I love marketing - it’s full of little mind games. Chevy’s reintroduction of the“Stingray” model name got us thinking about how OEMs come up with the names for different vehicle models. What kinds of considerations went into naming the Silverado, or Versa, or Camry? Why are luxury vehicles usually given names that resemble alphabet soup (like the IS300, 328i, or MDX)? It turns out there’s quite a bit of marketing research behind these decisions.

According to the Seattle Times, manufacturers create a perception of “high-end” products by establishing a number instead of a name. When Nissan, Toyota, and Honda launched their premium brands (Infiniti, Lexus, and Acura, respectively) in the late ‘80s, they unilaterally decided that they wanted consumers to focus on the brand and not the model. When people ask what you drive, you won’t say “I drive a 528i” - you’ll say “I drive a BMW.” This inspires loyalty and unity in the minds of customers.

Luxury cars had monikers once - take the Lincoln Continental or the Cadillac El Dorado, for example - but the trend has almost entirely faded. Lincoln and Cadillac have sprung for trendier, sleeker names such as the ATS and MKS. But why does the addition of a model number create an air of technical prowess?

In the States, part of this comes from the way that the military names their hardware. A large US defense budget has lent to the public the idea that the military drives technology, research, and development. Subconsciously, we’ve categorized premium military hardware by model numbers for years - the M16, the M1A1, the F22, the SR71, the A10, the B2. These names denote power and efficiency that meet the standards of our national defense. To capture the idea of “performance,” many companies have developed similar naming conventions for their civilian products.

Other technologies use variants of this marketing strategy too. High-end cameras have model names such as the Nikon D700 or the Canon 400D. The most expensive models are called by number, but cheaper versions are given names (CoolPix and Powershot). Marketers know that model names invoke the perception of quality.

I am fascinated with the way in which a small change to verbiage or color can completely change consumer perception of a product. Check out this comparison shot of fast food logos. How much research do you think goes into their design? It’s hard to look at that and say that these companies don’t have hard data showing that red and yellow don’t sell more. Maybe it reminds us of ketchup and mustard.

With a few nostalgic exceptions in retro models — the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Charger — carmakers don't seem to have plans to move back to old-fashioned naming conventions. Will you miss them?

I buy most of the stuff I wear from a Canadian clothier called Frank and Oak, a company that lets me choose three new items each month and send back the ones I don’t need, free of shipping costs. It is subscription fashion, offering style for the lazy. The clothes are inexpensive but well-made, and usually the hard part is picking only three things. But what really sells me about the web retailer is the copy. The F&O marketing team writes a paragraph describing each of their new items, every month. It is some of the most skillfully articulated copy I’ve ever read.

But how much can you really say about a pair of jeans? I’ll give you an example.

Those accustomed to raw selvedge denim appreciate the technique, rarity, and nostalgia associated with the timeless textile. Made from an age-old technique that uses one continuous thread to weave fabric all the way to the edge, it is now symbolic of both craftsmanship and quality. Selvedge denim may start out feeling stiff, but with time will be your most durable and storied pair. 100% cotton. Consult wash tag for detailed care instructions.  

Wow. Combined with high-quality product images, this text really sells me on a pair. It creates desire, promises longevity, and differentiates the product from other clothing lines. But enough about fashion. If you’re reading this, you’re likely in the business of selling cars - a purchase that carries much more weight. 


Take a look at this vehicle description for a Scion FR-S that I found through a quick Google search: 

A FRONT-MOUNTED FLAT BOXER ENGINE AND A 6-SPEED TRANSMISSION THE REAR-WHEEL DRIVE FR-S IS MADE FOR GOING PLACES DRIVE AWAY with $1800.00 DOWN - BUY HERE PAY HERE Auto Financing 52 Bi-Weekly payments of $150.00 NO CREDIT CHECKS!!! 

How can we write copy on inventory pages that looks like this? I don’t even know where to begin.

Buying a car is one of the largest purchases we make in our lives. The vehicles we sell are marvels of engineering - gleaming machines that accompany us everywhere we go. I’ve known buyers that give their new ride a name and personality. Our choice in automobiles lie core of who we really are, so let’s give them the descriptions they deserve. Pictures and video walkarounds are worth a thousand words, but we also need them to be the right words - words that ignite a desire in our shoppers which won’t be satisfied until they walk on your lot to buy the thing.

Some quick tips:
 

• Take advantage of the English language.

You can start by prying the caps lock key from the keyboard and throwing it as far away as you can. If you don’t already know that typing in all capitalized letters is the Internet equivalent of screaming, this picture should put that in perspective. You may also want to invest in a few commas to separate your ideas. Push the limits of what your words can do - consult a thesaurus. As Robin Williams’ character said in Dead Poet’s Society:

"A man is not very tired, he is exhausted. Don’t use 'very sad,' use 'morose.' Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women - and, in that endeavor, laziness will not do. It also won’t do in your essays.”

• Write specifically for your buyers.

Back in 2010, Cars.com released a study that reports including ad copy with a vehicle listing can result in a 50% lift in contracts. Writing great copy means knowing what your customers are looking for. Highlight your cars’ high-value features - make readers feel the luxury of leather seats or lose themselves in the stereo sound.

You don’t need to go overboard by writing out every single feature and option. Short is sweet, and keeping your descriptions simple (with just the right amount of substance) will help shoppers identify with the car. I found this story from Jalopnik’s 2011 archives, exploring the possibility of a personalized biography for each car on the lot. While these descriptions are really funny, they might not build a whole lot of faith and credit in your store - and won’t do much to move metal.

• Consumer reviews build confidence.

Whenever you can, include some consumer confidence in your inventory pages. Showcase third party validation and vehicle history reports to build trust among buyers. Scoring reports, reviews, crash test ratings, and accolades are great ways to get online visitors in for a test drive.

A 2012 study by Local Consumer Reviews Survey found that 72 percent of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Splashing a vehicle narrative with just the right level of consumer confidence and perspective will ensure the necessary combination needed to inform, educate and validate a specific vehicle.

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Let’s step up our game, guys. The buyers walking into your doors are reading the words you’ve written on your site long before they talk to any of your salespeople. Does your web copy truly represent your vehicle brand? Does it inspire desire? Does it separate you from competition?

I have to give some credit to ActivEngage’s Ralph Ebersole - his wisdom and twisted sense of humor helped me write this article. I’d highly recommend following him on Twitter if you like rants about MSU.

In the 1954 classic text, How to Lie With Statistics, author Darrell Huff asserts that there are hundreds of ways that numbers can lie to you. Statistical interpretation is a subjective business - trends and correlation can be employed by the statistician to support pretty much any hypothesis. Graphs and charts can distort reality. Ratios and proportions can be meaningless comparisons. What we might think as “fact” can actually be a wildly incorrect (or intentionally deceptive) conclusion. Don’t be fooled by the claims of diets, products, or even automotive vendors: here are a few ways statistics can lie to you.

Correlation doesn’t equal causation.

If cereal commercials have taught us anything, it’s that kids who start the day off with breakfast do better in school. Must be something in Fruit Loops that boosts our brainpower, right? Not really. This study may be correct in stating that kids who eat breakfast are more likely to do well in school, but it makes a common statistical error in concluding that breakfast causes better grades. When the phenomenon was actually investigated, researchers discovered that food early in the day had no effect on the intelligence of children. Instead, the new research concluded that kids who had circumstances keeping them from eating breakfast are also the type to have trouble in school.

“Average” isn’t average.

If you’re like me, you’ll be a little discouraged when you find that the average American household income is $70,000. And I thought I was doing pretty well for myself. But this figure doesn’t really tell us what the average American is making. The problem with this number is that America’s most wealthy individuals are skewing this number heavily. In reality, almost 70% of Americans earn less than the average income - so don’t be too hard on yourself.

Are samples representative?

Suppose you flip a coin 5 times, and “heads” comes up four times. Would it be accurate to say that the coin lands on heads 80% of the time? It did for your sample, but you really haven’t flipped the coin enough times to determine actual probability. Statisticians can (intentionally or not) use this sampling trick to draw inaccurate conclusions. This very thing happened in the 1936 election, when pollsters predicted the certain defeat of FDR against Alfred London. But the surveys only reached those people with telephones, at the time a luxury afforded only to a portion of the population. As we now know, this statistical “certainty” ended up being completely meaningless, because researchers did not collect an appropriate sample size.

So what does this all mean for you?

It’s healthy to remain skeptical even of claims that sound like they’re based in data and statistics. It’s easy for someone to abuse figures and cloud the truth about any issue - whether it’s for the sake of selling a product, making a  public service announcement, or attempting to identify the root of a problem. Now you know how to spot a few shady statistical practices - so don’t let numbers sucker you into making decisions you otherwise wouldn’t.

What matters most to your car shoppers? Is it price? Depth of inventory? Maybe – but the Internet has nearly commoditized the auto business. Savvy customers will be able to find the car they want at the lowest price within a few seconds of searching. So where is the competitive edge that draws a buyer to one dealership but not another?

To find the answer, let’s try and think of how a shopper might search for a place to buy their next vehicle. Consumer psychology and common sense tells us that we are more likely to trust the reviews of other customers over a dealership’s Google ads, search result ranking, or any other marketing metric that we tend to emphasize. If I were looking for a great price on a Camry in Dallas, I might search “best toyota dealership texas.” And any search query containing “best” or similar comparative adjectives in it is almost invariably going to display a user rating site like Yelp or DealerRater.

Our evaluation of others’ experiences makes intuitive sense with any high-value purchase or costly service. For example, I recently needed to choose a new dentist. I initially considered using the one closest to my home, for convenience’s sake. However, a high volume of negative consumer reviews changed my mind, and I drove a little farther for a dentist that was highly recommended.

When faced with a choice between two roofing companies to repair a faulty chimney, I didn’t select the one with the most experience, or the one that appeared first in Google results, or even the one with the lowest price. I chose the one that other people with the same problem recommended. I cared about results, about what I knew would get the job done.

And why not trust user reviews? Unlike corporate marketing messages, these previous buyers have nothing to gain by leaving their opinion. They are unbiased, impartial, and – as far as I know – honest. Your shoppers are making the same judgments about your dealership. The simple sentence (and actual review), “AVOID dealership x AT ALL COSTS, THEY ARE LIARS” will do more to your online marketing than any email campaign or advertising effort.

How can you avoid this pitfall? The trick is to get your happy and satisfied customers talking. And Google and Yelp are making it harder for people to leave anonymous reviews. They’ll need accounts with those sites, and their submissions are valuated based on the amount and quality of reviews they’ve left before. But a positive review from a trusted Yelp user is a jackpot for your dealership.

Ask your customers to leave their feedback online. Perhaps you have a computer terminal in your store that customers can leave their opinions on. Consider hosting a service promotion for your buyers that leave reviews. This kind of crowd-marketing is becoming the predominant force behind major purchases – so building up your reviewer rating now will pay big dividends in the long run.

Subscribe to the ActivEngage blog now for marketing and auto dealer news updates!

Today we’ve decided to feature a great blog by Ryan Holmes, CEO of Hootsuite, about why you should pay your employees to use social media on company time. Sounds crazy? Maybe. But according to Holmes, social media is not a threat to your productivity or your bottom line. See for yourself:

In my time at HootSuite, I’ve seen a sea change in the way that businesses approach employees’ social media use. Not long ago, few things were more taboo than chatting or tweeting on the job. Lots of organizations even cracked down on what employees posted on personal Facebook pages in their free time.

This seems fundamentally backward to me. Depriving employees of social media is—at the end of the day—just bad business. Recently, some big companies have gotten this message.

Nearly three-quarters of all Fortune 500 companies are now active on Twitter. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, 80 percent of executives now believe their brands get more sales using social media. These companies have embraced social media in the workplace and haven’t looked back.

This makes good business sense for a lot of reasons. Social media’s power as a marketing tool is already well understood. But I want to focus on something a little bit different: how social media can change the culture within a company and boost the bottom line in unexpected ways. 

1. It helps you hire better people.
At HootSuite, which now has more than 200 employees, everything starts with how we hire. Our HR department tweets job openings from a dedicated HR Twitter account. Applicants tweet us back—The entire process is public, transparent and out there for everyone to see. This fosters community among job hunters and staff right from the start,  and we get to know candidates on a more personal level. Sometimes, this can be very revealing.

Earlier this year, we did a phone interview with a promising applicant for our development team. Afterwards, we discovered this tweet in his stream: “going to a phone interview with @hootsuite and I am drunk after a few hours in the ?#congress2012? beer tent.”  A personal side of this fine young candidate we would never have known was revealed in living color. If you’re wondering, he didn’t get the job.

2. Social media breaks down old hierarchies in the workplace.  

Social media has also been an equalizer in our company—closing the gap between management and entry level. Around 75 percent of our new hires are internal referrals, which blows away the industry average for high tech in our region, and this is due to the dialogue we have with our own employees on social. Anyone—including new hires and interns—can tweet me or our other department heads at any time. Twitter, with its brevity and informality, makes it possible for me to engage with hundreds of my employees, in a way that would be inconceivable on email or in person.
And I’m proud to say that HootSuite employees are tweeting, Facebooking, Instagramming and updating their LinkedIn accounts pretty much 24/7, both inside and outside the office. Importantly, these aren’t official company accounts; they’re employees’ personal networks. When we celebrate a milestone like racking up another million users or a birthday or one of our monthly Parliament parties, thumbs are blazing and camera phones are flashing away.

3. It empowers employees to become brand evangelists.

The bottom-line benefits of this kind of social engagement are huge. At the end of the day, some of the most powerful advocates any brand has are its very own employees (I’m assuming here that you’re part of a company people like to work for—If not, then it’s time for some serious soul-searching).

We’ve seen this firsthand at HootSuite. There’s absolutely no requirement that our employees chat us up on Twitter or LinkedIn. But they share their experiences all the time on social networks and they blog about their work here—reaching an influential audience of colleagues, peers and potential clients both inside and outside the industry.

We’ve recently developed an internal social network called Conversations that lets employees post back and forth on central forums and amplify appropriate messages on Twitter with a single click. Importantly, all of this is a two-way street: Employees are able to build their individual brand and following while cultivating the company brand at the same time.

As a company, you can either hammer your user base with official company content (yawn)…or you can leverage your employees as empowered evangelists to reach people on their own turf and on their own terms. If you have 200 employees, and they each have 500 followers, then altogether you have a collective reach of 100,000 people.  

In this context, social media is hardly a threat. It’s a way to seek out better hires, improve internal communication and turn employees into brand ambassadors. And I’m not the only one who sees these benefits. A recent McKinsey report estimated that more effective use of social technologies in many of these same ways could unlock $1.3 trillion in value for businesses.

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What do you guys think of this? How prominent should social media in the office be? Subscribe to our newsletter for more updates on marketing, social media, and auto dealer news!

In ActivEngage’s 5 years of operation, we’ve collected a whole lot of data about the buying habits of online shoppers. We use this data to keep our eyes on the big picture, and we’ve noticed a startling trend: More web shoppers are active early in the morning. What does this trend mean for you and your dealership?

ActivEngage has identified an increase in morning shoppers from the hours of 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM (EST). Perhaps, during these busy holiday months, shoppers only have time to research their next vehicle before work. Or maybe these buyers are simply having new car dreams. Whatever the reason for this increase, ActivEngage has got you covered – and you didn’t even have to ask.

We’ve decided to extend our office chatting hours to accommodate this upswing of web activity in the morning. Now all of our managed chat clients can have full service chat from 8:00 AM to midnight (EST) – an extra hour of chatting! This additional chat time ensures that we’ll be there for those early morning shoppers, and will help us better service our West Coast clients.

There’s never been a better time to be an ActivEngage dealer! As the shopping season rapidly approaches, we’re proud to continually improve our service and offer our dealer partners the quality conversations that their websites deserve. With this additional chat functionality, we predict that our dealer partners will see more leads than ever before from ActivEngage, the most trusted name in live chat.

Curious about your early morning traffic? Want to schedule your free demo? Give us a call at 800-441-7779 option 1, or check out our free eBook, The Live Chat Buyer’s Guide. And as always, subscribe to the ActivEngage blog for daily marketing updates and breaking news for auto dealers!

The most trusted name in live chat brings the top ten blogs and auto news stories right to you! We monitor industry trends, current events, and the auto dealer community every week to bring you the top ten blogs and automotive stories from around the globe. In this weekly edition – no more Twinkies, Google Maps returns to the iPhone, and we released a new eBook!

10. My First Car, What Was Yours?
Craig Lockerd takes us back on a trip to memory lane and describes his first car.

9. No more Twinkies? 
Our beloved Twinkies, Ho Hos, and SnowBalls may no longer be made. This is a sad day for all of humanity.

8. Tasmanian Devils Cast Away
In order to save these creatures from extinction, the Australian Government exiled them to Maria Island, which can only be reached by boat or plane. Why? Because of a highly contagious facial tumor which have decimated the once-thriving population of these feisty marsupials by 91 percent.

7. How Predictable are You?
Apparently everyone everywhere is predictable, well at least to Dr. Richard Wiseman. Just play the video and follow the Doctor’s rules.

6. Does your Content Pass the Consumer Smell Test? 
Brian Chee gives us insight on a survey done by Harris Interactive for MediaBrix which found that the majority of online adults who have seen advertising that appears as content in the past 12 months say that it’s misleading, and leaves a negative impression. At best, it left no impression at all.

5. 10 Reasons Why Your Sales Career Sucks

Not moving any cars this month? Try following Marsh Buice’s advice for improving your sales processes.

4. Is Google Maps For Apple Finally Coming?
A Google spokesperson hints that Google Maps may be on the way for iOS6. Will you prefer this over Apple Maps?

3. Isreal Targets Hamas Leader In Series Of Airstrikes
The military head of Palestinian political party Hamas was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike on Thursday afternoon. The Gaza strip is now buckling down for an escalating conflict.

2. Pinterest Finally Rolls Out Business Pages
After months of anticipation, Pinterest unveils its Business Pages initiative. Catch up on everything you need to know about the fastest growing social network at this Hubspot blog!

1. The Images of Social Media eBook
ActivEngage has released an eBook demonstrating our best practices on visual media. We’ll have you sculpted into a Pinterest and Instagram pro in no time!
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Did we miss anything important? Like our top ten blogs this week? Leave us a comment below! Or if you really can’t wait for your automotive fix, follow @activengage on Twitter for daily updates on auto industry news!

Still haunted by the ghost of the 14 million vehicles recalled for faulty floor mats and brake pedals, Japanese automaker Toyota Motors announced today that it would be recalling another 3 million cars – including 67,000 Prius models – due to a defect in the steering column.

According to Toyota, the problem originates in a steering shaft extension which, if turned hard to the right or left at low speeds, may wear away the splines of the steering column. This could potentially cause drivers to lose control of the vehicle, though no related accidents have been reported yet. Toyota says that even in such circumstances, the vehicle will remain safe to drive.

In a second, entirely separate issue, Toyota has recalled an additional 350,000 Priuses (Prii?) for a faulty water pump which may cause the system’s electric motor to short out on the road. AToyota statement reads that “in limited instances, the electric power supply circuit fuse may open, causing the hybrid system to stop while the vehicle is being driven.”

This recall might be another blow to Toyota’s once-pristine reputation for quality. This news follows a month after a recall of 7.4 million cars worldwide for defective power window switches that were a fire hazard. – the biggest recall since Ford pulled 8 million vehicles off the road in ‘96.

The issue affects Prius and Toyota models from 2004 – 2009. Repairs will be carried out free of charge, and owners will be contacted if their vehicle is affected. To our Toyota dealerships – expect to field questions from customers about these recalls. Live chat can be a great way to do this. In 2010, ActivEngage launched a program to help dealers communicate recall information from their website. You can email us or call us at 800-441-7779 for more information.

You can follow the ActivEngage blog for daily marketing updates and auto dealer news!

Korean rapper/insane man PSY is having a pretty good month. His smash hit, “Gangnam Style,” has become the viral version of the Macarena, coupling a catchy beat with the most ridiculous dance moves that a fully grown adult could conceivably perform. Mimicking and mocking the music video is irresistible – “Gangnam Style” has received over 600 million views at the time of this writing. PSY has performed his bizarre equestrian jig on The Today Show, Ellen, and Saturday Night Live. And he owes all of his success in America to the popularity of his viral video.

There are tons of brands, products, and would-be-celebrities who have found fortune and fame by producing a video that spreads around the Internet like wildfire. These videos are called “viral” because, like a virus, they spread infectiously, quickly contaminating the Internet with a fever of sharing and reblogging. The effectiveness of viral videos can not be understated – which is why both presidential campaigns just finished pouring millions of dollars into creating their own  Youtube videos. So the question is – how can car dealers get in on the viral craze?

Howard Polirer, director-industry relations for AutoTrader.com, estimated that 25% of all U.S. dealers now use online video in their marketing efforts. This means that dealerships are doing a better job of targeting their viewer audience. But humor is always the key to making a truly viral video. Check out Clay Corp’s successful “Let’s Get Naked!” video, in which the dealer promises to show his customer’s everything – and then strips down to his tighty-whiteys to prove it.

Viral marketing can catapult your dealership brand into the national spotlight, and sell you more cars. Get creative with your web content. We can help with that – follow ActivEngage’s blog for more ideas, marketing tips, and auto industry news!

Happy Anniversary!

Last Sunday, ActivEngage celebrated its 5th-year anniversary under the cabanas of Wekiva Island in sunny Florida. We count ourselves lucky – 95% of all businesses fail before they turn 5! To commemorate the occasion, ActivEngage pulled out all the stops by providing canoes, paddle boards, sno-kones, face paintings, lots of food, and an open bar! It was an awesome day of sun, food, and friends.