Warning! This blog post contains thoughtful reflections, a heaping spoonful of sentimentality and maybe (just maybe) the dose of inspiration you didn’t know you were looking for.

When I launched my automotive digital marketing blog three years ago, I wrote on my About Me page that “it was mostly by accident that I got involved in this great industry (but that’s a blog post for another time).”

Well guess what? That time is now!

So yes, I stumbled into the automotive business quite by accident back in 2008. If you would have asked me at any point before then if I wanted to be a car salesman, I would have snorted in disgust. Me? A car salesman? Never, I’m better than that!

Of  course I was wrong about myself and this industry. Now as I approach the eight year anniversary of entering the car biz, it’s easy to recognize that these past eight years have been the most fulfilling years of my life – both professionally and personally.

And make no mistake about it, I have this business to thank for that.

Almost from the day I started my journey selling Hyundai’s in Michigan (not the easiest cars in the world to sell in the Motor City…in 2008…before Hyundai enjoyed the reputation that it does today) I started looking for ways to be different and to make a difference.

I didn’t want to be that stereotypical car guy who was only concerned with gross and how many units he could push out in a month. I didn’t want to live the life of a mercenary salesman always looking for the greener grass. I didn’t want to be the guy who bragged about his best month ever, 15 years after it happened and never got close to it again.

Quite the opposite.

I wanted to see my coworkers succeed as much as possible. I wanted the dealerships I worked at to be held to a higher standard. I wanted to be a part of something bigger. I wanted to change the perception of what a sales professional could be in the car biz.

Respected. Knowledgeable. Innovative. Trustworthy. All traits I did my best to uphold on a daily basis – and still do.

Now don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t perfect and I’m still not. There were times when I acted selfishly instead of selflessly. There were times where I flat out did the wrong thing. There were more failures than I care to admit.

Perhaps you can relate to that.

At the end of the day though, it doesn’t matter if we succeed or fail. What matters is how we react to these things the next day.

If you had a good day, do you give yourself permission to coast through the next one at the expense of what could be?

If you had a bad day, do you allow yourself to carry the weight of that day into the next and let it drag you down?

When the sun rises each morning we’re given a gift. A gift of starting anew. A gift of making the day as good (or as bad) as we choose. Our actions determine our reality.

Even though I’m on the “other side” of the business these days, not much has changed with how I approach my career. I still keep trying to get better every day. I surround myself with only positive people. I stay away from as much negativity as I can. I try to hang around with people who are smarter than me in an effort to keep learning and growing.

It’s funny that the industry I once regarded as an unsavory one is actually filled with the most influential people in my life.

There are so many brilliant people in the car business (both on the dealer and vendor side) and the vast majority of them are gracious enough to share their insights and experiences with anyone who takes the time to ask.

Sometimes I take for granted how lucky I am to be able to reach out and talk to to some of the brightest minds in the industry to ask questions and bounce ideas off of.

I truly am blessed.

So if there’s any one thing I want you to take away from this blog post is this….

Take a moment today and reflect upon your own journey in the car biz. Whether you're a lifer, relatively new or somewhere in between, reach out to a person who has influenced you – right now – and let them know how much you appreciate their support. Don’t be surprised if your call to that person profoundly affects them as much, or more, as it will affect you.

I’ve made myself a goal to do this once a day for the next year. So if you get a random phone call, tweet, Facebook message or email from me that’s dripping with sappy sweetness, at least you’ll know why.

Oh, and one last thing. If you’re in the car biz and sitting there on wondering where you can find a tribe of like minded people to connect with and learn from – look no further than the website you’re on, DrivingSales.com.

There’s a community of people here who visit the website weekly – even daily – to give back freely to the automotive community at large. So pop over to the forums to ask that unanswered question that’s been on your mind, or check out the other blogs here on DrivingSales to learn something new.

What’s your journey been like in the car biz? Share your thoughts with me in the comments section below!

When you hear the word “leader”, what image immediately comes to mind? Do you picture a figure like a NFL quarterback or NBA point guard? Or maybe you imagine someone like an executive or CEO of a major tech company. Perhaps it’s great military mind or head of state. Heck you might even picture someone you know like your own General Manager or Dealer Principal.

The reality is that being a leader is more than just having a snazzy title. True leaders have qualities that allow them to achieve incredible success, not just for themselves, but for everyone they work with.

So take a minute and think of a leader….

Got one?

Ok, now I want you to picture that leader clearly in your head. What kind of qualities would you ascribe to that person that would make them great?

For me it’s not too difficult of an exercise. The great leadership qualities  I’m about to go over aren’t traits I just made up or read on someone else’s blog. These qualities are based solely on the observations I made the past five years working with Carlos Mojica, Marketing Director, of the LaFontaine Automotive Group.

Carlos in my eyes and in the eyes of his peers and colleagues is an exceptional leader. It’s been an honor to work and grow with his guidance over the years. While I may have moved on to pursue a new opportunity and to continue my professional growth, I will always think of Carlos as a great leader, mentor and (most importantly) friend.

So what qualities does Carlos and other great leaders possess? Based on my time working with him, here are 10 signs of greatness you should find in a leader.

1. They Support the Team

In my opinion the most important thing a leader can do is support his or her team. Through the good times and bad, a great leader will continually set the example and make sure the team has what it needs to succeed.

2. They Don’t Micromanage

Have you ever worked with a micromanager? If you have you probably just got the chills like I do when I think about it.

A micromanager never let’s you tackle a task or project your way. They feel that they have to be “guiding” you every step of the way (much to your chagrin).

Whereas a great leader let’s you get on about your business and checks in with you as needed to ensure everything is going to plan.

Consequently it’s much easier to ask for help if you work for a great leader because you’ll get the assistance you need and not open yourself up to further micromanaging.

3. They Listen to All Voices

A great leader often possesses great ideas, but that doesn’t mean they don’t listen to their team or others within your company.

Being able to accept the input of others is a trait that not everyone has. If you work for a person who values your input and asks for opinions up and down the ladder you just might be working with a person of exceptional leadership.

4. They Are Open to New Ideas

Ever work for someone who didn’t like any idea that wasn’t their own? Yeah, been there done that. Not too fun is it?

A leader of greatness will listen to new ideas with an open mind and collaborate with you.

And the best part, they’ll let you bask in all your glory if your idea is amazing.

5. They Don’t Take Credit For Your Success

That same person who isn’t open to new ideas is also the same person who just might take credit for what success you achieve.

Having been on the receiving end of this I can’t tell you how frustrating this is. To put your heart and soul into a project only to have your boss take all the credit and not give you the recognition you deserve is total weak sauce.

The true leader will hold you up for the world to see and praise your hard work and effort to anyone who will listen.

6. They Help You Grow

I think anyone who’s reading this has the drive to continually grow in their profession. There’s only so much we can do ourselves however.

A great leader helps you develop as time passes by, challenging you to take on new things. Today I’m not the person I was five years ago because I had a leader who encouraged and aided in my development.

7. They Communicate Clearly

For any team to succeed, communication has to be clear and concise.

I don’t know about you but I’m of the opinion that if you’re having a lot of team meetings that means that there’s not a lot of clear communicating going on.

While the occasional team meeting is important, we still need to get on with our day. Great leaders can get their thoughts across without the constant need to disrupt the work week with meetings to cover the notes from the last meeting before moving on to prepping for their afternoon meeting.

8. They Remove Obstacles

Throughout any given week, month or quarter there are going to be obstacles that arise that prevent you from doing your job effectively.

Sometimes it’s something simple like getting ink for the printer or escalating an IT issue. Other times it reaching out to a colleague on your behalf because they haven’t answered the last three emails and phone calls to give you the details you needed to finish up a project.

A great leader will do whatever they can to remove these obstacles so you can keep moving forward and not wasting time.

9. They Understand Life / Work Balance

Notice I said life / work balance instead of the traditional work / life variation? That’s because I’m a firm believer that life comes first.

If your not happy and productive in your home, your marriage and with your family, you’re never going to be happy and productive at work.

Have you ever come to work after something upsetting happened at home and your boss in his or her ultimate wisdom said something like “hey bud, you gotta check your problems at the door when you come to work.”?

Yeah, that’s helpful…thanks for the great advice Dr. Phil. Next why don’t you tell me to just bury my feelings deep down inside and never talk about them because that’s what you do. I’m sure that’ll turn out just fine…

True leaders recognize that being flexible with their team leads to increased productivity and loyalty. It may sound crazy, but research has shown that a many people won’t take a different job for more money if it means they lose what they perceived to be a superior life / work balance.

Money isn’t the key to happiness kids. Trust me.

10. You Work With Them Not For Them

This is more than just semantics. Real leaders see themselves on an equal level with the rest of the team. Now obviously they have different roles and responsibilities, but rarely does that stop them from rolling up their sleeves and getting dirty.

Because of this a great leader will succeed along side of you or fail alongside of you. They won’t swoop in and steal the spotlight when all is well, neither will they point fingers and abandon ship when all is not.

People in roles who feel it necessary to constantly remind you who they are and what their title is, aren’t leaders. They’re “bosses” in the loosest sense of the word. They simply have a title and they let it dictate their behavior.

As Yoda might say, a title makes not a leader.

Do You Work With a Great Leader? What qualities do they possess that make them a leader of greatness in your eyes? Share your thoughts with the DrivingSales Community in the comments section below!

Social Media use in the car dealership is different today than it was just a few years ago. It’s interesting how in a short period of time being active on social media has evolved from something that was considered ‘free’ and optional to something that's necessary and requires an investment of time, resources and yes – a budget.

I recently had the pleasure of speaking at the 2015 Automotive Social Media Summit hosted by Thought Leadership Summits representing the LaFontaine Automotive Group. Being able to share the stage with fellow car dealers, automotive vendors and OEM representatives was truly a humbling experience.

During my presentation I shared my own journey with social media in the dealership. I told the story of how after achieving initial success with social media, we put or social on cruise control and eventually experienced a massive #SocialFail by not adapting as both social media and our automotive group evolved.

While it’s never easy to admit you’ve failed at something, it would be worse if we just gave up.

The good news is we’ve learned from our mistakes and are now realigning our social media marketing strategy for our dealerships in an effort to succeed according to the new rules of 2015.

We’ve implemented a social blueprint to follow which we affectionately refer to as the 13 Rules for Social Media Success in the Dealership. Today I’m happy to share these rules with you here on DrivingSales.com in hopes that you’ll find them just as useful as we have.

1. Define Your Social Media Mission

Before you undertake any major initiative, you need a solid foundation to what you’re doing and for me, it all starts with a mission statement.

You social media mission statement is your compass that will help guide you, your team and your employees along the way.

Here’s our social mission for the LaFontaine Automotive Group:

To engage, educate and entertain our customers and employees by providing extraordinary and unexpected value.

Every piece of content we post or share via social media needs to meet this mission. If it doesn’t, then it’s not worth sharing.

2. Identify Your Team

As I’m sure most of you know, business social media isn’t easy. It takes time and resources and often can be overwhelming for just one person to manage on a consistent basis.

Most social media experts (and by no means do I suggest that I am one) agree that for a small business to be successful on Facebook and Twitter alone, they should invest one hour per day into their social media.

Most dealerships however don’t just utilize Facebook and Twitter. We’re on Google+, YouTube, LinkedIn and maybe Instagram or Pinterest. Let’s say that adds up to an additional hour per day you need to spend on your social media.

So that’s a total of two hours per day dedicated to the social media for your dealership. Doesn’t sound too challenging does it?

But what if you have 3 dealerships? or 6? Or 16 like we do? For us that means we need to dedicate 32 hours a day just to our social media if we want to be successful at the store level.

Say What?!

Clearly one person can’t handle that. Heck two isn’t even enough. That’s why we built a team to handle the rigors and challenges associated with social media. We have a Digital Marketing Manager, Community Manager, Graphic Designer & store level Social Ambassadors all contributing to our social media.

3. Focus on How to Be Social, Not How to Do Social

This one is big for me. There’s a difference between doing social and being social.  When we first got involved in social media in 2011, we were being social. The past year and a half we set our social media on cruise control and were doing social.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that when we took our focus off our social media to focus on other aspects of our digital marketing, we slowly began to lose our audience.

To fill the space of our social media pages, we relied on 3rd party tools and automation to push out content. We we’re simple doing social at this point in time. By the time we realized that this approach wasn’t going to work, it was already too late.

Being social, i.e. engaging with your audience, other businesses and pages on Facebook is different than doing social.

4. Always Write Back

This goes hand-in-hand with #3, but deserves its own mention because it is so important.

Have you ever tagged a brand, athlete or celebrity in a tweet or Facebook message and gotten a response? Made you feel pretty special, didn’t it?

If someone says something to you via social media, respond. Every time. No exceptions.

Even if they don’t have something nice to say.

Not only does it show to anyone who is paying attention that you are active and engaged on your social networks, but it will make the person who took the time to say something to you feel special that you noticed and replied.

5. Social is on 24/7, Are You?

I think a lot of us fell in to the trap that the social media channels for our dealerships were on only during business hours. If something was tweeted our way or a post was being engaged with on Facebook after hours, it was just going to have to wait until 9am for our response.

Let’s face it, I don’t think anyone is going to blame you for not wanting to reply to that negative review that came in on your Facebook page at 1:00am.

Just know that social never sleeps and the actions you take before and after business hours will set you apart from the competition.

6. Stay on Target

People do care about what you had for lunch…if you’re a food brand!

But you’re not a food brand, are you? No, you are a car dealership. So when planning content to post, try not to fall into the game of posting the popular types of content you see in your own stream.

Posting pictures of food, cats, babies, memes, etc. may incite some extra engagement, but you won’t leave a lasting impression of your brand once you disappear from the social stream.

Part of the fun of social media is being able to figure out what content works best for you and your dealership.

Remember, you can never go wrong by highlighting your employees and customers on your social networks – it’s almost always the most engaging pieces of content you can post.

7. Be Real. People Want to Talk to YOU not Your Dealership

Have you ever met a person face-to-face for the first time and after a couple minutes of talking you walked away mumbling to yourself, “jeesh, that dude was soooo fake!”. I think we’ve all been there, and done that.

Fakeness or insincerity is just as easily detected on social media as it is in an intimate and personal setting.

If you’re not genuine in your comments, connections, thank you’s and mentions it won’t go unnoticed.

A great self-test you can do is before you send a tweet or reply to a comment, read it aloud and ask yourself would a real person talk this way?

If it sounds conversational and rolls off the tongue easily then you are good to go. If it sounds like stuffy corporate gibberish, then you may want to consider editing your copy for more of a casual feel.

Fact: People talk to people, not to brands.

It’s a lot easier for someone to talk to Jason @ LaFontaine than it is for them to talk to the LaFontaine Automotive Group. See what I mean?

8. Don’t Try to Be Clever. Be Clever!

Ok this is a tricky one, but an important one. If there’s one thing that will set your social media apart from not just other dealerships, but from most other businesses as well, it’s how clever you can be.

And unfortunately, cleverness isn’t something that’s easily taught or learned. Most people either have it, or don’t.

If you don’t have it, find someone on you team who does. Quickly!

9. Social Media is not Free nor Easy. Ever.

Back in 2011 when I first got my start as the Social Media Manager for the LaFontaine Automotive Group, there was one refrain that you’d hear over and over again as it related to social media in the dealership.

Social Media is Free!

Oh, and not only is it free, but all you have to do is hire a college kid to do your social for you since that’s their thing.

I wish I could say I was exaggerating here, but I’m not. Even after all these years I still cringe when I hear anyone suggest that social is free and easy because it’s not and it never was.

To be successful you’ll need to invest in people, partners, infrastructure and equipment. Not to mention having a campaign budget to allocate to your various page and post campaigns that you’re running on Facebook, Twitter and/or YouTube.

10. Not Everything Will Work and That’s Ok!

There’s going to be a time when you feel like you’ve crafted the perfect post. Image looks great, the copy is short and clever, your co-workers have given you the thumbs up – and then you post that bad boy and put it out there. You kick back and wait for the red notifications to start lighting up but instead you get…

Crickets.

The post goes unnoticed. Whether it’s due to Facebook’s algorithm, the time of day, the type of audience or any other numerous things that could go wrong the fact is no one saw it or engaged with it.

When this happens (and it will….often) you just have to be able to get over it. Channel your inner Stuart Smalley and say to yourself “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and, doggonit, people like me!”

11. Use Traditional Media to Support Your Social Media

For the longest time our traditional marketing and our social media marketing didn’t align or talk to each other. They both just did their own thing and went about their business

That’s different for us today. As we’re undergoing a massive shift in how we approach our digital marketing and social efforts, we’re also doing the same thing with our TV and Radio advertising.

Our branding campaigns for TV now include social calls to action and conversely we build social campaigns to support our branding campaigns.

12. It’s Called Social Media, Not Buy My Crap Media

I have to give a hat tip to Greg Gifford of DealerOn for this rule, and it’s one of my favorites.

Notice in our social mission statement there’s no mention of selling cars. Why? Because that’s not what we’re trying to accomplish on social media. We’re simply trying to connect with our customers, impress our prospects and encourage our employees. Another way to say it is that we want to build a value based community.

And believe it or not, I’ve found that when we follow this plan people reach out to us via Facebook or Twitter all on their own when they have a vehicle need.

13. If You’re Not Consistent, You’re Nonexistent

This was the biggest lesson learned from our #SocialFail. Once you become inconsistent with your posting frequency, you’ll lose your audience.

Facebook’s algorithm is unforgiving, and nothing will throttle your organic reach like a lack of content will. I don’t know if there is a magic number of posts we should be sharing per day, but I do know if you’re only posting once a week (or once per month!) you’re not going to reach your audience at all.

Our Plan In Action

We’ve recently implemented this process on the Facebook page that represents the entire LaFontaine Automotive Group, and I feel like we’re successfully meeting our mission. If you’d like to see the plan in action, feel free to take a look at our page to see what’s working for us and feel free to give us a like (insert shameless self-plug here.)

Our next step is to roll in our social media accounts for all 16 of our locations to follow the same plan. It’s a daunting task, but with our 13 Rules For Social Media Success in place, I’m confident we’ll build valuable communities for each of our locations that will help us meet our mission.

What do you think about these 13 Rules. Is there one or two that resonate with you? Is there anything else you’d add to your plan? Let me know in the comment section below.

Thanks!

In a recent post on Think With Google, a compelling study shows how “Near Me” type searches are on the rise. And not just a steady rise either, these searches are up 34x since 2011.

You know the kind of search I'm talking about, right? You're in a town that you're not too familiar with and in need of nourishment so you whip out the trusty smartphone and google restaurants near me.

And just like a good Google should, up pops a list of restaurants near your present location complete with reviews, the address, the type of food and the hours of operation allowing you to make an immediate decision on where you're going to go stuff your face with food.

Google refers to these scenarios like the one I just described as "I Want To Go" moments. A consumer has a need, want or desire and they're using mobile search to provide a solution now.

In these moments, consumers aren't just getting information, they're making decisions and often heading straight to stores.

According to the Think With Google study, 50% of consumers who conduct a local search on their smartphone visit a store within a day. A Day!

What About Car Dealerships?

So while the research that Google presents is compelling and gives great insight in to consumer behavior, I was thinking the same thing you probably are - yeah this is great info for restaurants and retail stores - but what about car dealerships?

Great question, I'm glad you asked.

Google didn't report on anything car dealer specific,  however they did mention this,

There are some searches or services you may not expect. People have started to search for "dermatologists near me," "plumbers near me," "jobs near me" and other things that are typically in a high consideration set.

After reading this snippet, I thought it's probably safe to include "dealerships near me" in that high consideration set. But is anyone really searching this way?

Not wanting to just guess, I fired up my browser to do some good ol' fashioned research to see if "near me" style searches were being used (and how often) for car dealerships.

In my research I discovered two things.

1. Consumers are indeed searching using terms like "Toyota Dealers Near Me"
2. The volume of these searches has a similar increase to other 'near me' style searches

What's a Car Dealer to Do?

While being aware of how consumers are behaving is important, it's another thing to understand how that behavior can impact your business.

Here are 6 things you can do to make sure your dealership is looking its best when a consumer searches for a car dealership near them.

1. Use the Google AdWords Keyword Planner

If you've never used the Google AdWords Keyword Planner before, it's a fantastic tool that helps you plan your Search campaigns and helps you learn what your customers are looking for.

Once you launch the keyword planner, do this:

• Click get search volume and data trends.
• Enter your keyword phrase (i.e. Toyota dealers near me)
• Select your targeting (State, County, City, etc.)
• Choose your Date Range (Up to 2 years)

Now you'll see the month-by-month search volume trend in your location by consumers looking for your brand of dealership near them.

2. Put on Your Consumer Hat

I'll admit that because I'm so engrossed in automotive digital marketing that sometimes I can get blinders on and not see something the way someone outside of our business would.

Because of this, it's important that we try to remove ourselves from our dealerships and become the consumers we're trying to attract.

Remember, when a customer performs a "near me" search, most are looking to fulfill a need immediately - not in a week or two.

3. Do a 'Near Me' Search

Now that you're in the mindset of a consumer, take out your smartphone and do a 'near me' search for the brand of vehicles your dealership carries.

Take note of the information that's visible to the consumer - two or three ad placements and a map displaying the car dealerships along with the users location. You'll also find:

• A list of the closest dealers sorted loosely by distance and review count
• Address & distance to each dealership
• A star rating & number of Google reviews
• Hours of operation
• An easy-to-tap call button

4. Target "Near Me" Searches With You SEM

As you can see and as I noted above, there are also two ad placements at the top of most "near me" searches.

You may want to geo-target specific "near me" searches that you might not normally show up for in the first 3 organic map listings.

5. Reviews

You already know why your dealership needs to build reviews on Google, so no need to dive into that here.

Because you're still wearing your consumer hat (you haven't taken it off, have you?) it's easy to see how a consumer could be influenced more so from your review count and star rating that relative distance to your location.

Having a solid reputation on Google can be enough to win a consumers first consideration and ultimately their tap (click).

6. Check Your Google My Business Page

Take the time to make sure you have current photos uploaded to your My Business page. Heck you can even work with a Google Trusted Photographer to capture a virtual tour for your dealership that will show up right in your business listing.

Having a completely filled out business page complete with good photos and content will give a fantastic first impression to a consumer.

Also don't forget to check your My Business Dashboard to track number of Driving Direction Requests and Phone Calls generated from your mobile listing.

Are You Ready?

The mobile device is becoming our first screen and the one we all rely on most often. Being aware of consumer trends when it comes to mobile can keep your dealership ahead of the curve and in line with consumer behavior and expectations.

How do you feel the increase in "Near Me" search will affect your dealership? Share your thoughts with me in the comments section below.

Are you a tech-obsessed nerd like me? When it comes to the latest phone, tablet, computer, gizmo, gadget or wearable device – I want it and I want it now.

I began following the Apple rumor mill intensively back when everyone referred to the forthcoming smartwatch from Apple as the iWatch. And being the geek I am, I felt like I just had to have one of these shiny new watches that did so much more than tell me what time it was and remind me that I was late for a meeting…again.

Honestly because of my excitement, it never occurred to me just how the latest whizzbang-gizmo from Apple might affect human behavior, communication and personal interaction.

Now that the Apple Watch has launched and many of us eagerly await our smart-timepiece to arrive on our doorstep, it’s a good time to take a deeper look to see how this new device could impact our dealerships digital marketing in general and email marketing specifically.

Entirely new ways to stay in touch

One of Apple’s stated benefits of the Apple Watch is that it gives it’s users a new way to communicate:

Apple Watch makes all the ways you’re used to communicating more convenient. And because it sits right on your wrist, it can add a physical dimension to alerts and notifications. For example, you’ll feel a gentle tap with each incoming message…

Think about how this will work for a second. You send a customer a typical email, and if they’re wearing an Apple Watch they get a taptic notification letting them know that they have a new message.

The assumption is that the user could then view your email right on their watch and take action accordingly. Seems pretty straight forward, right?

On pixels yes, but perhaps not so much in the real world because it turns out the Apple Watch doesn’t handle email the way we might expect.

How The Apple Watch Handles Email

When a new email message comes in to an Apple Watch user, they feel a tap on their wrist to notify them of it’s arrival. That’s all well and good, but the question is what does the user see when they check that email on their watch?

Plain Text.

That’s right, plain old-fashioned unformatted text displayed on a watch face less than two inches wide. No images, no color, no bold, italicized or underlined text and most importantly no clickable links with two exceptions Addresses and Phone Numbers (addresses when tapped will open in the Maps app and tapping a phone number will initiate a call on the users iPhone).

Take a look at a sample of the emails your send your prospects and customers and imagine how they might be displayed on an Apple Watch.

Mentally strip out the images, logos and formatting and see what’s left. Is there actually a personal, compelling and easily consumable message behind all the fluff? If there’s not, then you may want to start thinking about the content you provide in your email communications now.

Another interesting side effect of how the Apple Watch handles email is that open rate tracking is not possible because the Apple Watch can’t load or display the 1×1 tracking pixel.

Understanding the Shift in Time

Now I know there are probably more than a few of you who are thinking “why on earth would I change anything about my email marketing just to satisfy what amounts to a small percentage of people using a smart watch?”. Without a doubt that’s a very valid question, but consider this….

During the first day of the Apple Watch becoming available online, over one million orders were placed. To put that in perspective, in all of 2014 there were approximately one million Android Wear devices ordered – meaning Apple effectively did in a day what it took Android Wear to do in a year.

And while there’s some doubt that once the early adopters and nerd types have their watches on their wrists that Apple Watch sales will flatten out, I wouldn’t count on it. On average, industry analysts are predicting Apple will sell over 22 million smart watches in 2015.

That’s a lot of wrists that will be wearing an Apple Watch in the very near future.

And let’s not forget what happened prior to Apple launching the iPad. There were plenty of people who questioned Apple’s entry in to a market segment that had a history of failed consumer products.

Conceptually, a tablet device is appealing…But given the saturation of mobile phones and laptop computers, particularly in the consumer market, is there a place for the tablet? Not many of us would want to lug a 10-inch tablet around all day — what benefits would it provide to the average user?

Jeff Bertolucci – PCWorld

250 million iPad’s later, I don’t think anyone is questioning Apple’s decision as they redefined and dominated the tablet space with the iPad.

The same thing can hold true for the Apple Watch. Sure they weren’t first to the market with a smart watch (or an MP3 player, or a smart phone) but Apple certainly looks to be on track to redefine and dominate the smart watch market going forward.

Watch or no Watch it’s Time to Change

Smart Watches aside, Apple or otherwise, I feel there’s an important lesson to be learned here about tailoring our email communications to align with consumer behavior in 2015 and beyond.

Keeping our messages simple, personal and to the point will probably get us a lot more traction with our customers regardless of which device they read our emails on.

Are you ready to rethink and redefine your email communications with your customers? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

When I got the good news that I was selected to be a breakout speaker at the 2014 DrivingSales Executive Summit, I'm not too ashamed to admit that a single tear slid down my cheek as I read my acceptance email.

(editors note from Mrs. Stum: if by 'a single tear' Jason he means cried like our one-year old daughter for an hour before finally regaining his composure, then sure, it was a single tear...#NotImpressed)

A single tear of joy to be sure, as this is something I worked long and hard to achieve over the past year.

But as soon as I wiped that solitary tear off my supple cheek, I saw who the other breakout speakers were....and I started to hyperventilate.

As panic set in, I was having quite the Wayne's World "I'm not Worthy" moment to see my name listed among those who I admire from near and far. 

Dare I say it was almost too much for me to handle - I mean c'mon people, this is a veritable list of who's who in the automotive marketing biz.

David Kain, Brian Pasch, Jerry Thibeau & Jon Quade - all veteran speakers and industry pros that I admire greatly.

Jeff Kershner master of DealerRefresh and all things digital (and hair-care products!)

Bryan Armstrong, Megan Barto and Aaron Wirtz - subject matter experts and former guests on the MarketPunch Podcast.

Bobbie Herron, my neighbor to the north whom I recently met IRL and one of Automotive News' 40 Under 40.

Joe Chura, JD Rucker, Jeremy Anspach & Eric Miltsch - a few fellas who've influenced me greatly the past year.

The YouTube Diva herself, Elise Kephart.

And just when you think that's a pretty solid line-up worth the price of admission, you realize there are 18 more breakout speakers packing the 2014 DSES Agenda for a total of 33!

That's when it dawned on me just how lucky DSES attendees will be this year (and no, it has nothing to do with me). 

These 33 breakout speakers are coming together in one location to share with you their knowledge over a three day span so you are prepared to have a prosperous 2015.

(and I haven't even mentioned the outstanding Keynote Speakers who will tie the whole event together).

For there to be an automotive conference that puts the focus on giving dealers the information they want and need to succeed in the upcoming year is pretty damn fantastic.

Last year the price of admission for our team at LaFontaine was returned multiple times over when we were able to take home plenty of actionable intelligence and a little something called the Appointment Boarding Pass courtesy of Best Idea Contest winner, Robert Karbaum.

Can't you see what I'm trying to say?

The fact is that the DrivingSales Executive Summit is one of the best investments you can make for you and your team this year.

Why am I so passionate about what DSES offers to attendees?

It simply because DrivingSales.com and the DrivingSales Executive Summit have been an integral part of my growth and success.

And since you're reading this here on DrivingSales.com, you probably feel the exact same way I do.

Will I see you at the 2014 DrivingSales Executive Summit? Let me know in the comments section below so we can connect this October!

Not too long ago, I had the pleasue of overhearing this conversation take place in one of our showrooms....

It started with a sales consultant greeting a customer as he walked through the door, “Hello sir, welcome to LaFontaine Hyundai – what brings you in today?” 

The answer however, was not what I was expecting, “I just read the article you posted about the 2015 Hyundai Genesis on your blog. I had a few extra minutes, so I thought I’d swing by your dealership to learn a little more”.

“That’s fantastic sir, I’m glad to hear it! I do feel a little embarrassed though, and maybe you didn’t see it in the article, but the 2015 Genesis hasn’t arrived yet.” was the response.

“Oh I know, I checked your inventory online” and then with a knowing smile the customer said “I just thought I’d take a look at the current Genesis. Maybe you can make me a great deal on one of these?”….

When I re-launched the blog for the LaFontaine Automotive Group, FamilyDealBlog.com, back in October 2013, this is exactly how I would imagine our blog would work.

We’d post useful and relevant content on our blog, distribute it via email and social media marketing channels, let Google crawl it - and people would walk through the doors of our dealerships because of it.

You might say, “hey that sounds great in theory but so do flux capcitors. We have a blog too, but it doesn't really do anything like that that for us”.

I get it, I really do and I don’t blame you for your skepticism. At one point in time I used to be just like you.

From 2010 to 2013 we paid an outside company to run and create content for FamilyDealBlog.com and while we got some decent web traffic, it didn’t convert that traffic into prospects and customers the way it does today.

It’s been 8 months since we took direct control of our blog.

Since then our blog content pulls in 4,000 unique visits per month and not a day goes by where we don’t get at least a phone call, lead form submission or walk in customer that can be sourced directly from our blog.

One lead a day adds up pretty quickly when you think about it. And the rate we're going, I only expect that number to increase over the next year.

I just wish I would have taken control of our blog sooner than I did.

If I Only Had a Time Travelling DeLorean

So, how powerful can your blog be?

Let me put it this way: If I had a time machine, one of the first things I would do (after I placed a few wagers using my handy Sports Almanac) would be to go back to 2010 and take control of FamilyDealBlog.com.

Why? Because after the results I’ve seen in just eight months, it kills me knowing that I wasted three and a half years underutilizing our blog.

Three and a half years of building authority with Google and establishing relevance and usefulness with our audience went by the wayside.

I’d do just about anything to have that time back.

You, however, don’t have to share my regrets. You don't have to revisit this article 3 years later and wish you would have started today.

The good news is that you can have a blog that converts too, and you can do it quicker than you think. 

And while you can get started today, I will caution you and say - Bloggin' ain't easy. There are a lot of challenges associated with creating useful and relevant content.

If you are going to travel 88 miles per hour down this path, you have to be very intentional about implementing the process.

But Why Blog? Why Not Just Publish on Social Media?

Why should I invest time and energy into a blog? If I want to share content with my audience, isn’t that what Facebook is for? I’m not a writer, how am I going to write articles for a blog?

These are all questions I’ve asked myself before. 

The main reason your should invest serious resources to your blog is simple: You own the platform. It's under your direct control and you make the rules.

The reality is, the social network landscape is undergoing a major transition as we speak.

Facebook is cutting off all organic reach for those of us with business pages. Pretty soon, if we want our content to be seen by our fans and friends, we’ll all have to “pay to play”.

Twitter’s growth has leveled out and has recently taken steps to make itself look more like Facebook and less like…well…Twitter.

And as much as I love Google Plus for all of the wonderful benefits it provides for your dealership, it too is facing an uncertain future.

Think about it like this. Say you have 2,000 likes on your Facebook page, you publish a post and if you're lucky 100 people will organically see that post. A small percentage of that audeince will engage, and then the post falls down the timeline never to be heard from again.

Now let's say you just published a snazzy article on your blog giving your audience useful tips for taking a Summer Road Trip.

For the sake of easy math, say you have 10,000 people in your email database you can send a link to the article to.

If you get a 20% open rate, that means at minimum 2,000 people will see the intro of your article.

If you've crafted your email in a way that entices the audience to click the "read more" link in the email and you get a 15% click-thru rate - that's 300 visitors who just landed on your website.

That's 300 people on your website, reading your original content.

Of those 300, some are going to like your article enough to share it on their own social networks givng you the social juice you've been craving.

So without taking into consideration the other benefits of blogging (SEO, establishing expertise & credibility, etc.) which would your rather do:

Publish a post on Facebook or publish a post on your blog?

May I Have Your Intention Please?

There’s no secret blog-sauce here folks.

In order to make your blog work for you, you have to become intentional about blogging and creating useful, relevant content for your defined audience.

You have to become a student dedicated to learning the in’s and out’s of a blogging platform.

You’ll need to eat, sleep and breathe your way into success. But it’s not a journey you should take alone.

Not only do you have to see the value in dedicating your valuable time, resources and money in to your blog – but your entire leadership team need to see the value as well.

If you are prepared and have the passion to succeed, you won’t need to “sell” anyone on building out the platform.

It's my goal to freely share with you what I've learned about what it takes to have a sucessful blog for your dealership.

But like a good blogger should, I don't want to write random articles and "hope" it's relevant to your needs.

I want to understand what your current pain points are when it comes to your blog and provide targeted info that you'll find useful.

Feel free to add any additional comments or thoughts about blogging in the dealership in the comments section below.

Cheers!