Start a Discussion
Add Friends
Upload a Video
Upload a Document
Rate a Vendor
Post a Blog
Create a Group
Share a Strategy
When I first heard the concepts behind having an Automotive Marketing Boot Camp, I had to shake my head.
“Why didn’t I think of that?”
We’ve always had the luxury of having JD Rucker and his expertise at our disposal. Recently, we’ve had the pleasure of getting more expert advice from both Paul Rushing and Brian Pasch. While we’ve been trying to determine the best way to “bottle, package, and sell” this magic, the three of them came up with it themselves.
Automotive Marketing Boot Camp. It just makes sense.
As dealers learn more about how to handle their own marketing and take their own futures into their hands through social media, SEO, microsites, and other forms of marketing, we’ve remained cautious supporting this for our dealers simply because doing it wrong can often cause irreversible damage. We are confident that those who take advantage of the Boot Camp will not only be ahead of their market, but will also be prepared for the changes that are coming down the road.
Many dealers are starting to realize that they can get more “bang for their buck” by reducing their traditional advertising spends and redirecting that money to a broader and more intense Internet marketing strategy. With JD, Brian, and Paul leading the way, we at TK Carsites are not only proud to endorse their efforts, we are also embracing the idea in the form of sponsorship.
Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a monumental idea. There is nobody in the in or out of the industry more qualified to help dealers maximize their marketing potential better than Rushing, Pasch, and Rucker. I know all three and have been amazed at their combination of grasp and explanation. They each have the gift of knowledge, but more importantly they can use this knowledge to demonstrate clearly how to put these concepts into practical applications.
We look forward to being there before NADA 2010.
* * *
Read more from Jim Bradford on the Driving Sales Blog.
Tags: automotive internet marketing, boot camp, pasch, rucker, rushing
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Kurt Sedgwick and Brian Pasch, Sharon Olsen. Sharon Olsen said: Why Car Dealers Desperately Need The “Automotive Internet …: When I first heard the concepts behind having an.. http://bit.ly/4F7SZj [...]
Jim
Thank you for the positive endorsement of our idea.
The goal for the Automotive marketing Boot Camp is to have practitioners as teachers and not the normal salesmen/pitchman. I have a dual role in my company but I’m a teacher at heart.
Sales professionals are great at a conference for setting a path or motivating people to explore new technologies or services.
The practitioners are the people doing the skills we want to teach each day as part of their job. Practitioners are tactical people and not necessarily marketing types.
For the 2010 Orlando Automotive marketing Boot Camp , we are attempting to provide the skills transfer from hands-on experts that is needed for an intense one day event.
This will not be the normal overview stuff and we’ll make sure that everyone comes prepared in advance. That’s the new spin.
As Brian points out, the difference between this and standard automotive conferences is in the details. As an example, let’s look at the topic “Having a Dealership Blog”.
At a standard automotive conference, you’d learn:
* Why a blog is important
* Services that help with blogging
* What should be said in a blog
At the Boot Camp, you’d learn:
* How to get started if you don’t have one
* How to get better if you do have one
* All of the tools necessary to have a successful blog
* Examples of real-life dealership blogs in action
* How to set up hosting, a CMS, themes, plugins, and widgets
* Exactly what to post, when, and how
* How to use the blog for branding, reputation management, SEO, social media marketing, employee relations, and everything else a blog can be used for
* How to handle comments both negative and positive
* How to promote your blog on various websites
The main difference is that theories are nice, but practical application is what dealers really need. As they venture forth into using the Internet for more of their marketing and advertising, getting real help from industry leaders in a tight setting will give them a the skills they can actually use rather than overviews and concepts that may be forgotten on the flight home.
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by automotiveseo: http://bit.ly/24STKz...
We are attending NADA, and would love to come a day earlier if the event is in play.. http://westherr.com
It would be great to see you there, Kevin. Sign up is available at http://www.automotivemarketingbootcamp.com
Kevin
The event is on and registration is now open. Save $100 if you register in November. Sponsors are also getting behind the event so it will be first class. You can visit http://www.automotivemarketingbootcamp.com to register.
Brian - I am very excited at promoting and bein g part of the Boot camp!
Jim - make sure we get a list of these features to the staff so we can be sure to communicate properly.
Kevin - Absolutely…it is in play. Jim Rucker included the link for you to get signed up. I look forward to seeing you there. hope the family is well.
The list is being finalized now, Jim, and we’ll be able to put it up on our site, here, and on our blog next week.
We have been very excited about the response and sponsor support already. We have four of the five meals now sponsored and today we finalized the speaker and conference agenda. Spread the word and get signed up. A few attendees may walk away with a free ______________. (secret).
Sign me up! Oh, wait…