Featured ADM Member Blog Posts - Automotive Digital Marketing Professional Community (ADM)

8th Digital Dealer Conference Set for April 20 - 22, 2009 in Orlando, FL

2009-11-06T06:30:00.000Z

Find more photos like this on Automotive Digital Marketing Professional Community (ADM)
Mike Roscoe and Cliff Banks of Dealer Communications, Inc. have announced that the 8th Digital Dealer Conference will be in Orlando Florida starting on April 20 and going through April 22, 2010. Additional information and details will be posted continuously between now and then on the official Digital Dealer Conference website.
You can visit the website at: Digital Dealer Conference

The 7th Digital Dealer Conference and Exhibition was recently completed and ran from Sunday November 1 through Tuesday November 3, 2009 in Nashville. Despite the lengthy recession of 2008-2009 the 7th Digital Dealer Conference was attended by over 600 automotive digital marketing professionals, with over 500 dealerships represented by the actual attendees at Digital Dealer #7....

When looking at the final digital dealer conference sign ins from Nashville, there were over 800 people who picked up there badges at the Digital Dealer Conference registration desk. The math tells us that there were over 200 suppliers and various associated personnel at the event. With a Supplier/Dealer ratio of 1/4 the Digital Dealer Conference is one of the least supplier-to-dealer heavy conferences of the year... NADA is characterized by more suppliers than dealers, and I saw that the J. D. Power Automotive Internet Roundtable was decidedly NOT a dealers-in-the-majority crowd.

Digital Dealer Orlando Conference

As long as we can convince Roscoe and Banks to give me a speaking slot again, I am eagerly anticipating a great conference in Orlando. By then we will have much more to report on in regards to Automotive Social Marketing and Reputation Management for Car Dealers.

I recommend that we all agree to set the Twitter hash tag for Digital Dealer 8 in Orlando as #DD8 and avoid some of the confusion that seemed to happen at Digital Dealer 7... You can follow all the latest activities on the ADM Professional Community at http://Twitter.com/ADMcommunity and my own personal Twitter account, which has no automation is at http://Twitter.com/RalphPaglia

I want to personally thank those of you who attended my General Session on Tuesday at 8:30 AM during the 7th Digital Dealer Conference... It meant so much to me and to Gilbert Ancira and Elizabeth Barrera that so many people showed up, and I was simply amazed! Beyond all the hype and theory being thrown around about Social Media Marketing and dealers using social networking and UGC sites to promote themselves, there are those of us, like Gilbert, Ernesto and April Ancira, as well as over 200 of their employees, as well as myself and the ADP Digital Marketing team that works so hard at all this stuff I throw at them, who live the actual day to day "working it" of social marketing... When Gilbert, Elizabeth and I went to lunch after Tuesday's session and the enormous response we all received from the hundreds of people who attended the session, all we could talk about was how much we felt like all our hard work had been recognized by our peers... And, that there was so much more we want to do!

I love it when a plan comes together and we not only sell a bunch more cars and trucks, but we also have MORE fun doing it! When I first started selling cars it was the people and the fun that played such a major role in getting me hooked on the car business... Sure, we all like making money, and we certainly would not discount the importance of the Golden Rule, but when it comes to social marketing, the relationships happen first, then the cars get sold... And somehow, all that fun and happy customers generate a lot more gross.... Remember Gross?!?!

SSSssshhhhhh.... Don't tell anyone, but the "Secret Sauce" in social marketing and reputation management is an extra amount of gross profit added in! Happy customers who look forward to coming into your dealership and buying cars from people they already know, with the purchase process taking less time and generating less stress, while producing higher CSI and more profits PVR...

Is it complicated? Not really, we use technology to simplify the processes.

Is it hard work? Yup, damn straight it takes some time and effort.

Are there any guarantees? Only that some day you and I will both be dead.

Will we sell more cars? Well... Do people generally tend to like you when they get to know you? If the answer is yes, then you will sell more cars. If the answer is no, then you need to go become a computer programmer. Classes start next week at ITT Technical.

Do I need to be really good with computers? Nope, but you will need to be able to use a phone and a keyboard to tell stories...

Every ten years or so, the car business seems to evolve, and that's when it starts to get more interesting, and a lot more fun!

I learned a lot at Digital Dealer 7 and am looking forward to seeing our ADM Professional Community members at the 2nd Annual ADM Member Reception on the evening of April 20, 2009 after the conference activities are done for day 1.

8th Digital Dealer Conference in Orlando

Traditional media still has a place in my budget…WHY??

2009-11-06T05:32:02.000Z

I must have heard this 100 times at DD7 by many dealers I talked with. I even found myself agreeing…I remember saying sure it does. Today as I was recapping what I was exposed to this year at Digital Dealer I thought about this and it occurred to me…WHY?

What exactly does traditional media do for a dealership? I found myself not being able to answer the question. It’s not track-able so we can’t assign that value to it. Tried to fall back on the whole branding thing, but I think we have at least proven that social media does a better job of branding than traditional media could ever do now.

SO WHAT IS TRADITIONAL MEDIA GOOD FOR??

Honestly, I can’t say.

There are so many other ways customers are getting the information they need I really cannot see why any dealership would still be advertising through Radio, Television or Heaven forbid the Newspaper. The only explanation I could come up with is one that is all too common in the car business… We’re comfortable with traditional media. We are trained from a early start in this business to take control, so much so we sometimes we truly believe we can will things to happen the way they always have been.

TIME FOR A WAKE UP CALL… My fellow brethren dealers we can’t will it back to the old days, and we haven’t been in control of the conversation for some time now. It’s time to face reality jump in with both feet make some mistakes learn from them and keep going we can no long afford to sit on the sidelines of online marketing and social media and stick our big toe in to see how warm the water is.

I saw a tweet this week, can’t remember who tweeted it, it said “If you can’t do social media right then don't do it.” That’s crap we know more about what not to do with social media than what to do with it. You're going to make some mistakes and that’s ok, don't give up keep working on it. There is no one best way. Just keep 4 things in mind with social media:
Listen
Engage
Educate
Entertain

Beyond that it’s an open forum, and it’s supposed to be. You will be attacked by intolerant idiots who think they have the keys to social media… just deal don't vent online best to just ignore.

Above all we have to jump in stay in and keep our heads down and keep shoveling.

Hope that helps.

Was the Cadillac CTS-V Challenge a Win?

2009-11-02T15:40:00.000Z

Let me get four things out of the way before my post-game analysis of the CTS-V Challenge as a marketing event. First, I love it that Bob Lutz challenged the media and followed through on it. Bob is a legend and this is why. He is a car guy through and through. Second, I think the event was a marketing success (you can stop reading now if you don't care why I think this.) Thirdly, the CTS-V is a fantastic car. Everyone felt it was competitive and it proved that, even though most race fans will tell you racing is 90% driver and 10% car. Finally, every time a marketing company does a challenge/race it is always tilted in the host's favor. It isn't about racing; it's about promotion.

Now that I have that out of the way, let's look at the CTS-V Challenge in full and most importantly understand why it was a marketing success and what other marketing teams can learn from it.

The "Race"

The idea all started when Bob Lutz made a comment at the press conference launching GM’s latest marketing campaign “May the Best Car Win.” Lutz “told reporters he would challenge anyone in any production sedan to a race around Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway and try to beat him,” What’s interesting here is this wasn’t an idea that started in a creative brainstorming to figure out how to market the CTS-V. This was Bob being Bob and later the automotive blog Jalopnik being Jalopnik.

The event probably would’ve never happened if it wasn’t for Jalopnik egging GM to commit to the challenge Lutz made. GM decided to come through, probably after watching some of the early buzz the social media was lending to the idea of such an event. Eventually applications were being taken at this micro-site.

In the marketing ideation for the event, some things were added that would later annoy most of those looking forward to the event. Sure Bob Lutz would race but GM also decided to stack the chips in their favor. The racetrack changed from Laguna Seca to the Monticello Motor Club in New York, the same track GM prepared for their CTS-V Nurburgring time. This is notable because it is a track the GM Team was very, very familiar with. Just like in golf, in racing, the more you practice on the same course the better you get to know it and improve your game. The other challengers definitely lacked this advantage.

Also, GM showed up with a ton of drivers ready to make sure if someone beat Bob that the CTS-V would still win. Most notable at the event was John Heinricy who set the Nurburgring time and was the ringer of the group. This stacking the deck with several drivers also became a way for GM PR to say things like CTS-V wins 6 or the 7 top spots in the challenge. Marketing at its best.

Where many enthusiasts felt slighted was that it was supposed to be Bob versus the challengers and when looking through the original intent of the challenge the CTS-V placed second to a 20 year old with a BMW M3. The driver, an unknown named Michael Cooper, who certainly had some track experience (everyone is trying to find out how much) but he definitely isn’t a professional or some sort of ringer like Heinricy or some of the others GM brought.

Blogger Michael Banovsky summed up the feelings of many enthusiasts when he wrote:

“While I feel that the CTS-V is certainly the fastest — or at least in the top two — of its vehicle class, the challenge and subsequent assertions that a lap time by a professional driver 'won' sour my opinion of the car.”

Measuring the Buzz

Now that a couple days have passed, it’s time to look at how the Challenge did in social media conversation.

On Twitter the most re-tweeted blog was Banovsky’s followed by GM’s own blog post on their Fastlane site. But a lot of blogs covered the event as we can see in this Buzz Metric’s report.

We can see in the graph that the CTS-V gets a decent lift in conversation with several automotive blogs covering the story. There is even some momentum going into the event. It’s also noteworthy to see the lift the BMW M3 gets and the unknown driver Michael Cooper receives from the coverage.

This is part of the problem with doing challenges. Sure your product gets talked about but so do all of your key competitors thus raising conversation for all brands. The side-effect is that everyone in the challenge sees some positive lift and gets marketed too.

Michael Cooper and his M3 also became the enthusiast favorite, after reading several blogs that covered the CTS-V Challenge, because it won on the merits of the original concept and, felt by many, to be the true winner of the event.

Chatter is the Goal

Edward Boches, Chief Creative Officer/Chief Social Officer at Mullen, shares a perspective on a recent episode of the marketing show The Bean Cast that “social media creativity is about inspiring others to tell stories for us,.. or to invite them to co-create those stories with us.” This is the new creative execution. Cadillac’s CTS-V is a perfect expression of this new creativity.

The Challenge definitely spurred a lot of conversation about Cadillac with enthusiasts. There was a lot of braggadocious talk from brand advocates supporting their own favorites before and throughout the event too.

Cadillac did miss an opportunity in the Twitterverse by not defining a hashtag for the event. Hashtags are a way to thread a conversation on Twitter that everyone can use to follow a topic. In the early stages of the race, Jalopnik defined the event as “#JalopnikvsGM”. Here is a tag cloud showing how that conversation went.

Eventually GM’s PR Team got the conversation more on their topic by using the shorter hashtag “#ctsv”. As you can see the conversation changed more in Cadillac’s favor in the following tag cloud:

There was also some traditional media coverage when NPR’s “All Things Considered” show interview Bob Lutz that afternoon and the NY Times blog picked the story up too. Buzz overall was very strong for the event and they did get a nice lift in the social media space making it a success by Boches definition of creative marketing success.

What We All Can Learn

There are several things that went right from this event. Sure it wasn’t really invented by any ad agency or creative ideation which shows that we can all learn a lot from accepting ideas that maybe spurred on by the blogosphere (GM owes most of this to Jalopnik for pressing to do it.)

What also went very well was the promotion of the event through social media, GM has a significant number of people on Twitter and strong relationships with several blogs to get the word out. Their team was tweeting when the event began at 10am and continued well into the evening after the results. Having a lot of bloggers out on Twitter talking about it helped even more since the idea wrapped a very vocal, socially adept community right from the start by challenging the bloggers. So they were part of the story from the start, whether they raced or not.

The event also provided a lot of different angles for the conversation to go. It was controversial and led to further coverage and conversation. One of the best write-ups came from the contestant from The Truth About Cars, Jack Baruth. Baruth shared his experience in details along with the excuse for his Audi S4 placing so poorly (poor production brakes) and GM being gracious enough to let him drive Lutz’s car. The whole idea of "ringers" at the event really led to a lot of conversation which really got everyone talking.

The best part is the product was front and center. Everyone who covered the event talked about the CTS-V and that's what GM really wanted.

What’s the Next Challenge?

So this got me thinking. How about a drag race with all of the Big Three Pony cars? Lutz can drag the Camaro SS. Ford’s Mark Fields can use the Ford Mustang GT500. Chrysler group’s Olivier Francois can show up with their Challenger SRT8. And this time no ringers.

Photos from the event were used with permission from http://www.carguydad.com (more photos from the event)

Source: [Auto Marketing Blog]

2009 ASMA Awards Presented November 1st

2009-10-29T17:00:00.000Z

The 2009 ASMA awards will be presented to nine automotive website vendors on Sunday November 1st at 4:30 pm at the Pasch Consulting Group booth at the 7th Digital Dealer Conference in Nashville. The ASMA study reviewed 34 automotive website platform vendors and will recognize nine companies with an award this year.

The ASMA study conducted by the Pasch Consulting Group which has over 33 pages of research and analysis will be a great tool to help educate car dealers on important elements of a car dealer website that impacts their search marketing success. The report will also be a valuable tool to help guide dealers on future purchasing decisions for website platforms.

The report can be ordered from the Pasch Consulting Group by contacting Carrie Valentine at PCG by emailing her at carrie@paschconsulting.com or by calling 732-450-8200 after November 3, 2009.

Robin Pisz of Lexus, Theresa Haven of Honda, Anna Zornosa of Dealix to be Honored During LA Autop Show 12/2/09

2009-10-29T13:30:00.000Z

The Women’s Automotive Association International (WAAI) will present the prestigious Professional Achievement Award to three automotive industry women during its annual awards dinner in Los Angeles on Wednesday, December 2, 2009, according to a recent announcement by Lorraine Schulz, WAAI founder and CEO.
This year’s honorees are Robin Pisz, national interactive marketing manager for Lexus, a division of Toyota Motor Sales; Theresa Haven, manager of the marketing communications campaign management division, Honda Motor Co.; and Anna Zornosa, general manager for Dealix.com, a division of Cobalt.

Presented annually since 1997, the Professional Achievement Award pays tribute to professional women in recognition of their commitment, professionalism and success in the automotive industry. “These women embody qualities well worthy of recognition, and we are privileged to honor their achievements,” said Schulz. “Not only are they successful and accomplished in their careers. They are also leaders in business and their communities, and serve as role models.”

Added Jody DeVere, WAAI president and CEO of AskPatty.com: “We are so pleased to present these women with the Professional Achievement Award and congratulate them on this much-deserved honor.”

The 12th annual WAAI reception and dinner, to be held in conjunction with the Los Angeles Auto Show, will take place at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on December 2. Individual tickets are $125.

Founded in 1995, WAAI centers its efforts on recognizing the achievements of women in the automotive industry, providing networking and relationship-building opportunities, and encouraging growth through mentoring, educational endeavors and scholarships.

For additional information on the WAAI Professional Achievement Awards Dinner, including sponsorship and advertising opportunities, visit the association’s website, www.waai.com. Or contact Lynn Wilhelm, executive director, 248.646.5250, or email to lmwassoc@aol.com.

http://www.pitchengine.com/askpattycom/womens-automotive-association-international-to-honor-outstanding-industry-achievers/31273/

Facebook for Auto Dealers

2009-10-27T03:00:00.000Z

I just wanted to pass along our latest eBook to the forum members here at ADM. I am continually excited about using Facebook for the automotive industry and we continue to learn so much by watching our dealer clients continue to try new things on this evolving new marketing platform. This is such an exciting time for marketing vehicles online and we are so excited about its potential. I look forward to your comments.

Facebook_For_Auto_Dealers.pdf

Twitter Search Science: Advanced Operators For Marketing Ninja Intelligence Gathering

2009-10-27T02:00:00.000Z

Advanced Twitter Search Operators

Automotive Digital Marketing Ninjas find exactly what they are looking for in Twitter, then save advanced Twitter Search Queries for continued monitoring of activities in their local and regional markets. ADM Ninjas use these "Search Operators" to refine their queries and drill down to find the sweet spots for sales results RIGHT NOW using advanced search techniques made possible by the special parameter codes below:

Listing Format:
1. Operator:
Finds tweets

1. twitter search
containing both "twitter" and "search" (This is the default operator).

2. "happy hour"
containing the exact phrase "happy hour".

3. love OR hate
containing either "love" or "hate" (or both).

4. beer -root
containing "beer" but not "root". (negative keyword)

5. #haiku
containing the hashtag "haiku".

6. from:alexiskold
sent from Twitter account "alexiskold".

7. to:techcrunch
sent to Twitter account "techcrunch".

8. @mashable
referencing person "mashable".

9. "happy hour" near:"san francisco"
containing the exact phrase "happy hour" and sent near "san francisco".

10. near:NYC within:15mi
sent within 15 miles of "NYC"

11. superhero since:2009-10-22
containing "superhero" and sent since date "2009-10-22" (year-month-day).

12. ftw until:2009-10-22
containing "ftw" and sent up to date "2009-10-22".

13. movie -scary :)
containing "movie", but not "scary", and with a positive attitude.

14. flight :(
containing "flight" and with a negative attitude

15. traffic ?
containing "traffic" and asking a question.

16. hilarious filter:links
containing "hilarious" and linking to URLs.

17. news source:twitterfeed
containing "news" and entered via TwitterFeed

Social Network Retail Shopping More Than Just Transactional

2009-10-26T18:00:00.000Z

Retailers Get Ready for Social Shopping Experience - Online shopping is more than just transactional

People have long shared product opinions with friends and family through word-of-mouth. Today, social media tools enable consumers to extend their connections and conduct commerce in powerful new ways.

As people spend more time on social networks, retailers feel pressure to be there as well. Twitter is a hotbed of experimentation for retailers that see it as a channel for customer service, promoting the deal of the day and more. Facebook and its third-party developers are creating e-commerce applications on the site. Meanwhile, retail Websites are bolstering their social commerce features.

“While user ratings and reviews are a mature form of social commerce with proven benefits, e-commerce on social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, is in an early stage,” said Jeffrey Grau, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report, “Social Commerce on Facebook, Twitter and Retail Sites.” “People are spending more time on social networks and are able to conduct more of their regular activities on these platforms. E-commerce on social networks has barely tapped that potential.”

But forward-thinking retailers want to bring their Web stores to the environments where their customers like to spend time. As a result, almost three-quarters of the merchants in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide have a presence on at least one of the major social networks or social shopping sites.

Social network users are a highly coveted group of consumers. Across all age brackets, they were more likely than average to make an online purchase, according to a May 2009 survey by Anderson Analytics.

What’s more, social network users are sharing recommendations with greater frequency than generally expected. A Q1 2009 Razorfish survey of social network users found that some 29% reported sharing their views online at least every few weeks, while 10% said they made such contributions at least every few days.

“Leading companies know they cannot afford to wait for customers to visit their sites,” added Mr. Grau. “They need to place their virtual storefronts where their customers congregate. This implies the nature of e-commerce is shifting from a transactional experience to a social one.”

The full report, “Social Commerce on Facebook, Twitter and Retail Sites” also answers these key questions:

What is the outlook for social commerce?
How are marketers engaging customers on social media sites?
What social shopping features are retailers adding to their sites?
Which retailers are paving the way in social commerce?
To purchase the report, click here. Total Access subscribers, log in and view the report now.

SOURCE: eMarketer October 26, 2009 www.emarketer.com

Twitter Performance Metrics and Analytics Tools for Automotive Social Marketing

2009-10-25T10:00:00.000Z

For Automotive Social Marketing practitioners who would like to get deeper into tracking and analyzing Twitter marketing metrics and statistics, there are a number of handy apps you can use to analyze data. Some uses for these apps would be to track your brand name, see the data behind trending topics & to analyze your own followers. In this post I will be taking a look at some of the better low cost and free applications.

1. Twitter Stats – Allows you to type a keyword in to the search and find out how many mentions of that on Twitter of a period of time. Displays a handy graph with your search result.

2. Tweetronics – A slightly more advanced version, this app shows the number of mentions of your keyword/brand and displays a chart, also shows the sentiment towards the keyword by showing negative and positive tweets.

3. Twitter Digest – “Large amounts of fresh tweets are streamed from Twitter API in real time and analyzed by Open Calais and OpenNLP in real time. These conversations are from millions of Twitter users. Topics and keywords are automatically identified and ranked by popularity within a 24-hour period. The topics ranked at the top gives a timely snapshot of what most people are talking about on Twitter today.”

4. Twittas – A number of different apps to find out statistics about your twitter account such as, when you will reach 1 million followers, how long you have been a member, finding your first followers etc.

5. Twitter Analyzer – Excellent app which lets you delve in to statistics about your account showing graphs of things like follower growth rate, commonly used hashtags, number of people exposed to your name etc. Twitter Analyzer is a cool tool if you are looking to make a detailed analysis of your presence and influence at Twitter. It gives you a graphical representation of your popularity, reach, hashtag usage, your follower growth rate, density map, demographics, your mentions (@), groups and much much more. Very fast and really impressive.

6. Twitter Top Twenty – A number of Top 20 stats about twitter – top topics, users by followers etc.

7. Tweet Buzzer – Realtime statistics on brands being mentioned on twitter – can use it to search for your own brand as well.

8. Klout – Klout allows you to track the impact of your opinions, links and recommendations across your social graph. We collect data about the content you create, how people interact with that content and the size and composition of your network. From there, we analyze the data to find indicators of influence and then provide you with innovative tools to interact with and interpret the data.

9. TweetStats - Great website that tracks how many tweets you have a month and has good and easy to read graphs on the stats that they support.

10. Twitter Grader - Measures your Twitter influence considering various factors such as follower count, power of these followers, update frequency and volume of updates, etc. On a scale of 100 you are assigned a score that determines your Twitter popularity. Additionally this site also provides an elite list of twiples (based on ranking), top twitter countries, location, cities, US states. You need to be bit patient to know your score though!

11. TwInfluence - The TwInfluence tool takes into account factors like reach, velocity, social capital and centralization and grades you.

12. Twitterholic - This web app assigns you rank based on the number of followers. You may also get a rank based on the location as also get the tags that are associated with you. This is a nice tool to measure the growth rate of a user with respect to a timeline.

13. Twitalyzer - This tracking tool judges your influence, signal, generosity, velocity, clout and assigns a grade for each item. An overall grade is presented on a scale of 100 depending on the above factors.

14. TwitterScore - This software evaluates your Twitter popularity and assigns you a grade on a scale of 10. It also gives you a rank based on your score amongst all the users who have participated in Twitter so far.

15. Tweeple Rank - Based on the number of recommendations (tweets, bios, tags) Tweeple Rank assigns a rank which actually denotes your measure of popularity gained over time in Twitter.

16. TwitRank - TwitRank has an easy to use and clean interface that grades your Twitter presence on a scale of 10.

17. Twitterank - Twitterank analyzes your incoming @replies and grades your ‘talkbacks’. A detailed explanation can be found about the functionality of this tool at the FAQ page.

SOURCES:
8 Analytics Apps for Twitter
How Popular are You? Top 10 Tools to Measure Your Twitter Influence and Grade - @ramnath

Social Media Marketing versus Dealer eCommerce: Separation of Church and State?

2009-10-24T20:48:53.000Z

Should Dealers Blend Their Online eCommerce Sites and Assets with Social Media Marketing?

Is Automating a Dealer's Inventory Data Feed into a Twitter account to produce a non-stop stream of vehicle inventory "Tweets" a Best Practice or a Social media Marketing Startegy Blunder?

When I presented at Dealer Synergy Sessions in Atlanta a few weeks ago on the topic of utilizing the best "Free and Low Cost" web based tools for dealership business purposes, I just about got rocks thrown at me by J. D. Rucker. I felt like a Moslem woman who dared to show her face in public while in central Ryadh and getting "stoned" as punishment. (actually, J.D. is a savvy digital marketing professional who enlightened me in several ways) My transgression was showing ways to automate a variety of dealer data feeds through various social media syndication services... J. D. Rucker's concern was based on Dealers potentially doing this the wrong way and as a result hurting their marketing efforts, rather than helping. He was right, of course, because any powerful tool can be used to either destroy or build, depending on how it is used. Chain saws are often used by emergency services crews to clear fallen tress from roadways, or to clear a tree that is about to fall into a crush a house... But, in the hands of those guys in the Texas Chain Saw Massacre movies, those same chain saws take on a whole new and negative purpose! Likewise, the use of automation, widgets, data feeds and content syndication in a dealer's social media marketing strategy can be either a powerful source of successful customer engagement, or a social marketing disaster when done improperly.

Having had a few weeks to look at all my implementations, and the #DSES and #JDPAIRT sessions as well, I have come to realize that the the abhorrence so many people have to automated vehicle inventory feeds into Twitter and the like, is caused the same factors which make my ADP Digital Marketing Team's strategy towards Automotive Social Marketing and Reputation Management so successful and well received by dealers:

1. Separation of Church and State
2. The Car Business is a People Business

Let me explain... #1 refers to my ADP team's strategy, which is the opposite of Dealer.com's in that we believe the most successful dealer social marketing strategy is one which emphasizes two online types of engagement between dealers, dealership employees, suppliers and customers:

A. Church = Relationship Focused Communication/Engagement interactions between dealers, employees, suppliers and customers in the dealer's local business areas while engaged in online social media facilitated sites, such as dealer sponsored communities, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, etc.

B. State = Business Focused Transactional Engagement interactions between dealers, employees, suppliers and customers while using eCommerce focused web applications served up by the dealer's traditional website(s), including Request For Quote (RFQ), Service Appointment Scheduling (ServiceOnline), New and Used Vehicle Inventory, Trade-In Evaluation "widgets" like KBB LeadDriver and Black Book Online, real-time credit application processes such as DealerCentric and ADP FinanceOnline, along with other web apps focused on making it easier for dealers to do business, customers to buy what they want and even dealers ordering/buying from suppliers.

Our strategy, which seems to have a lot of 3rd party, outside the auto industry validation supporting it, is for the dealer to have two primary focal points for implementing this "Separation of Church and State" plan... The dealer's traditional eCommerce site(s) for making it easy for customers to buy vehicles, parts and service. And, the dealership sponsored Automotive Community site (like www.AnciraCommunity.com) which is where dealers, employees and customers engage in relationship based interactions and connects dealers, employees, customers and suppliers together through syndication of content and integration with popular social networks and UGC sites.

So... For example, when an ADM members submits a status update on their ADM Community profile, it is also sent out automatically over Twitter through http://Twitter.com/ADMcommunity. Likewise, when a member of www.AnciraCommunity.com updates their status in the community, it goes out as a tweet from http://Twitter.com/AnciraAutoGroup. And, everyone seems to like it that way...

HOWEVER, when dealers send out hundreds of tweets a day which are simply 140 character text descriptions of their inventory, they are violating the separations of "Church and State"... They are using a Social Media Application to attempt eCommerce Transactional Business Development... And, most people outside the car business, and a few inside, are NOT OK with that, find it obnoxious and respond by no longer following that Twitter profile.

Finally, back to #2 which refers to the car business as a people business... Back when I started selling cars in 1981 I spent a lot of time learning about the cars I was hired to sell and the systems the dealership used to process and transact business. My mentor, Jim Kinsella would periodically wave one of his aluminum crutches at me (the kind with a bracket that braces your forearm), and admonish me for my efforts to study products and technology, saying "Hey kid, this is a people business, so why aren't you studying how to connect with people faster and better so you can sell more cars!" Wow... I miss those days long ago when the old car dogs called me "kid" and "green pea"... Anyways, my point is this; Dealers are smart, and they see social media as being the first time that online, digital, internet or whatever you want to call this stuff has been focused on "...how to connect with people faster and better so you can sell more cars!".

Want to see an actual example of this? Compare the blog article in the Ancira Auto Group's Community that describes the dealership's staff adopting a stray dog that returns their kindness by chasing away the raccoons that had previously caused thousands of dollars in dealership property and inventory damage every month during their night time raids on the dealership: www.AnciraAutoGroup.com/profiles/blogs/canine-rescue-becomes-nissan The dozen comments that followed the blog post are a great example of social media engagement... Does it sell cars? Check out the following post in the same Ancira Auto Group Community site: April and the Red-Shirted Man Make It Right…Another Satisfied Customer!
I submit that this is a great example of social media marketing done right by a car dealer.

Lastly, now that I got all choked up from my memories of Jim Kinsella... Let God and the world know that today I tip my hat in respect towards the spirit of Mr. James Kinsella of San Diego, CA who retired from Kearney Mesa VW and Peugeot in 1983... Jim is the experienced, skilled and wise car guy who took me under his wings in 1981 and taught me something about selling cars 28 years ago that is the foundation for a powerful automotive social marketing strategy that sells more cars today using the latest techno wizardry that is changing the world we live and work in today... Social Media. Jim repeatedly said to me; "If you shut up and listen to the customers, they will tell you exactly how to sell them a car... Then, disregard whatever management tells you and just do whatever it takes to sell those customers their car exactly the way they want to buy it..." (paraphrased). If Jim were here today, I believe he would smile and say to me "Well kid, you finally learned how to use all that computer crap to build better relationships with more customers..." Hey Jim... If you're up there and somehow get to read this blog post, that stuffed bunny rabbit you gave Rachel on the day she was born became one of her favorites and she slept with it every night for at least ten years... Thank you.

How Can Auto Industry Tap in to Mobile-Device Marketing?

2009-10-22T16:16:48.000Z

~~Source: Auto Remarketing~~
LAS VEGAS — The ever-growing presence of mobile phone technology — and many consumers' penchant to stay connected at all times — presents auto marketers with unique opportunities to expand their reach of potential customers, connect with shoppers more quickly and often, and deliver more specific information throughout the purchasing process, according to a presentation at the recently held 2009 J.D. Power and Associates Automotive Internet Roundtable.

One of these advancements in mobile-phone technology has been smartphone devices, whose popularity continues to build in the U.S.

Officials noted that many smartphone users are likely to keep their devices close by at all times, viewing them as an extension of their Internet use on personal computers.

This type of technology brings both challenges and opportunities to the auto industry, officials said. For instance, although tapping into this communication avenue requires a continuous investment on the part of auto marketers, it also allows them the opportunity to become part of mobile-device users' "circle of trust" by building an engaging mobile-Web presence.

"Mobile gives marketers the chance to reach more shoppers, more often, in more places and to push specific information to shoppers right up to the point of sale," explained Jason Ezell, founder and national account director of Dealerskins.

"If you can get into their circle of trust that is their mobile device, you have much more of a direct link to prospective customers from day one of shopping all the way to the day of purchase," he added.

To help auto industry professionals maximize mobile-device marketing, experts at the conference offered key tips.

For instance, they emphasized that the information sent to consumers on their mobile devices must be respectful and relevant. This may include ad listings, payment calculators, maps, directions and dealer contact information, all of which could be particular useful to shoppers.

Also, video and scalable banner ads are "particularly engaging" to mobile users. Paying attention to consumer feedback can be especially useful in increasing return visits to mobile Web sites.

Additionally, text messaging — when built into an overall campaign — can be helpful in sending out reminders as well as gaining responses from mobile users.

Experts noted that text messaging can be used to help motivate shoppers to stop by for a test drive, and is typically only 15 percent of what it costs to use more traditional media.

They also advised that when auto marketers gather e-mail addresses from shoppers, it is important to ask if the address is for a mobile address. That way, marketers can send them mobile-only offers and keep track of their mobile-device audience.

"Mobile is the connector that allows OEMs to take viewers from being passive to active," shared Charlie Taylor, general manager of digital marketing and motorsports at Volkswagen of America.

"As the mobile device experience becomes richer, people decide they don't want to live without certain features or content from a brand, which creates a barrier to exit," he continued. "We may see the development of more in-dash features that interface with mobile apps that keep owners engaged beyond the point of purchase."

7th Digital Dealer Conference and Exposition in Nashville - November 1 through 3, 2009

2009-09-17T05:00:00.000Z

Ralph Paglia is presenting at the 7th Digital Dealer Conference in Nashville, TN during the morning General Session on Tuesday November 3, 2009. Check out Ralph's presentation details at: Ralphertising.com and remember, don't get lost and don't miss this opportunity to get the coaching and guidance that will make YOU a Champion!

Find more videos like this on Automotive Digital Marketing Professional Community (ADM)
WebWire | Press Release Distribution
Ralph Paglia Joins Speaker Roster at the 2009 Digital Dealer Conference in Nashville

WEBWIRE – Wednesday, September 16, 2009

The Fall 2009 Digital Dealer Conference being held this November in Nashville will cover the latest trends in automotive marketing strategies. Included in a full roster of expert speakers are Stan Bradbury and Ralph Paglia, two experts in the field of advanced Automotive marketing strategies.

Social media networking strategies have exploded among all businesses nationwide, and car dealers are no exception. Social networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter are now considered must have staples of any successful marketing strategy.

Ralph Paglia will be speaking at this year’s Digital Dealer Conference and will showcase actual dealership implementations of social media marketing and reputation management strategies. Attendees will learn how to measure performance and track the results required for increases in sales and profits.

Ralph Paglia is responsible for business development at ADP’s Digital Marketing Group. Paglia helped establish strategic alliances for ADP with digital marketing enterprises such as Google, Yahoo!, KBB, Specific Media, Jumpstart, DealerRater, Ning and DoubleClick. Ralph has over 20 years of automotive experience including Reynolds Consulting Practice Leader and several dealership management positions.

Digital Dealer Conference attendees will also have the pleasure of learning from mobile communications expert Stan Bradbury. Bradbury is the co-founder and president of Dealer Text Solutions, the first company to develop comprehensive text messaging solution for automotive retailers and service centers, and the co-founder of CallBoost, the leading provider of 1-800 vanity phone numbers to auto retailers.

Bradbury will lead a discussion entitled Get Ahead by Becoming a Leader in Mobile Communications, which will show dealers how to turn text messaging into the most value sales tool within their mobile marketing campaign.

This year’s Digital Dealer Conference takes place in Nashville, TN, November 1st-3rd.

Car dealers who would like to learn more about the Digital Dealer Conference or wish to register to attend can visit www.DigitalDealerConference.com for more information.

About the Digital Dealer Conference

The annual Digital Dealer Conference attracts hundreds of dealership attendees that are looking to learn more about Internet and technology-related issues. Speakers who are experts in the field of Automotive Digital Marketing present seminars which help forward thinking dealerships stay ahead of the ever changing technology curve.

For registration or sponsorship opportunities, visit www.DigitalDealerConference.com

Contact Information
Michael Roscoe
President
Dealer Communications
615-370-1515
michaelroscoe@comcast.net

WebWireID103858

Related Links
Digital Dealer Conference
Speakers at this year’s Digital Dealer Conference
Register for the Digital Dealer Conference

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Linking is permitted. WebWire® 1995 - 2009

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About the Automotive Digital Marketing Professional Community

The Automotive Digital Marketing (ADM) Professional Community website is built on a perpetually growing"Viral Expansion Loop" Networking Platform and serves Car Dealers, Dealership General Managers and their management teams, including Internet Sales Managers, BDC Managers, Marketing Managers, Sales Managers, Service Managers, Service Advisers, Parts Managers, Fixed Operations Directors and their teams. Launched at the beginning of January 2008, ADM has emerged as a valuable and proven resource for the entire spectrum of automotive marketing and Internet sales related professionals. Interactive Media and eCommerce Professionals at car companies (OEM) and tier 1 and 2 advertising agencies who want to see, hear and read what the best Digital and Interactive Marketing professionals in the automotive industry have to say about relevant and timely topics visit ADM on a regular basis or subscribe to the many RSS feeds and content syndication services available within the ADM community.

NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES
Did you know there are now over 2,100 members on Automotive Digital Marketing Professional Community?
Have you reached out to connect with important ADM member contacts by asking them to be your Friend?

AUTOMOTIVE IMAGE AND PHOTO RESOURCES
Did you know that there are over 4,000 photos listed on Automotive Digital Marketing Professional Community?
And, do you know that many of these images are actually charts and graphs of the latest marketing trends and research? Did you know that many of these photos are actual ads used by dealers that worked exceptionally well? There have been over 4,000 photos uploaded and made available for use by all ADM members.

AUTOMOTIVE VIDEO FILE HOSTING
Did you know that there are more than 750 videos on Automotive Digital Marketing Professional Community?
Have you seen how many of those videos are actual examples of marketing campaigns and business processes used successfully by some of the leading and most successful dealers in America?

GET ACCESS TO AUTOMOTIVE ARTICLES AND PUBLISH YOURS
Did you know that there are over 500 blog posts on Automotive Digital Marketing Professional Community?
When was the last time you posted a blog entry and let important ADM industry professionals know what you are up to? Have you checked ADM for the latest articles published by writers who walk the talk? Members have created more than 500 blog posts within their ADM provided websites that feature online file storage and personalized blog hosting at no cost to ADM members.

SOMETIMES CONTROVERSIAL, BUT ALWAYS FASCINATING AUTOMOTIVE DISCUSSION FORUM
Did you know that there are over 500 forum topics on Automotive Digital Marketing Professional Community?
Have you checked the forum lately to see what your associates, clients and colleagues are saying?
Have you posted a forum discussion to see what other professionals have to say about the topic?
There have been over 500 discussions started and still active with ongoing comments and information being published daily within the ADM Forum.

SPECIALIZED AUTOMOTIVE PROFESSIONAL GROUPS
Did you know that there are more than 25 professional groups on Automotive Digital Marketing Professional Community?
Have you joined any groups so that you can send messages to all other group members?

EVENT CALENDAR FOR AUTOMOTIVE PROFESSIONALS
Did you know that there are Important Upcoming Automotive Digital Marketing Events listed on Automotive Digital Marketing Professional Community?
Have you posted what you or your organization considers to be important upcoming events on the ADM calendar so that other professionals will know about them, consider attending and register their intent? ADM members can create calendar events using the ADM site application that allows image and logos, links to registration pages, location maps that integrate with Google Maps, Outlook Calendar integration, invitation mailings using uploaded email lists, RSVP tracking and event management features and a whole lot more.

RADIO SPOTS AND AUTOMOTIVE PODCASTS
Did you know that there are more than 500 MP3 audio files on Automotive Digital Marketing Professional Community? Have you checked out what other automotive professionals are listening to?
Did you know that many of these MP3 files are automotive marketing and Internet sales best practice Podcasts, and examples of highly effective radio spots, along with powerful and engaging dealer website soundtracks?

JOIN ADM AND GET ACCESS TO VALUABLE RESOURCES
If you are interested in visiting and perhaps joining the Automotive Digital Marketing Professional Community, go to: http://www.AutomotiveDigitalMarketing.com

>
ADM was created to serve as a resource for Automotive Internet Sales and Marketing Professionals working in the digital and interactive media space for dealers with automotive franchises, car companies and the associated suppliers and technology providers serving the auto industry. Both OEM and Dealer associates are among ADM's most prolific members.

To learn more about the Automotive Social Marketing and Reputation Management Solutions from Ralph Paglia and the ADP Digital Marketing Team, please copy and paste this sentence into the text box at the bottom of your completed online form available by clicking on the image below:

Automotive Related Websites And Marketing (Starting at $99.00)

2009-10-26T00:00:00.000Z

Automotove Website Development & Marketing Specialists

All of our website solutions come with:	We can develop all sorts of websites for your automotive business including:
Search Engine Optimized Designs Complimentary Web Hosting 24/7 technical support Unlimited File Transfers No Long Term Commitments Free software upgrades and patches Unlimited Text Editions Starting just at $99.00 a month	Automotive Dealer Website Automotive Repair Website Automotive Detail Website Automotive Rental Website Automotive Auction Website Automotive Parts Website


WE CAN ALSO PROVIDE SEARCH ENGINE AND MARKETING SERVICES TO ANY AUTOMOTIVE BUSINESS VISIT US TODAY AT ALLTHERIDES.COM, the best free car classified and free classified site out there!

Weekly Webcast - Starts today at Noon EST

2009-10-21T13:20:52.000Z

Starting today and continuing every Wednesday at noon est. Brian Pasch, Jim Rucker and Paul Rushing, with selected guests, will be bringing you a weekly webcast , with replays available at www.drivingsales.com/blogs/webinars

.
This weeks show will be an intro to the series for us to generate promo clips and to lightly touch on a few topics. We have planned for several very intense future broadcasts to help dealers reach more customers online using tried and proven techniques. Future topics will be derived from participant and viewer input . Please join us today at noon est for our launch.

FTC: Bloggers Not the Target, Advertisers Are

2009-10-21T20:58:01.000Z

If you are a follower of social media news, I’m sure you didn’t miss all of the discussions about the FTC announcing guidance for bloggers having to disclose any freebees they receive from companies. It’s been a hot discussion topic across blogs, the advertising industry and major media outlets. In fact, if you want to understand the topic better than I can ever describe it, checkout the New York Times article discussing not only the impact on bloggers but what it means for traditional media too.

A lot of this issue has surrounded bloggers being singled out for receiving swag, while magazines, newspapers and TV reviewers get all kinds of products free to review from manufacturers. With the new rules, many bloggers feel the FTC guidelines (they are not laws) unfairly make bloggers the target of government regulations for a practice traditional media has taken part in for decades. This is a valid concern, but what does this mean for the automotive industry and its use of bloggers?

Is this passive compliance?

There is a $16,000 fine associated with each violation, so the threat is real but is it likely to be levied? The Silicon Alley Insider reports, “FTC assistant director Richard Cleland tells Joe Ciarallo at PR Newser, the FTC would never go after a blogger. It would only go after the advertiser.”

After a couple weeks digesting the FTC rules many feel they are meant as self-policing regulation to show that the government will take violations that mislead customers seriously, but most of the change will be an industry understanding of how to behave with consumer interests in mind. Doing proper disclosure is a good thing as is properly making well-informed statements about products being reviewed.

In a recent addition of the marketing Podcast The Bean Cast, host Bob Knorpp shares his email exchange with advertising lawyer Michael McSunas about when such a fine would occur. Many feel, as reported in last week’s Agency Spy blog, that the FTC sets up these rules as a guideline and never enforces the compliance with a fine. McSunas feels a fine would only be sought if the violation was for "deceptive practices or maybe a complaint." This is probably correct but of course it’s an educated assumption until we see the FTC take action or no action.

Disclosure is Easy, Inaccurate Statements More Complex

Regardless of when or if a fine will ever be levied, the FTC rules have caused a bit of a panic for bloggers who don’t want to face government fines after possibly inaccurately reviewing the latest hybrid car or family minivan.

It’s also caused concern for marketers who don’t want to be a case study for the FTC and want to make sure no inaccurate statements are made about their products, so it creates an issue for them to now review everything written about them that they send for review to a blogger. This issue is fare more concerning than the disclosure rule a blogger is supposed to make for receiving any item to review.

Marketers more likely the target

One issue automakers may worry about is statements casually written by bloggers that could be construed as competitive claims. To quote the FTC Rules directly:

"The Commission believes it is reasonable to hold the advertiser responsible for communicating approved claims to the service (which, in turn, would be responsible for communicating those claims to the blogger).”

For those who may not know, automakers must legally confirm competitive statements like best mid-size sedan fuel economy or roomiest third-row. Of course, some claims are utter nonsense since companies choose who is in their segment, though it does have to be within reason. Also claims can select what they want to compare against, like using highway mileage instead of combined mileage or vice-versa to show a competitive advantage.
With bloggers, the concern is a possible lack of depth within a particular industry of products where a blogger may claim something like “wow this car has the most roomiest interior of any SUV.” False claims like this now have federal oversight from the FTC that may cause reluctance from a corporate lawyer reviewing a blogger outreach campaign.

So, the big question is will fear of inaccurate statements by bloggers reduce company participation in social media? Don't know. Maybe in the near-term, but I doubt long-term since companies and bloggers will learn how to comply with the FTC rules and some initial hysteria may dissipate over time.

It’s about consumer protection... really

If this is about consumer protection and less about collecting fines, the FTC rules should be welcomed as it shows blogger importance has reached a level worthy of attention. There have been marketers like Sony who have created fake bloggers to write about the PSP. Other issues have been companies outright paying for positive reviews. Something had to be done to handle the few violations of public trust.

My experience in automotive is that it is quite clear when a blogger is given a car to review and from where that car came from. So disclosure is already being done. Claims are the more pressing concern and may lead to additional materials being presented to bloggers at the time a vehicle is offered for review.

In conclusion

Hopefully, the FTC rules will remove any suspect social media campaigns that create fake bloggers or do payola deals. Also, I believe we’ll see the rules in action by their inaction and how this may do very little to change what is going on today on most blogs. Sure we’ll see some more emphatic statements about how a blogger received a product, but beyond that the impact should be minimal and the working relationship with bloggers and auto manufacturers and dealers a continuing positive experience for all.

For more information about the FTC Rules:

Truth in Advertising, Offline or Online from @NYTimes

Episode 75: The Monopoly on Crappy Work from @TheBeanCast

IAB Says FTC Blogger Rules Trample Constitution from @AdWeek

FTC Publishes Final Guides Governing Endorsements, Testimonials from FTC.gov

Finally, this blog post was sponsored by Gas Station Coffee for when you are too lazy to brew your own or walk 1 minute to the nearest Starbucks.

Source: [Auto Marketing Blog]

And The Award Goes To....

2009-10-22T02:00:00.000Z

I've been working hard on my study of thirty-four automotive website platforms and their effectiveness for search marketing. The more I look at the vendor data, the more I want to extend the research, but time is running out.

So I thought that I would ask ADM members who are working at car dealers to help me with a question.

Look back on 2009 and ask yourself:

"What automotive website vendors have truly added INNOVATIVE services or tools to help me market my businesses on the Internet?"

Please try to be specific on your experience with a specific vendor. Please explain what innovative technology was delivered in 2009 and how you benefitted.

I need to hear from the field of active automotive professionals on exactly what game changing software and/or tools have allowed dealers to improve their effectiveness online for sales, service and parts.

Vendors don't need to pitch their own services please. Your input is appreciated.

WIN a FREE flip MinoHD Video Camera from DealerRefresh

2009-10-21T12:30:00.000Z

Follow these 4 simple steps and win a FREE flip video camera.

If you are attending the 7th Digital Dealer Conference in Nashville Tenn. and would like the chance to WIN a FREE Flip minoHD video camera courtesy of DealerRefresh, we're going to make it really simple for you. This will be the easiest you ever enter!!

Note: For anyone that isn't familiar, the Flip minoHD it's a slick little devise. I use one all the time.

During the 7th Digital Dealer Conference, I'll be tweeting and at some point during the conference, I'll tweet my location; something like this..

Be first to arrive and mention my tweet (better yet, show me the tweet on your phone or laptop) and you WIN!!

Let's review...

1. Follow DealerRefresh on twitter (if you're not already)
2. Attend the 7th Digital Dealer Conference
3. Read my tweet-n-meet
4. Win a FREE Flip minoHD!

It doesn't get much easier than that right?

The RULES:

There are no rules! Anyone can win..dealers, consultants and yes even if you work for a vendor.

What's in it for DealerRefresh?

Nothing really..we're totally out the $200 for the price of each video camera (of course that's what those ads over there on the right help out with). I thought about making the winner wear a T-shirt that says "I just won a flip video camera from DealerRefresh!" while skipping around the conference halls holding hands with @shaunraines, but I've decided that might be talking it a little too far. :)

So that's it..Follow - Attend - WIN

See you at the conference!

Automotive Social-Digital Marketing Leadership: Ford Invests 25% of Total Advertising Budget

2009-10-21T12:30:00.000Z

Ford Outpaces Industry with 25% Digital Spend

Ford Motor Company is spending 25% of its marketing budget on digital and social media programs, double the amount of any of its competitors, according to a recent report from BusinessWeek.

Industry experts expect that other auto companies are soon likely to follow Ford down the same digital path, though perhaps not quite as aggressively. J.D. Power & Associates estimates that the average automaker allocates currently allocates 9% of its spending to digital, a figure expected to rise to around 12% by 2012, as more companies transition to social media and online gaming programs from traditional TV and print campaigns.

Ford defends its decision to put a lot of its eggs into one basket, asserting that it is going where its future customers already are interacting with each other - online. "If you are trying to communicate, as we are, that you have been reinventing the company, you can't just say it," said James Farley, Ford's chief marketing executive, at J.D. Power’s recent Internet Marketing Roundtable in Las Vegas. "You have to get the people to say it to each other."

“Fiesta Movement”

A prime example of Ford's new digital strategy is its "Fiesta Movement campaign" an 18-month program launched last year that is designed to build awareness for the 2010 debut of the Fiesta model in the US.

Ford selected one hundred “agents” from more than 4,000 applicants to test-drive the Fiesta for six months and post their impressions on blogs and social networks such as YouTube, Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter.

Months into the campaign, a Ford-commissioned survey found that approximately 37% of Generation-Yers are now familiar with the Fiesta, even though it still hasn't launched in the US and had previously been unknown among American consumers.

That percentage, Ford said, matches the awareness levels of other Ford brands like the Fusion which, unlike the Fiesta, have received hundreds of millions of dollars in traditional advertising.

Ford won’t comment on the digital program’s cost, but said it has so far generated 11 million social media impressions, 5 million social media engagements, and has prompted users to post 11,000 videos, 13,000 photos, and 15,000 tweets.

Offline, more than 35,000 people have decided to test-drive the car to date, while 50,000 potential customers have expressed interest in staying informed about the brand's launch.

Ford plans to build on the program’s success when it ends in November through a traditional media campaign involving TV, print, and outdoor advertising that will extend through the brand’s launch in early 2010.

Other Industry Initiatives

Other automakers have been making significant digital inroads over the past several years, including General Motors, which in 2008 announced it was dedicating half of its then-$3B budget to one-to-one and digital marketing.

Though marketing spend was slashed significantly during the company's high-profile bankruptcy, advertising for the brands still standing appears to be bouncing back, and digital initiatives continue. In August, GM announced a partnership with eBay to let California buyers haggle with dealers online without ever having to deal with them in the showroom.

In news about another digital campaign gone awry, Toyota's ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi is now being sued by a California woman for an digital PR campaign for the Toyota Matrix in which she said she felt "terrorized" by a fictional British football player who - in a series of emails, threatened to show up at her home and hide out with his dog while he avoided the police.

According to BNET, Saatchi did indeed run such a prank-style campaign, titled “Your Other You,” in which consumers could sign up their friends to be the subject of hoaxes that ended with an ad for the Toyota Matrix.

Source: http://www.marketingvox.com/ford-outpaces-industry-with-25-spend-on-digital-045289

Massive Pain Drives Massive Adoption of Online Media In Auto Industry

2009-10-20T17:20:14.000Z

Posted by Jay Friedman on October 18, 2009 at 01:08 PM PDT
Yeah, the whole economy tanked in the last year. Banking and housing led the way but autos may have been the hardest hit vertical other than the American individual itself.For context:

- Auto sales were the lowest in sheer volume in 27 years
- Auto sales were the lowest in cars sold per capita in 52 years. Think about that, cars sold per capita were no better in the last 12 months than in 1957
- Toyota had never lost money in a fiscal year since entering the U.S. over 50 years ago, yet lost billions in the last 12 months
- And, of course, two major domestic auto manufacturers had to go through a government-catalyzed bankruptcy to rebuild their companies to survive

The JD Power Automotive Internet Roundtable overtook the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas last week and showed us how both the consumer and industry have changed. To start, here are just a few of the industry highlights:

- U.S. consumers bought wayyyy too many vehicles in the late 90s and early 00s - over 14MM annually (pure retail, not fleet). We won't hit 9MM retail sales in 2009
- Cash For Clunkers brought the average days' supply of vehicles on a dealer lot from 94 to 58 - a true saving grace for the industry
- Hyundai and Subaru have shined in the last 18 months, impressively gobbling up market share

- 76% of car buyers go online to research their purchase and the big year over year leaps appear to be over (75% in 08.)
- 19% of online auto shoppers START shopping on a dealer web site, basically making the "funnel" notion irrelevant for that 1/5 of the online car shopping population
- Still only 22% of online car shoppers submit a lead, making it the most falsely chased metric in all of online
- By volume, more online car shoppers are found on Facebook than any other web site
- All third party sites are definitely not created equal. Some shine in viewing photos, some for trade-in info, and some with used vehicles. Don't buy them all just because they have lots of uniques
- Finding and creating consideration with a buyer early on in the process is still the most effective way to close a sale, not chasing after a buyer in the last few weeks of their decision cycle when they've likely already decided what model they'll buy

One of my favorite quotes is, "change doesn't occur without sufficient dissatisfaction with the status quo." We can safely say that the last 12 months has produced sufficient dissatisfaction with the status quo. So, what has changed? So what has really changed? A lot, and probably more in the coming months. Here is a start:

- Ford now spends a full 25% of its marketing budget on a digital - a very appropriate percentage according to media consumption habits
- A significant number of dealers at least have a Twitter account and are dedicated to understanding how to foster open community conversation around their brand
- There is less talk about how to "control the conversation" and more talk about how to be "open and honest." A very good step overall
- ALL participants at this show were already using online. In the past there have always been a few "still trying to figure out if online was right for them". Huge step forward.

Social media may be the fresh paint on the outside of the house but just because it's shiny doesn't mean it's the answer to all our problems. The biggest problems that weren't solved (and who knows if they'll ever be) were:

- Dealers want their own web sites and to own/promote their brand while manufacturers want controlled point-specific sites. This did not seem resolvable
- Exactly how to embrace open and honest conversation in social media without fearing the results
- Whether or not search really belongs at all three tiers, and if it does, how to eliminate cross-bidding
- How to avoid bidding wars between OEM/retailers and the third party auto sites for the same search terms

When sales go down more than 40%, change no longer seems like such a bad idea. The auto industry has shed itself of some outdated thinking that held it back in past years and embraced the reality of media consumption shifts, a bold move that will serve it, and our industry, very well in the coming years.

Driving Sales Executive Summit - An Automotive SEO Teaser

2009-10-19T21:00:00.000Z

One of the things that we learned at the Driving Sales Executive Summit in Las Vegas this month was that good automotive SEO has one primary way of getting done. Despite the desire for Brian Pasch, Paul Rushing, and JD Rucker to get into a heated debate with battle axes and crossbows, the discussion with the three of us on stage was, for all intents and purposes, tame.

The reason for this is simple. There's a right way and many wrong ways to do automotive SEO. There might be slight variations and opinions, but in the end it comes down to quality content and quality inbound links. There are other factors, but the three of us were in agreement that automotive SEO is a simple formula:

Content + Inbound Links = Better Rankings.

Here is a teaser video with the first 5 minutes from the discussion. Despite the desires of the crowd to see modern warfare portrayed between the three of us, it turned out to simply be a good, informative session.

Thanks to those who watched, and thanks to Paul and Brian for keeping it all clean!

* * *
Read more about JD Rucker on Automotive Digital Marketing.

JDPAIRT - Social Networking: Should it be More about Relationship Building than Selling Cars?

2009-10-19T09:25:51.000Z

View From Inside The Panel

During the 2009 J. D. Power Automotive Internet Roundtable conference event in Las Vegas from October 14th through 16th I was privileged to have been invited to participate in the Panel Session chaired by Mary S. Butler from Razorfish titled:
"Social Networking: Should it be More about Relationship Building than Selling Cars?"
The basic mission assigned to the five panelists, including myself, was to examine the issues, pros and cons around the use of social media by car dealers as a means of building or maintaining relationships with people in the dealer's local marketing area who are customers or owners of relevant make vehicles... Alternately, we were asked to compare this type of "warm and fuzzy" approach to using social media with crafting a social media marketing strategy that is very similar to the dealer's advertising campaigns and focused on using social media to generate opportunities to do business in the form of leads, phone calls and showroom visits that result in new and used vehicle sales, or even service department business.

The phone calls, conference calls, online collaboration and meetings before and after the actual panel session that were coordinated by Mary Butler added a tremendous amount of value to the experience of participating in this panel session. I have participated in quite a few similar types of multi-participant panels over the years and cannot think of any that have been as well managed and rewarding to participate in. Hopefully, Mary reads this article and accepts my profound thanks and appreciation for the management and coordination she executed so well that provided so much additional value to all five of us who participated in the Social Networking Panel.

The Panel; "Social Networking: Relationship Building vs. Selling Cars" started at 10:05 AM on Thursday, October 15, 2009 on the main stage at the J. D. Power Automotive Internet Roundtable and as previously mentioned was moderated by Mary S. Butler who is the Senior Content Strategist at Razorfish, one of the world's leading interactive marketing and advertising agencies. Mary's background and knowledge were tremendously useful for all of us on this panel and I believe was reflected in the excellent flow of the 45 minute discussion on stage. Having been part of every J. D. Power Automotive Internet Roundtable to date, I appreciated the 38 written questions submitted to our panel, because I do not recall ever seeing so many questions submitted to such a panel during previous JDP Roundtable events. Mary stepped up to the responsibility in an amazing show of energy and organization skills by rounding up all of us participants immediately following the panel session and assigning the submitted questions to each panelist based on relevancy or the panelist identified by the audience member who submitted the question. The 5 Social Networking panelists are:

1. Christopher Barger; General Motors Director of Social Media (an all around cool guy new to GM)
2. Eric Miltsch; Web Director at Auction Direct USA based out of Rochester, NY and a long time ADM member
3. Jared Hamilton; CEO and Founder of DrivingSales.com (also a dealer's son and experienced car guy)
4. Tom Chisholm: Facebook Sales Director (no auto background, but probably owns Facebook stock!)
5. Ralph Paglia; Yours truly, the Director of Digital Marketing Solutions for ADP Dealer Services

I learned a lot from Mary and the other four panelists, but probably the most significant impact participating in this panel had on me is a greater understanding of the need to NOT be embarrassed or to hide from the value of building relationships between dealers, their employees and the people in the community that the dealership serves. Also, the understanding that automation has its place in facilitating efficiency, but is not a substitute for real people working at the dealership engaging with real people in the community by using various social networking sites and tools that make these connections easier to establish and more efficient to maintain... Sort of like what many of us have learned right here in the ADM Professional Community!

Find more videos like this on Automotive Digital Marketing Professional Community (ADM)
In addition to the presentation slide deck embedded below, Mary has set up a blog site, Facebook event page and a Twitter account for the Panelists, session attendees and anyone interested in the topic we covered and the discussions that resulted from the research all 6 of us did in preparation for the J. D. Power event. Here are the relevant links:
1. Mary Butler's Headlight Blog for this Panel: www.headlightblog.com/2009/10/social-networking-for-dealers
2. Social Networking Panel Twitter account: http://twitter.com/SocialDealers
3. Slideshare presentation download page: www.slideshare.net/marysbutler/social-networking-should-it-be-more-about-relationship-building-than-selling-cars#
4. J. D. Power published agenda showing this session: www.jdpower.com/corporate/about/roundtable/agenda.aspx
5. Facebook Event page set up for our session: www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=179616040224
6. J. D. Power Online Automotive Review Blog: www.jdpower.com/oarblog/default.aspx
7. J. D. Power published bios on each Social Networking Panel Member: www.jdpower.com/corporate/about/roundtable/agenda-bios.aspx#social

Presentation slide deck used during the Social Networking Panel at the J. D. Power Automotive Internet Roundtable in Las Vegas on October 15, 2009:

Social Networking: Should it be more about Relationship Building than Selling Cars?

View more documents from Mary S. Butler.

Room Full of Friends - Drivingsales Executive Summit

2009-10-17T17:30:00.000Z

Chris Brogan touched on a phenomenon at the DrivingSales Executive Summit that I experienced first hand in my attendance there. By being involved in Social Media/Networking you do not meet many strangers and people you have only met online when you meet them in person it is like a reunion.

I have spoken with many people here at ADM on the phone or through online communication channels. There were only two people that I have ever met in real life in attendance at the Drivingsales Executive Summit, Jim Rucker and Eric Miltsch however there were many in attendance that I have only met through online interactions and a few phone calls.

Ralph Paglia - We hung out for several hours together with Jim Rucker and Brian Pasch. It was like a Friday night cruising the strip except it was on Monday or Tuesday (details a little foggy) ... Think a bunch of middle aged guys catching up and chilling.

Brian Pasch - Online nemesis or compadre? Think the latter. We strengthened a stressed relationship from the past and the both of us should be the better for it. BTW Brian I need your paypal address.. :P

Jared Hamilton - I have been involved with drivingsales.com since it started in a public setting, however I never met Jared in person until this event. His vision for drivingslaes.com is becoming a reality due to his focus and determination.

Charlie Vogelheim - Just as dynamic and entertaining in person as he is via email and on the phone. I think he had a combination of AADD and turrets happening as he was insuring everything went smoothly. He was very busy insuring the success of the conference and he hit a home run.

Brian Armstrong - What can I say he is as matter of fact in person as he is online and it was great to spend what little bit of time that I did with him. I could see he and I fishing or golfing together if we lived closer together.

Todd Smith - Just as smooth and professional in person as he is online. One of the nice guys in the industry that strives to make sure people get the results they pay for.

Matt Watson - All around easy going and very focused. Had a lot on his plate and that is a good thing in a setting like that. Congrats Matt on your successes.

Joe Webb - Just as dynamic and funny in person as he is in his online presence. Definitely a charmer in real life, I would bet he is one of the few people in this world that has NO enemies.

Merla Turner - Even though she is a quasi competitor we had the opportunity to meet and discuss the possible give and take between our organizations.

Mark Boyd - His personality in person is pretty different in person. All around sharp guy and very amiable. He is a guy you want in your corner.

Jeff Kershner - Fun guy to be around. He and I have been online friends for many years and knows more about what is going on in relation to online marketing for car dealers and has the resume to prove it. A real rock star in the industry.

Tom White Jr - What can I say. He is the #1 Suzuki Deaelr in the nation month in and month out. He was there taking notes. A true testament to if you are green you will grow..

Gary May - Very determined and right on with his views and experiences. Striving to be a real Trust Agent..

A dozen others I forgot to mention....

I wish I could of spent more time with each of these people and others. The awesome thing was I did not run into any strangers even with my lack of participation in networking events in the past. I did not meet a single stranger there. The common bonds had long been established and this event concreted them. For those who do not attend these types of events due to the fear of not fitting in or worse fear that they will not stay busy, you are in for a for a huge surprise.

The list above was not compiled with any preference in mind, so please don't feel slighted by your personal order.

If you want to see what I feel were the "The Three Biggest Take Away for the Drivingsales Executive Summit" just click the article title. Lots of great information was shared and the only pitches I saw were the ones shared one on one. None were from the podium which will differentiate this conference from many of the others.

Social Media Reaches More Automotive Shoppers than Search Engines

2009-10-18T09:00:00.000Z

Study: Social Media Reaches More Shoppers than Search Engines, Portals

October 16, 2009
LAS VEGAS — If the auto industry wants to target prospective new-vehicle buyers online, it would more effective to use social networking sites like Facebook instead of online search engines or portals, speakers at the opening presentation of the 2009 J.D. Power and Associates Automotive Internet Roundtable suggested Thursday.

At the conference — which is being held at the Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa in Las Vegas through today — J.D. Power and Compete presented analysis that indicates social media can reach more potential new-car buyers than such avenues as Google or Yahoo.

Their clickstream analysis tracks the actual Web URL addresses that new-car buyers visit, and suggests that auto marketers can be better positioned to find potential new-car buyers online by developing a presence within social networking sites.

And they can increase their chances to interact with new-vehicle shoppers by creating fan pages or profiles. But the study also warned that overt advertising on social networks is likely to be viewed negatively by consumers.

Continuing on, their clickstream analysis also found that one-third of buyers go to an auto brand Web site or third-party site during the prior six months (or longer) before making a purchase, and two-thirds do the same three months before buying.

Also, 19 percent of auto buyers who browse online claimed that they access dealer sites first. However, 41 percent head to OEM sites first and 40 percent visit third-party auto sites right off the bat.

Additionally, new-car buyers who shop around online tend to consider an average of 2.9 vehicles.

"Clickstream analysis provides a comprehensive look at online buyers and their realities of their shopping behavior," noted Gene Cameron, vice president of media and marketing solutions at J.D. Power.

Moving on, the Automotive Internet Roundtable also discussed how social media analysis can be used as a tool to better understand auto consumers, especially in light of the increasing popularity of social networking.

For instance, social media analysis examining online auto conversations has discovered that:

—Much of the discussions involving hybrids are more about competition and fuel efficiency and less about pricing and features.

—Web conversations about pickup trucks have decreased this year, but there are more social networkers talking about hybrids and vans.

"Social media is now shaping customer expectations in any and every way," noted Chance Parker, vice president and general manager of the Web intelligence division at J.D. Power.

"Listening to social media is increasingly on people's radar screens and people are scrambling to understand it," Parker continued. "It's not enough simply to count the buzz, it is important to understand what that buzz really means to your brand."

Source: http://www.autoremarketing.com/ar/news/story.html?id=10246

Last Call For Dealer Website Vendors

2009-10-18T04:56:22.000Z

On November 1st, I will be publishing the 2009 Automotive Search Marketing Architecture (ASMA) report at the Digital Dealer Conference. The report will review and summarize 34 website platforms to assist car dealers evaluate which website platforms can best help them with their search marketing goals.

To that end, I have included three grids that will be part of the report. If you work for one of the companies listed on these grids, I simply ask that you email me with the Y or N answers to each of the questions in these grids. Please send your responses to: brian@paschconsulting.com

In the end, it is very beneficial for you to submit your data otherwise it will be blank. Having the CORRECT data for your company in the report helps everyone on this forum understand the services that you offer car dealers.

I have many of these completed but there are a few missing and so I thought that this forum would be a good place to ask vendors to send their answers and make sure I have as much participation as possible.

I appreciate your assistance in making the 2009 ASMA study the most complete review of automotive website platforms in circulation.

If you are using any of the platforms listing on this grid, please forward the link to this page to your support representative so that they respond this week.

Questions on this grid are:

User Editable SEO Tags on All Static Pages
Add New Pages on the Fly
Custom Naming of New Page URL's

Questions on this grid are:

Company Offers Direct SEO Services
Company Offers Social Media Services
Company Offers Content Writing Services

Questions on this grid are:

Vendor Offers Their Own CRM/ILM Modules
Vendor Offers Integrated Adwords Management
Vendor Offers Direct Video Integration Services

Automotive Professional Blog, Community and Magazine Site Traffic

2009-10-16T22:00:00.000Z

Unique Visitor chart from Compete, Inc. showing last 12 months of traffic activity to the ADM Professional Community, Jeff Kershner's DealerRefresh, Jared Hamilton's DrivingSales, Brian Pasch's Dealer SEO and Digital Dealer Magazine's online version.

The five web sites charted above are:
1. www.AutomotiveDigitalMarketing.com (also accessible by http://ADMPC.com and http://ADM.fm)
2. www.DealerRefresh.com from Jeff Kershner and Alex Snyder
3. www.DrivingSales.com from Jared Hamilton and his venture capitalist resources
4. www.Dealer-SEO.com from Brian Pasch and serving to promote Pasch Consulting Group
5. www.DigitalDealer-Magazine.com a commercial publication from Mike Roscoe and Dealer Communications

The first three are included because they are the leading supplier-independent online sites designed to provide Internet Sales Managers and Car Dealers with high value information, files and networking contacts that will enhance their business mission capabilities.

Although Brian Pasch's Dealer-SEO site has a purely commercial focus on driving business to Pasch Consulting Group, I felt that there is enough freely available high value content there to include it in this chart, and to make the chart more interesting.

Digital Dealer Magazine has recently ceased shipping a paper based version to subscribers, thus becoming a purely online publication, so I included their site out of relevant interest to most ADM Professional Community members. My intent is to publish the above chart as supplied by Compete, Inc. each month with sites #4 and #5 rotating, or staying the same, depending upon what is interesting and the changing landscape of sites that provide automotive professionals with tools, insights, knowledge and industry contacts.

Testimonial Advertising: Let Your Customers Sing Your Praises

2009-10-16T20:03:10.000Z

Customer testimonials are all the rage right now. From Ford to Porsche, it seems every segment is featuring real customers sharing their experiences with their cars. There is a long history of this approach in automotive advertising, in fact all advertising. Why? Because it is seen as authentic and a way for people to see real people express their happiness with a purchase they made, so that if potential customers see this enthusiasm, they too will want to share in a similar exuberance and make the same purchase.

I see nothing really wrong with this approach. It is a bit more interesting than watching a grey-haired executive meander through an office building saying why he believes in the company that is paying him.

Customer testimonials ads are kind of like the traditional media example of user generated content. Sure it’s not exactly the same, but the concept is similar. You are letting real people share their real story about your brand. There is no corporate speak and the opinions are honest.

The biggest argument against this approach is that the brand has obviously cherry-picked their customer testimonials, unlike true user generated content online where you can find the good, the bad and the so-so. Naturally, campaigns using real customer experiences always focus on the good ones and consumers know this.

It’s all about the selection. I’m sure I can find a good number of people who are happy about buying the car with the worst quality rating in the industry that will speak to their flawless vehicle or the most hideous styled car owners who are willing to say it looks great. That’s the best part of controlling the conversation; you can edit your choices. It’s essentially the TV ad equivalent of moderating online conversation.

Everyone is doing it right now, even the company with the grey-haired executive. GM launched the Faces of GM this summer that features real owners and employees who give a “face” to GM. One extended video that was advertised on Facebook, has a new owner who sold her previous BMW 5-series and bought a Cadillac CTS.

Ford (our primary client at Team Detroit, the company I work for) recently launched a brand campaign for Drive One that features ads with real owners sharing their favorite features of Ford cars. An article from Business Week explains the concept best, “the people in the ads are real. They were drafted to be in focus groups. They were not asked until after all the video was shot if they would be willing to have the footage used in ads.”

Another example is one from Porsche that seeks Porsche Stories from real owners. This effort for the Porsche Panamera launch site, asks visitors to share their Porsche Story. But this effort isn’t so much about new product experiences; rather, it is about the passion Porsche enthusiasts and owners have for the brand. Porsche is doing this to show the Panamera is just another “branch on the family tree.” Essentially it showcases the community Porsche owners become a part of, even the ones who may show up to a Porsche event in a ridiculed 4-door monstrosity.

So if you own a car don’t be surprised if someone from the marketing department wants you to share your story online or maybe even invites you to star in a commercial. Testimonial advertising is making a strong comeback and is becoming a way for traditional media to play in the social media sharing that is going on today. Sure it’s not true social media sharing, but it is using the premise of consumers talking about your brand in an open and honest way, even if it is edited.

Source: [Auto Marketing Blog]

Forget your Processes and keep PUSHING! Posted on DealerRefresh - Ralph Paglia's Response

2009-10-15T00:30:00.000Z

Over at DealerRefresh, Alex Snyder posted the following Blog:

We speak a lot about not going forward until we’ve fixed our core processes first, but I’m going to challenge that notion for a minute.

When my dealer group was on ADP CRM we had the option of denying sales people the ability to email out of the CRM. I know that sounds nasty, and there were some solid reasons behind it I’m not going to detail here, but I can say one was due to us not being able to handle a phone call or consistently mail a letter – if we couldn’t do that, how could we send an email? iMagicLab CRM, which we’re currently on, did not have the ability to turn email off from any user when we first moved over, so we were forced to abandon the policy that  “if the core is broken, don’t move forward”. Today, I’m really glad we were forced to move forward.

Through email, we have found another way to train our people. A few who we couldn’t get to buy-in on phone training are email fanatics whom we’ve been able to train on email, and they’re now using that email training inside phone conversations.

One buy-in is turning into multiple buy-ins.

I’m seeing a repeat of this lesson through facebook today. Some of our sales agents, who are the biggest CRM-follow-up offenders, are becoming incredible facebook-follow-up artists. When I visit with these sales agents, I point out what they did on facebook and try to show them that CRM is no different – it is just a different communication tool. It is working!

It is obvious that every person learns differently, and it should be obvious that each person has different hot points. So why not nurture the next big thing to see who climbs on? You may be surprised what kind of old highways the new alleyway creates.

My Response to Alex Snyder:

Alex,

I caught this post of your on the tool bar i built which shows DealerRefresh, Kain Automotive and ADM on the same mashed up scrolling feed, and... I just had to respond because you have discovered something i learned the hard way, and which most people think I am nuts when describing. When I first started working at Courtesy Chevrolet in Phoenix, I came from a job at Reynolds which had me working with their CRM team for several years. I firmly believed that it would be a waste to attract customers in any way if the sales team was not yet trained to follow an effective process, regardless of whether we are talking about showroom, phone or Internet, I (like so many others) believed in "Plan, Prepare, Train BEFORE Inviting Customers. So, my first two months at the Chevy store I was like a Grizzly Bear with a King Salmon, focused and shredding the Internet and BDC team's processes apart like pulling strips of string cheese (I'm at the Red Rock in Vegas and hungry). And, we started making process... I was damned proud when we went from a 7.2% Internet Lead to Close Rate and from 8% to 11% Incoming Sales Call to Close rate. Then one day the dealer (Bill Gruwell) asks me to come to his office. After I explained what I was working on and showed him the numbers (bragging somewhat), he was polite but not smiling... The store's total sales had gone down and he expected my work to yield INCREMENTAL sales, not just doing a better job of tracking everything so my team got on more deals and we were able to claim a higher percentage of the store's business... He already knew how much business the Internet was brining in, and that's why they hired me... Or something like that. I am paraphrasing based on memory, so Bill, Scott and Mark if you read this please forgive me if I don't get it word for word... The bottom line was this:

Stop trying to perfect the processes and get more people into the dealership! get more leads, get more phone calls and if the CRM and Process performance ratios stay the same, we will sell more cars. So, being the smart ass that I seem to be less and less of as I get older, I said to Mr. Gruwell something like this:

"More leads is easy sir, it is just a matter of budget, figure an average of $20 a lead and multiply that by the number of increased leads you want me to get and it's as simple as that..." (today I know what a f*&^#ing idiot I must have sounded like. But, the Gruwells are VERY sharp operators and Mr. G did not blink... He took a pencil and piece of paper and said something like: "OK, so can I use 7% closing rates as a safe average?" As my chest puffed out, I said "Yes SIR, my processes are so pure and so effective, you can count on me for BETTER than a 7% Close Rate... Sir, YES Sir!". So he looks at me and says "OK, I am giving you an extra $20,000 a month to generate 1,000 more leads and sell an extra 70 cars above and beyond what you did last month...". As I walked out, I had that gnarly knot in my stomach like when your holding an Aces over Kings Full House in a Poker game, slap it down and the other guy quietly lays down 4 Deuces... Yet, the "Idiot Lesson" I would receive had only just begun. After I went to every known lead provider and found out we were already buying every Chevy lead we could get in the Phoenix Market, out of sheer desperation i turned to online advertising and microsites which meant I had no time to monitor processes... I was able to get lead volume over 5,000 a month, processes be damned, and somehow everything fell into shape and we sold thousands of cars... But ONLY after I threw away the blueprint and focused on opening up the spigot of customer communication opportunities. Which somehow seems like a similar experience to what you described in this post... sort of... OK, cut me some slack here, I am in Vegas and sleep deprivation does weird things to people!

Stop the insanity!

2009-10-13T15:23:33.000Z

I read through 4 blogs daily and there are a lot of great posts all with their own spin. From social media to mobile marketing to video, everyone is promoting the next SILVER BULLET and its killing me. Guys get a solid foundation down first, you’re off in web 2.0 and you haven’t even leveraged 20% of web 1.0.
I look through dealer websites that are a complete disaster you got flash widgets jumping out at customers, cars driving around on the page. On many websites you can find everything but a car to buy or make a service appointment. What else do you think customers are coming to your site for? To be your friend on Facebook? Give me a break!

All I am absolutely wore out with all the people pushing things on car dealers when they don't even have a solid basic online foundation. You're confusing dealers you’re making them focus on things that don't matter right now and generally giving good communication channels a bad name when dealers are not ready for them.

Dealers, PLEASE get the basics down before you get into web 2.0 initiatives. They are great things if you have a good solid foundation; they are total distractions if you don't.

The solid foundation:

1. A good website simple home landing page easy to search inventory, easy to make an online appointments, you don't need any more than that and the less movement the better. You should go by the soft boiled egg rule; the customer should be able to get in and out of your site with what they want within 3 minutes. Your site is there for information…its not a destination and you can’t make it that way, no matter what you do.

One example of a easy customer focused dealer website www.roncarter.com

New and Used inventory searh is easily available, there is nothing moving ad they have customer testomonials right on the home page GREAT! What's missing, online service appointment and their ebay rating with a link to their ebay store (good for SEO and will sell more cars)

If you really want to take a lesson on a Customer Optimization take a look at the search guru's web home page Google...it does'nt get any more simple than that.

2. SEO – here are the 15 core things you should to do.
1. Google Webmaster Registration (sitemap)
2. Install Google Analytics Code
3. Yahoo Webmaster Registration (sitemap and rss)
4. Bing Webmaster Registration (sitemap)
5. Create Yahoo Local Business Listing (free)
6. Create Google Maps Listing - one per physical location (free)
7. Create Merchant Circle Listing and add your first blog post (free)
8. Create Insider Pages Listing (free)
9. Create Yelp Listing (free)
10. Create AboutUs.org Listing (free)
11. Create JudysBook Listing (free)
12. Create Yellowbot Listing (free)
13. Create a StumbleUpon Account and add your website (free)
14. Create a Digg Account and Digg one of your best articles.
15. Put out a free press release that has a link to your website or blog.

3. Inventory listing – you need to have REAL pictures of each vehicle and not just one or 2 pictures please have one of every angle of the vehicle inside and out there should be a min of 30 pictures up to 60. Don't leave this to 3rd parties to do IT’S TOO IMPORTANT! This is the single biggest reason a customer will decide to buy your vehicle, you might as well be outsourcing your sales dept. Take real pictures of new cars as well NO ONE WANT TO BUY A STOCK PHOTO.

4. Service appointments – make it a real service appointment not a request and if you just have to make it a request then you should follow-up on that email with the same sense of urgency as an internet lead. Within minutes but certainly less than an hour. SERVICE IS ABOUT CONVENIENCE NOT PRICE.

5. Get a Microsite network – sending search customers to your mammoth random access website is a waste of money they will not research long enough to get you the conversion and that is what is about nothing else, It’s not about traffic, traffic with no conversion is YouTube.

Here are the microsites to have up all the time

i. One for every model you sell and if you really want to go to the next level have one for each model in each color with real pictures of the vehicles.
ii. One on each used car connected to the online listings where they are being displayed you’ll be one of the few that is doing this and you will give the customers the information and access they want to buy your car.
iii. Have a social / community Microsite this where the people that do want to be your friends and fans can go to get the information on why they want to do this.
iv. Dealerships history Microsite
v. Service Dept Microsite – with online service payments
vi. Parts and Accessories Microsite – with an online store
If you do the SEO basics along with the back links from multiple microsites your SEO will be as good as it gets and your customers can get WHAT THEY WANT… WHEN THEY WANT IT… THE WAY THEY WANT IT which is the reason they are online in the first place.

SEM – this is the number one way to conquest new customers it’s also the most abused channel in the car business followed closely by social media. When done right this can yield many new customers to the dealership but if you're sending these respondents back to your random access main website then you are wasting your money please stop. You are not creating brand awareness as some would have you believe the respondent forgot about you as fast as they clicked the back button to get back to the Google search page.

Deep link landing pages are certainly better that sending a search respondent to your home page but a one page conversion that tries to talk to everyone will actually talk to no one in particular, average people are good at ignoring you.

These respondents need to be sent to a conversion path that allows the respondent to choose what they are interested in and follow that to the information they want. when you do this you will see double digit conversion rates then you know you're getting it right.

An example of a SEM campaign with a post-click conversion path:

• Landing page – Model introduction
o 3 paths for the respondent
 Safety – one page bullets on safety
 Performance - one page bullets on performance
 Fuel economy - one page bullets on fuel economy
o Thank you – displayed after the conversion

This is a simple example but you get the idea. With pre-conversion segmentation even if you don't get the conversion 70% plus of respondents with segment and that gives you valuable insight into what your customers are looking for in that model.

Get these basics down and you will be well on your way to a solid online foundation. Once you have these in control you can start layering in video, flash objects, widgets and all sorts of advanced online sales tactics that will take you online marketing to new levels.

The last thing I will leave you with is this…the automotive sales landscape has changed in the last year right before our eyes. No longer is the internet a department in your dealership it is the sales department of your dealership. If you take nothing from this post please take that. It’s not a sideline the internet is now the game.

Hope this helps,

The Three Musketeers of Automotive SEO

2009-10-14T04:00:00.000Z

I'm back in my room as I wrap up my first day of the Driving Sales Executive Summit. Today I shared a panel with JD Rucker and Paul Rushing as we discussed some basics about the role of SEO and Social Media in car dealer Internet Marketing plans.

I wish we had two hours to dive into the topic which is very broad and needs that investment in time to allow attendees to leave with more hands on ideas to implement back at home. The good news is that all three of us will be around for the next two days so dealers can have a one on one.

To the chagrin of some attendees, the panel did not beat up on each other. In fact, the three of us had many points of agreement which may have surprised some people. With such a short time to present, it was well utilized to share what universally will be successful for dealers to implement at home.

Internet Marketing Strategies

The take-away for attendees hopefully was that they need to map out their off-site SEO and social media plan as part of their overall Internet Marketing and branding strategy. This is not optional.

Paul reminded dealers that their most valuable asset was their dealership name. Paul challenged all dealers to make sure that they own all 10 organic listings for Google searches on their dealership name and to not allow third party lead collectors to poach consumer leads. Paul also discussed that SEO is not a one time event and the dealers need to be adding content and links every month to stay competitive.

JD demonstrated that through the use of social media, he was able to fill a Google search results page for the term "Driving Sales Executive Summit" in just minutes after he posted to social media websites. Together, JD and my SEO posts dominate 70-80% of the organic search results for that phrase. JD clearly demonstrated that his social media skills can be a game changer in online automotive marketing.

I stressed the importance of good content and content SEO strategies and demonstrated a new website that can help leverage OEM content for outstanding SEO results. Again, we just started to scratch the surface when the 45 minute buzzer went off. We had a list of tips and techniques to share so it looks like the Three Amigos will have to reassemble at some time in the future.

The good news is that these discussions increase the awareness of SEO and social media as a mandatory part of a dealership's overall marketing strategy. I hope that all dealers, regardless of if they attended this event, have a clear road map on how to leverage SEO and social media. If they don't, well they now know who they can call.

Driving Sales Executive Summit

2009-10-12T12:35:41.000Z

Tomorrow at the Driving Sales Executive Summit I am looking forward to sharing the stage with JD Rucker and Paul Rushing at the Search Marketing Panel breakout session.

The thought six month ago that all three of us would be within "hugging" distance at a conference would be far fetched. The over and under line is still be set by Las Vegas oddsmakers whether Paul and I will have an Automotive SEO arm wrestling match or end up in a group hug photo.

All three of us are looking forward to stirring the pot with the latest in search marketing strategies and social media. If you are attending the conference, there will be two breakout sessions at 4:00 pm on Tuesday and I hope you will take time to join the Three Musketeers of Internet Marketing and Social Media.

After the panel discussion there will be ample time to talk more about dominating in your local marketing through effective search marketing strategies. As we have prepared with the Summit, all I can say is that the Three Musketeers have many ideas to help car dealers compete and win! And the best part of attending the conference is that we can share them with you face to face.

Anyone on the fence about the conference should get on a plane today.