Quick… make a list of the top five issues that are negatively impacting your dealership’s profitability that also have little to do with sales team turnover. If you’re like many of the dealers I’ve spoken with over the last year, your list probably contains items like these: Mediocre Online Reputation/CSI Higher Discounting/Lower Grosses Flattening […]
The buyer we’re most familiar with is often called the “Traditional” Up. I put “Traditional” in quotes because today’s Up is anything but traditional. As we see in the data, today’s Up (unlike the Up from just a few years ago) absolutely knows what they and they have a really good idea what they’re […]
Besides the “must haves” of online chat and instant retargeting parasites (which we’ve already discussed in detail) and the “should have” pop-ups, there are a few others that I highly recommend you add to your website sooner rather than later; as delaying their installation is just costing you sales. Trade Appraisal Applications Getting the […]
Be prepared to be shocked, but not everyone wants to buy their next car online. Not even close. While there are certainly consumers who will fully buy new and used vehicles online today, they likely represent no more than five to seven percent of total buyers. This means they’re still an important group to […]
For those who’ve heard me speak on the subject, you know that most website parasites are a good thing. In fact, for some of you with locked-down OEM-approved websites, you also know that if not for a few parasites, you’d likely get very few leads. (We originally discussed parasites when we introduced good pop-ups […]
(This is the first article in a multi-post series.) Throughout this series we’re going to explore how top dealers are successfully selling cars today: the way their customers want to buy. In the process, they’re creating great buying experiences that lead to higher grosses and real market share growth. Moreover, they’re leveraging these great […]
For car dealers interested in connecting with potential buyers, Facebook Messenger has a clear advantage over every other form of communication: When a prospect connects with you or asks you a question via Messenger, you can immediately gather all of the public information they’ve included in their Facebook profile. For all Facebook users, this […]
To ensure we’re all on the same page, let me be clear when it comes to buyers and transparency. First, there are two basic types of transparency that buyers want; price and transactional. And, second, providing both of these today is no longer an option. Of course, the good news is that providing price […]
Lots of you, whether you are a frequent flier or involved somehow in digital marketing and reputation management, are aware that United Breaks Guitars. That is, you’ve viewed the nearly 8-year old music video written, performed and produced by a band that claims they watched as United Airlines’ employees carelessly flung their guitars around the […]
(This is an updated and edited version of my two-part series originally posted on the 3 Birds Marketing blog.) Before we dive into why Carvana will fail (and how it might succeed), I want to make sure we’re all up to speed on the used car market, in general. Unless you just don’t pay […]
As we learned in the last lesson in this series, there are essentially three primary things you can control that will influence those vehicle buyers who make no contact with you before they buy; those are pricing, reputation and messaging. (As DrivingSales tells us, those unwilling to connect in advance of purchase comprise 61% […]
…oh, and for car dealers, chatbots are moving metal! Time for some quick level-setting with the car dealer readers out there: Facebook is not going away; Most of your customers are already there; Your kitten pictures and inventory vomits aren’t being read; and Facebook Ads work, but you need to start communicating with these […]
Let’s quickly agree on two truths about the Internet and car sales: Everyone is online; and Not everyone is willing to submit a lead, call you or text you in advance of their visit. Can we agree on these two? Great! Now, DrivingSales puts the percentage of buyers who make no contact with your […]
Online chat. I know that when some of you hear that you’re thinking “Steve, we tried chat at our dealership, and it didn’t work.” Or, “We’re doing chat right now, but it doesn’t really move any metal.” To me, these thoughts sound like: “We tried having phones in the dealership, and they didn’t work;” […]
Hey Car Dealer: Stop Letting Carvana (and Everyone Else) Define You! If you believe the corporate manifestos and marketing pitches of every automotive retail-related startup for the last twenty years, then you’d think America’s car dealerships are staffed by a bunch of puppy-kicking thieves providing zero value as they work overtime to deliver the absolute […]
I can hear the Digital Marketing Snob in charge of your dealership’s or group’s websites now: “We don’t use pop-ups!” It’s so forceful – yet so completely naïve – that it makes me smile. What sort of precious little darling is making your marketing decisions today? If they’re shouting that “We don’t use pop-ups” […]
If we agree your website has just two primary goals (attract visitors and convert those visitors into buyers), then you need to ensure you’re giving every visitor lots of chances to convert with you. As we learned in an earlier part of this series, visitors don’t really know what you want them to do […]
You’ve told your site visitors “what” to do – that is, you need them to “complete this quick form,” “call now,” “click here,” etc., and this is good. Being direct with a website visitor will generate far more leads and calls than hoping they figure it all out on their own. Now you need […]
A major rule of website design is to understand that the website visitor is not you. They are not your team. They don’t visit your website multiple times a day. And unlike you, they never think your website is “stale.” Understanding this simple fact will keep you from making unnecessary changes that reduce conversions […]
While only a tiny percentage of your website visitors submit e-leads from your website, these leads are gold to dealerships with solid processes in place. In fact, for the average dealer, just 5 website leads equals 1 vehicle sold; making generating these leads a top priority for successful dealers. Unfortunately, many dealers are unintentionally […]