So, you have a Facebook page for your business. You’re ready to tap into the most powerful social site in the world. You want to get fans, to get people to like your page and hear your messages, to communicate with them in a meaningful way and to help drive more business. You figure that, “Hey, I’m a business. The only way people are going to like my page is if I have a drawing for a free iPad or give them a game that they can only play if they like my page!” Nope. It’s the wrong thinking. It’s not just the fact that you’re going to get people liking your page from everywhere around the world rather than the coveted local area Facebook users. What’s worse is that you’re actually going to do damage to your page and prevent locals from seeing your post or engaging with your page. Here’s why…   Their Intentions are Not Good Convenience stores don’t make a ton off of lottery tickets, but they get peo...Read post

All companies' business capabilities rely on how they identify opportunities, and gain more business insights. And to achieve this, all of things need to successfully function in the marketplace, from giving nice experience on the web store, smooth payment processing, to excellent customer support. When these things come together rightfully, there is always a good chance of extending business capabilities. But it is important to seek the right tools that have potential of turning around things for more business capabilities. Organizations use different tools and technology to exceed themselves in the competition such as customer relationship management systems, business intelligence tools, help desk, phone and chat support. But what’s more important is determining your business strategy, and how the implemented tools are going to complement your strategy. For instance, if customer service is something your organization has determined to be a strategic capability, find out th...Read post

Rumors always fly about Google, particularly when it comes to search. Next to Apple, Google is the beneficiary and/or victim of rumors on a regular basis. Some of them are started by others, but occasionally they're started (and confirmed) by Google itself. Such was the case last year when they hinted about the first variation of Penguin and it was the case this year with the latest update, dubbed Penguin 2.0. Now it's here and their was a nice writeup about it on Driving Sales by Aaron Schinke of DealerFire. The advice he gives is sound and falls in line with what we've seen from this update. The update has proven to be a very positive one for those who are doing SEO the right way. I spent an hour doing spot checks on dozens of our clients last night and found that they either kept their strong positions or moved up if they weren't #1 already (which usually means that their competitors actually moved down as a result of the update, but the net result is the same). ...Read post

Remember how slow the industry was to embrace the internet as a sales tool way back when? I do, I got into this business around the time the “fad” hit the noodles of dealers across the country. I found as a trainer for an automotive training company, there was a 33/33/33 factor when I would talk to dealers and management about it.   33% said the Internet was not a force to reckon with but a fad 33% said that they were “watching” to see how things developed but remained in park 33% started trying to figuring out how to engage but not really more than a little “figuring”   Then there was that 1% - they were actively moving into this new territory, making mistakes, figuring it out along the way with bumps, bruises and some pain. If someone was to do a survey of all dealerships that were around then and are still around today- I bet they would find that the 1% are the current industry leaders boasting the highest sales, largest grosses, l...Read post

With many state legislative bodies adjourning after a very busy season, we are seeing quite a few states looking at changes that will affect many auto dealerships. The special blog will be updating our members on the bills that are either in the process of being passed or that I anticipate will be active this year. These are all regarding the posting of surety bonds, a common enough requirement in most states for auto dealers. However, as we are all aware, rules change. To help everyone stay up to date on the latest, here are the bills being considered that I think have a good chance of passing or have just passed this year. Alabama and Motor Vehicle Title Lenders While this isn’t specifically aimed at auto dealerships, there is bound to be an impact on them. In Alabama anyone who is doing business as a motor vehicle title lender will now need a license for each title loan officer. As part of this license they will need to post a $100,000 surety bond, with a cap of $1million ag...Read post

Here’s the sad truth about the way that most dealers are posting their inventory to Facebook. It’s not getting seen. None of it. Not at all. Currently, there are three primary ways that dealers are posting their inventory to Facebook. The most common method is to have a tab on their Facebook page with their inventory. This doesn’t work. The click stats that we’ve studied using three different inventory types show that even the most active dealer Facebook pages are seeing next to zero traffic, clicks, or leads from this form of inventory posting. The reason is obvious – people don’t visit your Facebook page unless they get there through search, a link from your website, or an ad on Facebook. In these three scenarios, they’re either not interested in seeing you inventory (if they were, they’d just go to your website) of, in the case of referrals from your website itself, they’ve already seen it. Now they want to see you and your...Read post

...In social media that is. And to be really specific, on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. Some 81% of moms would buy more from a brand if rewarded, and over 50% are willing to engage with a brand on Facebook and other social media platforms if provided incentive, according toa recent report. Financial Rewards 83% of moms polled said they would value free products and services from a brand. 82% would be interested in receiving gift cards from popular retailers. *If you have live chat ask if your chat provider has a feature that offers incentives for those who come in for a test drive appointment.ActivEngage has this feature which is called ActivShow. ActivShow offers gift cards to stores like Target, Dunkin Donuts, etc.  This targeted incentive moves an unsure shopper into your showroom where you can close the deal. By actively promoting these rewards on your website, your chat conversion will skyrocket!    Now let's take a...Read post

Yesterday's announcement about Pinterest's new product pages and feature enhancements has me all excited about this platform. This is clearly a sign of a new direction in web design, eCommerce models and especially mobile content creation and consumption. Bottom line, I love Pinterest and you should too. Read post