Everything is moving to digital, does that mean that your location isn’t valuable? New research shows that your physical location could be your most valuable asset in both your offline and online strategies.

DrivingSales is excited to announce that David Bell will be joining us as a keynote speaker during the DrivingSales Executive Summit. 

David R. Bell shows why online retailers are jealous of your location and how to leverage it as strength in your defense against online only retailers. Bell teaches online and offline retailers why “Location is (Still) Everything” for every type of buyer from baby boomers to millennials.

During this keynote session you’ll learn:
-Why Amazon is opening physical stores to compete with businesses like dealerships.
-How to make your physical location a strategic advantage long-term.
-How to build a connected customer experience that increases close ratios.

A graduate of Stanford University and marketing professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, David is an award-winning teacher and researcher. His studies focus on how we use the Internet and related technologies to search, shop and sell – a subject he delves deep into in his bestselling book – “Location is (Still) Everything” (New Harvest, July 2014), which was translated and published in Brazil (2016) and China (2017).

David developed Wharton’s first MBA course on digital marketing and e-commerce, and is Founding Academic Director for Digital Marketing Strategies for the Digital Economy at Wharton Executive Education. He is an investor in several new economy companies including Bonobos (acquired by Walmart), Diapers.com (acquired by Amazon), Harry’s, Jet.com (acquired by Walmart), and Warby Parker, among many others.

His academic articles are published in all major marketing journals – Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing, Marketing Science, Management Science – and his research has been recognized with the Frank M. Bass Outstanding Dissertation Award, three John D.C. Little Best Paper Finalist awards, two INFORMS Marketing Science Long-Term Impact Finalist Awards, and First Place Award in the 2014 Production and Operations Management Society Applied Research Challenge.

A New Zealand citizen, David received his PhD from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business.

We here at DrivingSales offer our condolences to the families of those involved. Alan Ram was an industry insider who will be missed by many.

Alan Ram, 53, and passenger Krista Buchanan, 22, have been killed after a plane crash near Falcon Field Airport.

The aircraft that crashed was a Lancair Evolution, which Ram was piloting.

Ram was a successful businessman in the automotive space who owned Alan Ram’s Proactive Training Solutions. His business focused on increasing individual and dealership productivity in the industry

Ram served as a Marine early in his life and was about to get married. Ram owned many planes, including the Lancair Evolution that went down Monday afternoon.

Mesa police and fire crews were dispatched to Longbow Golf Course just before 5 p.m. Monday when the plane crashed on the 10th hole fairway.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the plane reported mechanical trouble and couldn't reach the nearby airport.

Ram was talking with the Falcon Field Airport Tower seconds before the crash. Audio of that conversation indicates Ram was experiencing electrical issues.

Here's the conversation:

Ram: And Falcon Tower, Evolution 571JM.

Tower: 571JM Falcon Tower, you're number two...just a two mile final, Runway 22 Left, clear to land.

Ram: Runway 22 Left. And I'm still quite a bit to the west of you. Is it okay if I cross midfield and drop in to a left downwind for 22 Left?

Tower: 10-4, that's fine.

Ram: Alright sir, I'm having, still having an electrical issue. I had one on Friday and I'm... I'm about to go dead. So I'm just going to cross over and make left- Lost of audio.

This investigation is ongoing and has been turned over to officials from the FAA.

Written by David Bell who will be speaking at DSES in October.

Very exciting times of late with June 16th being the day Amazon and Wamart announced acquisitions that preview the future of retail and commerce. Amazon, the online-first behemoth, bought Whole Foods for $13.4b. Walmart, the world’s largest retailer with about $483b in sales, purchased Bonobos for the relatively modest sum of $310m. Bonobos, founded in 2007 as Bonobos.com by two Stanford MBA classmates and initially online-only, has the distinction of being perhaps the first Digitally Native Vertical Brand, or DNVB, for short. The DNVB starts online, then adds offline as appropriate, and often as a “showroom” that is heavy on experience and light on inventory for immediate sale.

All this activity happened against the backdrop of dire predictions by Credit Suisse: 2017 is likely to see 9,000 imminent store closings.

So, offline appears to be “dead and dying” yet “alive and thriving” at the same time!

Understanding this (apparent) paradox is the key to the future of retailing. In my view, the offline world will not disappear, but it will be dramatically reshaped from a “large footprint, selling plus fulfillment environment” to a “small footprint, experience-centric environment.”

Earlier this week while attending Alibaba’s “10th Netrepreneur Conference” in Hangzhou, I heard Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba, express the idea quite eloquently: “offline assets contribute greatly to any online business.”

In fact, the old retail mantra of “location, location, location” is evergreen, but with a digital economy twist. Legacy retail is about location of stores, and e-commerce is about the location of customers. The retail experience of today and the future is about determining the location—online or offline—of appropriate set of retail experiences, products, and elements that will delight customers.  

Getting this “location” decision right will determine the success (or otherwise) of everyone involved in the retail space. Interestingly enough, the world’s most valuable company, Apple, offers a preview of the gains to be had from controlling customer experience. Some of us are old enough to recall Apple as a company with miniscule market share and on the verge of collapse. Among the many things Apple has done right, bold entry (as a manufacturer), into the retail space has proven to be one of the most prescient and beneficial.

I look forward to discussing the new “location” elements of retail and all they entail, with all of you in the fall!

David Bell.

Recognition Highlights Importance of Diversity in the Automotive Industry

ATLANTA, July 14, 2017 – Cox Automotive, in partnership with the National Association of Minority Automotive Dealers (NAMAD), awarded its Rising Star Award to Wadette H. Bradford, Martin Kia general manager, in recognition of her strong leadership and commitment to the automotive industry and her community.

In nominating Bradford, Amber L. Martin, co-owner, Martin Automotive Group, said:  "Wadette Bradford is an emerging leader as exemplified by her enthusiasm, dedication and passion to contribute excellence to the automotive industry. Her industry knowledge alone is well beyond her years, demonstrating her to be a notable next generation leader." 

Bradford’s work has been instrumental in growing and expanding brand recognition and profit margins for both new and well-established dealerships. As general manager of Martin Kia, Bradford has increased inventory turns, developed innovative digital marketing campaigns and increased service gross profit. 

Nicole Ashe, senior vice president, talent, diversity and culture, Cox Automotive, said:  “On behalf of Cox Automotive and in partnership with NAMAD, I am honored to recognize Wadette for her phenomenal achievements in automotive. Wadette is aspiring to be a franchise dealership owner-operator, and with her enthusiasm and passion for the automotive industry, I am confident that she will achieve that goal.”

One of Bradford’s most significant career achievements was accomplished under the tutelage of her first mentor, Ellenae Fairhurst. Bradford was encouraged to forge an enterprising partnership with Huntsville business leaders where she established a client relationship to secure a multimillion-dollar contract resulting in improved brand recognition and loyalty for Lexus of Huntsville. The contract execution also resulted in record pre-owned gross profit and unit sales. 

“I am honored to be the first woman to receive this prestigious award,” said Bradford. “My role model, Mrs. Ellenae Fairhurst, a Lexus dealer in Alabama, gave me the foundation for my success with my first management job for which I will be eternally grateful. Ms. Amber Martin’s keen business acumen to recognize talent afforded me the opportunity to sharpen my skills as general manager with the Martin Management Group. As we continue to surge forward growing the business, claiming new market share, increasing our support of the community and our profitability, my hope is to inspire other women to join the automotive industry.”

Martin Kia is one of six franchises comprising Martin Autoplex in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Its parent company, Martin Automotive Group, was founded by Cornelius A. Martin in 1985 with the purchase of a single point Oldsmobile Cadillac dealership. The family-owned company operates automotive dealerships across the nation.

Bradford is a member of the Kentucky Auto Dealers Association, the American International Automobile Dealers Association Rising Dealers Network and NAMAD NextGen. In addition, she participates in the Kentucky Auto Dealers Association Lobby Day in Frankfort, Kentucky, to ensure legislators are aware of the issues that affect consumers, dealers and their employees. Bradford also lobbies in Washington D. C. on Capitol Hill with the American International Automobile Dealers Association. She is active in the community where she is a member of the Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals and United Way.

Bradford, a native of Tuskegee, Alabama, graduated from the National Automobile Dealers Association Academy in 2010 at the top of her class after receiving a bachelor’s degree from Alabama A&M and a master’s degree from University of Alabama in Huntsville.

Cox Automotive is donating $5,000 to one of its national diversity partners in Bradford’s honor. She chose National Urban League, a non-profit organization with a mission of empowering African-Americans through economic self-reliance, parity, power and civil rights.

Ashe presented the award at the NAMAD annual meeting awards dinner in Miami on July 13. Bradford was chosen based on nomination criteria including being a NAMAD member under the age of 40 who shows proven leadership qualities in the automotive industry.

About Cox Automotive

Cox Automotive Inc. is transforming the way the world buys, sells and owns cars with industry-leading digital marketing, financial, retail and wholesale solutions for consumers, dealers, manufacturers and the overall automotive ecosystem worldwide. Committed to open choice and dedicated to strong partnerships, the Cox Automotive family includes Autotrader®, Dealer.com®, Dealertrack®, Kelley Blue Book®, Manheim®, NextGear Capital®, vAuto®, Xtime® and a host of other brands. The global company has 34,000 team members in more than 200 locations and is partner to more than 40,000 auto dealers, as well as most major automobile manufacturers, while engaging U.S. consumer car buyers with the most recognized media brands in the industry. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., an Atlanta-based company with revenues exceeding $20 billion and approximately 60,000 employees. Cox Enterprises’ other major operating subsidiaries include Cox Communications and Cox Media Group. For more information about Cox Automotive, visit www.coxautoinc.com.

Contact:

Dara Hailes

Public Relations Manager

470 658 0656

dara.hailes@coxautoinc.com

Finding the right people to work at your dealership can be tricky. You want someone who is going to work hard, be able to accomplish tasks, and fit in with your culture. But maybe we’ve been looking for people who are all really similar, and are thereby missing a really important element. According to research by Dr. Heidi Grant, one of our upcoming DSES speakers, diversity may be a huge factor of success in business.

A piece written in part by Dr. Grant for the Harvard Business Review expands on this idea, explaining, “In numerous studies, diversity — both inherent (e.g., race, gender) and acquired (experience, cultural background) — is associated with business success. For example, a 2009 analysis of 506 companies found that firms with more racial or gender diversity had more sales revenue, more customers, and greater profits. A 2016 analysis of more than 20,000 firms in 91 countries found that companies with more female executives were more profitable. In a 2011 study management teams exhibiting a wider range of educational and work backgrounds produced more-innovative products. These are mere correlations, but laboratory experiments have also shown the direct effect of diversity on team performance. In a 2006 study of mock juries, for example, when black people were added to the jury, white jurors processed the case facts more carefully and deliberated more effectively.”

Here, we’ll dive into the five most important reasons for you to focus more on diversity when you’re hiring.

1. Diverse teams aren’t as easy. It’s simple to understand:we feel like things go more smoothly and that collaboration is easy with people who we are similar to and know. Outsiders cause friction, which makes it seem more difficult to get things done. It’s part of our makeup to believe that if things aren’t easy, they aren’t progressing or working, but that’s not the case. A 2009 study took members of a sorority or fraternity with strong connections and similarities and asked them to solve a “murder mystery” type of puzzle. Toward the end of the experiment, an additional person was added to the group, either from the same sorority/fraternity or from a different one. Groups that had an “outsider” added to their group felt less confident in their solution, but in stark contrast to their feelings, they were much more likely to get the correct answer compared to those with a “similar” team. The reality is that diverse teams produce better content because it’s harder. At your dealership, it may seem that getting a variety of different people to work together may not work, and the reality is that it will be harder, but the end result is worth it!

2. Diversity doesn’t increase conflict as much as you think.  Yes, having diversity and diverse ideas on a team can lead to conflict, but we tend to think there’s a lot more conflict than there actually is. In an MBA study cited by the Harvard Business Review, people were presented with different sets of teams, some with all the same race and others with mixed race, and were asked to rate how well the thought they would get along. Those with diverse teams were seen as more likely to have conflict than those with same-race teams. Here’s what Dr. Grant has to say in her article: “This type of unconscious bias can clearly have a significant impact not only on hiring but also on the ways in which leaders create teams and encourage collaboration.  Without realizing it, they may be reluctant to add diversity to a team or to assign colleagues with different backgrounds to work together, in response to an (overblown) fear of the tension and difficulty that could ensue.” It’s important to be watchful in your hiring decisions; you want to find the right fit for your dealership without taking away potential candidates who could push your teams to improve and think more critically.

3. Diversity means highlighting differences. For many of us, it seems easier to hide our differences to reach common ground when we’re collaborating on a project. It’s not enough to just add diversity to your team; you must evaluate and train everyone on the best ways of ensuring the team can work together. It’s important to find a balance between compromise and highlighting our differences to use them as tools to find new options and success. Research shows that that balance lies between separating values and ideas, since bringing different ideas to the table rather than different values will help reduce conflict, while still enabling the development of different and unique solutions. Celebrating differences helps employees understand their roles better, as well. The Harvard Business Review article elaborates, “One 2009 study looked at support for multiculturalism versus colorblindness in nearly 4,000 employees in 18 work units at a large U.S. health care firm. The more that workers agreed that ‘employees should recognize and celebrate racial and ethnic differences’ and the more they disagreed that ‘employees should downplay their racial and ethnic differences’, the more that minorities in those units reported feeling engaged in their work.” Finding ways to train your teams to highlight different ideas will help you better meet your goals and increase productivity.

4. Facts, facts, facts. Diverse teams are more likely to look at a variety of facts when it comes to solving a problem. Their different backgrounds and understandings help them find an array of facts, rather than focusing on the same ones. They are also more likely to remain objective and reexamine facts, and studies show they may encourage “greater scrutiny” of the actions of the rest of the group, keeping them focused and sharp. Diverse teams are more likely process facts more carefully as well. Considering the perspective of an “outsider” can help businesses as they process problems. This can be hugely beneficial for your dealership as you evaluate issues that may arise and learn to improve your processes.

Striving to find the right fit for your dealership is important, but so is making sure you have the diversity that will help your dealership thrive. Making sure you find people who are going to collaborate well and bring new and different ideas to the table will help your dealership thrive.

There are some very important distinctions between being a manager, and being a leader. Not all managers are leaders, and not all leaders are managers. It’s really fantastic when you get a manager who is also a leader, but you don’t have to be at the top of the organization to lead.

There are some incredibly important qualities that all good leaders have. It’s not too difficult to try and adopt some of these qualities and create a leader within yourself. Being a leader in your organization will help those around you feel motivated and excited about work, and even if your management struggles to lead, you can be a source for good and help cultivate a great culture.

• Good Leaders Work. Good leaders are in the trenches, getting their work done and then aiding others to get their work done. No job is beneath them, deadlines aren’t to be missed, and they do what they need to do to help everyone succeed. Being willing to work sets an example for others of what is expected, and ensures that everyone feels equal.
• Good Leaders Balance. While it’s hugely important that good leaders put in the time and do the work, good leaders also balance. They take time for their relationships and personal life, and encourage others to do the same.  They work the late nights with everyone to pull off the project, but also encourage everyone to enjoy time off and step up to the plate to help them do so. They lead by example.
• Good Leaders Listen. There aren’t bad or wrong ideas, good leaders don’t just hear things said by coworkers, they actually listen to them. They try to understand where colleagues are coming from, and they respond accordingly. When they need to give correction, they do so kindly and with understanding.
• Good Leaders Take Responsibility. Good leaders know when to take responsibility for their actions. They apologize when they need to, don’t blame other people for shortcomings, and they own who they are and what they have done. They are willing to hear feedback, evaluate, and take responsibility to implement what they can to improve.
• Good Leaders Care. In my mind, the most important thing a good leader can do is care about the people they work with. They care about them doing a good job and meeting goals, but they also care about their family and personal life. Now, there is a line of professionalism that’s important in most work environments, but a good leader is sympathetic and understanding about the plight of a single parent; they are interested in hearing about vacations, and they recognize personal improvement and growth.

It’s important that those of us who are managers really take the idea of leadership vs. management to heart, and really ensure that we aren’t just managers, but that we are leading as well. Similarly, those who aren’t managers can be the greatest leaders in an organization. They may not have the authority to sign off on vacation or they may not have the skills to help on a particular project, but they can always be the example, the word of kindness, and the helping hand in anyway they can.

I have been a little MIA from the Community recently, but I have a good reason! I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Japan and my husband and I had a fantastic time there! While in Japan I observed a few things that I wanted to share with all of you, particularly about customer service!

1. Walking In The Store. The customer service in Japan is OUT OF THIS WORLD. It was absolutely amazing and I was so impressed with every place we went to, whether it was a restaurant, hotel, or the airport. I loved how kind they were from the second we entered the room. They would say "Please come on in, thanks so much!" in Japanese the second we walked in the door (luckily my husband speaks Japanese, and could translate for me.) Everyone in the store would shout and smile at you, welcoming you in. It was a great way to make us feel recognized and at ease. I feel like we can apply this in every auto dealership by making sure that when people walk in the door, they feel recognized but not overwhelmed. 

2. Comfort Is Key. Every place we went focused on our comfort. Whether we needed water, a place to sit, you name it and they were prepared to get it for us. I could tell they would all go out of their way to make sure that we were comfortable and happy with our interaction. We can follow this lead by making sure we offer seats, water, snacks, anything a customer might want, we should be ready to give to them. 

3. Timeliness Is Valuable. One thing I loved about Japan was how timely all of our interactions with customer service individuals were. They very obviously worked their hardest to make sure our interaction wasn't any longer than it needed to be. This was really important to us as we had a lot to see and do. We can make sure we are timely in our interactions at dealerships by having processes decided and working quickly.

 4. Apologies. If anything at all was even slightly wrong, we were so quick to receive a million apologies. All of our interactions where we had concerns or questions were met with the most humble apologies. We didn't hear any sarcasm, we didn't get any eye-rolls, just genuine concern for our happiness and satisfaction. I think we can always work a little harder in our store or dealership to make sure that our apologies are sincere, and that    our focus is on ensuring the customer is happy. No matter how rude they may be to us.

5. Above And Beyond. We had so many instances where employees went above and beyond to help us. From practically pushing us in the direction of our train so we wouldn't miss it, to making sure everything was packaged perfectly so it wouldn't break, the customer service was just so wonderful. It's part of what made all of our shopping, eating, hotel, and travel interactions so perfect. 

I think it's so valuable to look at other cultures and companies and evaluate how they are handling their customers. Customer service is something we talk about ALL THE TIME, but it's still not quite where we want it to be. As long as you still have even one customer that's leaving unsatisfied, you can be working on your customer experience. I learned so many things from our trip that I want to work to implement into my customer service routines, and hopefully you've learned something too! 

DrivingSales was so excited to have David Mead as a keynote speaker during Presidents Club. David works at the Start With Why foundation with Simon Sinek, teaching company leaders around the world all about work culture. We sat down and chatted with him to learn more about motivating and inspiring employees, making the work environment a safe and productive place, and finding our company and personal WHY. Check out our conversation with David, and learn about your why. 

Find Your Why: https://www.startwithwhy.com/

About David:

Committed to a world in which people go home everyday fulfilled by the work they do, David focuses on helping business leaders and organizations create cultures that make that idea possible. Everything he does is designed to propel positive change so that people can live a more fulfilled life. David is a ‘serial optimist’ and believes that people who work together toward a common cause can change our world for the better.

Much of David’s early career was spent in the corporate training environment. He developed and wrote training curricula, which he facilitated in the US and Canada. Through his work he became acquainted with Simon Sinek, a world-renowned thought leader and the author of Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action. David saw an amazing opportunity to pair his experience with Simon’s vision, which is centered around helping individuals and companies find their Why (purpose or cause) and then to think, act and communicate in a way that brings it to life.. Inspired by the Why movement and the opportunity of creating a greater positive impact in the world, David and his company, Propel, partnered with Simon and his team in 2009. This partnership has paired Simon’s simple, inspiring message with David’s natural ability to capture and apply it in a variety of ways to spread the message at scale.

Among other things, David creates tools and resources based on Simon’s content, co-hosts the Start With Why weekly community mastermind, and hosts the Start With Why podcast. David also works with other clients and partners in sharing the Why through speaking, consulting, coaching and workshops. He is a regular guest speaker at Rotary Clubs and Chambers of Commerce.

David is based in Salt Lake City, UT. He earned a BA in Communication from the University of Utah and graduated Magna Cum Laude from the MBA program at Westminster College, where he focused his studies in Organizational Development.

It takes about 22 seconds for a mobile landing page to fully load, according to a new study by Google. That might not seem to be a lot of time, but there’s a problem. The same Google study found that 53% of mobile site visitors will leave a page if they have to wait for longer than 3 seconds for it to load.

3 seconds.

That’s not a lot of time.

Shoppers want a fast mobile experience, that’s a given. If there are issues with getting through the site, they’ll leave. So it has become critical to make sure that web experiences are fast. Google shows that more than half of all web traffic comes from mobile, but mobile conversion rates are lower than desktop. This tells us that speed = revenue. Mobile loading takes longer than desktop, so even though more people are seeing your site on mobile, it’s not moving quickly enough to make them want to purchase.

Imagine, if you could speed up your mobile site, what the conversion rates could become.

Google shared this in their recent story, “Last month, in an effort to get a better sense of how Google's advertising partners are doing, we did an analysis of 900,000 mobile ads' landing pages spanning 126 countries.5 That new analysis confirmed our thesis: The majority of mobile sites are slow and bloated with too many elements.”

Google found that auto, retail, and technology sectors have the longest load times on their websites, as well as some of the most bloated pages.

Further research found that 70% of the pages analyzed took at least 7 seven seconds for visual content above the fold to display, and more than 10 seconds for all visual content to show.

Google trained a deep neural network, a computer system modeled on the human brain and nervous system, with a set of bounce rate and conversion data. This neural net found that as a page load time goes from one second to seven seconds, the bounce rate increases 113%. Check out the graphic to learn more.

Simply compressing images and text could be a game changer, making mobile pages smaller and thereby helping them load faster.

So how is your site doing? Test Your Site now to see how you compare, and start figuring out what you can do to improve.

Check out the Google research here.

Penske Automotive will soon be letting go of more than 160 employees.

The layoffs affect employees at Penske vehicle service locations including Detroit, Pontiac, Milford, Warren and Lansing, according to a release the company sent into the state's WARN site.

Penske says this morning that due to the loss of a contract with General Motors, they'll no longer be providing certain fleet and or transportation services for the automaker.

That could result in the permanent layoff of more than 165 employees at locations across southeast Michigan.
The layoffs would be effective April 1.

In addition to the cities mentioned earlier, the company's location in Grand Blanc will close, too.