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Posts with presence tag.
Tipping The Scales. Against An 800 Pound Gorilla…

Have you ever tried skiing? Uphill? Are you one for SCUBA diving? In a wading pool? Do you get your kicks running marathons? On a treadmill? How does this grab you: are you a fan of water skiing? On a dry lake bed? It seems that the more you try to distinguish your dealership today, there's someone from the factory telling you that all of the franchises in your brand should be the same. Nice. There's nothing better than showing up to a gunfight with a knife, right?

Know that we understand completely the advantage for the OEM. The level of standards, compliance and requirements shows more (not necessarily better) knowledge and what's happening with endorsed vendors shows that there may be a desire for (less than acceptable) results. "But they're the factory and I don't want problems". Well, Dear John, that train already left the station and you're the one who gets to sell the customers…right? Don't look now but the factory guys, umm, they don't know how to sell cars and neither do their bosses. Shhh, it's a big industry secret!

So how do you win at the "I want to get ahead and they want me to be behind some imaginary digital line that they don't understand" scenario? With more effort, time, cost and resources you can get 'er done! Welp, that's the short, hard to swallow answer. Can it get done? Yes, the same way you eat an elephant.

Look, they're the 800-pound gorilla (or, if you've been to counseling, the "white elephant in the room") and it's usually ugly if you don't take the extra cars they're shoving down your throat. How can the conversation about why the website vendor is failing them or the fact that the social media/reputation management company actually doesn't do what they say they do with any competency go better? It can't…not until there are real conversations at the headquarters. And folks, they've not even started yet. And the people in the digital posts at your OEMs facilities? Yes, they were selling factory replacement parts to you, at best, six months ago. No, everyone with a smartphone, a Facebook account and knows that CMS is content management system doesn't understand digital. Newsflash: SEO is alphabet soup to them.

Our 800-pound gorillas (read: all of them, not just the "big 6") need a major intervention from you right now. If you're reading this, you're in the top 5-10% of progressive dealers in the country. And don't think for a second that by having them out for a heart-to-heart or flying coach back to the OEM HQ for a fireside chat is going to take the covers off your website, CRM and marketing secrets because we still don't have over 17,000 dealers on mobile-optimized websites yet. However it's a step in the right direction and then 90% of your brand brothers won't have to scream that they don't know what their digitalmarketingleadmanagementpaidsearchretargetingonlinereputationconsultinggurus actually do (yes, please hashtag that!).

Did you hear the feedback from NADA? Yuuuuuuuuup! We're sure you did. Are the OEMs the bad guys? Not in the least. However the combination comes from vendors constantly selling (and them buying, BTW), relationships winning over logic and thousands of dealers fighting the "digital machine" for way to long. When a franchise gets over 50% of their traffic from sources they've not looked at in over a year, someone has to get involved. So they're not public enemy #1, they're just one massive speed bump that wrote a blank check to the wrong address.

Tip the scales in your direction, one pound at a time. (No gorillas were harmed in the creation of this post, but some will be offended – and so will many endorsed vendors)

 

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

 

February 24, 2013 by Gary May 1
Let’s Talk Next Spring (A Very Direct Monologue)

(Note: As a practice, IM@CS has not written in the first person. We
try to not call people out or make examples of them directly. This is a
slight departure from the past two years of blog writing for dealers. We
hope you enjoy it or are at least compelled to comment on this aspect
as well)

After talking with Internet sales staff and leaving
messages for management over the past months, I visited a prominent
LA-area import dealer recently to see about getting a few minutes with
the manager responsible for their web and eCommerce presence. After
finally having the courtesy to recognize that someone was trying to talk
with him (understanding two things very well: one you're busy and two
you likely have a lot of people calling on you and trying to sell you),
he gave me 45 seconds.

In that time, he was able to share that
the "departments are going through changes so it's not the right time
and we'll be able to put our eCommerce and Internet efforts on the
schedule next Spring". Not only is this one of the best qualifiers, it
is also a great indicator of how removed from reality most dealers
really are. This is not a judgement, we'll leave that to the customers,
staff and factory. But as a litmus test, that's just bad. Flat out bad.

Let's say you ignore every automotive publication. Let's say you never
attend a "digital" event in the industry. Let's assume you're not in a
20 group. Just for kicks, let's say you never talk with your staff.
Considering it's 2010, if you have spent any time on the Internet,
bought an airplane ticket, hotel room, checked a sports score or weather
conditions, how can you allow yourself to be ignorant of what ALL
consumers do?

By next Spring, your competition will be
significantly ahead of you. And maybe by my or another consultant or
vendor's doing. Maybe even intentionally. When you send that kind of
signal out, it's hard not to either try to convince you (unless the
manager was intentionally being dismissive) or leave the store and run
to the next closest store. I say this because it's being done. Every
day.

While I can't speak for others that may walk into the
store I'm referring to, I can guarantee you that if I take the time to
engage you, your website, templates, social media (if it exists), phone
skills and other aspects of your operation has been assessed. Don't even
think for a second that mine is a traditional "pitch", again
understanding that everyone that walks in with a briefcase is likely
trying to get money from you in exchange for services.

Just
know that sometime, really soon, your traffic will go somewhere else..
And with what your using for website and more, it won't even cause a
drop of sweat to fall.

With all the best intentions,

Gary May
IM@CS

July 28, 2010 by Gary May 0
Start With The End In Mind, But Mind What You Start

One of the beauties of working with those businesses that want to move forward is just that: the move forward. One of the drawbacks is the distractions that can stop clients in their tracks. Even the most excited dealer, on any given day, may end up with a list of fire drills that can stop a freight train. Downhill. When you start your move in the digital direction, it must be a complete commitment.

More and more principals and senior management at the dealer level are getting their hands, minds and ambitions set around their online presence, brand reach, consumer interaction and spending real time in understanding what is out there. By educating dealers rather than just taking over the whole ball of wax, change is visible. By involving them rather than avoiding them, cooperation is established. By partnering, accountability becomes easier.

Even with the greatest level of engagement, however, retail is still retail and some habits die hard. Dealers can't ignore their fixed operations for a day. Management can't (and won't) turn a blind eye to the sales floor for 24 hours. Not even the parts manager gets a day without a general manager visit. So how can you afford to go a week or two, if not longer, without chatting up what's happening online and not just leads.

Two areas that might need more work are setting expectations and goal setting. Too often relatively major aspects of online operation are glazed over that can easily be addressed by keeping both vendor and client accountable to updates, the calendar and results.

These days you hear about more dealer service providers being tasked by their dealerships, companies providing more amenable terms, dealers sharing more information with their 20 groups and huge attendance at events around Internet and social media efforts. Great! What is happening to hold the dealer responsible? The web and everything associated with it is so fluid today that it almost makes more sense to have a meeting about what's happening and how to adjust and direct once or twice a week compared to having another sales meeting. Folks, if you have the right staff, it's about bringing the people in…salespeople know what they're doing and not doing especially when they hear it from the desk consistently.

Set expectations, draw out what steps must be done to excel. We must start with the end in mind AND be completely committed to it. Advisers, consultants, webinars and conferences are what you start and maintain with. In other words those are tools, just like 3 by 5 cars, tickler files, walkarounds, and CRM software. They are the conduits to results you want: the sale. They don't sell cars but you can't exist without them.

If you have committed to put your emphasis online, no matter what phase of the process you're in, stick with it. This isn't toe-in-the-water. This is died-in-the-wool. You can't get anywhere without having both the keys and a destination. You can't take off without the right equipment and a flight plan (yeah you pilots of the auto industry, you know who you are). And you can't win online without being part of it, staying in it and knowing what you want out of it.

Best practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

March 4, 2010 by Gary May 0
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
Resolutions? Who Needs Resolutions? We’ve Got WORK To Do!

It's no coincidence that by using the term 'resolutions' as
temporary markers, we're able to miss our goals and targets. In an industry
that's usually more comfortable with what worked 10 years ago, why waste time
with "I wish"? Fact is, by resolving to do something it means that
you're going to do it.

If you're lacking resolve, find someone that can help you with it. This is not
a plea for you to run out and get a shrink, not at all. Rather being resolute
about how you manage your business, as a GM or a sales person or a porter, is entirely up
to how well you plan your work. And when you think about the work involved with
your entire online presence, business and infrastructure, it's not about being
the 'do it all person'. That method will lead to disaster.

2010 will be a dividing and defining year, but not by the forces
of government intervention, the factory guillotine, lack of the 'perfect' new model or even that location you've been eyeing for years. It will be a year of the haves and have nots: either your 3 P's (plan, people and partners) will provide you with the better option or not. Here is the best starting point that we can recommend rather than spitting out another list of vendors, processes or simple recommendations that can be easily duplicated next door:

1. Where are you? Why are you there? Think about this in terms of where your greatest opportunities are for growth. Some things are completely transparent, like Google rank results, conversion rates and revenue per PO (just as examples) and some are not, like sourcing, third-party expenses and advertising in untracked media.

2. Who's with you and who's not? If you've not weeded out your staff in a while, you're lying to yourself. There is some huge talent out there that can not only move the needle forward, they can likely add some sorely needed spark and sizzle to the rest of the people that claim to love coming to work. 'Stick In The Mud' and 'On The Bubble' are not a fun games to play for two years in a row…

3. What changed that you ignored or missed? Usually a massive change in results comes from more than the other franchise having a stellar month while you tanked. If something big shifted, start with asking your customers, your prospects and those that opted to go somewhere else. The insight will do more for you that pulling the wool over your eyes. This is not a 'social media play', this is a 'get yourself dirty play'.

4. Do you have buy in? Another thing to consider is who's behind you. If it's not a majority or all of your staff voting on how things get done, it's time to be open. Not humor, Not simply listen. It's do or die time and if people don't think you care about them , they won't care about you. (hey, customers think the same way. wow!) The 1976 way of handling sales and staff meetings should be 86'd.

We could go with 'finely tuned engine' or something cheesy like 'firing on all cylinders' but you have to do the things that will really impact your business. Aside from that you MUST fire vendors that don't do their job and stop excusing poor performance.

Today a dealer talked about taking the bold step of letting a vendor go that was so far from doing their job. At a rediculously low price. For something the store didn't really think about. Tomorrow, they're going to take it in-house, spend more money, get the job done right and will likely see the results from their efforts…two to three months from now. What are you doing that, if you'd take five minnutes to think about it, doesn't make sense.

If you can't find anything that's broken, here's another recommendation: Walk into a non-automotive business and whatever you notice that absolutely bothers the $#&^ out of you, ask your employees to stop doing it and take suggestions from them to improve. Why? Because there's a 95% chance that your business is doing the same thing.

2010 is full of promise. There will be those dealerships that hit the ball out of the park. There will be those that barely get on base consistently. There will be those that can't even get the batting helmet on. There will be those that aren't even in the game.

Your chance is to own the whole frickin game…

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

December 31, 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