Dean Evans & Web Marketing

It’s taken a while to become familiar with online advertising and asserting the dealership’s Internet presence. Now, as it’s becoming more and more apparent that car buyers are online more than ever looking for the latest greatest green machine, is not the time to forget what we’ve learned about this integral marketing tool.

Instead, let’s delve deeper into what may very well be your saving grace during this period of economic instability.

Many dealers make the mistake of viewing the Internet as a giant marketing vending machine. You throw money in and car buyers pop out. True, the Internet is the most effective way to market to potential customers… but it is not magic. To use the Internet wisely, you need to strategize, plan, measure and adapt – just like you do in your dealership.

Make sure you have analytics on your website and someone to regularly monitor the site hits, pages visited, buttons clicked, time spent on the site and leads generated. This is incredibly valuable information. With your finger on your virtual pulse, you’ll know what to expect and anticipate changes and opportunities in the market. Additionally, your search engine marketing campaigns should be monitored even more fastidiously. Your advertising dollars are tied directly to click costs. It’s in your best interest to know what clicks are turning into leads and to capitalize on those trends.

Still not convinced? When is the last time you got an analytics report from the newspaper or TV?

Technorati Tags: marketing measurement, online marketing, Web Marketing

In the old days, the first thing to get cut during difficult times was usually the marketing budget. And why was that? In the past, with most traditional media, it was difficult if not impossible to track results to measure the return on the marketing dollars spent, so marketing was viewed as strictly an expense. Then, when times got tough, that “expense” was deemed expendable. The logic, even then, was a bit counter-intuitive: “We’re not getting as much traffic (people are not coming to us as much), so we should cut marketing and make it even harder for them to find us!” But given the huge expense of most traditional advertising, the practice was at least understandable.

Now, however, we know to view marketing dollars spent as investments because we can track the return on virtually all online marketing efforts. A rational person wouldn’t knowingly drop an investment that was yielding a high return, right? Wrong! It’s still happening today. I’ve recently heard of dealers who are cutting their entire online marketing budget. In all seriousness, those dealerships might not make it through this challenging period alive. Automotive shoppers may not be spending much time at your dealership these days, but they are spending more and more time online. If your dealership isn’t in front of them there, you will become irrelevant. And smart dealers who keep their online budgets the same will reap the benefits of less competition from the dealerships who cut their online budgets. The dealerships who stay in front of their customers will not only do better in the short term, but also in the long term because they will continue to build and improve their online presence.

Strategy to Survive Today and Thrive Tomorrow:
In short, one of the best strategies to survive today and thrive tomorrow is to 1.) keep your online marketing budget, 2.) measure the return on every penny spent, 3.) continuously review what’s working and what’s not and 4.) drop the dogs and put the money where you’re getting the highest return.

Technorati Tags: automotive online marketing, dealership marketing budgets, dealership online marketing, return on marketing investment

Everyone knows what’s going on in the industry these days. But there are still opportunities out there and more shoppers will return in the future. People may not be visiting your showroom as much, but they are visiting your dealership online, at your virtual dealership (your website). More and more, consumers conduct every step of vehicle purchases online, prior to the actual test drive. You must go where your market is to be successful. They can’t be exposed to your brilliant marketing messages if you’re not in front of them.

Good news, we know where the market is: online. And this isn’t going to change any time soon. So you know where consumers are, are you meeting them there? Or, is your online marketing still an after-thought and the first piece of the marketing budget to get cut? Dealerships with the traditional media mind-set are less likely to make it through this challenging period than dealers who focus their efforts where the market is: online. And when the market picks back up, dealerships who have taken the time and effort to move more marketing online will be ahead of the game.

The Three Big Reasons Why Your Entire Dealership Needs to Become Web-Centric:
Your customers and prospects are online every day.
Online marketing offers the most cost-effective options available.
You can measure the results of online marketing and make changes accordingly, often in real-time.

No other marketing channels share these characteristics, period! Go where vehicle shoppers are, decrease overall marketing costs and measure the return on your investment. These are the keys to successful dealership marketing today and the Internet makes it all this possible. So, what are you waiting for?

Technorati Tags: dealer marketing, decreased marketing costs, online marketing

Marketing guru and visionary Seth Godin recently wrote, “Brand management is so 1999.” And it’s so true. Sure, you still need a solid brand at the center of your dealership’s integrated marketing communication (IMC), but marketing has changed, and will probably continue to change. First the Internet, in general, and now social media, in particular, have fundamentally changed the way we need to focus for successful marketing.

Let’s be honest, some dealers went kicking and screaming onto the Internet with their first dealership website five or ten years ago. (And some are still kicking and screaming!) Now, some dealers are kicking and screaming about participating in social media, particularly online user reviews and ratings. Many dealers (and vendors) are either angered by user reviews, or they just pretend like they don’t exist. But get this: people can already post reviews of your dealership online at sites like Edmunds and CarFolks. And there will be more locations in the future for sure. Consumers just find online reviews extremely valuable in making purchasing decisions. More and more, people don’t make larger purchases without consulting them.

Why not embrace social media, including user reviews, and include them on your dealership website? Why not give your dealership a voice and a say in the matter? Done properly, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by giving your dealership a real-time platform where you can interact with your customers as never before. So, someone has a negative experience with you and they post it on your site? Jump on it immediately by acknowledging their feelings and letting them know that you’re going to do everything you can to make it right. Then, when you do make it right you can post the details and have the customer post another review about what a great job you did. Now, you’ve got a more loyal client and everyone on your website can see what you did to show how much you care. That’s brilliant marketing that you couldn’t buy at any price. And it couldn’t have happened in the past. But now it can, and it’s free!!! And you can make it happen for your dealership. Approached from the right perspective, online user reviews can be one of the most persuasive components of your dealership’s marketing plan.

What are you waiting for? Questions, comment, first-hand experiences?

Technorati Tags: online reviews, social media, user ratings, user reviews and ratings

You know the old adage, “I know that half of my advertising is working; I just don’t know which half.” That may have been true in the past, but it’s certainly not the case today, or at least it shouldn’t be. With marketing on the Internet, which should be at the foundation of your overall marketing plan, you can measure everything. In particular with search engine marketing (SEM), you can measure your results in real-time, or very close to real-time. You can then change and adapt your campaigns based on what’s working and what’s not. You can do it yourself or have your website provider help you. But, someone needs to be devoted to monitoring your results. If you don’t have someone who knows what they’re doing managing your SEM, then you are almost certainly losing opportunities and wasting money.

You can measure your impressions, your click throughs and your lead conversion rates. And then connect this data with your ILM or CRM to tie these numbers to your sales. And don’t limit yourself to new car sales (just look at those margins). You can and should run SEM campaigns for all dealership profit centers, especially parts and service. According to Google, 40% of automotive searches are done for service. You should, therefore, plan your SEM spend at least in part on this percentage. We all know vehicle sales are down, but that doesn’t mean that you can remain profitable. Use your other departments to help increase your return. And using your other departments will also help engender loyalty. So, when people are ready for their next vehicle purchase, they will naturally think about the dealership they use for parts and service calls. And, you can measure it all! You don’t have to guess what’s working any more.

If you’re not measuring the return you get from SEM, talk to your website provider today and start investing your dollars where they are working!

Technorati Tags: search engine marketing, SEM

We have started discussing the growing importance of incorporating video on the dealership website and will continue here with more ideas and considerations.

Online video shares many of the strengths of television advertising, including the use of sight, sound, color and imagery to interact, impact and excite the viewer. These are key differentiators of video and rich media messages. And as a community member commented on my last video blog, video search engine optimization is very powerful and will continue to increase in relevance. Your videos can be brought up on Google searches for videos posted on YouTube or AOL Autos for example.

It’s also very important to keep Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) in mind with videos for your website. Your videos should always match the look and feel of your website, TV ads, printed materials, etc. Videos are a great way to engage your site visitors on a visceral and emotional level to create rapport and preference for your dealership brand.

To get started with video on your dealership website, one of the easiest things to do is use an existing TV ad. It is always best to target your creative for your website visitors, but using an existing ad is a good start. And we know that at least 75% of automotive shoppers use the Internet before making a vehicle purchase, so for the most part they are the same people.

“Meet the Team” videos are a great way to introduce your staff members to site visitors and provide a personalized greeting to your visitors. And don’t confine them to your sales team. Videos can be a great way to increase your parts and service business, for example, by showing visitors how competent, friendly and reliable your service team members are.

If your dealership sponsors golf tournaments or other charitable causes, capture the events on video. Event and community involvement videos show your site visitors that you care about others and the community. Also, tent sales or other special sales events can also be effectively captured on video to create excitement and show your dealership as innovative.

And these are just a few ideas to start. The sky is truly the limit for creative, engaging, even humorous videos for your dealership. So, get going today!

Technorati Tags: dealership videos, online videos

The numerous benefits of including video on dealership websites are clear. More over, consumers are beginning to expect to find and use video on dealership websites. Why is this? Video has a power and depth that other “flat” media do not. It’s simply more engaging than most other media and, executed properly can be very persuasive.

Some Key Advantages of Video on the Dealership Website:

Consumers are beginning to choose video for online car searches.

Video can sell better than mere pictures and text.

Video is the most compelling, fastest way to present vehicle information to consumers.

Videos can be interactive, a chief characteristic of Web 2.0.

You can track ROI!

And this is just the short list. Video on your website offers your site visitors a better experience and that always contributes to the bottom line. Ask your website provider about video on your website today!

Technorati Tags: dealership website video

Somehow the notion that you should only have one website for your dealership has taken hold of the automotive industry. Sure you should have a primary website, www.yourdealershipname.com, but there is just no reason in this day and age that you shouldn’t capitalize on multiple websites. Websites are not difficult create, microsites are readily available and you can even use the site the OEM offers you. (Having multiple websites can be used for “black hat” search practices, and unscrupulous practices of the past may have led to the bad rap.)

Think of your websites as Internet lead generators! With an average of $4-10 per lead and the highest closing rates for any type of lead type, generating more leads from your websites is one of the most cost effective ways to ultimately generate additional sales. So re-evaluate your website strategy and talk to you website provider and OEM to see what additional sites you could add to get more leads!

Launching sites for special offers, for example, is great way emphasize your offer and to measure the success of marketing campaigns. Additional sites also give your site visitors fresh content and additional methods to identify with you dealership.

With that said, however, you do have to be careful about how you link and direct to additional sites and you must follow best practices. Talk to your website provider and make sure they know how to help your dealership benefit from multiple websites.

Integrated Marketing Communication can be streamlined in the current economy and technological climate. If you find yourself tightening the proverbial belt, think about the way to maximize the value of a few small elements of your marketing mix.

As previously discussed and widely understood, the Internet is now the main catalyst in car sales. So how can you maximize your Internet presence, even on a tight budget?

Here are a few easy ways to enhance your Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

*You can increase traffic by driving users to your site with links on your advertising.

*Reciprocal linking (linking out to RELEVANT sites that link back to you) can also really boost your traffic for a number of reasons.

*Figure out your top keywords, then make sure you integrate them into your site wherever appropriate.

*Write articles/content with solid content and links that have to do with your keyword.

One rule of thumb is to ask yourself if the content is really helpful from a user’s perspective. If you find yourself adding links and content just to improve your search engine rankings, there’s a good change it will be obvious.

Share your quick tips to improve SEO with us!

Content is not the only aspect of your marketing efforts that should be cohesive. It’s also important to keep your look consistent throughout your advertising.

Once you’ve chosen a color scheme for your logo, it should not change. Just like your tagline, you want your colors to become familiar to your consumer. Ask yourself what sort of image you want to portray to the consumer, then remember that image when choosing future designs.

Each new promotion should have its own look in keeping with your dealership’s style/branding. Try not to deviate so far from your look that new ads are not immediately recognizable, but be sure to give a distinct look to each separate promotion. Use your print ads as guidelines for your promo webpage or online advertising and vice versa.

There are obviously many benefits to consistency- whether contextually or creatively. The key is to remember that there is power in repetition.