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Feedback: So What Exactly Does IM@CS Do?

This post is a long time in coming, even though not our typical cup of tea. Why? Because we want clients and the industry to understand more (and in some cases, even something) and talk about us. Tooting our own horn is a turnoff, and publishing papers, studies and books with mostly repeated content is deplorable. However, after nine years of “what does IM@CS do?”, it’s likely (beyond) time to make it a little more known…

Interactive Marketing and Consulting Services (a.k.a. IM@CS) was founded in September 2007, when the amount of non-vendor companies/consultants dedicated to digital in the Automotive Industry could be counted on two hands. In other words, if you don’t count website developers, ad agencies and the like, you could hire less than 10 entities to truly grow your digital results independently.

Some of our firsts that lead the industry:

  • Website maintenance (developed into SEO Services) started December 2007 and micro-sites in 2009
  • Social Media services started in December 2007 (we launched the first Audi and second Porsche dealership on Twitter, for example, and many of the first-50 on Facebook dealership accounts) and most followed 3-5 years alter. We are the pioneers of automotive retail social media.
  • Vendor coordination/accountability yielding fastest-in-class response times (with Gary’s background at eVox, Edmunds and izmoCars, nearly all OEMs, Tier 1 and Tier 2 vendors were on a direct, one-to-one relationship with IM@CS before other digital consultants knew them)
  • First OEM-direct relationship (Toyota/Lexus) secured in January 2008, educating hundreds of Lexus dealerships around the country (replaced incumbent and scored highest dealership satisfaction from the summits over a five-year period)
  • Mystery shopping of dealers in 2007 (started in 2004 while at eVox), then introduced lead scoring (rather than mystery shopping for clients) in 2011 and rolled out to OEM programs
  • First 20 Group presentations in 2009 (Porsche US Pre-Owned Forum and Volkswagen Canada digital) yielded transformational changes for dealerships
  • Advocating, coaching and maintaining online reputation management since 2008

Not easily known unless you followed IM@CS in the early days, our work resulted in many industry-leading benchmarks as well as brought other consultants and vendors to the forefront and awareness over the past nine-plus years. Gary May has been a sought-after speaker since opening the J.D. Power & Associates Internet Roundtable at Red Rock Casino Resort in 2008. In addition, Gary has spoken at the first six years of DrivingSales Executive Summits as well as dozens of other conferences, 20 Groups and private vendor events. Eric Trytko and the content team have driven industry-exclusive vehicle editorial and content direct from auto show launches since 2010, something that no other dealer provider has done (most repurpose OEM and publisher releases and articles or use spun -software based- content, a search-engine flag).

IM@CS has created over 350 blog posts and has contributed to top Automotive forums.

Our team (currently a staff of nine) touches all parts of your digital presence:

  • Website maintenance
  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
  • Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
  • Social Media content management and marketing (organic and paid)
  • Reputation Management (tracking and maintenance)
  • Creative assets (banners/graphics, landing pages, email marketing)

We carefully vet all dealer digital processes through hands-on assessment, highlight low-hanging fruit as well as build long-term strategies, weigh competitors plus develop strategies around acquisition and conquest, bring unrivaled education to executive and management-level staff and build unmatched results for salespeople.

Some of our competitive advantages and benefits to business leaders:

  • Out-of-the-box solutions (no cookie-cutter/duplicated approaches including content and lead management/CRM/templates)
    • what works in your store, not others
  • Commission-free vendor recommendations (giving up 5-and 6-figure revenue per year in kick-backs)
  • Best-practice approaches influenced by both automotive industry leaders as well as out-of-the-industry strategy and results
  • Six day per week support 6a-6p PT and beyond
    • Most requests receive 24-hour turnaround

We have been a trusted, non-contracted (month-to-month services since day one) partner for dealerships with an average duration of over two years and we have been hired back or advised by 25% of our clients. Our partnerships with stores develop long-lasting results while keeping executive management up-to-date with all digital aspects. Our R.O.I. is unmatched in over 90% of clients.

When you and your business are ready to stop splitting hairs with me-too vendors and are ready to grow your sales, marketing efficiencies and knowledge in order to build sustainable results, contact us for a review call or an assessment meeting. Yes, it can be this simple to stop receiving only slight benefits while paying vendors for their lifestyles. And understand why, in most cases, your co-op OEM-run programs will never serve you to profit and actually only serve your vendors and manufacturers with piles of data about you and your operations.

 

Here’s to your success in 2017!

December 9, 2016 by Gary May 0
Endorsement? Nope, It Rolls More Like A Super Pac.

As our industry moves (very slowly) toward digital dominance, more companies are chosen each year to assist with certain initiatives driven by the OEMs. As the market fills with mostly fledgling, so-called expert vendors in the major categories (website, SEO, SEM, mobile, reputation management, social media), RFPs and projects are drawn out and the partners are selected. Then, almost like clockwork, the inevitable takes place. The proverbial crap hits the fan and the vendor can't deliver.

If you've paid attention and done a little digging over the past few years, you've watched as the industry has filled with providers that, for the most part, weren't doing what they are now providing for more than a year or two (and sometimes simply weren't even in the space the day before they launched). Many companies have re-branded as digital agencies, marketers, training, search and the like with little more than a presentation deck. And then they walk into the manufacturers headquarters (sometimes on the coattails of a relative or someone they have "pictures" of) for their pitch. Viola, preferred vendor!

Even though relationships dominate despite near incompetence or irrelevance, sometimes it's just that the company/companies that can actually do the work are viewed as too small (staff, revenue, etc.), or they are brought in to pitch simply to hit the right amount of stand up presentations for purchasing. But the litmus test doesn't change: call the vendor, ask a non life-and-death question and see if the first person that's not a receptionist or secretary can answer. If you're talking with a tech support person and they have to ask a manager or someone else, call your OEM rep and give them an earful. Maybe, just maybe, if this happens a few hundred (read: thousand) times, maybe they'll get the message that their preferred provider(s) simply can't do the work.

In working with nearly every brand dealership and nearly all OEMs, their ad agencies and digital vendors over the past twelve plus years, it's scary to witness the process, implementation and support that exists. And the cycle continues due to the incestuous ways in which the programs are executed. The manufacturers want you to believe that real assessments are carried out and that they've done their due diligence. Fact is, that's a pipe dream. Endorsements aren't really want they sound like. And for those people that paid any attention to elections over the past months as well as years, vendor selection is more like how Super Pacs operate or how Wall Street controls their puppets: Follow the money, lunches, perks and relationships and you'll find a substandard product or service get the rubber stamp.

And the pisser is that they keep buying from them, warts and all. Because, among other things, the mentality is still non-digital in marketing. And the people who head the eCommerce and digital divisions are no better at their genre than your local newspaper rep.

So follow the vendor recommendations that are mandatory and voluntary but always keep an ear to the ground and give real feedback to your factory rep (even though the majority of them have no idea what an AdWord extension, heat map or pixel tracking is) and at ad meetings and 20 Groups. Because the majority of what they or you are buying is well under what you deserve, and usually what works.

 

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

November 28, 2012 by Gary May 0
The Disappointment Your Customers Experience Comes From Within

Let's face it, we're all consumers. Even the highest-paid CEOs in the world have to do it: shop and buy. They will engage a brand, a retailer, a transaction with one expectation in mind: satisfaction. Whether a $4 latte or a $4,000,000 property, there is a process we go through to self-determine the investment of time, research and transaction as well as intended outcome. So if your only measurement is analytics or items sold, you're sorely missing a huge part of what is needed.

Go to the majority of automotive websites, mobile sites, social media and advertising. Ask the average consumer, let alone highly-compensated executive, and you are likely to get an answer you don't like. Why is that? For the most part, we've been buying solutions while being complacent in our happy place: doing what we know and not changing that one bit.

The first layer of measurement was the showroom floor and service drive. Sentiment was shared, while not always freely, in a controlled environment where the impact was mitigated to the most part. That gauge has moved, for the most part, into the most transparent of places: the Internet.

And that is a double-dose of pain. So how do we change what is commonly referred to as one of the least-desired activities (going to a car dealership) that is connected with one of the most accessible of engagements (going to the web)? For starters, do it yourself. Go through your website. As a consumer. Hard as it may be, do it. Take off the dealer hat and pretend you actually need to find something you want. Easily. Quickly. The same way you'd buy an airline ticket on www.yourfavoriteairlinewebsite.com.

Then visit your website on your mobile device. If you are one of more than half the car dealerships in the country, you'll likely see a thumb-sized version of your full website. Disappointed yet? Now hop over to your Blog, if you have one of the best places to build your brand and capture eyeballs online. Because based on your website response, you likely don't offer the image, message, layout and experience you'd like yourself.

Have Facebook and Twitter pages? If not, don't necessarily jump in but if you do, look. What are you saying? Are you just displaying inventory, a feed of random content from somewhere else? Is it representative of what you do your store? Is it, like your CRM, automated? Or is it genuine?

And what about reputation management? While some have embraced it for more than a year or two, the neccessary processes and engagement still don't exist for the most part. And don't get disappointed yourself when you don't have a strategy and are ticked off with what gets displayed online.

Some dealers are starting the next generation of their dealership with consumer engagement. And guess what?! That's perfect. What better input than the people dropping thousands of dollars at your business? Customer advisory boards. Meet the dealership events. Club meets and other non-transactional ways to engage and ask your customers.

The disappointment your customers experience comes from within. And if you don't have a plan to assess, measure, change and improve consistently, the numbers that matter most will go in the least desireable direction.

If you are one of the dealers heading to Las Vegas for Digital Dealer, DrivingSales Executive Summit and JD Power Internet Roundtable, take advantage of the wealth of knowledge. But don't do it simply to compare and buy yourself. Stop. Sit down with other dealers, consultants and outsiders. Take a deep look at what consumers see. Ask the tough questions. Then engage the reps and vendors.

Start delivering online what you say you do in your brick and mortar existence. It's your greatest opportunity.

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

October 3, 2010 by Gary May 0
Is It The Chicken Or The Egg? Nope. It’s The Customer!

A long time ago we lost focus. Then got it back. A while ago we lost focus, and got it back. A short bit ago we lost focus. Somehow it came back together. Ah, the joys of the automotive industry. Factory, retail, supplier, service provider…all of us. It's about the customer, always has been, always will be. Why does the perpetual machine forget so easily?

In a world that where everyone expects to be right, as customers, it's amazing how far off base we are. This goes for how retail thinks about, talks about and, most of the time, treats customers. And unfortunately this is the way most dealers are treated as customers, too. Simply put we're in a world where commitment wins but when you look for support, it seems to have "left the building".

This is the case in today's world: consumer controlled content. Dealers wanting to move forward and their vendors standing in the way (many times backed by the factory/headquarters standing in their way). If you sell a car with rear seat entertainment and heated/cooled leather seats, you can't tell the customer "we're working on it, it'll be here soon" or "Oh, I'm sorry, that package can't get those options. Did I tell you it came with those?". So why is that what happens and, more often than not, is accepted by 20,000 dealerships from their vendors?

What may need to happen is a reevaluation of what is expected. What may need to happen is putting the customers (along with the chicken and egg) first. What may need to happen is more participation of online groups and communities rather than just a few speaking and providing a real value. Lately we're watched as the value has slipped, content to validate positions is more re-purposed than ever, pitches and and vendor tirades rule. Nobody can hear the egg break above the screaming.

Generally speaking, people don't want to be accountable. Are you a dealer or management? Beware of broken focus. Maintain your commitment to improve your business consistently online and offline. Remember that once a decision has been made, every decision is on purpose. We've (happily) watched dealers do this for the past two and a half years.

If you're selling, are you treating your business as an entrepreneur? Are you treating every customer as your next ticket or your last? Ask yourself: what's the most important part of my business? The walk, the drive/demo, the pencil, the close or the prospecting? If you didn't answer 'prospecting', and we're not counting walk ups, you've got to ask your self what you're doing.

Take time to take a step back and ask yourself why you're in business. If it's to excel, make it happen. If it's for a check, then you know what to do…hopefully.

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

March 15, 2010 by Gary May 1
No, I’m Not Going To Accept Your Invitation. Well, Until You Get It Right

They're there. Every day. New ones. Old ones, Slim ones. Fat ones. Some are red and some are green, many are boring and some obscene. What are they? Well, they're not from Dr. Seuss. Invites, followers, request for follows, join my growing community and more. And most are just plain crap.

As the pandemic of automotive social media, that didn't exist until Q2 or Q3 of last year, bangs on our in boxes and cell phones, it seems that most are happy to take it all in. That is until you actually look at the content, the platforms, the lack of connection and the rampant automation. It's been said before but needs to be said again: There is nothing social about automation, unneeded irrelevant retweets, inventory, prices and more that doesn't promote brand, opportunity, connection, community, events or gosh-I-needed-to-know-that-stuff kind of stuff.

Also, in a world that is supposed to be conscience of terms of use/terms of service, why are dealers still setting up friend pages? Every so-called 'expert' that dealers are listening to must be watching the money and not the process. So here's a free tip: Set up Fan Pages so you don't get the boot when Facebook finally does sweeping audits and you find your page, in technical terms, gone. In simple terms, there are things that you can't get with a facebook friend fage that you get with Fan pages, the correct set up for your business. And once you get to 100 fans, you can change to a vanity URL in Facebook.

If you've set up a Twitter page, please watch your followers. Unless you're intentionally inviting or ignoring the bots out there, you don't want to show the world that you care more about not paying for white teeth, earning $5,000 a week from Google or Stephanie3624236's free naked pictures. Everyone can see your followers and you may be limiting your social media success, at least to a degree, if you don't have a clean welcome mat.

YouTube is a huge opportunity on many levels so why don't you start with the basics? They're out there for free on any blog or support channel around the website. One is to start with is the naming convention of your movies. Another is the tagging. There are more so that you can leverage the network correctly (including embedding your own videos in your own website as well) but the focus here is just get the correct assistance in setting up your social media networks. Attempting to go 'viral' with a car walkaround with 4 visits isn't likely going to happen.

Take the time to set up your presence correctly, get the right advise and simply look around so when you get your answers and they don't make sense, ask more questions.

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

February 23, 2010 by Gary May 0
Branding, Communication and Process For Dummies (AKA All Of Us) In Time For NADA

If education, reinforcement, results and transparency are the benchmarks of success why are we all not more successful than we are right now? More often than not, in our beloved industry, what has been around for a long time is considered as accepted or the norm and what is new is rejected with rare exception. At the end of the day we're branders and communicators entirely and inextricably linked to the success or failure of process. Well, we need a wake up call.

Recently there has been a barrage of articles on everything from social media must do's for car dealers to self-indulgent bantering among dealership consultants, from incessantly republishing authoritative sources to fill pages and drive traffic to kicking dead horses and old ghosts. And who are we kidding? The whole industry has to wake up to new ways of doing business, engaging consumers that control content, delivering more value than flash to dealerships, learning more than preaching and finally…wait for it…stop talking about what you don't understand.

So what's the difference between ignoring technology because management says "you can sell without it", the Barracuda firewall encasing your dealership is controlled by a corporate yes man who thinks that every 10 minutes on Facebook is one unit lost and your so-called vendors swear they're "all over it" and getting passed by like a 911 GT3 in 6th gear? Not much unless you truly desire to be in business and profitable over the next 24 months.

Every piece of real data out there shows the same thing: brand, communication and process control your path. Not advertising. Not high-pressure salesmanship. Not displacing your cranium under the warm sand. Brand is shared. Communication is shared. Process doesn't need to be shared but without it you won't remember where the brand and communication go (even if you've got really good hair, a tan and bling to win over GMs and dealer principals with).

So, when's the last time you went through your website (and saw keyword stuffing and out-of-date optimization)? Checked out your templates (and saw that they didn't have links in your signature block)? Really customized your 'newsletter' (that is the same as everyone else's)? Checked, double-checked and then triple-checked your third-party lead sources (unless you have no issue with them showing 80 leads and 315 phone calls when you're positive that the real number is half that)? Do you truly know what your site analytics show? How are those inbound links working for you? And your press releases? When was the last blog post you did?

Today I overheard a salesperson getting educated at a dealership. Rather than say trained, we'll go with that. He was asked not to say "welcome to (name of dealership), my name is (his name), how can I help you?". It was explained that by putting the showroom guest in the position of being 'helped' that they will feel put off or less empowered and it was better to offer assistance by saying "how can I assist you?".

Let's not kid ourselves any more. Many in automotive retail need HELP and those that ask will get it from the best sources the industry has to offer, as long as they're willing to go with the new. As you check out all that has to be offered in Orlando this weekend, where is your help going to come from?

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

February 10, 2010 by Gary May 0
It Doesn’t Matter How Much, You Can’t Afford Not Going All Out On The Web

With the end of the year quickly approaching and a focus on getting as many cars sold as possible, it''s also the only time you have to make sure your plan is right for your web presence in 2010.  We're talking about a plan.  If you don't have one, it's time do something that will really move the needle for you.

It's a bit of Branding 101, Internet 102, Process 201 (we'll say that since you've likely hired a more traditional "get them excited to do more of the same thing after the excitement of yelling at them wears off in 3 days" trainer although not in a while) and a number of other 'class' sounding names.  The long and short of it everything you're successful at will depend on your virtual existence.

So, when you decide to spend $X,XXX to $XX,XXX per month online, and stick with it for the long haul, start with:

WEBSITE: A thorough review of your websites via a true outside SEO review (we use @Grader at http://websitegrader.com), SEO keyword report from a third party (we use AutoFusion at http://www.autofusion.com) and a true review of best practices will have to open to change considering what most website companies offer.  If you're website is 6 years old, has 100-400 indexed pages, less than 100 inbound links and a page rank under 4, it's time to say hello to a more competent provider.

We're not going to list website vendors here this time.  Just start by knowing what you are paying for and (likely) not getting.  The most important part is how dynamic your site(s) and content are.  Yes, SEO is here to stay along with usability and design.

CRM/EMAIL MARKETING: While there has been a lot of focus on social media, email is still an effective tool for engagement.  That is as long as you make it relevant and compelling.  How do you do that?  Start really looking at who is in your database, not just deeming them as customers!  Without getting into the details here, start thinking about your message and what you would want act on instead of not thinking and leaving companies that know nothing about your business communicate for you.  Do yourself a huge favor and read what you're sending out before you simply spend money on someone to spread *&$! out there faster and more efficiently.

When you've got that done, we think that these represent some best-practice partners: VIN Solutions (http://www.vinsolutions.com), Dealer Socket (http://www.dealersocket.com)  and DealerUps (http://www.dealerups.com), which has been going though retooling since acquisition can really help you do your job more effectively with way less effort.

Using an email marketing company is important if you want to have more transparency and control (including scrubbing, deduping, targeting and more), remember to focus on content. Emma (http://www.myemma.com), Ratepoint (http://www.ratepoint.com) and Constant Contact (http://www.constantcontact.com) are leaders in their field in addition to the more auto-industry pervasive IMN (http://www.imakenews.com) in addition to surveys made easy by Survey Monkey (http://www.surveymonkey.com).  the investments made in the services is minimal compared to the results.  Again, your content must be timely, compelling and relevant or your just advertising and most people say 'no thanks' to that.

REPUTATION MANAGEMENT: What are other people reading before they ever talk to or visit you?  It's how a majority of people are deciding on where they spend their hard-earned money!  Will you spend $150 a night at a hotel with a 2-star ranking from guests?  Why spend $30,000 on a dealer that does?  Start by checking Yelp, DealerRater, Google and more.  Then set up Google, Twitter and other alerts to monitor your business' name for free is a great start.  Then there are services for a fee (in and out of the industry providers) from eXteres Auto (http://www.exteresauto.com) to Radian6 (http://www.radiansix.com) that know and understand online reputation and how to stay up on what's being said about you AND your competition.

SOCIAL MEDIA: It's all the buzz.  And for most dealers, It's another avenue to scream "BUY HERE". Start with trying to understand that it starts with social.  Think about how you're social.  If you're selling all the time, you're likely not effective.  And neither is selling all the time on networks.  Be different, unique, compelling (there it is again!) and someone that people want to talk with rather than ignore.  Here's a hint: if you get between 30 and 70% open rate on your emails but no clicks and/or your website visits crash two days later, and you're going to send the same kind of messages out via social media. there's one word for you: don't.

These are merely starting points and things to consider in your online branding.  One thing to keep in mind as well: when you do promote and advertise, make sure that your message is contiguous.  If you're a Toyota store and taking part in the Tent Event, everything you put on the web should be intertwined and you should have your store benefits and unique aspects promoted in addition to proper promotion.

If the above is already a stretch for your current resources and knowledge, get help.  There are dozens of consultants out there.  Don't hire an advertising agency to do this.  Don't take the word of your current providers.  Find out for yourself, ignore reps and figure out what you want from your money.

Get going, your competition already is or will be next.  And don't pay the Internet any more lip service about what you're going to do, start and do it so you can have the Internet paying you.

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

November 29, 2009 by Gary May 0
A Week In Vegas Automotive Style (In A Few Paragraphs)

It's the conference time of the year for the automotive biz and this last week didn't disappoint. Having attended both the first-ever DrivingSales Executive Summit and the venerable JD Power Internet Roundtable it was clear, to some degree, as to what the leaders are looking for, discussing and sharing.  My first observation? Not enough dealers were present.

Nobody is trying to hold one group more accountable than the other and while budgets and money are tight, our industry moves at retail not at the supplier, vendor, media or marketing levels. Yes we need to have product that is appealing, ways to communicate effectively about it, means to get people buying the product (hello banks…), staying up with the breakneck speed of technology and keeping the general public excited. All those things aside, it's your good 'ol neighborhood retailer that gets the metal to move.

So, the DSES at the Hard Rock had two days to get the dealers that want to be in front in the best possible position with data, technology, new capabilities and compelling roundtable conversations. For a first-time event, it seemed to have hit its mark. With an agenda that covered current market data, SEO and relevant trends, new technologies and vendor offerings, analytics and social media, what was really impressive was the 'how to' part of the summit. Real conversations with real people answering the tough questions.

Networking is great and does has its immense value (including to this author) but the in-the-trenches, getting your hands dirty stuff is what moves the needle for any business. When someone is interested in doing something, they usually want to know the how, why, when and where. It was refreshing to be a part of the event put together by Charlie Vogelheim and Jared Hamilton.

DSES' range of speakers was atypical and that was a breath of fresh air. Compete's Skip Streets couldn't handle the glaring lights beaming down on him but the content prevailed. It was wonderful to get to hear BlueKai's new approach to media buying and consumer targeting from Dave Armitage. The presentation given by Driverside and R.L. Polk was very different considering it dealt with the back end of the retail business: service. Chris Brogan (New Marketing Labs) and Aaron Strout (Powered) quite frankly gave the road map to the industry without strings: customers, social media, branding, listening, content and value.

Switch gears to an event that I've been participating in since the first one back five plus years ago: JD Power's Internet Roundtable at Red Rock. Well attended by the OEMs, agencies, service providers, portals and dealers. The IRT has changed some over the past few years but it has lacked the 'punch' that it had a couple ago with the breakout roundtable discussions. One undisputed aspect: Everyone's socks were knocked off by Jim Farley's session Thursday morning, period. I've never heard more compliments and conversation after a speaker, ever. And if you haven't taken note of Ford's digital efforts over the past year, maybe you should.

In attending (and participating via Twitter) in a number of other sessions,the content seems to have drifted from subject at times but the speakers knew the craft from the social media, to the leads presentation to the media integration panel. Bar none, the crowd needed to be involved during or, at a minimum, after the sessions. The 'juice' comes from squeezing the *&$%!)#$% out of people and the occasional challenge to their stance.

Where JD Power's event always drives immense dividends for our industry is the lunches, dinners and hallway banter. I've always enjoyed taking part especially considering their influence and reach and, whether or not they are liked and appreciated at any given time, the company's heritage: focus on the customer. Hopefully our industry continues to listen considering consumers control everything today.

The IRT organizing team deserves props for getting social media on the agenda again but it still doesn't get the representation it deserves considering it makes up (along with online marketing and websites) the majority of automotive traffic now and for the future.

What both events need: more dealer participation, more dealer participation and maybe some more dealer participation. The media pays attention to SAAR, manufacturers, balance sheets, production, trends, bailouts and a whole lot of other things that have nothing to do with saving an industry. if you'd like to argue whether the magic number is 11.5M units or 13.1M, that's fine. Just as long as we're helping those that sell the cars in the first place.

The progressive dealers need to be up on stage talking about how they've changed their business and what ways they're moving forward. There may be a day in the near future in where the retailer is just as important as the company paying $20,000+ to speak or that changing up the agenda to showcase an undiscovered nugget is more relevant than some OEM's marketing exec giving the same presentation about their (somewhat) radical approach to marketing for the 20th time. (disclaimer: not talking about Mr. Farley here).

So this latest round of automotive Vegas-ness goes in the record books. Thank you DrivingSales Executive Summit and JD Power Internet Roundtable for having platforms that brought hundreds of thousand of dollars into Sin City. Now the question is: who has the guns to not make it a year until the next time the industry can learn?

Who can drive the education and engagement in the next 90 days without the trip, hotel, expense account and wad of one dollar bills (ooops, did I say that?).

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

October 17, 2009 by Gary May 1
What Innovation Matters Most Right Now?

Are you excited by the latest technology in the newest model arriving at your showroom? Were you going crazy waiting for FedEx/UPS/USPS last week for your latest iPhone? Can't believe that your newest CRM ties your site, third party leads, phone calls, mail automation, showroom visits and more together? Didn't have to break traffic laws a week ago since you Tivo'd the first 10 minutes of the NBA finals knowing that you'd work late? All that is absolutely fantastic, but it's not the innovation that matters most.

Nothing that technology delivers, nothing that (supposedly) makes our lives better, nothing that is guaranteed to make our businesses run like clockwork matters until someone understands it, knows what to do with it and ultimately figures out how in hell to apply it, will mean anything…until there is a reason to use it in the first place.

In other words, why use Tivo (as good as it and DVRs are!) if you don't watch, let alone care about, anything on television?

What you care about getting done, so that you move closer to your dreams, goals and ambitions, should be the driver in using technology. The greatest innovations we can use best centers around communication. SImple. Period. Communication!

If you don't have anyone to communicate with and nothing to communicate about, technology means nearly nothing. As passionate as you can be about the latest $400-$4,000,000 items that center around innovation and technology aren't worth the patents they're built from until there is a real reason behind them.

If you're in business and plan to stay in business, use the latest and greatest but please have a purpose first. And make sure the purpose dovetails with process. Are you one of the stores that works on one CRM for 'the floor' and one for 'the Internet'? Why, why, why, why, why? Oh, I see…you like keeping other companies in business more than you want to save your own…ok. Got it!

One race matters and it's not to the sales title. It's the human one. Nobody will care about you until you show that you care about them first. Then you build a relationship (read: listen). Then use technology until the cows come home to communicate, track, follow up, excite, invite, connect, compel, validate, reward, incent, share, promote and so on and so on. And never make the technology more important than the relationship or the message. People ignore MASSIVE amounts of otherwise compelling content. We call it advertising (and most of it sucks people…especially in the auto industry).

For now, stick with the best innovation you have no matter what: your brain. Use it wisely, use it well, use it regularly…

And see you at the finish line!

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

June 20, 2009 by Gary May 0