The Internet Marketing Totem Pole
Watching the Bush administration being phased out has been exhilarating. I imagine there is as much relief for Bush and his family to be leaving office as there is for the people of the United States. I am relieved, but for his sake, not mine.
Time Heals
I expect that time will be good to Bush. There is a great abyss right now between secular progressives and the common folk. Mainstream media gives the far-left more weight today than other ways of thinking, but that will change. The media’s message and influence will be dust in the wind compared to the longevity of Bush’s legacy. Once the echoes are gone, the glory of Bush’s Presidency, beyond his stand against terrorism, will be enshrined.
There was something missing though the other night in President Bush’s final press conference. I am glad he let loose. It was a healthy choice and he was splendid in his Farewell Address. But W did not seem aware of his own Divinity in the press conference. He was irritated and failed to acknowledge the eternity of his situation.
My Nana told me one time that God would not put you in situations you can’t handle. I believe that considering the stack of cards Bush was issued and the extraordinary calamities that occurred on his watch, the Bush administration accomplished a variety of things that could shine decades later. The amount of pressure on Bush’s shoulders is a reflection of his faithful ability to lead us. The state of the Union is not the result of Bush’s quirks, ideology, and poor public speaking skills, but infidels will of course point to that as the problem rather than take accountability for their own dangerous behavior.
2009 – Higher Standards in Business
Fortunately, the world seems to be moving forward again, minus for the “mental recession” that has now progressed to economic doldrums. The holidays are over and a new President is rolling in. Let’s hope that the small business can press forward again. I see this as a cleansing period for our nation where business practices and influence will be more scrutinized and held to a higher standard. Or is that wishful thinking?
Internet Marketing Illiteracy
One thing I definitely want to see is for people to be more computer-Internet savvy. There is too much computer illiteracy out there. I am not referring to under-developed countries but right here in my own backyard with working professionals and business owners. The computer and/or Internet skills I see in people are generally low. It is foreign to too many people and that needs to change. I am no whiz but I certainly seem like it to too many people.
This could be an indicator of the long future of the Internet marketing business. Despite the vast quantity of businesses already helping others utilize the Internet, it seems there are still corners of market share up for grabs. Car dealerships aren’t the only businesses behind the curve with Internet marketing, although they certainly have a hill to climb when it comes to it.
Totem Pole
So with the Bush administration headed back to Texas and our seeming Manchurian Candidate on his way to being a social, economic, and foreign policy savior, what does the landscape for you look like? Where on the Internet Marketing totem pole is your business and what are you doing this year to reach your business goals?
Dealerships are not a commodity
Part II.
So here we are, just more than 2 years since AutoConversion was conceived. During this time I have seen blogs and bloggers come and go and I have seen some wonderfully grow. Jeff Kershner for example has experienced tremendous success with DealerRefresh which I think has given numerous people the inspiration to pursue their own dreams and ideas. This is a beautiful thing and he should long be known for his contributions to the industry.
I have also seen networking sites lift some of the industry’s iconic leaders to a deserved “rock star” status. People like Ralph Paglia and David Kain who have highly active discussion audiences. Now even DrivingSales is gaining force. It truly is great to see the auto industry getting its feet wet in the arena of Web 2.0.
Now think of what is to come. There is much hype for the auto industry in 2009. Dealers are hungry to sell cars. Can you believe it? They’re hungry!
Seriously though I think the dealers that are preparing for the upswing with the right tools could be in for a real treat. Tools such as blogs and social networking sites, email, video, and SEO. The coming year should present an opportunity for dealers to take back the purchase mantle if you know what I mean.
The past 10 years have belonged to the customer. Dealers became a commodity along with their automobiles. The Internet gave purchasing power to car shoppers. No more.
This year, car buyers will research automobiles AND dealerships, and dealers will be responding with the right tools. It’s already happening, but not at mass critical. That’s what 2009 will bring. True relational marketing.
Anyway, what do I know. I am just babbling. Happy New Year Everyone! Take care of your neighbor.
Five Tips for Increasing Subscribers to Your Blog
In a great post written for Skelliewag.org, the blogger mentions several ways to increase the number of subscribers to your blog. If you have a blog for the purposes of online brand marketing, gaining more subscribers is one of the best ways to attract more attention and push your message in a more effective method. Here are some tips from that post and other sources to help your efforts.
• Quality is better than quantity. AlthoughGoogle and other spiders like frequently-updated content, readers might unsubscribe if your daily blogs sound more like “content for content’s sake” rather than a meaningful and useful post. Of course, an equal share of quality and quantity makes for ideal posts.
• Focus on your audience rather than topics. You’re writing for people. If you focus on the people you’re trying to reach, the topics will fall right into place.
• Make your blog’s purpose clear for new visitors.
• Narrow your blog’s focus. If you write about personal finance, narrow your focus to something like “debt relief,” “thrifty spending” or “saving for retirement” instead of the broad focus of “personal finance.” Readers can go to thousands of other websites to read about personal finance, but the narrower the topic, the fewer blogs there are from which to choose.
• Promote your blog through links and social media websites. When other blogs link to yours, your page ranks higher. Marketing your blog on social media sites exposes it to potential readers more often.
Getting Your Fair Share of Customers
Looking at all of the vehicles on the road today, you’d think that being an automotive dealer would be a profitable business. But there’s a lot of competition in the car-selling industry. As such, it can be tough getting your fair share of customers. Consider the following statistics:
• Consumers will purchase approximately 16 million new vehicles this year in the United States.
• Dealers will sell about 50 million used vehicles this year.
• There are more than 150 million vehicles on the road in the United States today.
• About 13 million of those vehicles on the road today will be taken to the junkyard this year.
• Every week, 1.3 million people buy a vehicle in the United States.
With these staggering figures, it’s easy to see that your car dealership’s potential is nearly unlimited. But you still need to bring customers into your facility instead of the one around the corner. Take a closer look at the two main types of buyers so you can focus your online brand marketing and other advertising resources to attract customers.
1. “Wanna Buyers”: This is the largest group of buyers, but they like to delay their purchases until the right time. They want to make sure it’s the best time to buy and that they are getting the best deals when they do decide to buy.
2. “Gotta Buyers” : These are the people who need to buy a vehicle because they are in a pinch. They are usually younger people with less money, and they are willing to purchase any reasonable vehicle if the price is right. Many of them also have bad credit or other problems that make their car-buying decisions more difficult.
Now that we know the two main types of car buyers, we can examine how you can focus your advertising to attract them. Come back tomorrow for some tips on how to market your dealership appealing to the “Wanna Buyers” and the “Gotta Buyers.”
Maximizing Success with Adwords Demographics
If you’ve got a website that caters specifically to a certain age group or target audience, your advertisements may be wasted on Internet users that don’t match your goals.
That’s why Google Adwords is offering something called “demographic bidding.” With this new system, your online marketing strategies can reach new and exciting goals. With demographic bidding, you can enable more attention-grabbing product placements for your Adsense ads to increase their impact on viewers. That way, your target audience is more likely to see the products meant for them.
Think of it this way: You are wasting your advertising dollars if you are paying for Adwords to display ads about the latest video game system if the only people seeing it are senior citizens.
The new system works because Google will receive the specific demographic data from various social networks. Myspace, Facebook and others often ask for users’ ages and other information when they sign up for accounts. Google will then use that information and display your Adwords ads to your target groups on those websites. Or the company can simply prevent your ads from displaying to groups outside of your target audience.
Google outlines three steps for those interested in this new program:
1. Sign up with Google Adwords and create a campaign.
2. Wait for the campaign to run for a week to gather demographic information and assess the impact of the campaign.
3. Increase your bids for groups with good values or hide the ads from groups with poor responses.
Three Ways to Drive Dealership Business with Your Blog
There are several ways you can increase the number of customers that visit your dealership. But any marketing professional will tell you that word-of-mouth is one of the most effective means of advertising. The Internet and online marketing have taken that concept to an entirely new level, though. Here are some ways that you can create an effective blog for your dealership and attract more customers by virtual word-of-mouth.
Show Testimonials on Your Blog
This is the 21st century’s version of telling your friends and family about your great experience as a customer. Ask your satisfied customers to write positive reflections of their experiences and grant you permission to post them online. Some companies even have pre-printed testimonials and ask customers to sign them if they agree with what they say.
Add Content Frequently
In terms of search engine recognition and the greatest chance for exposure, content with specific keywords relevant to your dealership is ideal for advertising your company. Google and Yahoo are more likely to pick up on original and fresh content that is updated frequently. And by frequently, I mean at least five times a week, but ideally every day or even more often than that.
Allow Subscriptions and Feeds
These two simple additions to your dealership’s blog ensure that your customers have easy access to the website without needing to remember the URL. With subscriptions, the customers who have subscribed to your blog receive an e-mail each time you update the blog. Feeds are slightly different, but they essentially work along the same concept.
Come back next week for more tips on how to make your dealership blog work for you.
Increasing Brand Loyalty through Relationships
Brand loyalty is essential to any business, and this is especially true for car dealerships. Repeat customers are often the backbone of any auto brand, and when they start to fall away, the company feels the pinch.
That’s why the dealer-customer relationship is such a vital part of any brand’s success.
Two marketing groups, Carlson Marketing and the Peppers & Rogers Group, conducted a study based on this realization. It focused on the brand loyalty among customers and the relationship that automakers had with those people. To measure brand loyalty, researchers asked customers if they returned to the brand more than once for a purchase or if they recommended the brand to their friends.
Among the studied automakers, the strongest dealer-consumer relationships existed for Cadillac, BMW and Lexus.
Do you want to increase the brand loyalty throughout your customer base? How would you like to have customers that not only return for future purchases but also tell their friends and families to buy your particular brand? The study suggested three ways to increase your relationships with your customers.
- Build relationships with individual customers instead of relying on a “market segment.”
- Both parties–the dealer and the customer–must make behavioral changes.
- Dealers and customers must exchange information.
But how does a dealer put these theories into practice? Here are some suggestions from the study:
- Programs and initiatives that draw the consumer to your brand: Loyalty initiatives give customers more reasons to come back, but lower pricing and other programs attract new customers. Dealers can accomplish this through online brand marketing or through other mediums to get the word out to potential customers.
- Communicate with buyers: People want to speak with a person, not a salesman. Direct communication makes buyers feel more comfortable and likely to come back.
- Buyers want a pleasant experience and clean surroundings when making a purchase. Convenient locations, extended hours and fair prices are all part of a pleasant dealer experience.
- The vehicles themselves play a role in brand loyalty. Better features increases return customers.
