Dealer Impact Systems

GM/Cobalt Mandate

2008-01-23T15:29:00.000-06:00

If you are a GM dealer, I am sure you have received some pressure from GM or Cobalt to give your domain name to them or forfeit your leads from GM. I have received many calls in regard to this, from customers and non-customers wanting to know what this is all about. Cobalt is a company that likes to strike up relationships with manufacturers and build manufacturer endorsed template web sites. Their goal is to try and standardize the message across all GM dealership sites. The issue is most GM dealerships do not want to integrate a cookie cutter template site with no individual brand. History has proven that these websites do not work. Cobalt created manufacturer endorsed 5 star sites for Chrysler and we can see that almost 99% of these dealerships have created their own website and have a secondary 5 star site linked up to Chrysler.com. GM has decided to try this for GM dealerships and Cobalt is helping with the push. They are trying to strong arm dealerships into using this site as their primary site. One year ago they attempted to do this and to charge the dealerships for it and dealerships just did not bite. Since that did not work they decided to give it away for free. Now they are notifying GM dealerships that they must provide their domain names so the Cobalt site can be set up to point to the compliant site instead of what they already have in place. All the calls I have received are from GM dealerships who are upset and confused. They are very upset and wondering what is going on and what to do, so here is the really simply solution to this whole dilemma.

Simply go register a new domain name, maybe a .net or .web address with your name. Give this domain information to GM/Cobalt and let them set the compliant site up under the new domain. You then have the Cobalt site running in cyberspace and you get the link on the GM website. You can still run your own website with whomever you would like under the original domain name with no changes.

Problem Solved!

Brian Cox
President
Dealer Impact Systems

Mother May I?

2008-01-22T16:05:00.000-06:00

Today’s digital revolution has forever altered the way that companies reach out and communicate with their customers. And digital marketing’s first, and still most powerful, killer app is email. All the benefits of traditional mail minus the printing and postage costs and the three-day wait for the message to arrive.

So if email hasn’t replaced 90% of your direct mail, you’re missing the boat. The question is, why are you missing the boat? And the answer is this: permission.

In the post-spam e-marketing era, permission is one of the most valuable commodities you can get your hands on. When a customer raises their hand and says, “Yes, by all means contact me,” they should have just become a member of the most valuable marketing list you own.

How many names do you have on your permission marketing list? How are you using it?

D. Jones
Marketing Strategist/Creative Consultant
SmackDabble, LLC

Planning Is Essential. The Plan Is Worthless.

2008-01-17T15:29:00.000-06:00

As we begin a new year, we hope you’ve spent sometime planning for 2008. Specifically, we hope you’ve spent some time putting together a detailed marketing plan for the coming year. Here are a few things to think about as you put that plan together.

Set specific, measurable goals and make certain people are accountable for them.
Determine what tactics will help you most cost effectively accomplish those goals.
Budget appropriately. Remember, marketing is an investment in future returns, not a cost center.
Examine your mix of traditional versus digital marketing spending.
Invest in replacing your direct marketing with electronic marketing to cut costs and increase customer interactivity. This means gathering email addresses.
Push your website to become the center of your sales effort.

Putting you and your team though even a basic marketing planning process will help you learn a lot of things. It will also help to focus you all on the same set of goals. And that’s the most valuable part of the process.

Once you’ve done those things and set your plan into action, remember to constantly check your progress and readjust your goals and tactics. In short, keep planning all year long. Because here’s the thing… unless you do, you’re plan will become worthless. Your marketing plan can’t become something you do once because dozens of unforeseen things can affect how you go to market. For instance, your competition could open a new store or make a major advertising push. Your manufacturer could fall on hard times. One of your new releases could become the "must have" car of the year. Or you may have to respond to a failing (or surging) economy.

All of those things could render your plan useless unless you’re willing to alter your plan and adjust to a new reality by doing some more planning.

That’s why we say that planning is essential, but the plan is useless. Sounds crazy… but it’s true.

D. Jones

Marketing Strategist/Creative Consultant

SmackDabble, LLC

What your Internet Leads Really Want

2008-01-11T09:51:00.000-06:00

by : Aimee Romero

From Digital Dealer Magazine - December 2007

Though most of the people who visit your dealership have first researched online, consumers who actually submit leads online are in a league of their own. These people are at a different point in the buying cycle and should be treated accordingly. To successfully turn Internet leads into sales, there are a few things you should know about online consumers and how to get through to them.

Online leads are often submitted early in the buying process

In other words, online consumers are interested in information first, a purchase later. The J.D. Power and Associates 2006 New Autoshopper.com Study indicates a change in the focus of online car shopping in general; consumers are increasingly interested in finding the right car, as opposed to the right price.

Online consumers use the Internet for research. They’re looking for the right car. When they find it, they will buy. Make sure that sale is yours; walk your Internet leads through the process of finding their perfect car. Let them go at their own pace. Be careful not to jump the gun and ask for a sale too quickly. You want to build trust by listening to their criteria, making solid suggestions, and helping them find a car that works for them. If you keep them comfortable, they’re far less likely to buy from another dealer at the last minute.

Give online consumers what they want

According to the J.D. Power and Associates 2006 New Autoshopper.com Study, more shoppers are looking to manufacturer sites for the information they can’t get elsewhere. One way to keep your dealership in step with this growing trend is to make sure your web site’s calls to action aren’t all based on “get a quote” or “take a test drive.” Many online consumers would be more interested in submitting a lead if your dealership offered to answer questions and help them find their dream car.

Follow up with your leads quickly

Internet shoppers are not just looking for information on a specific car, but on many cars. They expect help finding the car that best fits their lifestyle and needs. It’s more important than ever to quickly respond to your leads. Because Internet users are reaching out for information, chances are they’re looking in multiple places. The sooner you respond to them with the information they need, the more likely they are to stick with your dealership. Once you are in communication with your lead, make sure to listen and be helpful. Don’t push the sale.

Ask questions

Online consumers shouldn’t be the only ones digging for information. You should help them by doing the same. It’s in your best interest to listen intently to what your consumers are saying. Use the data your web site has collected in their lead submission. Ask questions that will help you determine not only what your consumers think they want, but also what their lifestyle is like. Do they have a family? Are they buying a car for their teenager? Do they primarily drive in the city? Find out about your consumers and their habits. This will help you offer them qualified help while building trust and increasing their comfort.

While price will always be a large factor in decision-making, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2005 New AutoShopper.com Study, almost three-fourths of online lead submitters do not consider themselves “highly price sensitive.” This is a dream come true for dealers! It’s not about the bottom line anymore. It’s about the relationships you are building with your customers and satisfying their needs.

When you’re gently leading your online consumers to the car that best fits their lifestyle, requirements and dreams, keep in mind that building this relationship will likely result not only in a car sale, but in a returning customer – and consequently, many sales to come.

http://www.digitaldealer-magazine.com/index.asp?article=1695

Walk Don’t Run To Marketing Success

2007-12-28T09:07:00.001-06:00

As you make an aggressive move into 2008, we’d like to remind you of a key maxim of modern marketing, namely that marketing is an iterative process. In other words, it’s not something you do once and sit back and reap the rewards. Marketing is something you do all the time — constantly working and reworking your strategy to adjust to changing market conditions (economy, competition, etc.).

But more important than adjusting to an ever-changing market is adjusting to what you learn. Constant testing of new messages, new tactics, new creative and new media options is the key to driving the high ROI you’re looking for from your marketing.

For tips on using your Dealer Impact digital marketing tools to deliver better ROI, contact your Dealer Impact Representative.

D. Jones
Marketing Strategist/Creative Consultant
SmackDabble, LLC

Time to Review

2007-12-26T16:43:00.000-06:00

As we countdown the last few days of 2007, it’s an appropriate time to take a look back at your year. How did your marketing perform? Here are a few questions I’d be asking before planning for 2008…

- In what percentage of sales did my website play a prominent role?
- Am I getting the same ROI from TV, radio and newspaper advertising as I did 5 years ago?
- Where is my dealership’s website ranked on Google? Can my customers and prospects easily find me online?
- Is the experience of visiting my website enhanced with video and other multimedia?
- What are my digital marketing goals for 2008?

Based on your answer to the above questions, it’s time to ask yourself this question:

How should I allocate marketing dollars in 2008?

If you’re like most dealerships we know, the percentage of dollars going toward digital efforts (and away from TV, radio and newspaper advertising) will continue to increase until a time when not doing digital marketing would seem just as crazy as canceling your TV buy for 2008.

Best of luck in what is sure to be a fantastic 2008!

D. Jones
Marketing Strategist/Creative Consultant
SmackDabble, LLC

Top Spots in Search Listings — Organic or Paid — Prove Key for Branding

2007-12-21T16:20:00.000-06:00

From Marketing Vox, 12/11/07

There is significant correlation between brands' appearing in the top organic search and sponsored placements, and consumer brand affinity, recall and purchase intent, according to results from a Google-sponsored eye-tracking study published in a whitepaper, reports MarketingCharts.

The study by eye-tracking firm Enquiro sought to determine how the placement of search listings and sponsored search ads affect consumer brand perceptions.

Using Honda as a test brand and "fuel-efficiency" as a brand attribute, the study focused on consumers early in the purchase process who had not yet selected a car model.

Among the key findings of the study:
Lift in brand affinity: Online consumers who saw Honda in the top ad placement and the top organic search result were 16 percent more likely to think of Honda as a fuel efficient car than when the automaker's brand didn't appear on the page at all.

Lift in brand recall: Online consumers were 42 percent more likely to recall Honda if the company appeared in both the top ad placement and the top organic search result, rather than just the top organic listing.

Lift in purchase intent: When Honda was featured in both the top ad and top organic listings, purchase intent for Honda increased 8 percent. However, other automaker brands absent from the page suffered a significant decrease in purchase intent - 16 percent.

Additional insights are available from the Enquiro whitepaper, "The Brand Lift of Search" (reg. required).

About the study: Using Honda as a test brand, the study sought to quantify the branding impact of differing Honda listing placements on the search results page. The experiment was conducted using subjects 25 years and older who were considering the purchase of a new car within the next year. Users performed a search for "fuel efficient car" and the search results appeared in five different variations: a Honda-branded listing in top ad position only, top organic position only, both the top organic and ad positions, side ad position only, and not at all (control group).

Enquiro measured eye fixation on the Google page and also surveyed participants to evaluate the search experience's branding effect on each of the five consumer test groups.

http://www.marketingvox.com/archives/2007/12/11/top-spots-in-search-and-paid-listings-prove-key-for-branding/?camp=newsletter&src=mv&type=textlink

Dynamic Internet Marketing

2007-12-19T14:49:00.000-06:00

From Dealer Marketing Magazine
December 18, 2007

Unlike other forms of advertising, Internet marketing is nearly 100 percent trackable. You not only know what you are getting from your efforts, but you can evaluate and adjust to improve your results. Unfortunately, there are trends that make this space an increasingly difficult place for a dealership to succeed.
1. Internet traffic is increasing which drives up the cost of Internet marketing.
2. The number of your competitors jumping onto the Internet marketing bandwagon is growing, making it more crowded and more expensive to compete.
3. Someone is doing Internet marketing better then you, generating a better ROI that is reinvested into future Internet marketing efforts.
4. Someone is collecting better data from their Internet marketing efforts than you, and gaining more knowledge to use in the future.
Dealers can address these trends, however, by recognizing the value and power of their own customer data. A strong Internet Lead Management (ILM) tool best captures data. The real benefit comes when that ILM tool works hand in hand with a strong customer relationship management (CRM) solution, to close a significantly higher number of Internet leads.
Internet marketing is maturing. Don't be satisfied by saying, "We have a Website." Do not confuse having a Website with having a true Internet marketing plan. Dynamic Internet marketing built on customer data is here to stay and will only grow in importance
by Bryan Anderson

Competing With Manufacturer Websites

2007-12-17T13:49:00.000-06:00

There’s no denying it. Across the board, every automobile manufacturer has built an outstanding website full of multimedia, fancy Hollywood-quality production and possibly music by the Rolling Stones. So when winning a customer’s business lies increasingly on your ability to get them to spend some time at your website, how do you compete with that sort or production value?

Simple. You do it with relevance, personalization and interaction — the three things a dealership’s site can’t offer.

Relevance — Your site is more relevant to the user because they can actually buy the car from you. And chances are, your dealership is fairly close by. And if your data is strong, they’ll know whether you have the specific car they’re looking for on your lot.

Personalization — People do business with people. And that’s what your website can provide that the manufacturers’ sites never will — a personal connection. You can provide links to email your sales staff, photos of your team, and direct links to the service department.

Interaction — No automobile gets sold without a conversation. And that conversation is increasingly taking place online. Use your web system to start and maintain a conversation with your customers and prospects.

At first, it looks like they have the upper hand… but with the personal, relevant and interactive elements, you’re left holding all the cards.

D. Jones
Marketing Strategist/Creative Consultant
SmackDabble, LLC

How to Personalize the Online Sales Experience

2007-12-13T14:12:00.000-06:00

by : John Federman Digital Dealer Magazine
November 2007

Professionals in the automotive industry are known for their knack of engaging customers the minute they walk onto a showroom floor. However, most dealers fail to deliver that same personal touch when it comes to their online presence.

Some dealers have yet to embrace the Internet as a sales channel, while others are hesitant to dedicate full-time resources to managing Internet driven leads. At this year’s annual Vehix Auto Sales Summit in Deer Valley, Utah, one dealer told an industry analyst from the Kelsey Group that,“Some dealers drop everything for that customer that walks in the door, but they won’t answer the phone or pay attention to electronic leads.” However, that auto dealer also noted that, “For people that come in the door the closing percentage is about 16 percent, but with online leads the closing percentage is much higher. These customers are more knowledgeable and more armed to buy a vehicle. If we get back to them right away, it’s a better prospect than a person walking in the door.”

Clearly, dealers that view their web sites as simple brochures, and fail to engage customers as proactively as they would in the showroom, do so at their own peril.

Engaging customers online
Personal service goes a long way with car buyers on the dealer lot. A standout sales professional is usually one that has established such a good buying experience with customers that they are motivated to not only buy another vehicle from him, but also recommend the salesperson to friends and family. These sales professionals remember names, promptly return phone calls and follow up to address customer questions and alert them to service deals or new specials. In short, they anticipate customer needs and deliver on customer requests.

A recent study by J.D. Power and Associates found that online customer satisfaction was highest for those dealers and automotive marketplaces that responded promptly to online inquiries once they’re submitted. “Walk-in and call-in shoppers receive responses in a more timely manner at auto dealerships compared with online shoppers,” said Steve Witten, executive director of marketing/media research at J.D. Power and Associates. “An opportunity exists for dealers to improve the return on their investment in lead services by paying as much attention to online leads as they would to in-person or phone sales leads by responding just as quickly.”

Dealers who haven’t embraced their web site as a customer-focused sales channel are losing their chance to promote potentially lucrative customer relationships. Another J.D. Power study found that consumers that research vehicles online are likely to convert at higher rates than those that don’t. If these online researchers contact a dealer, they’re quite likely hot prospects.

In a world where competitors are just a click away, delays in responding to online leads could make all the difference in closing a sale. Any lag time between online shopping and the visit to the dealership can be expedited simply by enabling potential customers to ask questions and receive answers in a timely fashion.

Proactive conversion solutions
As a compromise, dealers often adopt a minimalist approach that relies on self-service tools like FAQs, low-touch e-mail exchanges and anonymous web forms to provide online customer service. Though these tools certainly have their place on dealer web sites, studies have shown they are less effective in promoting customer satisfaction or generating qualified leads than offering live assistance.

As a result, some of the leading names in the industry have adopted click to call and click to chat technology to engage high-value prospects with a live sales agent online or over the phone. Because not every customer visit merits live assistance, click to call and click to chat both allow dealers to create business rules that dictate which online prospects should be escalated to the phone or chat. For example, customers that have spent several minutes on your site and begin to configure and price a vehicle can be prompted with either click to call or chat, while those that are looking to simply schedule a service appointment are directed to an e-mail form.

Click to call services deployed across key purchasing points on brand web sites for Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep drive sales conversions, with twice as many click to call callers purchasing a vehicle compared to standard inbound callers.

Autobytel, an online only automotive dealer, also implemented a customer service program that quickly connects online patrons with its call center. Using a form to phone solution, Internet browsers simply fill out a quick form, and the online retailer of choice or nearest franchise of that brand is immediately alerted to the customer request and sent a copy of the form. Once alerted, companies can reach out to these prospects and speak with them while they’re still hot. And as it turns out, timing is everything. Since deploying form to phone, Autobytel has increased the volume of qualified leads by 52 percent and doubled the closing rates of Autobytel car dealers.

Click to call offers the power of voice, allowing Internet sales professionals to answer questions while they are fresh in the consumer’s mind. Chat, on the other hand, enables dealerships to handle multiple web visitors at once while still allowing consumers to interact with an agent to answer a few questions.

To use these technologies, customers need only to click a button embedded on a web site and a customer service representative contacts them instantly via their preferred channel – online or offline. While the power of direct customer contact has been documented at length, click to call and live chat solutions leverage real-time web analytics to inform dealers about the customer’s activity the instant a connection is initiated. This sharing of data from the web to phone or chat channels, enables dealers to offer personalized and effective service, as well as insight into potential cross-sell and up-sell opportunities.

Using click to call and click to chat technology extends personal customer service beyond the dealer walls. As online marketing matures, leading companies are focusing on providing a consistent customer experience across all of their sales channels. Soon, a sales agent – regardless of whether he is in a showroom or chat room – will be able to proactively engage customers and kindly say, “May I help you with something?”

http://www.digitaldealer-magazine.com/index.asp?article=1657

Digital Differentiation

2007-12-06T14:07:00.000-06:00

Use digital media to set your dealership apart from the crowd.

Look out across your dealership and you’ll see rows and rows of shiny new cars... All with that new car smell, low low financing and a pile of customer cash. All were just washed and are priced to move. There’s just one problem. The Chevys, Hondas, Toyotas and Cadillacs on your lot are the same Chevys, Hondas, Toyotas and Cadillacs that a customer can find down the street at a competing dealership. The vehicles were made in the same factory by the same workers to the same exacting quality standards and are selling for an all but identical price. And we know that a few dollars here and there won’t sway customers as much as we’d like.

So if the product is a commodity, all that’s left to set your dealership apart is the customer experience — how a customer feels during and after interacting with you and your people. And as more and more of that interaction shifts online, so does that portion of the customer experience. And with that comes the opportunity to use digital media to influence and enhance their experience at every stage of the sale.

You can use automatic responders and other email technologies to find and cultivate brand awareness with those customers who aren’t yet in the market. Then, use video and other multimedia to create a user experience on your web site that is unmatched and keeps prospects on your site as long as possible. Once they show some interest in a particular model, entice them by sending a coupon or an eBrochure. Then stay in touch with automated email technology. Are you doing any of these things today?

Using these sorts of digital media tactics allows you to interact more frequently, more effectively, more efficiently and in a more personal way than your traditional methods of phone calls and direct mail. Not to mention that, because of the time and cost associated with staying in touch, traditional methods force you to eventually cut ties. Not the case with digital media because it is not cost dependent. So staying in touch or following up with 10,000 prospects costs virtually the same as a few dozen.

Digital media can help you de-commoditize your undifferentiated product offering in this time where consumers are more fickle than ever. It’s all about the customer experience and increasingly that experience is taking place in cyber space. And because so many of the country’s dealerships have yet to jump on board the digital marketing bandwagon, there’s ample opportunity for those that do to find a true competitive advantage in the battle for brand awareness, customer retention and sales.

D. Jones

Marketing Strategist/Creative Consultant

SmackDabble, LLC

Great video on SEO

2007-12-05T15:01:00.000-06:00

http://videos.webpronews.com/2007/11/01/seo-where-do-i-begin#

Location, Location, Location

2007-11-28T09:43:00.001-06:00

If you were going to build a new physical location for your dealership, the “where” would be as, if not more, important than the “what.” After all if potential customers couldn’t find you, then buying a vehicle from you becomes all but impossible.

Not coincidentally, the same principle applies online. If your customers and prospects can’t find you, you don’t exist. Having a memorable and intuitive web address will help, but the number one thing you need to do is ensure that your site plays nice with the world’s biggest search engines (Google, Yahoo!, Ask.com, MSN, etc.). It is those sites that determine your “location” online. Being near the top of the first page on Google is like having your dealership at the intersection of town’s two main drags — it’s so easy to find that your customers can’t help but come across it from time to time.

Search engines are the maps of the digital landscape. And products like Dealer Impact’s Rank King can use a variety of strategies and tactics to ensure that you grab a piece of prime digital real estate. That’s the “where” of the digital marketing game… and it’s at least as important as the “what.”

D. Jones
Marketing Strategist/Creative Consultant
SmackDabble, LLC

Video Product Tours Yield 35% Increase in Online Sales Conversion

2007-11-26T16:48:00.000-06:00

Appeared in Marketing Vox
11/26/07

A SellPoint, Inc. study conducted by Coremetrics found a significant increase in product purchases after online shoppers viewed audio/video tours of products, writes MarketingCharts.

The study analyzed online shopping behaviors to measure the impact SellPoint's Active Product Tours (APT) on the purchase patterns of online shoppers. Among the findings:
There was a 35 percent increase in the sales conversion rate among shoppers who viewed the tours vs. those who did not.

Shoppers viewing the product tours spent more than 2.5 minutes, on average, engaged in viewing detailed product information about each product viewed.

The Active Product Tours are detailed product presentations featuring audio, video and downloadable sales collateral related to a particular product. Shoppers choose to view them by selecting a "Take a Product Tour" button on the product page.

SellPoint also released the following information:
Last year, online shoppers spent more time viewing APT on Thanksgiving Day than on CyberMonday (208,509 minutes vs. 181,726 minutes).

Based on SellPoint projections, Thanksgiving Day view time will total more than 380,000 minutes vs. nearly 182,000 minutes of view time on Cyber Monday.

About the study: The Coremetrics online shopper study was conducted on the CompU.S.A website, which features SellPoint APT for products from companies such as Canon, Panasonic and Epson. The study was conducted over 30 days and examined more than a million shopping sessions.

http://www.marketingvox.com/archives/2007/11/26/video-product-tours-result-in-35-increase-in-online-sales-conversion/?camp=newsletter&src=mv&type=textlink

What Is Your Key Metric?

2007-11-23T15:54:00.001-06:00

If any paradigm shift has dominated marketing thought over the past decade, it is this: If a tactic can’t be measured, it can’t be trusted. It is this sort of thinking that has driven marketers, dealerships and otherwise, to shift their spending away from hard-to-measure mass market tactics like radio and TV and towards more measurable strategies like direct mail and electronic marketing.

But with all this measuring going on, the next question becomes this: What do you measure? What is the key metric that you look at to determine how your marketing is performing?

Do you simply measure leads generated? Or do you only count those leads that are successfully converted into sales? Perhaps you calculate how much each lead costs? Or do you go even deeper… examining how much profit each lead generated?

Use the comments section to tell us what your key marketing metric is.

eMarketer: online advertising skyrockets

2007-11-19T14:20:00.000-06:00

From Digital Dealer
Nov 15, 2007
Volume 2, issue 46

eMarketer foresees U.S. online advertising will more than double as a percentage of total media, rising from only a six percent share of total media in 2006, to a little more than a 12 percent share in 2010. In approximately the same period, online spending will close to triple, rising from $16.9 billion in 2006 to $42 billion in 2011.

According to David Hallerman, a senior analyst at eMarketer, the three milestones which marked this change include:

“First, U.S. Internet ad spending surpassed $5 billion in Q2 2007, the largest sum recorded in any quarter according to research from the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers,” says Hallerman. eMarketer projections suggest that in Q4 of this year spending will leap past the $6 billion mark.

“Second, while 69 of the 100 largest U.S. advertisers put smaller budget shares into four traditional media - television, radio, newspapers and magazines - in 2006 than the previous year, 70 of the same group put larger shares into Internet advertising,” continues Hallerman. Furthermore, 58 of those U.S. advertisers both decreased their traditional spending share and increased their Internet share.

“Third, even as the credit crunch pulls ad money off the total media table, the Internet looks to be more resistant to economic turmoil,” asserts Hallerman. “To put the obvious into figures, online advertising contributes more and more to the total ad spending universe every year.” That share will show 7.4 percent this year, approach one in 10 dollars next year, and will probably reach at least 13 percent by the end of 2011.

“Data from both eMarketer and TNS Media Intelligence indicate that 2007 Internet ad spending will be higher than for radio, as reported in August,” declares Hallerman. “That is the first time online ad spending will be greater than for any of the four traditional measured media.” The average ad spend per Internet user is also growing. In fact, 2007 marks the first year that marketers will spend more than $100 to reach each person online. And, by 2011, advertisers will be spending nearly $200 per user.

http://www.imakenews.com/digital1/e_article000951885.cfm?x=bbD1BRj,b4TSprpk

With Your Website, Control Is Paramount

2007-11-12T14:35:00.000-06:00

It has recently come to our attention that one of our competitors, Cobalt, has partnered with General Motors to offer manufacturer-endorsed template websites. At first, it seems that using one of these basic, inflexible sites is mandatory… but this is not the case. The industry has seen Chrysler, VW, Lexus, Mercedes, and others try this strategy and fail. But there is something they’re probably not telling you. Yes you have to pay the $199 to get leads down from GM, but you can use nearly any internet provider to build, manage and host your site. You don’t have to work within the limits and restrictions of the template site — and you shouldn’t. You can simply run the template site in the background and use it to feed data into your custom-built site.

What they’re not telling you about these template sites is how limiting they are. They don’t offer you flexibility you need in regards to search engine marketing/optimization, proactive marketing, branding, local promotions, multimedia and all of the other things that really make a web site sing.

So, is this now a necessary evil for GM dealerships? Probably so. Does it force your hand in regards to the way you build and run your website? Absolutely not.

“Top Ten” signs a dealership is not serious about the Internet

2007-11-09T09:56:00.000-06:00

10. They have AOL or Hotmail email address.
9. They still have the Field of Dreams mentality (Build it and they will come)
8. The Internet Manager spends more time integrating that new flying airplane on the site than making sure leads get followed up.
7. They switch website providers every year trying to find a site that will sell cars for them.
6. The Internet Department thinks they can take the same number of smoke breaks as everyone else in the dealership.
5. Policies, Procedures, and Accountability don’t pertain to the Internet Department.
4. The newspaper is their primary advertising medium, where the average reader is 55 and the new generation doesn't even pick it up.
3. They use Cobalt or Reynolds as their primary web solution because they were told to (can you say brainwash).
2. The GM/Owner doesn’t use the Internet so why would anyone else.
1. The dealership has handed over a multi-million dollar profit center to Internet Guru they wouldn't trust to baby sit their 8 year old daughter.

Brian Cox
President, Dealer Impact Systems
www.dealerimpact.com

Web sites influencing used car buyers

2007-11-02T15:25:00.000-05:00

From Digital Dealer
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Issue 44
VOLUME 2 ISSUE 44

Among late-model used-vehicle buyers who use the Internet during the shopping process, Internet use has surpassed all other shopping methods as the source for locating the vehicle a buyer ultimately purchases, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Used Autoshopper.com Study released late last week.

The study finds that Internet vehicle locators, such as Autotrader.com, CarMax.com, Cars.com and eBay Motors, are increasingly leading consumers to the actual vehicle they buy. In 2007, nearly one in four buyers of late-model used vehicles (23 percent) used an Internet vehicle locator or online classified ad services to find the vehicle they purchased -- a 44 percent increase since 2006. In addition, 2007 marks the first year that Internet use surpasses all other shopping methods in locating the vehicle a buyer ultimately purchases. The proportion of used-vehicle buyers who use the Internet in the shopping process and who ultimately found the vehicle they purchased on the Internet is 10 percentage points greater than the number of shoppers who found their vehicle through the second-most-popular method, visiting dealer lots.

"This is just one indication that use of the Internet is now perhaps the most efficient source for shopping for and purchasing late-model used vehicles," said Jon Osborn, research director at J.D. Power and Associates. "In the past, the majority of used-vehicle automotive Internet users relied on the traditional method of driving around to dealer lots to find the vehicle they ultimately bought. However, as the number of Web sites specializing in the used-vehicle market continues to grow, and the use of video, photos and improved dealer inventory management tools proliferates, we can expect that consumer use of the Internet for used-vehicle shopping and for actually finding a desired vehicle online will continue to increase."

Consumer-generated automotive content (CGC) is dramatically affecting Internet usage for used-vehicle shopping, as consumers are offering their own experiences and opinions on makes, models and dealerships. With hundreds of sites listing shopping tips, vehicle reviews, pictures and vehicle specifications, CGC is becoming a highly sought-after and trusted source of information for consumers to help determine their buying decisions. The study finds that slightly more than seven in 10 used-vehicle automotive Internet users (72 percent) use CGC on the Internet either while they are shopping for their vehicle or after they purchase it. By far, the most popular types of CGC are consumer ratings and reviews, with two-thirds of used-vehicle automotive Internet users accessing this type of content for automotive information.

"Not only are reviews written by consumers frequently accessed, but also the buyers who use them rate them as the most helpful of all types of consumer-generated content," said Osborn. "Among used-vehicle automotive Internet users who access consumer-generated ratings and reviews, 94 percent say the information is either 'somewhat helpful' or 'very helpful.' With this level of utility, CGC is one area that consumers will continue to seek out and may even expect to find on all automotive Web sites."

The study finds various gender-based differences in used-vehicle shopping trends among automotive Internet users. For example, women not only tend to decide to buy a vehicle earlier in the purchase process than do men (15.9 weeks before the date of purchase compared with 14.1 weeks), but also decide upon the vehicle type and model earlier than do men. In addition, at the beginning of the shopping process, men are much more likely to know the make of vehicle they want than women (49 percent vs. 38 percent), while a much higher proportion of women are initially open to any vehicle that would meet their needs than are men (22 percent vs. 13 percent).

The 2007 Used Autoshopper.com Study is based on responses from 5,476 used-vehicle buyers who purchased pre-owned 2002-2007 model-year vehicles in January and February 2007.

http://www.imakenews.com/digital1/e_article000941164.cfm?x=bbvBGF8,b4TSprpk

SEO lessons Nike and Tiffany's didn't learn

2007-10-25T10:39:00.000-05:00

by Lisa Wehr

Published October 17, 2007 in iMedia Connection

A newly released Oneupweb study of retailers reveals some startling facts about the power of optimizing for search.

Quick, who's the largest online retailer of shoes? Nike? Footlocker? Payless? Timberland? Not even close. The winner is Zappos.com, an eight-year-old company that, until recently, had little or no brand recognition. In 2006, Zappos.com sold more than the online sales of all the well-known brands listed above, combined.

Recently, Oneupweb looked at the top 100 online retailers, including some of the world's most recognizable brands, to see how well they optimized their websites. What we found surprised even us.

Many of the world's leading brands ignore SEO and maintain poorly optimized websites. In fact, 60 percent of the leading online retailers had little or no optimization on their websites. As the success of Zappos.com and other savvy internet marketers illustrates, extraordinary customer service combined with sound SEO can help a company overcome the obvious competitive advantage of branding alone.

Nike just didn't

Nike and brand marketing are synonymous. So, we were surprised to discover little or no sign of optimization on the company website. Someone searching for "athletic shoes" will not find Nike.com in the first three pages of Google results. In fact, the site barely shows up on page one of Google for the branded search term "Nike Athletic Shoes."

Nike has an online visibility strategy. The company supplements its well-known branding efforts with paid online advertising for important keywords. Research indicates PPC campaigns are much more effective when combined with natural search. They aren't in Nike's case, leading us to speculate about how much more effective Nike's online and offline marketing efforts could be if they were integrated into a well-executed SEO program.

Size doesn't matter online

The beautiful thing about online retail is the way the medium levels the playing field. Huge warehouses and 500 worldwide locations mean nothing. Visitors don't have to drive to a brick-and-mortar location; they are driven online to the retailer's website. Retailers need only attract enough interested visitors to their sites and provide an excellent shopping experience after their guests arrive.

Searchers look for brands they know. However, Oneupweb's recent research showed repeated examples of a well-optimized, savvy marketer successfully competing with a better known brand. Well-optimized websites position the challenger higher on non-branded keyword searches. The higher the position on search engines, the more traffic, conversions and sales.

Online, web-only jeweler Blue Nile outsells its much larger and more-well known competitor, Tiffany & Company. The Tiffany brand has been around 170 years; Blue Nile, eight years. Both sites are optimized, although the clear edge goes to Blue Nile when it comes to the degree of optimization and overall online customer service experience.

Well-optimized for a changing landscape

Our study did not include the use of new media as a criterion for the degree of optimization on a website. Nevertheless, we found that top online retailers who have well-optimized websites are 60 percent more likely to have corporate blogs or podcasts. This reflects a growing sensitivity to Google's new Universal Search model specifically, and the growing popularity and viral power of blogs and podcasts overall.

Amazon.com, the leading online retailer for all three studies Oneupweb has conducted since 2003, uses blogs and podcasts in addition to many other sound SEO and SEM practices. Furthermore, the company constantly solicits user feedback and reviews to generate loyalty, links and social support for its products and services. The results speak for themselves.

Consider the opportunities

Our study should be good news to most online retailers. For those who do optimize well, it means an existing competitive edge that will allow them to compete successfully with some larger, more established brands.

And for those large brands that do not optimize well, there is a great opportunity for growth in the best or worst of years. Either way, there is much work to be done; work that can result in greater traffic and revenue.

http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/17011.asp

The Internet Is A Fad?

2007-10-18T13:09:00.000-05:00

“The Internet is a fad, it is going to be like CB radios."
- Blake C., circa 1997

That was 10 years ago. And, I’m happy to say, it couldn’t be further from the truth. The internet has so integrated itself into the way we communicate and access information, that few among us could imagine a day (or even a few hours) without it.

But despite this reality — which any rational person will concede is true — there are still business people who behave as if Blake C.’s quote above is true. And few industries have been slower to adapt than the automotive retail business.

We see many dealerships in our day-to-day dealings that, although they’re dabbling in various internet tactics, don’t seem to be taking it seriously. We here at Dealer Impact believe that what we’re seeing now is only beginning of how these new technologies will change the way people buy (and sell) cars. And as with any business dealing, first mover advantage is key — so why dabble? Get organized, get aggressive and revel in the awesome car-selling power of this new technology that was once labeled a “fad.”

D. Jones
Marketing Strategist/Creative Consultant
SmackDabble, LLC

Keep It Clean

2007-10-11T22:29:00.001-05:00

As dealership marketing becomes more and more digital (admit it, it’s happening), most dealerships are also moving away from mass marketing to more targeted efforts. And as they do this, the importance of good, clean data is becoming increasingly important.

So much of the value of digital marketing is tied to the value of the database that underlies the effort. Whether it’s an email campaign, an online service special or the inventory on your website, the marketing effort is only as good as the database that drives it.

Step #1 to powerful digital marketing: keep your data clean and up to date. Do that and you’re halfway home.

D. Jones
Marketing Strategist/Creative Consultant
SmackDabble, LLC

Let’s Get Little (and Frequent)

2007-10-11T22:15:00.000-05:00

Faster, faster, faster. And more efficient. It seems to be the driving force behind Western Culture. As our lives become more cluttered and we’re bombarded with more and more demands on our time, we’re increasingly insistent that our information be delivered to us in small, digestible chunks. CNN delivers all the day’s news in 15 minutes, RSS feeds deliver just the info we want right to our computer or mobile phone and the family meal has been replaced by the nuke-it-and-run approach.

Is this a sad commentary on the state of our culture? Maybe. Is it reality? For sure.

So as marketers, what do we do about it? Well, we should adapt. We begin by understanding that we’re rarely, if ever, going to get more than 30 seconds from a prospect. So we don’t try to tell a 3-minute story. Instead, we should try to tell more 30 second stories. We combat quantity of content with frequency of content — and that’s how we win.

D. Jones
Marketing Strategist/Creative Consultant
SmackDabble, LLC

Dealerships - Caught in a Viscous Cycle!

2007-10-03T13:53:00.000-05:00

Over the last few years dealerships have started to wake up to the fact that the Internet is here to stay, however many are lost on how to address it. So they are hiring so called “Internet Managers” who claim to be Internet Professionals. Don’t get me wrong, there are tons of very qualified people who bring a great wealth of knowledge, but there are also many Internet Managers that have been dealership hopping.

The average life span of an Internet Manager is less than 6 months. Why is that? Typically, what happens is a dealership hires a new manager, the new manager comes in and assesses their website and suggests changes to fit their work flow method. They may have a favorite website provider or a way of doing business that they are comfortable with. The question is, if it worked why aren’t they at the same dealership? Anyway, the dealership follows his/her suggestions and hopes for the best. The dealership waits for results and if they do not happen they decide to make a change in personnel and the vicious cycle starts all over again with a new ISM and a new website.

This constitutes the majority of dealerships in the US today and what confuses me is why dealerships don’t focus on the real issue, which is driving traffic (marketing) and following up. Instead of spending months adding functions to a website, tweaking content, and adding bells and whistles, why not focus on campaigns, search engine marketing, search engine optimization, and marketing their website, thus driving traffic. Shouldn’t this be the primary goal? Then all the managers have to worry about is making sure their people follow up promptly.

So next time a dealership interviews for the Internet Manger they might want to ask them what their game plan is and they better hear ‘drive traffic’ and defining ‘work flow process’, otherwise you just hired a website manager that will spend their days focusing on features vs. results. You can have the best website in the world, but if there is no traffic coming to it then what good is it?

Brian Cox
President
Dealer Impact Systems

Attention Car Dealerships: Google Doesn’t See, Google Reads.

2007-10-01T09:43:00.000-05:00

Whether you’re creating a new car dealership website or maintaining an existing one, the chances are great that you’re doing so with the intention of your website being your ultimate marketing tool. You want it to be found by potential customers, who will peruse your “virtual dealership,” find what they are looking for, and eventually purchase a car from you.

But do you know how a website “gets found” by potential customers? Sure, you have your web address in your off-line advertising, but is that how the majority of people will find you?

Nope. Chances are, they will find you through a search engine like Google. If you show up on the first two pages, that is.

So how does that happen? How do you get Google to find your website, much less make your site “appear” on the first couple pages?

Well, it can be complicated, and no two search engines or websites are exactly the same. That’s why people like Dealer Impact Search Marketing exist: their full-time job is to be search engine experts, and to propel your site to the top of the rankings.

But there is one simple thing you can do to give your site a HUGE advantage: include content. Lots of content. Content on every, single page—including the home page.

Why content? Because Google doesn’t see, Google reads. The words on your page (and in tags like the alternate text for images) are what Google actually analyzes to figure out who you are and what you do. If your homepage (remember, your homepage is the most important page to have content on) states clearly that you are a Des Moines Car Dealer, you are increasing your chances that Google will rank you for “Des Moines Car Dealer.”

So, all those pictures of Fords you have on your homepage? Google doesn’t know they’re Fords. You have to tell Google they are Fords, just like you have to tell Google you’re in Des Moines. And not Des Moines, Washington, but Des Moines, Iowa.

Seem simple? It can be-- it just takes a little bit of background into what Google really does, and how you can “optimize” your site according to Google’s strengths and weaknesses.

Of course, there’s much more to it than content. But it’s a great rule of thumb to have content on every page of your site, really outlining what that page is all about. It’s a step in the right direction for the do-it-yourself search engine marketer.

But if you notice your rankings falling, or your competition seems to have an edge, don’t be afraid to call in the pros that optimize web pages for a living. After all, the farther down you are in the rankings, the less of an opportunity you have to find that next big customer.

Jamie Wilson
Dealer Impact Search Marketing

E-Mail takes the lead in the digital marketing arena

2007-09-28T09:45:00.000-05:00

Appeared in: Digital Dealer
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Issue 39
VOLUME 2 ISSUE 39

According to The McKinsey Quarterly, the business journal of the global management-consulting firm McKinsey & Company, chief marketers worldwide use e-mail in their campaigns. In a survey of 311 marketing gurus, McKinsey found that 83 percent utilized e-mail above and beyond the application of display ads, paid search and online video.

When asked about the future of online marketing, respondents thought by 2010 the Web would be an integral part of the first two stages of the buyer decision-marking process: product awareness and information gathering. With this in mind, over one-half of respondents said they planned to increase their e-mail spending in the next three years; however, plans to increase spending could also mean that e-mail would lose some budget to paid search and other tactics.

U.S. Overview
Closer to home on U.S. shores, more than seven in 10 U.S. marketers said that e-mail was one of their online and mobile tactics, according to a Penton Media Custom Research study commissioned by PROMO Magazine.

Top-Line Results:
72.6 percent of U.S. marketers employed e-mail marketing as an integral part of their online/marketing tactics
60.8 percent of U.S. marketers utilized e-mail newsletters as an integral part of their online marketing/tactics

Conclusion:
Over half of all U.S. marketing gurus responding to this survey incorporate and trust e-mail marketing as an effective and declarative digital tool for generating sales.
http://www.imakenews.com/digital1/e_article000914534.cfm?x=bbkdd0s,b4TSprpk

The Industry Matures

2007-09-26T11:12:00.000-05:00

I think it’s safe to say we’ve reached a point where it’s safe to say that this Internet thing isn’t going anywhere. In fact, the industry is growing out of its adolescence and is maturing.

What’s that mean? Well I think it means that we’re not going to see any more massive growth spurts in the size or effectiveness of digital marketing. The gold rush is over and we should all adjust our expectations accordingly. We’re entering an era of steady, growth, where the victories will be smaller and you’ll have to be a lot smarter to achieve them.

It’s time to outsmart your competition, not outspend him. It’s time to zig when he zags. It’s time to make a new path, not follow the leader. That’s how you win in a maturing industry.

D. Jones
Marketing Strategist/Creative Consultant
SmackDabble, LLC

Internet Marketing Requires Embracing Change

2007-09-24T16:47:00.000-05:00

Digital Dealer Magazine September 2007 by : Bill Mulcahy

In the new world of Internet marketing, one of the most challenging aspects for many dealers to embrace is the huge paradigm shift from traditional advertising campaigns to the ever-changing requirements of effectively selling cars on the web.

When developing ads for radio, television and newspapers, the number of “buys” was often set, with only the content of the ad changing on a weekly basis depending on what specials the dealer was running.

Today, Internet marketers at dealerships need to be aware of a constantly evolving Internet where a program that works one day may not be achieving the same results two months later. Unlike traditional media outlets, new web sites are launched every day, and a site that’s attracting car buyers one month may be an online ghost town three months later. Marketers must keep a close pulse on the industry in order to understand the online market and the latest technologies available.

In short, Internet marketing is a full-time occupation. For many dealers, it’s difficult to justify allocating resources to hiring one individual to focus solely on marketing. Often, an Internet salesperson or other unsuspecting employee will get burdened with—or perhaps even volunteer for—the tasks related to a dealer’s web presence; blithely unaware that once implemented, the Internet marketing program will mushroom into an endless, demanding maw of responsibility.

Take a look at the following elements necessary for an effective Internet marketing program, and imagine it as a job description.

Dealership web site: Work with vendor to develop and implement lead generating specials such as coupons and vehicle specials to be updated on a monthly basis. Keep welcome message on home page fresh and appealing. Monitor web traffic including bounce rate, and tweak appropriate web pages accordingly to increase click-throughs. Since there is no one magic formula that works for every dealer and regional differences require different marketing approaches, and Internet and market trends are constantly evolving, this will be an ongoing task. If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Analyze marketing efforts of major competitors with the goal of finding out what works, what doesn’t, and why.

Vehicle inventory: Update on a daily basis to include specs and photos. Ensure that what appears on the web site matches what is in the DMS. Work with a full service or do-it-yourself inventory company to make sure all inventory is updated and distributed to inventory web site partners. Most importantly, keep your pricing up-to-date, accurate and competitive.

Search engine marketing: Monitor SEM reports and work with vendor to develop and update search terms that result in effective search engine optimization. Ensure SEM vendor is keeping your site optimized for search engines on a regular basis. Monitor performance of your site on search engines and tweak SEM marketing program accordingly. Work with vendor to develop paid search programs based on specials, holidays, and inventory changes at the dealership. The more competitive your target market or a time of year is for your dealership, the more you might want to consider an aggressive pay-per-click campaign.

Classified automotive web sites: Classified sites are highly advertised and attract many buyers. Your dealership needs a web service that distributes your inventory seamlessly and accurately. The idea is to get your inventory in front of as many qualified buyers as possible. Remember, on the Internet, buyers are searching for a specific vehicle and you need to make it available to them.

Constant change: If there was a proven scientific formula to selling cars on the Internet, every dealership would be using it. Even if you are selling cars effectively on the Internet today, is it important to be comfortable with the idea that it will be necessary to adapt tomorrow. The most successful dealers on the web constantly adapt their strategy to what works, so no single change will be your last.

If you want consistent results and an Internet department that will enjoy long-term growth, you must commit to an ongoing process and a plan that embraces technology changes and stay ahead of the competition. If your dealership is like most, it is constantly being solicited by vendors offering a “magic pill” that will revolutionize the industry. They might even tell you some nonsense like nine out of 10 of “their” dealers sell every car on the lot every month. Don’t be fooled by false promises of quick effortless results. Selling cars on the web is an ongoing process, but will ultimately come down to the dealership’s relationship to a prospective buyer. Take the television commercials that claim to help people lose 35 pounds in three hours as an example. If you want to lose weight you have to commit to a diet and exercise plan. If you want to sell cars on the web you have to commit to a dynamic sales strategy that creates the best possible online experience for buyers.

The Internet as a medium provides incredible opportunities for dealers who dedicate the necessary resources to take advantage of it. Ever-shifting and never static, the Internet requires a similar marketing mentality. Keeping up with what’s current is challenging enough, let alone trying to stay one step ahead of competitors. But for dealers who embrace this paradigm shift, the rewards will be the attention and dollars reaped from today’s online car shoppers.

http://www.digitaldealer-magazine.com/index.asp?article=1573

Meet the Clip Culture Crowd

2007-09-19T16:29:00.000-05:00

Ward's Dealer Business, Sep 1, 2007 12:00 PM
The MySpace/iPod/Text/Blackberry/YouTube generation gets information from a myriad of sources, all originating from the Internet.

“And it's all about what type of information they want, and when they want it,” says Brian Page, general manager of Dealer Data Services.

He recommends that dealers interested in selling to these young consumers maintain an Internet presence that draws their attention.

One way to do that is with rich content.

“The explosive growth of YouTube took even the most experienced of Internet pundits by surprise,” says Page. “The next generation now spends more time watching videos online than on TV.”

There is a name for this new phenomenon: The clip culture.

“In addition to vehicle specs and photos, vehicle videos are a great way to attract shoppers who would rather be engaged in the process and kick a virtual tire than a real one,” Page says.

It also helps if website content informs and provides a means for interactive communication. Page says it's a question of “pulling in” the consumer as opposed to “pushing out” a marketing message, such as “Come down to Joe Brown's Honda today!”

“Additionally, having actual photos of a vehicle, as opposed to stock photos, or at the very least, accurate colors on stock photos, increases the odds that a savvy consumer will click through to learn more about the vehicle,” he says.

To create a positive online experience for this new generation, dealers must realize what many young shoppers are like and how they gather car-shopping information.

“Impatience with outdated or inaccurate information; the ability to navigate the Internet swiftly and thoroughly to find exactly what they are seeking; and short attention spans are qualities of this growing user group,” Page says.

“To meet these shoppers' needs, it becomes critical for dealers to keep inventory accurate and up-to-date, to have inventory listed on as many web sites as possible, and to provide rich, informative content that will attract and hold attention.”

http://wardsdealer.com/interneteletter/auto_meet_clip_culture/

Taking the "geek" out of your site management strategy

2007-09-17T16:34:00.000-05:00

Published: September 13, 2007

By Robert Rose

iMedia Connection

What matters most for marketers is not the totality of features offered on websites, but the frequency and quality of the conversation.
When I was a teenager, my grandfather, a Scottsman, would scoff at me as I walked by with my headphones on. He would literally yank them off my head and then regale me with stories about life during the '20s and '30s.

"You dinna hae' any of these new fangled contraptions," he would say in his thick brogue. "Nothing like yer fancy wee walkaboots." (He meant my Sony Walkman.) "In our day, we hae' a radio that filled the wall in the living room and tha' was it."

So, just a few days ago, as I was holding one of the new iPod Shuffles in my hand -- amazed at its sheer lack of anything resembling size -- I found myself saying to its owner, "You know, I remember when these things were the size of bricks."

Thankfully, I caught myself before I actually became the embodiment of my grandfather, wistfully explaining the audio quality differences between a 60- and 90-minute audio cassette.

Since its launch in 2001, the iPod has taken a mere six years to completely transform the music business. Before the iPod existed there were scores of other MP3 players available on the market from myriad providers. Say what you will about Apple marketing -- the strength of its user interface and everything else -- at its absolute core, the iPod is just a portable harddrive that plays a variety of music, images and (now) video codecs. Yes, the true reason for Apple's success is because it simply took the geek out of digital portable music.

Interestingly, Apple may have found itself at another tipping point with the iPhone. Combined with the explosion of social networking, this device, and others like it, may (and "may" is the operative word) have the ability to take the geek out of how we use mobile devices to access web content. The evolution of interfaces to web content has fundamentally changed the game for digital marketers who manage websites, but maybe not in a way that is immediately evident.
Arguably, managing websites and digital content has become much easier in the last two years. From web content management systems, integrated email campaign management tools, bid management tools, search systems and analytics that actually measure user interactions, the solutions to help us talk to customers through our websites are now plentiful and economical.

But, just when we thought we had a handle on what was going on, along comes this Web 2.0 and AJAX, XML, MOSOSO, RSS feeds and social networking stuff, and now we're back to square one. We're asking our geeks to explain what it all means before we sally forth with a web strategy that supports our business.

I've been recently exploring the depths of social networking solutions. I kid you not, I currently have a list of more than 50 companies who can "provide an AJAX-based, wicked cool solution for RSS, Forums and other 2.0 on-demand social networking tools."

I remember back in the day when all this was simply called "community."

Here's the conclusion I've reached: the same technology evolution that has made it easier for us to manage our digital marketing activities has also made it easier for customers to decide how they want to be marketed to. For every ExactTarget, Salesforce.com and DoubleClick (now Google) out there, there are mashed-up Firefox extensions and Web 2.0 sites waiting to find a way around it.

But this explosion in social networking and web content tools for the user, ironically, is where the game is profoundly changing for us as digital marketers. We can no longer afford to simply talk to our customers -- we must engage them. And, maybe more importantly, let them engage with each other.

The key here is that technology itself is quickly becoming (or should quickly become) a non-issue. What matters is not the totality of features we offer on our site, but the frequency and quality of the conversation. Who cares if we can offer personalized content for a user if the content itself is meaningless; they can't access it using their chosen device, or worse, it's not even in their native language.

As digital marketers, we need to completely change our paradigm and get out of the "we're all publishers" mindset. Even if we are literally the publisher of an online magazine, we're not publishers. Publishers talk and desperately hope that people like what they are saying. Today, we're more accurately (and simply) stewards of information. The internet and our web strategy (not just our site) makes it easier for us to communicate more effectively and profitably with our customers. It should, more importantly, enable our customers to easily communicate with us either implicitly or explicitly. So, like any good friend, we should be good listeners as well as good talkers.

How does all this apply in the real world?

As we continue to formulate our digital marketing and website management strategy solutions, consider a few things:

Get out of the homepage, top-down, hierarchical site structure paradigm I've talked about this in previous articles, but start thinking about your "website" as a wellspring of content your customers will enter from many different sources. They may first comment on your blog, subscribe to an RSS feed or link from elsewhere on the web in order to satisfy a "need," and then visit your site through a deep landing page to offer up their information to you as a way to continue the conversation.

Two things here are key: First, have a way for people to continue that conversation (e.g. a link for more info or to subscribe) and second, follow through with that request. It's your job to continue to add value to the relationship throughout their lifecycle as a customer.

In 2007, it’s about understanding Unless your business model is in global page impressions, aggregate traffic is not nearly as important as understanding who is visiting your site. Consider solutions that allow you to track the relationship of your users to your content.

Effective web content management goes well beyond presentation Along with the decentralization of content on your website comes the addition of social networking and content that lives outside your site. This may come in the form of a MySpace or YouTube strategy – or simply developing relationships with external bloggers. Additionally, users may be contributing content, which you should be able to manage through your content management system and reuse. Also remember, whether it's through blogs, publishing RSS, other syndicated feeds, wireless or other formats, making your content easy to consume by these other sites is important.

Managing your website is a process -- not a product Your team is much more important than your tool. Look to add expertise to your team, not features to your software application. Best-of-breed and/or Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions can play an important role here -- not suites of products.

The web is quickly realizing its potential as a unified computing platform, and content and functional integration is becoming easier and easier. There's little reason to not approach your solution using best-of-breed solutions and expertise for whatever you're looking for. A specialized social networking tool vendor understands managing relationships with customers. An email campaign management vendor spends considerable resources to maintain ISP relationships to ensure mail deliverability. A strong web content management vendor has considerable expertise in terms of translation workflow, landing page management, SEO and information architecture expertise. No single company can be great at everything.

Like my comment about the iPod and my grandfather's comments about the radio before it, within a few years, you might be reminiscing to someone about how you can remember when AJAX and social networking and RSS feeds were all the rage. Then, as you change your web strategy to fit the fact that more people access the web using their super newfangled HiDef-capable personal PDA connected to their flying car, you have the flexibility to do so.

Just remember to take the geek out of your web content strategy. Technology doesn't communicate to your customers, you do.

http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/16473.asp

Websites Can’t Create Leads

2007-09-12T15:24:00.000-05:00

Your website has never created a single lead. There, I said it. Long lauded as the be all, end all of internet marketing, the website will always remain a limited, albeit powerful tool. Why is that, you ask? Well it’s because your website will always be a reactive marketing tool.

Your website sits out there in cyberspace, all shiny and glowing, whirring with multimedia and powerful data support. But until a consumer comes along, it’s worthless because it can’t go out and find leads. The best your website can hope for is to upgrade leads (turning a warm lead into a hot lead) and capture leads. You still need other tools (search marketing, email marketing, mass advertising, etc.) to drive leads to your site.

So, is your website important? Yes, it can be the most powerful tool in your marketing arsenal. But it can’t function in a vacuum — it’s the most important piece of a complete, integrated digital marketing presence.

D. Jones
Marketing Strategist/Creative Consultant
SmackDabble, LLC

What is the Best Internet Structure for Each Dealership?

2007-09-10T14:00:00.000-05:00

Auto Remarketing Magazine

By Bobby Malatia, of Kain Automotive

September 05, 2007

As I travel throughout the country, I am constantly asked, "What is the best Internet structure for our dealership?" Most of the time the dealership already has a current Internet setup, and it is just looking for reassurance that what it has in place is a good one.

The simple answer is it is not a simple answer. You have to look at many different factors to see which one will be most effective for your dealership and your market. I will try to break this question down and go over some of the main factors that need to be considered to answer this common but difficult question.

Let us first look at what different Internet structures there are that have experienced moderate to extremely good success.

SalesFloor: Internet leads are taken by one of the managers and distributed out to the regular sales floor.

The one person show: One dedicated Internet person who answers all the incoming Internet requests. a. The one person handles the leads and sets appointments to be given to the regular sales floor. b. The one person handles the leads as well as sales the vehicles themselves.

Appointment setters: Having multiple people handle the Internet leads and then set the appointments. a. These appointments are set for the regular sales floor.b. These appointments are set and given to a manager and then are distributed to certain salespeople. Internet Department: Having a dedicated team handle the leads as well as sale the vehicles (commonly referred to "cradle to grave"). a. Typically this is done using a different process than the regular floor process, though it does not have to be.

Internet Department and BDC: Using a dedicated Internet sales department with the support of a BDC. a. Leadsare handled by the BDC and then set or turned to the Internet department for the sale of the vehicle. b. The Internet department handles the lead, and then the BDC takes over after a set amount of time to take care of the long-term follow-up, and then gives it back to the Internet department once the BDC makes an appointment, or re-stimulates the prospect.

As you can see there are many options, and of course there can be variations of any of these as well.

Now that we have looked at some of the options, let's tackle the tough question: which is the best one for you. To answer this question you must understand that most, if not all, of these structures can be and have been successful.

There is no one perfect idea for handling your Internet leads, and therefore we must look at the different factors that can influence your individual process. This will help you determine which structure will be most effective for your dealership.

The first of these factors is what the dealer principal/general manager wants to get out of the Internet. Does the dealership want an Internet department, or does it want an Internet dealership?

An Internet department can be a bit redundant given the structure you have in place, but an Internet dealership takes advantage of the skilled personnel already in management roles and molds them into the reality of today's Internet-dominated sales and marketing environment.

However, we find that because of management resistance to working Internet leads through their current set up, it is normally best to set up a department and incubate the success before considering a merger back into the regular sales environment.

The second of these factors is your current personnel or personnel recruiting options. We believe you should decide on the structure your management feels most comfortable with and then recruit to fit the structure rather than the other way around. Otherwise, each time you hire someone for the role you will be prone to adjust the structure based on the talent and skills, which is not productive long-term.

There is a certain profile that we look for that has the best chance to excel in this type of role within the dealership, and we feel someone with a solid success record in sales, whether it be automotive, real estate, cell phones or airline reservations.

Persons in this position first must be persistent and willing to make multiple phone calls each day, be personable enough to build rapport quickly and be able to sell the appointment if the dealership has any hope of getting the consumer into the store.

Your current employees should be considered for these roles, but you should not be afraid to recruit from outside your dealership. Use the profile and understanding of what the job requires to be successful and grow the department as needed.

The last factor that must be considered when deciding on the correct structure for your Internet department regards your current lead volume. We have recommendations on the volume for each set up and feel it is vital to maintain the right volume or the system will not do as well.

Before you worry about growth and spending more money to get more sales, you must be able to analyze what you currently have structure-wise and how effectively you process your current leads.

Using all three of the factors will help you put together an appropriate action plan to determine "what is the best structure" for you and your dealership.

http://www.autoremarketing.com/ar/news/story.html?id=6787

The future is clear for some dealerships where most are still in a fog

2007-09-06T09:55:00.000-05:00

Many dealerships are gearing up their efforts to build their email database, knowing this will be their primary means of communication with their customers now and in the future. As newspaper advertising continues to decline the prevalence of Internet Marketing will increase and the dealership with the largest email database is king. In fact those dealerships that make the greatest strides now will potentially set themselves so far ahead, other dealerships may not catch up.

That is a free and unlimited advertising conduit to send out sales announcements, rebates, incentives, videos, product information, and who knows what the future of multi-media will entail.

Hind sight is 20/20 they say, but I sure would not want to be looking back, saying “I wish I would have …”

Brian Cox
President
Dealer Impact Systems

Five Things your Dealership Should do to Embrace the Internet

2007-08-30T14:56:00.000-05:00

Digital Dealer Magazine August 2007

by : Mitch Turck

The following five suggestions on how to get the most from your Internet department should yield some financial benefits. The sooner these actions are put into place, the better.

1. Your used car manager should be the most Internet savvy of all your sales employees. The used car manager should be scouring popular consumer sites (AutoTrader, cars.com, etc.) on a weekly basis to see how your used inventory pricing compares with the competition. The used car manager should also be checking the out-of-state wholesale auctions online, many of which will put together a great package to get your store’s business. And when it comes down to getting rid of one particular car, it should be the used car manager posting that car on Craigslist, enthusiast chat rooms and other community forums to maximize the vehicle’s exposure.

2. Your perceived DMA should shift from a “death grip on a five-mile radius” strategy to a “fishnet across a 50-mile radius” strategy. One huge obstruction the Internet presents to your local business is that it reduces traveling distance between stores from 45 minutes to five mouse clicks. Consumers who live in your area don’t need to come to you for their favorite brand anymore if a dealer 30 miles away is giving them a significantly better price, or has the customer’s car in-stock and ready to test drive while you are showing the customer a paint chip and telling him to use his imagination. Many dealers complain about this loss of local traffic due to the Internet, but then the obvious question becomes, “if a dealer 45 minutes away is stealing from your DMA, why aren’t you stealing from his?”

3. Your managers should submit mystery shopper leads to competing dealers every month. Are you wondering why so many of your Internet leads are telling you that Grass is Greener Motors is beating your offer by $100 a month? Instead of scratching your head, why not put a mystery lead into that store yourself, and see what kind of deal they are sending to Internet leads? Furthermore, find out what everyone is doing to stay in touch with their Internet customers, and how your competition is trying to differentiate itself from the rest of the pack. If your autoresponder says, “Unlike other dealers, we focus on 100 percent customer satisfaction,” and your three closest competitors say the same thing, then what good is that line? Use that opportunity to find ways to stand out from other dealers… and don’t forget to mystery shop your own Internet department as well.

4. Your sales staff should come to grips with the fact that Internet customers know more than they do. Depending on the competence of your sales staff, this may or may not be true, but it’s more important to realize that many Internet customers believe it’s true. They have access to information they never knew about before, and this puts them in a controlling mindset. If your staff doesn’t respect that, or is too proud to admit that maybe the customer does know more than them, there’s a high probability you will lose that customer to another store who lets them think they’re in control.

5. Everyone in your dealership should recognize that it’s only a matter of time before your entire customer base becomes Internet shoppers. If you are responsible for the future of your dealership, there is one statement you can’t afford to ignore: every customer is an Internet customer… they just don’t know it yet. Think about it – you can use the Internet to find a vehicle’s color combinations, standard features and options, MSRP, invoice price, typical prices paid by consumers, rebates (including manufacturer to dealer rebates), residual value, inventory availability, and dealer specials. Now try to tell me there’s a single up out there who wouldn’t take advantage of all that information if they knew where to find it.

The sun is setting on the days of uninformed customers – either have a plan of action, or have another career lined up.

http://www.digitaldealer-magazine.com/index.asp?article=1522

Marketing Dollars Don’t Grow on Trees: How online advertising can revolutionize your dealership’s marketing budget

2007-08-27T13:07:00.000-05:00

If you’re an auto dealership trying to establish an online presence, or trying to improve on your existing internet foothold, you’re probably thinking about internet marketing. If you’re not, get thinking, because the internet is just like anything else – he who markets most effectively, wins.

The internet has a couple of huge advantages over the rest of the advertising mediums you’re already familiar with—television, radio, newspaper, billboard, side of a bus. While these traditional methods are fine for building brand awareness and reinforcing purchase satisfaction, they are expensive. They are also typically not well targeted-- there’s just no way of knowing if the people watching a particular show are in the market for a new car.

It’s on those two points that internet marketing blows all other mediums out of the water. For starters, if you are smart about your online strategy (or work with people like Dealer Impact Search Marketing who get paid to be smart about online marketing strategies) the internet is a cheap, cheap place to advertise. Running an ad on Google or Yahoo (the search engines are, after all, where the vast majority of people begin their purchasing research) doesn’t cost anything unless someone is interested enough to click on your ad—and even then, it’s typically only around $0.50-$2.00 per click. Not a high price to pay to send an interested lead to your website.

What’s more, online advertising is highly targeted—your ads only show up when people search for something related to your dealership or your inventory. Worried that your money will be wasted if your ads show up for people who aren’t in your city? Search engine advertising is so effective that it actually figures out where the searcher is located, and only shows ads relevant to that location. And if you use an online marketing company that builds your advertising campaign on an adaptive platform like the Dealer Impact Search Advertising platform, your campaign will become more targeted over time – only showing your ads for searches that have the best conversion rates.

These smart platforms also have the added advantage of detailed tracking. You can find out how many people have clicked on ads, for what keywords, what forms they filled out on your site, and even find out who’s called your dealership. Some have the added benefit of recording those phone calls and adding them to your online report.

What does this all mean to the average car dealership? Basically, if you move a chunk of your marketing budget online, and then spend those online dollars correctly, you can decrease your total budget while bringing more qualified leads to your site and increasing your sales. The online marketing arena is effective and cost-effective, so stop wasting money with those newspaper ads and get online today!

Jamie Wilson
Search Engine Marketing Specialist
DealerImpact.com

The Power Of Proactivity: Marketing to the other 98%

2007-08-23T09:54:00.000-05:00

Unlike many other industries, where consumers plow though a product and immediately buy more (i.e. milk, office supplies, soda) the auto industry has a slower consumption cycle. The average consumer keeps their car 2.5-3 years and at any given time only 2% of consumers are in the market for a new car.

So how much of your marketing is targeted at that 2%?

Half?
75%?
All of it?

If you're like most dealerships, the overwhelming majority of your marketing is focused on the “buy now” customer. And that's the only customer that your sales team is interested in. So you run television commercials, radio and newspaper ads, special limited-time sales events and the like. But in spite of your best efforts, you can't create need in the mind of the consumer.

Because you can't create need, the best you can realistically hope for is to ensure that when a consumer decides to buy, you're at the top of their list. So that raises the question: What are you doing to proactively market to the 98% of customers that aren't in “buy now” mode?

Are you staying in touch with them using something other than an offer of 1.9% financing or a free oil change coupon? This business is about relationships — all sales-centric businesses are — and that means building loyalty that goes beyond their pocketbook. It means turning customers into friends.

That can happen with your customers. And it will when you embrace the idea of proactive communication.

D. Jones
Marketing Strategist/Creative Consultant
SmackDabble LLC

Where have all the viewers gone?

2007-08-22T15:47:00.000-05:00

Published: August 21, 2007
By Stephen Newman
iMedia Connection

Internap's EVP of advertising services explores ways that networks can work around the decline in traditional TV viewership and still reach large audiences with more accuracy.

Figures show fewer people are watching TV. But are fewer people actually watching the typical weekly lineup? Or is it just that "TV" is being watched less?

You are probably thinking to yourself, "What’s the difference?" Is it purely semantics or are people watching the same amount of shows but using their computer screens rather than their television sets?

What's behind the decline?
According to an AP article published earlier this year, it is "TV's worst spring in recent memory." More than 2.5 million fewer people were watching ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox than at the same time last year.

Many theories are bouncing around as to the cause of the decline in viewership. Some speculate that the early start to Daylight Savings Time has prompted more people to spend more time on outdoor activities and other interests, making TV-viewing less of a priority. On the other hand, many are citing poor measurement as a key factor.

These theories and others are all likely to have some impact. Even if people are watching TV as much as they did last year, if viewership isn't being measured properly, advertisers will still get the message that their efforts are reaching fewer traditional viewers.

But the key word there is traditional.

Are traditional viewers your target viewers?
So, the major television networks are complaining to Nielsen that its methodology is not appropriate for today's audiences. "People are not consuming less television, they're watching it in different ways and the measurements haven't caught up," said NBC's chief research executive Alan Wurtzel in the aforementioned AP article.
They complain that a segment of the population is not measured to the level of participation, which is true for the most part; if you record a particular episode of your favorite show and watch it more than 24 hours later, you're not counted in the show's ratings. The same holds true for those who download the episode and watch it later on an iPod or computer, or stream an episode from a network's website. The networks also complain that their ethnic representation is not well reported. They are voicing their opinions loudly and publicly. But, is it possible that this complaining process is nothing more than positioning?

After all, the networks need the billions of dollars that advertisers will pay for the traditional viewing habits of their audiences. As well, the advertisers need the eyeballs of the networks' demographics and will pay premiums to catch the attention of the "hard to reach" demographics.

Take men 18 to 34, for example. This group has experienced the biggest drop-off for network television in the past 5 years, according to Nielsen. Specifically, Nielsen reported that primetime viewership among men in this age group has fallen off by nearly eight percent but said about half of this decline could be attributed to recent changes in the composition of its ratings sample or measurement system. In contrast, though, some researchers say this is because this demographic is losing interest in "appointment" television.

This trend should come as no surprise; this particular demographic has been waning for quite some time. Research studies have shown the average male 18-34 spends his free time playing video games or surfing the internet; that's time they might have spent watching TV in the past.

Can't all viewing formats get along?
A study commissioned by NBC.com and conducted by the research firm InsightExpress showed that 78 percent of the site's NBC Rewind service users watched an episode they had missed on broadcast TV. Seventy-eight percent! If you knew more than half of your viewership is going online, wouldn't you want to shift away from the "traditional" ad platforms?

By focusing on improving ratings measurement, though, Networks are missing a key point here. Even if Nielsen changes their methodology to include today's audiences, they will never gain the same insight into the viewing habits of every single person who watches a particular episode of "Lost" or "Desperate Housewives" that they can with online tracking.

This is because networks rely on data that bases a nation's viewing habits on a select sample body that takes the time to fill out a diary of their listening/viewing habits. Even though Nielsen knows how many people live in each of its "Nielson Family" households, they do not know exactly how many people live in each of America's 109,000,000 households. All they have are averages. So, while reports of households might be fairly accurate (assuming Nielsen's sample group is a representative sample), the subsequent assumptions that are made regarding broadcast-viewing habits are conjecture at best. Yet, many advertising budgets are still set according to these assumptions.

So what tactics should the networks employ to deliver content in the digital age?

New technologies, such as dynamic targeting -- the collection of user login information -- provide the ability to collect precise data and report on that data. By collecting user-provided statistics, such as gender and year of birth, entertainment companies can detect exactly who is watching and when. This takes measurement out of the realm of assumption and into the realm of precision and fact.

Broadcasters have traditionally made assumptions about who their audience is, according to the format of show and/or station. Online audiences may differ significantly from these assumptions, and the reporting mechanisms available to track these audiences are proving this fact.

The more you understand your audience, the better you can tailor content, customize product offers and demonstrate the value of your content to advertisers, maximizing your advertising revenue.

For advertisers, targeting by user profiles ensures campaigns only reach their specified target audience, making content more attractive and able to command a premium advertising rate.
Contrary to popular belief, advertising is well accepted by online audiences when it is relevant to them. Demographic targeting allows advertisers to tailor messages to each individual member of the audience ensuring they receive an offer or advertisement suited to their demographic profile.

Demographic targeting is driving up the value of advertising in the online space, as advertisers begin to realize they are able to reach the exact audiences they want and are willing to pay higher premiums to do so. Advertisers realize that their select audience will have a much higher conversion rate and it is therefore worth paying for a select few rather than the mass.

The internet also has the potential for unlimited two-way interaction. Instant messaging can be used for contesting; email solicits feedback from viewers (please sign up for our fan site community, et cetera); access is provided to stats of users that are listening and watching "live" and much more.

There is no doubt the internet is an ever evolving place and the technologies used today to measure and report on user viewing habits will continue to improve. However, the internet is not a passing fad, and if the networks continue to do business assuming people will watch television as they always have, the once proud industry of television will become a passing fad.

http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/16285.asp

What online shoppers want: More local

2007-08-20T15:58:00.000-05:00

Published: August 20, 2007, iMedia Connection

Kelly Blue Book reports that consumers want more local information when they're purchasing a car; here's the data and how to apply it.

When consumers go online, they most likely are searching for information that appeals specifically to their lives. What's the hottest new restaurant in my city? Is there bad traffic on my commute route home from work today? When is this concert coming to my town? What movies are playing at my theater? What is the 10-day forecast in my area? Even in the burgeoning age of social networking media and popular online dating sites, consumers are looking to connect with something (or someone) online that is meaningful and relevant in their lives, and most likely, in their local geographic area.

The same is true for online shoppers, and in particular, online vehicle shoppers. Research from a 2007 DoubleClick Performics Survey shows that more than half of in-market vehicle shoppers use the internet as a primary source for gathering information. According to J. D. Power and Associates, the number one site used by new-vehicle shoppers is Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com, with nearly half of all in-market new-vehicle shoppers visiting the site to conduct their research. Throughout all phases of the funnel, consumers looking to purchase a new vehicle rely on the web to deliver timely and relevant information that applies specifically to them. Third-party auto sites like Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com and Edmunds.com have been privy to this concept for a while; both require visitors to enter their zip codes, to provide the shopper with specific vehicle pricing information relevant to that particular area plus geo-targeted regional OEM and Tier II/III messaging.

But while websites have been targeting ads specific to consumers' geographic locations for some time, and even delivering certain location-specific data and information, we still have a way to go in truly providing the total package of local content that consumers say they desire.

According to a recent study conducted by Kelley Blue Book Marketing Research in May 2007, when asked to rate their interest in having more local area information on kbb.com, shoppers responded favorably. With one being "not at all interested" and 10 being "extremely interested," shoppers weighed in overall at 8.1, showing positive interest in added local content to the site. The study further showed that consumers are most interested in local information related to obtaining new-car pricing, real-time local dealer inventory and trade-in values. Other popular options included special local offers/incentives, consumer reviews of dealerships and dealer locators/maps. On the other hand, consumers indicated they are least interested in information related to dealer-sponsored events, finance/lease pre-approval and images of the facilities.

Consumers telling us what they want (and don't want) in local content is the first major step toward meeting their shopping needs in their own areas. But how we integrate this new local content with Tier I, II and III messaging is proving to be the big challenge, not just for the publishers of the third-party sites, but also for the agencies creating the messaging and OEMs/Associations/Dealers who hire them. How do we coordinate this messaging in a way that facilitates our partners' communication with the consumers while not overwhelming them and providing only the most relevant content? Thanks to testing and surveys, we can count on the consumer to tell us when we are on target and when we are not.

Kbb.com is launching a new effort at the beginning of 2008 to start tackling this industry-wide conundrum and to help better serve its more than 12 million unique monthly visitors. The site's all-new Tier II strategy will locally connect consumers with their vehicle of choice by providing engaging local content to shoppers accompanied by targeted local messages from Dealer Associations and regional OEM messages. The challenge still exists for Tiers I, II and III to coordinate messaging in a way that accomplishes each group's specific goals, and the third-party sites still have the challenge of integrating the content and messaging in a way that makes sense for everyone.

But at the end of the day, challenges aside, we all are working toward the same common goal: third-party sites want to provide the relevant information that consumers want and need to make an informed vehicle purchase decision, and Tiers I, II and III all ultimately desire to sell cars. We'll continue to work hand-in-hand, and surely in time a strategic balance will be achieved.

Robin Cooper is VP of advertising and business development at Kelley Blue Book.

http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/16296.asp

Coupons: A story of redemption

2007-08-17T16:45:00.000-05:00

Published: August 14, 2007

iMedia Connection

by Steven Boal

If you want to both boost sales and track how online is affecting offline purchases, try online coupons.

The rise of interactive marketing has been incredibly quick and continues at a pace that keeps brands, marketers and media properties on their toes. With consumers spending more time online, marketers are redirecting serious dollars online, where more and more shoppers get news, entertainment and make their shopping decisions. Interactive is an essential piece of most marketing budgets.

Consumer packaged goods (CPGs) marketers are finding even their core buyers are spending more time online and making shopping decisions based on web research. They also realize the incredible sales potential in word-of-mouth marketing created by the more than 25 million internet users considered influential in recommending products to others [eMarketer, June 2007].

The challenge for these brands is how to close the loop from engagement to action and gain real insight into the impact their online advertising and promotions are having on in-store sales.

Where money is being spent in interactive

CPGs and other leading brands are leveraging a variety of methods of interactive marketing, including increasingly robust brand websites, rich media and video ads, email marketing campaigns, and much more.

However, since only 10 percent of shoppers purchase online (and even fewer purchase grocery products), it's difficult to track return, whatever the goal.

Promotions, as distinct from brand advertising, often provide more measurable impact and are proving popular with online audiences and have resulted in robust consumer participation. Coca-Cola, for example, is currently running the highly successful MyCokeRewards program, with on-pack codes driving traffic to the promotional website where points can be exchanged for rewards.

One way Coke has "closed the loop" with these highly engaged consumers is by offering printable coupons in exchange for the reward points, bringing them back full circle into the store and giving Coca-Cola the ability to measure impact on sales.

Similarly, Pharmavite LLC, the parent company of Nature Made vitamins and SOYJOY nutrition bars, generates awareness, sales and brand loyalty through an integrated couponing program, where each element supports another. Emails to its database of 1.3 million subscribers often include links to the $5 worth of printable coupons (powered by Coupons, Inc. technology) on NatureMade.com. There, consumers can also join a rewards program, with cumulative points building toward a single, high-value coupon mailed to the participant.

In addition, coupons in the Sunday newspaper’s freestanding insert (FSI) include promotional verbiage driving coupon-hungry consumers to the website to print additional coupons.
Sheryl Biesman, manager of integrated marketing for the Nature Made Wellness Advisor, the online division of Pharmavite, sees printable coupons as an incentive to encourage people to register, which in turn builds the opt-in database.

"A robust, highly-qualified database is the key to successful retention marketing," she says.

http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/16120.asp

The New Benefits of Search for Dealers

2007-08-07T17:02:00.000-05:00

Good article about Search Engine Marketing...

Published: June 25, 2007 - iMedia Connection

Early internet education

In the early days of the internet, while consulting large metro dealerships about how the internet was changing their business, the concern was always the same. The internet made dealers nervous because web-savvy customers were only interested in looking up prices, which they would use as a negotiation point with a dealer's competitors. At the time, these dealerships actually preferred not to advertise online because their "prime" customer was not an internet user but someone who would walk in off the street without having done his or her research.

The promise of online marketing

These days, nearly everyone is an "internet customer," with 67 percent of all new car buyers researching online prior to purchase1. For the first time in history, online marketing can enable dealers to identify and speak to more than two-thirds of the people in their market area who will buy a new car in the next few months. Savvy dealers can now leverage the internet and turn their reluctance into profits, not only from new cars, but from used cars, financing and fixed operations.

That said, with the huge breadth of online media options (e.g., third-party research sites, online inventory sites, online classifieds, local news sites and social media outlets) dealers face a fragmented online media landscape. Due to the confusion that this invariably causes, most dealers have chosen to continue to spend the bulk of their advertising budgets on familiar and traditional media outlets. While this may reduce media buying complexities, we all know that successful advertising should follow consumer eyeballs, which are clearly on the internet.

Why search works for dealers

In order to gain mass appeal among auto dealers, media should be easy to purchase, have mass reach in the dealers' DMA, allow for rotating offers to consumers and be highly measurable. Unfortunately, many online options do not fit the bill here, as most dealers do not have the time or expertise to evaluate the relative merits of thousands of smaller publishers. In order to simplify the media buying process while achieving the necessary reach, dealers have begun looking to search engines to deliver interested customers to their lots and phone lines.

J.D. Power and Associates cites that 85 percent of new car shoppers who use the internet for research are using search engines during the process. This means that more than half of all new car buyers use search prior to their new vehicle purchase, offering marketers an unprecedented level of reach. Because all of the major search engines allow marketers to leverage geo-targeting, dealers can message to actual auto shoppers in their DMA, a benefit that enables more targeted and efficient ad buys.

Many forward thinking dealers have experienced and realized the benefits of search marketing. Those leveraging search now have a solid view into how this form of advertising drives online and phone leads for sales and service and are now able to hold other media formats accountable to similar metrics.

Additionally, search ads enable dealers to test which messages and offers are most effective at driving interest from buyers in their area. Within hours of launching a campaign, a dealer can understand which offers are resonating and which aren't. Real-time results can significantly enhance and inform overall advertising effectiveness; messages that are playing well online can be leveraged in other media channels as well.

The future

Search marketing at the local level is in its nascent stages. Auto dealers are just starting to think about this media as a viable alternative to traditional media and, as such, are just sticking their toes into the water. Today, most dealer search programs focus on new car sales and driving awareness of the dealership among new car shoppers. The possibilities of search marketing, however, are limitless.

Nearly one of every two online users visit Yahoo! each month (or the largest third-party research site, Y! autos) and we get over 150 million automotive queries every month in the U.S. Over 25 million of these queries are related to parts and service, and over 10 million are related to used vehicles. A dealer can leverage that knowledge to advertise used inventory and their service drive: the two most profitable areas of the dealership. Before long, a local dealer will be able to easily create a unique search ad for every piece of inventory -- new and used -- on the lot, rotating deals based on a user's query. Additionally, that dealer can use search data to better understand user preferences in his market area to help drive inventory purchase decisions, lowering days to turn while increasing conversion rates.

What was once a source of apprehension can be turned into a smart and significant advantage in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

David Schwartz is senior category director, automotive, at Yahoo! http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/15506.asp

Digital Marketing’s Killer Characteristic

2007-07-31T17:21:00.000-05:00

It’s been said before and it’ll probably be said again. But something this important bears repeating…

Digital Marketing’s cost per unit is essentially ZERO!

There are no printing costs. No postage costs. No media buys. No commissions to sales people or printing costs. Send a message to 1 or 100,000 — the cost is the same. All those little ones and zeros are free.

And on top of that, digital marketing is usually more effective. You can include video and audio in your emails or on websites or even people’s cell phones. Let’s see you try that with old-world direct mail.

D. Jones
Marketing Strategist/Creative Consultant
SmackDabble LLC

Internet Buy-in from the Top

2007-07-30T08:58:00.000-05:00

by : Craig Criswell

Discussions with Internet directors, managers, trainers and consultants from around the country show there is a universal theme for a successful Internet deployment – you must have buy-in from the top (the top being the dealership owner or GM or whomever is in charge of decisions and money). I do not disagree, but how do you go about getting that, or for those of you reading this who are in charge, how to give it?

My experience in numerous dealerships indicates several key factors in getting this buy-in. First, you must understand your audience and spend some time looking at their world. Are you aware of your top person(s) responsibilities and time constraints? Have you virtually walked a mile in their shoes?

• What is their knowledge level (or lack there of in a lot of cases) of the Internet and its applications? Does that lack of knowledge (a point you must be an expert on) create an initial atmosphere of distrust?
• Do you know how many different irons that person must deal with? The internet is a new and to them unknown tool that may only become another hot iron to juggle.
• Most people at the top have people around them all day long for one reason or another. Watch them interact for a while before creating your approach. Time issues can make or break your attempt to get buy-in.
• Do you have any idea of the overall budget and corresponding ROI (return on investment) responsibilities your person must handle? You must show you are there to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

Assuming you are the Internet expert looking for that buy-in – show and live your expert knowledge by opening an ongoing line of communication. I have found setting up regular meetings will set a good foundation for everyone concerned. The key to your early meetings will be your assuming absolute responsibility for everything that happens with the Internet approach. They need to give you at least 90 days to develop a system that works. I like to use the phrase “give me enough rope.” I have never hung myself or anyone else I worked with.

Let me state, for the record, that I hate meetings. If I am going to have a meeting, I will have an agenda; it will be typed and handed out. The purpose is to cover the items and get back to work! I advocate a weekly meeting of no more than 15 minutes. These have proven the most beneficial in my experience. If the meeting ever runs long, it is because the top person(s) were truly engaged and asking questions (note: that is a good thing!).

Those meetings should be used to show your control and growth of the Internet approach at your dealership. Some of the items I have covered are web site images, subliminal messaging in e-mail and on the site, autoresponders, used vehicle pictures and information, and pricing. Don’t do them all at once.

Stay in control of the meeting and that is best done by taking charge. You set the standards for communication – after all you are not only the expert here, but you are the one taking full responsibility for everything happening with the Internet approach.

When you get to month’s end, you should make sure that your summary for the month’s and YTD numbers is all on one 8 1/2” by 11” piece of paper. Keep your summary to no more than 10 to 15 minutes. Point out the successes and the areas where you will be improving performance. And most importantly, you don’t want the focus to be on any single month, but rather the trending that is taking place in the department. This is best shown with graphs (you need at least a little Excel experience) and graphs are easy to show trending and even easier for those at the top to see and understand your effectiveness. And by taking charge on a day-to-day, week-by-week basis, you build a respect and trust in your management.

Finally, if you are the person at the top, you must be sure the person you put in charge for your Internet approach is an expert! Find that person who will readily accept full responsibility for everything Internet-related and give them the power to succeed or fail. You must stay in constant communication – not to micro-manage but to inspect what you expect. With the right person, you can give them enough rope.Craig Criswell is the Internet director for O'Rielly Chevrolet, Tucson, AZ and also the president of Internet Certified Dealer, a consulting and training organization for the automotive industry. ICD now offers online self-paced courses and webinars to assist dealers all over the country.

http://www.digitaldealer-magazine.com/index.asp?article=1483
Digital Dealer
Jul 30 2007

Get your motor running

2007-07-26T16:08:00.000-05:00

Online advertising is quickly gaining importance in the automotive space as potential customers flock to the web. According to a 2006 study by comScore (Impacts and ROI of Internet Local, Classifieds, and Directory Advertising), 65 percent of all U.S. Internet users landed on an automotive website in January 2006. That's an increase of 103 percent over August 2005.

Consumers aren't just using the Internet – they're trusting it as a valid resource. A December 2006 study by Burst Media found that 32 percent of people considered automotive websites like quote sites and forums to be their principal source of automotive information. Consumers are searching high and low for automotive information on the Internet, and businesses stand to gain from connecting with the right people at the right time.

http://www.google.com/adwords/newsletters/q207/auto/page3.html

Dealer Websites Built in Flash are Pretty… Invisible

2007-07-23T15:58:00.000-05:00

When an auto dealership is considering a new website, one of their first considerations is typically the look and feel of the site. Dealerships pride themselves on the image they project to their customers, so it’s natural that they are drawn to great looking websites.

One trend in the auto web design industry is the “flash” website. You’ve seen these sites—they take a while to load, they move very fluidly and have great graphics and navigation, and usually they play some sort of movie upon loading.

But don’t be fooled: Flash sites will kill your search engine traffic.

Flash sites look good, and they’re an easy sell to dealers who don’t understand the downsides of using flash as the basis for an entire website. Flash has been the demise of many unsuspecting sites, so let me explain a few facts before you get fooled by flash.

Flash websites started out as an easy way to integrate video and animation onto a website, most commonly used for the introduction page of a site (you’ve probably seen this, unless you’re like most people and immediately click “skip intro”). Now that the use of flash is becoming more commonplace, entire websites are being built in flash.

So why is this bad? To put it simply, flash websites are essentially a huge movie file instead of a traditional website (that’s why when you visit a flash site, you first must install a plug-in to view Flash if you don’t already have one, and then kick back and wait for it to load). When a search engine robot arrives at your homepage, they just see a movie file, not a page full of good text and links to read and analyze.

This doesn’t work out very well for the friendly little search engine robot, because he can’t download flash movies. Even if he could, there’s no way for him to read anything in the movie to figure out what the page is all about and what it should rank for—it’s just images (even the text in a flash movie is really an image).

So what does he see? Just an empty page. Instead of your big, beautiful, flashy site, Google just sees an empty page. If Google can’t read and analyze the text on your site, Google is certainly never going to rank you for anything.

This leads us to another problem: the rest of your site.

If your whole site is built in flash, and the Google robot can’t even see flash, then he can’t see that you have any pages besides your homepage. This makes a lot more sense when you visit a flash site like http://www.automaxhyundaibrokenarrow.com/. Just click on a few of the pages up in the navigation bar, and look at your URL. It never changes because you’re not actually going to a different page, just a different part of a big movie file (like skipping to a scene on a DVD.) This website is just one page, and one page websites rarely get ranked.

Getting ranked by the search engines for your target terms is vitally important to online businesses—and it’s becoming increasingly important for offline businesses just because so many consumers begin their buying process online. If they find your dealership first, you are ahead right out of the gate. Flash websites are an immediate handicap—the search engines just can’t read them, so they generally ignore them altogether.

Flash can be a great technology, when it’s used like it should be: as a movie. A nice embedded flash movie within your html web page can be a great way to show off a new vehicle, advertise a special, or just get your customer’s attention. But when your whole website is created as one big flash movie you’re essentially invisible to Google, rendering you invisible to your potential online customers.

Don’t be fooled by flash. Do the research before buying a website, and be sure to make search engine visibility a priority. You wouldn’t build a new dealership in the middle of nowhere—you want to be where the traffic is. Internet traffic is on the search engines: if you’re not ranked, you might as well be invisible. Just like a website built in flash.

Jamie Wilson
Search Engine Marketing Specialist
DealerImpact.com

And, on a related note, check out this post from Blogpro Automotive:
http://blogproautomotive.com/2007/07/13/search-engine-basics-an-introductory-lesson-to-basic-internet-search-and-how-it-is-evolving/

Industry Trends – Going Digital with Your Marketing

2007-07-18T12:14:00.000-05:00

The Automotive industry has finally decided they need to join the internet revolution. Dealerships are hiring Internet Managers, Setting up BDCs, and looking for website providers for their dealership, but are they looking for the right things?

The big push has been Websites and CRM across the industry, but those who really sell true volume know the answer is much more. The focus should be marketing.

Dealerships have always known marketing is key to staying alive, and they still continue to pay outrageous amounts of money to traditional media like newspaper, radio, TV, and direct mail even though they know they are dying mediums. The average reader of the newspaper is 55; however this is where the majority of their advertising dollar goes.

So where has everyone gone? Dealerships know the Internet is booming, however they still do not focus on reallocating their marketing efforts and their marketing dollars. GMs, Owners, and Internet Managers feel a good website and CRM tool is all they need to do business on the web.

The truth is a website is a reactive tool. What I mean by that is the website is waiting for people to show up. It serves no purpose to those who are not seeking it out. Dealerships advertise in traditional mediums to capture those people who might be in the “Buy Now” mode and to entice them to visit their dealership. There are rebates, incentives, sales specials, services specials, parts specials, etc. going on every week at every dealership. However, how many dealerships actually provide this information electronically on their website or pro-actively sent this information out to current customers? The answer is most of them don’t. They have not bridged the gap between having their promotions/events converted from static mediums to digital mediums, which is why we tell dealerships it is time to “Go Digital”

For those dealerships that have digital coupons for parts and service, marked inventory for sale, rebate and inventive ads, sales events, etc. all digitized the whole world opens up. Now all of these things can be sent out as campaigns, sales inventory can be sent out as notifications, coupons can be send to service customers automatically without any effort from the dealership, the website can contain all current promotions/events and ongoing marketing efforts can be initiated to all your past customers to have them be new customers. Basically advertising just went digital and the cost to get that message to the end consumer is nothing.

For those who realize this are ahead of the game and have already started to mass collect email addresses for marketing, just like they used to collect us mail addresses. These dealerships know if they get ahead in the race it will be very difficult for competitors to catch up.

Brian Cox
President
Dealer Impact Systems

Marketing On Their Terms

2007-07-16T16:40:00.000-05:00

I was reading a collection of articles online this last weekend involving, in one way or another, “The Death of the :30 Spot.” They told of the increasing irrelevance of traditional advertising methods and how today’s consumer — including today’s car buyer — are becoming harder and harder to reach with television, radio, billboards and other “mass” advertising. These media outlets face a crisis because they’re becoming both more expensive AND less effective. Trouble brewing to be sure.

But the question is why? Well my guess, and a reason put forth by others as well, is that in today’s “my way, on my terms” society, consumers aren’t content with those things that aren’t specifically for them. They want it personalized and customized. Like their Whopper®, they want it their way.

So where does that leave the digital marketer? In a good place to be sure.

Traditional marketing methods (newspaper, television, direct mail) are slow and static. Every customer sees the same message in the same way. And launching a new campaign can take weeks or even months. But when you go digital, you can launch dynamic, multimedia campaigns in a matter of minutes. You audience sees a message that is tailored to their needs and their life. And the good news is, it takes little or no added effort on your part to make it happen.

Isn’t technology grand?

D. Jones
Marketing Strategist/Creative Consultant
SmackDabble LLC

Women dominate auto decision making and purchasing arena

2007-07-12T13:11:00.000-05:00

An article on the decision makers & how they make their decisions (hint: it isn't a commercial involving a rock song)

Women are the primary decision makers for over 80 percent of any major and minor household purchases, including cars where 60 percent of new car buyers are women, says Marti Barletta of Brandweek. Although, most car ads target men, women will actually make a purchase.

More than two-thirds of new-car buyers use the Internet during the shopping process, according to a 2006 study by J.D. Power and Associates. Knowledge is power and surfing the Web allows car shoppers to learn every detail about a car, including how much the dealer paid for it. Several third-party Web sites, not affiliated with the manufacturers or dealers, provide shoppers with the dealer invoice or the wholesale price on each car giving buyers a competitive edge in negotiating the price. Edmunds.com, for instance, provides what it calls "true market value", an estimate of what buyers are paying for a particular car in a particular market.

While many women plan to take advantage of this information by conducting online research, in the end, they will request the attendance of a male counterpart. In accordance with a Capital One survey, 77 percent of women said they would bring a man to the dealership with them to make sure they get a good deal.

Over half of U.S. female Internet users, ages 25 and older, say the Internet is their main source for checking out potential product purchases, in accordance with "Online Insight" report published by Burst Media in June 2007. Online shopping increased with household income where half of the respondents with annual incomes of less than $35,000 bought something online in the past six months, while 68 percent of households with annual incomes of $100,000 or more had done so.

Conducting research via the Internet was the method of choice showing 10 percent or fewer of respondents stating they received their information from asking family and friends, reading newspapers and magazines, viewing television or referencing other sources.

However, as women consider the Internet a key source for product information, they refer to fewer Web sites on average in their research than men, states "Understanding Online Shopping Behavior Topline Summary” published by Frank About Women in March 2006. Adult female Internet users typically visited four or more Web sites during their research, while men visited an average of nearly five.

Barletta highlights some steps for marketers to consider while developing car ads for women:
Women don’t care about how many seconds it takes to reach 60 mph.

Women tend to be more interested in a car’s interior.

Women care about vehicle safety. Specifically, what happens when her car is hit, not if she can avoid it.

Women do consider the environment such as pollution.

From Digital Dealer
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Issue 28 VOLUME 2 ISSUE 28

http://www.imakenews.com/digital1/e_article000858239.cfm?x=b9ScsHT,b4TSprpk

Win the E-mail Budget Battle

2007-07-05T16:24:00.000-05:00

Good article that supports e-mail marketing, find out how to make it work:

Email generates the best ROI of all marketing channels. Find out how to get a piece of the pie and turn the cold, hard numbers into a success story.

Email marketing works. Studies from numerous sources support this. The Direct Marketing Association, for example, reports that email delivers an eye-popping ROI when compared to other media: $57.25 for every dollar spent on it in 2005, compared to $7.08 for every dollar spent on print catalogs, and $22.52 for every dollar spent on non-email internet marketing.

Done right, it does even better. Jupiter Research has found that engaging audiences in more relevant communications increases net profits by an average of 18 times more than broadcast mailing. And marketers back up the claims.

According to Internet Retailer, 50.6 percent of internet retailers report that 6 percent or more of their sales come from email marketing, while another 25 percent say the proportion is over 11 percent.

In addition, 45 percent of chief marketing officers say their best performing online advertising tactic is emailing an in-house list, according to the CMO Council in 2006.
Despite these statistics and success stories, email programs remain under-funded compared to other marketing tactics. The latest IAB/PWC report on digital marketing spending in 2006 put email at only 2 percent of overall budgets.

"Companies are reticent to spend the dollars in the email marketing areas for a few reasons," says Mark Politi, VP, marketing and media relations for Planetwide Media. Those reasons include:

-Lack of knowledge of how to send out large email blasts legally and not be considered a spammer.
-Lack of an internal email database list to work with.
-Lack of an email rental source to target the correct demographic.
-Proper measurable metrics to prove ROI for the campaign. Unique custom landing pages that can measure visits, downloads, sign-ups and purchases.
-Work involved compared to other online advertising programs make an email campaign low on the totem pole.

But to generate the type of ROI mentioned above, it takes investments in back-end technology for such tasks as targeting, email experts to ensure compliance with legislation and ISP guidelines, and creative specialists to write stellar copy.
So if you can get more, you can make more. Here's how to do it.

Know the facts

Armed with information, an email marketer can convince the budget keeper his channel is worthy of more dollars.

Of greatest significance, Forrester reports that email has reached almost universal penetration, with 97 percent of consumers using the channel. That's 147 million people in the United States using email almost every day, eMarketer calculates.

And that usage includes interaction with marketers.

According to JupiterResearch, 90 percent of users will use email to engage in and determine the value of a relationship with a company. And Quris reports that 40 percent of email subscribers will go "out of their way" to patronize a company whose email programs they like.

Not only do consumers use email to make specific purchases (50 percent of shoppers, according to Return Path), 50 percent of them who open and read email marketing messages are likely to also purchase other items on impulse and to spend 138 percent more than those who don't buy through email (Forrester).

Do your math

Citing general statistics will provide the framework, but it's the calculations on your own projects that will complete the picture for your CMO.

Simms Jenkins, founder and principal, BrightWave Marketing and EmailStatCenter.com, provides the following guideline:

Establish upfront what your goals from an email marketing effort are, including revenue, page view, in-store traffic, conversions, retention, subscribers, et cetera.

Then, create a monthly scorecard. What good are your email metrics if they live alone on a spreadsheet? A monthly scorecard provides an opportunity for the email/interactive team to monitor the key email performance indicators in the context of company goals (email specific and non-email specific) and industry benchmarks. Since email campaigns are so fluid, these goals in your scorecard are best evaluated and revised as an ongoing exercise. If anything, it prevents surprises and ensures the email team knows the score at all times.

Make sure to benchmark against the industry. Benchmarking internal stats against comparable industry metrics can be both valuable and an exercise in futility. The key is context. You want to make sure you are in the same ballpark as your industry on specific metrics like deliverability and open rates, but you should not make drastic changes to campaigns based on one research report that touted Tuesday as the best day to send emails.

Finally, focus/budget/judge on end-game/ROI. Go beyond CT/Open. Too often email marketers obsess over open and clickthrough rates. However, who cares if your open rate was high but no sales were generated? Your email program's ultimate goal is what matters. Many email teams can't even define that. If you fall into that camp, do yourself a favor and call a meeting and set your big picture goals. Worth considering are revenue, page views, sales leads, conversions, in-store sales, email subscribes, PR, cross promotion; the list can go on. Make sure your list is concise and clear.

With this information, make sure you see open and clicks as a means to an end, the end being your overall campaign goals. Otherwise, you may be flying blind.
Note: Company Current/Desired States are purely examples.

Share the successes

The final step in the process is to turn the cold, hard numbers into a success story.
Here's an example. Furniture retailer Chiasso relies on email to drive customers to its website and Chicago store. Facing issues with deliverability and problems with its email lists, Chiasso spent much-needed cash on Bronto Software. The investment paid off. Chiasso embarked on two email campaigns that increased its online sales to 55 percent of total company sales, up from 32 percent the year prior.

Bronto helped VP of eCommerce and Systems Jerry Bergquist segment his contacts according to location, so he could send a store-opening announcement to his "Chicago" contacts. However, he wisely chose to not exclude his "Not Chicago" segment from the store-opening festivities. Besides keeping non-Chicago contacts aware of the company's growth, the message also included $10 off coupons for online purchases.

The discount offer to the "Not Chicago" segment generated impressive results: 32 percent open rates and 10 percent clickthrough rates. Not to be outdone, the "Chicago" segment received a 49 percent open rate and a clickthrough rate of nearly 22 percent, with the vast majority of clicks linking to a landing page that included directions to and information about the new retail store.
Metrics for opens and clickthroughs provided Bergquist with important measurements for campaign evaluation, and conversion tracking provided him with sound insight into success. Conversion tracking let Bergquist follow the dollars-and-cents results of his messages. Some Chiasso campaigns, such as its "Good Buy" [note the clever pun] Winter Clearance Sale or its Art Décor Sale grossed more than $13,000 and $14,000, respectively, in sales.

"At Chiasso, we've seen such impressive ROI from email marketing that we are always open to increasing our budget," says Bergquist. "Email marketing software has proven to be a cost-effective method for growing our business."

Published: July 03, 2007
By: Dawn Anfuso senior editor, iMedia Connection.

http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/15448.asp

End Searcher Optimization: the New SEO

2007-07-02T17:10:00.000-05:00

Good article on Search Engine Optimization

Seems the world isn't waiting for anyone to catch up.

In a recent ClickZ column, long-respected SEO (define) guru Mike Grehan suggested we search Ask.com for "Spider-Man 3."

There we glimpse into the future of search engine results. Welcome to universal search.
Mike speculates: "With the three-column approach, I can't imagine why I'd ever scroll down the page, let alone click through to a second (did people really click through to the second page in the Fred Flintstone SEO era?)."

How's that for a punch between your peepers? Grehan continues:
End users are lazy and don't have a clue what they expect to see when using search engines. I know. I'm an end user, and I'm as stupid as the next one when it comes to using search engines. But think of my delight when I throw in a vague two- to three-word query and find a page that answers even more of my potential questions before they've been asked.

What does it mean for SEO professionals moving forward? It means we've finally reached point where better marketing counts — and not H1 tags.

Yeesh, and you thought optimizing for those pesky text and link spiders was hard. How are you going to optimize now? (Do I even need to mention what's happening to online traffic costs?)
It's telling when search engine results answer more questions and give a superior visitor experience than the majority of so-called optimized pages. Search engines have been doing one thing most SEO efforts and marketers refuse to do: they're aggressively focusing on end searchers. What a concept.

These new algorithms try to anticipate their wants, needs, and time, possibly even pique their imagination. Search engines are merely a reflection of what people want; complex algorithms and crawlers are only a means to that end. Search engines are bigger visitor advocates than most sites.
Sad.

So what's the answer to the challenge ahead? In his column, Grehan asks my brother and me to come up with fresh descriptions to replace the tired SEO/SEM terms people love to churn out in decks and at seminar parties.

I don't want to change things too much. So let's keep it simple. Instead of SEO, let's try ESO, for "end searcher optimization."

Friday, Jun. 22, 2007 at 3:59 am
Grock.com
http://www.grokdotcom.com/2007/06/22/end-searcher-optimization-the-new-seo/

Do you use videos?

2007-06-29T16:47:00.000-05:00

If not, maybe you should. See below article:

Poll results: video as a marketing tool
Digital Dealer recently conducted a poll asking dealership Internet sales managers, e-Commerce Directors, BDC managers, CRM managers, dealers and department managers who are most interested in sales-related technology solutions and applications if they use online video ads as part of their marketing initiatives. Our research revealed that 50 percent of managing personnel found success in utilizing online video ads in all marketing categories including: Web site, e-newsletters and e-mail campaigns.Top-Line Results:

69 percent included online video ads as part of their marketing program
31 percent didn’t include online video ads as part of their marketing program

Out of the 69 percent who utilized online video ads successfully as part of their marketing program:

41 percent used online video ads on their Web site
6 percent used online video ads in e-newsletters
3 percent used online video ads in e-mail campaigns

Conclusion: online video ads are generating sales.

In support, the Online Publishers Association (OPA) working in partnership with OTX published a report: Frames of Reference: Online Video Advertising, Content and Consumer Behavior in June 2007 citing, “Eighty percent of viewers who had watched an online video ad, just over half had taken some sort of action. Nearly a third had checked out a Web site, while 22% had searched for more information, 15% had gone into a store and 12% had actually made a purchase.”

Reaction and behaviors of US online video viewers who have seen an online video advertisement in April – May 2007 (% of respondents)

- 45% elicited a response
- 31% check out company Web site
- 28% looked for more information
- 22% searched for more information about the product
- 19% clicked on banner ad that accompanied video
- 16% bought something
- 16% talked to friends/family about the product
- 15% gone to store to check out product
- 13% requested information about the product
- 13% made a purchase
- 9% forwarded video ad to friends/family
- 9% signed up for product/service trial
- 5% called toll free number to find out more
- 4% ordered subscription

From Digital Dealer

Thursday, June 21, 2007
Issue 25
VOLUME 2 ISSUE 25

http://www.imakenews.com/digital1/e_article000840660.cfm?x=b9LHBL9,b4TSprpk

Email, Making a Comeback

2007-06-27T14:03:00.000-05:00

It wasn’t long ago that email was predicted to be the destroyer of direct mail. Then the public’s confidence in direct mail went the way of the dodo thanks to the piles and piles of virtual junk that was heaped upon us by spammers.

-- “You too can make $10,000 a week working from home!” --

But recent advances in spam filtering, as well as special legislation, have brought email marketing back to the forefront of the marketing discussion. Consumers are starting to trust their email again… especially from businesses they know and trust.

So, if you are one of those dealerships that gave up on email marketing in the early part of the decade, it’s time to give it another try. You won’t be sorry.

D. Jones
Marketing Strategist/Creative Consultant
Smack Dabble LLC

Internet to become top channel for used car marketers

2007-06-22T16:29:00.000-05:00

Here's another good one:

The Center for Media Research says that according to a new report from Borrell Associates, automotive ad spending will reach $31 billion this year, but total ad dollars will grow only 1.7 percent during the next five years, compared with an annual growth rate of 3.7 percent in the last five years.

Online spending for the industry will hit $2.8 billion in 2007 and represent 7.6 percent of all automotive advertising, an annual growth of 13 percent. Moreover, the Internet will become the top marketing channel for used-car marketers this year at the local ad level, surpassing newspapers for the first time. Used-car dealers are allocating 20 percent of their spending to the online channel, compared with 7.6 percent of the industry's total online ad budget.

Online car marketing will hit $4 billion by 2010, says the report, and become the second most-used medium for automotive advertisers, surpassing newspapers, cable, radio and direct mail and trailing only broadcast TV.

Budgets for offline auto ads in newspapers, direct mail and directories will decline by 20 percent each during the same period, the report indicates.

The report says that local car dealers will spend 29 percent of their online ad budget on online video and paid search this year, but will increase that proportion to 76 percent of online marketing by 2012. E-mail will also gain as a lead-generation tool, while display ads such as banners will decline.

Many shoppers are going directly to manufacturers' Web sites rather than to third parties, doing their early research online. The Internet is not yet effective at reaching car buyers still in the "dreaming" stage, the report says, adding that manufacturers will use TV spots to sell their brands and then drive prospects to a Web location.

From Dealer Pre-owned
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Issue 43
VOLUME 1 ISSUE 43
http://www.imakenews.com/dealerdpo/e_article000822987.cfm?x=b9CjsB9,b5wVQglb

"Ultimate tipping point for dealers"

2007-06-22T16:16:00.000-05:00

by Cheril Hendry

I came across this article and thought it would be of interest to our readers.

Even the best online efforts of national and regional automotive marketers fall victim to the retail dealer’s ability to destroy them. But times are going to change.

Today’s auto dealer has the opportunity to benefit from the cheapest form of advertising his business has ever known. Yet his ability to give customers what they want in online shopping at the retail level continues to blinded by his past marketing tactics. He does what he’s always done when making marketing decisions. He relies on the influence of his equally blinded constituents in the retail automotive world, other dealers, and ignores any opportunity to understand and respond to the consumer better than ever before.

The result? Online versions of tacky dealer marketing that resemble past initiatives historic to print and broadcast: Lack of differentiation. Commodity advertising that ignores any kind of retail brand effort, and internal systems that give customers the same poor service they’ve received for decades. Now it’s just happening online instead of in person.

One obvious case in point is the average dealer’s Web site, most often built by a third party provider who knows the one thing a dealer wants from online marketing is leads. Leads that will bring live bodies into showrooms within hours. Leads that, he fears, may not come in unless they are coerced and teased and manipulated through online tactics. Every click, every link, every effort the consumer makes to get relevant information from a dealer’s site is responded to with a form to fill out. My personal favorite is the common “Get an Instant Quote Now” link. Once clicked on, you get a 15-line form to complete with the promise that someone will get back to you quickly with a price. Consumers are leaving virtual skid marks on links like this.

When a dealer is presented this information logically through Web site back-end statistics and industry behavioral tracking, he agrees this is not what most shoppers want to go through online. Yet when given the opportunity to change his website and provide customers with information they really want, he defers to his main competitor’s site that just happens to have the same form submission. Since this competitor is outselling him by 30 or so vehicles a month, the dealer assumes this particular form submission process must be a part of their success. So he sticks to what he’s been doing, and the consumer sticks to his opinion of dealer advertising. Bad.

But things are changing.

Contrary to retail automotive dealers’ past ability to deliver poor quality marketing messages and still be successful, today’s incomparably tough industry conditions require survival of the fittest. And guess who gets to be the judge? Refer to Time Magazine’s Person of the Year (You). Or Ad Age’s Agency of the Year (The Consumer). Consumers are in control and over the next few years if they don’t get what they want from a dealer’s online communication methods, they’ll have the ability to “virtually” kill the dealer. And “virtually” killing him by lack of attention online will equate to killing him via minimal showroom traffic, trickling service R.O.’s and non-existent repeat and referral business.

There are some smart dealer principals already aware of this. They understand a trip to their physical showroom is contingent upon a customer’s interest in their virtual showroom. These are certainly tomorrow’s industry leaders who will be chuckling all the way to the bank. Meanwhile, the factory’s job of filtering out the weaker franchisees may become a little easier with the help of these new consumers.

What will be left is what I personally hope for. The best of the best. Smart dealers taking good care of customers while they make more money due higher grosses and lower advertising costs. They will deliver what the customer wants. And it will center much more around a dealer’s brand than a dealer’s price. Just like Best Buy. And Starbucks. And Nordstrom. And all the other retailers who take advantage of the knowledge their customers offer them and do something with it.

Cheril Hendry is CEO of HLF Brandtailers in Irvine California, an agency exclusive to automotive marketing and advertising. www.hlfbrandtailers.com.

Published by Dealer Communications Copyright © 2007 Dealer Communications Inc.. All rights reserved.Information in this newsletter is provided by both proprietary and public sources. Dealer Communicaitons makes no claims as to the accuracy of information provided by third party providers.

http://www.imakenews.com/digital1/e_article000838289.cfm?x=b9K2SNg,b4TSprpk

GO DIGITAL

2007-06-13T14:27:00.000-05:00

Welcome to GO DIGITAL, a blog dedicated to the digital marketing side of the automotive retail business. Every year, more and more cars are being sold online. And the tools and technologies employed by dealerships to sell those cars is becoming more and more sophisticated. That's the business we're in here at Dealer Impact and we figured it was high time we started a blog.
Why? Well because we have more thoughts, ideas and opinions about the digital automotive marketing business than our monthly newsletter (link to newsletter sign up page at left) can hold. What can you expect from GO DIGITAL? Well we'll be posting exclusive strategies, tips and insights from our staff of marketing and technology professionals as well as aggregating third-party content we feel would be valuable to you, our clients and readers.
So, bookmark us and check back often for the latest and greatest.
Happy reading.