How Do You Keep a Consistent Identity Across Your Platforms? April 22, 2009
Posted by everycarlisted in : Uncategorized , 1 comment so far
http://www.cobbcat.org/images/OneSearchGlass.jpg
We all realize the importance of being visible on the web, especially during a recession. People are doing more and more research online before they make a purchase and it’s important to have a consistent brand that ties in with your growing online presence.
To give yourself a unified presence, please check out the following sites. They deal with comment and profile management. It’s remarkable how much easier tracking your social progress becomes when everything is in one place!
http://www.google.com/profiles/
I hope these sites help to make your lives easier!
If you have any questions or comments, shoot me a message at mstrout@everycarlisted.com or find me on Twitter @ATasteForTea. I would love to hear from you!
Meg
Automotive Advertising Agencies And Auto Dealers Should Prepare For The Possible Bankruptcy Of GM and Chrysler April 13, 2009
Posted by everycarlisted in : Uncategorized , add a commentDomestic new car automobile dealers have already reduced their automotive advertising budgets to maintain profitability at reduced sales levels for both new cars and used cars. Unfortunately, the added burden on General Motors and Chrysler dealers of what appears to be an inevitable bankruptcy – structured Chapter 11 or otherwise – has forced auto dealers to reconsider placing any automotive advertising at all. Both General Motors and Chrysler dealers have been cautioned by their automotive advertising agencies that they need to maintain their presence in the market if they hope to survive after the restructuring takes place.
As the President of Ad Agency Online, L.L.C., (AAOL), and host of an automotive advertising social networking / resource portal – http://adagencyonline.net , I have advised my affiliated automotive advertising agencies to prepare for the bankruptcy of both General Motors and Chrysler in a more constructive manner. I suggest that auto dealers should maintain their market presence by shifting their automotive advertising to more targeted Internet based media and/or internal marketing solutions over radio, T.V. and print. Automotive advertising agencies are already pushing their auto dealer clients onto the World Wide Web. The efficiencies of Internet marketing over conventional advertising have been proven, however the inevitability of the bankruptcy of GM and Chrysler suggests even stricter control of every advertising dollar.
Several new automotive advertising applications have been featured on AdAgencyOnline.Net that provides the control and proven R.O.I. needed in today’s troubled times. One example of a leveraged online platform to post an auto dealer’s new car and used car inventory for free is http://everycarlisted.com/. The site follows the proven business model of the Yellow Pages that provides a free posting for all auto dealers with the option to enhance their exposure on the site to cut through the clutter of the competition. The explosive growth of EveryCarListed has proven the wisdom of their free offer to post new cars and used cars by auto dealers as well as consumers in their “For Sale By Owner” section.
In addition to marketing applications automotive advertising agencies are being challenged to deliver more for less for their auto dealer clients from their existing online investments. The solution suggested by AdAgencyOnline.Net is to integrate newly developed conversion tools to maximize the amount of sales being generated by the auto dealer’s web sites. These applications function as an online transaction tool capable of accommodating an Internet sale from beginning to end rather than being limited to simply making appointments.
Internal marketing applications have also been recommended by AdAgencyOnline.Net to maximize the efficiency of established selling processes at an auto dealership. Sales and service opportunities from an auto dealership’s data base can be by created with automated follow up email and/or direct mail to existing customers in both sales and service for new and pre-owned vehicles. The resulting savings in marketing costs is complemented by the additional revenue earned by the auto dealer’s fixed operations.
Local conquest sales are another area that AdAgencyOnline.Net has advised their affiliated automotive advertising agencies to focus on. The need for consumers to get their best deal has shifted customer loyalty from the product to the “deal of the day.” Email applications are a cost effective way to target area residents that may not exist in an auto dealer’s data base. Several “Do It Yourself” email platforms exist that can draw from available “opt-in” email data bases to deliver a customizable email blast. In addition to the short term R.O.I. realized by direct sales and service generated by the campaign the auto dealer is able to maintain their market presence with the volume of messages delivered in the subject line viewed by the recipients.
In summation; it is important to recognize that bankuptcy is not the end, but rather the beginning for those that plan for it. In my opinion both GM and Chrylser will survive the recent trauma in the auto industry; as will their retail auto dealers. Granted, they may not be the same as they were before but the only constant in the auto industry is change and this situation will prove that. The key is to survive and thrive by maintaining “top of the mind awareness” for customers when they are ready to buy a car and to serve them better than the competition when they do. The solutions suggested above should help you do that.
The Internet And Automotive Advertising Applications Are The Future April 7, 2009
Posted by everycarlisted in : Uncategorized , 1 comment so farAutomotive advertising professionals recognize that a shrinking economy has forced a reduction in new vehicle sales. The resulting consolidation in the auto industry in an attempt to maintain profitability at these lower sales levels has not been limited to auto dealerships. Cost cutting measures for existing retail operations include reductions in inventory, staff, advertising / marketing and key vendor expenses across all departments. Unfortunately, even with all of these cuts the fixed and semi-variable expenses associated with most retail operations will still not generate a profit at current sales levels. When combined with the reduced gross profit per unit in new vehicle sales as a result of the distressed nature of the auto industry it is obvious that a new business model must be applied for auto dealers and auto industry vendors to survive.
Internet based solutions for online car shoppers that replicate “real world” selling processes, coupled with the leveraged resources developed by a wide variety of vendor applications, have provided an answer to those that recognize that the only constant in the auto industry is change. The change that surfaced to offer a shrinking auto industry the best R.O.I. for auto dealers, and the best shopping experience for a used car buyer or a new car buyer, can be found on the World Wide Web. The brick and mortar dealership of yesterday has relinquished its hold on the shopping experience to their online showrooms where new car buyers and used car buyers have turned to get their best deal without the sales hype that drove them onto the Internet Super Highway to shop for a vehicle.
Leveraged online automotive advertising resources, including inventory based websites like EveryCarListed.Com, provide a cost effective way for auto dealers to post their inventory online. Car buyers see EveryCarListed.Com as a “one site stop” where they can get the best deal on a used car and even on a new car. The “free” listings offered to auto dealers have allowed their automotive advertising agencies to extend the online presence of their dealer clients and it represents an online inventory that dwarfs any individual auto dealer or auto dealer group. Similarly, the free listings for consumers in the site’s “For Sale By Owner” section have attracted consumers to the site who may also be looking to buy a car. As a result, EveryCarListed.Com creates a “win-win” scenario for all parties since the site often develops more sales for an auto dealership than they can generate from their own website; and it is hard to beat free.
In addition, cutting edge automotive advertising applications can now replicate real world selling processes including the ability to meet and greet a customer the minute that they visit an online showroom. Live chat and newly developed two way video platforms billed as “customer interaction” tools can accommodate a complete online transaction or simply make an appointment after assisting the online car shopper to narrow down their search to buy a used car or a new car.
Video applications have been developed that automatically convert all of the pictures on an auto dealer’s website into a professional video presentation creating a virtual version of a feature benefit presentation. The videos are then placed onto the auto dealer’s virtual showroom and they can be pushed through You Tube to the search engines to further extend the auto dealer’s foot print on the WWW.
Direct marketing applications that automatically create email and direct mail campaigns pulled from an auto dealer’s database, or a central database of opt in email addresses in the areas surrounding an auto dealership, are other examples of technology driven solutions that are part of the changing landscape of automotive advertising. These changes in the way that auto dealers advertise and sell used cars, new cars and service evidence the resiliency of the auto industry and they represent the future of the auto industry.