The automotive industry pretty much resets at the beginning for each month. I’m sure you’ve all heard the term, “hero to zero.” Well, that’s rather how it is – you are judged on your sales for the previous month.

So, what do managers do when they get nervous in the middle of the month – perhaps sales volumes aren’t on track, or inventory is making them nervous? They start looking to the one place that has the most traffic and the most potential to bring in sales – their website!

It is surprising that even today, while most GMs and GSMs can tell you how much floor traffic they have from their brick & mortar showrooms, from my experience, I find that many cannot answer questions that are increasingly more important – (1) how much unique traffic are they getting from their digital showroom; (2) what is their conversion to lead rate; (3) what is their closing ratio.

I understand how many responsibilities a GM or GSM has in the operation (35 years’ experience myself), but today we must make an oath to know these 3 numbers at all times. Have your internet director email these to you every Monday and noodle on those analytics. Most every GM I have met is a solid business person and will evolve their business in the right direction -- if they simply have these 3 numbers.

I just read an article that stated a mind blowing statistic: apparently, the automotive industry is the lowest converting industry for ecommerce sites at 1.7%!  How can this be when most other retail industries are converting at a 3-8% rate?

Imagine if, as a dealer, you were able to multiple your leads – on traffic you already have visiting your website – by 400%, you’d be interested then, right? If your conversion rate to leads is not 3%, I suggest spending some time researching available technologies that respectfully engage and fascinate your digital showroom clients via localized/personalized messaging; online retailing that provides the opportunity to engage from home with their own personal deal manager and auto picture technology that spoils and fascinates.

If other online retailing verticals can accomplish a 7–8% lead conversion rate, why can’t we? Today, I believe we can. We simply must think like an e-commerce site. Think like Zappos or Amazon, or any of the top 20 e-commerce sites in the world. They realize that the consumer is the boss – give them what they want and make the experience enjoyable and easy.

In most dealerships your phone is ringing off the hook. Perhaps the calls are sales calls. Or, just as likely, they are service or parts calls. You have it covered. You have tracking numbers on your digital showroom site (Website) assigned to each. You may even listen to those calls and take appropriate actions based on the conversations. But are you listening to the parts and service calls? There are services available that will listen for you and offer reporting.

Chances are good that some (lots) of those sales calls are ALSO service calls. Why? Because customers don’t care what number they call. They simply look at your website and call the first number that catches their eye! Tracking your website conversions based only on your Internet leads and sales calls (from a trackable number) is probably giving you an erroneous result – which, in turn is causing you to make decisions that may not be in the best interest of your store.

Do you want a simpler way of calculating digital showroom conversion? (If you don’t have a company listening to all calls). Take the entire quantity of your website leads and phone calls – no matter which phone number the customer called in on – and divide it by the unique number of visitors for your website. Use this math for 12 months while you evolve your digital showroom. Have your internet manager examine where the actual digital showroom (website) leads are coming from and track the rise/fall.

The fact is, dealership revenue isn’t produced by sales alone. You WILL get sales calls on your service and parts lines. Regardless of WHY the customer is calling, every last one of them represents revenue to your dealership. They all matter.

Evolving as a GM for the new digital business model is not hard, you really only need these 3 factors and then begin researching technologies that make sense to the consumer. Trial and error is necessary and expected. I guarantee that once you pay attention you will find renewed enthusiasm and see even more potential to take market share, among other benefits. Remember, stop thinking like a dealer for a moment and think like a customer. We have more than enough traffic!!! I guarantee that there will be low fruit for the picking.

In the popular science fiction movie, The Matrix, the hero Neo is presented with two options by the mysterious Morpheus – the red pill or the blue pill. By taking the red pill, Neo would be enlightened into the real world. Whereas, if he chose the blue pill, he would remain peacefully ignorant of reality and continue to live in the fantasy world. If you’ve seen the movie, you know that Neo chose the red pill and was awakened into a future world in which technology had taken over and humans were… well, I don’t want to spoil it for you if you haven’t seen it.

My point is this -- as dealers we’ve been taking the blue pill for far too long. Most other retail businesses are embracing technology and have a huge head start on catering to the wants and desires of today’s consumers. While the auto industry has stubbornly clung to the old ways of doing business. Wall Street finally took notice and, once Warren Buffett entered our industry, things started changing. Not necessarily for most dealers, but for the corporate Wall Street owned retailers who DO use the same technology that works in other retail sectors and apply it to the automotive industry. They’re figuring out and solving problems that we’ve ignored for too long. This has opened doors for tech start-ups to encroach on the market share of dealers who normally wouldn’t have much to worry about.

Think about the evolution of marketing in our industry. Let’s take vehicle inventory marketing as an example. It wasn’t too long ago that one or two pictures of a vehicle on a VDP or listing site was acceptable. Then progressive dealers started taking 40 or more pictures which quickly became the norm. Then video was introduced, beginning with stitched video and progressing to live video walkarounds.

What’s next? Well take a look at most high-end retailer’s websites. When you look at a product page (the parallel of our VDP), they provide the ability to zoom in on a picture to look at small details. Many also offer 360 degree interactive photos. I know what you’re thinking: “We don’t need that!” But guess what? You are wrong. Don’t believe me? Just check out Carvana’s website and one of their VDPs. They offer 360 degree interactive views of each vehicle on both the outside AND the inside of the vehicle!

Now, using this example, why should you care?

Because that’s what consumers want! Look, it wasn’t all that long ago that NADA told dealers if they captured 2-3% of consumers on their websites they were doing a good job. Well, I’m here to tell you that result is no longer acceptable.

Many vendors want to sell dealers MORE traffic to their website. However, the fact is that dealerships already have enough traffic to improve their business margins – by a huge amount. The average dealership will get 10,000 visitors per month. That means if they are capturing just 2-3% of these, most are missing out on 9,700 of their website visitors!

So, that being the case, how do you get those 9,700 people to stop on your website? Through technology… just like every other retailer. By using technology, you can impress your website visitors enough to make them stop.

Put yourself in their shoes. Why are they passing through? It’s because you aren’t giving them a compelling reason to stop. Photos and video are great, but they don’t give consumers the ability to virtually walkaround the vehicle in a continuous motion as if they were on the lot.

The broken images don’t let them see that little dent, scratch or other imperfection. Or, even better, the fact that there aren’t any. What do you think is going to increase their interest in your vehicle? The ability to see its actual condition!

Online transparency in your vehicle merchandizing is more important now than ever before. The technology that other retail sectors use to allow consumers to spin the images and get 360 degree product presentations is available right now for YOUR inventory. Not only is it available, it’s also cost effective and very easy to use. In fact, it’s so easy you will probably find you no longer need that outside photo service and actually save money while providing a more transparent and better customer experience.

Consumers are constantly flooded with messages everywhere they go, from billboards to direct mail, to websites, banner ads and email. Most of these messages are disregarded, ignored or, even worse, never seen, because, for the most part, the message itself is not relevant.

So, along came retargeting, which can continue to follow the customer around the Internet and, if done right, can produce great results. But, the problem is that you never know – for a fact – if it’s really relevant or not.

Then came geo-fencing.

In the beginning, geo-fencing was controlled mainly by the cell phone carriers, who could identify where a particular person was at any point in time. Consumers had to opt-in to receive push messages from carriers and the cost of entry for businesses was limited to large national brands. For example, a customer walking into Nordstrom could receive a push message welcoming them with discount offers.

Then geo-fencing evolved on a local level with beacons businesses could install which enabled them to push messages to customers at (or near) their business. The downside to this technology is that the customer first has to download and install an app on their phone.

However, geo-fencing has now evolved beyond those limitations and is a VERY cool and effective technology you should be using, because it is simple and effective!

Businesses no longer have to buy-in with a cell phone carrier at ridiculous amounts, install beacons and then hope that the customers have a particular app installed. Technology now enables you to geo-fence and target customers no matter where they are – on your own website – without an app. And you can even modify any campaign on the fly.

I recently wrote a blog about the highly effective ways geo-fencing can be used to create, communicate and capture corporate business. But it goes way beyond that.

Nowadays you can target entire communities. For example, a resident of “Pleasant Hills Meadow” that visits your website could receive a personalized message; “Welcome, Pleasant Hills Meadow resident. At XYZ Ford, we have a special discount program just for residents of your community!” This would certainly pique their curiosity. It makes your website personalized, dynamic and relevant. And, best of all, can be done with a simple website plug in – no app download required.

And what about shoppers right on your lot? Showrooming is now commonplace. Consumers are on your lot, viewing your inventory and using their smart phones to price shop your competition down the street. You can target these customers when they visit your website with a welcome message and perhaps a discount offer if they come in and present it to their salesperson, or a manager, to entice them into the showroom and away from your competition.

Or, even better, what if the customer is on your COMPETITOR’S lot, considering one of their vehicles while doing a bit of showrooming, and they happen to end up on YOUR website? What if you had a tailored message that popped up on their phone inviting that customer to your dealership with a discount offer? How strong do you think that would be?

The best part is that it doesn’t matter where YOU are, it only matters where THEY are.

Another hidden gem in regards to this new technology is the fact that it increases site conversions. Most dealers are still spending a fortune trying to build up ever larger numbers of visitors to their site. This personalization factor however, allows you to optimize and convert the traffic you are already getting – in the long run saving on marketing costs, while also increasing sales conversions.

Geo-fencing has evolved beyond big brands and there is no longer a need to have an app downloaded and installed by the consumer. You can now target whoever you want, no matter where they are, with relevant messages that prompt immediate action.

This is powerful marketing, something that is immediate, relevant and offers the consumer a call-to-action that is applicable to what they are doing…. RIGHT NOW. You want a competitive advantage? Be where your customers are and offer them something compelling right when they desire it. Conversion rates skyrocket and you smile at the end of each lucrative day.

The market is calling Beepi, Vroom and the Carvanna’s of the world ‘Disruptors.’ I simply call them evolutionary companies that will assist in gaining consumer trust and confidence with the car buying experience -- and ultimately with dealerships.  

Today’s technology has made it a snap to buy most goods online and this has conditioned consumers to expect ease, transparency and speed with all their transactions – this is the way they (and I) prefer to do business. As a result, consumers are rewarding dealers and technologies that create a better car buying experience.

Maybe it is time for us to pause and look in the mirror. To examine just what these ‘disrupters’ are doing that dealers can’t. The answer is: Nothing! Dealers have the ability to offer every convenience these disrupters are offering -- and much more.

Let’s take a look at a couple of quick and easy examples:

1) Home Delivery: All of these services – Beepi, Vroom, and Carvana – have home delivery. Many dealers, however, shy away from offering this for several reasons. First, in many states, contracts executed within a residence have a 3-day right to cancel the contract. And secondly, it’s much more difficult to close a higher pencil, or sell accessories and other back-end products, if the customer isn’t physically present.

However, we all know that if we sign at the customer’s home or place of business, and if that customer came back in 2 days, or even 2 hours for that matter, to return the car, most of us would take the car back. With the power of CSI, review sites, social media and the reach of consumers today, most of us understand this. And. Let’s not forget that Beepi, Vroom and Carvana allow a full ten days! The fact is that according to recent studies, this IS what customers want.

Then there is the fear of losing margin. It’s easier to hold margin when the customer is in front of the finance manager. I would have to agree with that (being in retail 35 years). But, I am told that is simply not the case. WE have dealers doing home delivery and their backend is not affected. We must learn new ways to use simple technology to simplify the consumer experience and increase their pleasure, while reducing their pain. Dealers I work with tell me that after a deal is finalized, a simple email link with all the accessories available for that model works well. Then a finance manager simply does a join.me screen share and makes his/her presentation, prints the paperwork and the salesperson is off to the customer’s home to collect a wonderful review and CSI score.

So, why not offer home delivery and a 3 day right to cancel right up front? Sure, with some manufacturers you may not be able to RDR that sale for 3 days. But, in the grand scheme of things, that’s a far better consequence than having the consumer run all over your social media properties with vengeance on their mind. At my former dealership, we offered a 3 day right to return the car and it worked wonderfully. The marketing statement was worth so much more than the 1 or 2 customers that took advantage every quarter. The fact is, very few people ever took us up on it. It may sound scary, but in reality the marketing words “3 day money back guarantee,” is so much stronger. And, sooner or later you will probably be doing it anyways, to stay competitive.

2) Off-Site Test Drive: Another differentiator that consumers want, but many dealerships hesitate to offer, is an off-site test drive. It’s always about “get them in.” When it should be, “let’s make it as easy as possible for the customer to do business with us.”

In fact, pulling someone from the floor and sending them with a vehicle for the customer to test drive accomplishes many things – it leads you closer to selling a car – it says so much to the customer about your dealership and it may separate you from your competition.

When I was a salesperson, I was very successful, and one of my secrets was that I always offered to take the car to the customer for the test drive. That person who won’t commit to an appointment because of work or busy schedules may very well be willing to let you bring the car to them – and they’d probably be very impressed and appreciative. Who would you want to buy your next car from – the dealership that’s all about “when can you come in?” or the dealership that went out of their way to bring the vehicle to you to test drive?

Being in retail, I understand that change can be difficult. But, evolution in our industry is exciting. To thrive in today’s business climate I believe dealerships need to focus on being as consumer friendly as possible. Make it easy for people to buy cars from you. That is the unique selling proposition that the disrupters market. If you follow suit and adopt practices that make it just as easy for consumers, the marketing message of these disrupters won’t have much power any more. We have many more dealerships than there are disrupters. We also have the power of brick, mortar and service. And the fact is, the consumer still wants to walk our lots and enjoy the excitement of all the new car smell, colors, shapes and sizes. Those disruptors that deliver only one car for a test drive just can’t compete with that.

Implementing Corporate Benefits Programs (CBP) to employees of small/large corporations is nothing new. Manufacturers have been doing it for some time -- Ford’s X-Plan pricing, for example. But, typically, these corporate discount programs are isolated to large national corporations with which the OEMs have successfully partnered. What if you could increase your market share by offering an instant CBP to local large corporations, colleges, military bases, warehouse or distribution center that are conveniently located near your dealership? Prior to technology just introduced, it was close to impossible – now it is instantaneous!

In the past, a fleet manager would typically attempt to reach out to these companies to get their offer mass communicated to employees via e-mail. Or perhaps get it included in a company newsletter. But, it can be highly competitive as many retail companies in the same area may have the same idea. In addition, human resource departments for these companies can be difficult to convince. And then there is the rest of the red tape that kills most of these attempts – I know, I did it at my dealership for 5 years with special employees hired to do nothing but build these relations.

With the advanced targeting of social media platforms, some aggressive dealers have been able to reach out to these employees with a bit more success. However, these efforts are hit or miss. In addition, if your dealership doesn’t have a perpetual social media ad campaign that is continuously targeted to these individuals, it’s very likely that they won’t remember your program when it comes time for them to buy.

Beacons, and other technologies, have also arrived on the scene. And, while these technologies sound great, the challenge is that consumers must already have an app installed on their mobile devices to receive your messages and push notifications and they must be turned on.

And then there is “Geo-fencing.” The original technology has been around for a while. However, unless you’re advertising with a major cellular carrier, and the customer has opted-in to receive push ads, the chances are pretty good that only a handful of consumers will receive your messages.

But there is a solution dealers have been using for a while now that works! The evolution of geo-fencing has actually taken dealers to a place where they CAN target these employees without the need for beacons or apps on the consumer’s phone. Through one simple website line of coding, this exciting, and highly innovative technology, can exist on your website as a simple plug in widget. It immediately welcomes and notifies a consumer in your target fenced area, such as an existing corporation/workplace, of a special benefit that is relevant to them whenever they access your website within the boundaries of the established geo-fence – mobile or PC.

Imagine an employee at a local business or corporation clicking onto a dealer website to surf for cars (on a break of course, wink-wink) and seeing a unique welcome message with your dealership’s name informing them of an employee discount program for their workplace. This is shocking, exciting, useful and relevant to that employee. Those things combined provide a powerful incentive and an engagement that’s hyper-interesting for that car buyer. That same

geo-fence technology can work regardless of the device the consumer uses to accesses your site, which makes it even more powerful.

This technology has possibilities far beyond a simple outreach to an employee of a specific company. It can be used to target welcome messages and unique incentives to neighborhoods, cities, or even competitors. Consumers are shopping online in droves. The ability to push a relevant message to them in real-time the moment they access your website represents an incredibly powerful engagement tool. It enables you to instantly build trust and a type of relationship you did not have before.

If you haven’t researched this technology, it should be on the top of your to-do list. I am always amazed how we as dealers and GM’s have accepted a 2-3% conversion ratio. We just spend more money to bring more leads knowing 2-3% will convert. Doesn’t it make more sense to engage all those unique visitors you are paying to get to your site and raise your conversion ratio first? Geo-fencing technology has evolved by leaps and bounds -- to the point that it is a no-brainer for dealers and has become a necessity.

Geo-fencing technology allows you as a dealer to stop trying to be all things to everyone with your marketing messages and start being the only thing that matters, by delivering the right unique, pertinent message to every consumer at the right time. Research geo-fencing technologies and do not jump om the first technology that claims a solution. First and foremost the most important things to look for are solutions that offer no apps to download or advertising messaging inside social media or on ad sites. This must be no strings attached and the fence must be small enough to fence a small business and must also work on both mobile and PC. It just makes perfect sense. We all like to feel special and have unique and pertinent messaging delivered to us – now you can.