A huge percentage of auto business (we’re not just talking vehicle sales) starts online. You already know how important it is to be available to potential customers in whatever capacity works for them. But it’s more than just being there.
Leads generated by your website have higher closing rates than third-party leads. Why? In part, this is because shoppers at third-party sites can submit leads to multiple dealers, so there can be more competition. With a first-party lead, a user actually went to your website and asked you to contact them about information they found at your site. Here’s a specific example: a consumer went to your website and found a particular piece of your inventory, they might have even have the specific VIN. They know what they want, they’re looking to buy and they’re looking to buy from you. Of course the closing rates are high. So now the question is, how are you going to increase your website leads?
The first, and most important, thing ...

It’s no secret that rich media is huge in the online world. The fast growing popularity of video is not to be ignored. Video is a powerful tool; when used correctly, it can help keep consumers engaged and interested.

The ways to incorporate video on your site are numerous and some ways are better than others. For instance, no dealership should be without videos of their cars. 360 degree views, virtual test drives—these are no brainers. It’s essential that you incorporate this kind of video in your site. Their main purpose is to establish emotional buy in and keep consumers engaged. Once a consumer has envisioned themselves behind the wheel, they’re much more likely to take the plunge and buy.

Video can also be used to build trust and establish relationships. Upload videos of your staff, ask satisfied customers for testimonials, etc. Get creative. The longer a customer is on your site the better. As they look around and get familiar with you and your busin...

A good website vendor doesn’t wait for dealers or OEMs to request added features or capabilities. A good dealer website provider knows the industry, knows what works now, what won’t work and what is going to work in the future. A good vendor knows what you need for success and provides it.

Right now, you need consolidation and control of your web activities. In today’s economy, you can’t afford to spend time and money trying to manage and integrate potentially dozens of vendors to get your website to perform. You need a single web platform, built from scratch by professionals who know what works… from experience.

The benefits of a single platform go on and on, but they all boil down to reporting and results, which translate directly to your bottom line.

Without accurate, consolidated reporting, you can never get more than a vague idea of your return on investment. In today’s economic climate, you need more than that. You need to know the value of every mo...

There is an unarguable difference between a Yugo and a Bugatti. It’s clear that there are levels of quality, performance and beauty to be accounted for when talking cars. The sentence, “I need a car” is never going to result immediately in the right kind of car. Where are you going to drive? What kind of performance do you want? How much do you want to pay? What do you want it to look like? What about mileage?

Just like any other product, websites come in many different levels. Question: is your website a Yugo or a Bugatti? Might be time for an upgrade.

Your website has a look and feel, just like the body of a car. It needs to be structured in a user-friendly way, tested and fine tuned. It’s all about the flow- and that’s important. However, that appearance accounts for a meager percentage. The real worth of your website is the engine. What’s going on under the hood? The true value comes from your platform, your SEO, the integration of your inventor...

Dealer-facing advertising agencies do their job well. They are partnering with you to develop you brand value propositions as a retailer and help buy channels you can use to get the message out and to your customer’s door.

You want a print ad, you got it. You want a radio spot, you got it. You want a billboard buy, you got it. You want a new dealership website. Stop. Do not let the agency convince you to do that. Why?

You might think that it makes a lot of sense. The company that is building the message, building out other channels, can also give you a simple website to match, correct? Wrong-- in most cases.

For starters many dealers think they just need a website, and there lies the first problem. Dealers today need more than a mere website to be competitive. They need an Internet marketing platform that has integrated tools and powerful outbound email marketing tools to drive lower cost leads and phone calls to your dealership.

Many dealers still think that a we...

Dealers have so many opportunities to spend their marketing budget. It seems like every week there's another miracle product that will "turn sales around." Unfortunately, reactionary spending or putting your budget in someone else's hands doesn’t always work out the way we hope. Supplementing your marketing efforts with the latest/greatest technology is fine, and a good idea. Marketing is both a science and an art. It's important to try new things and find that perfect marketing mix.

However, dealers need to recognize that the grass is not greener on the other side. The greenest pastures are right in your own backyard. Developing first party leads needs to be your first priority. Leads from you own website can cost as little as $3/lead. These leads have the lowest acquisition cost of any dealers can get today and they have the highest conversion rates. That is why generating first party leads needs to be the primary focus of your business. Max out this opportunity bef...

Third-party leads can have their place in the grand scheme of your dealership, but it’s pretty clear that not all third-party leads are created equal. Some third-party leads are worth their weight in gold and others are little better than a mirage. It’s important to have enough control over your leads to trim the fat.

In other words, you need to do more to develop first-party leads from your website.

First-party leads are becoming increasingly attainable and carry major benefits. First-party leads allow you to see every step of the process. With search engine optimization and marketing, segmented email lists and solid analytics, you can track your traffic sources, impressions, clicks, leads and conversions. This gives you the power to hone in on what works and the ability to nix what doesn’t.

Not only are you able to maximize your ROI by investing in proven processes, you can really see the data. You’re able to determine the costs associated with each click...

Your website is (or should be) fluid in a way that no other marketing tool can approach. We already know that turning your focus online will help you reduce advertising costs and focus in on trackable traffic and legitimate leads. In addition, your web presence can be adapted to any economic situation.

It may be tougher to sell new cars right now, but you can bank on parts and service. When times are tough, patching rough spots can make a lot more sense than purchasing replacement vehicles…and your customers know that.

So turn some focus on your parts and service department. A good website will allow you to collect leads for all of your various profit centers. You should also be able to email coupons and offers to an integrated list of customers. With the right website, you can take all of the tools that help you sell cars and turn them toward selling service. There is no reason you can’t buffer this slump with a rise in service traffic.

Your website should be we...

So you want to cut your marketing budget. Cutting the budget often means spending less money on marketing. Let’s look at SEO, Search Engine Optimization, as an inexpensive way to increase the worth of every dollar.

You don’t pay for SEO. You may pay someone to optimize your site, but no amount of money will automatically launch you high into the organic search results in any search engine. There are a number of best practices to adhere to that will help your site to naturally rise in search engine results.

Links
Make sure you link to appropriate and helpful content when you link off your site. If you link to a partner site, ask your partner site to link back to you (reciprocal linking). Be sure none of the links on your site are broken. Both external and internal links should take the user to the specified website or webpage. Also, name your links with keywords (i.e. NOT “click here,” but “Read more about getting better mileage”)

Keywords
Do your rese...

You may think sending an email is easy, and it is. However, sending hundreds or thousands of emails to clients using a wide array of email providers is not simple- it’s a science. To ensure that your email gets to the ever-allusive inboxes in your client database, go with a pro.

There are a number of things a professional will be able to help you with that would otherwise frustrate and annoy- not to mention consume an incredible amount of time. Testing, list segmentation and design are among the top reasons to look to the professionals.

Choose an email service provider that has already gone through rigorous testing and can guarantee that your messages will be visible across the board, regardless of the browser type or email provider your clients use. It’s imperative that your emails show up the way you intend them to. An email may look good in one inbox, but in another it may include broken links, skewed images or any number of other damaging inconsistencies. It goes...

Cutting budgets is nearly inevitable in todays market, just make sure youre cutting where you can afford to cut.
Print is dying fast. Statistics show newspapers in a steady spiral toward extinction and it’s not looking much better for other traditional marketing media. Don’t go down with the ship, cut yourself loose and use whatever surplus you can muster to increase your Internet marketing.
Competition is only going to get worse and more cutthroat. Fortunately, there are plenty of opportunities to jump to the head of the line by simply remembering web best practices.
Search engine marketing and optimization are key to succeeding in today’s economic climate. Optimizing your site means showing up at the top in local search. When someone near you starts their hunt for an affordable car, they’re starting online. Doesn’t it make sense to be one of the first links they see? Search engine marketing increases your real estate on results pages. You may show up three t...

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 incredibl...

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 deal...

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 mark...

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 th...

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 do...

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 dealer...

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!
...

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 ...

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 u...

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.
...

Times are tough, money is tight, consolidation is a must. Dealer ad spend is at an all time high and many dealers continue to increase their marketing budget to accommodate rising costs in print, TV and radio advertising, while also trying to make room for the growing Internet. This is probably not the best strategy, especially given the current economic situation.
When times get tough, it's a good idea to start cutting dead weight. Sometimes dead weight is a commodity that was once very useful, e.g. newspaper advertising. It has served you well in the past, but make sure you're evaluating based on the latest data.
I'm not suggesting that you completely obliterate your print advertising; I'm just suggesting that you tighten the belt where it needs to be tightened and continue to direct resources to the most productive media components, aka the Internet. As we've previously discussed, the Internet is capable of influencing each step of the sales funnel and some 90% of car buyers ...

Everybody knows the economy has seen better days. In times like these, we tighten our belts and try to make the most of our expenditures. Your marketing budget is one expenditure you can’t do without. However, you can do something about our increased need as a dealer manager to reduce the marketing budget during times like these.

The new length of the sales funnel gives us a good indication of where to put the majority of our marketing money. Ye old sales funnel was marked by well defined steps such as awareness, consideration, familiarity, etc. Each of these steps was fostered by separate advertising entities (TV, radio, newspaper-RIP). Today’s sales funnel incorporates the same steps, but the lines are blurred. Who do we have to blame for this expedited and inclusive funnel? The Internet. The Internet is able to foster each of these steps with increased efficiency and speed… not to mention the fact that some 90% of car buyers start their search online.

In other ...

Integrated marketing will without a doubt multiply your marketing efforts without multiplying your budget. However, just making a single connection between marketing elements is not really enough. The best way to lay the groundwork for integrated marketing communications is by building your brand consistency.

This simply means that your message is clear and repeated often. Your message can be repeated in several ways: visually, audibly and textually.

Visually, your logo should be consistent. It should appear everywhere your name appears. Find a design you like and stick with it. You want your logo to become synonymous with your company. It should become familiar to your key demographics, and nothing stimulates familiarity like repetition.

Your message should be the same whether on the radio, television, web or in print. Boil down your company’s mission statement to a sentence or slogan, then make sure you repeat that slogan in all your advertising. Even when...

Death to the notion of "Internet Sales and Marketing" as somehow separate from the rest of the dealership! What I'm talking about here is an end to the idea that you have "Internet" customers and "showroom" customers. With 83% (and growing) of consumers for both sales and service conducting online research before calling or visiting the physical dealership, the people who visit your website are exactly the same people who visit your showroom. For many dealers this a complete paradigm shift. But, if you want to stay competitive and leverage the power of the Internet then you and everyone at your dealership must understand this.

How can you tell if you haven't made the crucial shift yet and still living in the dark ages of the Internet? Just see if these apply to you…

5. Your dealership website hasn't been updated in months (maybe years).

4. The parts and service departments have a vague notion that you have an "Internet" department but they have no idea who the...

When integrating your marketing efforts, remember to keep in mind that all roads should lead first to your website, and then to your lot. Your website has all the space you need to provide the details your consumers want and need. Use all your marketing efforts to direct consumers to your website “for more details.” Your website should be your main hub and should ALWAYS be up to date, informative, and easy to navigate.

It’s important to keep in mind that a large percentage of your potential clientele will spend one month or less shopping for their vehicle- thanks to the Internet. That month-long sales cycle is made possible by the only marketing media that spans all the steps of the sales funnel, your online marketing. It can raise awareness, develop familiarity and trust (consideration), and encourage consumers to visit your dealership and buy a car.

Other marketing elements like print, television, radio, etc. should be used to supplement your main marketing tool...

So far we’ve discussed two of the three main reasons to engage in integrated marketing communication (IMC). IMC builds brand recognition and consistency, increases credibility and magnifies the power of each of your individual marketing efforts. This magnification is one of the most valuable aspects of IMC.
As you know, successful marketing builds consumer interest and awareness. IMC helps you to leverage the interest and awareness with other advertising efforts. As you accomplish your goal to build awareness with marketing media such as print ads, television spots, etc., follow up with Internet advertising that links your print ads to your website. No marketing effort should be isolated. Again, if your newspaper ad features a special like “Tax Free Tuesday,” make sure that when consumers type “Tax Free Tuesday” into their search engine of choice, you have a text ad to lead the way to your website and inventory. If each piece of the marketing puzzle works together,...

As we discuss the benefits of integrated marketing communication (IMC), we have to include the asset of credibility. If a customer is able to read your ad in the newspaper, they should expect to be able to find you online. Likewise, ads on television should also lead consumers back to your website. Nothing steals credibility like a dead end. If a consumer searches for you and can’t find you, they are not likely to trust you. On the other hand, if a customer catches the end of your television ad and remembers just the name of your dealership, it adds to your credibility when they’re able to quickly find more information online. When your message is unwavering, it builds trust and helps you portray an air of professionalism and consistency.
If you run a special and only advertise it in the newspaper, when consumers look for details online and find nothing, they may think they missed the special or feel angry that you haven’t provided more information. Sure they could call, but s...

We’ve already discussed the overall importance of Integrated Marketing Communication for your dealership. Now, let’s get into some of the specific value that this integration can bring to your dealership.
IMC is valuable in many capacities, but three of the top reasons are:
1.) brand recognition and consistency,
2.) credibility and
3.) magnified power of individual marketing efforts.
Let’s talk specifically about brand recognition.
Repetition is key when advertising/marketing your dealership. You can easily increase the power of a message through repetition. For instance, your slogan becomes associated with your dealership and with your customers' feelings about your dealership. When that slogan is used in every effort- whether online, on television or on the pages of a newspaper- it becomes more powerful. When your target market hears your slogan regularly, sees it online, etc., they will remember it. Then when they are ready to buy, now or in the future, they ...

In our ongoing talk about death to the concept of "Internet marketing and/or Internet customers," let's talk about "IMC." You have probably heard the term "Integrated Marketing Communications" (IMC) before. Though the lengthy title may be momentarily intimidating, chances are you'vealready engaged in the idea, and you should probably be doing more of it.
IMC is simply connecting all of your advertising/marketing dots. For example, your ads should connect to each other and drive traffic to your website. IMC is very much grounded in the concept of a network-- emphasis on the net. Any television, radio or newspaper ads you run should mention your website. Conversely, your Internet advertising should make use of the same slogans and promotions prevalent in your offline advertising. There should be one central location for information and all of your marketing should point to that location.
IMC is a simple, important concept (with a long title), all too often overlooked. Don't allow dead ...