TGIF! I wanted to touch briefly on the Facebook madness (literally mad) that has transpired these past couple of weeks.

Facebook is making some changes and people, surprise surprise, don't like it. The outcome of this will be that like most other changes Facebook has made- most complain, eventually get over it, and ultimately learn to love it.

But than again, Google+ wasn't around in the past, and now it's open to everyone. Basically 'Facebookers' now have the option to go elsewhere. But will they?

Quite frankly if they are not accepting of changes within a channel they are very familiar with, such as Facebook, it will be harder to adapt to something completely new like Google + so my take on it is that most will stick to Facebook for now, but perhaps acquire a Google+ account, just in case.

Why the fight against change? Well most users are students and/or in the 18-35 age range and use it for leisure. They want it to be as simple as possible and more options means something new they have to learn. They didn't sign up for this! They prefer the experience remain simple.

Why not Google+? Well Google+ is more technical and right now a large percentage of it's users are engineers or developers. Having a large group of people who do not like change, even one as simple as changing a news feed, transfer to an entirely new way of socializing is not going to happen overnight.

So for now my dear 'Facebookers' you have two options: Get with it or get something else.

Are you excited or upset about these changes? Have they affected your business at all? Share your thoughts below.

It's a given that auto dealers have to spend money to make money. What's become clearer in recent years - as the effects of those dollars have become more and more traceable - is that there are some marketing channels that are more effective than others.

You'll still find the die-hards who are convinced that they have to do print and television advertising at a minimum, regardless of whether they produce quantifiable results.  And unless the dealer is asking absolutely every warm body that wanders onto the lot how they heard about the dealership, he's going to attribute the lion's share of those ups to the intangible brand awareness generated by those ever-present ads.

These days, savvy dealers augment those warm bodies in any way they can:

• SEO for the dealership website (another given)
• direct mail partnerships with local banks
• targeted email campaigns to former customers
• leads from their OEM
• 3rd party leads

and just about anything else they can think of, short of dialing for dollars through the phone book.

(Though I'm sure there are some who considered that last one as a real possibility when things were really bad a while back.)

That's all well and good, but unless there's a process in place for turning the interest generated by all that activity into sales, you might as well open up the nearest window and chuck your money out.  It doesn't matter where the prospect comes from – if they don’t hear from you in a timely fashion after they’ve raised their hand, you’ve just wasted the money you spent on the channel they came in from.

If you’ve got a marketing program that isn’t working the way you expect, get that vendor on the phone to talk it through. But before you do that, take a look around your store to see what your team is doing with those prospects. We've covered the top 5 best practices for follow up, but here’s a refresher:

1. Make contact quickly
2. Sell the appointment
3. Don’t prequalify
4. Work your process
5. Be consistent

You may have identified your own, based on what works for your store. But if you’re missing one of these, you’re not getting the most you can out of what you’re paying for.

What do you do to ensure that your sales team isn't losing money for you?

It's a given!

Every dealer should have a website or some type of online presence. If I am looking for a car, the first place I am going to look is online. I am going to research the car I want first, than see which dealer in my area has that car, and then check out their website to see their inventory.

Don’t have a website? Is the inventory at least listed somewhere? No? Well OK than, you just lost me as a prospect.

An online presence not only lets prospects know you exist and what you can offer, it also gives you credibility. A website isn't the only way to have presence either. You can also try:

• * Facebook
• * Car inventory site
• * Youtube

Everyone is online now. We shop online, we socialize online, we get our news online, and some of us even work online. Posting your inventory in the Sunday paper is so 90’s to me.  I, personally, only buy the Sunday paper for the coupons, the “funnies,” and the crosswords. And besides, ultimately it’s cheaper to post online and easier to track your ROI.

So do you have presence? If not, I’d love to hear why not!

Call me old fashioned... but I still prefer hearing a voice as opposed to reading text.

I read an article called Nissan: Facebook may replace phone banks.  The article basically touched on how, although any changes have been proposed, Nissan could start shifting some of its employees from the call centers to the web. This trend is not just being picked up by Nissan but by other companies as well.

I think it is a great idea… as long as it’s in correlation with being able to call in and speak to a live person. For some situations I think Facebook and Twitter are good places to post comments and grievances such as:

• - Not all customer service calls are bad (although most people only call customer service with complaints) If I truly enjoyed your service I may tweet about it or post a comment to your Facebook wall to let you and all of your fans know how impressed I was and about my experience.
• - I am very angry. Your call center hasn't helped, I have been on hold for about 30 minutes, and you keep connecting me to different people. Now I want to take it to Facebook so that I can complain about the poor phone service. This may entice you to tighten up your call centers.
• - I need to vent. I had a horrible experience at your store or on the phone with you or while using your website. I want to address it in a way that others who may feel the same way can read about it and possibly share their thoughts.

Now on the flip side, there are certain situations where I would want to speak directly to a person right away! Some personal examples include:

• - My credit card was stolen! I want to speak directly to a representative so that they can not only cancel my card but fill me in on any transactions and what my next steps are.
• - My phone isn't working! I need technical support ASAP and I want to speak to a live person because I am not tech savvy and need to be walked through the process so that I can ask questions as I go.

Because dealerships now have an increased presence in social media outlets I think it is great that their customers/prospects want to interact with them online but they should also have the option to interact on a personal/private channel as well, such as in person or on the phone.

Can you suggest any other instances where you would prefer to speak with someone over texts, web chatting, tweeting, or posting on Facebook? Share your suggestions below!

There's a quote floating around out there that says:  "May you live in interesting times." It's usually characterized as a curse, meaning that the most desirable state of things is to drift along without any dramatic turn of events. Status quo, without any surprises.

It's safe to say that we're all living in interesting times right now.

For the automotive industry in particular, the restatements of 2011 and 2012 auto sales estimates and drops in consumer confidence last week, coupled with the out-and-out acts of God that disrupted the supply chain out of Japan earlier in March, make it one of the most "interesting" years on record.

But there are some glimmers of hope.

Banks are still lending more freely, and interest rates are still at historic lows. What this means for consumers is that now they have the opportunity to shop around for the best rates to get into a car.

And even though they're starting to slow, used car prices are up 30% this year, so there's a huge opportunity out there for auto dealers to increase their inventory turnover and margins -- if they can connect with the right buyers.

Use these unusual market conditions to reassess how you're managing your lot. How are you making the best of these circumstances? Is there something you could be doing differently to bring more prospects to your store? How can you expand your reach? What does your inventory mix look like?

These are questions you should be asking on a regular basis anyway -- but now you have even more reason to.

You don’t know what you got till it’s gone…

I read a great post on Drivingsales.com yesterday called Why You Lost your Best Customer that touched on an ongoing customer service experience that, despite many years of loyalty, ultimately led to switching brands. This got me thinking of my own experiences where because I had been a customer for so long the company started to neglect me. They got too comfortable with me. “Well Person A has been a customer for 10 years now so we can take care of Person B’s needs first since they are a first time customer, and we want to impress them.” Well… wait! Person A is still a customer and if anything should be considered just as important (if not more) than Person B.

“It takes less effort to keep an old customer satisfied than to get a new customer interested”

In a dealership setting it holds true as well. Person B may be buying that $70k car as opposed to the $20k vehicle Person A is purchasing, but over the last 10 years Person A has purchased $20k vehicles for his entire family and because they like your service so much, you can almost guarantee that his children will also be purchasing vehicles for their families as well. So basically being as loyal to Person A as they are to you is a lifetime investment.

“If we don’t take care of our customer, someone else will”

In addition to customer loyalty, just treating the customer right is in your best interest. Ever hear of word of mouth? So you got Person C coming in to purchase a car and their credit is not the greatest. Do you immediately disregard their needs? Or do you sit down with them and try to work out a plan? Bad credit doesn't mean they don’t make a decent salary or have a down payment available. Take the time to help them explore their options, advise them on how to clean up their credit so that they can come back to YOU when they are ready to purchase that vehicle. And even if you couldn't help them at that moment, they will be so pleased with how helpful you were to them that they would be sure to share their experience with their family and friends. Basically, Person C could ultimately become the loyal customer that Person A is.

“A happy customer will tell 3 friends, an unhappy customer will tell the whole world!”

So as cliché as this may sound it has held true through the times: treat others how you would like to be treated. This is relevant professionally, personally, and socially.

Any other customer service rules that you abide by? Share them below!

We talk about it in our 14-Day Quickstart. We talk about it in our videos. Getting in touch with people who have asked for contact has to happen as quickly as possible in order to improve your chances of successfully converting that lead into a sale.

Now, a Hubspot article published last week and featured on Automotive Digital Marketing  cites a Harvard Business Review study on online sales leads that found that companies that reach out within an hour are "nearly 7 times as likely to qualify the lead." By their definition, that means making contact with a key decision maker and having a meaningful conversation. According to that same HBR article (dated March 2011), corporate spending on online advertising to uncover those opportunities for a conversation topped $22.7 billion in 2009, and was continuing to climb.

Think about it in terms of your business: how much are you spending per month on advertising? Do you know what the results are? And to take it a step further, if you do get a hit off of one of your campaigns, do you know what happens to it? How is it handled?

Take a look at your team and your process to make sure that you're making the most of your opportunities by responding quickly to consumers who want you to get in touch. If you're filling the top of the funnel using marketing and advertising but not making the most of what you generate, how much money have you thrown away?

On the flip side, think about how much busier your team could be if they make that call within the first hour -- and improve their chances by 7X.

You'd take that bet in Vegas, wouldn't you? Why not add that requirement at your store?

Social media is simple for the most part as long as you follow best practices and use common sense. With Facebook being one of the most popular we have a few tips for dealers to consider with regard to having a successful Facebook page.

1. Address complaints on Facebook. I have seen many dealers who are active on Facebook but do not address customer complaints. Why aren’t you doing this? What if a prospect goes to your page and reads unresolved complaints? They may not want to come into your dealership. The response can be very simple and later resolved ‘off-line’ but nonetheless it should be addressed.

2. Encourage feedback on Facebook. If a recent car purchaser comments on your wall how fantastic the experience was be sure to thank them right away. It shows that you are not only active on the site but also that you are excited about their purchase. Invite them to share a picture of their new vehicle or tag your dealership if they post it to their personal page.

3. Post personalized updates/status’s to your page. There is nothing worse than automated status updates. They are boring and automation can be taken as your dealership not being active on the site which may discourage feedback or interaction from your fans. If you post an article be sure to leave a comment before the link such as ‘I never knew that you could save gas by by doing this. Will you try it?’ followed by the article link. Posing a question will invite interaction.

Any other rules your dealership follows? Share them below!

Saw an interesting article this week featuring data from  AutoBuying101.com's "Auto Buying Experience" survey, which describes car buyers' experiences with working with auto dealers.

There weren't really any earth-shattering insights on offer, but the data did corroborate some of the things that we "know" about car buyers and the auto sales process:

• Car buyers find the process to be "stressful," and only 28% of the respondents said dealers were trustworthy (yikes).

• 37% thought that the worst part of the process was price negotiation. However, 79% felt like they got a fair deal.

• According to the same survey, many don't plan their approach to the dealer: they don't set an appointment (44%), check their credit (44%) or get pre-approved (47%) before they show up on the lot.

On the other hand, 78% checked out at least one dealership website while they were considering what car they wanted to buy, before they went driving around.

That means that you have the opportunity to make it easier for your customers by doing what we do: educate them on what to expect. When people apply for a car loan at one of our consumer websites, we make a point of telling them what happens next and how to be prepared. There's no reason that you, the auto dealer, can't do the same.

It's simple: add pages that describe the best way to buy a car from you, including how the process works at your dealership and what they need to bring in order to close the deal. Increase your transparency to counteract that 28% trust rating. And follow through on what you say you're going to do.

When you make their experience great, you'll get a car sold and a customer advocate who will recommend you to all of their friends.

In the end, isn't that what's best for you, too?

In the 90′s the closest thing we had to social media were AOL Chat rooms (do those even exist anymore!?) Today the options are in the dozens. Social media has definitely impacted our culture in the past few years and absolutely everyone is using some form of it in one way or another.

Here are examples of ways social media is being embraced by those you would never have thought would use it or even know about it!

1.  The Amish – According to socialmediatoday.com, Amish communities have had to allow some technologies into their culture to keep it thriving. For instance, while they do allow landlines they do allow cell phones for emergency use. Their children get access to cellphones and this is how many are checking out the ‘online world’.

While an approximate number of what percentage of Amish are on Facebook is not known, it begs the question: Could social media access within the youth in the Amish community deter them from the Amish church and culture in the future?

2. Monks – I read an article in the NY Times about the monks, who for centuries have shielded away from any outside distractions, but because they are struggling to find new members they have taken to the Internet with an elaborate ad campaign featuring videos, a blog and even a Gregorian chant ring-tone. Basically they know that in order to attract a younger following they have to go online.

They went as far as to have a Facebook page to promote their cause as well as a website to shed light on their purpose and answer questions. Could the younger generation of prospective Monks having access to social media in anyway influence their behaviors as Monks?

3. The President- Who would have ‘thunk it.’ The President and First Lady promoting their campaigns on Youtube and Facebook? No other president has done it. Currently Michelle Obama is working on her Lets Move! campaign that has exploded on the Internet. It also helps that superstar Beyonce has also teamed up with her for a video that has had 10 million plus Youtube hits.  Than we have President Obama who gets the Internet and social media the way that Kennedy got TV.

He has presence on about 16 social media sites  including MySpace, Facebook and Twitter.  His use of social media/Internet can be credited for his success in the polls. His (official) Facebook page alone has over 21 million fans, and this doesn’t include the millions of fans on other pages made by his supporters. Will presidential candidates to come look to social media as heavily as the president to help gain them popularity?

4. Inmates? – Inmates are using social media, particularly Facebook, in a couple of different ways. The first way is themselves- obviously not legal in some states (although rules on prisoner internet access vary from state to state, more and more correctional facilities now argue that online access allows convicts to remain productive individuals even while incarcerated, preparing them for eventual reentry into society).

According to Foxnews.com Inmates are accessing the popular social websites using smartphones smuggled inside prison walls and aren’t just using Facebook to update their status or share interesting videos. Some victims and victims’ families have complained that the inmates are using popular social networking sites to stalk, harass and threaten them. So what’s your take? Will inmates (maybe non-violent) having access to social media channels help them be more productive once released?

There were a few more users that I wanted to add… but I will let you all share your thoughts and see if you can guess them! Did I miss any?