The consumer shopping process is at the focus of conversations everywhere in the online automotive retail world.  Couple that with the gaining traction of Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) and you’ve got all sorts of questions to answer.  Google and research firm, ShopperSciences, produced the following video, sharing insights compiled from interviews of over 500 recent car shoppers.  This easy to understand animation demonstrates the fundamentals that influence the car shopper in particular and is the first Automotive ZMOT production from Google with automotive-specific research. 

Enjoy the video and be sure to keep an eye out.  It’s highly likely that others will build on this model in the near future.

The consumer shopping process is at the focus of conversations everywhere in the online automotive retail world.  Couple that with the gaining traction of Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) and you’ve got all sorts of questions to answer.  Google and research firm, ShopperSciences, produced the following video, sharing insights compiled from interviews of over 500 recent car shoppers.  This easy to understand animation demonstrates the fundamentals that influence the car shopper in particular and is the first Automotive ZMOT production from Google with automotive-specific research. 

Enjoy the video and be sure to keep an eye out.  It’s highly likely that others will build on this model in the near future.

A BMW driver takes his car into the dealership to get a warning light checked out and left with no service – customer or mechanical.  Steve Rock, owner of a Certified Pre-Owned BMW 335i, took his car into the BMW North Scottsdale dealership because he had warning lights flashing at him; the service technician told him it was merely an emissions alert, disengaged the code, and sent him on his way.  A few days later, when his steering failed on the middle of the highway, he found himself crashed off the side of the road.  Oops.

Rock did what many people do these days and took his incident to the web.  No, he didn’t blast the dealership or smear their brand all over his favorite social sites.  He simply logged on to his BMW-enthusiast forum and posed the scenario to his virtual acquaintances – has anyone else had this problem, or something similar?  After reading feedback suggesting that the warning lights were definitely not indicators of an emissions reminder, Rock contacted the GM of the BMW dealership.

The GM didn’t take responsibility and didn’t even offer an apology.  I’m starting to wonder if the man even asked Rock if he was okay (which he was, thankfully).  The GM wanted Rock to bring the car back to the dealership to be looked at – a feeble attempt to make nice, maybe?  Rock tried to express his understandable concerns of fading trust in the dealership’s diagnostic ability, to which the GM replied, “Then you shouldn’t even be in my office wasting my time.” 

Yes, my eyebrows went up and mouth dropped when I read the original article on Jalopnik as well.  Rock reluctantly lets the dealership take a look at his car and then subsequently has an independent shop evaluate it  as well, who confirmed that the warning lights were attributed to steering and stability control.  BMW North America even asks Rock permission to look at the car again with a team of specialist who never showed up.  Penke Automotive then has the nerve to ask Rock to remove his comments posted online about the incident and the store.

As of now, Rock hasn’t filed a lawsuit and hasn’t even requested any money to fix the damaged car.  What he wants is an explanation as to what the real issue is with his car and why on Earth he was told that it was an emissions reminder when it clearly wasn’t.

What I find more interesting than the story itself, which is a direct example of appalling business operations and atrocious customer service, is the discussion forming around the article.  In the hundreds of comments that have surfaced since the story broke, self-described and insinuated technicians are calling out this guy as a fraud, saying there’s no way that the steering could freeze up or that’s what could have been the problem when he previously brought the car in.  They’re calling BS on Rock, declaring he crashed the car on his own and is simply looking for BMW to take the fall. 

Fair enough, I can appreciate that kind of loyalty to their brand and expertise on mechanical service.  But the real issue is the lack of service Rock received on all fronts: from the service technicians, the GM of the dealership, BMW North America, and even the lawyer from Penske. 

People make mistakes and maybe that’s what happened in the first round of service.  It happens all the time.  And maybe the technician didn’t make a mistake in this case and Rock is trying to pull a fast one on them to see what he can get away with – who knows.  Either way, it’s the dealership’s responsibility to respond to the customer’s valid concerns in such a way that at least appeases the expectations of the customer while simultaneously backing the confidence they have in their staff and vehicles.  The GM could’ve, at minimum, apologized that Rock experienced the situation he did, if for no other reason than to validate that the guy was in car accident!

In addition to the horrid service, this is another clear example of a dealership not having an appropriate social media strategy or even enough of an understanding of social etiquette to know how to manage the online situation.  Rock maintains that both BMW and Penske have stated that they “don't appreciate that [he’s] made this a public issues on the forums."  Well, get over it.  These conversations are happening online on a daily basis and how dealerships respond to them is even more telling than the original posts.  They really have no right to ask the customer to take down the post until they actually fix the problem or at least address it.  Asking the guy to bring his car in might be sticking their good foot out, but it in no way addresses the Rock’s concerns about the previous service he received, or the misdiagnosis.  A simple apology would’ve gone a long way for Rock and for their reputation. 

A BMW driver takes his car into the dealership to get a warning light checked out and left with no service – customer or mechanical.  Steve Rock, owner of a Certified Pre-Owned BMW 335i, took his car into the BMW North Scottsdale dealership because he had warning lights flashing at him; the service technician told him it was merely an emissions alert, disengaged the code, and sent him on his way.  A few days later, when his steering failed on the middle of the highway, he found himself crashed off the side of the road.  Oops.

Rock did what many people do these days and took his incident to the web.  No, he didn’t blast the dealership or smear their brand all over his favorite social sites.  He simply logged on to his BMW-enthusiast forum and posed the scenario to his virtual acquaintances – has anyone else had this problem, or something similar?  After reading feedback suggesting that the warning lights were definitely not indicators of an emissions reminder, Rock contacted the GM of the BMW dealership.

The GM didn’t take responsibility and didn’t even offer an apology.  I’m starting to wonder if the man even asked Rock if he was okay (which he was, thankfully).  The GM wanted Rock to bring the car back to the dealership to be looked at – a feeble attempt to make nice, maybe?  Rock tried to express his understandable concerns of fading trust in the dealership’s diagnostic ability, to which the GM replied, “Then you shouldn’t even be in my office wasting my time.” 

Yes, my eyebrows went up and mouth dropped when I read the original article on Jalopnik as well.  Rock reluctantly lets the dealership take a look at his car and then subsequently has an independent shop evaluate it  as well, who confirmed that the warning lights were attributed to steering and stability control.  BMW North America even asks Rock permission to look at the car again with a team of specialist who never showed up.  Penke Automotive then has the nerve to ask Rock to remove his comments posted online about the incident and the store.

As of now, Rock hasn’t filed a lawsuit and hasn’t even requested any money to fix the damaged car.  What he wants is an explanation as to what the real issue is with his car and why on Earth he was told that it was an emissions reminder when it clearly wasn’t.

What I find more interesting than the story itself, which is a direct example of appalling business operations and atrocious customer service, is the discussion forming around the article.  In the hundreds of comments that have surfaced since the story broke, self-described and insinuated technicians are calling out this guy as a fraud, saying there’s no way that the steering could freeze up or that’s what could have been the problem when he previously brought the car in.  They’re calling BS on Rock, declaring he crashed the car on his own and is simply looking for BMW to take the fall. 

Fair enough, I can appreciate that kind of loyalty to their brand and expertise on mechanical service.  But the real issue is the lack of service Rock received on all fronts: from the service technicians, the GM of the dealership, BMW North America, and even the lawyer from Penske. 

People make mistakes and maybe that’s what happened in the first round of service.  It happens all the time.  And maybe the technician didn’t make a mistake in this case and Rock is trying to pull a fast one on them to see what he can get away with – who knows.  Either way, it’s the dealership’s responsibility to respond to the customer’s valid concerns in such a way that at least appeases the expectations of the customer while simultaneously backing the confidence they have in their staff and vehicles.  The GM could’ve, at minimum, apologized that Rock experienced the situation he did, if for no other reason than to validate that the guy was in car accident!

In addition to the horrid service, this is another clear example of a dealership not having an appropriate social media strategy or even enough of an understanding of social etiquette to know how to manage the online situation.  Rock maintains that both BMW and Penske have stated that they “don't appreciate that [he’s] made this a public issues on the forums."  Well, get over it.  These conversations are happening online on a daily basis and how dealerships respond to them is even more telling than the original posts.  They really have no right to ask the customer to take down the post until they actually fix the problem or at least address it.  Asking the guy to bring his car in might be sticking their good foot out, but it in no way addresses the Rock’s concerns about the previous service he received, or the misdiagnosis.  A simple apology would’ve gone a long way for Rock and for their reputation. 

Online reputation is important.  Please take 3 minutes to rate your dealership vendors on DrivingSales.com so all dealers can see who performs and who doesn't. (Don't worry, we verify that only dealership employees submit reviews and we keep all reviewers anonymous.)  Click the link below to get started:

http://www.drivingsales.com/surveys/vr/customer-management

Rate Your Vendors to Win a Macbook Air!

To reward you for leaving a rating, we are giving away a Macbook Air and a few Amazon gift cards. Simply click the link and rate your vendors to qualify. Winners are announced weekly.

For those of you new to the DrivingSales Vendor Rating platform, it is the only online mechanism where dealership employees can rate and review their website providers, CRM providers, DMS providers, etc. to keep the vendor market transparent and hold vendors accountable. Before you ever sign with a vendor, you should always learn from your peers and see how that vendor is rated at www.DrivingSales.com/ratings.

Here's How it Works: 

1. Go to the Vendor Ratings section of DrivingSales.com and rate your vendors.
2. Tweet or post on our Facebook wall the following: "I just rated my vendors at drivingsales.com/ratings and now I'm entered to win a $100 Amazon gift card! #drivingsales #contest." Remember, all reviews will be verified, so no funny business.
3. You're then entered into the weekly drawing for a $100 gift card to Amazon.com and the MacBook Air grand prize drawing!

If you have more questions about the contest, visit http://drivingsales.com/rate/contest.  For the rest of you, click the link below to leave your ratings and be entered in the MacBook Air contest.

http://www.drivingsales.com/surveys/vr/customer-management

Online reputation is important.  Please take 3 minutes to rate your dealership vendors on DrivingSales.com so all dealers can see who performs and who doesn't. (Don't worry, we verify that only dealership employees submit reviews and we keep all reviewers anonymous.)  Click the link below to get started:

http://www.drivingsales.com/surveys/vr/customer-management

Rate Your Vendors to Win a Macbook Air!

To reward you for leaving a rating, we are giving away a Macbook Air and a few Amazon gift cards. Simply click the link and rate your vendors to qualify. Winners are announced weekly.

For those of you new to the DrivingSales Vendor Rating platform, it is the only online mechanism where dealership employees can rate and review their website providers, CRM providers, DMS providers, etc. to keep the vendor market transparent and hold vendors accountable. Before you ever sign with a vendor, you should always learn from your peers and see how that vendor is rated at www.DrivingSales.com/ratings.

Here's How it Works: 

1. Go to the Vendor Ratings section of DrivingSales.com and rate your vendors.
2. Tweet or post on our Facebook wall the following: "I just rated my vendors at drivingsales.com/ratings and now I'm entered to win a $100 Amazon gift card! #drivingsales #contest." Remember, all reviews will be verified, so no funny business.
3. You're then entered into the weekly drawing for a $100 gift card to Amazon.com and the MacBook Air grand prize drawing!

If you have more questions about the contest, visit http://drivingsales.com/rate/contest.  For the rest of you, click the link below to leave your ratings and be entered in the MacBook Air contest.

http://www.drivingsales.com/surveys/vr/customer-management

Want a chance to win $100.00 off dealer registration at the upcoming DrivingSales Executive Summit October 9-11th in Las Vegas?  How about a chance to win a FREE REGISTRATION altogether?  Well, now’s your chance and it’s super easy.  We’re conducting a survey about social media and how it compares to traditional media, but to do that, we need dealers like you.  Don’t worry, completing the survey is easy and takes 3-4 minutes, but it will help us learn about social media strategies and share with you how to build them.

So how do I enter?

All you have to do is fill out this survey and enter an email address to have a chance to win the $100.00 off.  Ten lucky people with completed surveys will be chosen at random as winners.  AND if we reach 175 participants, one lucky dealer participant will receive FREE REGISTRATION at DSES.  FREE!!  That’s right, this type of research is so important to us, that we're will to offer a $699 value just for taking the time to honestly complete a 4-minute survey.  Sweet deal, if you ask me. 

The purpose of this study is to examine potential uses of social media in comparison to traditional media in order to develop an understanding of what impact a social media strategy can have on dealership profitability.  In particular, we will look at social media marketing from a budgetary standpoint, as well as online reviews from a loyalty perspective.  You can learn more information about the research project here.

So, if you’re a dealer (only real dealers are eligible) complete this survey for a chance to win a FREE registration at DSES or $100.00 off!

* Only legitimate emails will be accepted and only one legitimate email address per survey.

Your anonymity is important to us.

*Email addresses will in no way by used to attach identity to information provided in completed surveys.  They are solely for the purposes of the drawing and will otherwise be discarded.  Any information presented in the release of results will be done so as aggregate data, with no reference to any one store's survey information.

*If you don’t want to leave an email, you are not obligated to, but we won’t be able to confirm your participation and thus, you won’t be entered into the drawing to win FREE registration or $100 off.  But we’d love your participation nonetheless!

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them here or email me at Lindsey@DrivingSales.com.

Want a chance to win $100.00 off dealer registration at the upcoming DrivingSales Executive Summit October 9-11th in Las Vegas?  How about a chance to win a FREE REGISTRATION altogether?  Well, now’s your chance and it’s super easy.  We’re conducting a survey about social media and how it compares to traditional media, but to do that, we need dealers like you.  Don’t worry, completing the survey is easy and takes 3-4 minutes, but it will help us learn about social media strategies and share with you how to build them.

So how do I enter?

All you have to do is fill out this survey and enter an email address to have a chance to win the $100.00 off.  Ten lucky people with completed surveys will be chosen at random as winners.  AND if we reach 175 participants, one lucky dealer participant will receive FREE REGISTRATION at DSES.  FREE!!  That’s right, this type of research is so important to us, that we're will to offer a $699 value just for taking the time to honestly complete a 4-minute survey.  Sweet deal, if you ask me. 

The purpose of this study is to examine potential uses of social media in comparison to traditional media in order to develop an understanding of what impact a social media strategy can have on dealership profitability.  In particular, we will look at social media marketing from a budgetary standpoint, as well as online reviews from a loyalty perspective.  You can learn more information about the research project here.

So, if you’re a dealer (only real dealers are eligible) complete this survey for a chance to win a FREE registration at DSES or $100.00 off!

* Only legitimate emails will be accepted and only one legitimate email address per survey.

Your anonymity is important to us.

*Email addresses will in no way by used to attach identity to information provided in completed surveys.  They are solely for the purposes of the drawing and will otherwise be discarded.  Any information presented in the release of results will be done so as aggregate data, with no reference to any one store's survey information.

*If you don’t want to leave an email, you are not obligated to, but we won’t be able to confirm your participation and thus, you won’t be entered into the drawing to win FREE registration or $100 off.  But we’d love your participation nonetheless!

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them here or email me at Lindsey@DrivingSales.com.

*The following is a contribution by a real dealer who has asked to remain anonymous (you'll understand why), so I've posted the content to respect their wishes.

Dear OEM:  

Really?  You are in bed with a website vendor and are forcing my hand in using it?  Yes, your SEO truly stinks, your sites take long to load, your bounce rates and overall usability is poor – yet you are forcing my hand to use the site you as an OEM has deemed most acceptable.

I did try to move away with another vendor who I have used prior – everything I know about this website vendor is ten fold better than what you offer and about half the price.  You say it is ok for me to leave…but what do you do, big bad OEM?

You penalize the dealership with infraction after infraction because I don’t have the right wording buried eight pages deep in our site?  We fix what you wanted to fix – you approve the site… and then come back and re-review my site and deny it… again!  NOTHING HAD CHANGED!

After jumping through countless hoops, I finally was able talk with someone at the OEM level and find out there seems to be a mass exodus with your current website vendor.  Therefore the OEM will continue to go through my current (non-OEM recommended) site with a fine-toothed comb looking for the smallest infractions to penalize us…

BUT – what you tell me is that if we go back to your current website vendor, you as an OEM will ease up on our dealership AND you will erase my current infraction you gave me!  Seriously?  

So Mr. OEM – there is a mass exodus leaving your current provider and you have yet to ask yourself why.  The dealers are speaking, yet you are forcing their hand to use a sub-par website due to your current relationship with them.

OEMs – you are KILLING your dealers in the digital marketing arena!   Progressive OEMs and independents will CRUSH us in SEO and SEM strategies if you continue to go down the path you going. 

Not all websites are created equal – take a look, Mr. OEM, at why I wanted to go with someone else.  Here is a snap shot of your OEM recommended site’s analytics for 30 days:

Now – below is analytics of our site I had up for all of 30 days.  138% more visitors and each of those visitors ON AVERAGE spent another 2 minutes on the site, went 2.5 pages DEEPER, and less of them bounced off my site.  Let’s not talk about conversion rates as that would REALLY make way too much sense.

So, Mr. OEM – I am going back to your site for fewer visits, less page views, shorter site time, and more customers are bouncing because this is what the executives think will be best.

So here’s to you, Mr. OEM!  May your digital marketing strategies continue to be obsolete, overpriced, and down right piss poor.

Signed,

Just about every dealer in the country

*The following is a contribution by a real dealer who has asked to remain anonymous (you'll understand why), so I've posted the content to respect their wishes.

Dear OEM:  

Really?  You are in bed with a website vendor and are forcing my hand in using it?  Yes, your SEO truly stinks, your sites take long to load, your bounce rates and overall usability is poor – yet you are forcing my hand to use the site you as an OEM has deemed most acceptable.

I did try to move away with another vendor who I have used prior – everything I know about this website vendor is ten fold better than what you offer and about half the price.  You say it is ok for me to leave…but what do you do, big bad OEM?

You penalize the dealership with infraction after infraction because I don’t have the right wording buried eight pages deep in our site?  We fix what you wanted to fix – you approve the site… and then come back and re-review my site and deny it… again!  NOTHING HAD CHANGED!

After jumping through countless hoops, I finally was able talk with someone at the OEM level and find out there seems to be a mass exodus with your current website vendor.  Therefore the OEM will continue to go through my current (non-OEM recommended) site with a fine-toothed comb looking for the smallest infractions to penalize us…

BUT – what you tell me is that if we go back to your current website vendor, you as an OEM will ease up on our dealership AND you will erase my current infraction you gave me!  Seriously?  

So Mr. OEM – there is a mass exodus leaving your current provider and you have yet to ask yourself why.  The dealers are speaking, yet you are forcing their hand to use a sub-par website due to your current relationship with them.

OEMs – you are KILLING your dealers in the digital marketing arena!   Progressive OEMs and independents will CRUSH us in SEO and SEM strategies if you continue to go down the path you going. 

Not all websites are created equal – take a look, Mr. OEM, at why I wanted to go with someone else.  Here is a snap shot of your OEM recommended site’s analytics for 30 days:

Now – below is analytics of our site I had up for all of 30 days.  138% more visitors and each of those visitors ON AVERAGE spent another 2 minutes on the site, went 2.5 pages DEEPER, and less of them bounced off my site.  Let’s not talk about conversion rates as that would REALLY make way too much sense.

So, Mr. OEM – I am going back to your site for fewer visits, less page views, shorter site time, and more customers are bouncing because this is what the executives think will be best.

So here’s to you, Mr. OEM!  May your digital marketing strategies continue to be obsolete, overpriced, and down right piss poor.

Signed,

Just about every dealer in the country