This week as thousands of automotive professional head to Las Vegas for the 2012 NADA Convention, hundreds of vendor are preparing their booths to connect their products and services to interested buyers. If you have never been to NADA, it can be overwhelming. Walking the exhibit hall can be exhausting.  If you can wear sneakers, bring them. I wish  Segways were allowed to move me around the hall because vendors and dealers know the sore feet and backaches that are associated with being at a trade show for three days. Finding The Magic Bullet at NADA I'd like to make a suggestion to dealers who are heading to NADA to look for the next "magic bullet" to improve their sales and profits.   You may have a shopping list filled with booth numbers and VIP parties and those things are well and good.  However, the next magic bullet for your business and professional life may be something you didn't think to add to the list. To lead ...

In the past few months I've had the pleasure to work with passionate dealers who have asked me to do a comprehensive assessment of their Internet operations. I called on my good friend Jerry Thibeau to help me with the mystery shopping part of the assessment. In addition to the innovative Phone Ninjas process that Jerry created,  my team also made calls and lead submissions on our own. It was an eye opener to see that a number of submissions failed basic customer service standards.   Operating WIth Broken Processes Some of the leads we submitted were never responded to via an auto-responder or a personalized email.  Some leads never received a phone call.   Readers in the trenches of BDC/Internet departments may not be surprised by these findings but the dealers we worked with and their staff were very surprised that their processes were broken. When you consider the tens of thousands of dollars invested each month to drive calls, l...

I've made a commitment to read 70 books a year and one of my latest finds is "Great by Choice" written by Jim Collins. I actually received the book as a gift from Jane Berentson, Editor in Chief at Inc., to whom I am very grateful for the introduction of this book. Great by Choice  grabbed my attention in the second chapter as Collins tells readers about the two adventurers who set out to be the first people in modern history to reach the South Pole. The contrast between the two leaders of the expedition parties is what immediately made me stop an think about my business strategy. Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott both set a bold goal, just like many entrepreneurs.  One achieved his goal and the other one was frozen to death. Want To Create 10X Results? Jim Collins documents business leaders that achieved what he calls "10X" results.  Collins entices readers early in chapter two with this statement: "Let's first ...

In the past month I've had the chance to look at a number of dealer websites that are still using Flash technology that is not rendering properly on iPhone and iPad devices. If your home page is using Flash and you have delayed getting a technology update, this is a reminder to expedite that change. Mobile traffic as well as Apple devices is on a exponential rise and you should be capturing these online shoppers.  In addition to having your main website with cross-browser and device compatibility, you have no excuse to ignore getting a mobile site up and running. Google Analytics Shows Mobile Device Traffic   Here is an example of the last 30-days of traffic to a dealer website and you can see just how many Mobile devices are using Apple technology.  This report is easily accessed through Google Analytics.   So take a look at your Google Analytics reports and check all your website pages from an iPad, iPhone, and Android mobile devices.   &...

For many dealers, Google Analytics is not yet one of the standard tools they review each month to provide business intelligence and accountability for their digital marketing strategy.   I encourage dealers and marketing managers to learn more about Google Analytics in 2012.  There are three free webinars starting in February 2012 if you join the Automotive SEO Study.  A majority of dealers who are looking at Google Analytics data are using the "base" level functionality and few have setup "Goals".   Why Setup Goals?     Goals in Google Analytics coupled with Multi-Channel Sales Funnels can start to give you insight into the influences that brought local consumers to your website. For example, a company comes in to sell you a product/service that claims will drive more qualified consumers to your inventory pages.  How do you measure that claim?   Another vendor claims that by adding video to your website, con...

As I have been looking at Google Analytics Multi Channel Sales Funnels, I have to ask dealers if they have misjudged the impact of Craigslist on their  website traffic and lead generation?   How are consumers finding a dealer's used car inventory?  Is it through Autotrader.com, Cars.com, or is it a combination of Craigslist as well? Since we have the opportunity to work with hundreds of dealers across the US and Canada, we have tested setting goals on a number of different business objectives. Get Consumers To View Used Car Inventory In the case below, we set a goal to look at how consumers get to a dealer's USED CAR inventory search pages.  Here is an example of how Craigslist is driving traffic to a DEALER'S used car inventory pages: The LAST Referring Source Will Fool You 90% Of The Time If you look at the LAST referring source, all but one of these LAST influencers to the dealer's USED CAR inventory pages would NOT be a...

If you are collecting American Express points for your summer vacation and already advertise on Facebook, you might as well get 3X the points until April 22, 2012.   Today I received an email from Amex outlining the Facebook 3x Advertising promotion which you can read below or visit their website page. If you have decided to test Facebook pay-per-click advertising in 2012, this may get you moving a little faster!    Many dealers are testing Facebook advertising so if you have been having success with Facebook, take a minute to share your results with the DrivingSales Community. Brian   Brian Pasch, CEO PCG Digital Marketing Text PCGedu to 75674 get information on our upcoming conferences Brian Pasch     ...

As we start 2012, I would like to start a discussion on automotive advertising and dealer messaging strategies. This blog post was inspired the PCG Pit Stop Conferences where DrivingSales' own  Dennis Galbraith was as one of the featured speakers. Dennis challenged car dealers to evaluate the messaging of their traditional media investments.   Dennis asked dealers who focused on "price" or "payment" advertising what the ROI of their investment yielded once the "limited time" sale was over.   That was a very bold challenge by Dennis knowing that dealers often turn to payment and price advertising strategies on a 30-day window rather than branding or unique value proposition marketing.  The later takes more thought and a comprehensive/patient strategy that spans more than 30-60-90 days. Looking In The Mirror So dealers in the DrivingSales community I would like to ask you: "Are your radio, TV, and newpaper adver...

With just a few days before 2012 arrives and I celebrate my 50th birthday in January, I wanted to know if you have made any special New Years Resolutions? Personally, I don't wait till New Years to make changes or new commitments in my life but traditionally this time of year we talk about change.     So what do you want to change?   Making a Shift in 2012   I love to write and most of my writings are about marketing, advertising, and strategy for the car business but today I wanted to shift to something more important.  Your health and success in 2012. Two years ago this week I made a commitment to change my lifestyle so I am talking from experience.    After two years of success it is time to lead others to a better life in the years ahead. Two years ago I was sitting in fromt of a computer for 12-15 hours a day building my business and ignoring my health.  I belived that I did not have time to exercise or eat better. ...

  Have you been able to quantify how much Autotrader, Cars.com, or other third party classified websites contribute to your dealership's ability to sell more cars?     Have you questioned the importance of alternative classified websites like Craigslist or Ebay?     I started off with these questions because if you are a car dealer using any of these services, you most likely have been frustrated getting answers on the ROI of third party classified websites.     Industry leaders like Dennis Galbraith have rightly suggested that dealers should look at Vehicle Detail Page (VDP) views per month and SRP's as one benchmark of value.  (Read Article)   Dealers frankly, wanted more confirmation and I'll let you decide if this is another way to confirm your digital marketing investments. Your Best Kept Secret Today, we have some other ways to look at your best kept secrets!  Why do I use the ...

Have you ever wanted to see which websites and influences during the Zero Moment of Truth resulted in the highest conversions or achieved goals set by your marketing strategy?   You you want more information on which websites are "assisting" conversion so you can properly give them credit? I wrote about Google Analytics Multi-Channel Sales Funnels in the past, but as I have been tinkering with the setup, it is clear that dealers should take action for better visibility in 2012. So If you want to have greater visibility of the ROI on your 2012 Digital Marketing Investments, follow these 4 steps:   1. Make Sure Analytics and Adwords Are Linked In order to fully leverage the Google Analytics data which will show the digital influences that result in the most conversions, you need to link Google Analytics and Adwords. If you are NOT using Adwords, then add that as a fifth step for 2012 action items.   You can read how to Link Google Adword...

The automotive industry is buzzing about TrueCar© and their business model.  Critics say that the customer sales data and transaction prices, pulled from their DMS by TrueCar.com, are being used against dealers.  Advocates claim that TrueCar arms consumers with data and pricing that will get them the best deal. Dealers who have decided to continue using TrueCar© that I interviewed remarked "Close your eyes Brian, it's just a numbers game!".  Should I be surprised at this response when OEM goals are focused on volume and not dealership profits?   Other current users who are selling cars through the program remarked, "I want to get off the drug (TrueCar©/ZAG©) but I'm afraid."   I have also heard a similar comment referring to TV, Radio, and Newspaper investments that dealers have used for years.  This fear based comment is what sparked this article.   I do want to continue the h...

I was checking into a local restaurant with Four Square in Atlanta and I was presented with a new screen sponsored by American Express. The program is called "Shop Small". The promotion was supporting small businesses with a twist: Amex will credit MY card based on my checkin and payment with an Amex Card.   So, my friend took me out to Cafe Sunflower in Atlanta and when I checked in, I was presented with an offer to save $10. Linking My Amex Card I had to link my Amex Card to activate the promotion and then charge the meal with my Amex Card. I decided to follow the process and it was very easy.  I entered by Amex Card number and was quickly linked to Amex. This "loaded" the special. Once I unlocked this special and the only thing I had to do is pay for the meal on my Amex card. I had a great meal at Cafe Sunflower and when the check was presented, I paid with my Amex card. I few minutes later, I received a message on my iPhone...

Google Offers is now in Beta testing, have you taken a look at this new advertising platform?  Will you be considering Google Offers in your 2012 automotive advertising strategy? I am in Atlanta surfing the web and clicked on a PPC banner ad that was running in CNN.com as shown on the screen capture below.  The PPC banner is in the upper right corner. I had not previously signed up for Google Offers so I thought it was a good time to check it out.   When I clicked on the Google Ad, I was given the option to sign-up for offers in Atlanta.  Since I am normally not in Atlanta, I clicked on the drop-down menu to see which other cities were covered in the Google Offers beta.   Once you find a city of interest, you can SUBSCRIBEto those offers. If you are already logged into your Google account, the subscription process is seamless.  If you are not logged into your Google account or do not have one, it is easy to signup.  You do not...

With all the discussion about Google Places lately it is clear that it is an important source for connecting with consumers in the Zero Moment of Truth.   I got a call yesterday from Joe Webb asking about a review feature in Google Places that most people do not know about.   It is the "Best Ever" rating for a business.  Would you like to have people in your community vote your dealership as "Best Ever"?  I hope so.   Best Ever Ratings In Google Places   To see the Best Ever rating button, you have to go to Google HotPot.  The link is:  www.google.com/hotpot HotPot is the WEB based tool to track and manage your reviews and favorite on Google Places. This is my HotPot summary page, which shows that I rated 37 businesses and wrote 33 reviews on my Google Account.        Placing The Best Ever Review In order to vote a business as "Best Ever" you first need to fi...

I'm back on the Google Beat covering the latest discoveries for the automotive industry on search marketing strategy.   I want to thank DrivingSales member Craig Waikem for commenting on my blog post about new Google PPC Adwords formats that collect email addresses.  What Craig shared was a landing page that was displayed when he clicked on a Google Adwords advertisement.   It looks like Honda and Google are testing a number of new initiatives and not just Adwords formats with built-in email collection  What I saw was very chilling because of the Copyright at the bottom of the page:  Copyright 2011 Google Inc. Google Co-Ops Automotive Classified Pages The page in question can be found on this link:  http://automobiles.honda.com/certified-search/google/.  It is sitting on the Honda marketing website and it is a vehicle listing page that is very similar to what Cars.com, Autotrader.com, Everycarlisted.com and oth...

I've been actively writing about the weekly changes that seem to be impacting Google SERP and Google Places.   Are you getting dizzy by the work needed to keep Google Places up to date?  I won't even mention the pain that many dealers have been having with Merged Listings! One of the MOST crazy changes is that in many markets, the Google Places Business Name is being over-written with the dealer's Home Page Title tag.   This makes no sense since many websites are not optimized and have no proper Title Tag in place.   The Denver dealers listed below now have CRAPPY business names and descriptions?  Why is Google asking for the business name and description in Google Places and not using it??  Obviously, the Google team needs to step back and get feedback from the business community. Until this is fixed and if this applies to your listing, I would update the HOME PAGE title and meta description on your website immediately. Loc...

If you have been wondering why your Google Places analytics data has been light in November, it looks like there is a systemwide data evaporation across the Google network from November 20th thru November 27th. I also have found this problem being discussed online on this Google support thread.   This BUG impacts the month of November analysis so don't panic.  It looks like it has been fixed and data is being collected and reported. This was actually discovered because we got a call from Alex Jefferson from Proctor Honda and it forced us to dive into the situation.   Thank you Alex for alerting this problem and now we can advise the automotive community. As much as I try to keep up with things pertaining to Google, any time someone sees something odd, please send me a note to:  brian@pcgdigitalmarketing.com .  It's great when we all work together to solve what seems to be the greatest puzzle of all time:  Google.  ...

I want to thank Mario Murgado Jr. from Brickell Honda for sharing this latest update to Adwords formatting which he came across today.   The ad, automatically populated Mario's gmail address in the form shown in the green box below. If he clicked the "Subscribe to Newsletter" button, his email would be sent to the advertiser. Do you like this ad?  Do you think consumers will want to sign-up for a newsletter before visiting the Honda website? I would like to get your feedback here on DrivingSales. Keeping Up With Google Is anyone else finding it difficult to keep pace with the changes that Google is rolling out each week?  Is their plan to have every marketing person talk about Google so Yahoo and Bing are no longer part of the discussion? It's been a wild ride over the past few months with changes coming at a rapid pace, so stay tuned because Google is on a roll.  Speaking of changes, have you seen Google+ articles showing up ...

At times I feel like a newspaper reporter on the Google "beat" just trying to stay up with the latest changes in Google search, Google Places, Google paid search, and their social strategy.   This week I noticed that Google is exposing the details of the Google Places listing on a search that matches the business name. This is an important change that dealers and their marketing agencies need to understand.  There are MANY searches a month for a dealer's business name. Why Care About This Change? The audits I completed on hundreds of Google Places pages for car dealers show that over 50% are incomplete and many do not have photos, videos, and proper categories selected.  They are not merchandized properly.  It's like having a crappy ad in the Yellow Pages, back in the day when that mattered. Dealers should login to their Google Places account to see that it is "100% Completed" and also that they have: - 5 standa...

You may have seen this button on a Google Places page when you attempted to write a review for a business while you were not logged into your Google account. Up until recently, if you didn't have a Google account you could not post a review on Google Places.  Inside sources are saying that this is going to change!  Read current policy. For business owners, the current policy meant that only about 25% of their happy customers could post an in-store review if they were asked to share their positive experience online.   The Google Places App simplifies review collection right at the point of experience for Google account holders but it left many people unable to participate. In the automotive industry, Google Places is the #1 free source of referral traffic for car dealers.  Our busiest automotive clients have Google Places listings with over 40,000 impressions a month with the average around 15,000 impressions a month. Properly configured and merchandi...

I had an great call today with a successful car dealer that was spending $160,000 a month on cable TV for three same brand stores in one state.       Their three store budget had no allocation for PPC, Retargeting, Chat, Reputation Management, Video Marketing, or  Mobile Marketing.   The dealer is leading his market and is profitable so his internal processes and execution are outstanding. This dealer was passionate and a refreshing pleasure to speak with today.   The TV commercials he designed branded the names of the dealerships and their current promotion. The dealer principal has set his TV budget to be omnipresent and it seems that he has achieved his goal for high frequency Cable TV messaging.   Opportunities For Continued Success   The dealer did not see the need to have PPC ads, marketing videos, or retargeting banners in front of consumers during their online ZMOT shopping research.   I felt...

I logged into Google Adwords Express today, which is Adwords on steroids IMHO, and I noticed that a 3rd option has been added for landing pages: Google+ Pages.   Keep in mind, that for car dealers, the best place still may be the dealership main website, but there are some interesting ideas about how this can be leveraged that I have been thinking about.   In any case, I wanted members of the community to be aware of all the options that Adwords Express can have to leverage and monetize your Google reviews. ...

Google has made a major upgrade to the Google Analytics Interface and I will be writing a number of articles highlighting some of the most powerful features that can be leveraged by car dealers.   If you have not taken time to work through then new interface and reports, I strongly suggest that you invest some time this month.  Dealers need to make a new commment to running their Internet business using data and new reporting tools.   For this article, you will need to expand the "Conversions" menu on Google Analytics navigation bar to see the features regarding Multi Channel Funnels. (shown on right) Multi Channel Funnels Multi-Channel Sales Funnels is a feature that visually displays your TOP CONVERSION PATHS, which is one of the most important discussions you need to have in regards to your primary website.   I wrote about Multi Channel Funnels this earlier in the year, but the new interface finally makes it easier to use ...

On my recent trip to Italy, my Apple iPhone 4S  started acting funny on Day One and by Day Two I had no cell phone service.   My Apple iPhone 4s was giving me an error message "No SIM Card Installed".     I called AT&T and their support team said that had nothing in their database reported this type of problem.  AT&T told me that there was no local support in Italy, so I had to wait till I returned to get the phone repaired. I was not happy with that message from AT&T! Apple iPhone ZMOT I researched online and found that hundreds of people had reported this problem with the iPhone 4S on the Apple Support blog but strangely enough, there was NO official response from Apple.  Why would Apple be silent on a problem of this severity? I was furious that the "smart" device that I counted on for GPS navigation and emails was not working.  I was blocked out from business calls and even from keeping up with Tim...

This is Part Two of a Four Part series on developing a Reputation Marketing Strategy for your dealership.  If you would like to read the previous article, click here for Part One. This is a DrivingSales.com Exclusive Series Creating a Reputation Marketing Strategy requires that you have a process in place to survey customer satisfaction and a process that engages the customer based on their feedback. By creating a culture that values customer service and transparency, dealers will be rewarded by consumers who control the sales process. Don't Be Afraid To Ask Everyone Every customer that enters a dealership should be asked about their "experience" before they leave the store. If a customer leaves the dealership without being surveyed, dealers run the risk that the empowered consumer will be very critical to their online communities and on highly visible public forums like Google Places, Yelp, or specific automotive platforms like DealerRater...

This is Part One of a Four Part series on developing a Reputation Marketing Strategy for your dealership.  A DrivingSales community exclusive. The foundation for any successful reputation-marketing program is a commitment to serve consumers with passion, transparency, and integrity.   Dealers have been trained by OEM’s to focus on CSI scores for years.  Online reviews are the digital equivalent and become the Dealership Reputation Score (DRS), which include more than just customers.     Every person who contacts a dealership at the First Moment of Truth (FMOT) has the power to enhance or diminish a dealer’s reputation. Online reviews for car dealers are typically seen by thousands of potential customers every month during the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT).     For example, a BMW in New Jersey receives over 40,0000 impressions a month on their Google Places business listing which includes their Google user reviews.  Now ...

Has anyone on this forum wondered why Microsoft has been so quiet over the past few years?   They are not in the news like they were in the boom days of personal computing and the Internet.   They lost their market leadership and their once lofty position as a media darling. Microsoft the king of business applications is under fire from Google Business Apps. Rumors say that General Motors is about to switch their workforce from Microsoft Office over to Google Apps.   That would be a major blow to Microsoift and their cloud based Office Suite.  Online Advertsing Alliance The sleepy giant,  also known as Microsoft, has made two announcements this week that on the surface seems like they are ready to fight back.  They have the cash to move markets but they don't seem to have a compelling road map. What do you think? Today Microsoft, Yahoo, and AOL announced an advertising alliance which will allow companies to advertise theiir banner ...

PCG Digital Marketing recenty hosted a Dataium webinar for the automotive industry that featured co-founder Jason Ezell. I had the opportunity to moderate the webinar and the dealer response was very strong so this product is striking a nerve in our industry.   Over 142 people registered for the webinar and the attendees were very engaged with feedback and questions.  The webinar ran for about 80 minutes, 20 minutes longer than the scheduled time! Dataium is set to revolutionize the way in which we operate our BDC or Internet departments.   Dataium's cloud intelligence data will enrich chat sessions, website leads, and even phone calls with consumer shopping behavior.  The data that Dataium provides will allow dealers to better guide the conversation towards the consumer's perceived needs based on their actions online. - Imagine the power of knowing what cars and websites a consumer visited prior to submitting a lead on your website. - Im...

I have written a number of articles which share my opinion that Dataium will dramatically change the way car dealers will operate their online business.

Here is one article: Dataium Business Intelligence Tools

Dataium’s cloud intelligence data and reporting tools will revolutionize CRM systems as we know them today. The first CRM companies that fully integrate Dataium’s API will have a distinct market advantage.

Why am I so bullish on Dataium? No, I am not an investor or being compensated for hosting a webinar.

I’m reaching out to dealers because they need to know about this new technology. Dealers who are early adopters will see why their CRM and lead handling will be greatly enhanced by Dataium’s business model.



I can’t think of ANY dealer who would not like to improve their lead closing ratio. I know dealers would love to be able to intelligently reactivate leads that were inappropriately marked as “closed”

Dealers wh