“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou

That says it all. Doesn’t it? In all actually I could stop there, let you absorb the above quote and be done with it. But I have more to say. Don’t I always? The fact of the matter is that loyalty, as far as consumers frequenting a certain business, has been on a downward trend for a long time. There are a lot of reasons for this and while I’d love to get into them here, that’s for another post.

Businesses focus way too much on their bottom line. What, is that a strange thing to say? Well, it’s true. Now, I know that you’re in business to make money and as a car dealership the bottom line is well… the bottom line, but there are other things that are more important. Don’t worry too much about that last sentence; they all lead to a bigger bottom line!

We’re Emotional Creatures

Feelings register with us. They could be good feelings, they could be bad. But the fact still remains, feelings stick with us. We always remember how a person, how a business, even how an idea makes us feel. We don’t always remember how those feelings came to be, but they are there and we remember them. Why? Because we’re emotional creatures.

We have 3 layers to our brain; the first is the bottom layer, referred to as our old brain (reptilian complex). The old brain is all about the preservation of self, it houses our fight or flight reflex and all it thinks about is me, me, me. The middle layer is our mid brain (limbic system), it’s our emotional store house and it’s always seeking to feel. The outer layer is our new brain (neo-cortex), it’s our logical selves. Here’s the kicker, our brains work from the bottom up, starting with the old brain. What that means is logic comes last; it’s me, then emotion and then higher thought.

The old brain doesn’t understand logical thought, but is fed by emotion. What that means is that the mid brain has more sway over the true decision maker, the old brain, than does logical thought. You know this is true. Just think about all the things you’ve bought, not because you needed them but because you wanted them. Remember; sell the sizzle, not the steak!

I’ll drive the point home with one more thought and then we’ll get to the actionable part of this post. Think about your favorite brand. It could be Apple, Subaru, Oreo or even Redbull. Each one of them is a memory in your mind, an associative memory to be exact. A memory that is backed by emotion, a memory that makes you feel a certain way. Now, think about why you’re loyal to those brands. What do your favorite brands make you feel?

What’s missing from You Dealership?

You’re not making people feel enough! You’re not giving them something to latch on to. No, don’t say that you have the best prices and that’s why people keep coming. While it may be true, people are fickle, they are buying what you are selling because you have reduced your wares to a commodity. All that really means is that if there is a better price somewhere else, that’s where they are going to go.

If you missed it, this post is about loyalty. It’s been lost but now it’s time to get it back, you do that by making people feel. If you make somebody feel good about buying a car from your dealership, and no I don’t mean good about the price they paid. I’m talking about feeling good about the experience as a whole. Do they feel good about doing business with you because you’re an important part of the community? Do they feel good about doing business with you because you went so far and beyond what they expected that they feel enchanted by your customer service? Do they feel that they are your only customer? Do you give them the impression that they matter more than their money? If so, then loyalty hasn’t eluded you and it’s still alive and well in your dealership. If not, then keep reading because I have a few ideas that I’d love to share with you.

Loyalty Driver #1: Good Customer Service Comes Second

What!!! Good customer service comes second? Really, David? Before you exit out of this post, let me explain. As a leader at your dealership it’s your own people that you should be focused on, above all else. Yes, customer service is important but your people have to know that they come first. They have to know that when a complaint about them comes in that you won’t jump to conclusions. They have to know that you have their back. Take care of your people and your people will take care of your customers. Employee loyalty directly contributes to customer loyalty.

Loyalty Driver #2: Be Part of the Community

People want to know that you care as much about societal issues as you do about your bottom line. If you really want to make your customers feel good about your dealership show them that you care about what they care about. Be a good steward of your local community, and no I’m not talking about stroking a check, rather being part of the solution.

Loyalty Driver #3: Over Deliver

This one sounds like a duh moment but let me finish. When people come to your dealership, or any business for that matter, they expect a certain level of customer service. If you fail to meet those expectations or even just meet them, they won’t be coming back; you can forget about creating loyalty. Instead, look at all your touch points, from the way the phone is answered to the smile received when somebody walks in the front door, are they exceptional? What about your bathroom, is it what they expect when they walk in? I mentioned the bathroom because it's easily overlooked yet it's important, have you walked into a smelly messy bathroom at a business and thought yuk!? What did that make you feel about that business?

Loyalty Driver #4: Communicate with your Customers

Ask them how you can serve them better. Get them involved in making your dealership better. Your most loyal customers are customers that will collaborate with you; they will share with you what you need to know to create even more loyalty. I wrote a post on social collaboration, you can read it HERE.

Loyalty Driver #5: Know thy Product

That sounds like a commandment, and it should be. Your salespeople should be a virtual storehouse of information as it relates to the vehicles you sell, and not just the new cars you sell, but also their competitors. They should be able to answer any questions that a customer throws at them. Yes, that takes commitment from both the sales force and management, but it can be done.

Loyalty Driver #6: Be Reliable

You must be consistent. People have to know what they receive from you will remain constant. If you give them good customer service just once they may come a second time, but not a third. Therefore, be reliable. If a repeat customer comes to you they have to get the same level of treatment that they got before, don’t slip! This happens through process and a powerful culture of customer enchantment. Again, takes commitment, but worth it both short term and long.

Loyalty Driver #7: Don’t Hide Behind Your CRM

Technology is great but it doesn’t make people feel. Sure, it may be convenient, and that is a feeling but it will never replace the feeling one human being can give another. If you want true loyalty, talk with your customers; meet them out in the community. Be one.

Loyalty Driver #8: Use Their Names

People like to hear their names so use them. Too many people forget how powerful that is, don’t overdo it, but while talking with your customers use their name. Friends use each other’s name and if you’re looking to create the type of interpersonal relationship that is required to create customer loyalty you should be doing the same.

Loyalty Driver #9: Time is Money

Speed up your service. Don’t make your customers wait an hour just to get into finance. Put policies in place and time how long it takes to deliver a car. Have you ever noticed the timer at drive through windows? Why don’t you have the same thing at your dealership?

Loyalty Driver #10: Write Hand written Notes

It doesn’t happen enough but I feel really good when I get a hand written card in the mail from a vendor. I just got one the other day complete with a smiley face drawn on the inside. Corny as that sounds, it really made me feel good about doing business with them. There are so many opportunities to do this at a dealership:

• After you sell a car
• After you don’t sell a car
• After routine maintenance
• After major repairs
• After a car is details, and much more

I’m going to end it right there at 10, there are a few others I could have added but I’d really love to get your input. What should be Loyalty Driver #11?

I almost didn’t give it that title. I mean, come on, how pretentious is that! Naming a blog post after one of the most important business books ever written? Well, I did say almost…

There is a huge difference in doing social and being social. Doing social doesn’t necessarily mean that you are social just that you read somewhere about the importance of having a social presence and decided that you needed to do something NOT to look like a dinosaur. So, what sets a social dealership apart from a not so social dealership? Well, well, I’m glad you asked!

Habit #1 – They Blog

That’s right; a social dealership is a content creating machine. If that scares you then you need to get over it and quickly. Why? Because marketing in the sense we know it now is evolving. It’s quickly turning into an always on endeavor instead of one consistently working toward the next big campaign.

Content is still king and will remain that way but not just because of its SEO power but also because of its mind changing, thought leader prowess. Content in the form of videos, podcasts, images, the written word and more has the power to change people’s minds, the power to help you close deals and the power to create repeat and referral business. But not just ordinary, I’m just putting it out because somebody told me to, but the kind of content that people can use. The kind of content that is top of funnel, middle of funnel and bottom of funnel.

Habit #2 – They Are Part of the Community

By the community I mean the real life, in person community, not just Facebook, Twitter or Google +. A highly social dealership is one that is seen, one that participates in making the community better. Not only are you being a good steward, it’s just plain good business. Take a look at the following stats from an Edelman PR Group study:

• When quality and price are equal, 53% of people say that social purpose ranks as the most important factor in selecting a brand.
• 72% of people said they would recommend a brand based off of their social purpose.
• 71% of people said they would promote a brand based off of their social purpose.
• 73% of people said they would switch brands based off of their social purpose.

You can read a post I wrote titled, Social Purpose – The Deciding Factor in Your Customers Wanting to Do Business with You that goes into more detail.

Habit #3 – They Use Social Networks to be, Well… Social!

The less you pitch the more you sell, the less you pitch the more you sell… when it comes to social networks. Social networking is about more than the pitch, it’s about selling the people of the dealership more than it is selling the cars of the dealership.

I know that may leave some of you scratching your head, but it’s the truth. If you go into social marketing with the idea that you are going to use it to sell vehicles or fixed-ops, then you are going about it all wrong. Instead, think about how you can connect in an authentic way around what matters to the people you want to connect to the most.

Habit #4 – They Invite Their Friends Over

That’s what friends do right? Of course! A social dealership will have Facebook days where they invite people to the dealership for a fun time. Have a cookout, after hours, invite the fire department for the young ones, crowd source somebody to play music (I’ve seen this done before and it’s huge!), and play games. Make it a family night and hold a raffle for door prizes (a lot of times local businesses will give you gift certificates and whatnot for the free advertisement), record the whole thing and put a video together that can be shared.

Habit #5 – They Have a NEWSletter

A social dealership sends out helpful advice to the people subscribed to their email lists. This doesn’t mean that they are trying to pitch anything, which is okay to a point, but instead they give out helpful advice on how to take care of their car, what the dealership is doing socially, such as the meet-ups mentioned in Habit #4, and other local news that pertains to the dealerships social purpose mentioned in Habit #2.

Habit #6 – The People Of The Dealership Are Social

It’s one thing for the dealership to be social but another one entirely for the people of the dealership to be social. It’s not out of the ordinary to see a dealership, or another business for that matter, being social on say Facebook. But, more than that the people of the dealership need to have a presence, in other words they need to be seen.

Why? Because with all things being equal, people will do business with the people they like, know and trust. How is that going to happen if they don’t know the people that make up the dealership? Think about it…

Habit #7- Video

Video email, email newsletters, walk-around videos, DIY videos, there are so many different kinds of videos that a highly social dealership can make that there is no reason why they shouldn’t. It’s all about being visible.

The service drive at a highly social dealership will put out a DYI video on changing wiper blades while a salesperson will make a video on how to work the navigation. It’s all about showcasing the personalities at the dealership while at the same time giving helpful advice. Along with that a highly social dealership will record the happenings at the dealership, birthday parties, Christmas parties and even meet ups so that the community can feel they are part of what is going on.

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Each one of the 7 habits above can be expanded on and while each one will allow a dealership to become socially adept there are others that are important as well. What other habits do you feel should be added to the list? Let me know in the comment section below.

The ultimate goal of branding is to establish dominance in your category, to be the company that first comes to mind when people need whatever it is you sell. By now we’ve all heard the story of Pavlov’s dog; in short, Pavolv would ring a bell as he rubbed meat paste on his dogs tongue, then after a time all he would have to do was ring the bell and his dog would start salivating. This is referred to as associative memory or in other words, branding!

With the very real threat of being labeled pithy, associative memory is a memory that links to another memory. Human memory relies mostly on association and objects frequently seen together to become linked in the mind – when we try to retrieve information one things leads us to another, and then another and so on.

The attainment of associated memories lies in the strengthening of the connections between neurons that represent associated objects in the brain. Once trained and linked, a neuron that responds to the site of a football might then move on to the thought of the 49ers, Colin Kaepernick and Superbowl XLVIII (Yes, I’m a 49er fan and am thrilled that I was able to include them in this post!).

Without getting too technical about associative memory the goal with social branding is to associate your companies brand with a specific social object. The reason being because of the very nature of social objects being, well… social, I’ve spoken and written about using causes as social objects before.

Think about it, what would happen if your company associates itself with homelessness in your local community? And by associating I don’t mean just stroking a check, but rather becoming part of the solution. You could then help to rally others around the cause through Facebook, Twitter, your blog and other online and offline social mediums. By doing that your company starts to become associated with the solution. But, not just the solution but also the feelings of pride people feel when they do something for somebody that can’t help themselves.

How would that benefit your company? Think about that a moment, how would being associated with helping to end homelessness and the pride people feel when they help others benefit you? Remember my 49er example? People are reading a news story about homeless children in your local community and are reminded about a food drive your company hosted during Thanksgiving and the pride they felt being able to help.

It’s all about creating a positive experience and linking the neurons in the brain between your company and the social object.

The Three Key Components of Implanting an Associative Memory

In his book, the Secret Formulas of the Wizard of Ads the author Roy H Williams says that you need three things in order to implant an associative memory, and they are:

1. Consistency
2. Frequency, and
3. Anchoring

While a lot of what Williams talks about in his book will hold water with most forms of marketing he wasn’t particularly talking about social media, but the three keys still hold true.

First Key – Consistency

The issue with social campaigns is that most companies think of them as just that, a campaign. It happens all the time, big fortune 500 companies will do some sort of campaign, grow a huge community around it and then just stop interacting with the community around what they were interested in in the first place. The key here is consistency. A good rule of thumb is that you shouldn’t pick a social object, cause or not, that you’re not passionate about. If you company isn’t passionate about it then you won’t stick with it.

Second Key – Frequency

If consistency is all about sticking with it, frequency is about how often you stick with it. If you are passionate about child education then talk about it all the time, organize educational events, be part of the solution.

Third Key – Anchoring

Back to Pavlov and his dog. The anchor point was the meat paste. It was something his dog, and all dogs for that matter, love. That is why I brought up social objects, if you clicked on the link I gave you earlier you can learn more about social object and why they make great anchors or recall cues.

I’m going to end this with a passage from the Secret Formulas of the Wizard of Ads because it perfectly sums up the three points.

The buying public is your dog. If you desire a specific response from it, you must tie your identity to an emotional anchor that’s already known to elicit the desired response. If you make such an association consistently and frequently, branding will occur. But don’t expect too much too soon. It takes a lot of repetition to train a dog to salivate at the sound of your name.

How are you going to make people salivate?

Inbound marketing is nothing new. In fact, it has been around in one form or another as long as people have been selling automobiles. Yeah, that long. Inbound marketing is about attracting the right type of people to the right type of content at just the right time. Inbound marketing is all about bringing people to you, it's about being present when they are researching or buying.

Inbound marketing is THE most effective way to market online in terms of both cost and lead acquisition. Instead of focusing on buying email lists, expensive ads and sending out spam, inbound marketing is about creating quality content that pulls people in, instead of clubbing them over the head. Which would you prefer was done to you?

How is that done though? It's done by aligning the published content of your dealership, with the needs and wants of the customer. By creating and distributing the content the customer is looking for you are better able to attract, convert, close and create loyalty with more of them.

So, why am I saying that inbound marketing is the next great marketing frontier for auto dealerships? Simple, it's because everything is going digital. Scratch that, everything HAS gone digital. Research is conducted online, for both the vehicle and the dealership. People are conducting as much car shopping and BUYING online as possible, saving having to come into the dealership to the last possible moment. More and more people are even foregoing the test drive!

In order to develop an inbound marketing plan, you must first, well... plan! In order to do that lets break down inbound marketing into it's four prime parts.

1. Attraction
2. Conversion
3. The Close
4. Enchantment

If done correctly number 4, enchantment, leads right back to number 2, conversion. Why? Because. If you create the type of marketing that people love, they convert into a sale and then are enchanted during and after the sale then you don't have to worry about attracting them again. Rather, you just have to keep enchanting them. Yes, inbound marketing can and should be a closed loop system.

Attraction

Remember, inbound marketing is about generating the right type of traffic, and that is done by creating the right type of content. It's no secret that car buyers are researching online. So, having known that why aren't more dealership websites research, as well as selling, oriented? Take a close look at what your customers are researching and create content based around what they are looking for. Simple enough? Content can be:

• eBooks
• Videos
• Webinars
• Blog Posts
• Whitepapers
• And more..

The idea is to create as much research oriented traffic as possible. That way your dealerships website can be found as early on in the buying cycle as possible. If you gave your customers no reason whatsoever to look at other site, they wont. It's just that simple. Of course the content has to be compelling and well structured, which brings me to:

Conversion

It's important that your content isn't just thrown on a page with the hope of people sticking around long enough to read it, much less convert. No, that just won't work. Which is why you must include calls-to-action, headlines, forms and landing pages, lots and lots of landing pages. Pay particular attention to the conversion rate of your landing pages and adjust accordingly. Maybe you have to change the call to action, the layout of the form or the way you are directing eye trail. All of this, and more, will help you to convert at a higher rate.

The Close

Now that you've attracted the right people and converted that traffic, it is time to close them. We all have our ways of doing this but I want you to think about lead nurturing as being a part of inbound marketing, that is, you will be reusing some of that content that you've been creating to attract people as a way to nurture them. In the video below, which was recorded early last year, I talk about educating your customers. Check it out.

Enchantment

I love that word. Enchantment. Especially when it comes to customer service. You see, customer enchantment goes far beyond normal customer service. In fact it's so much more than customer service, just say it once or twice, customer enchantment, customer enchantment, it does have a ring to it doesn't it?

The whole idea behind customer enchantment is to go so far beyond what is expected that your customers turn into customers that create other customers! I'm talking about repeat and referral business. Besides just giving them great service while they are buying a car, think about what you can do after the sale. So, what does this have to do with inbound? Simple, content. That's right, I'm talking about blogging, newsletters and emailing. Consider having a newsletter just for sold customers, what about service?

You can send out emails/ newsletter such as:

• Now That You've Bought It, What Next?
• The Importance Of Routine Maintenance.
• Keeping It Clean, The DIY Guide To Automotive Detailing.
• 5 Things You Need To Know To Hold On To Your Vehicles Value.
• And on and on.

I wrote a WHOLE post on customer Enchantment called Forget About ROI, Start Thinking About ROE, you really should check it out. Oh and I wrote a follow up to it called Why Relationships Matter and ROI Doesn't. Yes, a tad bit controversial but I think after reading the two you will get my point. If not, let me know.

You see, content truly is key. The right content, at the right time, is worth more than I can ever convey in a post. The right content will not only attract the right people to your website it will also help them convert, close and keep them coming back.

Social Media - The Inbound Marketers Best Friend

Now, you didn't think that I was going to write a whole post and NOT bring up social media did you? Of course you didn't, I am David Johnson after all, Ha! Taking a look back at the 4 parts of inbound marketing, Attraction, Conversion, Close and Enchantment there isn't one part that social doesn't help to perform better.

I've written in the past that social media is a force multiplier, that is, it makes the force of other types of marketing even more powerful. Social is a great way to attract people to your brand, especially if your engaged around a social purpose, in fact, I've written a post about that as well, called Creating Social Impact Through Social Media. (Published by the Virgin Corporation)

Getting people to talk with and about you, in a positive light, is a great way to not only get them to convert, but to get others as well. By creating interpersonal relationships that go beyond the traditional customer - business relationship you are well on your way to create a truly social business that closes more and grosses higher.

By going beyond the point of the sell, by creating the type of relationship that leads to customer loyalty, you will be better equipped to ask for referrals and create repeat business. That's what enchantment is all about!

Switching To Inbound Marketing

So, where do you start? How do you inbound market? Well, as I said early you have to commit, once you do that:

1. Learn all you can about inbound marketing. There are many resources on the internet, just do a quick search for inbound marketing on Google and see for yourself. Learn, learn, and the learn some more.
2. Create good content. The better you are at creating content the better you will be at inbound marketing.
3. Think position. How are you going to position yourself in the market place, what sets you apart? No, don't think price, there are things more valuable than money. If you don't believe me then why do people pay so much for a cup of coffee at Starbucks?
4. Create a plan. Set your goals and stick to them. Think strategy, who at the dealership is going to be involved? How will you hold them accountable?
5. Get a good CRM to help you with follow up and lead nurturing. Also, how about an email marketing program?
6. If you have a hard time with any of the above, hire somebody to do it for you.

Inbound marketing is the process of helping your future customers to find your dealership, to create brand preference, to contact you and to ultimately to become a customer. You do that be creating informative, interesting and yes, even entertaining content that is optimized and sent across a variety of channels, whether it's your own blog or website, Facebook, Google +, Twitter, LinkedIn and others. When are you going inboud?

I know what you’re thinking, “another post on engagement!” I know, I know, but in this post my aim isn’t to tell you the importance of it, rather I am going to lay out the 4 stages of social engagement and how you can use them to move people up the ladder of engagement, from consumptions to collaboration.

Take a close look at the engagement level on your social networks, whether it be Facebook, Twitter, Google + or others. Now, think about how many times you’ve thought to yourself, “How can I get more people to engage me?” One of the main reasons for this is because the vast majority of people are consumers. What that means is that they spend all their time consuming your content but do nothing to add to it. Not a like, a +1 a retweet and of course not a comment, nuh uh, no way.

The problem with consumers is that they give you no reason, other than that they are following you, that they like the content you putt out. Of course that doesn’t mean that they don’t like it, in fact they could be influenced by your content, they just aren’t giving you any indication of it and they sure aren’t helping you to influence others.

Consumers are level one in the social engagement hierarchy. As I mentioned in the first paragraph there are 4 of them, they are.

• Consumption
• Curation
• Creations
• Collaboration

Important Note: While I’ll be giving you ways to move people up the ladder, from consumption to collaboration, it’s important that you know that it’s infinitely harder to move somebody from consumption to collaboration than it is to move somebody from curation to creation. The reason is simple if you think of the 4 stages of social engagement as a ladder. In order to get to the next rung you must first step on the rung below it. In other words, you must first be a consumer before becoming a curator, a curator before becoming a creator and a creator before becoming a collaborator.

So, why social collaboration? That’s a good question actually and one that I’m going to spend a few paragraphs explaining. Collaboration is what you should strive for. It’s the pinnacle of social engagement. Most people think that getting the people of your community to create content around your brand is the best form of engagement, I would disagree. While creation is part of collaboration, it’s more than just creation, it goes further than that.

If we look at the definition of collaboration we will see that it is defined as people working together with others in an endeavor. Think about creation for moment, it’s a one way street. Somebody is creating content, whether it’s a review or a blog post, about how great your business is. That’s awesome, but what if besides just creating the content the author was involved with you in some sort of collaborative effort, say battling homelessness in your community or some other social purpose.

When two people collaborate together on something, especially something that both sides are passionate about, the connection between the two becomes much deeper. A friendship is born. If you can engage your community in a collaborative effort, one that you and the community is passionate about then you will earn more business, generate more referrals and attract more word-of-mouth than ever before.

So, now that we’ve discussed the first rung and the last rung of the ladder of social engagement let’s talk about curation and creation, the middle rungs. Curation is the sharing of web content while creation is the creation of web content. Simple enough.

A good thing to remember is that each rung on the ladder includes the traits of the ones below it. In other words a collaborator creates content and curates yours while at the same time consuming whatever you put out. A creator will curate and consume, a curator will also consume and a consumer just consumes.

So, how do you walk the people of your community up the ladder? First, you must aim to achieve three different types of connections. They are:

1. A connection between your community and the people of your business.
2. A connection between the people of your business.
3. A connection between the people in your community.

Most businesses stop at the first, but in reality the most important is the connections you create between the people of your community, which is where rampant word-of-mouth starts, and is best created through collaboration.

I’m a huge fan of businesses supporting social causes, I’ve written about it time and time again. While there are many reasons why you should, one of them is that most people find your business boring. They have no reason to connect with you because they aren’t passionate about your brand. But, by connecting your business, better yet, the people of your business to a cause that both they and the community are passionate about you are better able to move people up the ladder from consumption to curation, to creation and finally to collaboration.

You do that by posting pics of your employees participating in the cause on your Facebook page, whatever it happens to be. That will get people who normally consume to start clicking like and will maybe even get them to share your pictures. Again, this must be something that they are passionate about but with a little work you can turn a consumer into a curator. From there start asking questions, again surrounding something that they are passionate about, on the picture. Remember if they clicked like Facebook will send them an alert if there are comments (if they haven’t turned them off).

An example would be you posting a picture of your employees playing with kids at a foster care picnic you are hosting (remember to put a caption on the picture, don’t just post it). That will get a ton of likes, then you can ask the question, “How far would you go to see one of these kids smile?” You will be surprised at the comments on that one! It’s all about baby steps and the more pics you post the more your consumers will step up and like, ask the engagement questions and your curators will start to create content. You must plan for this, it doesn’t just happen.

So, how do you get people to collaborate? First, you must state your cause. I’m not talking about something you stroke a check for but something you are involved with, something that you and the people of your business are passionate about. From there rally the community around it, ask them questions like, “what do you think we can do to help the under-privileged children in our community?”

It all starts with a conversation, a collaborative effort between you and the community to fix an issue that people are passionate about, and who isn’t passionate about children? From there ask for volunteers, get people involved, have them come to your place of business and sit in on a committee to discuss the issues and what can be done to fix them.

You know the old saying, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail? This holds true when working towards collaboration, you have to plan the steps, the actual things you are going to do, step by step, to move people up the ladder. Quick question, how are you creating collaboration?

David Johnson
3GEngagement
VP - Social Media Strategist

We live in a society that puts the dollar above the customer. That is, corners are cut and customer service is subservient to getting "paid." Don't get me wrong, I like getting paid as much as the next person but too many times we question the return before we implement any kind of customer service process that influences both repeat business and word-of-mouth.

Albert Einstein said it best when he said, "Everything that can be counted doesn't necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted."

I recently wrote a post called, Forget About ROI, Start Think About ROE. In that post I put forth the idea of thinking in terms of Return On Experience, in other words, the return you receive on the experience you give your customers. I had somebody tweet me saying that I was naive and misguided if I thought ROI wasn't important. He missed the point. I'm not saying that ROI isn't important, because it is. What I am saying is that being able to track an ROI isn't important on some of the things that we know we should be doing. That takes me back to what Einstein said, "...everything that counts cannon necessarily be counted."

While there are ways to track a repeat customer and word-of-mouth, it's not always straight forward. I don't think anybody would argue that customer service goes a long way to determining if a particular customer is going to become a loyal customer or not. We've all been subject to poor customer service and thought to ourselves, "I'm never coming back here again!" The opposite is also true.

Again, you may not be able to figure out what the cost to income ratio is of good customer service, we know it's there. So, when it comes to relationships, they matter and ROI doesn't.

Building A Positive Relationship With Your Customers

Depending on what type of business you're in, the depth of your customer relationships will vary. I'm not putting forth the idea that you should become buddy-buddy with all of your customers to the point that you're hanging out with them on the weekends. What I'm saying is that you should build the type of professional relationship that showcases you as the authority, the go to restaurant, or the honest mechanic. What does that mean? It means that you should give great customer service, that you should enchant your customers to the point that, at least in their minds, that you are the best thing since the Internet.

From there, once they are enchanted, follow-up to cement yourself as the business of choice. Let me give you a hypothetical scenario using a barber shop.

I go in to get my hair cut, walk up to the counter and am told there will be a 45 or so minute wait. The gentleman behind the counter offers me a coupon saying, "If you'd like to, the coffee shop next door has some of the best coffee in town, here is a coupon for a free cup. I can give you a buzz on your cell when your barber is ready."

I take the coupon, and in 30 minutes I get a call from my barber letting me know that I'm up next. Once I get back to the barber shop my barber welcomes me by name, and asks me if I want the same "regular" haircut, tapered in the back, as I got last time. I mention that I would and then he asks me if the shampoo he recommended had cleared up my dry scalp.

I tell him that it had and then he strikes up a pleasant conversation about me. He shows a genuine interest in what I do, even mentions that he knows somebody that might be in the market for my services and asks for a business card. I give it to him, but instead of sticking it in his pocket he picks up the phone and two minutes later tells me that his friend will be expecting my call.

After he ensures that everything is just how I like it he tells me how much he appreciates my business and how much he enjoys it when I come in. 20 minutes after leaving I get an email from him, with the phone number of his friend along with a few tips on how to combat dry scalp.

How would that make you feel? He didn't spend any money, but he did go above what I'd expect from the person cutting my hair. Even the conversation was about me (everybody's favorite conversation is about themselves), and not about the weather (what most barbers talks about).

What is the ROI on that? Can it even be tracked? Do you even need to track it? I don't think so, because once again, relationships matter and ROI doesn't.

So, don't let the fact that it can't be counted stop you from implementing a customer enchantment methodology into your everyday business practice. Just know that the return will be huge, even if you can't prove it. Remember, people talk. Give them something positive to talk about and they will talk about you, influencing others to become your customer. That's how you create a lifelong customer that creates other lifelong customers.

How are you enchanting yours?

I'll be speaking at the Automotive Super Conference on June 27th and 28th with 8 amazing speakers. Looking forward to seeing you there!

#1 Social Media Is A Force Multiplier

Stop looking at social media as an add-on, in order for social marketing to be truly effective you must first work to integrate it into your daily processes. Instead of seeing social media as a separate identity, one that needs a separate strategy before it can be implemented fully, you need to see it for what it is, a force multiplier.

In military terms a force multiplier refers to an attribute or a combination of attributes which make a given force more effective than that same force would be without it, that's social media exactly!

So, instead of thinking in terms of new goals, in which a social media strategy would be used to reach, think in terms of how you can use social media, alongside your other marketing efforts, to reach your current business goals.

#2 Never Let Tactics Dictate Strategy

Too many times we look at Facebook as the strategy, when in fact, because it's a tool, much like the phone and email, it's a tactic. As such, remember that it's NEVER okay to let a tactic dictate how you develop your strategy, instead, your strategy will dictate which tactics you use.

The Difference Between Strategy and Tactic

Tactics are the day-to-day activities that are repeatable and clear-cut, they are comprised of the basic components that define the actually strategy.

Strategy is the big picture, it's the overall plan, comprised of tactics, that gives direction towards meeting goals and objectives.

#3 Think Laterally

The "lateral" that I am referring to is the conversation that is happening between people. With traditional advertising you have only one direction that communication can flow: out from the dealership.

With social media you are able to influence the conversation, the lateral communication that is happening between people in different social channels. So, when designing your strategy always think in terms of how you can get people to talk in a positive manner about your dealership.

#4 Connect With Social Objects

Too many times, as marketers, we think about how we can create a social object, that is a purpose, cause, or past time that people want to socialize about and around. Instead, take a look at social objects that people are already congregating around and find a way to connect it with your dealership.

While that is easier said than done, you do this by becoming part of the community, a contributor that adds to the overall enjoyment of the social object. If you live in a collage town, maybe it's the local football team, live in a family friendly city, maybe it's education, it could even be a local charity or fishing, the ideas really are limitless. What can your dealership connect around?

#5 Don't Go At It Alone

While developing a strategy for the dealership, don't go in thinking that you don't need any help. A proper social media strategy will affect each and every department in the dealership and as such, each department should have input into how the strategy is structured. I refer to this group of people at the Strategic Response Team or the SRT.

The SRT is comprised of at least one person from each department in the dealership, even detail and office staff. The reasons are plenty, but I feel the most important reason is creativity. The creativity of the group will always be better than the creativity of the individual.

Have you created your strategy yet? Wait, don't tell me you've gone into battle without a plan for success, you do know that's suicide right? Tell me I'm wrong in the comment section below and that you do indeed have a strategy...

I'm tired of hearing it. As you all know I'm a social media guy, different than the rest. I believe that in order to truly harness the business changing aspects of social media that you must first create a social change, not only in your own dealership but within the entire industry as a whole. I'm tired of hearing, "That's not the way we do business. Our processes is more about selling cars than making happy customers."

I totally agree with that statement, as hard as it is to accept. But what I don't agree with is accepting that this is the way it will always be. I don't agree with it as a reason NOT to affect the kind of change that's needed to rebuild the trust most consumers lack with the auto industry. Recently I was having a discussion on Twitter and I admit, I do have some radical ideas, ideas that I feel would have a hugely positive impact on the auto industry, but ideas that may be hard to swallow none-the-less. In that discussion I heard over and over again, that's not the way business is done, you know what I say? SCREW BUSINESS AS USUAL, CHANGE IT!

Take a look at the actual process of buying a car, it's confrontational to say the least. On one hand we're trying to keep all our money, on the other, the customer is trying to keep all their money. Who wins? You can argue that you both do because that's what negotiation is but I would say that you're wrong, nobody truly wins when both sides have to give up something they want, just to make a deal. It's our fault really, we're the ones who make it all about price.

Don't believe me? Just take a look at TrueCar. Why would something like that even appeal to people? It appeals because the consumer feels that they would get a better deal by not having to negotiate with a salesperson, they feel that they could save more money by going through a third party, instead of going right to the dealer.

We've done this to ourselves. There are a lot of reasons why this is happening, the biggest of which is a loss of trust, trust that was lost a long, long time ago. Think politically for a moment, whatever you consider yourself, take a look at the politician you hate the most, the one that irritates you to no end and ask yourself, "Why do I feel that way?"

Now that you've answered that question ask yourself what it would take for that politician to change your mind about them. Some of you no doubt are thinking die and to that I say, that's exactly what the consumer thinks. Answer another question and I want you to be totally honest here, "Why would somebody rather use a third-party site such as TrueCar instead of going right to the dealer?"

Tough question I know but it's one that needs to be answered so that we can screw business as usual and affect the kind of change needed in order rebuild trust, influence word-of-mouth and create brand loyalty.

Tall order? Hell yeah, but one that needs to happen or we run the risk of seeing an end to the era of the auto dealer. Too strong a statement you say? Just take a look at all the unrest around us, take a look at how many leads come through third-party lead providers and you will see it. Be intellectually honest with yourself, don't come at me arguing against what I've said in this post, instead let's talk about what we can do to screw business as usual and make a change.

TrueCar, as despicable as they are, is our fault. The auto industry has caused the uprising, but instead of going to battle we need to take a long hard look at the battle lines, raise a white flag and surrender. From there we need to rewrite our processes, figure out how we are going to do business from here on out and just do it! We have to stop saying, but this is how we've always done it, this is how things are... again, screw business as usual.

I feel that some of the greatest minds in the word are right here in the auto industry, there are dealers all over the country that get it, but they are too few to make a real difference in the minds of the consumer. We need to get together, and soon, and talk about how we can make the type of difference that is needed to bring trust back to our great industry... aren't you tired of hearing jokes that start with, "A politician, a lawyer and a car salesman walk into a bar." I mean come on, their putting us in the same category as politicians and lawyers, screw business as usual!

I'm going to leave you with a lyric from the late Michael Jackson: "

I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways And No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make A Change

David Johnson
Social Media Strategist
PersuasiveConcepts.com

In both parts 1 and 2 of the Three Ideals For Social Marketing Success, I mentioned that success in social media boils down to three things:

1. The Development Of Relationships,
2. The Creation Of High Touch, Emotion Based Connections, and
3. Customer Enchantment (think customer service to the Nth degree).

Want to know the secret behind creating rampant word-of-mouth? Wait for it... wait for it: Give people something positive to talk about! I've blogged about this topic a few times before and the importance of going above and beyond your customer expectations, but in this post I'm going to be laying out the ground rules for customer enchantment.

Remember: it's the difference between what your customer expects and the level of customer service received, that will dictate whether or not your customer talks about you. Failing to meet those expectations will create negative word-of-mouth, going above and beyond will create positive word of mouth, the choice is yours.

What does customer service have to do with social media? Simple, if you want to be part of the conversation that is happening in your customers social graph, with their connections, then you have to give them something worth talking about. This doesn't just happen by chance, it happens by design. Design excellence into your daily routine, every employee, everyday, all the time, no exceptions.

Always be on the lookout for chances to show exceptional customer service. In the service department, if you find out that a customer is having a hard time coming back in to pick up their vehicle, take it to them. Salespeople, offer your customers a concierge service where you schedule all of their service appointments and offer a pick-up-drop-off service.

The Golden Rule Of Customer Service: Never forget that you do this every day and just because you see it all the time doesn't mean that it's no big deal to your customers. Never glaze over an issue and act as if it's not a problem, always reassure your customers that it's a genuine concern and that you will personally take care of it.

In a study conducted by Bain and Company they found out that an increase in customer retention of just 5% improves profits by 25 to 95%! The logic behind this math is predicated on the fact that customer turnover is enormously expensive. The high cost of acquiring new customers can only be offset by maintaining profitable, long term relationships.

Creating Long Term Relationships By Creating High Customer Satisfaction

We've always known that word-of-mouth, by far, is the best form of advertising, but then why do some businesses, and whole industries (the auto industry among them), struggle to achieve it? Look at the car business, people don't expect much, in fact they expect to be treated bad and to be the subject of high pressure sales techniques, which leads me to:

• Set yourself apart from the competition by displaying uncommon courtesy. In the auto industry it's not too difficult to set yourself apart because people expect so little, so take advantage!
• Know your customers. If you expect repeat business then at least remember your customers names! I know what you're thinking, how can I remember them all? You don't have to, that's what CRM's are for, use them. Each visit, if you learn something new about you customer, put it in the database for other employees to use. For example if your customer mentions, during an oil change, that their in-laws are coming to town, put into the CRM. That way, during their next visit you can ask them how it went. Talking about being different!
• Smile... duh! I know that sounds simplistic but by having a genuine smile on your face your customers will feel more welcome and invited.
• Be polite. Say thank you, please, yes ma'am and no sir. Use proper salutations such as Mr. and Mrs. In fact keep using their last name until they give you permission to use their first.
• Be genuine. Obviously generosity can't be faked so don't fake it. If there are people on staff that can't be genuine them maybe a job with the public isn't for them.
• Always over deliver. You will notice that I didn't say under promise and over deliver, I said over deliver. Do it as often as possible.
• Empower your employees to make a difference. What that means is, within reasonable bounds, empower each employee to be able to fix a mistake, that way they don't have to go to a manager.
• Make customer service ordinary, build it into your daily processes and reward employees that go above and beyond.
• Create an enchantment budget, more on that here. Go so far and above what your customer expects that they will be forced to tell others about you.
• Do a touch point analysis at least every other month. What I mean by that is be your customer. Call in as a customer, walk in as a customer, go through the sales process as a customer and even go to the bathroom as a customer. What do you see? Is everything as you would expect it to be? If so, scrap it and start over, be exceptional!
• Call back! Too many times we have the intention of calling back but something comes up and we just don't get around it, stop that! Treat every return call as if it were your wedding day, you wouldn't forget that would you? Yes, it's that important!

Final Thought

Create an environment of exceptional customer service into your dealership. Make it mandatory, tell your employees up front, at the interview, that you only hire people that puts the customer first. You need a staff of people that are quick to smile, want to serve, and understand that a happy customer breeds other happy customers. We all know how expensive it is to create a customer, so keep them happy, keep them coming back and keep them talking about you!

In part 1 of The Three Ideals For Social Marketing Success I mentioned that success in social media boils down to three ideals, they are:

1. The Development Of Relationships,
2. The Creation Of High Touch, Emotion Based Connections, and
3. Customer Enchantment (think customer service to the Nth degree).

In this post, part 2 of 3, we will be exploring the importance of creating high touch, emotion based connections within your online community. Keep in mind that the goal of social marketing is to influence word-of-mouth and create brand loyalty, in other words we want to create brand advocates; customers, that create other customers.

In order for that to happen though you must work to create three types of emotional based connections, they are:

• Employee - Community
• Employee - Employee
• Community - Community

Most of the time social media is used only to create a connection between the dealership and it's community members, when in reality that connection must between the employees of the dealership and the community. The reason is simple: it's nearly impossible to form an emotional based connection between a non-living entity, such as a dealership, and the greater community. I know that last sentence may have come across a little weird but too many dealerships have an unknown person (at least to your online community) in charge of their Facebook page, as an example, and as such they are missing out on the influential bond that is created by being high touch.

High Touch

When it comes to your customers, I want you to always think in terms of high touch, which isn't necessarily high tech. In fact, I want you to evaluate any technological advancement that may come along by asking yourself, will this help me stay in touch with more of my customers or will it just look that way by mimicking high touch? Be careful here because sometimes they look the same.

With the advancement of technology, and the onset of social networks in particular, it may be easier to connect with your customers and your online community as a whole, but those connections usually lack the quality necessary to create the type of relationship with people that influences word-of-mouth. So, you must augment what you do online by being more human, by creating as much you-me time as possible. What I mean by that is instead of spending all your time conversing with the community as a whole spend time getting to know the individuals as well.

Here as some other high touch ideas:

• Have Facebook appreciate days where you give away free oil changes or invite them to the dealership for a meet-up with music, food and games.
• As time progresses you will notice certain members of the community are engaging you more consistently than the others, call them, ask their opinions on an upcoming event.
• As a salesperson, instead of just sending out a birthday card, they can send out a short 30 second video wishing their customers a happy birthday. I'm not talking about creating the video once and sending that out each time, no, I'm talking about an individual video that uses the customer's name within the context of the video.
• Empower your employees to be human and connect on a personal level. This requires a level of trust but with the proper training and the right people you should have nothing to worry about.
• Care. That's right, care. Do whatever you can to show compassion towards your customers, treat them as people, not a transaction. Help out the community, become one of us instead of being just one of them.

Too many dealerships are afraid to trust their employees to be human, they would much rather be hands off and let technology help them connect in a sterile, but in their eyes, more efficient, manner. Just take a look at all these so-called loyalty programs out there, they use cards and point systems to offer something free after a certain amount of money is spent at the dealership. What is that really doing? It's creating a hands-off approach that may be efficient, but where is the human element? Where is the high touch? If you truly want to create brand loyalty then go high touch.

Emotional Based Connections

Connect around an emotion. Are you married? If so, is the person you are married to the only person you've ever dated? Odds are the answer is no. So what caused you to have the type of connection with your spouse that lead to marriage? The answer is emotion, because without an emotional based connection the relationship is ultimately doomed to fail. The same holds true for the relationship that you're creating with both your customers and your online community.

I've said it before, it's almost impossible to create a connection between a business and their community if the only thing they have to connect around is the business itself. Instead, focus on something that the community is passionate about, such as their children's education, sports, or even a local cause. For instance, Metro Honda of Union County put up $5,000 for area schools, which they had to compete for. In all, there were about 40 schools involved, as well as thousands of people from the local community. Because Metro Honda connected with something that was emotional based, their children's education, the bond created between the people of the dealerships and the greater community of Union County has lasted, and will continue to last, long after the Union County School Pride Project announced the winning school.

Your day to day interactions with your community should be emotional based as well. Ask questions that illicit an emotional response or bring up a fond memory such as the question, "What is your fondest childhood memory?" I've had so many great conversations around that one question alone, here are some other emotional fused questions to ask:

• When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
• How do you feel when your child comes home with an A on a test?
• If you could do one thing without the worry of failure what would it be?
• If you were granted one wish that had to be used on a complete stranger, what would that wish be?
• What makes you jump up and scream for joy?

Of course there are thousands of other questions you can ask to start an emotion based conversation, but the idea behind it is to make people feel good about conversing with you. Don't just stop there, questions that bring up moral dilemmas are good questions to ask as well, questions such as "Would you lie under oath to protect a friend you knew was innocent but couldn't prove?" Of course you have to be careful with these types of questions but the depth of conversation that happens surrounding them is nothing short of magical! Remember, if you want to elicit emotions then you have to hold a conversation. Don't just throw out a question for people to answer, ask more questions around their answers, probe. For instance, using the above question you can ask, after a few dozen or so people have answered, what if it was your spouse, not a friend? Well... would you?

David Johnson
Social Media Nut
PersuasiveConcepts.com