When we hear social media, most of us instinctively think of Facebook and Twitter – but new networks spring up all the time, and some have the potential to be just as popular. Below we’ve outlined the four most promising up-and-comers in the social media world. Keep your eye on these:

Klout

Social media marketers are constantly trying to find ways to measure their influence – through engagement metrics, total reach, or “likes” and “followers” – but Klout is the first real attempt to refine all of your social media efforts into one number – your Klout score. Though many analysts have completely disparaged Klout’s methodology (one commentary in particular infamously likened it to “internet herpes”), we consider Klout a first-mover in the extremely valuable sector of measuring total social worth. What’s your Klout score?

“These sores will absolutely RUIN my Klout score.”

How Does It Work?

Using Klout really couldn’t be easier – just log in with your Facebook, Twitter, or Google+ account and watch excitedly as the social application runs all of your profiles through its extremely complicated algorithm. The number it produces is your Klout score – a total measure of your influence that considers a wide array of data, such as how influential your Facebook friends are, how many dead accounts follow you on Twitter, and how many unique mentions you get. Though the Klout score is still controversial, we believe that a refined social media score could be a highly valuable metric in the near future.

Schemer

The unstructured time that Google allots for its employees has historically produced some interesting results, but Schemer might be chief among them. A group of Google engineers think this latest social network might just be the cure for boredom. Self-described as an app for “doing awesome stuff,” Schemer is a kind of online bucket list that helps you set goals and alerts you to fun things happening nearby.

“They’re all schemers. Schemers trying to control their little worlds.”

How Does It Work?

The app is populated with user-uploaded “schemes” – goals such as “Learn to Ride a Unicycle,” “Climb the Sears Tower,” or “Outfit My Dealership Website With Some Awesome Live Chat Software.” As you add schemes to your account, Schemer learns what you enjoy and gives you more personal, customized suggestions. Users also can add friends as “accomplices” and team up to accomplish their schemes together. Though currently in closed testing, we expect that this network’s strong Google pedigree will launch it to the top of the social media charts later this year.

Path

When it comes to relationships, Path prefers quality over quantity. Imagine a platform similar to Facebook or Twitter, in which you can share your intimate experiences and personal photos – except you can only have 50 friends! That’s right, Path limits your following to 50 of your closest friends and family (which may lead to some tough decisions).

“THERE CAN ONLY BE 50!!!!”

How Does It Work?

Unlike almost every other social network, Path is extremely user-centric – there are no ads, brand pages or promotional content. This means that communication is intimate and personal, leaving the popularity contests of Facebook and Twitter behind. However, Path provides a glimpse of what a social network of the future might look like. When you don’t have to worry about fighting for everyone’s attention, you might end up actually listening to someone. Path is currently only for iPhone and Android users.

Sonar

Are you ever surprised to learn that your coworker knows your best friend from high school? Or maybe the lead singer of your favorite band is at the same restaurant as you – but you didn’t even realize it. With Sonar, you’ll be aware of these hidden connections right away. This mobile app alerts you when your friends, your friend’s friends, and other interesting people are nearby. Users will discover that it’s a small world, after all

.

“An ex-girlfriend is nearby? Fire the torpedoes!”

How Does It Work?

Imagine going to a conference and getting a readout of who will be there and how you’re connected to them. Sonar connects with your Facebook, Foursquare, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts to bring your social networks to life in the real world. The radical concept of introducing complete strangers to each other through social media brings us one step closer to a true geographic network.

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As we see the social media world evolve around us, we wonder about how long Facebook can sit on the throne. 

Ken Cosgrove couldn’t believe his ears. In no uncertain terms, the president of theJaguar Dealership Association had just offered to cast his vote for Ken’s ad campaign – if he could sleep with the agency’s voluptuous queen bee, Joan Harris. Ken blinked rapidly, visibly unseated by the scandalous request for both bribery and prostitution. “Was that what I think it was?” His associate Pete Campbell bore a similar look of disgust. “Yes…it was.”

Ken grimaced and got up to leave. “Well, we wanted to be in the car business.”

Sunday’s installment of Mad Men, AMC’s award-winning 1960s drama, had a lot to say about the car business – and none of it was good. Don Draper, the show’s main focus and advertising wunderkind, pitched his Jaguar campaign with the tagline, “At last, something beautiful you can truly own.” In an episode largely about trading women like commodities, the slogan seems eerily appropriate. In a dimly-lit diner, one character consoles another: “Car guys are scum.”

Of course, these are fictional characters in a time period free from sexual harassment lawsuits and the poison of negative press. But do “car guys” still carry this old reputation as womanizing predators around with them? Ad Age reports that Jaguar received Sunday’s episode with equal parts of shock and amusement. David Pryor, Jaguar’s VP of brand development, says that “at the end of the day…we’re confident that people know it’s a fictional character.”

The “car guy” is historically one of the most reviled professions in America, right up there with lawyers, telemarketers, and even advertisers – but what has the industry done to distance itself from the demons of its past? Despite a few recent instances of bad publicity, our profession as a whole has completely reinvented itself within the last decade. Car sales is now a business that is completely consumer-oriented – so much so that sites like these exist to discuss how we can improve our customers’ experience not just in physical dealerships but on their websites as well.

I am proud to be a part of outstanding networks like Automotive Digital Marketing, DealerElite, andDrivingSales. On a daily basis, I watch car guys raise industry standards by banding together, sharing advice, and making the Web feel like a true community. With the spirit of partnership and unity found on these forums, I believe that harsh critiques like those in Sunday’s Mad Men will soon be a thing of the past.

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For more automotive marketing insights and blogs, subscribe to ActivEngage’s email feed!

“If we’re working with Longo Toyota chatters, we direct them to ClientCare instead of Internet Sales.” Carl spoke to me out of the corner of his mouth, keeping both eyes focused on his current live chat conversation. His fingers flew across the keyboard, typing out leasing information on a new Camry as he simultaneously explained the nuances of hundreds of different dealerships to me. Carl is a veteran ActivEngage Virtual Sales Assistant, an expert at locating vehicle information and building online relationships. He deftly navigated a dealership website, pulling up a Highlander inventory page in an instant.

I watched him take 5 chats with real dealership customers within a 20-minute period, and I was amazed to see all 5 of these faceless strangers happily give Carl their names, phone numbers, and email addresses. Two of them set appointments to walk into a physical dealership, and all of them left their live chat experiences thanking Carl for his help. I asked him what his secret was, and he responded with a laugh: “You’d be amazed at how quickly people open up to you after you’ve become their friend.” He then turned back to his screen, and began helping a man and his wife find their dream car.

I took Carl’s advice with me back to the training room. It was my fourth day as an ActivEngage Virtual Sales Assistant, and my formal training had begun. Jennifer, our training director, put the group of fresh VSAs on a regimen that combined classroom learning with one-on-one observation of experienced associates. I was surprised to learn that the educational part of our training program was very psychological. We participated in insightful discussions about the very nature of human relationships and the conversations we have with each other. Why do people form social bonds with one another? What kinds of service do consumers of the Internet Age expect? How can we become better listeners?

Do you sometimes feel like a robot at your job? Do you complete the same tasks or utter the same sentences in a stiff, routine manner? Unless you’re working on an assembly line, that’s not a good thing. One of the only things that separates man from machines is listening – our unique ability to process information and understand the intention and feelings of the sender. In any position dealing with customers, this is perhaps our greatest asset. Carl could help a family start their search for a new car because he wasn’t just collecting customer data; he was actively seeking to learn what the customer valued in a vehicle, while getting to know him on a first name basis.

Our Virtual Sales Assistants aren’t just chatters – they are sculpted to become experts in sales, communications, and human relations. At ActivEngage, we do not mine website visitors for their contact information. We do not churn out empty, mechanical responses – we listen. “Lead providing” is not our ultimate goal. Instead, we focus on mastering the art of conversation, and we employ our highly-trained representatives to form exactly the kind of friendships Carl told me about. And once you make a real, human connection through chat – the simple act of acquiring lead information occurs naturally and effortlessly.

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Stephen will be posting weekly updates about becoming  ActivEngage VSA every Monday. Learn more about what makes our chatters the best by subscribing to our blog!

The most trusted name in live chat brings the best blog posts 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 blogs and automotive stories from around the globe. On this week’s edition – become a LinkedIn pro, headlights have rights, and GM pulls its Facebook Ad campaign:

10. Do You English Speak?

Most of us have tried to talk our way out of a ticket before – but never like this. When two Russian men were caught speeding, they pretended to speak only English. Watch their faces drop when they learn that the officer is fluent!

9. Being A Customer Is Tough

It’s easy to forget how hard it is to shop for cars if we’re only focused on selling them. Alex Snyder gets all of us to walk a mile in a customer’s shoes by writing about his purchase experiences with a physical storefront, Internet Sales, and Autotrader.com. Does your dealership sound like the one Alex describes? Make sure to ALWAYS keep your consumer in mind.

8. Bill Protecting Social Media Passwords Advances

Employers may not have the right to monitor an employee’s password-protected content for much longer. Illinois may soon join Maryland as one of the first states to restrict the access of current and prospective employers to their subordinates’ social media profiles. Is this a case of Big Brother watching, or do employers have a legitimate reason to look at social content?

7. Season, Set, Sear, Serve, Sold!

I always like Marsh Buice’s DealerElite posts. Whether it’s the quirky analogies comparing sales to food or minerals or the raw enthusiasm that coats Marsh’s nuggets of wisdom, his top blogs are informative and enjoyable. In this blog, Marsh teaches how to close the deal like a chef.

6. Simple Step-by-Step Instructions for Setting Up a Facebook Ad Campaign

By now we all probably have heard of GM’s decision to pull the plug on its Facebook Ad campaign. This controversial move has many people wondering if GM’s disappointing ad ROI is due to poor Facebook practices. In response, Hubspot laid out an easy, informative guide to setting up your own Facebook Ads.

5. Flashing Lights For Speed Trap Warning Is Covered Under Free Speech

In ActivEngage’s hometown of Orlando, a man was stopped and ticketed for flashing his brights at other motorists to warn them of a speed trap. However, a Florida judge recently ruled that this form of communication is protected under First Amendment rights. Our headlamps are now considered constitutionally-protected speech!

4. Powerful Tips For Your B2B LinkedIn Profile

ActivEngage’s own Ketty Colom dove headfirst into LinkedIn recently, and she had some great tips to share once she came up for air. The LinkedIn social network has a MUCH higher lead-to-conversion ratio than other networks like Facebook or Twitter – so if you’ve neglected your LinkedIn profile (like some of us), now is the perfect time to renovate it!

3. Are Your Advertising Dollars Well Spent?

Advertising – and any marketing effort in general – can only provide opportunities by drawing potential customers into your storefront. This excellent post by Leonard Buchholz proves that if you get ‘em in the door but underwhelm with your customer service, all those advertising dollars you spent will have been for nothing.

2. How Employee Content Drove 200 Leads Per Day at Guitar Center

A recent case study authored by our friends at MarketingSherpa catalogues what happens when Guitar Center took its employee expertise viral. By creating profiles for each staff member and emphasizing the depth of their knowledge about music, the instrument shop was able to generate 200 leads a day. Find out how they did it!

1. GM: Super Bowl Spots Not Worth The Cost

Facebook Ads isn’t the only advertising that GM is dissatisfied with; earlier this week, GM’s marketing chief Joel Ewanick reported that the OEM could not justify spending millions upon millions of dollars for a 30-second TV spot during Super Bowl Sunday. Time will tell if this maneuver will help or hinder a company historically known for heavy advertising budgets.
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Did we miss anything important? Like what you see? 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!

For more than 100 years,PepsiCo. and Coca-Cola have waged one of the fiercest corporate brand wars in the history of marketing. The two soft drink companies have long vied for the top spot in the global market for brown, fizzy, sugar water. Some consumers claim they can taste a difference between the two colas (and maybe they can), while others see soda as a commodity (and simply buy the cheapest option) – but shoppers actually choose their soft drink brand because of something much deeper than price or taste.

In an environment where the price of two similar products is identical, a brand’s identity can be the driving force behind a purchase decision. Buyers form serious relationships with brands, and some of these bonds are just as strong as those that we form with other people. That might sound a little far-fetched, but think about it: Whether you own a PC or a Mac, you probably have some kind of opinion of Apple computers, simply because you are familiar with the brand’s personality. Love it or hate it, you know the characteristics of the Apple image – as if the company was a living, breathing human being.

Consumers have similar attachments to almost every product imaginable – including something as simple as soda. Coca-Cola has formed an image as the essential American product – their ad campaigns generally depict a survey of Americana or the festivity of a traditional Christmas. Coke regularly releases “retro” editions of older product lines, such as the iconic glass bottle and the experimental New Coke flavor. Pepsi, on the other hand, has struggled to find itself, and has often been forced to follow Coke’s leadership (see Pepsi’s Coke-inspired callback of old-school, cane sugar soda). The soda pop has never had a consistent brand identity of its own.
But Pepsi may have found a formula that works for them. The company seems to have recently realized that if Coke is “timeless,” then Pepsi can be “timely,” as the modern, edgy cola brand. The new Pepsi “Live for Now” campaign features plaid hipsters living life to the fullest as Nikki Minaj croons her hit “Moment 4 Life.” While this branding strategy isn’t the most original concept, it stands in stark contrast with Coca-Cola’s antiquated Santa Claus.

Leonard Buchholz posted about the subject of advertising earlier this week on an ADM blog. This excellent post exposes how poor customer service can completely eliminate the benefits of advertising, but we disagree on one small point: Leonard opines that “customers don’t make a connection with an ad.” However, I believe that a vast majority of consumer relationships are developed through marketing campaigns – before the customer ever purchases.

Auto dealers should constantly be asking themselves, “What kind of personality do I want my store to have? Who are we?” Your shoppers form relationships with you long before they meet you – through your marketing campaigns, from something a friend told them, or from your website – and these impressions collectively make up your brand identity. Can you describe your dealership’s personality?
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Stephen is a social media specialist at ActivEngage, Inc. – the most trusted name in automotive live chat. Stay on top of our team’s marketing insights by subscribing to our blog.

The warm smell of fresh donuts rose through the air of the ActivEngage office breakroom.  A ping-pong table lined the far wall of the room, and a sign requiring employees to moonwalk out of the office hung over the exit. Soft beanbag chairs and oblong ottomans furnished in green and orange – a colorful contrast from the bleak, gloom of the Florida rain. I knew immediately this room was like no other I’d ever been in. High above the desks of nearly a hundred young professionals was a single statement, inscribed upon the wall in bold type:

“Every chat. Every word. Every time.”

ActivEngage is the most trusted live automotive chat provider, a service company on the bleeding edge of the Internet age. Teams of Virtual Sales Assistants (VSAs) monitor auto dealership websites to personally meet, greet, and assist online shoppers. But despite the constant clatter of typing and the huge array of computer screens, this was far from the ordinary call center. These chat representatives are not automated robots who are programmed to regurgitate canned responses to frustrated, disinterested customers. At the heart of ActivEngage’s chat philosophy, honest conversation matters above all else.

ActivEngage rejects the homogeneous dialogue of a typical chat provider and instead celebrates the humanity of its VSAs. The company provides its employees with complimentary gym memberships, tuition reimbursement, weekly workplace involvement activities, and even provides a free lunch monthly.

I was one of 12 new recruits hand-picked to join the next generation of ActivEngage VSAs. Over the next few weeks, the fresh faces around me would transform into the best conversationalists in the industry through an intensive two week training program. Director of Virtual Sales Carol Marshall smiled with pride as she greeted us in the lobby. She gave us the grand tour, guiding us past a popcorn machine and a printer named Bob Marley (because it always be jammin’), up one floor to the newly-renovated third story, and into the training room. There we met the ever-stylish president and COO, Ted Rubin, who was visibly trying to resist the temptation of the baked goods below us.

The official VSA training began with our introduction to soon-to-be mom Jennifer Friedline, glowing with a kind of joy and enthusiasm completely unrelated to pregnancy. She asked our class what everyone thought they were there to do. What exactly is a VSA? Some of the new recruits responded:

“We will communicate with customers over the Internet.”

“We provide leads and contact information to dealers.”

“We are contracted agents who speak on behalf of dealerships.”

Jennifer smiled, acknowledging that all this was true. But providing leads is just a small part of the service that ActivEngage provides. VSAs are primarily conversationalists, dedicated to making real, human connections with people through the chat medium. ActivEngage does not believe in scripted conversations – scripts create robots and call centers. The company encourages personality and humanity when chatting, because it believes that the most effective and engaging kind of conversation is honest and personable.

Suddenly the wacky furniture, the leisurely accommodations, and the quirky nature of the VSA office started to make sense to me. ActivEngage seemed to realize that its own growth hinges on the personal development of the individuals that comprise it. The VSAs relate all the fun and happiness of the workplace through their chats, and website visitors can see it. This spirit of enjoyment makes it easy for people to open up to our staff. It is our corporate culture that allows us to be the best chat provider in the business – every chat, every word, every time.

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Stephen will be posting weekly updates about becoming  ActivEngage VSA every Monday. Learn more about what makes our chatters the best by subscribing to our blog!

General Motors can’t seem to get the Chevy Volt off of dealership lots – the American automaker has recently suspended production of its plug-in electric for five weeks while it tries to unload its excess inventory of “advanced vehicles” onto consumers. In an effort to stimulate the sales of fuel-efficient cars like the Volt, President Obama has suggested that drivers receive a $10,000 tax credit for the purchase of hybrids and electric vehicles. This proposal comes as demand steadily grows for for long-haul trucks, which account for 20% of the nation’s fuel consumption.

The vitriol and malice found in the comments section of nearly any article on the subject might lead you to believe that the elimination of oil dependence is somehow a political issue. But put aside ideology for just a second, and let’s think this through. Cutting gasoline usage means lowering petroleum demand, which means lower prices at the pump. Lower fuel costs would lead to decreased transportation and shipping expenditures, which will ultimately lower the cost of all goods that are delivered by truck, boat, or plane. As electric batteries become more efficient at affordable prices, fuel independence glimmers on the horizon – which is great news for everyone except Exxon execs and Saudi princes. So why can’t GM sell more Volts?

Part of the consumer reluctance stems from the car’s sticker price. A Chevy Volt has a base MSRP of almost $40,000 –  putting it in the same price category as a luxury-class automobile. To truly foster adoption of electric vehicles, OEMs will need to cut the price tag upfront. Some suggest that a consumer tax credit isn’t the answer. Instead of providing hybrid-electric buyers with a $10,000 credit down the road, Washington could credit GM instead, allowing the electric car to enter the market at a reduced price. After all, “$30,000” sounds a lot better than “$40,000 (with rebate),” right?

Of course, that’s assuming the price reduction will trickle down to consumers – and automaker money has proven to be notoriously sticky in the past. Ted Rubin, co-founder and President of ActivEngage, believes that any tax credits should benefit consumers directly. “A discount for the manufacturer might help create the inventory, but a discount for the consumer creates demand. Supply-side economics won’t work. You have to create the demand first.” Rubin also says that automakers already take advantage of a vast amount of government incentives – which oftendon’t translate into consumer savings.

So what lies ahead for the electric automobile? Rubin knows that OEMs already have the technology to develop purely electric vehicles – they just aren’t ready to spend the extraordinary development and production costs. Young, progressive carmakers like Fisker and Tesla Motorshave demonstrated their own battery-powered cars that can run for over 200 miles on a single charge. “If these companies can make them,” Rubin says, “so can major firms with billion-dollar budgets.”

Perhaps the only thing that will increase the electric adoption rate is time. Rising gas prices and improvements in battery technology will eventually provoke the American public into supplanting an inefficient, finite energy source with a low-cost, limitless alternative. Fuel independence is more than a divisive, political buzzword. It represents the way forward, the only logical future for automotive manufacturers and dealers. As the producer of the first purely electric car, GM has a huge advantage – if it can only shift out of neutral.

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We need the opinions of dealers! If you have any thoughts about hybrid/electrics or how their introduction will affect your dealership, leave them in a comment at our blog!

We are closing in on the 12th Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition, April 3-5, at The Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando.  Will you be there?

The last conference in Las Vegas drew more than a thousand dealers and managers from almost every state and featured 94 workshops and more than 95 exhibitors.  With so much to see and do, we’ve narrowed down the must-see events at this year’s conference:

Who to See - The Must See Speakers:

Todd Smith doesn’t just have 20+ years of dealership experience – he’s also a veteran of the auto dealer speaking circuit and a self-proclaimed industry rock star. Todd will conclude his whirlwind tour with a keynote address at Digital Dealer 2012. For those of you who don’t know, Todd is the CEO of ActivEngage - a company that leads the industry in converting online visitors into real customers. At his DD12 presentation, Todd will share valuable insight into the world of automotive internet marketing.

Topic: Inbound Marketing Strategies for 2012 Developing your dealership’s inbound marketing strategies, tactics and techniques to drive more website visitors

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Jonika Hoomes has nearly a decade of online advertising experience and serves as the Head of Automotive Channel Sales Personnel in North America. Peter Leto co-leads the Dealer Jumpstart Team at Google. He is responsible for providing automotive partners with scalable business solutions to further develop their Tier 2 & Tier 3 advertising strategies. Together, these two marketing gurus will present on one of the most important marketing concepts of the digital age:

Topic: The Zero Moment of Automotive Truth The advent of online research has brought about the theory of ZMOT - has your dealership kept up, or are you still using the old mental model?

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Ralph D. Ebersole is a regional director of sales for ActivEngage. A recognized automotive digital thought leader, he brings more than 30 years of automotive industry experience, consulting and training expertise. In his role as director of training at cars.com, he was responsible for leading the organization’s dealer training program nationally.

Topic: Transform your Internet Sales with Live Chat! How live chat builds high quality appointments, leads and relationships

What Booths to Visit - Don’t Miss These Exhibitors:

ActivEngage: Of course, ActivEngage will be there in full force. Visit our booth to sign up for our party at Blue Martini. We’ll be at booth 239 - where you can finally meet the ActivEngage social media team!

HookLogic: HookLogic is best known for driving customers into a dealer’s showroom using targeted incentives, closing the loop on the mysterious lead to show metric…and nobody else does it. Check out their exhibition at Booth 414!

AutoMotionTV: AutoMotionTV is a leader in mobile apps for the dealership market. The AutoMotionTV Dealer App is a laser-focused communication channel between the dealer and customer. They’re located at Booth 112, where you can meet President Ben Anderson on Thursday, April 5^th!

Autobytel:  Autobytel is a leader in providing online consumer purchase requests and marketing resources to car dealers and manufacturers, pioneered the automotive Internet when it launched Autobytel.com in 1995. Find them at Booth 1009!

DealerSocket: DealerSocket provides the most comprehensive automotive CRM and training solution available today. DealerSocket is the complete source for all customer facing automotive dealership departments. This year DealerSocket will be at Booth 215.

HomeNet: HomeNet helps tens of thousands of dealers sell more cars with its Inventory Online (IOL) Internet Marketing Suite of automotive merchandising, management, and marketing solutions. Their DD12 exhibition is located at Booth 909, where Division Sales Manager Mike Mitson will highlight merchandising strategies that work for both new and used cars on Tuesday, April 3^rd.

Phone Ninja: Phone Ninjas specializes in the art of appointment setting. Our unique program will help your salespeople schedule more appointments with phone and Internet shoppers. President Jerry Thibeau will be at Booth 400 - and on April 4^th at 3:30, the Ninjas will be mystery shopping dealerships in real time and giving away an iPad! Don’t miss this session!

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Don’t miss out on Digital Dealer 2012! We will be there giving you up-to-date coverage on this exposition. Subscribe to our blog so you won’t miss out! You can also follow @activengage on Twitter for minute-by-minute updates on the conference!

It is a well-known fact that abbreviations and emoticons are often used in every day conversations. From texting to emailing, this lingo has become popular across all generations and forms of media – dating all the way back to 1862. So, when is it appropriate to use emoticons in an automotive live chat conversation?

There is one golden rule that you must always keep in mind: do not use emoticons or abbreviations unless the chatter uses them first. However, this rule can be applied loosely depending on the vibe each live chat participant gives off during the conversation. If you are having a great conversation and acquire all the contact information effortlessly, an emoticon or abbreviation here and there could help, not hinder, your chat. This fresh way of communicating can give off positive feelings in the chat conversation and can be a great way to build a relationship with the web shopper.

Scenarios when to use Emoticons after the chatter uses them first:

Inappropriate:

Customer: You look very good in the picture online. Will I be working with you? 

Sales Person: I do not work in sales, but a member of my Sales Team will be following up with you! ;-D

Live chat interactions are the first impression a customer has of your dealership. If the chatter is being flirtatious in a chat, do not reward their flirtation with an emoticon.  Focus their attention on the vehicle, not the emotion. Keep the conversation on a professional note.

Appropriate:

Customer: I want a SUV with leather, sunroof, and navigation for 35k. I know that is a lot to ask. =)

Sales Person: We’ll see what we can do for you John. =)

When a customer is excited about a vehicle, match that excitement with an emoticon. Not only does it make the chatter feel good, but the emoticon confirms you are on the right track to acquiring contact information.

Scenarios when to use Emoticons first:

Inappropriate:

Customer:  I have very bad credit and I want to know if you guys can work with that.  I filed for bankruptcy as well.

Sales Person:  =(  I’m sorry to hear that John!

Never focus on a negative statement made by the chatter and never use a frowning emoticon. You want the live chat participant’s experience to always be positive which will reflect on the dealership itself.

Appropriate:

Customer: When I come in, I would like to work with you, where do I go to ask for you?

Sales Person: I’m sorry, I don’t work in sales. I leave that to the pros  .

Sometimes when a live chat goes well the customer asks to work with the chat representative when they visit the dealership. In this chat, an emoticon is appropriate because it reflects back a positive feeling on the sales staff and the dealership.

When to use an abbreviation back:

Inappropriate:

Customer: My credit is horrible, I bet the bum down the street has a better score than me.

Sales Person: LOL. We’ll see what we can do for you John.

When you oversimplify live chat with abbreviations, a lot of communication errors can occur. Don’t focus on the negatives in chat and don’t “laugh out loud” to any chatter’s reference to bad credit. Focus on positives and keep the conversation focused on the vehicle!

Appropriate:

Customer: I’m being a good husband and getting all the features my wife wants on this car. I’m a keeper, aren’t I? LOL

Sales Person: LOL. Yes, we wouldn’t want your wife to be angry because you didn’t listen! I’ve made sure to make note of those features for you.

When a chatter feels comfortable enough to joke around with you, then that feeling of comfort will pass onto the dealership. First impressions are important and to return a given LOL is golden.

When to use emoticons and abbreviations simultaneously:

Inappropriate:

Customer: I’m looking for a vehicle that I can get hot chicks in, you know what I mean? LOL 

Sales Person: LOL. I’m sure you can get lots of beautiful girls in this vehicle John. ;-D

We have identified the behavior of serious buyers in previous blogs, but generally when a chatter comes in asking for a vehicle to get hot chicks in, they aren’t a serious buyer. Don’t entertain their dialogue by returning emoticons or abbreviations.

Appropriate:

Customer: Do you take trade-ins? My wife is a really good cook, but she has a lot of miles on her. LOL. Can we work something out? 

Sales Person: LOL. Let me see what we can do John, but I’m sure your wife will be valued priceless. =)

In this chat, it looks like we have gotten the full lead and are winding down the conversation. Again, when the chatter is comfortable enough to joke around with you, it is a good sign and you have liberty to return the emoticons and abbreviations given. When the shopper leaves the conversation after having a great experience, you can bet that they are looking forward to the same type of experience at the dealership location.

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Hopefully these scenarios have given you insight on when to properly use emoticons and abbreviations in live chat. While chatting you always want the chatter to feel good and positive about the car buying experience. Never emphasize the negative. Always return good positive feelings back! =)

Make sure to subscribe to our blog for more updates on live chat best practices!

In the ActivEngage blog, and in much of our other content, we describe the power of automotive live chat has to transform your dealership website into a lead-generating machine.  It is common knowledge that automotive chat opens a communication channel between automotive shoppers and your dealership that enables you to capture website visitor lead information and move prospective customers forward in your sales process.  Yet, the full potential of dealer chat has yet to be realized by a majority of auto dealers.

With more than 80% of today’s automotive consumers conducting part of their vehicle shopping process online, your website’s ability to engage automotive shoppers and convert them to leads is critical to the success of your dealership. To help auto dealers realize that optimizing the conversion rate of their website can easily be accomplished by deploying an automotive chat solution, we at ActivEngage created the new ebook The Power of Live Chat.

In this ebook, you will learn:

• One of the most valuable and effective features of automotive live chat is its ability to convert your anonymous website visitors into highly qualified leads.  Essentially, automotive chat solutions have the power to double the volume of leads generated from your website.
• How chat conversations build trust, rapport and relationships with your website visitors before they step foot in your physical dealership. The information gathered from chat conversations helps your dealership move the chat participants forward in the sales process and onto your showroom floor.
• How automotive chat satisfies your website visitors’ desire for immediate answers and personalized service. Automotive shoppers visit your dealership website to review available inventory, pricing information, and ultimately decide if they want to do business with your dealership. Chat is the only technology that allows your dealership to have instant communication with customers while they shop.

Stop losing thousands of potential sales.  Start leveraging the powerful lead generation of automotive live chat.

Download your free copy of The Power of Live Chat today!