I remember working internet leads around the turn of the millenium. It was funny because at the time, there were many at the dealership who didn't even have an email address. My, how times have changed. There was a statement by the general manager that struck me and ended up sticking with me to this day. He was lecturing his brand new internet department, something that none of his competitors had. His internet department was... me. He told me, "Do whatever you can to get them in but don't treat them like real people unless they call or come by. They aren't real until they have a voice." Today, most dealers (and everyone on Driving Sales, I would hope) know that this is far from reality. Today, people are using the internet to do more than ever before. They're shopping your inventory while on test drives at a competitor. They're doing research from the toilet. It's a digital age. We all know that. What we often forget, particularly on social medi...Read post

There’s a case against Twitter and Pinterest that is being waged by some in the automotive industry. They’ll say that there simply isn’t a good return on investment, that they aren’t worth messing with because it’s just too hard to find a benefit from them. This is true until you look at one major factor: time. Twitter and Pinterest require very little time to maintain and keep vibrant. Before we get into the ways that dealers can streamline their efforts to make them more suited for a proper ROI, let’s first take a look at the three major aspects of them that make them worthwhile: Time Driven Algorithm – Unlike Facebook and Google+, the Pinterest and Twitter feeds are completely time driven. When you post something, it appears in the feeds of your followers immediately. Over time, they move down. This is a good thing for their purpose because they’re ideal for getting real-time engagement. Communication – At the end of the...Read post

Content speaks for itself. It speaks for a company. It speaks to the people. Most business websites are sorely short on content. Sure, they have sales content and information about the company, but so few today are actually putting out high-quality content about relevant topics that make their websites more of a resource. Today, people want to trust a company before doing business with them and content is the easiest way for them to understand that you know what you’re doing. It’s not just about having information for visitors to see in order to convince them that you’re an expert. It’s also about having things to post about on social media. Many businesses spend time going through feeds and reading blog posts by industry professionals to find content for their Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ accounts. While pulling from outside sources has its benefits, why would one want to always drive traffic to other sites? Why wouldn’t they take advantage of their...Read post

In 1-2 years, your mobile web presence will be the primary source for lead generation over all other mediums. So why haven't dealerships begun researching their mobile provider the same way they do for the desktop site or CRM?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

Social Media: When Tragedy Strikes -George Nenni As the tragic events of the Boston Marathon unfolded before me, it was a sharp reminder of the need for Social Media compassion, tact and etiquette.  People are looking for information; contacts from loved ones, where to find aid, or how to take action to help.  No one wants to see insensitive Facebook posts or Tweets, whether auto-scheduled or manually posted. Brand marketers and individuals alike have been guilty of either conscious or unconscious acts of insensitivity.  The unconscious posts are typically either scheduled earlier in the day, triggered to be spread out over time.  The conscious ones are posted by marketers attempting to take advantage of the event, sometimes complete with event hashtags, to increase visibility of their brand.  The conscious variety usually creates a social outcry towards that brand.  The most recently notorious example of this is Epicurious, a publisher of food and reci...Read post

During social growth on the web, we have come to trust each other’s opinions. Our purchase decisions have long expanded from just being influenced by friends and family members, and now we rely on total strangers. Review sites like Yelp give consumers a respectable platform to express experiences, whether they are good or bad. They have no limitations on the types of industries which we can express our like or dislike. For consumers, this type of social sharing has given us a hub to preview what a business is like without ever having to step foot within the store. Businesses can now can gain feedback on how they are doing in a scalable manner which will quickly alert them if they have internal issues they need to improve on or if they are doing a good job. Local businesses sure could use a little more information about how much a social review site helps or hinders their lead generation, and Yelp has enabled a new Revenue Estimation tool to do just that. According to Boston...Read post

Do you remember the days before email, when you would actually pick up the phone to call customers and prospects, or send them a piece of snail mail? Well the world without email marketing is over and if you’re not using this powerful marketing medium to reach customers and prospects, you are missing out. With 91% of consumers using email at least once a day¹, you can feel confident your message is making an impression and building top-of-mind awareness for your dealership. Chances are you already utilize email to market to customers and prospects, but it is estimated that 294 billion emails are sent each day, which means approximately 2.8 million emails are sent every second². How will you ensure your marketing stands out from the sea of email messages? What can you do to help increase retention rates, generate traffic and revenue, and enhance owner loyalty? Today, you’ll learn why email marketing is important and some real-world best practices to ensure you rec...Read post