I heard a quote from a Dealer friend of mine the other day which struck me as sad “I spend $100,000 a month on advertising and only half of it works, the problem is I don’t know which half.” The funny thing is in many dealerships the G.M. or Dealer Principal may control or outsource the majority of the ad budget, yet the only Department held accountable to any sort of ROI standard is inevitably the internet. Why should this be? Agencies and Reps. spend huge amounts of time and money investing in building relationships with Senior Management, and are seldom held accountable to the produced results. Perhaps this is because it would reflect on them or on the Owner/GM negatively, because they can claim vague traceability or because the vendor in question once had a glorious track record of produced results.

                Whether it is ego or familiarity that feeds this folly there are plenty of tools that allow for better tracking on all mediums. Custom landing pages, whether it is radio or print all creative should direct traffic to a touch point inside your website where analytics can measure traffic and conversion rates. Also the use of unique call tracking phone numbers (I use CallSource for everything) will also give a clearer picture. I have gone so far as to ensure that every creative in every medium receives its own unique number. This allows me to see, though the consumer may have seen or heard multiple ads, which one inspired the all important click or call. The Custom pages I can do myself now in Cobalt and CallSource the only company I’m aware of that will, for less than $500 a month, provide self-provisioning, unlimited toll free or local tracking numbers that can be pointed anywhere I choose. You can even bounce that cars.com or Autotrader number to your own CallSource number, thus allowing instant reporting and recording of every phone call.

                In speaking with an e-Commerce Director over a large group, I was amazed at how small a sum of the total ad budget was under his direct control. Yet monthly he, as we all are, is held accountable to the sales produced by the total budget expended. This is equal to taxation without representation. Any Director worth their title is not just a student of the Digital Market but of Consumer behavior and has a responsibility to ensure the highest possible return on every ad dollar spent.

                So rather than sit and whine that too much is out of your hands, enact traceable means of measuring effectiveness. You will receive push back, as your radio and newspaper rep may say that multiple numbers will dilute your branding and confuse your consumer. This is a weak argument designed to dodge accountability. If consumer “A” has this week’s ad in front of them and your mailer, they will call the number off the creative that sparked their interest not sit and ponder why you have two different numbers.

Hold yourself accountable above all, if you made a mistake in your choice of ads/creative/delivery medium admit it. Everyone knows it flopped anyway. The upside is by providing clear concise reporting, you may end up with a greater voice in determining where next month’s budget is spent and an increased allocation (and hence reach and traffic) to programs that are working.

                Media is media and continuing to make a distinction between “new” and “traditional” is as my friend Ralph Paglia pointed out in this excellent “5 lies” post, pure folly.

*Disclaimer-Though I normally post every Tuesday, I had a learning moment on Sunday which led me to two revelations:

1. Sparklers should be lit one at a time, not grasped by hand in a bundle of six.

2. Emergency Rooms are quite busy at Midnight on Holidays involving fireworks.             

Bryan Armstrong

Twitter: @bryancarguy 

For more info or to discuss this article you can call me at 801-503-9535. It will ring right to my cell phone, you won’t have my “real” number and I’ll have a record of our entire conversation. I know there are many Companies that offer similar services, I am simply speaking of the one I chose and have had great success with. Should you choose to check out CallSource, the gentleman I have worked with at CallSource for years is:

Jeff Ward

Regional Sales Manager

888-496-1162 toll-free

jward@callsource.com

www.callsource.com

Tell him you read about it here as self-provisioning accounts are NOT the norm any longer, but I’m sure he would work with you.

Good Luck!

             I heard a quote from a Dealer friend of mine the other day which struck me as sad “I spend $100,000 a month on advertising and only half of it works, the problem is I don’t know which half.” The funny thing is in many dealerships the G.M. or Dealer Principal may control or outsource the majority of the ad budget, yet the only Department held accountable to any sort of ROI standard is inevitably the internet. Why should this be? Agencies and Reps. spend huge amounts of time and money investing in building relationships with Senior Management, and are seldom held accountable to the produced results. Perhaps this is because it would reflect on them or on the Owner/GM negatively, because they can claim vague traceability or because the vendor in question once had a glorious track record of produced results.

                Whether it is ego or familiarity that feeds this folly there are plenty of tools that allow for better tracking on all mediums. Custom landing pages, whether it is radio or print all creative should direct traffic to a touch point inside your website where analytics can measure traffic and conversion rates. Also the use of unique call tracking phone numbers (I use CallSource for everything) will also give a clearer picture. I have gone so far as to ensure that every creative in every medium receives its own unique number. This allows me to see, though the consumer may have seen or heard multiple ads, which one inspired the all important click or call. The Custom pages I can do myself now in Cobalt and CallSource the only company I’m aware of that will, for less than $500 a month, provide self-provisioning, unlimited toll free or local tracking numbers that can be pointed anywhere I choose. You can even bounce that cars.com or Autotrader number to your own CallSource number, thus allowing instant reporting and recording of every phone call.

                In speaking with an e-Commerce Director over a large group, I was amazed at how small a sum of the total ad budget was under his direct control. Yet monthly he, as we all are, is held accountable to the sales produced by the total budget expended. This is equal to taxation without representation. Any Director worth their title is not just a student of the Digital Market but of Consumer behavior and has a responsibility to ensure the highest possible return on every ad dollar spent.

                So rather than sit and whine that too much is out of your hands, enact traceable means of measuring effectiveness. You will receive push back, as your radio and newspaper rep may say that multiple numbers will dilute your branding and confuse your consumer. This is a weak argument designed to dodge accountability. If consumer “A” has this week’s ad in front of them and your mailer, they will call the number off the creative that sparked their interest not sit and ponder why you have two different numbers.

Hold yourself accountable above all, if you made a mistake in your choice of ads/creative/delivery medium admit it. Everyone knows it flopped anyway. The upside is by providing clear concise reporting, you may end up with a greater voice in determining where next month’s budget is spent and an increased allocation (and hence reach and traffic) to programs that are working.

                Media is media and continuing to make a distinction between “new” and “traditional” is as my friend Ralph Paglia pointed out in this excellent “5 lies” post, pure folly.

*Disclaimer-Though I normally post every Tuesday, I had a learning moment on Sunday which led me to two revelations:

1. Sparklers should be lit one at a time, not grasped by hand in a bundle of six.

2. Emergency Rooms are quite busy at Midnight on Holidays involving fireworks.             

Bryan Armstrong

Twitter: @bryancarguy 

For more info or to discuss this article you can call me at 801-503-9535. It will ring right to my cell phone, you won’t have my “real” number and I’ll have a record of our entire conversation. I know there are many Companies that offer similar services, I am simply speaking of the one I chose and have had great success with. Should you choose to check out CallSource, the gentleman I have worked with at CallSource for years is:

Jeff Ward

Regional Sales Manager

888-496-1162 toll-free

jward@callsource.com

www.callsource.com

Tell him you read about it here as self-provisioning accounts are NOT the norm any longer, but I’m sure he would work with you.

Good Luck!

 One of the greatest perks of contributing here on DrivingSales as a Community Editor is the opportunity to, on occasion, review products or companies for my fellow Dealers. When the opportunity arose to speak with C.E.O Jim Landy of CarFinanceCapital I jumped at the opportunity. Their board is a veritable who’s who of finance and having utilized Triad extensively in the past I wanted to see what lesson’s had been learned and get a feel for the direction and mission of the new company.    

Utah, like many states has been hit by the decline of consumer credit scores and it is often an arduous task to find funding for good people whom have extenuating circumstances. Even banks that claim to serve this growing niche do so with huge acquisition fees and reduced L.T.V. advances. Captive lenders, for many, have stepped up if it’s for their product (either new or C.P.O.) yet even some New Car Dealers still struggle to obtain finding for their clients.

I started by reading the press release and checking out their website www.CarFinanceCapital.com .  Anyone who has ever spent any time at all trying to get a deal bought knows which buyer they need to talk to at which bank. However, many institutions have automated systems to screen apps and trying to get an auto-decline reversed is a herculean task. Speaking with Jim I was blunt, perhaps even on the edge of rude, as I tried to find the loophole in how any bank could give 115% L.T.V. + 2,000 cap (for example) on a FICO of as low as 525.

This is a company with a plan, and if they stick to it, they will dominate. The market model of having a Rep., a dedicated Buyer and a Funder is something you rarely see with regularity from even Tier One Lenders. To hear Jim speak of actually partnering with dealers and finding funding solutions rather than reasons to decline a deal was refreshing.

            The projected growth plan (they are currently only in CA and TX) seemed reasonable and prudent, and mentions of the Northwest by year’s end were hopeful and exciting. I asked as to whether there are plans to further develop a consumer facing interface or a lead generation partnership (c’mon he developed Roadloans!) and while he recognized the obvious potential their www.carfinance.com site may eventually generate, that does not currently seem to be priority.

I would love to hear from anyone currently using CarFinance as a lending solution to hear how it’s working out. Quite frankly, after the 45 minutes Jim graciously gave me, I wish I had access now. Imagine, being able to provide an actual buying solution and treating a Secondary Finance Customer as a first-rate client. CarFinance appears to have the vision of removing the “sub” from Sub-Prime Lending solutions. 

 One of the greatest perks of contributing here on DrivingSales as a Community Editor is the opportunity to, on occasion, review products or companies for my fellow Dealers. When the opportunity arose to speak with C.E.O Jim Landy of CarFinanceCapital I jumped at the opportunity. Their board is a veritable who’s who of finance and having utilized Triad extensively in the past I wanted to see what lesson’s had been learned and get a feel for the direction and mission of the new company.    

Utah, like many states has been hit by the decline of consumer credit scores and it is often an arduous task to find funding for good people whom have extenuating circumstances. Even banks that claim to serve this growing niche do so with huge acquisition fees and reduced L.T.V. advances. Captive lenders, for many, have stepped up if it’s for their product (either new or C.P.O.) yet even some New Car Dealers still struggle to obtain finding for their clients.

I started by reading the press release and checking out their website www.CarFinanceCapital.com .  Anyone who has ever spent any time at all trying to get a deal bought knows which buyer they need to talk to at which bank. However, many institutions have automated systems to screen apps and trying to get an auto-decline reversed is a herculean task. Speaking with Jim I was blunt, perhaps even on the edge of rude, as I tried to find the loophole in how any bank could give 115% L.T.V. + 2,000 cap (for example) on a FICO of as low as 525.

This is a company with a plan, and if they stick to it, they will dominate. The market model of having a Rep., a dedicated Buyer and a Funder is something you rarely see with regularity from even Tier One Lenders. To hear Jim speak of actually partnering with dealers and finding funding solutions rather than reasons to decline a deal was refreshing.

            The projected growth plan (they are currently only in CA and TX) seemed reasonable and prudent, and mentions of the Northwest by year’s end were hopeful and exciting. I asked as to whether there are plans to further develop a consumer facing interface or a lead generation partnership (c’mon he developed Roadloans!) and while he recognized the obvious potential their www.carfinance.com site may eventually generate, that does not currently seem to be priority.

I would love to hear from anyone currently using CarFinance as a lending solution to hear how it’s working out. Quite frankly, after the 45 minutes Jim graciously gave me, I wish I had access now. Imagine, being able to provide an actual buying solution and treating a Secondary Finance Customer as a first-rate client. CarFinance appears to have the vision of removing the “sub” from Sub-Prime Lending solutions. 

This week I had two experiences that I have to share as I believe they have relevance to our industry. I ordered food from a pizza joint and got a massage…stay with me. 

#1- I generally go to an amazing Spa called Sanctuary Day Spa. They have three locations and offer a full line Spa experience as well as a gym in at least one location. My favorite Spa is located inside Southtowne Mall. From the time you enter the unprepossessing entrance, you are transported into another world far away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. The atmosphere is serene and the staff is friendly and extremely competent. I have never received poor service nor regretted any of the fees I have paid.

#2- I ordered from Domino’s Pizza.

In both instances I began my transaction on-line.

#1-In going to the Spa’s website, though I am familiar with their locale and a loyal customer, I browsed the menu of services and since it was Sunday morning and many businesses are closed or have shortened hours in Utah on Sunday, I primarily was trying to book an on-line appointment. Alas, the hours were wrong and the only form available was to either sign-up for their newsletter or enter my info to have someone contact me. Nowhere was an option to schedule an appointment or book services. Basically, everything directed me to “CALL NOW”! So, out of a lack of any other option I called and left a message (though on the site it said they should have been open) and the cheerful “Happy Father’s Day” greeting on the machine made me further wonder about their competence. I called them back 10 min. after their appointed opening time relayed on the outplayed message since they had not returned my call, booked my appointment and had a very relaxing afternoon enjoying the facilities.

#2-When I ordered 3 sandwiches and wings from Dominos.com, I viewed their menu, was directed to the Store that served my area, placed an order for 4 people and paid. I was immediately given a cool widget whose theme I could choose and it tracked my order. Interestingly enough, it relayed the info through every step of the process- “Your order was placed at 5:41 approximate delivery time 22-32 min, Sarah began making your sandwiches at 5:46, your sandwiches were placed in the oven at 5:51, Glen left to deliver your order at 6:01”. My fellow Managers at the Store were giving me grief, “Oh, do you have to place the order on-line because you’re the e-Commerce Director? “And “I bet there’s not even a Sarah working there”. I immediately picked up the phone, was asked to hold and after a 3-5 min wait was answered back with “Do you want to hear about our specials?” I replied no and asked if there was indeed someone named Sarah employed there. The answer that she was busy making sandwiches at the moment won me my lunch.

My Spa visit was over 40 times more expensive than what I spent on lunch, but if I were to compare the two transactions based purely on ease and convenience the pizza joint wins. I literally had to fight to do business with a Spa I enjoy and frequent often and got Dominos for the first time in years because it was easy and transparent. Also, I sent Sara a healthy tip, but Glen who took 26 min to drive about 2.5 miles didn’t fare as well.

How easy are we in the Auto Business making it for our Customers to do business with us?

Transparency and an absence of hassle will win over price and location nearly every time in building engagement and consummating a transaction. Sure, the old argument stands that the customer MAY just take my easily proffered information to a closer Dealer to match the deal I gave, but more than likely, they shopped them anyway and were told to CALL NOW!

So today I will once again look at my on-line presence with a consumer’s mind-set and re-evaluate my sales strategy. After all, though buying a vehicle is a bit larger transaction than getting a sandwich, I want doing business with my Store to be at least as comparatively easy as ordering lunch.  

This week I had two experiences that I have to share as I believe they have relevance to our industry. I ordered food from a pizza joint and got a massage…stay with me. 

#1- I generally go to an amazing Spa called Sanctuary Day Spa. They have three locations and offer a full line Spa experience as well as a gym in at least one location. My favorite Spa is located inside Southtowne Mall. From the time you enter the unprepossessing entrance, you are transported into another world far away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. The atmosphere is serene and the staff is friendly and extremely competent. I have never received poor service nor regretted any of the fees I have paid.

#2- I ordered from Domino’s Pizza.

In both instances I began my transaction on-line.

#1-In going to the Spa’s website, though I am familiar with their locale and a loyal customer, I browsed the menu of services and since it was Sunday morning and many businesses are closed or have shortened hours in Utah on Sunday, I primarily was trying to book an on-line appointment. Alas, the hours were wrong and the only form available was to either sign-up for their newsletter or enter my info to have someone contact me. Nowhere was an option to schedule an appointment or book services. Basically, everything directed me to “CALL NOW”! So, out of a lack of any other option I called and left a message (though on the site it said they should have been open) and the cheerful “Happy Father’s Day” greeting on the machine made me further wonder about their competence. I called them back 10 min. after their appointed opening time relayed on the outplayed message since they had not returned my call, booked my appointment and had a very relaxing afternoon enjoying the facilities.

#2-When I ordered 3 sandwiches and wings from Dominos.com, I viewed their menu, was directed to the Store that served my area, placed an order for 4 people and paid. I was immediately given a cool widget whose theme I could choose and it tracked my order. Interestingly enough, it relayed the info through every step of the process- “Your order was placed at 5:41 approximate delivery time 22-32 min, Sarah began making your sandwiches at 5:46, your sandwiches were placed in the oven at 5:51, Glen left to deliver your order at 6:01”. My fellow Managers at the Store were giving me grief, “Oh, do you have to place the order on-line because you’re the e-Commerce Director? “And “I bet there’s not even a Sarah working there”. I immediately picked up the phone, was asked to hold and after a 3-5 min wait was answered back with “Do you want to hear about our specials?” I replied no and asked if there was indeed someone named Sarah employed there. The answer that she was busy making sandwiches at the moment won me my lunch.

My Spa visit was over 40 times more expensive than what I spent on lunch, but if I were to compare the two transactions based purely on ease and convenience the pizza joint wins. I literally had to fight to do business with a Spa I enjoy and frequent often and got Dominos for the first time in years because it was easy and transparent. Also, I sent Sara a healthy tip, but Glen who took 26 min to drive about 2.5 miles didn’t fare as well.

How easy are we in the Auto Business making it for our Customers to do business with us?

Transparency and an absence of hassle will win over price and location nearly every time in building engagement and consummating a transaction. Sure, the old argument stands that the customer MAY just take my easily proffered information to a closer Dealer to match the deal I gave, but more than likely, they shopped them anyway and were told to CALL NOW!

So today I will once again look at my on-line presence with a consumer’s mind-set and re-evaluate my sales strategy. After all, though buying a vehicle is a bit larger transaction than getting a sandwich, I want doing business with my Store to be at least as comparatively easy as ordering lunch.  

First off, it is no accident that I am writing this review, I volunteered immediately upon hearing that Cobalt had released a new Dealer-friendly platform.

You see, I had never been a Cobalt fan. I have been saddled with them as a sole provider due to O.E.M. mandates and had more than one unpleasant conversation with their tech support and/or my “Dealer Advocate” and never thought either group lived up to their title.

                Therefore, it was with a healthy dose of skepticism and almost malicious glee that I went into this demo. I emerged on the far side of our scheduled 20 minutes a full 46 minutes later if not an evangelist than at the very least excited and hopeful. The new platform and User Interface with analytics is nothing short of the largest 180 degree turn around I’ve ever been privy to see with any company. The website editing tool is real time, easy to use and has an ever growing library of easy to install widgets. Combined with the ability to fully control my own SEO or utilize either Cobalt’s or any other providers SEO Services was a complete but pleasant surprise. In addition, the ability to create custom URL landing pages limits this new platform’s usability only by one’s imagination and OEM constraints.

The real shock came when we got to the analytics section. Though not as detailed perhaps as what a competent Google analytics user could find out, Cobalt placing most key performance metrics in easy to use graphs and charts most of which can be dialed in or out to varying desired parameters makes this UI definitely friendly for the average user and has most key indicators a power user would look for. In addition, keyword suggestions, search reports, inventory analysis and easy to launch and replicate Specials Pages round out an impressive new offering. I guess that overall I felt just this signals a change in the core service level of this Company.

                This feeling was best backed when:

1) The next day for an unrelated issue I called tech support and my issue was solved with a follow-up call and survey within 10 minutes.

2) During the presentation I made a few suggestions I thought would help and the next day I received this following e-mail. (F.Y.I. Highlighted portions were MY addition)

“Bryan,

 I wanted to thank you again for your time yesterday – as you can tell I enjoy showing off our new Dealer Command Center.  In addition, I spoke with the product team this morning on your recommendations (adding Stock number to the inventory reports and adding Average Page views to the funnel) – they will be adding those enhancements in a future release.  Feel free to send me any more suggestions – I believe in the notion that we are here for our customers, not for our products, and I want to make certain everything we build is designed for our customers and the way they work.

 Thanks again for your time,

 James Fabin

Sr. Product Marketing Manager

ADP Digital Marketing Solutions

               More importantly, I believe they mean it. Cobalt may still be your OEM-Mandated Provider, but if they continue in this mien, that is no longer such a bad thing. Log on to your Dealer Command Center and play around, I believe you too will be SHOCKED by what you find!

Congrats to all the members of the team that put this together in just 9 months on a job well done and for listening to your end-users.

*P.S. This article is entirely my opinion and therefore probably correct.

First off, it is no accident that I am writing this review, I volunteered immediately upon hearing that Cobalt had released a new Dealer-friendly platform.

You see, I had never been a Cobalt fan. I have been saddled with them as a sole provider due to O.E.M. mandates and had more than one unpleasant conversation with their tech support and/or my “Dealer Advocate” and never thought either group lived up to their title.

                Therefore, it was with a healthy dose of skepticism and almost malicious glee that I went into this demo. I emerged on the far side of our scheduled 20 minutes a full 46 minutes later if not an evangelist than at the very least excited and hopeful. The new platform and User Interface with analytics is nothing short of the largest 180 degree turn around I’ve ever been privy to see with any company. The website editing tool is real time, easy to use and has an ever growing library of easy to install widgets. Combined with the ability to fully control my own SEO or utilize either Cobalt’s or any other providers SEO Services was a complete but pleasant surprise. In addition, the ability to create custom URL landing pages limits this new platform’s usability only by one’s imagination and OEM constraints.

The real shock came when we got to the analytics section. Though not as detailed perhaps as what a competent Google analytics user could find out, Cobalt placing most key performance metrics in easy to use graphs and charts most of which can be dialed in or out to varying desired parameters makes this UI definitely friendly for the average user and has most key indicators a power user would look for. In addition, keyword suggestions, search reports, inventory analysis and easy to launch and replicate Specials Pages round out an impressive new offering. I guess that overall I felt just this signals a change in the core service level of this Company.

                This feeling was best backed when:

1) The next day for an unrelated issue I called tech support and my issue was solved with a follow-up call and survey within 10 minutes.

2) During the presentation I made a few suggestions I thought would help and the next day I received this following e-mail. (F.Y.I. Highlighted portions were MY addition)

“Bryan,

 I wanted to thank you again for your time yesterday – as you can tell I enjoy showing off our new Dealer Command Center.  In addition, I spoke with the product team this morning on your recommendations (adding Stock number to the inventory reports and adding Average Page views to the funnel) – they will be adding those enhancements in a future release.  Feel free to send me any more suggestions – I believe in the notion that we are here for our customers, not for our products, and I want to make certain everything we build is designed for our customers and the way they work.

 Thanks again for your time,

 James Fabin

Sr. Product Marketing Manager

ADP Digital Marketing Solutions

               More importantly, I believe they mean it. Cobalt may still be your OEM-Mandated Provider, but if they continue in this mien, that is no longer such a bad thing. Log on to your Dealer Command Center and play around, I believe you too will be SHOCKED by what you find!

Congrats to all the members of the team that put this together in just 9 months on a job well done and for listening to your end-users.

*P.S. This article is entirely my opinion and therefore probably correct.

Here is a recopy of the article I wrote that is published in the most recent edition of the Dealership Innovation Guide.  Let me know what you think...

                It’s no secret, nor should it come as any surprise to anyone reading this that on-line reviews are having a much larger impact on consumer’s purchasing decisions. If I look to my own life, I use them in everything I do, from downloading a new app for my phone to choosing lodging accommodations or simply where to eat.

                On the sales side of any given dealership more often than not, operators are expending more and more of their resources; both money and time, in an effort to get their consumers to respond to and answer positively the manufacturer survey. Multiple phone calls, e-mails and letters are scheduled touting the importance of returning the survey. In fact in many instances the customer may begin to feel that our emphasis is on the survey rather than their true satisfaction.

                The most common justifications I hear to bad CSI is, “well, most of our customers are happy but only the people who are ticked-off bother to return it”.  So how can we as dealers cheaply and positively impact our on-line reputation?

Here are some simple, low cost alternatives that yield a high number of positive reviews by pro-actively seeking true satisfaction.

                On any given day there are more RO’s written on the Service Drive than vehicles sold or even live traffic in the showroom. These customers give us a wealth of opportunity to gain reviews, create loyalty and improve our on-line reputation. By engaging these customers in simple ways every Dealer can enlist these people as advocates to our reputation management process.

                1. “The buzzer” – Everyone has gone to a restaurant and endured the wait patiently without badgering the hostess because upon entering they were given a cute little disc that they were assured would buzz them when their table was ready. Yet upon reading restaurant reviews, the focus is always on the service rather than the fact that they were left sitting without knowing whether their table was ready or not. I’ve never read “nobody kept me apprised of whether the waiter was done with the customer before me” or “I didn’t know what was going on until I complained and they told me I would be seated shortly”. If upon entering the Service Drive, every customer was given this simple device and told that upon it’s activation, they could make their way to the cashier who would go over their bill and have the keys to their car it could alleviate the time consuming inquires that plague every writer and cashier and hence speed up the entire process. This could be multi-purposed to summon customers to a separate area to go over their inspection sheet and up-sell services. The privacy thereby provided would keep the surrounding customers from listening in and steeling themselves to say “NO”. It also would allow the Service Writer to address the customer’s true objections in a more private setting. It also would allow discretionary discounting of services for individual customers without setting a precedent for others to attempt to follow, expecting the same if not greater reductions. When the service writer closes the RO buzz your customer and meet them in the cashier’s office. No more going into the waiting area where inevitably 1-2 other customers request “can you tell me what’s going on with my car?” The simple re-assurance of seeing others getting “buzzed” let’s everyone know they are not forgotten and that progress is being made.

                2. “Flip it”- Have a CSR assigned to the waiting area with a flip cam or other recording device that allows him/her to record customers and guide the conversation. “Why do you like servicing your car here?”, “What do you think of our waiting area?”, “Tell me who your advisor is and how long have you been coming to them/here?”, “How do you like your current vehicle?” These are all questions that can elicit very positive responses. Have the customer sign a quick release allowing you will upload their video and then tag it appropriately. Have a viewing station that is set to your YouTube channel or website so they can immediately see themselves. People love to know they are valued and get to appear in one of your “commercials” better yet you will quickly build a large library of positive video reviews that can be used across wide mediums and with great impact.

                3. “The hotline”- Get an old courtesy phone, white not red, which is strategically placed in your waiting area. A large sign above it can read “If you are not receiving the level of service you expect please tell us now, signed the GM or Service Director. Have the phone ring to your BDC, Service Manager, G.M. or Customer Service Representative (that you probably have making outbound calls to yesterdays closed RO’s customers) and have them immediately respond! It’s better and probably less expensive to head off a potential issue than to try and correct it later.

                4. “Review Us”-Set up a computer that is fixed onto the review site you need the most help on (in other words has a disproportionate amount of negative to positive reviews) and ask people “While you’re waiting please take a moment to share your opinion” monitor the site in question and if a poor review pops up address it immediately! This could/should be right next to your “hotline” as disgruntled customers will pick up a phone before bothering to post an on-line scorching. In a worst case scenario you get a negative review that you can at least get amended to reflect your amazing response to their posted concerns.

                Building these types of customer-centric focal points into your Service Processes is much cheaper and easier to implement that subscribing to any of the “rater” sites that abound. Especially if you calculate in the unknown amount of lost revenue from your next Sales or Service customer that you never saw because they saw you first online.

                Cultures are created by repeated adherence to great processes and no matter how competent you may be, people will not care who much you know till they know how much you care. Sending a message of competency and concern doesn’t have to be expensive; it just has to be consistent.

Here is a recopy of the article I wrote that is published in the most recent edition of the Dealership Innovation Guide.  Let me know what you think...

                It’s no secret, nor should it come as any surprise to anyone reading this that on-line reviews are having a much larger impact on consumer’s purchasing decisions. If I look to my own life, I use them in everything I do, from downloading a new app for my phone to choosing lodging accommodations or simply where to eat.

                On the sales side of any given dealership more often than not, operators are expending more and more of their resources; both money and time, in an effort to get their consumers to respond to and answer positively the manufacturer survey. Multiple phone calls, e-mails and letters are scheduled touting the importance of returning the survey. In fact in many instances the customer may begin to feel that our emphasis is on the survey rather than their true satisfaction.

                The most common justifications I hear to bad CSI is, “well, most of our customers are happy but only the people who are ticked-off bother to return it”.  So how can we as dealers cheaply and positively impact our on-line reputation?

Here are some simple, low cost alternatives that yield a high number of positive reviews by pro-actively seeking true satisfaction.

                On any given day there are more RO’s written on the Service Drive than vehicles sold or even live traffic in the showroom. These customers give us a wealth of opportunity to gain reviews, create loyalty and improve our on-line reputation. By engaging these customers in simple ways every Dealer can enlist these people as advocates to our reputation management process.

                1. “The buzzer” – Everyone has gone to a restaurant and endured the wait patiently without badgering the hostess because upon entering they were given a cute little disc that they were assured would buzz them when their table was ready. Yet upon reading restaurant reviews, the focus is always on the service rather than the fact that they were left sitting without knowing whether their table was ready or not. I’ve never read “nobody kept me apprised of whether the waiter was done with the customer before me” or “I didn’t know what was going on until I complained and they told me I would be seated shortly”. If upon entering the Service Drive, every customer was given this simple device and told that upon it’s activation, they could make their way to the cashier who would go over their bill and have the keys to their car it could alleviate the time consuming inquires that plague every writer and cashier and hence speed up the entire process. This could be multi-purposed to summon customers to a separate area to go over their inspection sheet and up-sell services. The privacy thereby provided would keep the surrounding customers from listening in and steeling themselves to say “NO”. It also would allow the Service Writer to address the customer’s true objections in a more private setting. It also would allow discretionary discounting of services for individual customers without setting a precedent for others to attempt to follow, expecting the same if not greater reductions. When the service writer closes the RO buzz your customer and meet them in the cashier’s office. No more going into the waiting area where inevitably 1-2 other customers request “can you tell me what’s going on with my car?” The simple re-assurance of seeing others getting “buzzed” let’s everyone know they are not forgotten and that progress is being made.

                2. “Flip it”- Have a CSR assigned to the waiting area with a flip cam or other recording device that allows him/her to record customers and guide the conversation. “Why do you like servicing your car here?”, “What do you think of our waiting area?”, “Tell me who your advisor is and how long have you been coming to them/here?”, “How do you like your current vehicle?” These are all questions that can elicit very positive responses. Have the customer sign a quick release allowing you will upload their video and then tag it appropriately. Have a viewing station that is set to your YouTube channel or website so they can immediately see themselves. People love to know they are valued and get to appear in one of your “commercials” better yet you will quickly build a large library of positive video reviews that can be used across wide mediums and with great impact.

                3. “The hotline”- Get an old courtesy phone, white not red, which is strategically placed in your waiting area. A large sign above it can read “If you are not receiving the level of service you expect please tell us now, signed the GM or Service Director. Have the phone ring to your BDC, Service Manager, G.M. or Customer Service Representative (that you probably have making outbound calls to yesterdays closed RO’s customers) and have them immediately respond! It’s better and probably less expensive to head off a potential issue than to try and correct it later.

                4. “Review Us”-Set up a computer that is fixed onto the review site you need the most help on (in other words has a disproportionate amount of negative to positive reviews) and ask people “While you’re waiting please take a moment to share your opinion” monitor the site in question and if a poor review pops up address it immediately! This could/should be right next to your “hotline” as disgruntled customers will pick up a phone before bothering to post an on-line scorching. In a worst case scenario you get a negative review that you can at least get amended to reflect your amazing response to their posted concerns.

                Building these types of customer-centric focal points into your Service Processes is much cheaper and easier to implement that subscribing to any of the “rater” sites that abound. Especially if you calculate in the unknown amount of lost revenue from your next Sales or Service customer that you never saw because they saw you first online.

                Cultures are created by repeated adherence to great processes and no matter how competent you may be, people will not care who much you know till they know how much you care. Sending a message of competency and concern doesn’t have to be expensive; it just has to be consistent.