Dealership Racketeering, Part III
Read Part I or II
When I engage with dealers about how blogs and social media can effectively cultivate sales opportunities, they like what they hear. They get charged. But often in the midst of battle some dealers seem confused and unsure of their role. They struggle to incorporate these new tools into their existing BDC processes.
This is not the case for all dealerships and in fact some are vigorous in their online networking, but there is a persistent sense for many of “when will it pay off”. But this is dangerous thinking. It’s not a matter of when but rather a matter of how. It pays off when you address the “how?”.
A blog isn’t a showroom like your website. It’s more like a radio station, a television channel, or even a broadcast network. Find a way to harness the power of that with customers and see how sales get.
As a car dealer, you must take that one step and start blogging. I don’t mean to get a blog to look at, but one to play with. Surround yourself with people you trust that have proven methods and innovative ideas. Get your brain wrapped around things that are new (to you) and be creative in finding ways to engage with your audience. Build trust and the car sales will come.
Invent for yourself the possibility of being a truly approachable dealership. Your website can not accomplish this but your blog can. This must start at the heart with you and those working with you at your dealership. Otherwise, your blog will just be a front for typical dealership “racketeering” (that’s a Landmark term in context, not mine).
Dealership Racketeering, Part II
In the early days of Internet and the auto industry, some dealers jumped in to having a web presence and either made it work or didn’t. Some didn’t bother. Some waited a while and let things develop. Some pioneered. I remember the bitterness dealers would have for “Internet” customers because they had too much information accessible to them to be ripped off.
This has settled and today essentially every dealership has an “Internet Department” which, really seems archaic now. Why is the Internet still considered a separate doorway to sales? Do dealers have a “radio department” or a “TV department” or a “billboard department”? No. They don’t. So why an “Internet department”? I don’t have an Internet department.
For more than two years now, the possibility I have seen the Internet offer dealers is the opportunity to establish genuine trust and confidence with their customers AND their employees. To accomplish this dealers must lead the way. If they sit back and count on others to do the thinking for them they will be led astray. Dealers need to take responsibility for their desired result which begins with a genuinely perceived possibility.
There is a lot more talk than action out there. The angles dealers take with their advertising is not much different from before and when it comes down to it, dealers just want to sell more cars. By this I mean that dealers struggle to find the vision and lasting patience for cultivating and nurturing sales opportunities. Websites are designed to convert now buyers and the only real Internet tools dealers know how to use for retaining potential customers is their newsletter and CRM.
Dealers must make their blogs tangible to customers AND employees. If you treat your blog as a microsite you degrade its potential power.
Dealership Racketeering
Instead of attending NADA this year in New Orleans I participated in a Landmark Forum which was a 3-day 33-hour workshop designed to help participants bring forth the presence of a new realm of possibility for yourself and your life. While I do appreciate some aspects of New Orleans, attending NADA there at this particular moment in time for the auto industry was not sounding attractive, and so I opted to pursue something different in hopes of attaining something more extraordinary.
Well, EXTRAORDINARY it was.
Like most people in the Forum, I wasn’t particularly excited about being there but my neighbor who introduced me to Landmark has been an active participant for more than 20 years now, so I estimated that it must have something of value to offer. Despite nearly walking out on it multiple times, by the end of the weekend I had experienced a breakthrough that made the grueling effort worth it a hundred times over.
The leading theme of the Forum was about possibilities and I couldn’t help but contrast the message with what I see going on today in the auto industry, particularly with car dealers. The possibilities presenting themselves to car dealers today seems astounding. I would compare it to 10 or 12 years ago when car dealers first began harnessing the Internet.
Next week I will offer some perspective on what possibilities I see today for car dealers and what they can be doing about it. Stay tuned…
Car Dealers and Web 2.0
There is a lot of talk these days about blogging and Web 2.0 for car dealers. But when you cut through the fluff of what is discussed on these topics what you will find is that there is an abundance of “dealers should use Web 2.0″ proclamations and not much in the way of how, i.e. REAL SOLUTIONS.
Over the past couple weeks I have come across emails from companies touting messages to car dealers on the use of blogging and social media, driving high-quality or residual site traffic, and building long-term relationships with customers. While these topics alone are not particularly new for dealers, they do signify to me a new era in Automotive Internet Marketing because of the source of these marketing messages and their timing and context.
While there certainly is value in blogging and social media, this is still uncharted territory for car dealers. Primarily because these forms of marketing, these “tools” so to say, do not in-and-of themselves produce results. Rather it is in how these tools are utilized throughout your dealership that will make a difference in your business.
A good analogy to contrast the use of Web 2.0 as part of your marketing strategy is to consider your DMS and your CRM. Dealers typically make a pretty hefty up front investment to implement such systems into their business and then spend months training and learning the systems before they really experience the full benefits, sometimes even a good year or so.
With Web 2.0 dealers can expect to spend several months building what we call their virtual infrastructure just to have a chance at cultivating a truly engaged customer audience fit for doing business in your interactive marketing arena. All things considered, I suggest writing off the first 6-9 months as R&D versus marketing and advertising.
I am weary of venturing into the early web days of the auto industry where dealers were battered into making web investments because “they should” that not only didn’t prove fruitful but also that created a rift between car dealers and the “Internet Customer” that dealers are still paying for today.
If you want to get in to Web 2.0, start by defining what you want to see it accomplish and then work with your providers to obtain those objectives. This will prove more beneficial than throwing money at it and waiting around for something to happen because someone suggested to “just get into it”.
Favre’s $20 Million Marketing Blog
More details are being revealed on ESPN.com regarding the $20 Million marketing package supposedly dangled before Brett Favre by the Green Bay Packers. Recall that I originally wrote on this a couple weeks ago, commenting on how strong your brand must be to be offered $20M for not competing against your former employer.
Part of this “marketing” package was that Favre would have his own blog on the Packers website. I don’t know if that means on Packers.com, the NFL-provided Packers site, or if the Packers have another site. I checked the Packers.com site and there is a sub-menu for “Blogs” under the “News” tab, but it’s a pretty limited blog. Entries are up to date but definitely no sizzle and from what I see you can not comment on it. Almost seems more like a “Latest News” bit.
I am curious to know what the Packers have in mind for a Brett Favre blog. How involved would he be? What would it set out to accomplish? Is there much risk in such a blog tarnishing the legendary reputation of Favre? I find such scenarios fascinating because they push the envelope a bit. Plus the idea of a mega-corporation like this including a blog in such a package says a lot for the general value of blogging.
Another consideration here which I think speaks highly of Favre is that he has now taken a job with the Jets. I respect Favre in that playing football truly is his motivation. He does not seem particularly concerned with his legendary status, the Packers organization, or a $20M Blog Marketing package. That says a lot about Favre and is probably a (good) omen to his destiny. Favre is driven my the spirit of playing football and that should take him farther along than any of these other dangling lights and distractions.
From Telephone Poles to Websites – How Dealerships Have Changed Strategies
A few short decades ago, automotive dealerships tacked advertisements to telephone poles. Except in smaller, rural communities, telephone poles have gone the way of this form of advertising – disappeared – simply because we now have better ways of doing things.
When we place calls today, signals fly through the air instead of zipping down a wire, and so should advertising messages. There is still the option of television advertising or print promotion, and maybe you still use those mediums.
There’s also a very convenient, inexpensive way to get your product and your brand out there. It’s called Online Brand Marketing.
Online Brand Marketing is the communication equivalent of telephone pole ads on leaflets. Get that name and product out there, everywhere – in your email signature file, in comments on blog postings, etc. Communication doesn’t end at your website. Keep it going in every online transaction, correspondence and message posted. It’s easy, and it doesn’t cost much.
Beware of too much self-promotion, though. When talking about your vehicles or your dealership in a message forum or blog, be careful to serve the topic at hand and avoid posting just for the sake of getting on the board.
Talk about the related post or subject at hand and work your brand into your comments lest you be branded yourself: as a spammer. No one wants that label, so find a way to correlate the subject with your brand.
Be sure to use a healthy brand signature at the bottom of all online correspondence too, whether it be in an email, forum or blog comment. Your name, telephone number and email address aren’t sufficient if you’d like to let everyone know about the great deals you offer.
Add your branding message into your signature or your comments. Readers will see it, even if it’s a quick discussion about next week’s game. That’s called online brand marketing, and it’s the telephone pole of today.
Engaging Your Existing Customers, Part Two
Are you interested in keeping your current car-buying customers while still reaching out to potential new customers? Do you want to do this while keeping costs down? In today’s economy, cutting costs is the name of the game for any business owner, especially automotive dealers. Here is how you can use your advertising budget, your satisfied customers and the Internet to reach out to new customers.
Sponsor a Video Contest
Imagine the impact on your bottom line if dozens of your satisfied customers created a YouTube video based on their pleasant experiences at your dealership. As nearly everybody has a video camera and a computer nowadays, customers can easily create a video and post it to the site. And it’s free! Offer a gas card or some other incentive for the winner of the best video, and you’ll be surprised how much publicity your dealership receives from such a simple request.
Share Experiences on Your Site
You’d be surprised how many people will create a blog or a video with a promise that you’ll link to it from your dealership’s website. They’ll appreciate the traffic they receive and the publicity, too. Simply ask your satisfied customers to create something on their websites that discusses their experiences at your facility, and be sure to include a link on your website. It doesn’t get much more inexpensive than that!
Stir Up Their Creativity
Ask existing customers to create a short, 50-word description of the car they bought from your automotive dealership. Ask them to allow you to put it on the inventory section of your website. Many customers will just enjoy knowing that you used their descriptions, but you can offer a small prize for their efforts.
If you want to keep your customers engaged with your dealership so they’ll come back when it’s time for a purchase, use a variety of methods that appeal to them. These three ideas utilize social media and online automotive marketing, but using other ways is important, too.
Did Somebody Say Recession?
You can’t turn on the evening news in the United States without hearing about the impending recession. Althoujgh some won’t yet commit to saying we’re in a recession, nobody can deny the troubles the economy is having. So how does an auto dealer stay afloat at a time when fewer and fewer people are investing in luxury items and more and more people are simply trying to put food on their tables?
Affiliate marketing.
While advertisers are tightening their budgets, companies are looking for more efficient and less expensive ways to reach customers. And because advertising on the Internet is cheaper than advertising on print mediums, they are turning to cyberspace to reach out.
If you haven’t tried affiliate marketing with your automotive dealer’s website, there’s no better time to start participating. But there is one way you can supplement your income through the Internet when car sales are slow.
By expanding your online horizons, you can increase your chances for reaping some income from affiliate marketing. The more websites and blogs you have, the more chances there are for a potential customer to see your name and learn about your automotive dealer facility. Think of it as being like real estate. In a bad economy, people with money buy property and “ride out” the recession. When the economy recovers, they sell the property for a profit.
It’s the same idea with the online world. Increase your online presence as much as you can when people aren’t spending their money. When they are confident and start buying again, you’re already in a position to provide them with a product.
Making the World Aware of RSS Feeds
Do you know what an RSS feed is? If you’re like 90 percent of your fellow Internet users, you don’t. You’ve probably heard the term. And chances are you’ve seen the little orange square that symbolizes an RSS feed, too. But have you actually used one? Or have you even done research to learn what it is?
One blogger wants to make more people aware of this essential Internet Marketing tool. He proposes making May 1 RSS Awareness Day. Although RSS users are already aware of this feature, he believes creating a specific day for awareness will get more people talking about it and wondering what it does. Hopefully, he says, the mainstream media will even feel the buzz and put it in the public’s mind.
Here’s what you can do to help. If you have a blog, write about it. A couple of posts on the days before May 1 is great, but blogging about it on the actual day is great, too. Link back to RSSDay.org so readers can click for more information.
As a bonus, you can even win prizes if your blog is picked from a random drawing before May 1. Prizes range from $50 cash awards to credit vouchers and copies of resources for your website. You can find more details here if you’re interested.
At the very least, educate yourself on RSS feeds. You might just save a lot of time in your web surfing sessions. If you’re an auto dealer, it’s also a great way to stay updated on the latest news and information in the automotive industry and your competition, too.
Picking the Right Headline Is Essential for Success
When you’re trying to attract new readers to your affiliate marketing website, few things work as well as your blog’s headline. In fact, the headline you choose for your automotive post can literally make or break its success. But how do you know which headlines work and which ones don’t work? Luckily, there are some tips that you can use to find the best headline for your needs. Here are some suggestions to help you come up with one that will make your readers want to keep reading.
• Be Specific. Vague headlines cause Internet surfers to lose interest before even clicking on your post. The more specific you are, the more likely people are to want to read more.
• Write the Headline First. This keeps your article focused and on topic. When you have the headline, everything you write relates back to the headline. This keeps readers interested longer because they’re reading about something of interest to them. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have clicked on the headline.
• Use a Number. People like to have their articles separated by number. Write the headline as something like, “Five Tips for On-Time Preventative Maintenance” or “Seven Reasons Why You Should Keep Your Tires Properly Inflated.” Your readers will love you for it.
• Be Bold. That doesn’t mean to bold-face the font. It means you should intrigue readers with a forceful, compelling declaration or question. Be careful, though. There’s a fine line between intriguing and insulting.
Of course, there are many, many more tips for writing the perfect headline. And there’s no surefire formula for getting people to read your article. But pulling together a number of ideas is the best chance you have for increasing interest and readership.
