Want to get more out of your dealership’s advertising?  A great way to improve your ROI is to look internally...review what your staff is doing with your advertising dollars.  Stop blaming your marketing, stop blaming the weather, the market and the economy.  I have visited dealers all over the United States, I can tell you from experience that one thing that separates successful dealers from the rest of the pack… the ability to implement and inspect sound daily processes. What are some of these daily processes you should put into action at your dealership to monitor improvement in ROI on advertising and increased revenue?  Well, if you are a GSM or higher, you should pay attention to the following:

1. Are your sales people asking customers for their telephone numbers?
   
2. Are they talking about the benefits of the vehicle their customer is test driving?
   
3. Do they even know the differences in your models and your competition?  Do they talk about it during a test drive?
   
4. Do they follow up with people who have shown an interest in buying a vehicle from your store?

You may think that these are obvious questions and there is no way your sales team isn’t doing these things…but you’d be surprised!

Bear with me, I’m going to briefly digress but for good reason.  Let me briefly tell you about two separate shopping experiences I had recently and the vast difference in professionalism between the two.

The first is when my wife was in the market for some small office space.  She began by researching the Internet for office space “hunter” companies, and then she called two of them and gave the parameters of her office space needs.

These companies don’t spend tens of thousands of dollars to attract customers and they don’t sell expensive products; but I was amazed at the professionalism and persistency of their follow up.  My wife received 6 calls within 1 week, of which 2 provided a live webinar to review the benefits and costs associated with the properties they recommended.  In each of those webinars the sales associate presented himself as the “consultant” by asking questions about my wife’s business, including budget, drive time, security, available office equipment and furniture.  And all of this for a 6 month, $700.00 a month lease agreement!  Wow!  Very impressive!

Fast forward just two weeks…My wife and I decided to purchase a truck and, having never previously owned one, we dedicated an entire day to learning more about our options.  We visited the following franchises during our search for a new vehicle:  Honda, Nissan, Ford, Chevy, GMC, Toyota and Dodge.

Upon entering the dealership and being approached by a sales person, I said the same thing to each one:  “We want a 4 door with leather and we are researching the differences between franchises.”  What’s the saying?…“Everything went south from there”?

Though each store did follow the state law and required a copy of my driver’s license and a sales associate accompanied us on the test drive, the experience was deflating to say the least.  No one asked about our needs…no one asked about what other trucks had we looked at…no one asked if we had a payment budget…and no one asked if we were interested in leasing or purchasing.  They barely told us anything about the vehicle we were test-driving.  We were told, “these seats are not only heated, they’re cooled too” and “You got to love the power in that engine.”  We were asked if we had a particular color in mind.  However, we did learn a lot...about things that had no relevance to our vehicle search and needs.  One salesman was very excited about going to the baseball game that night.  Another had only worked in the industry for 3 months, in which he sold 21, 19 and 24 cars, respectively because he knew “how people wanted to be treated.”  Another had plans with his two boys to go on a float trip as soon as he got off work.

One sales person had us test-drive a vehicle with a sold sticker on it.  I asked about that and he said “It’s not sold, some guy was going to pay cash, he set up two different delivery appointments and didn’t show up, nor did he call to cancel, I hate when customers do that, it’s so rude”.

I was sure I would get at least a follow up post card from each sales associate since I provided my license for the test drive and therefore each dealership had my address and one follow-up call because I requested one of the sales associates to do a locate for me.  Note: not one other person asked for my phone number.  Three days later, I called the guy who was mad at the customer who set up two delivery appointments but didn’t even call to cancel.  Want to know what he said?  “Oh I didn’t call you because we didn’t find anything in our search.”   And, in case you’re wondering, no thank you cards were received.

Can you believe it?  Six out of six…no walk around, no comparisons, no questions, and no brochures.

Can you say with 100% commitment that we didn’t visit your store?

Wonder how to control it? 

I’ll take you back to the top of this article.  Inspect what you expect.  When a salesperson returns from a test drive, ask him a couple of questions: What color do they want?  What other vehicles is your prospect looking at?  Then test it… Remember, salespeople know exactly what to tell you to make you go away.  So when you meet the prospect test the salesperson’s response to you. “So you’re looking for a black vehicle?” (The salesperson told you red, or “you want cloth” when the salesperson told you leather).  This is a tried and true way of cleaning up your internal process and to make sure that when your advertising works to get people in the door, your sales people are doing the best job possible to turn it into a sale.

~ Steve Dozier, National Director of Training @ DMEautomotive

Bio: Steve Dozier brings 15 years of experience in the automotive industry to DMEautomotive (DMEa). Before joining DMEa, he held upper level management positions in the retail industry. Steve also owned a consulting company that specialized in CRM and direct mail, which brought in $2 Million in Sales for approximately 5 years. While serving as a consultant Steve was consistently recruited by the top 3 CRM firms of that time. Steve started at DMEautomotive in a managerial position overseeing the Direct-to-Dealer team, and is now responsible for developing and growing DMEa University; DMEa’s in-house dealer training organization. Steve is married with two children and enjoys scuba diving and boating in his free time.

Originally posted on DMEautomotive’s Blog, which focuses on marketing in the automotive industry.  

Want to get more out of your dealership’s advertising?  A great way to improve your ROI is to look internally...review what your staff is doing with your advertising dollars.  Stop blaming your marketing, stop blaming the weather, the market and the economy.  I have visited dealers all over the United States, I can tell you from experience that one thing that separates successful dealers from the rest of the pack… the ability to implement and inspect sound daily processes. What are some of these daily processes you should put into action at your dealership to monitor improvement in ROI on advertising and increased revenue?  Well, if you are a GSM or higher, you should pay attention to the following:

1. Are your sales people asking customers for their telephone numbers?
   
2. Are they talking about the benefits of the vehicle their customer is test driving?
   
3. Do they even know the differences in your models and your competition?  Do they talk about it during a test drive?
   
4. Do they follow up with people who have shown an interest in buying a vehicle from your store?

You may think that these are obvious questions and there is no way your sales team isn’t doing these things…but you’d be surprised!

Bear with me, I’m going to briefly digress but for good reason.  Let me briefly tell you about two separate shopping experiences I had recently and the vast difference in professionalism between the two.

The first is when my wife was in the market for some small office space.  She began by researching the Internet for office space “hunter” companies, and then she called two of them and gave the parameters of her office space needs.

These companies don’t spend tens of thousands of dollars to attract customers and they don’t sell expensive products; but I was amazed at the professionalism and persistency of their follow up.  My wife received 6 calls within 1 week, of which 2 provided a live webinar to review the benefits and costs associated with the properties they recommended.  In each of those webinars the sales associate presented himself as the “consultant” by asking questions about my wife’s business, including budget, drive time, security, available office equipment and furniture.  And all of this for a 6 month, $700.00 a month lease agreement!  Wow!  Very impressive!

Fast forward just two weeks…My wife and I decided to purchase a truck and, having never previously owned one, we dedicated an entire day to learning more about our options.  We visited the following franchises during our search for a new vehicle:  Honda, Nissan, Ford, Chevy, GMC, Toyota and Dodge.

Upon entering the dealership and being approached by a sales person, I said the same thing to each one:  “We want a 4 door with leather and we are researching the differences between franchises.”  What’s the saying?…“Everything went south from there”?

Though each store did follow the state law and required a copy of my driver’s license and a sales associate accompanied us on the test drive, the experience was deflating to say the least.  No one asked about our needs…no one asked about what other trucks had we looked at…no one asked if we had a payment budget…and no one asked if we were interested in leasing or purchasing.  They barely told us anything about the vehicle we were test-driving.  We were told, “these seats are not only heated, they’re cooled too” and “You got to love the power in that engine.”  We were asked if we had a particular color in mind.  However, we did learn a lot...about things that had no relevance to our vehicle search and needs.  One salesman was very excited about going to the baseball game that night.  Another had only worked in the industry for 3 months, in which he sold 21, 19 and 24 cars, respectively because he knew “how people wanted to be treated.”  Another had plans with his two boys to go on a float trip as soon as he got off work.

One sales person had us test-drive a vehicle with a sold sticker on it.  I asked about that and he said “It’s not sold, some guy was going to pay cash, he set up two different delivery appointments and didn’t show up, nor did he call to cancel, I hate when customers do that, it’s so rude”.

I was sure I would get at least a follow up post card from each sales associate since I provided my license for the test drive and therefore each dealership had my address and one follow-up call because I requested one of the sales associates to do a locate for me.  Note: not one other person asked for my phone number.  Three days later, I called the guy who was mad at the customer who set up two delivery appointments but didn’t even call to cancel.  Want to know what he said?  “Oh I didn’t call you because we didn’t find anything in our search.”   And, in case you’re wondering, no thank you cards were received.

Can you believe it?  Six out of six…no walk around, no comparisons, no questions, and no brochures.

Can you say with 100% commitment that we didn’t visit your store?

Wonder how to control it? 

I’ll take you back to the top of this article.  Inspect what you expect.  When a salesperson returns from a test drive, ask him a couple of questions: What color do they want?  What other vehicles is your prospect looking at?  Then test it… Remember, salespeople know exactly what to tell you to make you go away.  So when you meet the prospect test the salesperson’s response to you. “So you’re looking for a black vehicle?” (The salesperson told you red, or “you want cloth” when the salesperson told you leather).  This is a tried and true way of cleaning up your internal process and to make sure that when your advertising works to get people in the door, your sales people are doing the best job possible to turn it into a sale.

~ Steve Dozier, National Director of Training @ DMEautomotive

Bio: Steve Dozier brings 15 years of experience in the automotive industry to DMEautomotive (DMEa). Before joining DMEa, he held upper level management positions in the retail industry. Steve also owned a consulting company that specialized in CRM and direct mail, which brought in $2 Million in Sales for approximately 5 years. While serving as a consultant Steve was consistently recruited by the top 3 CRM firms of that time. Steve started at DMEautomotive in a managerial position overseeing the Direct-to-Dealer team, and is now responsible for developing and growing DMEa University; DMEa’s in-house dealer training organization. Steve is married with two children and enjoys scuba diving and boating in his free time.

Originally posted on DMEautomotive’s Blog, which focuses on marketing in the automotive industry.  

The way we communicate and how we want to be communicated to is continually evolving.  New technology has allowed today’s consumer to be constantly exposed to messaging and information.  So what is the best way to reach your car dealership's customers - Email or Mail?

Email communications have many advantages for car dealers, mainly the efficiency and timing of sending your messages.  Consumers can receive emails at any time with mobile devices, work and home computers.  You can measure how a customer responds to your email message by either a transaction or tracking click-thrus to a website or other links.  Your customer does not have to rely on what is included in the email but can seek out what is relevant to them.  With that being said, what is your email capture rate?  And are your Sales, F&I and Service departments at your dealership getting valid email addresses or entering anything to get credit?  With an email append service, you can increase the reach to your customers on a monthly basis by capturing valid emails and bounce testing your existing database.  Even with email appends, 60-70% email capture rate is remarkable.  Remember that even though email is an efficient channel, blasting your database too often could make your customers numb or cause them to opt-out. 

Mail communications have advantages for car dealers as well.  Foremost, your dealership’s DMS is more likely to contain 100% of your clientele’s mail addresses so you can reach your entire database.  Though mail is more expensive than email, OEM programs can provide support with co-op funds if you meet their guidelines.  When done correctly, direct mail can be a relevant, personal invitation to a customer for their business.

Email and mail have their disadvantages too – both channels can get cluttered.  How does your dealership's message break through that clutter?  You can argue whether email is better than mail or vice versa.  But the key is how can you make them work together to get higher response rate from your campaigns.    If you are watching your budget, send email to those customers with a valid email address and then backfill with mail to reach your target.  If you want a greater lift in response, overlay your mail campaigns with an email message.

The way we communicate and how we want to be communicated to is continually evolving.  New technology has allowed today’s consumer to be constantly exposed to messaging and information.  So what is the best way to reach your car dealership's customers - Email or Mail?

Email communications have many advantages for car dealers, mainly the efficiency and timing of sending your messages.  Consumers can receive emails at any time with mobile devices, work and home computers.  You can measure how a customer responds to your email message by either a transaction or tracking click-thrus to a website or other links.  Your customer does not have to rely on what is included in the email but can seek out what is relevant to them.  With that being said, what is your email capture rate?  And are your Sales, F&I and Service departments at your dealership getting valid email addresses or entering anything to get credit?  With an email append service, you can increase the reach to your customers on a monthly basis by capturing valid emails and bounce testing your existing database.  Even with email appends, 60-70% email capture rate is remarkable.  Remember that even though email is an efficient channel, blasting your database too often could make your customers numb or cause them to opt-out. 

Mail communications have advantages for car dealers as well.  Foremost, your dealership’s DMS is more likely to contain 100% of your clientele’s mail addresses so you can reach your entire database.  Though mail is more expensive than email, OEM programs can provide support with co-op funds if you meet their guidelines.  When done correctly, direct mail can be a relevant, personal invitation to a customer for their business.

Email and mail have their disadvantages too – both channels can get cluttered.  How does your dealership's message break through that clutter?  You can argue whether email is better than mail or vice versa.  But the key is how can you make them work together to get higher response rate from your campaigns.    If you are watching your budget, send email to those customers with a valid email address and then backfill with mail to reach your target.  If you want a greater lift in response, overlay your mail campaigns with an email message.

Throughout my four-part series (of which this is the final part) I have argued for the use of social media...specifically Facebook...by your dealership's employees to create new opportunities. I've outlined the benefits and the "how to," and today we will look at a case study to show this does indeed work.

Johnny Londoff Chevrolet in Florissant, MO recently began a dealership-wide effort to engage in social media, including the recommendation to use personal profiles to expand their networks…and ultimately their dealership’s reach on social sites. The majority of Londoff employees are now actively engaging on Facebook, suggesting that their friends “like” Johnny Londoff Chevrolet’s Facebook Page and using their profiles as a way to facilitate some dealership-centered conversations. Employees have been talking about what’s happening at Londoff Chevrolet, whether it’s just a story that happened at the dealership (a difficult sale closed, a customer who left happy, etc), or news about a unique pre-owned vehicle, incentives, rebates, and service specials.

The results:  Johnny Londoff Chevrolet has experienced an increase in sales, with direct links to social media. In some cases, buyers are coming from other towns to buy from Londoff because of connections and affiliations with employees.

Why does this work?  Let’s face it…most sales people hate cold calling! They’ll do just about anything to avoid it. Facebook, on the other hand, is a great way for employees to generate traffic and create conversations about their jobs and the dealership. It is a more comfortable environment and, when done correctly, can be less intrusive and not come off as a “hard sale.” What do I mean by “done correctly?” Employees should pass along stories, interesting insights about their job, auto industry and dealership, and provide insider tips…they should make it interesting! For example, “Londoff Chevrolet just built a new showroom. It’s sweet! Makes it so much more comfortable for our buyers.”

The fact is employees will use Facebook during work hours whether they are allowed to or not. Seriously, think about it…if they can’t get access through their desktop at the office, all they have to do is turn to their mobile device and voila…access to their Facebook application.

It can be argued that the initial gut reaction of companies banning social media is driven by fear, lack of intelligence over how to regulate social media use and, perhaps better yet, how to mobilize your employees to use such sites as a way to increase brand recognition and ultimately drive revenue. Instead of prohibiting online activity or avoiding the problem all together, more and more dealers need to find a way to harness and leverage this invaluable technology.

~ Missy Jensen, Social Media Manager at DMEautomotive

Bio:

Missy designs, deploys and maintains the social media initiatives for DMEautomotive in an effort to increase brand awareness, distribute company and industry news, provide updates on products and services and promote consumer engagement. Missy enjoys the process of learning; researching and watching projects come to fruition!

Prior to her transformation into a web specialist and work with DMEautomotive, she has 10 years of experience in the marketing and communications industry. Missy served as the Director, Handicapping & Communications for a regional golf association and helped successfully launch and maintain a cutting edge technology-based ticket resale program on behalf of the St. Louis Cardinals

Missy attended St. Lawrence University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS in Psychology. She also holds a Master’s Degree from Miami University in Oxford, OH. She can be reached at missy.jensen@dmeautomotive.com and check her out on LinkedIn.

Additional resources:

• Part 1: ENCOURAGING YOUR DEALERSHIP’S EMPLOYEES TO USE FACEBOOK TO CREATE OPPORTUNITIES

• Part 2: THE BENEFITS OF ENCOURAGING EMPLOYEES TO USE FACEBOOK AT YOUR DEALERSHIP

• Part 3: HOW TO ENCOURAGE YOUR EMPLOYEES TO USE FACEBOOK

Download our white paper Navigating Social Media in the Automotive Industry for additional information!

Throughout my four-part series (of which this is the final part) I have argued for the use of social media...specifically Facebook...by your dealership's employees to create new opportunities. I've outlined the benefits and the "how to," and today we will look at a case study to show this does indeed work.

Johnny Londoff Chevrolet in Florissant, MO recently began a dealership-wide effort to engage in social media, including the recommendation to use personal profiles to expand their networks…and ultimately their dealership’s reach on social sites. The majority of Londoff employees are now actively engaging on Facebook, suggesting that their friends “like” Johnny Londoff Chevrolet’s Facebook Page and using their profiles as a way to facilitate some dealership-centered conversations. Employees have been talking about what’s happening at Londoff Chevrolet, whether it’s just a story that happened at the dealership (a difficult sale closed, a customer who left happy, etc), or news about a unique pre-owned vehicle, incentives, rebates, and service specials.

The results:  Johnny Londoff Chevrolet has experienced an increase in sales, with direct links to social media. In some cases, buyers are coming from other towns to buy from Londoff because of connections and affiliations with employees.

Why does this work?  Let’s face it…most sales people hate cold calling! They’ll do just about anything to avoid it. Facebook, on the other hand, is a great way for employees to generate traffic and create conversations about their jobs and the dealership. It is a more comfortable environment and, when done correctly, can be less intrusive and not come off as a “hard sale.” What do I mean by “done correctly?” Employees should pass along stories, interesting insights about their job, auto industry and dealership, and provide insider tips…they should make it interesting! For example, “Londoff Chevrolet just built a new showroom. It’s sweet! Makes it so much more comfortable for our buyers.”

The fact is employees will use Facebook during work hours whether they are allowed to or not. Seriously, think about it…if they can’t get access through their desktop at the office, all they have to do is turn to their mobile device and voila…access to their Facebook application.

It can be argued that the initial gut reaction of companies banning social media is driven by fear, lack of intelligence over how to regulate social media use and, perhaps better yet, how to mobilize your employees to use such sites as a way to increase brand recognition and ultimately drive revenue. Instead of prohibiting online activity or avoiding the problem all together, more and more dealers need to find a way to harness and leverage this invaluable technology.

~ Missy Jensen, Social Media Manager at DMEautomotive

Bio:

Missy designs, deploys and maintains the social media initiatives for DMEautomotive in an effort to increase brand awareness, distribute company and industry news, provide updates on products and services and promote consumer engagement. Missy enjoys the process of learning; researching and watching projects come to fruition!

Prior to her transformation into a web specialist and work with DMEautomotive, she has 10 years of experience in the marketing and communications industry. Missy served as the Director, Handicapping & Communications for a regional golf association and helped successfully launch and maintain a cutting edge technology-based ticket resale program on behalf of the St. Louis Cardinals

Missy attended St. Lawrence University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS in Psychology. She also holds a Master’s Degree from Miami University in Oxford, OH. She can be reached at missy.jensen@dmeautomotive.com and check her out on LinkedIn.

Additional resources:

• Part 1: ENCOURAGING YOUR DEALERSHIP’S EMPLOYEES TO USE FACEBOOK TO CREATE OPPORTUNITIES

• Part 2: THE BENEFITS OF ENCOURAGING EMPLOYEES TO USE FACEBOOK AT YOUR DEALERSHIP

• Part 3: HOW TO ENCOURAGE YOUR EMPLOYEES TO USE FACEBOOK

Download our white paper Navigating Social Media in the Automotive Industry for additional information!

First and foremost, it is critical for your dealership to set up standardized rules and guidelines for your employees to abide by when engaging in social networks. Need a sample? Feel free to use DMEautomotive Guidelines and/or also visit Altimeter for additional assistance. Your dealership should incorporate the social media guidelines within your dealership’s employee handbook because, as indicated on DealerRefresh, “that’s where all employees gain the same base of knowledge of company practices…and the company ensures that each staff member thoroughly understands its view of and approach to social media”. The handbook should make recommendations about specific (and acceptable) amounts of time that your employees can dedicate to adding content, commenting, responding and general research during the “normal business hours”.

Once you set up your expectations and guidelines, get your employees involved! Tap into the knowledge base of your employees…whether it’s your Sales Manager who can talk about the sales process…to your F&I department who has insights about the financial aspects of buying a car…to a Service Technician who will talk about important service milestones. Encourage them to discuss their “expertise” on their personal Facebook profiles to build additional rapport and trust with their extended social network.

To help your employees successfully engage in social media on your dealership’s behalf, you should provide them with dealership-specific content to use on their personal profiles. Content can include (but not limited to): videos, photos, dealership news, manufacturer news, specials and coupons.

Urge all employees to become a fan of your dealership’s Page (as well as other relevant industry pages) and to post or comment on posts to drive the conversations, which will aid in the development of your thriving community. Why should your employees engage on your dealership’s Fan Page? Once your employees start engaging with your Facebook Page, their friends and other connections will see their activity, which may entice them to join in. Some companies have even begun to employ internal Facebook Fan Page promotions where employees receive incentives for bringing in X number of fans. Others are hosting company parties when their Fan Page reaches a certain milestone (i.e., 1000 fans). The important factor is that your dealership can use your own employees to help spread the word about the services and vehicles you provide…all of which is done through the credible and effective word of mouth.

Next up: Case Study on Employee Use of Facebook in the Auto Industry

~ Missy Jensen, Social Media Manager @ DMEautomotive.

Bio:

Missy designs, deploys and maintains the social media initiatives for DMEautomotive in an effort to increase brand awareness, distribute company and industry news, provide updates on products and services and promote consumer engagement. Missy enjoys the process of learning; researching and watching projects come to fruition!

Prior to her transformation into a web specialist and work with DMEautomotive, she has 10 years of experience in the marketing and communications industry. Missy served as the Director, Handicapping & Communications for a regional golf association and helped successfully launch and maintain a cutting edge technology-based ticket resale program on behalf of the St. Louis Cardinals

Missy attended St. Lawrence University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS in Psychology. She also holds a Master’s Degree from Miami University in Oxford, OH. She can be reached at missy.jensen@dmeautomotive.com

LinkedIn Profile

Originally published on DMEautomotive's Automotive Direct Marketing Blog.

First and foremost, it is critical for your dealership to set up standardized rules and guidelines for your employees to abide by when engaging in social networks. Need a sample? Feel free to use DMEautomotive Guidelines and/or also visit Altimeter for additional assistance. Your dealership should incorporate the social media guidelines within your dealership’s employee handbook because, as indicated on DealerRefresh, “that’s where all employees gain the same base of knowledge of company practices…and the company ensures that each staff member thoroughly understands its view of and approach to social media”. The handbook should make recommendations about specific (and acceptable) amounts of time that your employees can dedicate to adding content, commenting, responding and general research during the “normal business hours”.

Once you set up your expectations and guidelines, get your employees involved! Tap into the knowledge base of your employees…whether it’s your Sales Manager who can talk about the sales process…to your F&I department who has insights about the financial aspects of buying a car…to a Service Technician who will talk about important service milestones. Encourage them to discuss their “expertise” on their personal Facebook profiles to build additional rapport and trust with their extended social network.

To help your employees successfully engage in social media on your dealership’s behalf, you should provide them with dealership-specific content to use on their personal profiles. Content can include (but not limited to): videos, photos, dealership news, manufacturer news, specials and coupons.

Urge all employees to become a fan of your dealership’s Page (as well as other relevant industry pages) and to post or comment on posts to drive the conversations, which will aid in the development of your thriving community. Why should your employees engage on your dealership’s Fan Page? Once your employees start engaging with your Facebook Page, their friends and other connections will see their activity, which may entice them to join in. Some companies have even begun to employ internal Facebook Fan Page promotions where employees receive incentives for bringing in X number of fans. Others are hosting company parties when their Fan Page reaches a certain milestone (i.e., 1000 fans). The important factor is that your dealership can use your own employees to help spread the word about the services and vehicles you provide…all of which is done through the credible and effective word of mouth.

Next up: Case Study on Employee Use of Facebook in the Auto Industry

~ Missy Jensen, Social Media Manager @ DMEautomotive.

Bio:

Missy designs, deploys and maintains the social media initiatives for DMEautomotive in an effort to increase brand awareness, distribute company and industry news, provide updates on products and services and promote consumer engagement. Missy enjoys the process of learning; researching and watching projects come to fruition!

Prior to her transformation into a web specialist and work with DMEautomotive, she has 10 years of experience in the marketing and communications industry. Missy served as the Director, Handicapping & Communications for a regional golf association and helped successfully launch and maintain a cutting edge technology-based ticket resale program on behalf of the St. Louis Cardinals

Missy attended St. Lawrence University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS in Psychology. She also holds a Master’s Degree from Miami University in Oxford, OH. She can be reached at missy.jensen@dmeautomotive.com

LinkedIn Profile

Originally published on DMEautomotive's Automotive Direct Marketing Blog.

Your employees are already some of the best brand ambassadors you have (this is especially true of dealerships that have a great relationship with their employees) and are currently representing you. And in most circumstances, they are probably doing so completely unsupervised and without organization. When given direction and incentive (i.e., motivated), they can serve as your best marketers!

Reported by Mckinsey/Thompson Lightstone, it has been stated that 67% of consumers purchasing decisions are influenced by word of mouth. When you harness your employees’ knowledge about your vehicles and dealership services, the success stories they posses and the rapport they have within their social network, it can result in one powerful sales environment. Why? Because your employees’ friends TRUST THEM! They believe that their friend knows what they are talking about and that their opinion matters. Your Service Manager’s friends surely believe that he is “the man” when it comes to car maintenance and repair.

Also consider this: the average Facebook user has 200+ friends. If your dealership has 100 employees, of whom 20 of them use Facebook, your dealership has a potential 4,000 friends at your fingertips. So take advantage of it! Allowing your employees to use social media actually leverages existing assets to create opportunities.

Additionally, social media can help your employees keep up with emerging trends and news within the automotive industry, increase their knowledge and position themselves (and ultimately your dealership) as a trusted resource. One of the most important reasons to engage in social media is to have constant interactions and to participate with others online in order to develop trustworthy relationships. Who do you buy stuff from in the “real world”? Your doctors…your accountant…your insurance agent? You trust them, don’t you? People feel better about purchases and transactions when they trust the person, company or brand. And how do companies do this? By consistently providing value, appearing to be like their customers and having similar interests. Social media is no different… it is about people and creating kinships. Thanks to social media, businesses can engage and interact with customers faster and in a more low-pressure environment…and your employees can facilitate this. Quite simply, social media can help strengthen the ties between your dealership, its customers and prospects, as well as among coworkers.

Next up...How To Encourage Your Employees to Use Facebook

~ Missy Jensen, Social Media Manager @ DMEautomotive.

Bio:

Missy designs, deploys and maintains the social media initiatives for DMEautomotive in an effort to increase brand awareness, distribute company and industry news, provide updates on products and services and promote consumer engagement. Missy enjoys the process of learning; researching and watching projects come to fruition!

Prior to her transformation into a web specialist and work with DMEautomotive, she has 10 years of experience in the marketing and communications industry. Missy served as the Director, Handicapping & Communications for a regional golf association and helped successfully launch and maintain a cutting edge technology-based ticket resale program on behalf of the St. Louis Cardinals

Missy attended St. Lawrence University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS in Psychology. She also holds a Master’s Degree from Miami University in Oxford, OH. She can be reached at missy.jensen@dmeautomotive.com

LinkedIn Profile

This blog was originally post at Automotive Direct Marketing Blog by DMEautomotive

Your employees are already some of the best brand ambassadors you have (this is especially true of dealerships that have a great relationship with their employees) and are currently representing you. And in most circumstances, they are probably doing so completely unsupervised and without organization. When given direction and incentive (i.e., motivated), they can serve as your best marketers!

Reported by Mckinsey/Thompson Lightstone, it has been stated that 67% of consumers purchasing decisions are influenced by word of mouth. When you harness your employees’ knowledge about your vehicles and dealership services, the success stories they posses and the rapport they have within their social network, it can result in one powerful sales environment. Why? Because your employees’ friends TRUST THEM! They believe that their friend knows what they are talking about and that their opinion matters. Your Service Manager’s friends surely believe that he is “the man” when it comes to car maintenance and repair.

Also consider this: the average Facebook user has 200+ friends. If your dealership has 100 employees, of whom 20 of them use Facebook, your dealership has a potential 4,000 friends at your fingertips. So take advantage of it! Allowing your employees to use social media actually leverages existing assets to create opportunities.

Additionally, social media can help your employees keep up with emerging trends and news within the automotive industry, increase their knowledge and position themselves (and ultimately your dealership) as a trusted resource. One of the most important reasons to engage in social media is to have constant interactions and to participate with others online in order to develop trustworthy relationships. Who do you buy stuff from in the “real world”? Your doctors…your accountant…your insurance agent? You trust them, don’t you? People feel better about purchases and transactions when they trust the person, company or brand. And how do companies do this? By consistently providing value, appearing to be like their customers and having similar interests. Social media is no different… it is about people and creating kinships. Thanks to social media, businesses can engage and interact with customers faster and in a more low-pressure environment…and your employees can facilitate this. Quite simply, social media can help strengthen the ties between your dealership, its customers and prospects, as well as among coworkers.

Next up...How To Encourage Your Employees to Use Facebook

~ Missy Jensen, Social Media Manager @ DMEautomotive.

Bio:

Missy designs, deploys and maintains the social media initiatives for DMEautomotive in an effort to increase brand awareness, distribute company and industry news, provide updates on products and services and promote consumer engagement. Missy enjoys the process of learning; researching and watching projects come to fruition!

Prior to her transformation into a web specialist and work with DMEautomotive, she has 10 years of experience in the marketing and communications industry. Missy served as the Director, Handicapping & Communications for a regional golf association and helped successfully launch and maintain a cutting edge technology-based ticket resale program on behalf of the St. Louis Cardinals

Missy attended St. Lawrence University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BS in Psychology. She also holds a Master’s Degree from Miami University in Oxford, OH. She can be reached at missy.jensen@dmeautomotive.com

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This blog was originally post at Automotive Direct Marketing Blog by DMEautomotive