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Social Media Is Just Like Sales: It’s What They Say And Think That Matters, Not You

It's been said that in business, it's not what you know but rather who you know. In social media it's not much different! It's not what you say, it's what everyone else thinks about what you say (and who repeats it that has a significant following). In today's auto industry social landscape, we're ruled by "buy here", "special of the day", "unbelievably cheap oil change", "home of the bla-dee-blah-blah-lease!" and more ranting and ravings about "me me me" than I'd care to acknowledge.

It seems that the opportunity for a bunch of folks to so-called "save" their dealership from "paid advertising" and more importantly "relevant advertising" by getting "free advertising" has horribly skewed the mindset of otherwise savvy people. I can see it now…just imagine with me….(fake clouds of dry ice are filling the stage in your mind)…

"Hey boss, you're not going to believe this! Me, your amazing but otherwise unknown Internet salesperson, just came up with the way to save $20,000 a month or more from your advertising budget! Guess who ran smack dab into Twitter and Facebook!? ME!! If you can manage, I'll take over our social stuff and you can get someone else to close all of the leads that I'll generate FOR FREE!! Ok, ok, ok, get this: I'll put all of our inventory on Facebook, post all of our specials on Twitter, upload videos to YouTube for vee-ess-ee-ohh or something like that, put photos of happy customers on Plaxo and get EVERYONE to do write ups on Yelp, Google and all the industry reputation sites! And guess what else?! I'll respond to every comment, squelch every heater and unwind and steal our competition's customers…all online!! Whatdayathink boss???!!"

Simply put, social media is not for advertisements. Ads do have their place in social media and some sites, but that's not the driver. Create conversations, share unique and exclusive information (being first still 'sells'), point to great videos, old commercials, one-of-a-kind events, validate both satisfied and unsatisfied customers, promote events that you donate or are somehow involved with and THEN take time to put up a special (and make it really special)…I hope this is getting through…

If all you post is "buy here, buy here, buy here", nobody will listen, care or interact. Imagine going to a number of parties over the summer, getting to know the regulars, and one person is promoting their business and trying to get you to buy incessantly. You'd avoid them, almost at any cost for sure.

Now think to yourself: "why would I want to be that person online"?

Kick the "sell, sell, sell" binge and start some great conversations that turn to great relationships that turn into a larger book of business than you'd otherwise have. Go be great in social media and leave the selling to the tweeps that don't get it.

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

August 2, 2009 by Gary May 0
Live Webinar: Pitfalls and Best Practices for Building Online Communities

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Pitfalls and Best Practices for Building Online Communities

Featuring Forrester Principal Analyst, Lisa Bradner


Date:  Wednesday, June 24th
Time:  3:00 PM Eastern Time/10:00 AM Pacific Time
Duration:  60 Minutes

Online
communities offer marketers tremendous business advantage, but
content-rich, highly engaging communities don’t just happen—they are
planned, designed, and continuously nurtured to deliver real ROI that
can help businesses grow. While many platforms abound offering the
promise
of community nirvana, we’ll draw from our extensive experience to show
how and why successful community building extends way
beyond technology tools.

We’ll share best practices and success stories and discuss how to:  

  • Build a solid foundation for your online community initiative
  • Leverage what you learn from community members in your organization
  • Drive participation and engagement among community members
  • Avoid the 7 deadly pitfalls of community development and management

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June 18, 2009 by Gary May 0
Cracking The Code: Marketing Presence

What is it about marketing that has dealers so perplexed? It's not the act of marketing your brand, inventory, service panache, amazing staff, luxury facility, location, exclusive offerings and more that matters as much as how you do it and the completeness of your marketing.

It used to be enough to 'silo' advertise: one ad in the newspaper, one direct mail, one newsletter, one TV spot (over and over again…) and the like. The issue was that if the target didn't see/threw out/ignored/didn't fully read, etc your ad, you were done for. Remember: people want to consume content when they want, how they want, where they want, the amount they want and react to it the way they want.

So why are you content with a website and some email blast activities? That's not marketing as much as it is a band-aid. Think of it this way: how complete is your coverage? Would you buy insurance for two tires, a headlight, the drive shaft and tailpipe and not the rest of the car? Why are you partially marketing then?

Not only does your content need to be timely, contextual and relevant, it needs to be able to be seen by anyone, any time and anywhere.  Do you have a mobile site with inventory? Do you text message? Is your website dynamic? Are your eNewsletters actually engaging and do they drive results (traffic and sales)? How is your Facebook and Twitter volume in addition to your other social media efforts?

You wouldn't want to leave the house with one sock missing, half your collar sticking up, two different shoes and a jacket with a hole in the back (although I've seen some salespeople looking like this…) so don't leave your marketing undone or incomplete.

And another thing: you don't have to do everything you hear about. Do what you do well, learn news ways to market and effectively communicate, work with your vendors on new technology and push the envelope consistently. Every dealer tells me the same thing: "I just want to sell cars and not worry about the other stuff!". You have to worry about it and do something as well, but if you market the same way you did six months ago, how are your results going to be any different?

Build a presence that you're proud of and work it…or someone else will work you!

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Power Results

March 18, 2009 by Gary May 0
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
Chat Up Your Inventory: Leverage Chat to Reach In-Market Shoppers and Win the Sale

Dealer_Advantage_Image

Date: Friday, Feb. 13, 2009
Time: Noon to 1 p.m. (Eastern)
Location: Your Computer
Cost: FREE Click Here

Online advertising allows car buyers to connect with you in myriad ways: making a phone call, sending an email, visiting the store or clicking over to your store's website. The growing use of chat among online shoppers creates an additional channel to reach in-market shoppers and compete for their business. This webinar outlines the new communication strategies required to engage internet car buyers and stay with them throughout their shopping process.

In this session led by Kathy Kimmel, a Cars.com automotive consulting and dealer training manager, you'll learn how to:

  • Incorporate chat functionality into your online listings
  • Answer shoppers' questions and obtain their name and contact information
  • Encourage shoppers to set and keep an appointment
  • Follow up with prospects until they buy a car

Enroll_Now

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
Admitted Adverholic? Here’s a Two-Step Recovery Program

If you've been a dealer for more than two years, face it: you're an adverholic. Anyone who has made it through the auto 'heydays' has spent 30, 70…even 100 thousand plus PER MONTH to get their name out to an unmeasured amount of eyeballs. Those days are gone (and soon many of the recipients of those ad dollars, if not already) but the pain and yearning may still be there.

When you stop advertising for the sake of advertising and start a conscience level of engagement with 'your public', paying attention to things outside of the dealership and spending more time getting to know who buys from you and why, things get a bit clearer. Understanding the components of today's market related to your brand existing comes in a two-step recovery program:

1. Stop doing what doesn't work
2. Start doing what does work

The biggest game change in media over the last 100 years: social media/consumer opt-in engagement. It's truly interesting when you sit down with a dealer or general manager and hear about what they want changed: more of their own website leads, to drop (costly) third party leads, to retain more clients, to spend less (sometimes blindly) and ultimately stay flat or grow in today's economy.

So, how can and where do you start? Short of choosing to disappear completely from people's conscientiousness, you have to be smarter about what you say, where you say it, how you say it and when you say it. Then you absolutely have to be spot on when a person consumes your media and wants to interact with you.

There are no better tools that I've ever seen than in social media, and dealers are starting to get it. Facebook, Twitter, Plaxo, LinkedIn and more, let alone your website (done right, that is). You don't need to worry about your overhead or CPM if you have 735 fans of your dealership on Facebook. It's free. And get this: you can drive the most contextual messages to them and they'll get it automatically. Imagine this scenario:

Joe Blow likes your dealership, even has visited when the new models arrive and he ends up buddies with one of your sales staff from chit-chat. He sees a promotion in the reception area about your Facebook page and becomes a fan. He gets updates regularly about your dealership, special cars arriving, service specials and more. You also broadcast exclusive specials via Twitter so he follows you there. When he's in market, clicks the option on your Facebook page to get inventory sent directly to his cell phone. The unit he wants comes in, he IM's the salesperson that he'll be in the next day at 5:30 to buy the car.

No lead, no timer, no missed emails or communication. No cost. No competition. No guessing what drove him in (ie was it your $10,000 cable spot, $15,000 direct mail campaign or the $20,000 newspaper ad). This customer was always yours, which is the way most dealers I know like it.

Repeat after me: "I'm a recovering adverholic and I don't need to advertise just to advertise anymore. I will be relevant, timely and honest (ouch!). My website is a living, breathing entity, not a billboard. I'll go digital so my camera is not the only one in my office that is. And I'll meet my customers in the same place that I go for my sports scores, to book travel, to post pictures of my kids and do all my banking: ONLINE!"

Boom, you're healed. Go sell cars…

Best practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

January 23, 2009 by Gary May 1
IM@CS Featured on BlogTalkRadio’s Lunch With Phil

This morning I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Philip Zelinger of AdAgencyOnline.net via his 'Lunch With Phil' show on BlogTalkRadio. With the impending NADA show in New Orleans and the issues, as well as opportunities, faced by dealers today, the timing was right to broadcast IM@CS' services to a wider audience. The opportunity to be featured today is greatly appreciated!

Whether it's being part of Auto Industry Insights kicking off this weekend, helping dealer and OEMs clients with their entire online presence and process or advising portals and third party solution providers, it is the time to do more and empower the industry to tackle what it's presently facing. Everything this blog shares is intended to not just tell you 'what to do', but to promote ideas, promote best practices, engage you in a dialog and challenge the market in the shift from 'comfortable and commonplace' to 'proactive and profitable'.

Follow the link  or click the logo to listen in on today's interview. Thank you for being part of what's next! http://tinyurl.com/78vpe3

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Best practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

January 21, 2009 by Gary May 0
Taking The Fear Out Of Online…One _______ At A Time

Even though you've already heard it: If you want to succeed in business today, it has to take place online. For us in the auto industry, that's truly more the case than not. But the fact is it's not harder than it looks or sounds if you have the right assistance.

Maybe it used to be much easier, in some sense, years ago when you'd place an ad insertion, sit down on Saturday, Sunday or whatever day of the week your ad would display, grab your coffee, flip the right page open and smile. "There's my ad" and "oh, so much better than their ad!" (looking at a competitors ad). You could touch it, feel it, see it and gloat over it. Somewhere before the newspapers started failing rapidly, you were paying A LOT for advertising there and in other media that is not capturing an effective audience today…in the least.

Now here comes the Internet, offering the ability to reduce budgets by 30, 50, 60 and even 75% percent and get a more effective (yes, more effective) reach and ROI, let alone transparency and accountability. You can hear the dealers backing away from their monitors right now. How (and why) can you have faith in something with no true ability to be tracked, where circulation and impression rates mean practically nothing, then look at the web and say it's not for you?

We are not talking about the "I don't get it" excuse. Let that flimsy fallacy go the way of the Dodo Bird. This is the simple message: In most markets $2,000-$4,000 monthly of well-placed spend after 60-90 days will replace what $15,000-$25,000 plus used to drive. Absorb that…call your website or SEO/SEM company and start, today. And stay in it for at least 90 days before you make any judgment. This is not a 'run and gun ad' world. This is a 'stick with it' world.

So it doesn't matter if it's one ad, one car, one store, one promo, one incentive, one anything. The only way to take fear out of something is to do it. Stop making excuses: you're astute, successful, experienced and capitalistic, even though somewhere along the line fear replaced confidence and the Internet replaced the 'Sunday Times'. Oh, you might even end up building a brand…imagine that!

And by the way, if your website company can't handle it and/or you don't have an SEO specilist, head to NADA in a couple weeks and to Digital Dealer in April and get one (see you at both events!)

Best practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

January 15, 2009 by Gary May 0