Henry Day Ford
Pandora
We had our advertising meeting for 2013 yesterday. Among other things, one idea our ad guy pitched to us was to advertise with Pandora. He mentioned the cost is relatively cheap and feels confident that it would be worth the money we spend. Unfortunately, we would be the "test dummies" if we decide to do it as he has never done it before.
He didn't have much to show us in the way of previous history concerning the effectiveness of advertising on Pandora. I was just wondering if any other dealer out there had dabbled with Pandora and if they had a good/bad experience?
Henry Day Ford
Pandora
We had our advertising meeting for 2013 yesterday. Among other things, one idea our ad guy pitched to us was to advertise with Pandora. He mentioned the cost is relatively cheap and feels confident that it would be worth the money we spend. Unfortunately, we would be the "test dummies" if we decide to do it as he has never done it before.
He didn't have much to show us in the way of previous history concerning the effectiveness of advertising on Pandora. I was just wondering if any other dealer out there had dabbled with Pandora and if they had a good/bad experience?
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Henry Day Ford
Getting salespeople to care about our reputation
We have been working really hard lately trying to get our salespeople to get their customers to give us favorable reviews. We have also been pushing getting "likes" on facebook. We email them photos of them and their new car in hopes they will post them on facebook.
Unfortunately, we haven't made a ton of progess with getting the sales people on board. They don't really understand the big picture and don't care about the long term benefits of a great reputation online. We have tried various types of promotions and spiff programs and nothing seems to get them motivated to request reviews and facebook posts from our customers. I just thought I would throw this post out to see if there is anybody that has found a successful way to get them to buy in??? Let me know.
2 Comments
Vanbortel Used Car Center
Bryant, Have you tried making it a requirement with a benefit(spiff or promotion) along with a demonstration of exactly what you expect? As easy as social media is to use some people just don't get it until they can see how easy it is and the direct benefit to them. Matt
Chrysler Dodge of Fox Lake
In my experience, salespeople who feel that the house values them will care greatly about the store's reputation and how it is perceived. If the house doesn't then no matter on how many spiffs or promotions you have, they won't care because it is not the perceived culture of the store.
Henry Day Ford
Getting salespeople to care about our reputation
We have been working really hard lately trying to get our salespeople to get their customers to give us favorable reviews. We have also been pushing getting "likes" on facebook. We email them photos of them and their new car in hopes they will post them on facebook.
Unfortunately, we haven't made a ton of progess with getting the sales people on board. They don't really understand the big picture and don't care about the long term benefits of a great reputation online. We have tried various types of promotions and spiff programs and nothing seems to get them motivated to request reviews and facebook posts from our customers. I just thought I would throw this post out to see if there is anybody that has found a successful way to get them to buy in??? Let me know.
2 Comments
Vanbortel Used Car Center
Bryant, Have you tried making it a requirement with a benefit(spiff or promotion) along with a demonstration of exactly what you expect? As easy as social media is to use some people just don't get it until they can see how easy it is and the direct benefit to them. Matt
Chrysler Dodge of Fox Lake
In my experience, salespeople who feel that the house values them will care greatly about the store's reputation and how it is perceived. If the house doesn't then no matter on how many spiffs or promotions you have, they won't care because it is not the perceived culture of the store.
Henry Day Ford
Advertising with Pandora
We had our advertising meeting for 2013 yesterday. Among other things, one idea our ad guy pitched to us was to advertise with Pandora. He mentioned the cost is relatively cheap and feels confident that it would be worth the money we spend. Unfortunately, we would be the "test dummies" if we decide to do it as he has never done it before.
He didn't have much to show us in the way of previous history concerning the effectiveness of advertising on Pandora. I was just wondering if any other dealer out there had dabbled with Pandora and if they had a good/bad experience?
2 Comments
DealerTeamwork LLC
I'm interested in hearing about success stories here as well. I was on a panel with the ad director for Pandora last year, big brands seem to have a positive experience. I like the potential for greater reach knowing that ~75% of Pandora's user base is mobile. I'm hearing more and more local advertisers - including a couple of dealers in my area.
Henry Day Ford
Advertising with Pandora
We had our advertising meeting for 2013 yesterday. Among other things, one idea our ad guy pitched to us was to advertise with Pandora. He mentioned the cost is relatively cheap and feels confident that it would be worth the money we spend. Unfortunately, we would be the "test dummies" if we decide to do it as he has never done it before.
He didn't have much to show us in the way of previous history concerning the effectiveness of advertising on Pandora. I was just wondering if any other dealer out there had dabbled with Pandora and if they had a good/bad experience?
2 Comments
DealerTeamwork LLC
I'm interested in hearing about success stories here as well. I was on a panel with the ad director for Pandora last year, big brands seem to have a positive experience. I like the potential for greater reach knowing that ~75% of Pandora's user base is mobile. I'm hearing more and more local advertisers - including a couple of dealers in my area.
Henry Day Ford
Christmas Bonus'
We have gone back and forth on Christmas bonus' over the last few years. We currently pay our sales consultants a Christmas bonus based on them acheiving a certain level of sales for the year. We also pay them an extra bonus fors CSI if they are in the top 10 percent. I'm curious to know what other dealerships pay in terms of an annual bonus for their salespeople.
Also, we currently don't pay a Christmas bonus to any of our sales managers or finance managers. They used to get an annual bonus that was linked in to their monthly one-on-ones and their average scores from those reviews. It wasn't a ton of money, but at least it was something that they could look forward to at the end of the year. Again, I was wondering if the norm is to pay year end bonus' to sales managers and finance managers? If so, what type of bonus do you pay out and how is it earned?
No Comments
Henry Day Ford
Christmas Bonus'
We have gone back and forth on Christmas bonus' over the last few years. We currently pay our sales consultants a Christmas bonus based on them acheiving a certain level of sales for the year. We also pay them an extra bonus fors CSI if they are in the top 10 percent. I'm curious to know what other dealerships pay in terms of an annual bonus for their salespeople.
Also, we currently don't pay a Christmas bonus to any of our sales managers or finance managers. They used to get an annual bonus that was linked in to their monthly one-on-ones and their average scores from those reviews. It wasn't a ton of money, but at least it was something that they could look forward to at the end of the year. Again, I was wondering if the norm is to pay year end bonus' to sales managers and finance managers? If so, what type of bonus do you pay out and how is it earned?
No Comments
Henry Day Ford
National averages on internet leads
We have been making some changes to our internet process lately. We are evaluating our closing percentages to make sure we are capturing enough deals during each phase of the buying cycle. We do a really good job tracking accurate data, so I feel like our closing percentages are close to accurate.
The problem that we are having is that it has been 5 years since we have done a complete overhaul of our internet process. We feel like the data for national averages that we collected back in 2006 is potentially less accurate than it once was. Here are the #'s that we have according to Polk reports:
- 56% of new vehicle leads will purchase a new vehicle
- 42% will purchase a vehicle in less than 30 days
- 16% will buy between 31-60 days
- 10% will buy between 61-90 days
- 32 % will buy in 91 days or more
I was hoping you guys could clarify to see if those closing percentages are still accurate. Also, I had a few more questions:
At what point in the buying cycle to they eventually switch interest to a used vehicle?
What % of the leads actually buy the same make/model that they inquired about?
Do you guys offer any giveaways at any point of the internet process to entice them to make a decision sooner?
No Comments
Henry Day Ford
National averages on internet leads
We have been making some changes to our internet process lately. We are evaluating our closing percentages to make sure we are capturing enough deals during each phase of the buying cycle. We do a really good job tracking accurate data, so I feel like our closing percentages are close to accurate.
The problem that we are having is that it has been 5 years since we have done a complete overhaul of our internet process. We feel like the data for national averages that we collected back in 2006 is potentially less accurate than it once was. Here are the #'s that we have according to Polk reports:
- 56% of new vehicle leads will purchase a new vehicle
- 42% will purchase a vehicle in less than 30 days
- 16% will buy between 31-60 days
- 10% will buy between 61-90 days
- 32 % will buy in 91 days or more
I was hoping you guys could clarify to see if those closing percentages are still accurate. Also, I had a few more questions:
At what point in the buying cycle to they eventually switch interest to a used vehicle?
What % of the leads actually buy the same make/model that they inquired about?
Do you guys offer any giveaways at any point of the internet process to entice them to make a decision sooner?
No Comments
No Comments