“May I have your attention, please: the Internet has not replaced the telephone. I repeat: the Internet has not replaced the telephone.”

In the frenzy of the automotive digital marketing land grab, have you let flashing animated banners dazzle you? Has the faithful jingle of the dealership phone become a pesky buzz in your ear? If you’ve answered ‘yes’ to both questions, you’ve missed the boat. Don’t worry, though; here comes the life raft!

Digital automotive marketing doesn’t replace phone leads. Digital automotive marketing CREATES phone leads. In fact, our own Cobalt research shows that over the past year, phone calls have actually outpaced email leads in a dramatic fashion. Our research shows that in March of 2010, there were approximately 7 phone calls for every 2 e-mail leads.  In March of 2011, that ratio jumped to almost 10 phone calls for every 2 e-mail leads.

Now, let’s be clear: these statistics don’t mean your digital marketing efforts are wasted because we all know today’s consumers prefer to do the bulk of their car-shopping research online. It just means that when it comes time to actually visit a dealership, many people still prefer to pick up the phone and call rather than fill out an email form. The reasons are numerous: identity theft concerns, privacy issues, or plain old “field fatigue” at the thought of filling out a long, cumbersome online form. And, on a more ‘sinister’ front, when customers call they are attempting to cross you off the list of dealerships they intend to visit.

So yes, the Internet does play a more powerful role than ever in the car-buying process. BUT the phone is still the contact method of choice for most serious buyers. In other words, if you’re doing automotive digital advertising right, your phone should be ringing off the hook. The question is, are you prepared to pick it up?

Jon Quade, Performance Improvement Consultant at ADP Digital Marketing (formerly The Cobalt Group),  is one of the most-recognized trainers in the automobile industry. He has  8000+ hours on camera and years of seminar experience with OEM clients like Ford, General Motors, Nissan, and Infiniti.

Get an “Integration Revelation” For Effortless Revenue

Like bowling lanes and Bengal tigers, no two dealerships are alike. What they all have in common is that-if they’re doing it right-they’re busy as hell. That’s why an integrated digital marketing solution is a must for every one of today’s dealerships, bar none.

Integrated solutions-package deals of digital marketing services-are the wave of the future in automotive marketing, yet some dealers remain unconvinced. Here are three reasons why integrated solutions are a must for on-the-go dealers.

Three Reasons to Integrate A.S.A.P

1) The nature of digital advertising is increasingly “a rising tide lifts all boats.” Actions launched in unison will naturally weave together. An integrated solution provides a comprehensive strategy that will ultimately pack much more punch than investing in single, one-off efforts like just investing in SEO, or just investing in SEM. Investing in one digital marketing service is kind of like buying one piece of the puzzle. It’s a start, but it’s not really going to get you anywhere interesting on its own. An integrated solution puts all the pieces together, creating a powerful, integrated  online  presence for your dealership.

2) Integrated does not mean “one-size-fits-all.” Some dealers worry that an “off-the-shelf” solution cannot possibly meet their dealership’s unique needs. “My problems are different than other dealers,” they say. “I can’t possibly benefit from an integrated solution that works for everyone else.” That’s probably true, but the important thing to distinguish here is that integrated does not mean one-size-fits-all. The best integrated solutions are wholly customizable to any range of situations; integration just means every service is handled under one roof. With fewer throats to choke, dealers with integrated solutions can enjoy a single point of contact for all their marketing needs.

3) Mitigating media overwhelm. Because dealerships are invariably busy, it can be a nuisance to keep up with the cornucopia of digital services popping up everywhere you turn: SEO, SEM, PPC, Zzzz. It’s enough to make a busy dealer fall asleep! An integrated solution relieves dealers of the burden of keeping up on every “next big thing” that crops up in digital marketing. Instead, they can rest easy knowing they are getting the latest and greatest marketing services, so they can focus on their real job: selling cars.

In the long run, many time-starved automotive professionals find it infinitely more satisfying to stop juggling digital marketing efforts with their day job, and simply tell their digital marketing partner, “This is what I want. Make it happen.” Dealer direction plus agency execution creates an ideal partnership for inevitable success.

Dealers: Don’t Count on “Fuel Additives” to Power Your Reputation Management

By now, we’ve all heard about the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’S) landmark smackdown: the FTC fined Legacy Learning Systems $250,000 for unethical review practices. For the Tennessee-based company, the unethical behavior consisted of putting some “fuel additives” into their sales process by hiring marketers, disguised as customers, to plaster consumer review sites with comments about “the best home-study DVD course for guitar I have ever seen.” What a fantastic idea (NOT!!!). Sales revenues rose up into the millions, the FTC smelled something fishy, investigated, and the rest is history. Now, companies everywhere are clutching their collective hats, hoping and praying their own reputation management process is above- board.

And really, who can blame them?

Dealership Reputation Management: The Race for Stars

After all, although Legacy Learning System’s methods were fishy, they are hardly the first to feel pressured by the “race for stars.” Reputation management is the hot new buzzword, and we car dealers are in the hot seat, charged with inspiring page after page of glowing reviews in record time, as well as silencing any “Negative Nellys” who have left an unflattering review.

As a “vintage auto old-timer” who has worked in the car business almost two weeks (or was it longer?), this reviews frenzy reminds me of the universal (automotive) marketing law; otherwise known as the TRUTH: No matter how urgent or desperate a marketing campaign might seem, it must always be tempered with ethics, honesty, and wise judgment. Take it from the VJnator (Did I mention you can follow me on Twitter @VJnator?): Fuel additives may offer an exhilarating extra edge for a short while, but you can’t rely on performance-enhancing gimmicks to power your review process in the long run. On that note, here are four tips for “grease-proofing” your dealership reputation management process. Follow these to keep your reputation marketing engine idling smoothly and steadily.

Five Ways to Keep Your Reputation Management Engine Idling Smoothly

1) Do not offer your customers gift cards, free oil changes, or any other compensation in exchange for them posting positive reviews on Merchantcircle, Yelp, etc. It may seem like a great and generous idea to reward your reviewing customers with gifts and perks, but this could be considered a black-hat behavior. As you know, the Google Reviews Help Page states “Do not offer or accept money or product to write positive reviews about a business, or to write negative reviews about a competitor.” Therefore, it is best to avoid the appearance of coercing your customers to write positive reviews, even with good intentions.

2) Do not post fake negative reviews about your competitors. You’ll get caught and “flagged.” Popular dealer reviews sites like DealerRater.com are by adding a Content Monitoring Team designed to weed out “black sheep” in the industry. What happens if you get flagged? According to the site FAQ’s, “If DealerRater.com determines that someone affiliated with a car dealership has written a review, Dealerrater.com may, in its sole discretion, may place a note on the dealership’s review page notifying readers that someone from the dealership has not complied with our website’s Terms of Use. The dealership is also subject to being placed on the probation for six months.” In other words, do not think these review rules do not apply to car dealers. They do!

3) Learn to be patient when installing a “reputation management process” in your dealership. Remember, it IS a process. Decide which RM (reputation management) platform you will focus on, make it part of your salesperson’s delivery process, and emphasize to them the importance of politeness over pushiness. Ask your customer’s permission to send them a link to your review page, where they can grade their buying experience in the comfort of her home and on their own time. No rush, no follow-up call, no badgering questions of “Have you filled out the survey yet”?

4) Make it a company-wide effort. Without resorting to black-hat practices, encourage each and every team member to participate in the reputation management process. Ask for at least 3 reviews a month per sales person. Getting great review feedbacks? Share them with your staff during your sales meeting. Follow the old but ever-new universal public relations law: “Do good things and talk about it.”

5) Do not leave positive reviews of your product without disclosing your connection to the product. Lack of disclosure was the fatal flaw in Legacy Learning System’s plan, and their behavior was in direct opposition to the 2009 FTC regulation, which states: “Under the guidelines, a positive review by a person connected to the seller – or someone who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product or service – should disclose the material connection between the reviewer and the seller of the product or service.” Note: this policy applies not only to review sites such as Yelp, but also to bloggers who post reviews on their own sites, etc)

The Winning Mixture for a Premium Online Reputation Management Process

Because in the future, all dealerships will be considered “Internet stores,” meaning more than 90% of all consumers will “shop and observe” you before even coming to your brick and mortar store, the fuel mixture for driving your future success is already a known fact:

Octane 87 = Consistency
Octane 89 = Persistence
Octane 91 = Passion

Last but not least, remember there’s only two true ways to manage your reputation: Provide a spectacular customer experience, or provide a terrible one. Without having any gray zone, there will be only one white or black decision to do it right.

Volker Jaeckel, Digital Marketing Ambassador for ADP Digital Marketing

Volker Jaeckel works as a speaker, coach and educator in digital marketing. “VJ” is a frequent speaker at industry events like Digital Dealer Conference and NADA; he is also a fixture at NCM 20 Groups and OEM seminars. When he’s not dazzling others with his digital marketing know-how, VJ enjoys vintage Mercedes Benz cars and spending time with his wife and five kids.

The Cobalt Group

www.cobalt.com
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What if people were willing to fly from Brazil for your next dealership promotion? What if they were willing to wake up at 4 a.m., hire a professional “line-waiter,” or pay $900 for a first spot in line at your store? Yes, we’re talking about the launch of the iPad 2-and the opportunity vehicle launches present for automotive professionals.

A Balance of Pride and Profit

Many dealers are rightfully proud of the local brand they have created – this is an investment that pays back throughout the year. However, there are times when the most effective marketing strategy is simply to ride the coattails of the many millions your OEM is spending to create buzz and interest for their new product. By studying Apple’s marketing strategy, it becomes obvious that dealers can emulate this flagship brand to create similar salivating demand for their own inventory.

The Most Important Product in the World

Much like Apple stores, car dealers are all selling basically the same inventory from store-to-store. The launch of an Apple product is a study in beautiful synchronicity. When Apple goes to market, every aspect of the Apple experience-commercials, online ads, website, store fronts- align around a singular objective: promoting the launch of that new product. The result of this multi-tier campaign is a single, powerful message: at that moment, this is the most important product launch in the world. Customers in turn believe this message, and respond accordingly. The proof is in the profits. Apple sold an estimated million units in the first day.

Leading dealers recognize the value of this “synchronicity” in their marketing in support of OEM marketing campaigns. If you are fully deployed with messaging aligned with the OEM’s launch activities you will provide the consumers a seamless online experience directly to your showroom – and facilitate that self-reinforcing consumer buzz for your store that is so essential to Apple’s success.

Synchronicity is a matter of degree. Virtually all OEMs will insure that there is appropriate messaging on your franchise website, although you’ll need to stay on your toes if you are using an independent website. Search marketing and content aligned with the vehicle launch would be the next tier. The most advanced digital marketers will deploy an integrated multichannel campaign of search, display, retargeting and web content to channel shoppers directly to their stores. These complex campaigns can be developed by your agency partner. However, investigate whether there are endorsed packages from your OEM’s digital marketing partner – they will have early access to OEM assets to provide that valuable synchronicity and cost efficiencies from use of technology and integration with the franchise marketing platform.

Synchronicity Doesn't Mean Selling Your Soul

If you’re worried about “selling your soul” or diluting your dealership brand, take a cue from Apple as well, where Seattle stores celebrated the iPad launch with Starbucks coffee, Virginia with hot cider, and Florida with palm-tree lined storefronts. Once your shoppers get to your website or showroom it is your opportunity to deliver the exceptional experience that makes them the rabid fan of your dealership as well at the vehicle. It doesn’t have to be an either/or proposition.

The message is obvious: there are times where it is in your interest to focus on your dealership brand and there are times when it is most profitable to ride the wave of interest created by your OEM. Successful dealers will exploit both strategies with today’s new generation of cost-effective digital marketing solutions.

Chris Reed joined ADP Digital Marketing (formerly The Cobalt Group) in July 2007 as Chief Marketing Officer. Chris brings over 25 years of experience in marketing strategy for businesses ranging from start-ups to IBM. Chris holds a BA in Public and International Affairs from Princeton University, and a MBA from Harvard University. In addition to education, Chris’s marketing inspiration could be attributed to his international upbringing-he used to ride an elephant to school in the jungles of Sumatra.

The Cobalt Group

www.cobalt.com
www.twitter.com/CobaltMarketing
www.facebook.com/CobaltTalent

A Car Dealer Call to Arms

Imagine a world where car dealers earned the same community respect as fire fighters, police officers and other local philanthropists. A world where little kids dream of being car dealers when they grow up, where you receive recognition in your local paper, where community members stop by your place of business just to chat. Maybe this is already happening at your dealership, but if so, you’re the exception rather than the rule. Why is that?

Will the Perception Catch Up with Positive Industry Changes?

After all, the industry has consistently marched in the right direction with a focus on professionalism, transparency and customer service.  With the advent of Monroney stickers, Regulation Z, and Certified Pre-owned vehicles, dealerships have certainly become more ethical than the days filled with stories of throwing a prospect’s keys on the roof if they wouldn’t buy a car. So why is the perception still there? Frankly, it’s because dealers are their own worst enemy.

What I’ve found in my 13 years in the automotive marketing industry is that car dealers are too often the ‘unsung heroes’ of their communities. They too plant trees, sponsor Little League teams, and participate in their local Rotary clubs. They do as much or more for the community as many other esteemed business leaders. However, due to a variety of self-defeating behavior, these good deeds aren’t imprinting themselves on the public consciousness they way they should be.

Dealer Social Media Channels Add High-Impact Personal Appeal

Many dealers have caught on that a personal touch may help build a rapport with customers; now it’s time to get savvy about using new channels to build your dealership’s public persona in the most optimal way. (Note: There was just a great Driving Sales post about building an emotional connection on Twitter-we agree 100% and wanted to speak a little more broadly about how to apply the same principles to your entire dealership social media strategy.) Instead of posting pictures of your dog and your softball team on your website (which could be a distraction to hot-on-the-trail customers eager to buy) dealers should instead transfer these reputation-building efforts to their social media channels. “This will allow you to stay in touch with clients who are still in the consideration phase-possibly torn between you and a competitor with similar inventory,” Muilenburg explains. ”Your ‘good guy/gal’ perception will then naturally pay off to tip the tides in your favor.” Here’s how to do it:

Must-Do’s for Making Your Dealership Social Media “Like”able

1. Post blog entries about your community involvement, include photos and videos
2. Share stories and information about your local area
3. Let your personality shine in your status updates
4. Show excitement about things important to your community, like the college football team, or the summer concert series, etc
5. Reward your fans

By instituting these five simple steps, you as a dealer can finally begin to gain recognition as the community hero that you truly are. If every dealer takes these actions to heart, we will finally be on our way to transforming the industry perception once and for all.

Matt Muilenburg, Vice President of Social Media at ADP Digital Marketing

Matt Muilenburg is Vice President of Social Media  for ADP Digital Marketing Solutions, where  he has been working closely with dealers and OEMs to identify new ways to improve automotive retailing and marketing effectiveness.  When not sitting in front of a gadget, you’ll find Matt volunteering at the YMCA, attending his kids academic, musical and athletic events, or releasing stress by working in his yard and garden. You can reach Matt at mattm@cobaltgroup.com or call him at 206-219-8259.

The Cobalt Group

www.cobalt.com
www.twitter.com/CobaltMarketing
www.facebook.com/CobaltTalent

Column: The Automotive Marketing Infobahn with Volker Jaeckel

Three German Proverbs for Three Common Automotive Marketing Scenarios

Volker Jaeckel, Digital Marketing Ambassador for ADP Digital Marketing

As a German “elder” of the automotive industry, I decided to use my beloved German proverbs to illustrate common scenarios auto industry Internet Managers know all too well. By the end of this article, you may not be fluent in German, but hopefully you will at least have the chance to chuckle, nod, or smile in recognition of a classic industry situation.

1. Das Eisen schmieden, solange es heiß ist. This one may be familiar to you Americans. It translates to “Strike while the iron is hot.”  Let me catapult myself back in time. It is 2001, a younger VJ (then with no gray hair) worked as a BMW and Mercedes Benz salesman in Michigan. At this time, our dealership was confronted with an intruder of a special kind, and every salesperson wanted to avoid contact with the nasty beast known as StarLeads. For those who don’t remember, StarLeads was a new lead program designed by Mercedes, sending Internet inquiries from real prospects. These prospects had researched a car on the OEM website, and now wanted to hear from a sales person in the dealership to gather more information.

Because I was the Benjamin in the dealership at this time, I was doomed by management to run this technology feature, even though many established sales personnel reported to management that the tool was a dud. It turned out it wasn’t a tool issue, but was a timing issue: many of these salespeople were waiting up to two days to contact the leads, at which point of course the person’s interest had waned and the lead had expired. Once I began speedily responding, or “striking” when a hot lead came through, the prospects began to convert.

The proverb’s truth isn’t limited to CRMs. You must “strike while the iron is hot” in every aspect of the dealership profession: responding to 3^rd party leads, joining the chat conversation on your website, or immediately engaging with a disgruntled customer on a review site to try to avoid damage to your dealership reputation.

Everybody knows about the essence of speed in our business, but when you mystery shop your competition and maybe even your own dealership, you’ll see that even basics are not always followed. Seeing the lack of timely responses in our industry, I can only shake my head and say, “What are you thinking?”

2. Eine Schwalbe Macht Noch Keinen Sommer. In English, the proverb means, “A single swallow doth not the summer make.” Swallows? Summer? What is this kooky German fellow speaking of? Believe it or not, this beloved German proverb ties in perfectly with pitfalls I see, particularly in dealers’ social media strategy. When an industry peer asks you how many Facebook fans you have, and you say “280,” what happens? Your smug peer responds that they have 5,234 fans and that their base is growing daily. Now you see where the proverb comes into play.

The “single swallows” don’t matter in social media. You could have 100,000 fans, but if they’re not engaged, what’s the point? What matters in social media is not numbers, but R.O.P. (Return-On-Post) R.O.P. includes engagement such as comments, links, referrals, or any other goal conversion you’ve set for your social media campaigns. This proverb also applies to your own social media efforts as a dealer. You have to continuously post and provide insight; a single blog post here and there does not a social media program make.

3. Rom ist auch nicht an einem Tag erbaut worden. This one will be popular with any Gladiator fans out there-it means: “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”  This is the “other half of the coin” to the first German proverb “Strike while the iron is hot.” While it is important to be speedy when making contact with a hot lead, you can’t lose heart if it takes much longer to close the sale. For new prospects coming through our CRM, I recommend at least a 120-day email follow-up approach, combined with telephone contact attempts. Some dealers come on hot and heavy, but they don’t have the patience to follow through after the initial “thrill-of-the-chase” wears off. The truly successful dealer is the one who establishes contact in a timely fashion, and then continues to nurture that relationship over time.

And now for one final proverb: Probieren geht über studieren. It means “trying is better than studying”- so get out there and sell some cars!

Volker Jaeckel, Digital Marketing Ambassador for ADP Digital Marketing

How to Optimize your Dealer Website in Five Minutes a Day

John Goad is the SEO Quality and Process Manager for ADP Digital Marketing

We won’t mince words: If you’re a dealer still dragging your feet about keyword optimization, it’s time to jump in the game. In fact, a recent study from AutoTrader.com (you’ve heard of them, right?) just confirmed that shopping for automobiles online is less of a passing trend and more of a permanent reality. The study revealed that 71% of consumers use the Internet while shopping for new and used vehicles, more than double any other information source. It also reaffirms the importance of search engines, saying, “Search engines are…commonly used during the vehicle shopping process, with Google being by far the most prevalent. New and used vehicle buyers who visited a dealer site arrive at the site via search.”

Satisfied? Good. Now since we know that keyword optimization is not the average dealer’s idea of a good time on Saturday night (it’s not ours either, for the record), the experts at ADP Digital Marketing have provided you this list of clever keyword tactics that will help you trounce your competition in just five minutes a day. By the end of this article, you’ll know how to make your dealer website fully discoverable by customers dying to find that perfect vehicle-yours!

Killer Keyword Tips For Your Car Website

1. Think locally. The average dealer may dream of being number one for “Chevrolet” or “Chevy Malibu,” but you know better. You know that bidding on global terms is pointless because most consumers won’t drive more than 20 miles to pick up a new car. While it would be nice for your ego to be number one for “Chevrolet,” it would be unbelievably expensive and an ultimately fruitless effort. Instead, it’s better to pre-qualify the consumers that will actually convert by optimizing your site for local keywords like “Chevrolet Seattle” or “Chevy Malibu Seattle.” Not only do you have an infinitely better chance of ranking number one, you limit your traffic to consumers you could actually serve. Winner, you.
2. Go  beyond vehicle keywords. Sure, your business is selling cars, but that’s certainly not your only sales opportunity. Attract a greater array of customers by including keywords like “Detroit oil change,” or “Mazda shock absorbers Santa Barbara” or even “bad credit auto financing Houston.” Savvy keywords like these will allow you to attract new customers, even those who are not in-market for a vehicle.
3. Spice up your urls. Believe it or not, that little www address in your browser is one of the first places search engines look when ranking a site, so it pays to optimize them for key terms. The easiest recipe for optimizing your dealer website url is: brand name + subject matter. For example, if your page features your Service Sign-up sheet, a url like www.excellencemotors.com/ServiceApptForm would be perfect. Updating urls takes literally five minutes and can do wonders for your site’s rankings.
4. A picture is worth a thousand keywords. Well maybe not a thousand, but at least a few juicy ones! When optimizing your site, don’t forget about photos. When you upload a photo, you can include what is known as “alt-text.” Alt-text is basically an SEO caption; it tips off search engines to the photo content, therefore giving them yet another great opportunity to send relevant traffic your way. By taking a few minutes to add keyword-rich descriptions like “Seattle Chevy Dealer employees at a winter barbeque,” or “Seattle Green Infiniti J30 shining in the autumn sun,” you can give your dealer website a more competitive stance in just a few minutes.
5. Think links. A final quick keyword trick is to optimize your site links. Search engines treat links with added importance, so give yours some extra punch by incorporating key phrases. Instead of copy that reads “To view used Seattle BMWs, click here,” have it read “Check out our great selection of Seattle used BMWs.”  Why? Because, of course, no one is searching the phrase “Click Here.” They are searching phrases like “Seattle used BMWs.” This type of “link-thinking” takes a little while to get used to, but once you get in the mindset, it becomes second nature.

Needless to say, these tips work best when you combine them all together. Don’t settle for making your site a little easier to find by in-market consumers – make it a  dynamic car-selling destination by following all these tips for a powerfully optimized digital automotive website.

Last but not least, remember this isn’t about keywords; it’s about customers. ADP Digital Marketing SEO expert John Goad reinforces this maxim. “The best SEO tip isn’t an algorithm or some gaming technique. It’s about simply putting yourself in your customers’ shoes so that they can find what they’re looking for,” Goad says. “They’re doing a great job of pre-qualifying themselves; it’s up to you to make that connection by optimizing your site for those key terms. They’ve already told you what they’re shopping for. It’s not like a billboard on a freeway. People are actually telling you exactly what they want, down to the details. It’s your job to make sure they know you’re the one that can give it to them.”

John Goad is the SEO Quality and Process Manager for ADP Digital Marketing

John Goad is the SEO Quality and Process Manager for ADP Digital Marketing. He brings 14 years of digital marketing experience, including founding startups and advising Fortune 500 companies. When he’s not working with clients like Ford and Converse, Goad enjoys restoring air-cooled Volkswagens and watching baseball.

The Cobalt Group

When it comes to Super Bowl advertising, auto marketing expert Max Steckler has one piece of advice for auto dealers: don’t forget about breakfast.

What does he mean? “The Super Bowl is the dance,” Steckler, Vice President of Advertising Products for ADP Digital Marketing, explains. “That’s where the courtship between advertisers and consumers begin.  It’s a whirlwind, and it’s incredibly exciting. But what about after the excitement of the event fades? The one who’s actually going to win that customer relationship is the dealer who thinks about breakfast the morning after.”

Breakfast, in this case, is the retargeting campaign that displays your ads across consumers’ favorite websites long after the dust from The Big Game has settled. “The day after is just as important as the day itself,” Steckler says. “You want to be continuing to reinforce the national ad message so you can draw consumers to your store. If you can get that click, you can continue to fold your brand into that initial, electric Super Bowl experience.”

That’s just one tip the ADP Digital Marketing team offers on how dealers can make their Super Bowl advertising soar, so read on for the rest.

Tips for an Automotive Digital Marketing Upset

1. Make Your Campaigns More “Likeable.” Gen Y are not only sports-lovers (or at least beer-lovers), they also represent 40% of new car buyers for 2012.  Since we know they’ll be documenting their Super Bowl experience through status updates, why not turns sports fans into your fans? Offer a discount for new “likes” on Facebook, or have people tag their team spirit pictures and award a free oil change for the best decorated car or clever bumper sticker.
2. Score Big with Search. Search, you say? What does that have to do with a TV ad? Everything, according to ADP’s Chuck Tilton. “For today’s consumer, the viewing experience and the online experience are intrinsically linked,” Tilton says. “Today’s consumer is watching the game on their couch with their laptops on their lap. We know this because when the commercials air, we can literally watch the web traffic jump minute-over-minute. Search is the bridge between those two worlds, so make sure you are showing up for your key phrases,” he said.
3. Rock your Online Reviews. Who’s rooting for you? When consumers search your name on commercials, are they going to find roaring fans or booing bad sports? “Reviews are now a form of advertising in their own right, and a powerful one at that,” says ADP’s Matt Muilenburg. Therefore, it’s worth your time to pay extra attention to your reputation monitoring tools in the days leading up to the game. It might even be worth doing a “review drive” to pump things up.
4. Compete and Conquer. That said, if you don’t have an OEM advertising in the game, don’t despair. If you’ve got a great alternative offering, don’t be afraid to launch a “competitive conquesting” PPC campaign pitting your inventory against the advertised model. The Super Bowl’s all about the spirit of competition, right?
5. Watch your Language. Yes, you read that right. While colorful phrases may be a quintessential part of the viewing experience, it pays to pick your words carefully when it comes to your Super Bowl ad campaign. Avoid a hefty fine by steering clear of phrases like “Super Bowl” or even “Super Sunday” in your advertising. Try “The Big Game” or perhaps something more creative like “The Dallas Duel to the Death.” True fans will get your drift.
6. No Parked Pages Please. “This is a huge one I see all the time,” ADP’s James Fabin said, “Nothing kills a sports buzz like a ‘Coming Soon’ or ‘Expired’ page, so update all your pages before the Big Day to capitalize on all those crazed fans.”
7. Mobile-ize Your Fans. As we’ve already noted, Gen-Y is a huge car-buying market, so that’s one good reason to add mobile to your site for this text-happy crowd. Want an even better one? Cobalt’s research shows mobile users are the most serious about actually making a purchase. “Laptops are for research,” Steckler says, “mobile is for finding a car, finding a price, and finding a dealer near you while the consumer is on the go shopping for their vehicle.” In order to convert those Super Bowl leads to the point-of-sale, mobile is a must.
8. Give your Campaign more Yardage. We’ve talked about the day of, and the day after, but don’t forget about the day before. According to a recent article, Super Bowl advertisers are beginning their campaigns earlier than ever this year, so get in the game and start early to be competitive.

Everyone Loves an Automotive Marketing Underdog

In conclusion, with at least eight auto-makers and car companies airing ads this year (double the usual number) this could very well be one of the most exciting events for automotive advertising in history. Much like the event itself, with the level playing field created by automotive digital advertising and social media, this year truly is anyone’s game, so don’t be afraid to grab your piece of the action.  Go (whatever team you want to win)!

Contributing Writers

Max Steckler is the Vice President of Advertising Products for ADP Digital Marketing Solutions.  An automotive buff in both his professional and personal life, Max spends his spare time restoring vintage Japanese motorcycles, and is preparing for an off-road motorcycle trip to Alaska.

Matt Muilenburg is Vice President of Social Media  for ADP Digital Marketing Solutions, where  he has been working closely with dealers and OEMs to identify new ways to improve automotive retailing and marketing effectiveness.  When not sitting in front of a gadget, you’ll find Matt volunteering at the YMCA, attending his kids academic, musical and athletic events, or releasing stress by working in his yard and garden.

Chuck Tilton is a Senior Product Marketing Manager at ADP Digital Marketing Solutions.  He has worked extensively in the field of digital marketing since 1996.  Outside the office he and his family enjoy camping in the Cascade Mountains and beaches of the Pacific Northwest.

James Fabin is a Senior Product Marketing Manager at ADP Digital Marketing Solutions. He founded The Hyundai Connection in 1994, one of the earliest online communities for car enthusiasts. In his spare time, he works with local animal rescue shelters creating videos of dogs in need of a loving home.

According to comScore, Inc., 63.2 million people accessed news and information on their mobile devices in January 2009, and 22.4 million (35%) did so daily, more than double the size of the audience last year. 

In a statement earlier this year, Mark Donovan, senior vice president, mobile, comScore, said “[The] use of mobile Internet has evolved from an occasional activity to being a daily part of people's lives. This underscores the growing importance of the mobile medium to access time-sensitive and utilitarian information."  

According to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), nearly 15% of all U.S. households were wireless-only in 2007. In addition, wireless-only adults made up 13.7% of the population. The NCHS is still calculating data for 2008, but, wireless-only households were up to 17.5% of the total in the first half of the year, and adults using only mobiles crept up to 16.1% during the same time period.

How Mobile Works 

When a consumer arrives at a dealer’s website, the system detects which browser and operating system the consumer is using. When a supported mobile device is detected, a mobile optimized version of the website is presented (Cobalt Mobile uses the same URL, no redirect to another URL is needed). It is important to recognize that a consumer will use a dealer’s mobile site for very low funnel activities, such as maps and directions, inventory search, vehicle details and to place a call to a dealer. The mobile shopper tends to be ready to engage with the dealer, therefore it is key for a mobile optimized website, like Cobalt Mobile, be task focused – allowing consumers to quickly access the dealer’s entire inventory, get vehicle details and photos, get hours and location, receive turn-by-turn directions to the dealership, or place a call with a single click. The buttons and presentation should be optimized for the smaller screens and consumers’ fingers – with no forms, no dialing, just a highly interactive, one touch interface to help eliminate frustration for the consumer and reduce delays in getting them the information they need.  

Why Cobalt Focused on Mobile

More and more consumers are viewing mobile Internet access as a necessity rather than a luxury and it is becoming more important to extend the online consumer automotive shopping experience to mobile devices. In fact, J. D. Power & Associates reports that annual sales of smart phones are predicted to reach 300 million by 2013 – an increase of 95 percent.

Cobalt based our mobile solution on the data and patterns we detected from our 15 years experience, our install base of over 10,000 dealer websites, extensive usability testing and by studying best practices of mobile sites across other industries. We know the behavior of consumers and what tasks they engage in as they get closer in the buying process to actually making a purchase. In developing our mobile solution, we focused on these buying behaviors and key tasks to optimize the consumers experience for the smaller display and interface of mobile devices.  

For a dealer, a mobile solution needs to be simple – no additional websites to setup and manage; no additional inventory tools to learn, and no new URLs to market. With the Cobalt solution, without any changes, a dealer’s website gets extended effortlessly to mobile devices – optimized “on the fly” to ensure the consumer experience is consistent and seamless. Consumers view the same photos, inventory and pricing as they would on the dealer’s traditional site, however the information is presented in a format that is optimized for mobile devices. Some of the information is filtered; other information is formatted into bite size chunks that bring the most important pieces of data and calls-to-action to the consumer as quickly as possible. All of the key buying tasks are carried over from the website to the mobile device, including access to the dealer’s new, used and certified inventory; accurate inventory pricing and specials; and dealer hours, location and directions. Using a service like Cobalt Mobile, means all of these tasks can be performed with no typing whatsoever – everything from making the call to the dealer to getting directions is point and click. (Cobalt’s solution works with Google’s mapping application for best of breed mapping capability – no typing in addresses; access to Google features such as directions, traffic, etc. As Google maps gets better, that progress is passed on to the consumer).

During our recent pilot of Cobalt Mobile we found that Cobalt Mobile users are nearly three times more likely to click-through to an Hours and Directions page than Internet shoppers using a standard dealer website.

Consumer story

Picture yourself – it is Saturday afternoon and you are out running errands and have a few extra hours of free time. For the last few weeks you’ve been researching vehicles you like online and you’re pretty close to making your purchase. Last night you found a dealer with several cars you were interested in and you decided to visit the dealer, but you are out without any of the information you wrote down the night before. With mobile access, you pick up your iPhone and view the dealer’s mobile-optimized website, allowing you to continue your research and shopping. The interface is clean and easy to use – buttons are big and spaced to prevent fat fingering; there is absolutely no typing required – all you do is point and click. The content is consistent with what you saw the night before on the dealer website. You quickly search for the type of vehicles you’re interested in and see current inventory with up-to-date pricing. You find a car you’re interested in; you review the specs which are provided in bite-sized pieces. You view some photos and review the details of the special pricing for this vehicle. Now you have enough information and you are ready to contact the dealership – one click and now you’re talking to the sales person to setup a test drive. The experience was seamless from the website, to your mobile device, to contacting the dealership.

To learn more about Cobalt Mobile please call 800-909-8244 or visit www.cobalt.com/mobile.

The following is based on an article I wrote for the March 2009 issue of Fixed Ops Magazine.

The Fixed Operations staff has many challenges not very different than today’s floor salesperson.  They have the same goals of building their business “funnel” to create a continuous revenue stream. They also face the challenge of maintaining relationships with previous and current customers to ensure repeat business and referral business.

Here we discuss three key ways for your Fixed Ops organization to survive and thrive in a tough economy: 

Optimize your website
You must be optimizing your website to drive traffic to both sales and service within your dealership. All marketing and sales efforts should be directing traffic to your website, including offline ads, online coupons, etc. Promote your site and tools like your website’s “Schedule a Service Appointment” through your display, e-mail and search marketing.  

If you have a page on your website dedicated to service and parts coupons and specials make sure you that consumers see your business when they search by optimizing your website for terms related to your specials.  Organic Search Engine optimization is one of the most cost-effective measures that you can take to generate traffic to your website and ultimately your service bays.

The next step is to make sure that your website is addressing what the customer is searching for. If you have service specials running, you must have them listed on your website’s homepage or the landing page the offer directs the prospect to. Make sure that your site has relevant, accurate, current Fixed Ops content and offerings.

Search
Implementing an integrated search engine marketing program in order to leverage your parts and service business is critical in these economic times. According to Yahoo, a full 25% of all automotive searches on Yahoo are from consumers looking to buy parts or service for their car.

And, according to Google, over 90% of service customers are influenced by their online experience. These consumers are searching for such things as ‘oil change’, ‘brake pads’, ‘transmission service’, ‘cheap alternator’, etc and having your dealership website listed when in-market prospective consumers are searching on these keywords is important for building your brand presence and driving more local traffic to your dealership service bays.

Optimizing your website for search engines means having a landing page or multiple landing pages on your website that talk about the automotive services you offer. In addition, it requires that you keep this information up-to-date with weekly specials and “why us?” value proposition for your dealership. Another great way to ensure that your dealership appears on top search engines such as Google and Yahoo is to buy paid search advertising. Identifying the right keywords and integrating ad copy with your website pages helps increase your return on your investment.

E-mail
E-mail is one of the fastest and least expensive ways to remarket to your existing customer base. It should be the responsibility of every service advisor to get a current e-mail address from every service customer. How do you get the customer to give you their e-mail address? Let the customer know “what’s in it for them”, such as quarterly e-mail specials and coupons that they will receive, as well as important notices and recalls that could affect their vehicle.

One of the biggest issues we see today with most DMS systems is the number of duplicate records and the amount of outdated information in the system. The database has to be cleansed and updated to have the most effective marketing results. With accurate consumer information, your marketing efforts can be targeted to specific customer segments. The importance of delivering the right message to the right customer at the right time cannot be overstated.

Every customer purchasing a vehicle – new or used – should receive a special email promotion for their first scheduled service within 90 days of the vehicle purchase. If you can get your customer to return for regular service, 86% of them are going to purchase another vehicle at your dealership at some point. Owner marketing  programs can make this type of targeting easy to accomplish and can even help scrub your customer data to make your Fixed Ops marketing efforts more effective.

The fact is that in the current economy more consumers are holding onto their vehicles longer and that means that the need for parts and service on those vehicles is increasing. Every Fixed Ops manager needs to focus their efforts on finding and capturing as much of these dollars as possible and the best way to do that is to find consumers where they are searching for that information: online.