I want to start here. This may be my Jerry McGuire moment. Maybe I should end here…but this has been eating at me for a while. 

I’ve been in this industry for over 25 years. I started out selling cars at a Chrysler Dealership in Dayton, Ohio. Somehow, I have navigated my career through all facets of the dealership including an executive marketing position for a large dealer group. I have also had the opportunity to work on the vendor side with a start up CRM company in the early days of CRM. My latest startup venture, AutoHook (the artist formally known as HookLogic) was acquired by Urban Science this past year. Along the way, I have had the fortune of building great products, growing businesses, and speaking at events all around the globe. I don’t tell you all of this to stroke my ego, only to frame my position. 

As a dealer, especially as a CMO, it felt like I was asked to speak at EVERY event. Because we were first in with a number of digital marketing initiatives, I had a lot to share, both success and failures. I would often feel like I was on tour. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed sharing my experiences with other progressive dealers. I love my industry and want more people to have success. Dealers who can speak can be in demand at conferences but I have noticed a trend lately. There are less and less dealers speaking, with those spots filled with more vendors. Why is this? Have all of the progressive dealers gone away? Are they afraid to speak? 

On the flip side, I have noticed that the majority of the speaking spots are somehow tied to a sponsorship package. I remember a day when you submitted a topic and content that was relevant to the participants, wasn’t a sales pitch, and you were picked to speak, regardless of your checkbook. Yet, lately, when it comes to many of the conferences our industry has hosted, there is a strong emphasis surrounding the “pay-to-play” mentality. Vendors and auto companies can only present if they pay thousands of dollars to do so. Is this really the best way to educate our dealer audience with the information that is most beneficial to them and their business?

All too often the companies who spend the most money on conferences, that secure the biggest and best booth space or a prime speaking position are not in line with the companies that have the most useful story to tell. I don’t say this because I am envious of these companies or I don’t have the budget to compete. I say it because it’s the truth. It’s gotten so bad, that at one of the largest conferences this past fall, many of the speaking halls were near-empty because the content and speakers were practically the same as previous years…and yes, you guessed right - they were from the same main sponsors.

Even if the content or a speaker is chosen for a spot, it might not get the prime speaking position. At another conference this fall, there was a panel discussion that had “heavyweights.” The session was highly rated by the conference attendees and every seat was taken with people standing in the back of the room. However, they were relegated to a “breakout” because the larger sponsors occupied the larger, main auditorium sessions - and you guessed it, those sessions were not as full. 

It seems that more often than not, my experience, my name, and my brand are simply not enough to secure a speaking position at a conference. It’s sad to say, but as an industry, we need to be better than that. We need to share our wealth of knowledge in order to help others and to inspire our audience rather than just share from those that spend the most to host these events.

I am not alone in my thoughts on this topic. Many vendors have expressed the same sentiment, and attendance at a lot of conferences is dwindling. Are we losing sight of the entire purpose of these networking and educational events? Are the messages being delivered merely the ones backed by the biggest budget, or the best content? Are we providing these audiences with the knowledge they need to truly take their business to the next level?

Personally, I’ve questioned the offers to present at conferences if they are directly tied to a speaking spot. I want to be picked because I have a compelling message and the conference is confident that I won’t sound like an infomercial. Arguably, I am a better presenter than I was 10 years ago. I am WAY more mature and have more successes and a ton more failures to share with the attendees. When I am asked to present, I go above and beyond because my first priority is to make the content worthwhile for the audience, as they are paying good money to be there and learn. Let’s be clear, this is not me taking the opportunity to bash the large conferences as they do have a lot to offer dealerships. However, I strongly encourage you to take a step back and be discerning about who you choose to listen to and which sessions you choose to attend.

So, what do I endorse? I see a higher quality of knowledge being shared at smaller, local events that keep the vendor space equal. I see better content being shared in dealer 20 groups that allow presenters to share valuable insights without having to sponsor the event to do so. Dealers share their “best idea” with their non-competing peers. I also see content being shared on the industry blogs, in free (not paid) webinars, and in whitepapers (again free). And I am going to put our money where my mouth is. We are going to be very selective of where we present and make all of our content open to our industry.

Our first example of this will be a mobile marketing strategy whitepaper that is filled with great information from industry experts. It is not an AutoHook sales and marketing document. It will help those dealers who are searching for a mobile marketing strategy. Instead of forming panels at conferences, we will set up webinar panels and open it up to more people; especially those who can’t convince their ownership to attend the conferences. 

I want to start here. This may be my Jerry McGuire moment. Maybe I should end here…but this has been eating at me for a while. 

I’ve been in this industry for over 25 years. I started out selling cars at a Chrysler Dealership in Dayton, Ohio. Somehow, I have navigated my career through all facets of the dealership including an executive marketing position for a large dealer group. I have also had the opportunity to work on the vendor side with a start up CRM company in the early days of CRM. My latest startup venture, AutoHook (the artist formally known as HookLogic) was acquired by Urban Science this past year. Along the way, I have had the fortune of building great products, growing businesses, and speaking at events all around the globe. I don’t tell you all of this to stroke my ego, only to frame my position. 

As a dealer, especially as a CMO, it felt like I was asked to speak at EVERY event. Because we were first in with a number of digital marketing initiatives, I had a lot to share, both success and failures. I would often feel like I was on tour. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed sharing my experiences with other progressive dealers. I love my industry and want more people to have success. Dealers who can speak can be in demand at conferences but I have noticed a trend lately. There are less and less dealers speaking, with those spots filled with more vendors. Why is this? Have all of the progressive dealers gone away? Are they afraid to speak? 

On the flip side, I have noticed that the majority of the speaking spots are somehow tied to a sponsorship package. I remember a day when you submitted a topic and content that was relevant to the participants, wasn’t a sales pitch, and you were picked to speak, regardless of your checkbook. Yet, lately, when it comes to many of the conferences our industry has hosted, there is a strong emphasis surrounding the “pay-to-play” mentality. Vendors and auto companies can only present if they pay thousands of dollars to do so. Is this really the best way to educate our dealer audience with the information that is most beneficial to them and their business?

All too often the companies who spend the most money on conferences, that secure the biggest and best booth space or a prime speaking position are not in line with the companies that have the most useful story to tell. I don’t say this because I am envious of these companies or I don’t have the budget to compete. I say it because it’s the truth. It’s gotten so bad, that at one of the largest conferences this past fall, many of the speaking halls were near-empty because the content and speakers were practically the same as previous years…and yes, you guessed right - they were from the same main sponsors.

Even if the content or a speaker is chosen for a spot, it might not get the prime speaking position. At another conference this fall, there was a panel discussion that had “heavyweights.” The session was highly rated by the conference attendees and every seat was taken with people standing in the back of the room. However, they were relegated to a “breakout” because the larger sponsors occupied the larger, main auditorium sessions - and you guessed it, those sessions were not as full. 

It seems that more often than not, my experience, my name, and my brand are simply not enough to secure a speaking position at a conference. It’s sad to say, but as an industry, we need to be better than that. We need to share our wealth of knowledge in order to help others and to inspire our audience rather than just share from those that spend the most to host these events.

I am not alone in my thoughts on this topic. Many vendors have expressed the same sentiment, and attendance at a lot of conferences is dwindling. Are we losing sight of the entire purpose of these networking and educational events? Are the messages being delivered merely the ones backed by the biggest budget, or the best content? Are we providing these audiences with the knowledge they need to truly take their business to the next level?

Personally, I’ve questioned the offers to present at conferences if they are directly tied to a speaking spot. I want to be picked because I have a compelling message and the conference is confident that I won’t sound like an infomercial. Arguably, I am a better presenter than I was 10 years ago. I am WAY more mature and have more successes and a ton more failures to share with the attendees. When I am asked to present, I go above and beyond because my first priority is to make the content worthwhile for the audience, as they are paying good money to be there and learn. Let’s be clear, this is not me taking the opportunity to bash the large conferences as they do have a lot to offer dealerships. However, I strongly encourage you to take a step back and be discerning about who you choose to listen to and which sessions you choose to attend.

So, what do I endorse? I see a higher quality of knowledge being shared at smaller, local events that keep the vendor space equal. I see better content being shared in dealer 20 groups that allow presenters to share valuable insights without having to sponsor the event to do so. Dealers share their “best idea” with their non-competing peers. I also see content being shared on the industry blogs, in free (not paid) webinars, and in whitepapers (again free). And I am going to put our money where my mouth is. We are going to be very selective of where we present and make all of our content open to our industry.

Our first example of this will be a mobile marketing strategy whitepaper that is filled with great information from industry experts. It is not an AutoHook sales and marketing document. It will help those dealers who are searching for a mobile marketing strategy. Instead of forming panels at conferences, we will set up webinar panels and open it up to more people; especially those who can’t convince their ownership to attend the conferences. 

Big data is a buzzword that’s been floating around the auto industry for some time now. Every dealership’s DMS is filled with opportunities. Through segmentation, data and equity mining, combined with a little bit of common sense, dealerships can target customers with relevant messaging and see great conversion rates. But what about reaching those people that aren’t your customers, or that aren’t in your database?

The typical answer has been to leverage other sources of data. Think of Facebook. It probably has the single largest repository of consumer information in the world. I’d be willing to bet that the depth of knowledge on any given Facebook user – demographics, behaviors and interests – would put any FBI file to shame. Smart marketers leverage this incredibly large database to market to individuals in their PMA with a high likelihood of purchasing a vehicle in the near future.  

But, what if everything we’ve been doing with demographic targeting has been wrong? 

According to a new blog article by Google, while demographic targeting has its uses, “marketers who try to reach their audiences solely on demographics risk missing more than 70 percent of potential mobile shoppers.” The blog goes on to explain that a customer’s identity is less important than a customer’s intent. The blog offered an example of how many may think that the largest demographic for video game users would be males, ages 18-34. However, if you were a video game (or related) company using demographic data alone to target customers, you’d be missing out on the 69 percent of searchers that aren’t in that group. It was certainly surprising to read that 56 percent of sporting good searchers on mobile were female; 45 percent of home improvement searchers on mobile were women; and 68 percent of skin and body care influencers in the past six months were men.

Essentially, the blog states that consumers aren’t necessarily doing the searching/shopping for themselves. For example, in the baby products category, 40 percent of purchasers live in households without children. Yet, who would think to target homes without children for baby products?

Google advises that businesses research their categories through Google Trends and adjust any marketing strategies accordingly. Identify relevant search terms and ensure that when a consumer searches for information on those terms, your business is present. According to Google’s research, “51 percent of smartphone users have purchased from a company/brand other than the one they intended to, because the information provided was useful.”

Targeting based on intent works well because typically, mobile searchers are very close to the point of purchase -- if not already in the process of purchasing. These are super low funnel consumers. For all you know, they are researching a vehicle, or gathering information, while at the dealership next door, or across the street.

While it is certainly in Google’s best interest to provide this message, it makes complete sense. That doesn’t mean you ignore demographic data in your marketing. It simply means that to take your marketing to the next level, consider incorporating intent-based marketing in the mix. This will help to ensure that you reach the customers you know about, but also the ones you don’t.

Big data is a buzzword that’s been floating around the auto industry for some time now. Every dealership’s DMS is filled with opportunities. Through segmentation, data and equity mining, combined with a little bit of common sense, dealerships can target customers with relevant messaging and see great conversion rates. But what about reaching those people that aren’t your customers, or that aren’t in your database?

The typical answer has been to leverage other sources of data. Think of Facebook. It probably has the single largest repository of consumer information in the world. I’d be willing to bet that the depth of knowledge on any given Facebook user – demographics, behaviors and interests – would put any FBI file to shame. Smart marketers leverage this incredibly large database to market to individuals in their PMA with a high likelihood of purchasing a vehicle in the near future.  

But, what if everything we’ve been doing with demographic targeting has been wrong? 

According to a new blog article by Google, while demographic targeting has its uses, “marketers who try to reach their audiences solely on demographics risk missing more than 70 percent of potential mobile shoppers.” The blog goes on to explain that a customer’s identity is less important than a customer’s intent. The blog offered an example of how many may think that the largest demographic for video game users would be males, ages 18-34. However, if you were a video game (or related) company using demographic data alone to target customers, you’d be missing out on the 69 percent of searchers that aren’t in that group. It was certainly surprising to read that 56 percent of sporting good searchers on mobile were female; 45 percent of home improvement searchers on mobile were women; and 68 percent of skin and body care influencers in the past six months were men.

Essentially, the blog states that consumers aren’t necessarily doing the searching/shopping for themselves. For example, in the baby products category, 40 percent of purchasers live in households without children. Yet, who would think to target homes without children for baby products?

Google advises that businesses research their categories through Google Trends and adjust any marketing strategies accordingly. Identify relevant search terms and ensure that when a consumer searches for information on those terms, your business is present. According to Google’s research, “51 percent of smartphone users have purchased from a company/brand other than the one they intended to, because the information provided was useful.”

Targeting based on intent works well because typically, mobile searchers are very close to the point of purchase -- if not already in the process of purchasing. These are super low funnel consumers. For all you know, they are researching a vehicle, or gathering information, while at the dealership next door, or across the street.

While it is certainly in Google’s best interest to provide this message, it makes complete sense. That doesn’t mean you ignore demographic data in your marketing. It simply means that to take your marketing to the next level, consider incorporating intent-based marketing in the mix. This will help to ensure that you reach the customers you know about, but also the ones you don’t.

As 2015 comes to a close, it’s time to examine trends in digital marketing and predict what dealers should be prepared to consider and focus on in the upcoming year. 2015 has seen so much innovation and change, there’s no doubt 2016 will see even more. However, which trends in 2015 will stick around for the year to come? 
 

Experts say these five are here to stay:
 

1.    Mobile – It wasn’t that long ago that marketers thought of mobile as a secondary access point for consumers. However, in 2015 mobile usage overtook desktop computers for accessing Internet information, and that trend is certain to continue. Consumers want information on demand, and increasingly they are out and about and not tethered to their computer. Mobile is much more convenient for today’s on-the-go consumer. Businesses will be forced to shift their focus and provide an excellent mobile experience in order to remain relevant. Those that do not will find customers seeking and finding that information from their competition and ultimately lose business.  
 

2.    Apps – Not only is the mobile experience itself becoming more important, we’re also seeing an increase in the importance of apps. When using smartphones, consumers spend upwards of 85% of that time within apps. Apps offer multiple marketing advantages including location-based marketing, push notifications, loyalty program integration, as well as dynamic and personalized offers and coupons. In addition, with its mobile-friendly algorithm change in April, Google introduced app indexing. If you’re not familiar with app indexing, in a nutshell it means that Google is now indexing content within apps and integrating that content into organic search results. This will become increasingly important for businesses’ SEO efforts.
 

3.    Personalization – Businesses will continue to migrate away from mass messages and better utilize their customer data to send more relevant and personalized messages. Segmentation, cookies, and retargeting, mixed with the massive amounts of consumer information now available, allows marketers to further refine messages. By doing so, businesses will see increased response rates and conversions as customers start receiving relevant messages at more opportune times.
 

4.    Content – Businesses are starting to realize that content is the new advertising. Pressure is being applied from all directions – search, social and consumers – and they all demand unique and relevant content as the price of admission. If you want to be noticed, it is important to understand that consumers respond much better to content that solves a problem, tells a story, or answers a question. By producing this content, you will be rewarded by increased web traffic through consumer search, and also by higher page rankings from search engines.  
 

5.    Video – If there’s any form of content that is exponentially exploding, it's video. Every platform in existence is making a push for video content and rewards businesses that produce it. With the new explosion and popularity of live streaming apps such as Periscope, Blab and Meerkat, along with live-streaming to all users that Facebook is rolling out, businesses who find innovative ways to integrate live streaming into their digital marketing efforts will see increased exposure and engagement.
 

While significant, these are just a few of the countless ways digital marketing is changing. Chances are that 2016 will see more innovative ways for businesses to market to and interact with customers. Paying attention to and adopting these five trends will certainly help your business gain a competitive advantage and position it for digital marketing success in 2016.

As 2015 comes to a close, it’s time to examine trends in digital marketing and predict what dealers should be prepared to consider and focus on in the upcoming year. 2015 has seen so much innovation and change, there’s no doubt 2016 will see even more. However, which trends in 2015 will stick around for the year to come? 
 

Experts say these five are here to stay:
 

1.    Mobile – It wasn’t that long ago that marketers thought of mobile as a secondary access point for consumers. However, in 2015 mobile usage overtook desktop computers for accessing Internet information, and that trend is certain to continue. Consumers want information on demand, and increasingly they are out and about and not tethered to their computer. Mobile is much more convenient for today’s on-the-go consumer. Businesses will be forced to shift their focus and provide an excellent mobile experience in order to remain relevant. Those that do not will find customers seeking and finding that information from their competition and ultimately lose business.  
 

2.    Apps – Not only is the mobile experience itself becoming more important, we’re also seeing an increase in the importance of apps. When using smartphones, consumers spend upwards of 85% of that time within apps. Apps offer multiple marketing advantages including location-based marketing, push notifications, loyalty program integration, as well as dynamic and personalized offers and coupons. In addition, with its mobile-friendly algorithm change in April, Google introduced app indexing. If you’re not familiar with app indexing, in a nutshell it means that Google is now indexing content within apps and integrating that content into organic search results. This will become increasingly important for businesses’ SEO efforts.
 

3.    Personalization – Businesses will continue to migrate away from mass messages and better utilize their customer data to send more relevant and personalized messages. Segmentation, cookies, and retargeting, mixed with the massive amounts of consumer information now available, allows marketers to further refine messages. By doing so, businesses will see increased response rates and conversions as customers start receiving relevant messages at more opportune times.
 

4.    Content – Businesses are starting to realize that content is the new advertising. Pressure is being applied from all directions – search, social and consumers – and they all demand unique and relevant content as the price of admission. If you want to be noticed, it is important to understand that consumers respond much better to content that solves a problem, tells a story, or answers a question. By producing this content, you will be rewarded by increased web traffic through consumer search, and also by higher page rankings from search engines.  
 

5.    Video – If there’s any form of content that is exponentially exploding, it's video. Every platform in existence is making a push for video content and rewards businesses that produce it. With the new explosion and popularity of live streaming apps such as Periscope, Blab and Meerkat, along with live-streaming to all users that Facebook is rolling out, businesses who find innovative ways to integrate live streaming into their digital marketing efforts will see increased exposure and engagement.
 

While significant, these are just a few of the countless ways digital marketing is changing. Chances are that 2016 will see more innovative ways for businesses to market to and interact with customers. Paying attention to and adopting these five trends will certainly help your business gain a competitive advantage and position it for digital marketing success in 2016.

As we head into 2016, one of the most exciting new technologies that some dealers are experimenting with are beacons. Beacons are small, inexpensive hardware devices that can be attached to a wall in the showroom or placed around a dealership's lot. Using Bluetooth technology, the beacon detects nearby smartphone devices and can send customers push notifications with a welcome message, mobile coupons, or promotional information. 

Beacons are already in use at several large retailers, such as Target, Macy's and Simon Mall Properties. Currently, beacons can only communicate with customers' smartphones via an app. For smaller retailers including auto dealers, this has presented a barrier to adoption because most stores don't have their own branded apps. However, the ability to tie beacon technology to Apple Wallet and Google Wallet changes this dynamic. If a consumer saves a dealership's event, loyalty card, or offer to their Wallet app, the dealership can use beacons to activate the app and send updated and relevant offers.

It's important to understand the difference between beacon marketing and location-based mobile marketing. Location-based marketing allows dealers to set up a "geofence" or perimeter size of their choice around their dealership. When smartphones with location services enabled cross the perimeter boundary, ads are displayed and messages can be sent to that consumer. Beacons are only used to target in-store customers.

One type of beacon technology is Visual Light Communications (VLC), a system that turns LED lights into beacons that can pinpoint consumer location with extreme accuracy. Any dealership that has indoor and outdoor LED lighting can implement VLC.

ByteLight is one brand of VLC that uses existing lighting infrastructure and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to communicate with smartphones. As a customer moves through the showroom or across a lot, LEDs emit flickering light patterns undetectable to the human eye but visible to the customers' smartphone cameras or BLE sensors.

While a beacon device can tell you the area or aisle a customer is located, VLC is so exact it can tell you the exact product or vehicle the customer is standing next to. This allows you to send hyper-targeted messaging to every customer.

Another advantage of VLC technology compared to other types of beacons is that they draw their power from the lighting grid so they don't need batteries, which standalone beacon hardware devices require.

In retail automotive, a few early adopters are already experimenting with beacons on their lots. Although some retailers are a little apprehensive about the perception that the technology may be intrusive, it won't be long before this type of targeted messaging becomes the "new normal" for mobile users.

For auto dealers, there are three primary applications for beacon technology:

1) Improve Customer Service: Beacons can detect when a new customer arrives at the dealership, even if they don't come directly into the showroom. If a customer is walking around the lot, the beacon alerts the sales team inside the dealership and displays the customer's location. A salesperson can then be dispatched to that location to help the customer.

2) Track Customers: Beacons can aid in the gathering of big data that will help dealers better understand consumer behavior. When customers arrive on your lot, where do they go first? How do they move around the showroom or lot? Is there a difference between the movements of customers who purchase a car and those who leave without purchasing? In the latter case, if a customer's behavior pattern indicates they're getting ready to leave without purchasing, the dealership could send a sales manager or a push notification with an attractive incentive to stay.

3) Hyper-Targeted Messaging: Imagine a customer who is walking through the lot, then stops to look at a particular vehicle. Suddenly the pricing and monthly payment information for that exact vehicle pops up on their phone. Or, a special interest rate or cash-back offer that is available for that model and that customer based on their credit score and other factors is displayed. The ability to do this already exists. For auto dealers, it's just a matter of time before the mobile customer expects this type of personalized promotion, at which time adoption will become mainstream.

Beacon technology has the potential to completely transform the auto purchasing process. But before running out to implement it, consider where you are in your entire mobile marketing strategy. It's a good idea to master the basics before trying out the latest and greatest technology.

Mobile basics to be mastered first include: What is the user experience for your mobile website and mobile landing pages? Have you created successful mobile ad and texting campaigns? Do you have a good understanding of mobile metrics? Once you get the basics down, then it makes sense to start experimenting with beacons to see how they can improve your customers’ experience.

As we head into 2016, one of the most exciting new technologies that some dealers are experimenting with are beacons. Beacons are small, inexpensive hardware devices that can be attached to a wall in the showroom or placed around a dealership's lot. Using Bluetooth technology, the beacon detects nearby smartphone devices and can send customers push notifications with a welcome message, mobile coupons, or promotional information. 

Beacons are already in use at several large retailers, such as Target, Macy's and Simon Mall Properties. Currently, beacons can only communicate with customers' smartphones via an app. For smaller retailers including auto dealers, this has presented a barrier to adoption because most stores don't have their own branded apps. However, the ability to tie beacon technology to Apple Wallet and Google Wallet changes this dynamic. If a consumer saves a dealership's event, loyalty card, or offer to their Wallet app, the dealership can use beacons to activate the app and send updated and relevant offers.

It's important to understand the difference between beacon marketing and location-based mobile marketing. Location-based marketing allows dealers to set up a "geofence" or perimeter size of their choice around their dealership. When smartphones with location services enabled cross the perimeter boundary, ads are displayed and messages can be sent to that consumer. Beacons are only used to target in-store customers.

One type of beacon technology is Visual Light Communications (VLC), a system that turns LED lights into beacons that can pinpoint consumer location with extreme accuracy. Any dealership that has indoor and outdoor LED lighting can implement VLC.

ByteLight is one brand of VLC that uses existing lighting infrastructure and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to communicate with smartphones. As a customer moves through the showroom or across a lot, LEDs emit flickering light patterns undetectable to the human eye but visible to the customers' smartphone cameras or BLE sensors.

While a beacon device can tell you the area or aisle a customer is located, VLC is so exact it can tell you the exact product or vehicle the customer is standing next to. This allows you to send hyper-targeted messaging to every customer.

Another advantage of VLC technology compared to other types of beacons is that they draw their power from the lighting grid so they don't need batteries, which standalone beacon hardware devices require.

In retail automotive, a few early adopters are already experimenting with beacons on their lots. Although some retailers are a little apprehensive about the perception that the technology may be intrusive, it won't be long before this type of targeted messaging becomes the "new normal" for mobile users.

For auto dealers, there are three primary applications for beacon technology:

1) Improve Customer Service: Beacons can detect when a new customer arrives at the dealership, even if they don't come directly into the showroom. If a customer is walking around the lot, the beacon alerts the sales team inside the dealership and displays the customer's location. A salesperson can then be dispatched to that location to help the customer.

2) Track Customers: Beacons can aid in the gathering of big data that will help dealers better understand consumer behavior. When customers arrive on your lot, where do they go first? How do they move around the showroom or lot? Is there a difference between the movements of customers who purchase a car and those who leave without purchasing? In the latter case, if a customer's behavior pattern indicates they're getting ready to leave without purchasing, the dealership could send a sales manager or a push notification with an attractive incentive to stay.

3) Hyper-Targeted Messaging: Imagine a customer who is walking through the lot, then stops to look at a particular vehicle. Suddenly the pricing and monthly payment information for that exact vehicle pops up on their phone. Or, a special interest rate or cash-back offer that is available for that model and that customer based on their credit score and other factors is displayed. The ability to do this already exists. For auto dealers, it's just a matter of time before the mobile customer expects this type of personalized promotion, at which time adoption will become mainstream.

Beacon technology has the potential to completely transform the auto purchasing process. But before running out to implement it, consider where you are in your entire mobile marketing strategy. It's a good idea to master the basics before trying out the latest and greatest technology.

Mobile basics to be mastered first include: What is the user experience for your mobile website and mobile landing pages? Have you created successful mobile ad and texting campaigns? Do you have a good understanding of mobile metrics? Once you get the basics down, then it makes sense to start experimenting with beacons to see how they can improve your customers’ experience.

In a study published this month by Google’s Automotive division titled, “The 5 Auto Shopping Moments Every Brand Must Own,” it’s crystal clear that dealers need to have a strong mobile strategy in order to stay in the game.

The study breaks the car buying experience down into five moments. Three of them are dominated by consumers using mobile devices to gain information. This information is key to what they buy and where they buy it.

According to Google, the five auto shopping moments every brand must own are:

1.     Which car is best?

2.     Is it right for me?

3.     Can I afford it?

4.     Where should I buy it?

5.     Am I getting a deal?

Once the consumer reaches the, “can I afford it?” moment, they turn to their smartphones. “Search interest for MSRP and list prices is at its highest level ever, growing 25% in the past year, driven in large part by mobile, which accounts for 70% of these searches,” the study stated. From that moment on, consumers rely on their phones for everything from researching dealers, “one in three located or called a dealer on their mobile device,” to inventory searches, which are, “growing more than four times faster than overall auto search interest,” and dealer contact information, “search interest in dealer phone numbers is up over 78% in the past year, the majority on mobile.” In addition, searches for dealership reviews spike on mobile devices during weekends. In fact, car shopping activity increases and 56% of those searches are from mobile devices.

Once customers move into the “am I getting a deal?” moment they again rely on their phones. Now, they increasingly do that right from dealership lots. In fact, there is an increase of 46% in mobile search from dealer locations. The majority of searches are transaction-oriented, the top actions being pricing and trade-in evaluations. This is known as “showrooming.”

Google’s advice to dealers and manufacturers boils down to three things: be there, be useful and be quick. It’s hard to believe that there are dealers that don’t understand the importance of being there. Where there are perhaps more issues is in the area of being useful. Dealers would be wise to do more to make pricing and trade evaluation tools more accessible from mobile devices, as third parties are increasingly doing. Which leads us to the largest pain point in the dealer to consumer mobile experience - being quick. If a consumer turns to their smartphone for information, they’re not scrolling through multiple pages of Google results to find their answer. If your dealership doesn’t rank high in search results, you better cross your fingers and hope it’s not a competitor’s website that ranks above you with a better offer.

Develop a strategy of consumer containment and conquest. If you are transparent and provide all of the information on your website, consumers will find it less necessary to stray. Offer consumers easy access to information. Include the pricing tools they need and they’ll be less likely to leave and buy elsewhere. Use your competitor’s weak points to conquest their customers right off their lots and onto yours due to an excellent mobile presence and by providing easy access to information.

In a study published this month by Google’s Automotive division titled, “The 5 Auto Shopping Moments Every Brand Must Own,” it’s crystal clear that dealers need to have a strong mobile strategy in order to stay in the game.

The study breaks the car buying experience down into five moments. Three of them are dominated by consumers using mobile devices to gain information. This information is key to what they buy and where they buy it.

According to Google, the five auto shopping moments every brand must own are:

1.     Which car is best?

2.     Is it right for me?

3.     Can I afford it?

4.     Where should I buy it?

5.     Am I getting a deal?

Once the consumer reaches the, “can I afford it?” moment, they turn to their smartphones. “Search interest for MSRP and list prices is at its highest level ever, growing 25% in the past year, driven in large part by mobile, which accounts for 70% of these searches,” the study stated. From that moment on, consumers rely on their phones for everything from researching dealers, “one in three located or called a dealer on their mobile device,” to inventory searches, which are, “growing more than four times faster than overall auto search interest,” and dealer contact information, “search interest in dealer phone numbers is up over 78% in the past year, the majority on mobile.” In addition, searches for dealership reviews spike on mobile devices during weekends. In fact, car shopping activity increases and 56% of those searches are from mobile devices.

Once customers move into the “am I getting a deal?” moment they again rely on their phones. Now, they increasingly do that right from dealership lots. In fact, there is an increase of 46% in mobile search from dealer locations. The majority of searches are transaction-oriented, the top actions being pricing and trade-in evaluations. This is known as “showrooming.”

Google’s advice to dealers and manufacturers boils down to three things: be there, be useful and be quick. It’s hard to believe that there are dealers that don’t understand the importance of being there. Where there are perhaps more issues is in the area of being useful. Dealers would be wise to do more to make pricing and trade evaluation tools more accessible from mobile devices, as third parties are increasingly doing. Which leads us to the largest pain point in the dealer to consumer mobile experience - being quick. If a consumer turns to their smartphone for information, they’re not scrolling through multiple pages of Google results to find their answer. If your dealership doesn’t rank high in search results, you better cross your fingers and hope it’s not a competitor’s website that ranks above you with a better offer.

Develop a strategy of consumer containment and conquest. If you are transparent and provide all of the information on your website, consumers will find it less necessary to stray. Offer consumers easy access to information. Include the pricing tools they need and they’ll be less likely to leave and buy elsewhere. Use your competitor’s weak points to conquest their customers right off their lots and onto yours due to an excellent mobile presence and by providing easy access to information.