Leveraged Resources And Technology Drive Car Buyers And Sellers Onto The Internet Super Highway March 27, 2009
Posted by everycarlisted in : Uncategorized , add a commentCurrent wisdom suggests that auto dealers need to direct traffic to their “virtual showrooms” through conventional advertising and/or online investments with enhanced organic efforts. The idea is founded on the fact that almost 90% of today’s car shoppers go to the World Wide Web to get enough information to purchase a vehicle before they visit a “real world” dealership to test drive and buy one.
Inventory based websites like EveryCarListed.Com have provided a leveraged resource for auto dealers who know that they need to sell new cars and used cars on the World Wide Web but they don’t have the resources or knowledge to do it competitively on their own. Fortunately, there is strength in numbers and EveryCarListed.Com posts milions of vehicles from thousands of like minded auto dealers anxious to deal with many more millions of customers looking for their best deal to buy a new car, buy a used car or even to join the online community to sell their car with a free “for sale by owner” listing or participate in blogs like this one.
The power of this central information resource and two way interaction between buyers and sellers anchored by EveryCarListed.Com proves that the whole can be greater than the sum of its parts and the result has been the explosive growth of EveryCarListed.Com and the success that the participating auto dealers have enjoyed.
The power of the people and information on the World Wide Web is half of the solution to jump starting the auto industry, but the other half relies on the developing technologies that are designed to allow easy access onto the Internet Super Highway for both buyers and sellers. That problem was initially addressed by the use of ”conversion tools” placed on individual auto dealership websites to transfer Internet shoppers to a real world engagement with online selling processes starting with “pop up” offers functioning as lead generators tied to emails offering car buyers “bribes” in the form of coupons or promises to provide the “best price” or trade-in values etc. if the customer just jumped through one more hoop. Those actions were seen as road blocks to a growing number of online customers who wanted to stay behind their glass wall just a little longer and the “disconnect” allowed customers to continue down the Internet Super Highway to another virtual dealership until they got the information they needed – or at least wanted.
That experience developed the use of “chat programs” that were eventually linked to “click to call” escalations to keep the dialogue going a little longer and the evolution of Web 2.0 continued to improve sales drawn from the virtual to the real world. Not bad, but these processes still required a “disconnect” since most chats or click to call programs were designed to simply make an appointment to visit the dealership to get any meaningful information.
The next step was to develop some “push/pull” functions in the chat programs to allow the customer to be directed to information on the site but the bounce rate evidenced that most customers still needed some time to land themselves on a vehicle – even though it was often the wrong one – and online transactions tools started filling in some of the holes.
So far – so good, but most of these online transaction tools were simply automated forms that lacked the personality and personal attention that is the true “differentiator” of the real world vs. the virtual one and the glass wall still stood in the way of the sale. In response, “transparency” became the buzz word in the auto industry and the solution to crashing through the glass wall was to figure out how to give customers the information that they wanted, when they wanted it and to still allow a personal connection to develop a “relationship” based transaction to mature into a deal in either the real or the virtual world.
The next step in the evolution of online selling processes came when someone connected the dots of video, positioning on the search engines and a real time customer interaction application through a combination of all of the lessons already learned. The solution became possible when Google realized that customers preferred watching a video describing a vehicle over reading a vehicle description on a website or even flipping through two dozen pictures so they started prioritizing videos when developing their search engine algorithms and protocols.
Technology kicked in with automated video production applications that could embed the same search word and meta tag information in a video as a website in a scalable application that could produce hundreds of thousands of videos in a day pushed through a dedicated API with You Tube to dominate the search engines and virtually guarantee a number one position in local searches drilled down to a specific vehicle rather than to a dealer. These applications were enhanced when they made the videos interactive with multi schema layers within the video linked to everything from CarFax reports to custom micro sites capable of bypassing the need to go back up the sales funnel to a website to get the information on the chosen vehicle and even a select group of like vehicles from the originating dealers online inventory.
The glass wall finally came crashing down when video was introduced to a customer interaction program built on a two way video “chat” program with complete push/pull capabilities allowing a simple click to engage a real time VOIP conversation with a real world smiling salesperson linked within the same application to the dealer’s DMS and CRM tools allowing them to desk the deal and push the “first pencil” along with anything that could be passed across a real world desk but on their virtual world showroom.
The solution lies in the fact that there is no longer any disconnect to an email, a phone call or even a “hold on a minute while I go check with my manager” to answer any question that a customer may ask even before they have to ask it! A complete online transaction handled by a centralized BDC to sell vehicles online and have the real world dealerships handle the delivery since everything is pushed directly to the stores CRM and DMS system.
EveryCarListed.Com has already arranged to further enhance the value of their resources by combining the leverage of their inventory and online presence to include videos as part of their enhanced dealer marketing packages. More importantly, they have proven their commitment to stay ahead of the competition for both auto dealers and consumers that rely on their site to provide the most transparent experience possible and they have committed to integrate state of the art processes as they are developed.
Of course the story never ends, but then again – neither do the solutions. Many new ideas are already in beta testing by both of these forward thinking vendors and several others represented by my automotive advertising agency – Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. – and/or featured on our networking portal – http://adagencyonline.net – that is constantly reviewing cutting edge automotive advertising applications for our more visionary vendor clients – like EveryCarListed.Com!
The point of this discussion is that technology and change has always carried the auto industry through tough times and learning from experience is the key to the future. The end game of a website is to convert to a sale or a service appointment – and that can be done in an online community like EveryCarListed.Com using cutting edge technologies and leveraged resources without having to FIRST go to the real world showroom or to surf the web to find some local auto dealership websites that are willing to deal with a customer the way that they deserve. Or, why not cut to the chase and deliver the customer what they want when they want it- which is immediately – in one competitive arena like EveryCarListed.Com!
Technology Links Online Selling Processes To Real World Auto Dealerships March 26, 2009
Posted by everycarlisted in : Uncategorized , add a commentI invested 25 plus years as a General Manager and Dealer Principal in the retail auto industry. My “generation” placed our priority in people and product over technology driven selling processes. The Internet was at “dial up” speed and our DMS was limited to an in-house server with basic applications focused on producing a P&L that linked sales, service and parts for a monthly recap to see what happened, not to determine what should be happening in our day to day operations let alone as a platform to help us sell or service more vehicles and improve our profits.
We recognized that people like to do business with people that they like so we built our business and relationships from within by maturing, training and most importantly retaining our key staff and customers. The Internet, coupled with a change – real or imagined, in the work ethic of our staff has changed the way that today’s auto dealerships do business. More accurately, it has changed the way that our customers do business so auto dealerships and their automotive advertising agencies are being forced to lead, follow or get out of their way if they want to survive in today’s Internet and technology driven auto industry!
The good news is that the phrase that “you can’t teach and old dog new tricks” did not apply to me and mine and we found our way onto the World Wide Web. If anything, the philosophy that you shouldn’t “throw the baby out with the bath water” gave us old school car guys/gals an advantage over this generation’s technology focused auto dealers since we kept the relationship part of our selling processes but we enhanced them with today’s more efficient applications and technologies developed to travel on the Internet Super Highway!
In today’s auto industry shared Internet based inventory marketing platforms like EveryCarListed.Com, (ECL), provide a leveraged automotive advertising tool that we could only dream about when I first got into the automobile business. If an auto dealer wanted to sell a new car, a used car or even to attract someone into our parts or service department we had to write a check to a radio or T.V. station or “bend over” for an annual contract with the local newspaper to get a competitive rate to place an ad. Tent sales were one way to provide customers with a “one stop shopping experience” but that solution was temporary at best and it cut us off from our future service business. Auto malls were developed to share expenses and allow customers to compare different makes and models in one trip but the rising costs of real estate and shrinking profit margins has turned many of those operations into malls or high rise condominiums.
The solutions provided by sites like www.everycarlisted.com are both cost effective and relevant to today’s car shoppers and auto dealers on many levels. The free listings of new cars, used cars and C.P.O.V. vehicles for auto dealers is their core product/service but frankly their true differentiator is in their support of services like this blog forum and the ability for individuals to list their car for sale for free along with the auto dealerships.
Additional information on ECL through upgraded packages offered to auto dealers in both the virtual and the real world coupled with integrated conversion tools and pending video applications are just the tip of the iceberg and I am anxious to represent them and theirs to me and mine through my advertising agency, Ad Agency Online, L.L.C., on our free automotive advertising networking portal – http://adagencyonline.net and on my blog talk radio station – WAAOL, All Automotive Advertising News All The Time , http://www.blogtalkradio.com/adagencyonline – as their business model matures. Information is the most valued asset on the Internet and ECL provides a lot of it!
Auto Dealership Websites vs. Brick and Mortar Facilities – Do We Need Both? March 25, 2009
Posted by everycarlisted in : Uncategorized , add a commentIn today’s Internet driven auto industry it is critically important for an auto dealer to maintain an online presence to capture car shoppers on the World Wide Web. Almost 90% of car buyers begin their search online and a similar percentage will turn to the Internet to find their nearest auto dealership to service their vehicle once they have purchased it.
Based on the fact that most consumers will buy a car, sell car or select their future service center online, it makes sense that any successful auto dealership will have their own website – and they do! Of course their real world “brick and mortar” dealership has to be there to handle the test drives, deliver the vehicles and provide future service so the two business models are co-dependent. The current relationship between the “virtual” world auto dealership and the “real” world auto dealership may be true today, but how about tomorrow?
Communal “one stop shopping” websites like www.EveryCarListed.Com already provide a free platform for auto dealers to post their inventory online and for a nominal fee auto dealers can upgrade to a more comprehensive marketing package to set them apart from the competition. Frankly, the best designed individual auto dealership website on the World Wide Web – with the best online marketing plan in the world - can’t possibly compete with the leveraged exposure in the search engines, and comparable/competitive inventory information provided on EveryCarListed.Com, (ECL). If that is true – and it is – then maybe auto dealerships should focus on improving their packages on ECL rather than tying up resources in trying to compete with the thousands of other individual auto dealership websites with their limited inventories and even third party “lead provider” websites that focus more on capturing customer information and selling individual “leads” to auto dealers rather than actually providing customers with the information that they need to buy a car to earn their business and support their business model for their auto dealer supporters.
Of course auto dealerships still need their brick and mortar facilities, but their role in the selling process has already changed because of online resources like ECL. Auto dealerships used to control the access to information on their products – and certainly on their “best price” – which forced consumers to limit their use of the Internet to narrowing down their shopping list to auto dealerships that they would have to visit to negotiate their best deal or to service their car. The developing trend on the Internet to provide “transparency” in the online shopping experience has allowed customers to get the detailed product and price information that they want on sites like ECL. This convenient one stop shopping resource takes the “selling” part of the equation online and allows the real world dealership to focus on the delivery and service part.
The good news is that the sale is only the starting point for a long term relationship built on the delivery experience and future servicing of the vehicle but that “first impression” online is still a critical first step. Since most online shoppers still want to “shop” several different makes, models and yes – even auto dealerships – it makes sense that the experience in a site like ECL will provide an efficiency that will insure that their first impression of your individual dealership is a good one.
Of course the only constant in the auto industry is change and the Internet and the technologies that are being built to add additional entrance ramps onto the Internet Super Highway are already changing what we see online today in favor of what will be tomorrow. Online “conversion” tools to engage customers with video and customer interaction/engagement tools will add a new paragraph to this story. More relevantly, forward thinking automotive advertising agencies, like my company Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. and our online resource portal – http://adagencyonline.net- are already driving our auto dealer clients to sites like ECL because they are focused on integrating these kinds of new technologies and conversion tools into their platform to benefit both their online customers as well as their contributing dealers.
The future of the auto dealership is on the Internet, and the future of the Internet is in the hands of leveraged resources and services offered by sites like EveryCarListed.Com. You may not want to sell your brick and mortar dealership just yet, but you certainly want to re-think how it is used to sell and service vehicles to/for your customers.
Automotive Advertising Agencies Shift Focus from Selling New Cars To Selling Used Cars & Service On EveryCarListed.Com March 24, 2009
Posted by everycarlisted in : Uncategorized , add a commentAs the President of Ad Agency Online, L.L.C., (AAOL), – a national network of independent automotive advertising agencies – and the host of an auto industry social networking site – http://adagencyonline.net - I have access to information from many verticals in the auto industry. Usually, observing trends and making decisions to advise my auto dealer clients is an evolutionary process that requires in depth “A-B” testing or comparisons extrapolated from experienced sales statistics drawn from a variety of sources to form a conclusion and provide a direction for my affiliated automotive advertising agencies and auto dealer clients in designing their marketing plans. Frankly, today’s auto industry is far from “usuall” and the conclusions that can be made from a variety of channells are all pointing in one direction – sell Used Cars and Service and let the O.E.M.s focus on New Cars!
That conclusion is a necessary evil brought about by the shrinking profit margins realized by selling new cars into a “buyers market” where O.E.M.s and new franchise auto dealers are doing whatever it takes to reduce their inventory and associated floor plan costs. Oddly enough that message is not limited to the troubled domestic franchises as the general malaise in the economy has empowered car shoppers to wait for their best deal empowered by the media that has announced the end of the world as we know it.
The fact that people still need to get to work forces certain decisions – like considering a less expensive used car or servicing the one that they are driving – so the glass is still half full for those auto dealers that “get it” and act accordingly. Based on the resulting shift by consumers to buy a used car rather than a new car, EveryCarListed.Com could not have entered the market at a better time.
The “one stop site” opportunity offered by www.everycarlisted.com allows online shoppers to compare every make and model in a no pressure environment by providing comparable information in product and price that no individual auto dealer can compete with. The obvious conclusion is that if you can’t beat them – join them. As a result, I have advised my affiliated automotive advertising agencies and auto dealer clients to post their used car inventory, with a special focus on certified pre-owned vehicles, (C.P.O.V.), on EveryCarListed.Com, (ECL), with their best “Internet” price and to prioritize the “leads” that ECL delivers over all others.
Once the product and the price posted on ECL surfaces a today buyer the next “differentiator” is how transparent the competing dealerships make the rest of the buying/selling process for the online shopper. Frankly, an honest exchange triggered by the initial contact has more value than having the “lowest price” so improving an auto dealer’s online selling processes and integrating them with their “real world” staff will preserve gross profit in used car sales to be better than for a new car sale in today’s competitive auto industry.
The focus on fixed operations by ECL, (service and parts to consumers who may not recognize that term), by listing auto dealers for consumers and providing blogs like this one to educate car shoppers is yet another example that EveryCarListed.Com “gets it.” The future of the auto industry is built on the shared history and experience that the only constant is change.
The temporary shift to buying a used car instead of buying a new car brought about by today’s troubled economy, or finding a friendly auto dealer to service the one that you have for the same reason, is a cyclical market adjustment that is clearly serviced by ECL. More importantly, the relationships earned by the auto dealers that post their inventory in ECL today will be the ones that survive to sell a new car when the market returns; and it will.
Written by: Philip Zelinger, President of Ad Agency Online, L.L.C., host of www.AdAgencyOnline.Net and the blog talk radio station – WAAOL, All Automotive Advertising News All The Time – http://www.blogtalkradio.com/adagencyonline
Automotive Advertising Isn't About Selling Cars Anymore – It's About Making Friends! March 23, 2009
Posted by everycarlisted in : Uncategorized , add a commentAs the president of Ad Agency Online, L.L.C., a full service automotive advertising agency, and the host a free auto industry focused social networking / resource portal – http://adagencyonline.net – I have accepted the changing role that the Internet has placed on automotive advertising agencies. Of course it is still all about selling new cars, although in today’s market it is even more about selling used cars and service, but the World Wide Web has opened a new “media” that is built on a “pull/push” mechanism controlled by online consumers rather than the “push/pull” platform of radio, t.v. and newspaper that is controlled by automotive advertising agencies fishing for business for their auto dealer clients.
Social networking forums, like this blog site supported by EveryCarListed.Com, can provide information to help people buy a car or sell a car, but the real focus is on building trust and developing relationships that represents the true differentiator for automotive advertising agencies and auto dealers who get it!
Human nature has survived in the virtual world on the Internet and people still like to do business with people that they like. Sites like EveryCarlisted.Com recognize that price and product aren’t enough to sell a vehicle online. People still matter and the information shared in blog forums as well as the insights shared on other social networking sites like Twitter, FaceBook, etc. have a large role in today’s automotive advertising plans that are destined to grow.
New technologies built on the Internet that allow videos, and blog talk radio shows like our own online station featured on AdAgencyOnline.Net – WAAOL, All Automotive Advertising News All The Time – http://blogtalkradio.com/adagencyonline – have proven the importance of relationship selling and the need to focus on making friends a top priority with the confidence that the sales will follow.
Why Should You Be Excited About the New Facebook Pages? March 13, 2009
Posted by everycarlisted in : Automotive Advertising, For Dealers, Tips and Tricks, Web 2.0 , 1 comment so far
Facebook recently released a new version of it’s pages feature and it’s causing a stir in the online advertising world. Here’s why!
In the past, brands have been frustrated by the stale communication options that the old Facebook Pages offered to businesses. The purpose of a page was more for consumers to support it, rather than letting the companies converse with their target audiences.
Recently this dynamic changed with the new Facebook pages release. The new pages are designed to mimic the Facebook profiles and increase brand interaction.
Social media marketing is taking a second, more serious look at Facebook through this new policy and the resulting traffic should be supportive of the Facebook Facelift.
For more information about the new Facebook pages, please check out these links:
New Facebook Pages getting developer attention
How To Develop A Facebook Page That Attracts Millions of Fans
Live: Facebook Unveils the New Facebook Pages (and Other Product Updates)
The Importance of a Well Designed Dealership Web Site. March 2, 2009
Posted by everycarlisted in : Automotive Advertising, For Dealers, Web 2.0 , 1 comment so far
We all know the importance of a well designed web site, right? In a world where people research online before they buy, your website is often the first impression people get of your dealership.
In an article by Road and Travel magazine, they state that:
A well-designed manufacturer website can be integral in motivating automotive shoppers to visit dealer showrooms for a test drive, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2002 Manufacturer Web Site Evaluation Study released in May.
The study, now in its third year, finds that 42 percent of respondents who rate a manufacturer\’s Web site as \”outstanding\” indicate they are more likely to visit a showroom for a test drive than they were prior to visiting the site. Nearly 90 percent of shoppers also feel that manufacturer Web sites, combining sight, sound and motion, are more useful than traditional brochures.
A Web site\’s usefulness is primarily a function of three factors: navigation, appearance/presentation, and relevance of the information provided. The Mercedes-Benz Web site, which ranked sixth in 2001, ranks highest in the study, with top scores in appearance/presentation and navigation. The site scored particularly well on its home page design, which the study finds critical to the success of any manufacturer\’s Web site.
A good manufacturer Web site not only inspires test drives, but also increases a visitor\’s likeliness to request an online price quote — an indication of purchase intent. While consumers trust manufacturer sites more for specific vehicle information, they overwhelmingly rely on independent third-party sites for pricing information such as dealer invoice and market-value estimates. Currently 13 percent of new-vehicle buyers request an online price quote, but only 4 percent do so through a manufacturer site.
A good website should be customer friendly and provide the information needed to possibly make a purchasing decision. Mane dealership sites I see could use a facelift and now is the perfect time to get it taken care of! Put your best foot forward for the Spring and Summer car buying seasons!
Check out this list of tips for successfully redesigning your web site:
- 9 Tips For A Well Designed Website
- What should a well designed website look like, part I?
- 20 well designed E-commerce websites
- A well designed site is a pleasure and a money maker
As always, please toss a comment at the bottom to let me know what you think!
Meg
P.S. if you want to connect with www.EveryCarListed.com in other social venues, please check out our Twitter account and our YouTube channel
Google Alerts: What they do and how they impact the web side of your business? February 25, 2009
Posted by everycarlisted in : Automotive Advertising, Tips and Tricks, Uncategorized, Web 2.0 , 3commentsHey guys. Over the past few weeks, we have been going over basic social media strategy for your dealership. I have been specifically focusing on sites but there are some simple tools you should be using to monitor your progress as well! Please take a few minutes of your time to learn about the importance of Google Alerts for your business!
Google Alerts are primarily used to keep tabs on your company and any keywords associated with your brand. For EveryCarListed, we have alerts set up on forms of our company name like EveryCarListed.com, EveryCarListed, Blog.EveryCarListed.com.
After we set up our company name, we added alerts on any keywords that we considered to be important as well. For us those keywords look something like “online automotive advertising” etc. This helps us keep a pulse on the market and see new trends that are specifically applicable to us.
Finally, I personally set up an alert on “Meg Strout”, “Meg EveryCarListed” and “ATasteForTea” because I am the online face for EveryCarListed.com. By having these alerts in place I am able to monitor what the web is saying about me and it informs me when someone adds a comment concerning my interaction with the company.
For more information, please check out the hyperlinks for various links to great sites about Google Alerts!
If you guys have questions or comments, please drop me a commment!
How the Power of "@" Can Change Your Online Interactions February 20, 2009
Posted by everycarlisted in : For Dealers, General Information, Tips and Tricks, Uncategorized, Web 2.0 , 2commentsIn the last post, I touched on Micro Blogging and how it is the new relationship marketing and brand management.
For this post I’ll outline the benefits and give you some tips on interaction and brand building online!
Check out this well written post about Micro Blogging for business.
People are bringing a lot of very interesting brand management examples to blogs everywhere. CEO’s and online marketers and daily consumers alike are praising the benefits of Micro Blogging for the way it’s changing the face of customer support.
Now, it you’re looking for tips for building that customer interaction, please check out David Armano’s post titled Guidelines For Brands Using Twitter. He does a really great job bringing a human aspect to corporate organizations and encouraging interaction to help build a great online brand!
For a few more sites, please check out these links!
The Role of Twitter in Brand Management
Twittertise – Another Tool for Brand Management on Twitter
Effective Brand Management using Twitter
Marketing, Customer Service, and Brand Management with Twitter
Thanks for reading! If you have questions or comments, please add them at the bottom!
Meg
Micro Blogging for Business? February 16, 2009
Posted by everycarlisted in : Automotive Advertising, General Information, Web 2.0 , 1 comment so far
What do you know about Micro-Blogging?
It’s a pretty simple concept really. In roughly 140 characters or less, you are given the opportunity to update the world on your life, interests, projects, lunch plans or corporate news. There are a number of web sites that are built upon these blips of communication and they are changing the way people on the web interact.
Many marketers today are turning to Micro Blogging sites like Twitter to promote themselves or their business by using modern “relationship marketing.” An interesting article by Bill Soriano points out that:
“Through Relationship Marketing Online, the entrepreneurs can take customer engagement to a higher level. Having a public dialogue with your consumers makes them feel good and wanted. {Relationship Marketing Online} is not just about creating a sales pitch. It is much more than that. That is why in the long run, it is so much more rewarding. The marketers need to break through the clutter of the sales pitch and reach out to people. You are not only the brand ambassador of your product; you are also a partner with your customer.”
Personal engagement with your customers is becoming a key aspect in doing business online and Micro Blogging is developing the way to connect, answer questions, gain feedback and announce changes. It’s the pulse of your customers. Please take the time to see what they care about!
In the next few posts, I’ll be going over tips for interaction and different tools you can use to create and manage your Micro Blogging account and make a good impression on your customers! Stay tuned!
If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below, I’d love your opinion!
Meg