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What Do You Think It Will Take To Change? Hello?

Sometimes it helps being a cynic and a pessimist, or at least devil's advocate but at the end of the day you're either your own worst enemy or best ding-dang advocate.  It is always beneficial to see things with a different perspective but critically important to maintain your identity and job jump in the pool for the sake of it, no matter how fun the party.

Recently I've read two good articles. One by Joe Webb (President of Dealer Knows) in Digital Dealer Magazine. The other a blog post by Matt Watson (VIN Solutions) on AutomotiveDigitalMarketing.com. Both deal with perception versus reality, pitch versus practice and simply understanding what you have and need before you're had.  Two common carriers of bias at the dealership level: a rep and an excited, overzealous  employee. Both are doing their job but if you to change anything you've got to address everything.

While results typically flow bottom up, change is managed top down. Changing your online results will not come from some videos on YouTube and some 'vSEO' on your website. Update all of your touch-points, become contextually relevant and timely, make sure your brand connects and apply process consistently. Changing how your employees act will not come from a new company policy solely either.

SEO and SEM are hot topics…and should be managed in tandem with your website and CRM. Having a bunch of disparate systems and efforts out there is like fishing with two poles…3,000 miles apart from each other. It just doesn't make sense!

Search engine optimization is an ongoing task with great opportunity, not a "got it with my website two years ago" item. When was the last time you looked closely at your analytics or, better yet, looked at your site with an overlay so you can see real numbers and statistics against what you think your consumers see. That's always an interesting meeting with my clients.

Change is never done. If you don't continue to change because you need to, because your competition is or because you can and make the right changes…you lose. The change everyone has been talking about for months is cutting everything and everywhere with very little regard. You see, that's not a change from troubled times in the past, especially for dealers and OEMs.

Our greatest changes are still in front of us. Are you ready? And what do you think it will take to change? Think about it and do it.

Best practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

February 9, 2009 by Gary May 0
Waiting For The Opportunity That Already Passed? Try To Process That!

No knock to hear. No call to answer. No door to open. No question to respond to. The customer was never yours. It happens more than not and it's aggravating as hell to deal with…if you do at all. Today you have two choices:

1. Wait for the next 'up' and work in the same manner as before
2. Create, extend and perpetuate a brand and destination where people want to interact with you

The result will be massively different but the actions required are not so disparate. What are you providing clients with that they'll remember you by? Are you qualifying and inviting before you try to sell (yes, that includes the appointment). It's been estimated over the past few years that nearly three quarters of vehicle buyers online have ended up buying from a store other than the first contacted, sometimes the third or fourth.

No matter what it is you actually do, stay relevant. Which models are people looking at most on your site? Which specials have the most hits? Which emails you send aren't getting opened? When is the last time you tailored your home page to traffic trends?' What are you doing to create opportunities?

IM@CS spends a lot of time on process and branding. Without process, the best online marketing, CRM, emails, websites and more will not deliver the results you want. By the same token, all process and lousy brand, marketing and reach won't win you fans either.

Some day soon, you'll have to get out of comfortable and get with now. Leave what worked behind and start creating what's next. Use what happened yesterday to do it better tomorrow. You can't process (or make a process for) something that is not identified, understood and actionable. Remember the definition of insanity: doing the same things over and over again and expecting a different result.

What is it going to take to change perspectives from loss to gain? From hiding to opportunity? And from losing to winning? Just turning off the television won't do it. Those who are doing everything possible to not only brand and promote but connect with consumers will win, period.  It's a mindset and will take work.

Make sure the next chance is the one that didn't get away. People are begging for reasons to trust rather than fear. Guess what, you only have to worry about your customers! I'm not talking about the fact that Edmunds, KBB, Cars and Trader traffic is up 20%+. Do what it takes to attract every opportunity and capitalize on it "in your neck of the woods" as Al Rocker would say.

Stop waiting. Start acting. Start creating. Start adjusting, Start relating, Start understanding. Start executing. Start right now. I can guarantee you you'll get more opportunities. Remember that it's a numbers game and you have to start to win.

Best practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

February 5, 2009 by Gary May 0
Week At IM@CS: Chats With The Industry

We typically address vendors here for best practices and today will be a little different. When trying to tackle social media, especially as a support for specific marketing online, it is important to be equipped. Some of the most frequent questions heard relate to getting started and how to be effective.

1. Where?
    Twitter, Facebook, Plaxo, LinkedIn, CarFolks, Google, Yelp, DealerRater, MyDealerReport for starters

2. Why?
    People go there, trust them, read them, listen to them more than they do with you, period.

3. How?
    Register, watch others, prepare and create a plan. Don't just set up a Facebook page and leave it. Support it with content, staff and purpose. There are now tools to measure your impact, for example on Twitter:
http://www.webanalyticsdemystified.com/twitter
http://twitter.grader.com/

4. When?
    Now, or as soon as you decide that your brand awareness and people connecting with you are important.

5. Remember
    Nothing, not even the best process, is a silver bullet. If you're planning on inviting more people to come to you, give them a reason. Not a price, not a car, not a showroom, not espresso. Give them a reason that the rest of the 'things' absolutely support.

Nothing can build or kill your business like reputation. What are you doing to ensure that the good outweighs the bad, no matter how accurate? Almost every resource listed above is free, but worth money. You've been spending $3,000-$50,000 per month to get one, two, three customers at a time (at a ridiculously low ROI). Why not spend $0-$3,000 a month using those tools to make sure every customer has a reason to use you, can find you, can read what others say about you and stay connected with you, something they never did with your $20,000 ad that used to run every Saturday.

Stay in front, it's more important than ever today. Stay relevant, your future depends on it. Stay tuned, that way your customers can.

Best practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

February 2, 2009 by Gary May 0
CSI: A penny for your thoughts, $10,000 if you say that I suck

What is it about CSI, or through interpretation of what it means, that has had dealers begging for their life and coaching customers? Especially today when someone may be cordial enough to tell the factory that they were completely satisfied in the hand-written survey (when they may not have) only to have another customer completely lambaste you online…

More importantly, why does the focus on CSI happen at the end of the delivery? Because they'll remember? Hardly! Because if you coach them before they leave, they'll help you more? Not likely! Complete satisfaction happens from 'hello'. The foundation for a completely satisfied client is based on the 'completeness' of the experience. Many dealers believe that it still depends on that last smile and wink.

With the proliferation of the automotive Internet and anonymous customers, why in the world would you not want to start at the start? If a waiter took care of you for the last 5 minutes of your visit after ignoring you for the first hour and a half, are you going to leave a 25% tip?

Customer service and complete satisfaction need to take place:

1. when you first meet; regardless if in-person, phone or Internet
2. throughout your communication: set expectations, deliver on them and ask questions!
3. in your walk, drive and delivery: make sure the customer feels taken care of
4. before the customer leaves: check that everything has been handled via review, yes review
5. after they leave: send an email immediately to ensure their satisfaction and give yourself and your dealership the chance to handle any issues before anything becomes a problem

Too often customers feel cornered and pushed to provide a positive review but are actually neutral (or worse) on the whole experience. There is absolutely nothing wrong with checking, asking and making sure the customer is having a great experience throughout their time at the store.

Another thing, stop ignoring the customer when the rear left tire clears the driveway. And I don't mean a newsletter, a fancy Hallmark and/or their special VIP card. Complete satisfaction never ends people.

The best salespeople will typically ask (yes, ask!) their customers something along the lines of "how would you be able to feel that you were completely satisfied?". Not "what will it take…?" There is a difference. If you don't know what it is you need help that this blog typically doesn't cover.

Remember that CSI is someone else's interpretation of your customer's interpretation of your performance and how you interpret satisfying them. Don't spend three minutes on it, spend thirty days on it, every month. Oh, and ask all of your customers to write their reviews of you online (you've never heard that before!).

The pennies you get for people's positive thoughts will add to thousands of dollars over time…and you might just save your dealership $10,000 at a time.

Best practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

January 31, 2009 by Gary May 0
What Are You Waiting For? It’s Already Been Here And The Train Left The Station…

Many people that are concerned in all types of businesses talk the same talk today: waiting. Some have been waiting for a new administration, some for a car czar, some for banks to loosen up, some for 'the bottom' and some just for the fun of waiting.

When you're in business, you can't wait especially when it costs you money. In the car business, it's been about waiting for people 'to really go online' or for the 'next up', or even the holy grails of 'cheap gas', 'more hybrids' or 'better advertising'. You can wait as long as it takes you and your business to turn the lights off.

Or you can become the car czar, the new administration in your dealership, the VP of Internet sales or even the authority for your entire area. Why do reporters cover auto stories IN FRONT of the "fill in the brand" dealership WITHOUT interviewing staff? The point is you can't wait, you have to act!

When I was at CarsDirect.com nine years ago, I heard a lot of 'nobody will buy a car online!'. Now my memory is likely not spot on, but I believe sales hit over 12,000 units that year. Anyway, you can keep waiting for people to hit your showroom after visiting your (mostly) average websites or stop waiting, start changing and keep changing.

Waiting does not typically evolve into a leadership position, even if it does work in your benefit every now and then. Now there is inherent risk in not waiting and taking a position on the front lines. But now is the best time to make the move.

It sounds like NADA dealership attendance (via pre-registrations) is down around half, depending who you talk to. That means A LOT of people will save one, two, maybe three thousand dollars over the weekend. It will likely cost them tens if not hundreds of thousands of dollars this year. What are you waiting for? I'll see whoever is going there to share ideas, meet vendors and start making more decisions that will grow business.

Oh, I'll be Twittering from NADA (@imacsweb on Twitter)

Best practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

January 21, 2009 by Gary May 0
One Thing At A Time Online…All At Once

When it comes to the 'new age' of Internet existence for your business, it is important that you appear as good as possible when people find you online. When it comes to reputation, shoppers want to know what your customers say rather than what you say. They want to have transparency in inventory, see the actual cars and features. Online visitors want to know what you'll do for them, to understand how you work, dealership history, who makes up the team, what specials they can get and so much more.

So hop to it…get your blog entries published, inventory fixed, Twitter your specials, text your new inventory, moderate the discussion for your local enthusiast group's site, shoot videos of your CPO vehicles and stream them on your site and push them onto YouTube, get all of your clients to write online testimonials and refresh your website's content monthly and SEO every quarter (if not monthly). Done! Oops…not yet…sell 50 cars a month via the web while you're at it.

Stop the press! We've only be gathering email addresses regularly for a year? We haven't gotten our customers' cell phone numbers and carriers to message them? Nobody has been putting the most valuable client information in the CRM? How do 50% of our leads fall through the cracks, how do you truly track them? And why does the factory blind shop us 10 times a month? Hold on…how do you ask a customer to write an online recommendation? Where do I even send them?

OK, that may be a little tongue and cheek but it's not too far off for many dealers today. So how do you start from zero and get up to 75 immediately on the information superhighway? The best recommendation I can provide here is…act like a customer! What do your customers talk about more and ask from you daily? Consider that one of, if not the greatest influence on consumers is search.

Fact is that you have no choice but to trust more people with your dealership than ever before: vendors, customers and employees. Things are changing at breakneck speed with technology, social media and engagement. One bad customer experience written online may not ruin you overnight but it will affect people's opinion and become pervasive if not offset by more positive assertions.

Make it a goal in January to spread the online responsibilities among all of your front-end staff. Get your people comfortable with your online existence and build your brand, reach and reputation. Become a truly trusted brand with the best advocates out there. Your option is having someone else beat you to it.

It starts with one thing at a time, just do it all at once.

Best practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

January 8, 2009 by Gary May 0
Week At IM@CS: Chats With The Industry

There are some great companies out there and this section of our blog is intended to both look at best practices and provide a more level playing field for those that don't have the marketing dollars or field representation. Sometimes, it's just that the vendor is newer to the space and should get a helping hand.

Both of the companies listed here are neither new or very small, but they do have those qualities. Both are headed by experienced leaders and provide a great service.

1Micro: Integration means different things to different people. Doing a great job with prospects before, during and after their dealership experience requires skill, knowledge and a solid level of integration. 1Micro provides an impressive system at any level, including key systems and CRM. Back at the Digital Dealer conference in April '08 I had the chance to get a thorough introduction by Kris Terp and I've been impressed since. Check them out at http://www.1micro.com

Jazel: Websites are websites until they have strong SEO, are dynamic and allow dealers with different skill levels to admin them. So Steve Hastert and his team at Jazel provide more than just a website, which is what more and more dealers need today. They also have an ad agency background so they know how to drive traffic, create eye-candy and also keep things simple if you prefer that. Oh, they do lead management as well, so you may even be able to simplify things if you like http://www.jazelauto.com

We'll try to keep these updates weekly and ultimately have an area where you can get in touch with the vendors.

Best practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

January 3, 2009 by Gary May 0
The Step You Cut Out In 2009…Might Be You

Fact is, more often than not, when you cut corners in sales the one that is affected most is you.  It is also a fact of business life that we're replaceable, as I've experienced myself. Why is it then that most people don't typically go the extra mile, especially when it is so needed?

This is not to say that there are not plenty of go-getters out there. Today it is critically important to think about making the most of every opportunity, especially with fewer prospects and less marketing dollars. Here is a list of common mistakes when it comes to achieving sales success in a down market:

1. Customer assumptions (examples: won't qualify, didn't want the aftermarket wheels, etc)
2. Market assumptions (examples: should call prospects less, nobody will buy when stocks are down, etc)
3. Other assumptions (examples: every lead will be for the unit we don't have, every customer is a jack, etc)

Taking out critical steps and not following sounds processes is what leads to failure. It's not the lead, not the market, not the model and not the customer. Successful sales people always do more than it takes and live by process. Take the time to build for your success by taking every step necessary. Some ideas you may want to consider for a successful 2009:

1. Create a set of tasks that you achieve every day and make them habit
    Set 1: start of day list (nothing else gets done before this does)
    Set 2: process on every sale with a required sign off or completion checklist
    Set 3: accountability checks throughout the day (follow ups, contacts, management)
    Set 4: end of day list (prepare for the next sales day before you leave and have tasks written down)
2. State, write down and maintain goals
    A. Make them visible and be accountable to them daily, weekly and monthly
    B. Track so you're not surprised
    C. Have others challenge you and check on you (do this with those who are more successful)
3. Learn, learn, learn
    A. Pick up something new as often as possible, even daily (task, idea, expert advice, etc)
    B. Apply sound principals
    C. Check for success, if it's not working…drop it

If you can do at least the above items and don't cut out any steps, you'll not only likely be successful but chances are you'll have saved your own job. In working with dealers last year, at least one sales person at every client didn't know how to work their compensation backwards. In other words, they had no idea how to make the $5,000, $7,500, $10,000 a month they said they wanted to based on more than a simple desire and some idea of units. To top it off, they usually had very little to none of the steps above to guide them.

If you're ready to reinvest in yourself as well as reinvent yourself, the time is now, the reason is you, the purpose is to do what needs to be done and the end game is success.  If you don't want to be in sales, clearly don't want to work Internet
leads and have no desire to do anything but 'wait', you're definitely looking at one clear outcome.

Little steps lead to bigger ones. You learned that as a child and then lost it in the hustle-and-bustle of our world. Remember that walking is controlled falling, that's all. You can fall without failing. Do what it takes to do what you do better. Make 2009 a great year of successes…starting now. Go out there and be great!

Best practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

January 2, 2009 by Gary May 0
Week At IM@CS: Chats With The Industry

With the year coming to a close, it was time for a bigger perspective break from our traditional focus on smaller companies. This is a look back a the bigger conduits that may not always have had the spotlight, considering the focus on the OEMs, economy and other reasons. IM@CS would like to give credit to the following:

HomeNet: If Jesse Biter and the team at HomeNet don't continue to impress, you're not looking. With everything else they're doing to make inventory 'that much better', they added their IOL community to the list of accomplishments. Then they polished off the year by getting Neal Gann on board…great work Jesse and the folks at HomeNet! http://www.homenetinc.com

DealerSocket: We continue to be impressed by their product, innovation and support. The industry is focussed on CRM now, but there has to be more than strong intent to help dealers succeed or put out a great campaign to solicit signups. Some of the smallest and largest dealers in the country rely on Jonathan Ord's company daily and they seem to be sold on the whole package and not an image, great stuff! http://www.dealersocket.com

Automotive Digest: Outside of the fact that their content has been finding its way into the inbox here for a long time, their content is relevant, compelling, easy to read and timely. Chuck Parker and the team of contributors and editors seem to focus on what dealers need most, especially in the online world. There a number of titles to satisfy nearly everyone on your holiday list!! Dealer Digest Daily is the IM@CS favorite. http://www.automotivedigest.com

We'll try to keep these updates weekly and ultimately have an area where you can get in touch with the vendors.

Best practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

December 22, 2008 by Gary May 0
Don’t Worry About 2009…Unless You Have To

If there has ever been a time to realize the benefits of creating and executing on new strategies, it is the coming year. For those who went digital, got behind online completely, build their brand and reputation where the public actually spends their time, engaged their clientele via effective software and database activities, you will already have a great look into how your 2009 will sort out. Keep doing what you're doing and don't worry.

Now, if you haven't spent time assessing, looking at, determining and then executing your Interactive strategy, you have one decision with two options. And if you do opt for the 'stay in business' route, be prepared for a significant amount of technology this year, even simply from an integration standpoint. Things on the software, video, mobile and other aspects of marketing are going to accelerate.

Over the weekend, a number of conversations I was around included statements about newspapers, relevancy and readership, none of them positive. Separately, two people will be buying vehicles by March, their impressions already biased by sites they like. Others talked about past experiences being indicative of the future. Many people talked about making brand decisions based on the automotive industry coverage in the media, so I straightened those out at least. But overwhelmingly, people are using the web and not thinking about stepping foot in a dealership that is not in their specific scope of consideration.

Everything points to us having to do a better job attracting and connecting to our customer base online. It's winter, when is the last time you've had a banner ad on the local online traffic reports or weather updates on your local network news' website? Do you have links from local businesses' websites that have purchased vehicles from you? Even though we've focused a lot of attention on this lately: how many customers are providing online testimonials for you? (read: not many! Need ideas to get your customers to do that? here's one: ask them).

Your 2009 results will be based on what you are doing today and have been doing for the past few months. Those leads and customers are going to share their experience with others. The brand impressions people received months ago will undoubtedly affect who walks in your door tomorrow. There is no denying that your 2009 will be build on your ability to create a more significant presence in the areas where people consume media and data. Who's blogging, commenting and Twittering for you?

Challenge yourself to layout a plan for the first quarter that is web-based, create an environment of support throughout your entire store and get everyone to assist in deploying your new brand strategy. Get creative, become savvier, see yourself doing things that are not comfortable but will deliver results and ultimately take back ownership of your future.

There are a number of events that are dedicated to the Internet side of the business at the beginning of 2009. Commit to making those a part of your strategy and don't back out. Go the extra mile to figure out what you are going to do instead of being a victim of current circumstances.

Leave the worrying to others that don't take the time to invest in their future. Be confident in your direction and commitments. Spend your time and energy on things that deliver results rather than doubt. Thank you for reading this, now do something else online to further your business!

Best practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

December 22, 2008 by Gary May 0