MarketingProfs recently revealed data by Curalate and Digitas, discussing the engagement of automotive brands and the automotive community on Pinterest. This information reinforces the need for dealerships to get involved on this social media site, and provides helpful information on when it is best to post your content. Below are details from the report that you may find useful for your interactions on Pinterest: 75% of the conversation and engagement around autos on Pinterest is being driven by the community, with only 25% of content originating from brands. Top automotive brands average three repins on every pin, whereas the community averages 10 repins per pin.   Are you using the right keywords? Are you pinning at the right time of day? Are you repinning enough? Are your images eye-catching? These are some questions you should be asking if your brand hasn’t received as much attention as you were hoping for from this social medi...Read post

Web based CRM basically refers to the provision of the functionality of Customer Relationship Management through the internet.Read post

Car Pursuit announce new mobile web research and development blog to introduce research, technology, and mobile marketing case studies for the automotive retailers.Read post

Many dealers will tell you that the phone prospect is their most valuable source of new business; yet 1 in 4 sales calls go unanswered. And experts forecast a 25% increase in incoming calls to automotive dealerships within the next year. Register for this webinar to learn proven strategies to improve the way your inbound and outbound calls are managed.Read post

Find out what Star Trek, Chickens, and Brand Management have in common!Read post

You probably have noticed J.C. Penney's heartfelt apology taking over the airwaves afterposting a 13 billion decline in revenue while trying to attract young customers to their stores.  In this newadvertising campaign, the company admits it made mistakes and alienated many of its longtime customers. The voice-over in its most recent ad, "It's No Secret" states: “Some changes you liked, and some you didn't. But what matters with mistakes is what we learn. We learned a very simple thing, to listen to you."   What if YOU make a mistake?   Admit it--  Managers often look to protect themselves instead of helping the dealership move forward. None of these actions will win back your customers; the only way to get past a mistake is to apologize sincerely and swiftly.   Be empathetic--While there are many things outside your control, you can train your staff to practice empathy when the customer ...Read post

I’ve recently been reading a book called, To Sell is Human by Daniel H. Pink, and he writes about how although 1 in 9 Americans work in the sales industry, we are all involved in some kind of non-sales selling activity in our lives - such as, convincing, persuading, and moving others. This certainly applies to dealerships, because although some your employees are traditional salesmen, there are others, such as managers and owners, who need to realize the importance of selling in their own position, which will absolutely improve your business’ culture and customer experiences. In the second chapter, Pink mentions a small business called Brooklyn Brine, whose founder, Shamus Jones, after spending a lot of time away from his factory/storefront, knows that when he returns “his job is to influence employees--so they do their jobs with zeal and with skill.”   Why is it a necessary part of the job for Shamus to influence his employees?   The re...Read post

ALBANY, N.Y. – May 14th, 2013 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (http://www.automate.com) announced today that its AMPS Dealership Management System (DMS) is fully integrated with Xtime ServiceCRM, the leading cloud-based customer retention management (CRM) and scheduling platform for the automotive service industry. Dealers using AMPS can now take advantage of seamless, bi-directional data exchange with Xtime Service CRM to improve customer relationships in their service departments.   “Dealers have come to rely on their fixed ops departments for a significant portion of revenue, and making the service experience pleasant for customers is increasingly important to stay competitive,” said Mike Esposito, President and CEO of Auto/Mate Dealership Systems. “The integration benefits all of our customers who are currently using or would like to use Xtime.”   “Consumer expectations of what a dealership service experience should be have rea...Read post