Car dealers have an increasingly challenging task ahead of them as they have to continue to evaluate the latest digital advertising platforms, services, and related technology.

It is not uncommon for dealer principals to say that they are “sticking to what worked in the past” because they have no patience and specific strategy as they sort through the claims of automotive advertising partners.

Automotive Inventory Syndication & Marketing

PCG has created a whitepaper that will be released today at the Automotive Marketing Boot Camp in Orlando and it will be available for download at http://www.automotive-advertising.net.  Also keep in mind that the keynote speakers will be live broadcast on www.DrivingSalesTV.com starting at 7:30 pm tonight.

The PCG whitepaper is entitled "Evaluating Automotive Inventory Advertising Services" and its focus is on inventory syndication, advertising, and how to measure the ROI of these strategies.

Since many car dealers use platforms such as Autotrader.com, Cars.com, UsedCars.com, EveryCarListed.com, and Craigslist this is an important discussion on how to evaluate success with third party advertising strategies.

The whitepaper will be a living document. It will be revised periodically to include new entrants into the inventory advertising and syndication business. It will also be revised from data and commentary provided by the automotive community.

Consider the initial release on April 16, 2011 a starting point for many viewpoints and related discussions on dealer inventory advertising platforms and third party leads.

The goal of this whitepaper is to publish datasets and strategies to compare and contrast automotive advertising platforms. This information contained in this report will provide dealers with new ideas on how to evaluate their advertising and syndication choices.

As this document grows we will also include case study data from dealers who offer to share their results.

Dealer Centricity Scores Introduced

In addition to providing data on pricing models and lead quality we will also take a look at the way in which cars are displayed on the Internet. We will introduce Dealer Centricity Scores (DCS) as a measure of how many ads (potential brand leaks) are displayed on Vehicle Detail Pages (VDP).

We will also introduce one method of evaluating the ROI of popular inventory syndication platforms using a Cost Per Vehicle Detail Page Views formula created by Dennis Galbraith.

This approach is one way that Dennis suggests that a dealer can evaluate the benefits of upgrading from a basic advertising package to a premium package.

So if you would like to download the whitepaper, it will be available after 5:30 pm on April 16, 2011. After you have time to read the document, add your comments and suggestions how this whitepaper can be enhanced.

Sharing Your Data For Future Updates

If you would like to share data from your dealership to be added to future versions of the whitepaper, send me an email to: brian@pcgdigitalmarketing.com. We would love to get actual dealer data from ALL platforms listed in the whitepaper.

Car dealers have an increasingly challenging task ahead of them as they have to continue to evaluate the latest digital advertising platforms, services, and related technology.

It is not uncommon for dealer principals to say that they are “sticking to what worked in the past” because they have no patience and specific strategy as they sort through the claims of automotive advertising partners.

Automotive Inventory Syndication & Marketing

PCG has created a whitepaper that will be released today at the Automotive Marketing Boot Camp in Orlando and it will be available for download at http://www.automotive-advertising.net.  Also keep in mind that the keynote speakers will be live broadcast on www.DrivingSalesTV.com starting at 7:30 pm tonight.

The PCG whitepaper is entitled "Evaluating Automotive Inventory Advertising Services" and its focus is on inventory syndication, advertising, and how to measure the ROI of these strategies.

Since many car dealers use platforms such as Autotrader.com, Cars.com, UsedCars.com, EveryCarListed.com, and Craigslist this is an important discussion on how to evaluate success with third party advertising strategies.

The whitepaper will be a living document. It will be revised periodically to include new entrants into the inventory advertising and syndication business. It will also be revised from data and commentary provided by the automotive community.

Consider the initial release on April 16, 2011 a starting point for many viewpoints and related discussions on dealer inventory advertising platforms and third party leads.

The goal of this whitepaper is to publish datasets and strategies to compare and contrast automotive advertising platforms. This information contained in this report will provide dealers with new ideas on how to evaluate their advertising and syndication choices.

As this document grows we will also include case study data from dealers who offer to share their results.

Dealer Centricity Scores Introduced

In addition to providing data on pricing models and lead quality we will also take a look at the way in which cars are displayed on the Internet. We will introduce Dealer Centricity Scores (DCS) as a measure of how many ads (potential brand leaks) are displayed on Vehicle Detail Pages (VDP).

We will also introduce one method of evaluating the ROI of popular inventory syndication platforms using a Cost Per Vehicle Detail Page Views formula created by Dennis Galbraith.

This approach is one way that Dennis suggests that a dealer can evaluate the benefits of upgrading from a basic advertising package to a premium package.

So if you would like to download the whitepaper, it will be available after 5:30 pm on April 16, 2011. After you have time to read the document, add your comments and suggestions how this whitepaper can be enhanced.

Sharing Your Data For Future Updates

If you would like to share data from your dealership to be added to future versions of the whitepaper, send me an email to: brian@pcgdigitalmarketing.com. We would love to get actual dealer data from ALL platforms listed in the whitepaper.

Here is an announcement that I received today from Google:

At Google, we’re always working to innovate and improve ways for small businesses to get online and reach more customers. At times, though, we have to decide where to focus our efforts and which technologies we expect will yield the most benefit to users and businesses like you in the long run.


In that spirit, we are retiring Google Tags for all users on April 29, 2011. No action is required on your part, and your Places account and listing will continue to work as usual. Effective today, no new tags can be created, but all active tags will keep running to the end of April for free.


In your Places account, you’ll be able to see billing history until July 31st. If your tag is active, performance data will be available from now until May 31st. Historical performance data of inactive tags will be available in your dashboard starting May 2nd until May 31st.

This is an interesting development...more to think about. I'll keep you posted on related news once I get back the Automotive Marketing Boot Camp.

Here is an announcement that I received today from Google:

At Google, we’re always working to innovate and improve ways for small businesses to get online and reach more customers. At times, though, we have to decide where to focus our efforts and which technologies we expect will yield the most benefit to users and businesses like you in the long run.


In that spirit, we are retiring Google Tags for all users on April 29, 2011. No action is required on your part, and your Places account and listing will continue to work as usual. Effective today, no new tags can be created, but all active tags will keep running to the end of April for free.


In your Places account, you’ll be able to see billing history until July 31st. If your tag is active, performance data will be available from now until May 31st. Historical performance data of inactive tags will be available in your dashboard starting May 2nd until May 31st.

This is an interesting development...more to think about. I'll keep you posted on related news once I get back the Automotive Marketing Boot Camp.

Bing has decided to update their sleepy Business Listing product with all the focus that the market has placed on Google Places. Bing has always had an equivalent to Google Places called Bing Local Listing Center but now they have made a major upgrade and renamed it to Bing Business Portal.

New Interface and Features

I'm commonly asked if Bing and Yahoo are relevant and the answer is yes.

Having an updated Business Profile on Bing is an easy and relevant task to complete today. If you have an existing login, like a hotmail account, when you created your Bing Local Listing profile it will work with this new system.

If you have an existing account, use the "Sign In Here" button shown above on the right.

We just moved our office so I had to update our business address but there are additional features with the new product that should be completed. Take time to upload up to 9 great photos of your business. I suggest that you load up happy customer photos, photos of your work in the community, and limit shots of your facility.

You can also add products that you sell and any special deals or promotions (see graphic on right). Keep in mind that you should keep promotions general unless you have a process to update the deals each month.

Make sure you phone number, address, and website are synchronized with the data on Google Places. This recommendation applies to all business listing websites. Use the same address and phone number to create multiple source that can be used to validate your primary address and phone number.

Bing Business Portal Tools

Once you have completed your profile, make sure you click on the Publish/RePublish Button. (See above) Once published, Bing Business Portal will allow you to print Window Stickers with your store hours, print QR Codes, and it also creates a simple mobile website with your business data.

The idea of a simple mobile website or window stickers may not excite car dealers but think about the thousands of small businesses that don't have website or tools to create POS marketing materials. If you haven't noticed lately, banks and credit car companies are pushing "instant" website products as a value add upsell.

Get Busy

Bing is a relevant search engine and you should take advantage of any free tools to help connect your business with consumers. So get started today and visit http://www.bing.com/businessportal.

Bing Business Portal also has a "review" feature so once your listing is completed, include this site into your managed IRM processes.

Bing has decided to update their sleepy Business Listing product with all the focus that the market has placed on Google Places. Bing has always had an equivalent to Google Places called Bing Local Listing Center but now they have made a major upgrade and renamed it to Bing Business Portal.

New Interface and Features

I'm commonly asked if Bing and Yahoo are relevant and the answer is yes.

Having an updated Business Profile on Bing is an easy and relevant task to complete today. If you have an existing login, like a hotmail account, when you created your Bing Local Listing profile it will work with this new system.

If you have an existing account, use the "Sign In Here" button shown above on the right.

We just moved our office so I had to update our business address but there are additional features with the new product that should be completed. Take time to upload up to 9 great photos of your business. I suggest that you load up happy customer photos, photos of your work in the community, and limit shots of your facility.

You can also add products that you sell and any special deals or promotions (see graphic on right). Keep in mind that you should keep promotions general unless you have a process to update the deals each month.

Make sure you phone number, address, and website are synchronized with the data on Google Places. This recommendation applies to all business listing websites. Use the same address and phone number to create multiple source that can be used to validate your primary address and phone number.

Bing Business Portal Tools

Once you have completed your profile, make sure you click on the Publish/RePublish Button. (See above) Once published, Bing Business Portal will allow you to print Window Stickers with your store hours, print QR Codes, and it also creates a simple mobile website with your business data.

The idea of a simple mobile website or window stickers may not excite car dealers but think about the thousands of small businesses that don't have website or tools to create POS marketing materials. If you haven't noticed lately, banks and credit car companies are pushing "instant" website products as a value add upsell.

Get Busy

Bing is a relevant search engine and you should take advantage of any free tools to help connect your business with consumers. So get started today and visit http://www.bing.com/businessportal.

Bing Business Portal also has a "review" feature so once your listing is completed, include this site into your managed IRM processes.

As car dealers start to test the effectiveness of Google Boost I just want to remind members of this community on an important fact about Google Boost. If you don't have an IRM process in place that gets happy customers to post reviews, you will not be able to leverage this promising advertising option.

As I conduct 20 Group meetings around the country, there still are many dealers that have less than 10 reviews posted on Google Places. In most cases, when you have a small number of reviews on Google Places they represent the unhappy customers who took the time to vent online.

More Reasons to Engage in IRM

If you plan to leverage your great customer experience and start a proactive reputation management process, I would encourage you to make sure you encourage customer reviews directly on Google Places. This will allow you to test Google Boost with a strong number of stars showing on your paid ads.

This is not to say abandon posting to sites like Dealerrater.com but if that site has been your main focus for the past year, I would implement processes to get customers to post reviews directly on Google Places for a while.

Google will always show reviews that are directly posted on Google Places. You don't know when Google will show reviews from 3rd party sites. If you invest too much energy in sites other than Google Places, what happens when Google turns off including that site into their roll-up feed?

Once you have a balance of good reviews on all websites that Google rolls up, I would transition to a stronger focus in direct Google Places reviews.

Generate Over a Hundred Reviews a Month With Ease

One of the easiest ways to do this is using the Google Places App which can be loaded on an iPhone, iPad, or Droid smartphone. The best time to capture a customer review is when everyone is hugging and kissing in your dealership.

Now that you have this knowledge, get busy and leverage the hundreds or thousands of customers that can post a review directly from their own iPhone or Droid in your service lane and/or while they are in the F & I process. You just have to ask.

POS Tent Cards

You download this tent card artwork in the PDF provided (IRM Tent Cards) and go to the printer and print these TENT CARDS. Place them on the desks of your F&I staff.

Ask your customers if they have a Google Account during the F&I process. If they say yes, and about 30-50% will say yes, get them to commit to posting from the store while they wait at the desk.

They can post using the Google Places App (free) from their own smart phone. You can also hand them your iPhone or an iPad and they can use their own Google Account to login and post a review. It's that simple. Google wants consumers to post reviews while they are in a store, restaurant, hotel, or event.

Boot Camp Assists Dealers With IRM and Google Places

At the Automotive Marketing Boot Camp in Orlando, which starts this Saturday April 16th, Jeff Kershner and Glenn Pasch will be conducting a workshop on the latest strategies for Reputation Management.

I will be conducting a workshop of the latest Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies which includes a section on Google Places Optimization (GPO).

I hope to see you in Orlando. You can still register at: http://www.automotivemarketingbootcamp.com or call 732.450.8200 ext 5 and ask for Renee McGowan.

You can also download the PDF brochure by clicking on this link: Boot Camp Color Brochure

As car dealers start to test the effectiveness of Google Boost I just want to remind members of this community on an important fact about Google Boost. If you don't have an IRM process in place that gets happy customers to post reviews, you will not be able to leverage this promising advertising option.

As I conduct 20 Group meetings around the country, there still are many dealers that have less than 10 reviews posted on Google Places. In most cases, when you have a small number of reviews on Google Places they represent the unhappy customers who took the time to vent online.

More Reasons to Engage in IRM

If you plan to leverage your great customer experience and start a proactive reputation management process, I would encourage you to make sure you encourage customer reviews directly on Google Places. This will allow you to test Google Boost with a strong number of stars showing on your paid ads.

This is not to say abandon posting to sites like Dealerrater.com but if that site has been your main focus for the past year, I would implement processes to get customers to post reviews directly on Google Places for a while.

Google will always show reviews that are directly posted on Google Places. You don't know when Google will show reviews from 3rd party sites. If you invest too much energy in sites other than Google Places, what happens when Google turns off including that site into their roll-up feed?

Once you have a balance of good reviews on all websites that Google rolls up, I would transition to a stronger focus in direct Google Places reviews.

Generate Over a Hundred Reviews a Month With Ease

One of the easiest ways to do this is using the Google Places App which can be loaded on an iPhone, iPad, or Droid smartphone. The best time to capture a customer review is when everyone is hugging and kissing in your dealership.

Now that you have this knowledge, get busy and leverage the hundreds or thousands of customers that can post a review directly from their own iPhone or Droid in your service lane and/or while they are in the F & I process. You just have to ask.

POS Tent Cards

You download this tent card artwork in the PDF provided (IRM Tent Cards) and go to the printer and print these TENT CARDS. Place them on the desks of your F&I staff.

Ask your customers if they have a Google Account during the F&I process. If they say yes, and about 30-50% will say yes, get them to commit to posting from the store while they wait at the desk.

They can post using the Google Places App (free) from their own smart phone. You can also hand them your iPhone or an iPad and they can use their own Google Account to login and post a review. It's that simple. Google wants consumers to post reviews while they are in a store, restaurant, hotel, or event.

Boot Camp Assists Dealers With IRM and Google Places

At the Automotive Marketing Boot Camp in Orlando, which starts this Saturday April 16th, Jeff Kershner and Glenn Pasch will be conducting a workshop on the latest strategies for Reputation Management.

I will be conducting a workshop of the latest Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies which includes a section on Google Places Optimization (GPO).

I hope to see you in Orlando. You can still register at: http://www.automotivemarketingbootcamp.com or call 732.450.8200 ext 5 and ask for Renee McGowan.

You can also download the PDF brochure by clicking on this link: Boot Camp Color Brochure

I love my 1969 Superbee and as much as I enjoy the ride, there are a few things that give me reason to be careful when driving this classic.

Today we have grown accustom to air bags, superb braking and handling technology, surround sound stereo, iPod connectors, and the convenience of navigation systems. All of these conveniences are not included in this enhanced 1969 Dodge Coronet frame.

At 80 miles per hour on the Garden State Parkway I admittedly do not feel as safe as I do in my 2010 Infiniti G37x Sedan. A car that was once deemed safe in 1969 is now marginally acceptable. Did I mention that the Superbee lap belts just don't feel right without a shoulder harness?

Holding On To The Past

Its in our human nature to remember more of the "good times" when we were younger than the bad. We relish the memories of our high school cars whether it was a Superbee, Chevelle, Charger, Camaro, or some clunker. Cars were much simpler and working under the hood was easy. 

Members of DrivingSales.com, what was your favorite car in high school or college?

Today, some dealers want to believe that the strategies that they used to marketing their dealership in the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's are basically the same today. I think they want to remember easier times and less complicated processes. They are hooked on how easy it was to work "under the hood" of their dealership in the past.

However, the reality is that in the past 10 years, marketing and operating a car dealership requires a significant investment in education that may be unparalleled in recent automotive history.

I might concede that once a consumer walks into a dealership not much has changed in the past 10 years. However, getting customers in the door and how dealer connect with consumers in your local market has drastically changed.

Are You Using Retro Marketing Strategies

The cure for the 1969 Blues? Education and Engagement. There are a number of great opportunities for dealers to learn from their peers. There are ample opportunities to read great case studies of dealers who are leading the way in new marketing strategies. They are not found in the trunk of a 1969 Dodge Superbee.

They are found in great online communities like DrivingSales.com. They are found at great conferences like the Automotive Marketing Boot Camp. There are also found on an emerging breed of online universities and teaching communities like www.DrivingSalesUniversity.com.

I estimate that less than 10% of dealership employees are attending live conferences and participating in online communities to grow their knowledge and refine the career path. This is embarrassing and so 1969! It's time to invest in the staff that will become the next generation of car dealers.

With that said, I hope to see many community members in Orlando on April 16th!

I love my 1969 Superbee and as much as I enjoy the ride, there are a few things that give me reason to be careful when driving this classic.

Today we have grown accustom to air bags, superb braking and handling technology, surround sound stereo, iPod connectors, and the convenience of navigation systems. All of these conveniences are not included in this enhanced 1969 Dodge Coronet frame.

At 80 miles per hour on the Garden State Parkway I admittedly do not feel as safe as I do in my 2010 Infiniti G37x Sedan. A car that was once deemed safe in 1969 is now marginally acceptable. Did I mention that the Superbee lap belts just don't feel right without a shoulder harness?

Holding On To The Past

Its in our human nature to remember more of the "good times" when we were younger than the bad. We relish the memories of our high school cars whether it was a Superbee, Chevelle, Charger, Camaro, or some clunker. Cars were much simpler and working under the hood was easy. 

Members of DrivingSales.com, what was your favorite car in high school or college?

Today, some dealers want to believe that the strategies that they used to marketing their dealership in the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's are basically the same today. I think they want to remember easier times and less complicated processes. They are hooked on how easy it was to work "under the hood" of their dealership in the past.

However, the reality is that in the past 10 years, marketing and operating a car dealership requires a significant investment in education that may be unparalleled in recent automotive history.

I might concede that once a consumer walks into a dealership not much has changed in the past 10 years. However, getting customers in the door and how dealer connect with consumers in your local market has drastically changed.

Are You Using Retro Marketing Strategies

The cure for the 1969 Blues? Education and Engagement. There are a number of great opportunities for dealers to learn from their peers. There are ample opportunities to read great case studies of dealers who are leading the way in new marketing strategies. They are not found in the trunk of a 1969 Dodge Superbee.

They are found in great online communities like DrivingSales.com. They are found at great conferences like the Automotive Marketing Boot Camp. There are also found on an emerging breed of online universities and teaching communities like www.DrivingSalesUniversity.com.

I estimate that less than 10% of dealership employees are attending live conferences and participating in online communities to grow their knowledge and refine the career path. This is embarrassing and so 1969! It's time to invest in the staff that will become the next generation of car dealers.

With that said, I hope to see many community members in Orlando on April 16th!