There is a lot of conversation regarding whether or not to cut or spend less on digital advertising. And while we are indeed facing unprecedented times, reducing ad spend is nothing new for dealers. If sales are down, one of the go-to reactions is "we need to cut spend." Cutting ad spend with the wrong form of advertisement can have an adverse effect. So before you cut ad spend, take the time to consider the below points. 

Put together a list of current vendors you are using. 

You would be surprised, but many dealers do not remember all of the various vendors they are paying monthly fees with. To start this analysis off on the right track, take a minute to compile a list of all of the vendors you are using. One of the easiest ways to do this is by using Google Sheets. You can quickly pick-up right where you left off without having to save it. Once you have compiled the list of vendors - log into their back-end tool and check the following: 

Is the dealer information correct? 

• When is the last time anyone used the tool (e.g., trade-in tools, video tools, texting tools, etc.)
• For third-party lead providers with a flat rate, what has been the average lead cost for the last sixty to ninety days? Is your inventory updated correctly? Do you have the price fields set for new - "WAS"/"NOW" - same for pre-owned?

Once you have compiled a list of vendors by type, name, monthly cost, put another column "ROI" on your Google Sheet, get on to the next step.

Look at the Analytics. Don't Rely on a Gut Feeling. 

Website traffic is down, but that does not mean that the ad source is not valuable. Do not just look at the last few months of reporting, either. Instead, review reporting from the previous sixty to ninety days. Be sure to review the CRM (including multiple lead source reporting for attributional data) for sales. If you find that you are not selling enough vehicles to justify the cost or the quality of leads are not good, then put that vendor on the cut list. 

What marketing should I focus on? 

Getting the customer to your website has and remains to be the most valuable way of getting higher quality traffic. But make no mistake, not all PPC campaigns (in this case, Google Ads) are created equal. You could easily be wasting thousands of dollars before lunch if your campaigns are not optimized correctly. 

For those with access to your Google Analytics and Google Ads, take the time to look at the following items: 

Impression Share: Out of how many times the customer searches the "phrase/keywords," is your dealership visible? If you are not visible for at least 70%+ of the time, then your campaign is not going to be as effective. 

What Zip-Codes are you targeting? From experience, if you are using a third-party company to manage your campaigns, they do not always take the time to make sure that the zip codes you are targeting are the most relevant. For example, why would you want to spend money on zip codes that are not in your primary marketing area? You also want to take a look at your historical sales data, looking to see what zip codes you sell the most vehicles from, which should be from your primary marketing area! Use these reports to have a meeting with your vendor to strategize which zip codes you need to focus on! 

To help with this effort, most if not all OEM's send your dealership "defector" reports that entail the top zip codes that purchased from you, and who is taking the most business - by model - from you as well. Having this data is invaluable when making the most of your Google Ad spend. 

Once you have selected the right vendors to cut, stand your ground! 

It is no secret that when you go to cut a vendor, they will often try and promise you the world—telling you that it will be a big mistake to cut ties due to the traffic they bring to your site. If they do bring that much traffic to the site, you would have seen that in your Google Analytics reporting -- "referral sources." If they are not even on the radar, then chop them! 

Bottom Line: it is not easy by any means to make these hard decisions. But regardless of the situation we are facing, it never makes sense to continue to spend money with a marketing vendor that does not yield results or pay for tools that your dealership is not using.  

Once you have removed the dead weight, and have spoken with your ad agencies (or your internal marketing teams), look to see if you are making the most out of your current spend. In doing so, you will get for your money, and possibly even increase spend on the campaigns that are performing well. All of which can have a positive impact on your fixed-ops and total sales! 

When is the last time you honestly spent any time reviewing your vendor's reports? 

With website traffic at an all-time low, it is the perfect time to edit, build, and work on your website! As you know (for those of us who handle our sites), we have the best intentions of making edits, but getting them done is far easier said than done. The other issue is not always knowing where to start. That said, here are some of the things you can do to update your website! 

Google Analytics - Page Report, Top Exited Pages 

Take a minute and look at your pages report - looking at the last 3-6 months seeing which pages have the highest exit and bounce rate. Try and look at the website as if you were the customer who landed on this page, making sure that the CTA's and content are relevant. For those who do not have access to the CMS to make changes, you can 'print' the website page, saving it is a PDF. At which point, you can easily mark it up in Adobe (even the free version), allowing you to send the requested changes to your website host easily. 

Dealership Photos - How Old Are They? 

Chances are the photos of your dealership on the website are old and outdated. Why have photos with models that are easily 5-6 years old? You also want to make sure that you have clear, well-marked images of the following: service lanes, service lounge, showroom, and front of the dealership. First impressions are everything, so take this time to make sure your website reflects your dealership accurately. 

Service & Parts Landing Pages 

How many of you sell parts accessories online? When is the last time you checked these pages to update them? Do they accurately reflect the services that you currently offer? If not, take the time to get with the right departments and revamp the pages. For those with access to edit their sites within the CMS, there are several easy to use tools out there, such as canva.com where you can create dynamic banners and infographics! 

Bottom Line: take this time to get your website updated. Updating the content on your pages that are visited the most can have an impact on your conversion, which means more success! 

For those dealers who have switched gears, pivoted, and are offering more online retailing options it is important to update the call to actions on your VDP pages. One of the CTA's that you need to add to your site is something to the effect of "purchase online." Of course, making sure to follow all local and state laws regarding the process of the online purchase process. Beyond simply adding "purchase online" as a CTA on your site, you also need to update and tag the form/link so that when the lead hits the CRM your team knows where the lead came from. The lead should read something like: "Dealer Website - Purchase online." 

To update the CTA on your website you can either reach out to the company that hosts/manages your site - or, for those with access to their dealers CMS tool you might have the access to add and/or change the CTA's. 

Another CTA you need to pay attention to - for those states who have mandated "appointments only" - is making sure that the CTA reflects just that. Instead of saying "Schedule test drive" offer "book appointment." Again, making sure that you tag/update the form fill so that when the lead hits the CRM that it offers "Dealer Website - Book Appointment." At which point, you need to update the auto-responder (for those that use them) to ensure that the customer understands and knows what to expect from your dealership. 

And even though we are facing unprecedented times - having to make critical decisions all while doing our best to remain profitable - these new implementations can have a long lasting positive impact. In that your dealer is offering flexible ways for your customers to purchase a vehicle. All of which can make for a better experience that fits within your customers schedule, not just yours. So while this is in many ways hectic, crazy, and in some ways surreal - the work you put in now to continue to serve your customers will remain on far past the current times. 

Have you changed or updated your websites CTA's to reflect your current processes? 

Auto responders can make our lives easier, but more importantly they should let the customer know what to expect next. That said, with each dealers situation being unique to its own it is important to make sure that your auto responders reflect the following: current hours, sales process, service process and any other pertinent information. 

Here is a sample auto-responder for a vehicle inquiry 

[customer name], 

Thank you for your inquiry on the [year] [make] [model]. Please know that we are taking every measure necessary to keep both our employees and customers safe. [insert cleaning practices]. 

To best serve you, we have implemented test drives at home, and you can even complete the deal at your home! One of our dedicated sales consultants will reach back out to you with your preferred communication method. 

In the meantime, for up to date information regarding COVID-19 and what [dealer] is doing please visit our news page. 

Regards, 

[signature line] 

This is simply an example. But the purpose of this auto-responder is to ensure that your customer knows what to expect from your dealership. Now more than ever it is essential to outline the process for your customer. Not to mention, your employees - especially those handling the leads - know the internal and front-facing processes so that it eliminates as many break points as possible. 

So while the times are unprecedented, and the struggle is real, there are still ways to offer unparalleled customer service. Customer service that your customers will remember the next time they need to service or purchase another vehicle. 

Have you taken the time to update your auto-responders? 

A brand is more than just your OEM’s logo slapped on the website or POP Marketing. In fact, customers know who your manufacturer is, but do they know who or what your Service Lanes Brand Message is?

More often than not when looking at various dealer websites, there isn’t anything that sticks out. All of the coupons (if there even are any) all look the same. And there is nothing that says who or why you should service at “ABC Service Center.”

Or in some cases, there is the occasional video of “why service here” where no one watches the whole thing. (when is the last time you watched an entire brand video on YouTube?)

Instead of capturing who and what your brand is on your website the customer is left reading the reviews - using them to shape their opinion of your brand. Something we have to remember too is that the customer is not servicing their vehicle every month or once a week. Therefore, it takes that much longer to change their perception about your brand if they have had a less than perfect experience.

Think about it for a moment. If the customer has a bad experience at a restaurant - sure s/he might write a bad review. But that bad experience does not shape their views on the restaurant industry in a whole, no? Why? Well, the customer goes to the next venue mostly forgetting about their bad experience.

Whereas, in our industry, the service intervals for many could be as much as 6+ months apart.  And so when the time comes for them to do service again they will go back to their last visit, which in some cases might not have been so pleasant. Sure, you might have reached out to the customer to apologize trying to rectify the situation. However, the damage is already done, and the customer will think twice before s/he returns to the dealership.

That is why there is so much emphasis and focus on what your “brand is,” which can make or break keeping the service customer!

Here are some tips/suggestions that can help identify who and what your brand is:

• Do your service advisors know what your brand stands for? Does your brand logo have a meaning?
• Does your service lane or dealer have a “slogan”? Might sound cheesy, but successful brands have a message or a theme that is recurring in all of their campaigns. While the OEM has one, which many require being visible in the showroom - do any of the advisors know what it is?
• If you do have good reviews - are they visible on your site? This will surely help with converting the customer who's on the fence about returning.
• Bottom line, there are so many places to choose from, and your customer will choose what is best for them. So it is essential to have a consistent brand image that translates well to the customer.

What is your brand image? Do you have a slogan that is part of your brand logo?

In the days before websites were responsive, it seemed that having a mobile app was the way to go. The idea that you could offer your current and potential customers everything at their fingertips - current specials, inventory, & service appointments, to name a few. All of which sounds great, yet it seems that once dealers re-designed their websites to be responsive, mobile apps fell to the wayside. So while a dealer should have a responsive - mobile-first - site, it does not mean that we should forget about offering a mobile app! Knowing that there are several benefits to having a mobile app! 

Here are the top things to consider when choosing whether or not to have a mobile app. 

Responsive vs. Mobile App - What Is the Difference? 

A responsive site simply means that the site is mobile friendly. However, just because your site is mobile friendly does not mean that it is easy to read! Not to mention, in many cases, your mobile site does not offer all of your core content.  And if you do offer all of your content, not all of your vendor's plug-ins are responsive! 

One of the biggest challenges dealers face is offering a seamless mobile experience - believe it or not, there are still dealer sites where you have to pinch and zoom, which does not offer the customer a pleasant experience. So in some ways, you could be missing out by not providing the customer all of the content possible. Whereas, if you had a mobile app, you could easily integrate and offer relevant content. 

So What Is the Purpose of A Mobile App? And How Can It Help Maintain the Eco-System 

While I am not always fond of using other industry examples that do not always apply to the auto industry, some companies have mobile apps that not just work, but have changed their customer's experience. Think about it - how often do you use a companies website vs. using their mobile app? In most cases, the only time you would use their website is if the mobile app is hard to use or you forgot your password, etc. Not to mention, even if you do not use the mobile app that often chances are that you will not delete the app from your phone. 

The most significant benefit, though, that a mobile app has is managing your dealership's Eco-System! The idea that once the customer has the app downloaded (which can be apart of the sales to service hand-off), you are providing the customer with a meaningful, relevant way to manage their vehicle. Not to mention - imagine being able to send them a push notification when it comes time for them to service their vehicle!  Where you could easily embed videos into the custom landing page that offers the benefits of the service you are recommending. The ideas are endless, and the more relevant and engaging your content is, the better chance you have in getting them to convert into that sales or service appointment. 

At the end of the day, people want something simple and easy to use, which a mobile app can offer - think about it,  how many times have you been on a dealer site - trying to book a service appointment and you have to pinch and zoom to answer the multiple questions, and you give up in frustration and just call the dealership to then only be left on hold? Yeah, it is not a fun experience. 

Lastly, Another benefit of a mobile app would be for the dealer to collect data from the user profiles in which case they could offer relevant, targeted marketing. For example, if the customer has their vehicle data in their app profile, you can easily send push notifications that remind them to come in for service! 

Bottom Line: There is a big difference between a mobile app and having a responsive site!  And by offering your customers a mobile app to manage their vehicle in a meaningful, relevant way it can have a positive impact, making it easier to manage their relationship in one place. 

Does your dealership have a mobile app? If so have you seen success with it? Is downloading the mobile app a part of the sales to service hand-off? 

There are a lot of factors taken into consideration when initially signing up with a vendor. That is everything from multiple demos, monthly costs, CRM integration, you name it - its discussed. However, as soon as your dealer has signed up for the service, its as if you go dark. That is your working with the vendor to make sure you are getting your monies worth out of the lead source. And while it is equally the dealer's responsibility to ensure that the customers are followed up with - not all leads are created equally. For the purpose of this article, we will discuss the various factors that need to be considered when reviewing lead cost and vendor performance. Knowing that - in many cases - your dealer could potentially be saving thousands of dollars per month. 

Vendor Accountability. What is the Responsibility of Your Vendor? It is a Two Way Street. The Dealer Has to Be Involved. 

To make the most of your relationship with the vendor, there has to be communication. One of the most significant issues dealers face on the dealer level is the sheer fact that they do not often communicate their concerns or frustrations with the vendor. That is everything to their monthly sales performance to the quality of leads. And while it is expected for the vendor to be offering the dealer a top-notch product, the dealer still needs to be involved. Taking the time to ensure that your information is correctly entered on the third-party site. You would be surprised as to how many dealers have incorrect information on their various platforms. To avoid this, it is best practice to have one (or at the most two) key people that handle the vendor relationships. In doing so, you should be having a consistent dialogue. One that will enable you to better understand what opportunities there are or how to strategize. 

Lead Management. How to Use Your CRM to Understand Your Dealers ROI. This is Imperative in Understanding What Your Dealers ROI. 

It is no secret that reporting is only as good as the data that was entered. Another one of the biggest frustrations a dealer faces is not having accurate reporting. And without accurate reporting, it becomes that much more challenging to know what your ROI is regarding the specific vendor. That said, while your vendor reporting should be accurate - you still might want to take a moment and review the CRM to verify sales. In some cases, the customer that inquired on the vehicle - on the original lead - is not the lead the customer purchased under. This can create confusion - or, in some cases, the dealer might think your BDC Manager is hiding or deleting leads. Either way, you should keep track of the results in the CRM. Allowing you to compare numbers. And if the reporting is off, you need to set up a call with the vendor. 

How to Cut Ties With Your Vendor. Do Not Back Down. Results are Results. The Numbers Do Not Lie. 

Not all lead sources are great. And hanging onto a bad lead source for the sake of it does not make sense. Nor is it adding to your dealer's bottom Line. But before you just cut ties with the vendor make sure you have looked at a six-month trend report. Looking at the following trends: cost of inventory, VDP views, and total leads. In looking at the cost of inventory, if it is priced incorrectly that alone will have a negative impact which has nothing to do with the vendor. As for the VDP views, if your inventory (as mentioned above) is not priced correctly, then it should not be a surprise that you are not receiving any VDP's. Lastly, if you are not getting leads that have to do with both the cost of the vehicle and VDP's. Wherein, you might be finding that you are not getting as many dealer website leads, either. And for those reasons, it does not make sense to cut ties with the vendor. Instead, it would help if you worked with them in understanding what the pricing trends are - 

Bottom Line: every dollar that is spent on the dealer level counts! And why continue to spend money with a vendor that does not provide quality leads? Spending that money with another vendor or even increasing your total Ad Word spend can increase your sales! So instead of starting the new year off with the same old vendors and lead quality issues, take the time to review all of your year-end stats! That is including a year over year trend report if you have been with the vendor long enough. In doing so, it can have a positive impact on not just your sales but your dealer's Bottom Line! 

Do You Review Your Vendors Lead Stats as A Part of Your Year-End Review? If So Have You Made the Much Needed Moves to Increase Your Conversion? 
 

Unless you look at your dealer’s marketing budget regularly, you would be surprised as to just how many vendors your dealerships work with! Everything from the CRM, Digital Marketing (websites, lead providers, AdWords), & Traditional Marketing (mailers; TV Ads, Radio, & Mailers), to name a few. All of those vendors’ fees, along with your actual ad spend adds up. So we have to ask ourselves, do we really know what we are spending? Instead of worrying about how much you are spending with each vendor,  focus on what is getting results. Stop hanging onto to a vendor for the sheer fact of “you have known them forever, we cannot cut them.” If they are not generating revenue, they are not doing you any favors. If anything, you are doing them a favor by giving them money every month. 

Here is an example of a monthly Budget and key takeaways.

Monthly Marketing Budget Sample - OEM Franchise - One Store

Looking at the above budget, which is solely an example, and in many cases, dealers spend more than the above per store every month when it comes to marketing expenses. So what should be getting your gears spinning is that if you are averaging $1,250 front-end gross on a new unit (after OEM Kick-Backs, etc.) & $2,000 front-end gross for pre-owned, it will take more than 110 units to simply recoup the costs of the above marketing plan. And that is only paying back the vendors. That, of course, does not include the costs of commissions, dealer packs, operating costs, amongst other expenses. That said, rather than continuing a partnership for the sake of it - take the time to honestly review your current marketing initiatives. 

What to Consider When Reviewing A Vendor Partnership 

It is no secret that in our industry, it is difficult to define lead attribution where there are multiple points in the process when the customer converts - on multiple platforms, whether that is click-to-call, lead-form, etc. That said, most, if not all, CRM’s allow you to check all of the lead sources attributed to the lead. The purpose of doing so is to see how many leads you are getting from each lead source. If you are selling a decent amount of leads and are otherwise recouping the costs, then it obviously makes sense to keep the lead vendor. 

However, if the quality of leads is not there and it is not making you money, then why are you paying them?! It does not make sense. And let’s forget about the age-old argument “if you stop advertising with us, you will not get as many phone calls.” This argument was arguably before dealers could easily create their own tracking lines and easily review the actual results from the campaigns, etc. There is far more transparency when it comes to analytics. 

Less is More. Spend More On What Works! 

Imagine cutting your budget by ¾ and still getting the same results, and even perhaps getting better results. One of the ways you can easily do this is cut a third party lead source vendor, especially ones where you have to pay a flat rate no matter how many or little leads you get, and you have zero control on the targeted audience! And spend that money on AdWords or Display Ads! Ads that your dealer can control not only the audience but the creatives for the Ads! But make no mistake; for the dealers that do not have an in-house marketing team, be sure to review the Ads your marketing company has put together. You would be surprised as to how many dealers who do not take the time to review what their marketing companies are putting out, much less actually taking the time to review the marketing reports. 

Bottom Line: If your dealer is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to increase traffic make sure that the vendors you have partnered with are holding their end of the bargain up. It does no good to hold onto a vendor - spending thousands of dollars - if they are not up to the ask. Much less the fact that their results all less than satisfactory. If you are unsure as to how to analyze or make sense of the reports, there are multiple outlets out there where you can get up to snuff with the new marketing trends. 

How do you manage your vendors? Do you take the time to truly analyze the ROI from each vendor? 
 

It sure would be nice to know what the actual market value is for the vehicles on our dealerships lots are. But that is easier said than done, and while we have several inventory tools that provide us “market” interest - we have to ask ourselves what the even means? In that when you look at the reports it might offer that there are “X” amount of vehicles in the market and “X” amount of interest. How do they (the vendors) define “interest” is it clicks, VDP views, to name a few? Instead of getting caught up in the reports - though, they can be beneficial - here are a few things to consider to ensure that you do not have too many old aged units on the lot. 

Inventory Specials. Not every vehicle should be on special. 

The whole goal of having a specials page is to promote vehicles that are on special. But if there are too many vehicles on the specials page it can detract the customer from converting on one of the vehicles. There ideally should not be more than eight to ten vehicles on the specials page. Those units should be the oldest aged units. In many cases, you can easily set up a rule in your CMS (back-end tool for the website), and it will automatically display your oldest aged units. 

Marketing on the Dealer Level. 

If you have a high level of visibility on the lot make sure to promote certain vehicles! Whether that is writing the special on the windshield or balloons to name a few. There are customers who visit the lot when your dealership is closed. And if they see a vehicle that is on “special” it can spark interest. One of the biggest challenges dealers face with marketing their inventory is consistency. There might be a few months where the vehicles are front-line ready and marketed, but before you know it - the efforts fall to the wayside.  

Digital Marketing Efforts 

One of the most effective ways to increase conversion - and more importantly sell the vehicle - is to leverage your marketing efforts. Whether that is promoting a post on FB featuring the vehicle, or using other platforms. Increasing awareness of the vehicle can not only lead to a conversion - click to call, or lead form - but you are increasing your chances of bringing more traffic to your website! That said, once the customer is on your website - it increases the chances that they will call your dealer or submit a lead. 

Avoid “Days in Inventory” on your website. 

This sounds like a given, no? But you would be surprised as to how many dealers still leave “days in inventory” on their website. This can have a negative impact as if the customer sees the fact that the vehicle has been in your inventory for more than sixty days they might want a “better deal” when in many cases the current price is less than what you have in it! And no, this is not about being dishonest, either. But considering you are already losing money on the vehicle, it does not make sense to make it that much harder to make a deal happen by advertising it has been on the lot, forever.

Bottom Line: There are many factors to consider that can help you move inventory off your lot. One of the best things to do, however, is be consistent with your efforts on the dealer level! It is easier said than done. I cannot tell you how many times I visit dealers websites and they do not have any inventory on their specials page! To avoid this make sure you have someone - perhaps your used car sales manager - check the page every day to make sure that it has at least eight to ten vehicles on display. If you pair effective digital marketing and dealer level marketing together it can and will help you move those units. As for when it comes to the pricing and fair market value, you can use those as a guide vs. being the end all be all when you are pricing the inventory. If there is a unit that is readily available - aka saturated - be sure to push it! Having a plan of action on day one vs. sixty days later as your getting ready to send it to the auction. 

How do you market your vehicles on the dealer level? Do you engage your sales team and BDC by informing them of which units need to move first? 

One of my favorite events at the Driving Sales Executive Summit is the Best Idea Contest. Each year participants enter their respective ideas. For those who were selected as finalists, they present their ideas at the conference. This is by no means an easy task having done this myself. The very fact that you have to present in front of hundreds of people can be overwhelming, much less only having five minutes to coney your idea. 

The one idea that I was most drawn to was the tool “Monday.com,” which is an organizational tool. One that enables you to remove much of the endless email chains that take place on the dealer level, which often leaves you trying to manage email chains vs. moving the project forward. That said, the tool itself is extremely robust. And by using the tool, you can easily allow your vendors to be apart of the work-flow. In that when you assign them a project, and they can easily update the status by using the app. In which case, when they have made an update it lets every know what the status is - in turn, saving a lot of time! 

Here are some of the other key advantages of Monday.com 

Removes the need for endless back and forth emails, which often do not include everyone that is apart of the project. That alone can delay things from moving forward. 

• Keeps everything moving as it shows which projects have been completed, and those that are still waiting for feedback or the next steps 

• Can create an engaging dashboard (the presenter even went as far as using a TV screen to house the projects in their marketing office) 

• Removes repetitive steps as it houses everything thing under one app - no more logging into multiple vendors apps to update a project status 

Lastly, if anything, by centralizing all of the projects under one app, it can in a sense create more productivity. Especially if everyone knows where the project, itself, stands. In that, there is nothing more deflating than a project being stalled due to the waiting for feedback. And let's be real if you are constantly unsure as to when something will be launched and or completed, are you going to work as hard to move things along? 

Bottom Line: for those who handle their marketing in-house and have multiple dealerships this tool can potentially save you a lot of time. It also offers a clear picture as to what the current status of the project is vs. having to spend time emailing and speaking with multiple people. The tool also allows you to hold your team accountable in that if they do not complete their portion of the task, you can easily see where the breakpoint is within the project. As for the cost, it is less than $700 a year, and if it means getting an email campaign out in a more timely fashion, one or two-car sales can more than cover the costs of the campaign.