises of fuller hair, promises of revitalizing my hair, color management (I’m out on that), and more more more.  On a grocery trip budgeted at about 20 minutes total, I spend no less than 40 minutes on this one shampoo isle.  By the end of the process I’m beat, on the verge of getting fussy (because it’s late), and paying more than I wanted to for a product I have never used.  Kinda sounds like buying a car doesn’t it?

Driving home I couldn’t help but think what car shoppers feel like when looking for the right car.  Now you and I being in the business usually know exactly what we want, have driven hundreds of cars, and know the process inside and out.  But what about the average customer?  They walk on the car lot, see hundreds of cars, all sorts of colors and styles, prices from top to bottom, keys in their hand of a car they want to trade (whadda ya give me for this?), endless information from the internet research previously done, and the list goes on.

Now you ask, where are you going with this story?  Car shoppers are like shampoo shoppers.  For the most part consumers are uncertian of many aspects of the shopping/buying process, product offerings, and the transaction process.  So I say this to our dealers: assume your customers know nothing about you, your dealership, the car they want, warranty protection, and how to actually complete a purchase.  In the process of visiting with the consumer you will find out where they are at on knowledge of the process.

At the end of the day they just want to be transported from point A to point B efficiently and feel good about their purchase.  Oh yeah, and some want to look cool while driving too.

How do we get them through the buying process successfully?

• Most people have only driven a handful of cars
• Engage in open ended questions (refer to this blog post for a suggested list)
• Gather their requirements early and confirm by repeating the list (often to remind them)
• Be a verbal glossary of options and terms to the customer
• Leave them to think
• Personally give them your contact info (name, phone, and email) up front before asking for theirs
• Be a glossary of options and terms for the customer
• Explain in detail the finance process before handing them over to a finance manager
• Eliminate buyer remorse by meeting their exact requirements and budget
• Follow-up, follow-up, follow-up until they buy another car from you!

I know you are dying to know what shampoo product I decided on.  The Dove shampoo.  Here was my thought process: it was at the higher end of the pricing spectrum (must be better then right?), didn’t need the economy size so chose the smaller package (Suburban vs. Tahoe), great packaging that curved with style, and it was only shampoo (what guy needs conditioner anyway).  In retrospect, I regret paying a bit more, but the product works as shampoo should I guess….

Request a Demo Today!

We get this question all the time in supporting eBay Motors dealers.  So first off, what is ID Verify?  It is a way for sellers to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt you are who you say you are.  They request some personal information such as full name, address, date of birth, drivers licenses information, and credit card or bank account verification.  This is not a credit check but simply an identity check.

The ID Verify process cost $5, takes less than 10 minutes (if you have all your information handy), and is done through Equifax.  You are not charged if the process is not completed, but otherwise, it charges to your eBay account.

Ultimately, what are the advantages?

• You get a nifty icon next to your seller ID on every listing
• Give the impression that you are someone to be trusted
• Demonstrate you are serious about selling on eBay Motors
• Ability to use the Buy It Now (BIN) feature on listings
• List using the Fixed Price format
• You can place bids above $15,000 (important for you buyers to know!)
• Open an eBay Store
• List with the eBay Motors Local Market format

Here is a link to help on About ID Verify

Here is a link to the ID Verification Login

Request a Demo Today!

JFR Cars has been using the AutoRevo Vehicle Marketing System for 10 months now. How do you like it so far?
I can’t say enough about how professional it has made our online presence.  JFR Cars now stands out among the competition in our area.

Speak for a moment about the daily use of the system?
We were able to get quick user adoption here within the dealership.  The system interface flows very well and has an intuitive feel to it.  As we took a deeper dive into the product settings, the AutoRevo support team was always there to take my call and help explain to me what I needed to know.

What kind of feedback are you getting from your customers about your website?
WOW! People love our website! I have previous customers and other dealers going to our website daily to see what is new in our inventory.  It is not uncommon for us to get comments about what a great looking site we have and how nice it displays our inventory.  Even our website is user friendly and easy to navigate the inventory.

Has AutoRevo changed the way you do business?
Yes, in that we are getting more leads and sales from the internet that we were not getting before. We are selling vehicles in other States and even other countries. We have sold and shipped cars to the Netherlands, Germany and Africa.
If you look at last year’s sales figures verses this year’s (pre and post AutoRevo). How is JFR Cars comparing?
That is a simple answer: we are up about 15-20 cars per month.

How would you rate your experience with AutoRevo’s support team?
My experience with the support team has been excellent! I get quick answers to my questions and fast solutions to my challenges.  They have responded to both online and call-in support requests.

You have been using AutoRevo’s Craigslist tool for some time now. What kind of results are you seeing?
Craigslist has definitely increased our leads and sales…and the response seems to be immediate. As soon as I post cars to the site my phone starts ringing.

We are Auto Consultants and we specialize in locating your new and used vehicles. We have over 26 years of experience in the auto industry. Our team of professional Consultants knows the automobile industry inside and out. We are here to offer you the car you want, at a great price. Let us help you with your next vehicle purchase, and you will see that having an automotive expert on your side can really make a difference.

Request a Demo Today!

At the end of the day sales is sales no matter the industry, product, or service.  So we have re-purposed some open ended questions from one of our favorite selling websites justsell.com.

Information Gathering

• What are your requirements in this vehicle purchase?
• Do you have any “must have” options on this vehicle?
• What process did you go through to determine your needs?
• What cars have you purchased in the past?
• What are the best options on the cars you have purchased in the past?
• What is the most important priority in the car purchase?
• What other options are important to you?

Qualification

• Who else will be involved in this purchase decision with you?
• What is your timeline for making a vehicle decision?
• Have you established a budget for this?
• What concerns to you have?
• What do you see as the next action steps?
• Will you be able to put money down on this purchase?  If so, how much?

Request a Demo Today!

You don’t have to be a Gen-Y blogger to take advantage of the latest Social Media Marketing techniques.  For auto dealerships, the network of people has historically been the greatest asset of the store, right?  John bought a car and told Rick, then Rick bought a car, Rick buys his wife a car, then she drives it to soccer practice for all to see….you know the rest.

So why not recreate that cycle on the internet in this day of online social networking?

Start a blog
Many times internet sales managers do not have ultimate control over their dealer website for constantly refreshing content, heavy search engine optimization, and lead capturing as you would think.  But, with a blog you do!  Setup can be as simple as getting an account with Blogger, Typepad, WordPress, or others.  More importantly, a blog should be the centerpiece of a dealer’s social media marketing initiative.  Why?

• You control 100% of the content and look
• It can be updated daily (or as your schedule permits)
• Publish dealership news in real-time
• Show testimonials
• Create a badge or links to your photo hosting services (Flickr, Snapfish, etc.)
• Embed your YouTube channel
• Visibility into your social networking accounts (Facebook, MySpace, etc)
• Add your press releases
• Include some of your posts to social bookmarking sites (Digg, del.icio.us, Technorati, etc)
• Add links to your eBay Store, Cars.com, or AutoTrader inventory
• Consumers can subscribe and bookmark your blog

The blog platform is the one place where you can bring all of this together.  And the best thing is that it’s highly indexed by search engines.  The more consumers know about you or your dealership the more trust is established. And we all know how big trust is when shoping online.

Online Networking
Probably the biggest, most important technique that successful social marketers use is networking.  Networking with the community should be common practice for dealers.  There are hundreds of automotive review, OEM, and vendor blogs, along with other car chatter on the internet to comment on, link to, and network with.

Also, part of networking is creating a LinkedIn and/or ZoomInfo account.  These are professional social networking sites to hook up with colleagues, friends (who tell other friends), and customers (who have friends).  Sell a car, look the customer up on LinkedIn and request a connection.

Use Technology to Get the Word Out
Blogs have a technology called Really Simple Syndication (RSS) which is just a feed used to publish frequently updated content.  RSS content is read through an easy “RSS Reader” such as Google Reader, Newsgator, MyYahoo, and many more.  Corporate America is online all day long.  You don’t think they’re working 8 hours a day do you?  They’re reading the news online with their RSS readers!  People simply subscribe to your blog and get immediate updates of your posts, etc.

By embracing online networking and adopting the latest practices in social media marketing, an auto dealership can be visible and build a reputation with the consumers.  Through all of these social marketing channels you gain valuable traffic and visibility with the search engines, and ultimately build a community of buyers.

Request a Demo Today!

Here are some notables in our latest release:

• Craigslist template has been updated to enhance indexing of the ads
• eBrochures updated to support motorcycles
• Consumer facing AutoCheck logo enlarged for more visibility in the ads
• Ability to archive the vehicles from the Showroom Inventory List
• Send eBrochures page has been updated with more leads functionality
• Pricing Manager now shows vehicle mileage
• eBay Successful and Unsuccessful lists now have filters of 90 days and 180 days

Request a Demo Today!