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Logistics: I’ll Take “What Is A Dealership?” For $1000 Alex

Lo·gis·tics  ləˈjistiks,lō-/  noun

    1. The detailed coordination of a complex operation involving many people, facilities, or supplies.

We are in the game of logistics. Like it or not car dealerships, at a minimum, are hubs of logistic activities: connections to the factory and engineers, DMS uploads, inventory pushes and pulls, secure financial documents and transactions, lead migration, email and phone connections, server backups, marketing company, sales rep and little league treasure troves…it's dizzying.

Add to that the total of resources: staff, hardware, all the moving parts. And you want to put a 300-pound inflatable on top to make it look like a scene from a Chevy Chase Vacation movie. *burp*

A whole, as they say, is the sum of its parts. However some of those parts are more evident to the people you’re trying to attract: consumers. More important than ever is the media, availability/speed of information and communication we deliver to the public.

So riddle me this Batman: the most important part of your website is the:

 

  1. Template and main pages you reviewed two years ago with your website vendor that you get a PDF “report” from once a month and a visit with once a quarter, when they sell you more stuff.
  2. Inventory being online that you assume is feeding correctly with the automated “cheese” seller notes, not so robust VIN explosion/features and being syndicated to portals you’ve never heard f (although they’re fully disclosed in the document you’ve never read).
  3. SEO you’ve never checked on provided by the website or aftermarket company (that is ABSOLUTELY using spun content)…oh wait. What’s SEO? Yeah.
  4. About us video made a while ago showing some staff you still have employed inside the dealership before the new fascia when up

The answer is none of the above. Just like your dealership it’s the experience. Yes, it has to have what people expect however when’s the last time you met a customer, truly, that knew exactly what to expect. And that is, literally, exactly.

If you’ve not stopped, in a long time, and done a real deep-dive into analytics, feedback from customers and staff, taken more than a gander at your competition (which is everyone), looked and reassessed everything that has your name/brand on it and taken stock of actionable goals and roadmaps, you’re gliding on the rise in sales that’s taken place over the past couple of years now and are, still, not ready for what comes next. Get real about what you’re avoiding.

At the center of everything is a person, with a real need for attention, consideration, information, service, answers and solutions. We are in the logistics business.

Consider this again before you chat with your coworkers about Sunday’s games tomorrow with finite details and stats about passing yards, rushing yards, total years, carries, receptions, turnovers, time of possession, sacks, half sacks, quarter sacks and hurries…and then realize that’s the same level of passion we must exhibit and deliver on for every one of the people that give you the honor of walking through your front door.

 

Best Practices: Professional Insight, Powerful Results

October 6, 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
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