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Want R.O.I. on Anything? Start Using Anything! (Or Settle For B.S.)

One of the first questions that is asked of us when engaging a dealership is “what is the R.O.I. of (fill in the blank)?” Well our friends, from leads to software, to websites and PPC, the question that is being asked is wrong.  If you ask what is the R.O.I. of a product, let me ask you what is the R.O.I. of air?

Well, it’s noting if you don’t use it.

Over the past seven years, we have proven over and over a multiple R.O.I. on all digital aspects compared to before we arrived. And remember, that is usually with no or little vendor changes. Why is this? Because there is no return of investment without education, understanding and utilization.

Dealerships usually buy due to fear or loss, standardization or acceptance of a product, or a unique opportunity (first-in-market). Rarely are those opportunities truly vetted out. While we are not saying to stop before purchasing a product or service that has market penetration because there is a compelling otherwise to do so, we are advocating full assessment prior to signing.

Take lead providers, for example. While most have taken a (B.S.) marketing position and away from you buying leads, most dealers have more “opportunities” in their ILM/CRM than they know how to handle. Buying more leads? Usually you drop your R.O.I.

Also, return on investment is calculated improperly. Is it closer to income and expense or profit and loss? Yes. Until you are properly educated, coached and assessed regularly, there is no R.O.I. because the assumptions are in the wrong place. Show me a dealer closing 10% of their leads, add another provider and, after six months, you will have a dealer with a higher cost structure closing 10% of their leads. Insanity.

Spoiler alert: do the math, work it and get results. For every new website, software, marketing tool and process, you must back it up with hard-core training (no matter how much that word sucks) and sustainment. That is how our average client that buys in fully to our processes and business rules doubles results in less than a year.

Recently we have heard about more catastrophic website or software installs than ever before. What’s the R.O.I. on a vendor search, pitches, proposal and negotiations, set-up fees, months frustratingly lost followed a switch back to the previous or another new provider?

Stop talking about R.O.I. until you spend more on your personnel, education, accountability, scoring, bonuses (not get-it-done spiffs, by the way) and intra-staff support. That’s when you get return.

Until then, you can continue to buy based off of “your competitor is using this and they’ll eat your lunch” or “only 5 more cars sold with our biz-bang-boom and you’re in profit!” or any other snake oil sales job you fall for.

Oh…and one more thing to consider. Results occur top-down with an true ownership, understanding perspective. Not bottom-up make this work garbage. So take that pill and swallow it…

 

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

 

August 27, 2014 by Gary May 0
Prescription Without Diagnosis: (Ugly) Side Effects Are Going To Happen

In a world at a breakneck pace and of mediocre marketing, it
is more important than ever to know what you’re doing if you hope to attract,
let alone keep, consumers’ attention. 
Add to that the entire market essentially being mobile and you might not
be prepared at all to address your opportunities appropriately.

 

As things become more convoluted and confusing (add
consolidated at the vendor level) in digital, there are just as many opportunities
as there were five years ago, if not more. Trust us. The greatest areas of
change are (1) more businesses being online, (2) more solutions being provided
by manufacturers and turnkey providers, (3) software and automation becoming
more rampant and (4) the public having more access via mobile at breathtaking
speeds (read: they typically do not consume traditional advertising when
mobile).

 

What hasn’t changed much are the count of progressive
businesses, those willing to try new methods and technologies, applying
consumer feedback to businesses’ modeling and execution (especially customer
service) and the way businesses buy. Research, contrary to much perception,
really isn’t part of what executives and leaders facilitate or understand. When
is the last time you had a non-vendor evaluate your business’ performance, if
ever?

 

One thing that is creating massive side effects in digital
marketing is the silo-type approach to vendorship. At the beginning of the year
one of the Big Six manufacturers forced their franchises to choose between
three vendors in regard to “management” of their online reputation. This
created a real wrinkle for the retailers that (1) didn’t want to use the
companies for any/other services, (2) understood that the vendors, outside of using
existing automated software, struggle with actually properly setting up,
maintaining and responding to the reviews and (3) understood quickly that, many
times, just as many issues are created as are handled. Now consider this: What
are the benchmarks? What processes have been installed? When does the
reputation management process start?

 

Add to that you absolutely, positively will not succeed in
the online reputation management space without complete buy-in at every
franchise plus it must be supported throughout every organization, entirely top
to bottom.

 

From websites to search engine optimization, from mobile
websites to applications, from search engine marketing to text and live chat,
from customer relation management to integrated marketing, you can’t make a
decision without facts, capabilities, assessment, communication and absolutely,
positively a third party opinion.  Why
would a business make a decision today, with the potential to inflict damage on
their multi-million dollar operation(s) and the future of hundreds of people,
based on what another dealer is doing 800-1,800 miles away or what a vendor
says when they’ll ask a second, third or even fourth opinion on a treatment or
drug?

Are you aware of the side affect of taking the wrong or multiple drugs? Yeah,
you’ve heard the advertisements for sinus medication that basically tells you
that you can die from taking their product if you simple breathe or walk after
ingesting it.

 

So here it goes: buying a potential vendor’s product
(especially if you’re dead set on switching after being “disappointed” with
your present one based on doing no more investigation then compared to now) may
cause loss of customers, lower service penetration rates, bleeding inventory,
loss of margin, decreased customer satisfaction, painful penalties from
headquarters, general business seepage, night sweats for the rest of your life,
or death.

 

Go ahead, make decisions without paying attention to the
side effects. It will either require hospitalization (aka another vendor change
and admonishment toward your 20 Group partners), resuscitation (aka realization
that no, they can’t do that, or it’ll be no better) or dizziness (aka having to
actually ask someone who knows better that’s NOT on the hook of vendors).

 

Disclaimer: No doctors were harmed in the making of this
blog post

 

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

March 9, 2013 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
Wake Up! A Call To Arms…Legs, Hands, Feet, Real Products and Decisions

The more things change, the more they stay the same. There
are no shortcuts… Car dealers, when it comes to websites, SEO, reputation
management, SEM and social media stop simply buying services blind or going
co-op “approved” to save a buck. Stop buying enterprise solutions because it's
one check or everything comes on a "proprietary dashboard" and start
getting effective results with accountability. Start being your own dealership
online rather than being like all of the rest. The same is what enterprise
solutions get you. It doesn't work.

Some quick examples: Redundant SEO doesn't stand out and as
a matter of fact it’s penalized today by Google and Bing. Copied press releases
don't get clicked, read or acted upon. Facebook posts (even though, yes, Google
and Bing don't crawl them) that are identical to every one of your competitors don't
gain reach or go viral. And PPC ads that aren’t set up properly and don't have
unique content don't convert.

It is time to drop the vendors that are endorsed by your
brand/OEM that 450, 700 or 1,600 other stores are on; and time to invest
properly, get involved with what YOU put online under your name and get real
about understanding and results. And for business sake, reputation management
and social media are not things you just turn over and don’t watch and discuss,
period. Paying vendors to get reviews and paying someone to put up pictures of
goldfish in adjacent bowls starting at each other with "caption this"
was not acceptable in 2009, let alone 2012. And even if you're not up to speed
with what Google or Yelp are doing (and you need to be), don’t pay for reviews
from someone that’s not a salesperson, service writer or other employee. Your
reputation is your responsibility, not a vendor’s for a couple thousand dollars
a month.

Your OEM-certified vendors don’t understand social media and
for most brand headquarters, the people making the decision don’t know much
more when they sign the purchase orders or endorsements. Most eCommerce heads
had stints in other areas of their brand operations and have no experience or
understanding.  It’s time you knew that because
you are trusting your largest traffic generator, which most dealers flinch at
spending $1,000-1,500 a month for…let alone more appropriate, higher costs, to a
decision someone made based on a relationship, a pitch and/or promises of non-dealer-centric
benefits.

Take ownership and yes, you can and must do and be
responsible for every single thing that has your name on it: advertising,
fliers, sell sheets, hang tags, pictures, video, templates and online
marketing…all the way down to your business cards. If you aren’t on your way,
or at least starting, down your digital comprehension and betterment it is only
a matter of time before you are absolutely, positively passed up.

You will hear this from very few people and places because
it flies in the face of convention. And it disagrees with what you hear in ads
and presentations. And it is an about face from what nearly all of the OEMs
want and believe. And because it’s hard to beat the 800 pound gorilla (vendors);
the gorilla that has no idea what any part of the funnel in their traffic
report is, how to properly maintain website optimization, how to set up a
legitimate Facebook or Google Plus page and just can’t get its hands around how
to actually answer a lead.

Welcome to being back in business for yourself and with the
right frame of mind. Yes, that means the herd you leave just may be heading the
wrong way…

 

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Resutls

October 18, 2012 by Gary May 1
Accountability. Denial. Cover Up. A Losing Game.

We all come to proverbial "forks in the road" when it comes to performance, to delivering, to being reliable, to following up and ultimately to understanding what it takes to be better. There are mainly two types of being in business, away from the actual retail transaction if you look at things in very simple terms. Partnership and vendorship. They are both a state of being. Partnership is one thing: a cooperation. Vending is one thing: a delivery mechanism.

Over time all businesses play roles in one or both, likely both. While no person or no entity is perfect, it is in our best interest to actually perform to the best of our ability. It is also in our best interest to acknowledge what is done and undone. In a world where it is standard business to over-promise and under-deliver, when marketing trumps products and services, and reps and salespeople are most concerned with commissions or kickbacks, it is rare for someone to raise their hands and accept responsibility.

Recently I've had to experience both sides of the coin. One as a vendor and one as a partner of the client with another vendor. Watching, as we always do, from the outside, it is interesting to witness companies deal with requests (or demands) for products and/or services. We live it every day. Being first to accept responsibility no matter what. It's a fundamental approach to delivery and client satisfaction. Many argue with that philosophy. In the end, you end up reaping what you sow.

Nobody is wrong in arguing. It is natural to disagree. It is, however, wrong to stay in a position or unbending stance. No matter how comfortable we can become in believing what we vend is completely ideal, there is no such thing. And no company can profess, at least honestly, to no issues of dissatisfaction. This is another thing I've recently had to experience. It is a hopeful thing, just not achievable.

It is in all of our best interest to be teachable, flexible, to listen, ask and confirm as well as validate. In a partnership, these are musts. When these critically important things start to disappear and position is asserted, it is no longer a partnership. Companies need to understand that shouting in order to position or defending their position is detrimental. And not simply because it is being said here, but because most will say and acknowledge the simple fact.

So what do you want to provide? Many businesses seem to want to provide with the opportunity to partner. Some businesses seem to want to partner with the opportunity to provide. No cart or horse here. Not which came first. All of us want to prosper and profit. It is required to continue to provide services. But at what cost? It is true that you can't make everyone happy all of the time. But no business that has more than two customers has never had a squeaky wheel.

Over the next five months, when so much comes down to the pitch, the sell, the flash, the sizzle and the gorilla on the roof, it might just make a few vendors become partners if we all stop and recognize what we're doing this for. Customer service starts with a customer and ends with service. We must be accountable. If your service is operating at 60% efficiency, you might just find that your customer is 40% out the door. If you're paying attention. You can point at anything else that touches what you make, but it's still your responsibility.

Lack of accountability, denial or service, sweeping things under the rug and the like are just a losing game. Oh, it may take time. But it will happen. Businesses today want real. They need honest. They expect more. They deserve what they expect and definitely what they pay for.

Don't you? Act that way.

*No clients were harmed in the making of this post. But many are simply fed up.

 

Best Practices: Professional Insight. Powerful Results.

September 29, 2011 by Gary May 0
Flipping The Light On: Life After The Pitch

You heard about them. You read about them. You phoned them. You had them in. You listened to them. You took the pitch. You signed the deal. And now, with services starting, either everything is the same as it was before……or the lights are on and it's kind of "ohh my my".

(Twilight Zone music in the background) You thought it would be different. You thought you knew what everything meant. You made that final turn…welcome, to real life after the pitch.

So what happened? Everything seemed fine. Well, what did you expect from adding the services? Did you write down your goals? Were resources already set aside to handle the new vendor? Was their customer service department part of the initial pitch at all? You know, the people that you'll call with questions and issues? Did you get an "out" clause or are you roped in tighter that a M3's engine in the space under the hood of a MX-5? Did you ever think "what happens if they don't do what they say they'll do?"

Let's face it, retailers want a fast, easy, painless, seamless, passive, snap-your-fingers solution. So why in the heck would anyone, unless they are offering an education with full disclosure in their pitch (read: NOT most vendors), tell you that they can't do what you need? It's so much easier to add modules and updates rather than focus on the effectiveness of a core product. It's a lot more fun, apparently, to fill up review sites with bogus users' glowing reviews than actually make it a dealership process to get recommendations. That's why dealers' investments fail and vendors fast profits are usually replaced with a shrinking client list over time.

Without question there are a few companies in the industry that are in a position to add to their product line. And because they can and are able to. Not just because they want to or are getting pressure from compoetitors. Can you find Nike golf bags, backpacks and glasses? Yup! If their shoes started sucking, those superficial products, as profitable and lifestyle "branding integrated" as they are, would be inconsequencial if the core product failed.

And, as a dealer/client, it's your job to turn the lights on. And that means ask the tough questions. Don't take the reports to heart, especially if there's no validation. When you turn the bright lights on, the cockroaches go running! When you have a partnership with your suppliers, guess what happens? Real growth, real education, real improvement. After the pitch should be the best part. If companies knew what was good for then, they'd pitch modestly and over-deliver. Now THAT'S a concept!

And life after the pitch should get progressively easier. Here's a great test and maybe something you want to try in 2011. When you start a new agreement with a vendor, ask for no more than 6 months commitment, maybe less if not month-to-month. After 50-75% of the initial period is done, indicate you're going to cancel at the end of the term and watch/listen to the response. That will tell you volumes about who you're doing business with.

Here's a few things to think about in your next (and likely soon) approach to new providers:

Ask:
1. How long have you been providing this service and who can I talk to about it?
2. What is your average turnaround time for support and completion of a ticket?
3. What hours does your customer service department work?
4. What is your after-hours/weekend customer service policy?
5. When was your last failure/cancelled client and what happened?
6. How many of my competitors to you currently work with?
7. How well does your service integrate with the system(s) currently used by my business?
8. Do you use internal or third party reporting of metrics?
9. Can I cut back on part or all of my services and what kind of notice do you need?
10. Do you subcontract and services and have you experienced service outages?
11. Is ongoing training or field support (not sales rep visits) part of your service?

Thinking about what your needs are away from how much more product and services you're being told you'll sell is critical. And go with your gut. If it sounds too good to be true (1,000 Facebook fans in no time, 200 glowing reviews per month, best sourcing of all customers of any ILM/CRM ever, increases conversion 20% every month for a year, sells cars for you 24/7, builds your client base while you're sleeping and more), it probably is.

And then there's the Golden Rule: Generally stay away from "#1 in (fill in the blank)". If you can see marketing from a vendor you are considering on every automotive network, in every publication, on every B-to-B forum and in your showroom (more often than you'd like), pretend you're a consumer –because you are!– and ask yourself this: do the best working companies in a vertical advertise everywhere? Are they screaming "we're number one"? Now, if you are always screaming "we're number one!" yourself, it might just be a match made in heaven.

Otherwise, for the rest of us, chances are there's too much focus on the frosting and not enough on the cake. Some frosting is so good, it can cover up what looks like a full, well-made, perfectly done cake. Remember that next time you simply grab the box and drive back to the office, thinking about how great everything will be, pull in, run into the store, flip on the lights and open the box. Ooh bummer…

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

December 12, 2010 by Gary May 0
Hey, It’s Digital

Another event in the history books. Digital Dealer 8 provided a new round
of talk, perspective, conjecture, ideas and repetitiveness. Well
attended, the eighth iteration of the event made way for a full expo,
some great sessions, loud receptions and the proverbial automotive
industry buzz.

It was a bit funny last week when two things occurred that caused me to
think about what it is to be "digital", take the leap of faith, change
some (ok, a lot) of the broken practices in our business and bring as
many willing people along with us. Brian Pasch and Ralph Paglia both had
digital device "snafus" in front of a bunch of people. And it was
funny. While some loudmouth from the crowd chirped "it's digital"
(please, no guesses) , it caused me to reflect on how connected we are
to everything digital. And what we continue to do wrong, including the
so called education of the dealers looking for assistance.

Automotive retail's entire existence is based on success in the digital
realm. We don't need a bunch of people, many barely versed themselves,
standing in front of rooms of people telling them that the train has
left the station. Dealers need real assistance, in real time, in real
terms, from real people to build real results.

One thing that tends to rub me is the intention versus goal aspect of
the conferences. What's happened to AAISP? certification programs? "put
the dealer before profits" and all of the other chatter over the past
four years? This is not a post meant to call bullshit on everything but
to avoid it completely would be a disservice. At many conferences, more
netowrking and business happens away from the event than at the event.
And…there is a belief structure that has to be maintained.

It strikes me as odd when people attend events that can have a
significant impact, offer extremely relevant information and otherwise
influence attendees in a positive way are charged the most, treated as
less-than-desireables and not invited to particiapte in the most basic
way. Actually it's flat out wrong. The leading events let the audience
and industry decide what's best. Not the promoter.

Changes in the industry are happening at such a rate now that those in
position to create, promote and execute on large-scale events need to be
more in line who they claim to help. Watch the bottom line? Sure you
should make a profit if you're going to be bold enough, especially in
these economic times, to front cash (which can be significant) and put
an agenda together.

Ego and enforcement also have no place in today's events. Protocol,
yes. Guidelines, yes. Omnipotent overlords focused on anything besides
what drives the most value need to, well…be somewhere else. The
digital shift is about practices, assistance, positioning, data and
more. Our industry has been dealt a deserved blow in the digital space
due to ignorance, denial and a refusal to recognize our own customers
and public. How can the auto industry be so large yet engage and learn
so little?

In my opinion, there should be more Internet department directors
(pardon the phrase), field reps for the larger companies and consultants
that are not beholden to vendors on stage. Those are the people moving
the industry digital every day. Attendees don't want pitches. They need
honest answers. They need examples. They absolutely want to understand
what to do. Not being told. Not being sold. Remember, just like a
customer at a dealership, they want to buy from someone they trust, that
listens to them, that can deliver on value and promises. Why should the
B-to-B part of our business be any different?

It time to start doing the work instead of talking the talk. No more
"we do that" and then scramble to execute it for the first time. No more
canceled cook-offs. No more delays in production. And a lot more
customer service. That's what we need at retail. That's what we need
from the companies making the claims and filling the magazines with ads.
The one's retailers are trying not to do themselves anymore. Because
they're listening to us.

Because, hey. It's digital.

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

May 1, 2010 by Gary May 0