I was talking with another internet manager the other day and this video came up.  There are dealers out there still that are flying by the seat of their pants and don't really have a plan like the Underpants Gnomes.

Phase 1.

• Get Underpants (Go out and acquire cars)

Phase 2.

• ??

Phase 3.

• Profit (or lack there of)

Without a phase 2, there will be no profit in the automotive industry and the dealership maybe on their way out.  With the way that dealerships are getting to be more and more transparent, this will definitely knock those dealers out because they have a plan 2 when it comes to marketing and merchandising their vehicles.

So if you are a dealership that doesn't have a phase 2, start one sooner than later.  If you don't, you will feel the hurt.  Get a plan in place.  Get the vehicles online as soon as possible with photos, descriptions, and video.  Make yourself stand out from the others.  You have to remember that a customer will hit an average of 18 different websites before making a decision.  If you don't stand out, you will be forgotten and the mouse will just go right over your vehicle on to the next one.  So get your plan together for 2012 and make it happen.

If you have never seen the Underpants Gnomes, here is the link. 

I was talking with another internet manager the other day and this video came up.  There are dealers out there still that are flying by the seat of their pants and don't really have a plan like the Underpants Gnomes.

Phase 1.

• Get Underpants (Go out and acquire cars)

Phase 2.

• ??

Phase 3.

• Profit (or lack there of)

Without a phase 2, there will be no profit in the automotive industry and the dealership maybe on their way out.  With the way that dealerships are getting to be more and more transparent, this will definitely knock those dealers out because they have a plan 2 when it comes to marketing and merchandising their vehicles.

So if you are a dealership that doesn't have a phase 2, start one sooner than later.  If you don't, you will feel the hurt.  Get a plan in place.  Get the vehicles online as soon as possible with photos, descriptions, and video.  Make yourself stand out from the others.  You have to remember that a customer will hit an average of 18 different websites before making a decision.  If you don't stand out, you will be forgotten and the mouse will just go right over your vehicle on to the next one.  So get your plan together for 2012 and make it happen.

If you have never seen the Underpants Gnomes, here is the link. 

So how is your 2011 ending up for you?  Did you get to where you want to be in sales objectives?  Did you hit your goals for the different internet sales teams, sales departments, or the BDC?

Over the last several months, I have heard from several dealerships from around the country that their internet leads seem to be down.  Sales seem to be up, but not the leads.  I have heard some dealers being somewhere around 10, 20, and upwards of 30% down from where they are "normally" are with their leads.  Yes, leads may be down, but is your floor traffic down?

As you are looking at your 2012 advertising budgets, this is something to consider.  I was doing a little research within our back end tools that we have available to us from cars.com and Autotrader.  I came across a report that was intriguing to say the least.  It is the "Sold Inventory Report."  Some of this may connect the dots with your sales.  Here is what I found within our report.   Of the last 64 sales, only 7 had done a 'used car e-mail quote, 16 viewed a map to the dealership,   20 clicked through to the dealership website, and 5 printed details on our vehicles.  Can we credit all of these sales to cars.com?  Probably not, but it definitely connects some of the dots and may be a result of the 'walk-in traffic' that you may be seeing in your dealership.

So this will bring me to the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT).  Yes, there has been a lot of rumblings going on different forums in the last week, but I will say that without having full descriptions, multiple photos (minimum of 18 on every vehicle), and reviews, you may not be seeing these types of results.  If you are doing all of the right things with all of the above, hopefully you are seeing results similar to this.

When you put some of the third party sources, specifically classified listings, under the microscope, something that you may want to consider is the cost per VDP and not so much heavily on the cost per lead and sale.  Try and get that cost as low as possible.  I know that I am always shooting for less than a dollar per VDP.  These third parties are generating floor traffic whether you know it or not.  We all hear time and time again that Autotrader and Cars.com are your new newspaper ads and I really do think that they are.  My philosophy that leads are on the decline as dealers are having to be more transparent and get on the internet with their photos, descriptions, carfaxes/autochecks, and pricing policies.  If you aren't watching what the market is doing on a particular vehicle and shooting from the hip, you just may see that vehicle start to age on you.  If you aren't using a tool like vAuto or VIN's product, you may want to make sure that you are doing your research.  This will only help you in keeping your VDPs at the maximum viewing capability and getting the most out of your online marketing with those third party sources.

What are your thoughts on the lead volumes?

So how is your 2011 ending up for you?  Did you get to where you want to be in sales objectives?  Did you hit your goals for the different internet sales teams, sales departments, or the BDC?

Over the last several months, I have heard from several dealerships from around the country that their internet leads seem to be down.  Sales seem to be up, but not the leads.  I have heard some dealers being somewhere around 10, 20, and upwards of 30% down from where they are "normally" are with their leads.  Yes, leads may be down, but is your floor traffic down?

As you are looking at your 2012 advertising budgets, this is something to consider.  I was doing a little research within our back end tools that we have available to us from cars.com and Autotrader.  I came across a report that was intriguing to say the least.  It is the "Sold Inventory Report."  Some of this may connect the dots with your sales.  Here is what I found within our report.   Of the last 64 sales, only 7 had done a 'used car e-mail quote, 16 viewed a map to the dealership,   20 clicked through to the dealership website, and 5 printed details on our vehicles.  Can we credit all of these sales to cars.com?  Probably not, but it definitely connects some of the dots and may be a result of the 'walk-in traffic' that you may be seeing in your dealership.

So this will bring me to the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT).  Yes, there has been a lot of rumblings going on different forums in the last week, but I will say that without having full descriptions, multiple photos (minimum of 18 on every vehicle), and reviews, you may not be seeing these types of results.  If you are doing all of the right things with all of the above, hopefully you are seeing results similar to this.

When you put some of the third party sources, specifically classified listings, under the microscope, something that you may want to consider is the cost per VDP and not so much heavily on the cost per lead and sale.  Try and get that cost as low as possible.  I know that I am always shooting for less than a dollar per VDP.  These third parties are generating floor traffic whether you know it or not.  We all hear time and time again that Autotrader and Cars.com are your new newspaper ads and I really do think that they are.  My philosophy that leads are on the decline as dealers are having to be more transparent and get on the internet with their photos, descriptions, carfaxes/autochecks, and pricing policies.  If you aren't watching what the market is doing on a particular vehicle and shooting from the hip, you just may see that vehicle start to age on you.  If you aren't using a tool like vAuto or VIN's product, you may want to make sure that you are doing your research.  This will only help you in keeping your VDPs at the maximum viewing capability and getting the most out of your online marketing with those third party sources.

What are your thoughts on the lead volumes?

So many of us have heard the story of Morton's Steakhouse monitoring their social media and going above and beyond with meeting Peter Shankman at the airport with a full steak dinner.  That is just one example of a small business watching their social media.  I'm sure that Morton's didn't know that they would get the publicity that they got among all the social media channels.  I know that when I am near a Morton's Steakhouse, I will probably hit one remembering the experience that Peter had with it.

Now, what about one of the biggest companies in the US watching their social media?  I made a call to AT&T because I knew that I was eligible for an early upgrade.  Little did I know that I would only be able to upgrade one of my phones on my plan, and not the other.  It all started with a tweet.  After I got off the phone with customer service, I tweeted out of frustration.  

I didn't know what to expect after tweeting that.  Here I am dealing with one of the largest companies in the country.  To be honest, I wasn't really expecting anything.  I was just plain frustrated with the whole thing and decided to vent on Twitter.  About 10 minutes later, I received a tweet from @ATTCustomerCare.  

I was shocked.  I did DM them my phone number for them to look into my account and received a call about 15 minutes after sending them my information.  They explained to me what the policies were for early upgrades.  I found out that my primary line was eligible, but not the other for about another 7 months.  I vented on the Social Media Customer Care Representative my frustrations.  I bought two Blackberries, signed contract the same day, and only one was eligible?  He understood where I was coming from.  We spoke about it and a few weeks later, I was on the phone with him again ordering 2 iPhones.  They waived upgrade fees, early termination fees, and expedited shipping to me.

So what does this have to do with the automotive business?  We as dealers have to be aware of what is going on out there and what people are saying about you.  It happens everyday and you may not know it.  

• You must have a strategy in place on how to handle situations.
• Pay attention.  Do searches or be alerted when someone tweets about you or the dealership.
• You have to respond to it, and not just 'let it be.'  If it is a frustrated customer, reach out to them.
• Be active and engaging with the consumer.
• Go above and beyond with the customer.  Do the unexpected.

So many of us have heard the story of Morton's Steakhouse monitoring their social media and going above and beyond with meeting Peter Shankman at the airport with a full steak dinner.  That is just one example of a small business watching their social media.  I'm sure that Morton's didn't know that they would get the publicity that they got among all the social media channels.  I know that when I am near a Morton's Steakhouse, I will probably hit one remembering the experience that Peter had with it.

Now, what about one of the biggest companies in the US watching their social media?  I made a call to AT&T because I knew that I was eligible for an early upgrade.  Little did I know that I would only be able to upgrade one of my phones on my plan, and not the other.  It all started with a tweet.  After I got off the phone with customer service, I tweeted out of frustration.  

I didn't know what to expect after tweeting that.  Here I am dealing with one of the largest companies in the country.  To be honest, I wasn't really expecting anything.  I was just plain frustrated with the whole thing and decided to vent on Twitter.  About 10 minutes later, I received a tweet from @ATTCustomerCare.  

I was shocked.  I did DM them my phone number for them to look into my account and received a call about 15 minutes after sending them my information.  They explained to me what the policies were for early upgrades.  I found out that my primary line was eligible, but not the other for about another 7 months.  I vented on the Social Media Customer Care Representative my frustrations.  I bought two Blackberries, signed contract the same day, and only one was eligible?  He understood where I was coming from.  We spoke about it and a few weeks later, I was on the phone with him again ordering 2 iPhones.  They waived upgrade fees, early termination fees, and expedited shipping to me.

So what does this have to do with the automotive business?  We as dealers have to be aware of what is going on out there and what people are saying about you.  It happens everyday and you may not know it.  

• You must have a strategy in place on how to handle situations.
• Pay attention.  Do searches or be alerted when someone tweets about you or the dealership.
• You have to respond to it, and not just 'let it be.'  If it is a frustrated customer, reach out to them.
• Be active and engaging with the consumer.
• Go above and beyond with the customer.  Do the unexpected.

CarZen just released their new and improved iPad app for their 120,000 consumers that have downloaded the app.  There have been some MAJOR changes to the app from the previous version.  They are claiming it to be your “one-stop-shop, bringing everything you need right to your fingertips.” The new version was just released on September 15.  In the previous version, it was primarily targeted for a new car buyer and just an information gathering app.  They have taken it to the next level.

CarZen has teamed up with Vast to receive the feed for inventory on the app.  They are receiving the feed for both new and used vehicles.  They also have incorporated listed dealers with dealer reviews from DealerRater (don’t dump them yet).  CarZen has also teamed up with Evox Images for the most complete package of images.  They teamed up with MotorMouths for 3^rd party reviews on different models from consumers and experts.  Lastly, they are getting their video from WheelsTV which is powered by Chrome Systems on new and used vehicles.

I played around within the app and was pretty impressed.  It is a very clean app and is consumer friendly.  The videos are current with the different models.  They are pulling all of the new and used vehicles and you can also submit a lead through the app to the dealer that has the vehicle listed.  There are links to the dealer websites when you are looking at the vehicle so that should generate some more mobile traffic to your websites.  You can also look at the vehicle history report if there is one available through Carfax. 

Down the road, CarZen will be opening up some advertising for dealers to bring your listings to the top of the search results pages.  Whether you like it or not, chances are you are on there and will hopefully generate more traffic to your websites.    

We all know that mobile and tablet usage is starting to increase month over month in the automotive world.  It is also said that someone that is on their phone/tablet are further down the sales funnel and are closer to making a car buying decision.  It will also come down to the merchandising of your vehicles.  Within the app, you can blow the pictures up to the full screen to look at the different photos that are fed into the app. 

After CarZen works a few bugs out of the system, they said that they will be promoting the app more so they can gain more traffic for not just themselves, but for the dealers also.  When it picks up some traction, that is when they are planning on opening up the advertising portion to the dealers.

The only down side to the app was that I couldn't find my dream car in my area, an Aston Martin DBS Convertible.

You can also watch their promotional video here.

CarZen just released their new and improved iPad app for their 120,000 consumers that have downloaded the app.  There have been some MAJOR changes to the app from the previous version.  They are claiming it to be your “one-stop-shop, bringing everything you need right to your fingertips.” The new version was just released on September 15.  In the previous version, it was primarily targeted for a new car buyer and just an information gathering app.  They have taken it to the next level.

CarZen has teamed up with Vast to receive the feed for inventory on the app.  They are receiving the feed for both new and used vehicles.  They also have incorporated listed dealers with dealer reviews from DealerRater (don’t dump them yet).  CarZen has also teamed up with Evox Images for the most complete package of images.  They teamed up with MotorMouths for 3^rd party reviews on different models from consumers and experts.  Lastly, they are getting their video from WheelsTV which is powered by Chrome Systems on new and used vehicles.

I played around within the app and was pretty impressed.  It is a very clean app and is consumer friendly.  The videos are current with the different models.  They are pulling all of the new and used vehicles and you can also submit a lead through the app to the dealer that has the vehicle listed.  There are links to the dealer websites when you are looking at the vehicle so that should generate some more mobile traffic to your websites.  You can also look at the vehicle history report if there is one available through Carfax. 

Down the road, CarZen will be opening up some advertising for dealers to bring your listings to the top of the search results pages.  Whether you like it or not, chances are you are on there and will hopefully generate more traffic to your websites.    

We all know that mobile and tablet usage is starting to increase month over month in the automotive world.  It is also said that someone that is on their phone/tablet are further down the sales funnel and are closer to making a car buying decision.  It will also come down to the merchandising of your vehicles.  Within the app, you can blow the pictures up to the full screen to look at the different photos that are fed into the app. 

After CarZen works a few bugs out of the system, they said that they will be promoting the app more so they can gain more traffic for not just themselves, but for the dealers also.  When it picks up some traction, that is when they are planning on opening up the advertising portion to the dealers.

The only down side to the app was that I couldn't find my dream car in my area, an Aston Martin DBS Convertible.

You can also watch their promotional video here.

I have written about this before, but I felt the need to do it again due to an experience we had the other day on Twitter.  I was going through one of my Twitter timelines on my personal Twitter account and noticed someone that I follow asking about repair shops in the area.  There was a conversation going on with her and another person in town and she was about to make an appointment with the service department that was recommended to us.  I chimed in from my personal account to try us out.  We have been known to save people money over the independent shops.  I then started tweeting from the dealerships Twitter account to her since she knew that I was the one actually tweeting to her. 

Through several tweets, we were able to set the appointment, and hopefully made a customer for life.  She said that she is going to be in the market for a new vehicle in the next 6-12 months.  After a few tweets, we set the appointment, she came in, and she ended up having a $350 service done on her vehicle that was needed.  (And we got cookies from the customer out of the whole deal.)

So what are you doing with your social media?  Are you actively going out and looking for customers on Twitter?  If not, I would suggest you do.  Do some local searches on Twitter for different keywords and interact with those prospective customers.  Search for car, oil change, service, tires, etc.  You may have a customer sitting in your backyard tweeting and you just may not know about it.  Get creative and you may just find a customer sitting at a Jiffy Lube or getting ready to make an appointment there and conquer the market!

I have written about this before, but I felt the need to do it again due to an experience we had the other day on Twitter.  I was going through one of my Twitter timelines on my personal Twitter account and noticed someone that I follow asking about repair shops in the area.  There was a conversation going on with her and another person in town and she was about to make an appointment with the service department that was recommended to us.  I chimed in from my personal account to try us out.  We have been known to save people money over the independent shops.  I then started tweeting from the dealerships Twitter account to her since she knew that I was the one actually tweeting to her. 

Through several tweets, we were able to set the appointment, and hopefully made a customer for life.  She said that she is going to be in the market for a new vehicle in the next 6-12 months.  After a few tweets, we set the appointment, she came in, and she ended up having a $350 service done on her vehicle that was needed.  (And we got cookies from the customer out of the whole deal.)

So what are you doing with your social media?  Are you actively going out and looking for customers on Twitter?  If not, I would suggest you do.  Do some local searches on Twitter for different keywords and interact with those prospective customers.  Search for car, oil change, service, tires, etc.  You may have a customer sitting in your backyard tweeting and you just may not know about it.  Get creative and you may just find a customer sitting at a Jiffy Lube or getting ready to make an appointment there and conquer the market!