Originally Published By Automotive News

Japan's Takata Corp. is nearing a criminal settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice and is expected to pay up to $1 billion to resolve allegations of wrongdoing related to its faulty airbag inflators, The Wall Street Journal reported today.

The final figure could be in the high hundreds of millions of dollars, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Both the parties are discussing the possibility of the safety products supplier pleading guilty to criminal misconduct as part of the settlement, which could take place as soon as January, though the timing could slip, the newspaper reported.

Takata is expected to pay a part of the penalty up-front and the rest over a number of years, according to the report. The penalty is not "likely to eclipse $1 billion."

Both Takata and the the Justice Department declined to comment.

The company's airbag inflators, which can explode with excessive force in hot and humid conditions, have been linked to 11 deaths and at least 184 injuries in the U.S. Another five deaths have been linked to the airbags globally. 

The U.S. Department of Transportation said earlier this month that it would press the auto industry to accelerate the pace of replacements for defective Takata airbag inflators and signaled a likely widening of the industry's largest ever recall.

Takata is restructuring and is in the process of selling itself. It is considering a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in the U.S. as part of that restructuring process. 

DSES 2016 was an amazing event, mostly thanks to our wonderful speakers. We have here for you a list of our 7 highest rated speakers and their key takeaways.

Shaun Raines & Greg Gifford

Key Takeaways:
• Dealers will learn specific strategies for on site and off site organic optimization, based on the latest Local SEO best practices

• Dealers will learn how the recent updates to AdWords will affect auto dealers, and detailed tactics for better PPC campaign performance

• Dealers will learn how to boost local marketing efforts with Facebook ads and beacon marketing.

Adam Robinson

Key Takeaways:
• Learn how to build, manage and maintain a strong culture and workforce
• Learn how to build and leverage a strong employment brand to drive higher quality job applicants AND better consumer leads
• Discover how these leading dealers are compensating and managing their teams via innovative pay plans, strong incentive structures and the potential for career growth

Eric Savage

Key Takeaways:
Attendees will walk away with…
• An understanding of how a purpose-driven business allows for a strongly defined culture, which makes accountability, communication and trust easier.
• A way to see themselves as being “”givers”” instead of “”getters.””
• Proof that putting people before policy, process and profit makes a business stronger and better.
• Practical ways to marry the disciplines necessary for financial success with a culture that is not focused on money.

Brent Wees

Key Takeaways:
• Learn that Technology defines the generations, not the other way around.
• Learn to look past the “”current trend”” of age based marketing and get back to the basics of good retail business in a rapidly evolving technical space.
• Continue to future-proof your dealership to tackle trend with a level head!

Jared Hamilton

To innovate and survive as a successful dealership, general managers and dealer principals need to adopt a competency-based framework for recruiting, hiring, training, and management. This human-capital management style to optimizing dealership will provide a path to success for the next five years, creating value along the way.

You can apply Jared’s thought leadership at your store to:
• Apply a competency-based framework to enhance the business and management at the dealership
• Understand the 5 steps to this model and align them with business plans
• Create lasting value through nurturing employees and reducing turnover

Kerri Wise

Key Takeaways:
A Tug-of-War exists in the car buying process. Today’s car buyer wants to maintain control of the process, using information and technology to help them with each decision. On the same token, some dealers also want to maintain control in order to protect their profitability and bottom line. The best dealers find a way to not only survive, but thrive in today’s transparent marketplace.

In this session, I will share insights and learning from a recent study of 100 transparent dealers that embrace transparency while enjoying the highest close rates in their respective markets. Specifically, this session will help you:

• Understand how top performing dealers understand and address consumer’s pain points in the car buying process

• Examine the tactics that top dealers are using to build credibility at each step of the process.

• Evaluate the impact that price transparency has on the bottom line of top performing dealers

Ken Schmidt

We’re not wired to be loyal to products or services, no matter how well they perform. We’re only capable of being loyal to people and to well-managed brands that successfully humanize their presence by creating emotional resonance with us. It’s time for your customers to evolve from “folks who buy from us,” into “loyal friends who recommend us without being asked,” which means your relationships with them have to evolve from superficial to meaningfully permanent. Customers come and go. But loyalists, like Harley-Davidson tattoos, become part of you and never leave. Building tattoo-worthy customer relationships isn’t the marketing department’s job; it’s yours. This is how it’s done.

You can apply Ken’s thought leadership at your store to:
• Develop an experience around your dealership brand that excites your customers.
• Stand out from the crowd of competitors by unifying your brand and your employees.
• Build an experience that drives repeat purchases in new vehicles, parts and service.

We’ve talked in an earlier post about people who are waiting in your dealership for their service to be completed, or to get their paperwork. One thing that you can do with the time that you have customers inside your dealership not actively shopping or participating, is hand them a survey. Waiting gives you an ideal opportunity to ask them to fill something out. Does this work, and how should you proceed? Check out our tips blow:

1. Charj has found that giving a survey to a customer while they wait can get you an 80% response rate. People in the dealerships are waiting for something to occupy their time. They may not seem excited about doing a survey at home, but if they’re just waiting for their car to get done, they’re much more likely to fill out the survey to pass the time.


2. If a customer can answer a survey with a device that isn’t their own, they are more likely to engage. If you ask customers to fill something out on their own phone, they don’t feel any immediacy to get it done. They’ll keep scrolling Facebook or texting their friends. If you give them a device with a survey already pulled up, they’re much more likely to take it seriously and respond instantly.


3. This instant survey response by the customer can lead to proactive containment of any negative feedback they could make online. If they’re not happy with something, they can fill out the survey to express frustration. Your team can then instantly look at the survey and try to address and fix the problem with the customer before they even leave.


4. Some dealerships reported to Charj that they have seen a 6% improvement in CSI when presenting customers with surveys in the lounge. This improvement comes from customers getting to vent, but still giving your dealership a chance to fix the problem or at least talk to the customer about it, face to face. People are more likely to relax when they see an actual person in front of them, who truly seems apologetic and eager to make things right. This is a better option than getting a survey after the customer has left, or seeing a bad review online.

Utilizing waiting rooms to benefit your customer experiences, and thereby making your dealership a better place for customers, will help your dealership succeed. Customers will be more satisfied, and you will be able to nip problems in the bud.

In an earlier post, I discussed why dealerships should seek out consumer generated content. So hopefully now it’s more clear why it’s a good idea to seek out consumer generated content, but how do you make that content work for you? I have three easy steps to help you harness consumer generated content and have it help your brand.

1. 

   Make dealership reviews easily accessible on your site.

   If people are talking about your dealership, brag about it! It’s important to have reviews that are easy to find. Showing this content prominently identifies that you have good reviews, and maybe even reviews that aren’t so good that are taking care of and willing to talk about. It’s also important to respond to negative reviews and try to make them right, so people can see you are always working to improve. This kind of content uses the real language of consumers, and makes people trust the review, and you, even more. Bazaarvoice finds that using consumer generated content helps dealerships get a 15% increase in natural search traffic.

2. Include vehicle reviews on your website as well.

   Giving people the option to really find out what people do and don’t like about specific cars can really help them trust you, and enjoy the buying experience even more. Transparency and honesty coupled with the real wording and details of actual reviews will help customers want to use your site, and shop at your dealership. Bazaarvoice has found that leveraging this kind of consumer content can increase time on site by 143%, as well as can get 90% more page views.

3. Use social media to your advantage!

   Many consumers are talking about your manufacturer or dealership on social media, so it’s time to take advantage! Respond to negative statements and help get people happy, share social media posts and interact with people online. Doing this will help other consumers, and the consumer posting, understand that you’re real people behind the dealership, and that you want them to be successful. Spending time and energy working with consumers removes purchasing barriers, and Bazaarvoice finds that there can be as much as a 50% increase in high-value conversion events.

Making consumer generated content work for your brand and dealership doesn’t have to be difficult! By just simply showing off what people are saying, making sure that your dealership is honest and transparent, and interaction with people online, you can increase your traffic and gain the trust of the customer.

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY MARKETINGPROFS.COM

Consumers are spending six hours per week, on average, watching video content on social networks, according to recent research from Brightcove.

The report was based on data from a survey of 5,500 consumers age 18 and older in Australia, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

More than two-thirds (67%) of respondents say the amount of video they watch on social networks has increased in the past year; 60% expect to watch more video on social networks next year.

Consumers in the United States say they watch an hour of video per day on social networks, on average.

The most popular video content types on social networks are music videos (56% of consumers say they watch), user-generated pieces (53%), and movie trailers (52%).

Some 62% of respondents say they discover videos on social media when they appear in their news feed; 49% see videos when others post them; and 46% say they actively look for videos on social media.

Consumers say half of their social video views take place on YouTube, 36% on Facebook, and the remaining 14% on other networks, such as Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram.

Most consumers (85%) say they interact with brands on social media; 45% say they watch brand videos on social media.

About the research: The report was based on data from a survey of 5,500 consumers age 18 and older in Australia, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Originally published by Leisure Jobs.

Our ultimate Linkedin cheat sheet will help you quickly create the best possible Linkedin profile, maximise your online visibility, build your contact list or get contacted about a new job. Whether you're looking to find out the best Linkedin profile picture size, how to get the most secure password or simply starting from the beginning we've got you covered!

Unless you've been living under a rock it's quite obvious that Linkedin is the place to be seen online when it comes to jobs and new careers. Did you know a person with a fully optimised Linkedin profile is 40 times more likely to receive job opportunities via Linkedin?! It's probably a good idea to get a sneaky head start over the job market by checking out our Linkedin Cheat Sheet. After all you are competing against over 350 million users...

Leisurejobs.com

You may be saying to yourself right now, “Influencer marketing? What is that?” It’s really not as complicated as it seems. Basically it’s marketing that focuses on a single individual, or a group of individuals, and leveraging their influence. Influencer marketing is basically you controlling word-of-mouth marketing. I’m a paid influencer for a company called BlogHer.com, where I post about products from Target and Kids R Us on my social media account. Influencer marketing can be specific, with given hashtag requirements, or it can be as simple as “please write a review or post on your social media about your experience.”

So here’s what happened with influencer marketing this past year:

1. It grew in popularity. Influencer marketing is often tied to social media marketing, and as social media grew, so did influencer marketing. Outside of the auto industry, influencer marketing became a gigantic player. Within the industry, influencer marketing is smaller, but don’t underestimate its power for a second.
2. Marketers are spending more money in influencer marketing. As the quarterly budgets of 2016 changed, influencer marketing took a larger chunk of the change. A recent “60 Minutes” report shows that influencer marketing is becoming familiar to average consumers. Brands are finding lots of success with this tactic as well.
3. Influencer identification is key. Marketers are learning they can only get authentic content if they do their homework about influencers. They want enthusiastic participants who will create content that is real and meaningful. Finding influencers who enjoy your brand and might have posted about it on their own generates real success.
4. Authenticity, authenticity, authenticity! As with influencer identification, it’s important to make sure their message is as authentic as they are! Asking them to fabricate an experience or talk about something they aren’t familiar with isn’t helpful. It’s great to invite influencers to come for an oil change or a test drive, or pick influencers from those who have already been in your dealership.
5.  Room to create. The highly successful industry influencer campaigns of 2016 allowed the influencers to create their own content. We saw this with Ken Garff Automotive Group using a local videographer and allowing her to create content on her own level. The result is an authentic, creative movie that is uniquely the creators. This makes the content authentic, and allowed the creator to really say what they wanted and stay within their own personal brand. Audiences of these influencers enjoy when the content they see seems on brand with the person creating it, even more so than being on brand with the product or service.

So if you didn't get involved with influencer marketing in 2016, it might be a good idea to start in the coming year! Stay tuned for best practices for influencer marketing in 2017 in another post.

It happens every day; someone brings their car in for a service or is filling out paperwork to buy a car, and what do they end up doing? Sitting in your customer waiting area. Most dealerships have worked hard to have snacks and television readily available so people can be relaxed and entertained, but here are a few things you may not know about people waiting in your dealership:

1. The average time spent at the dealership is 187 minutes per visit. This is an incredibly long time that you have customers inside your dealership, just waiting for their interaction to be completed.

2. Amenities at most dealerships are very diverse, but only provide a service to the customer. This includes TVs, charging stations, magazines, and food; all of which are benefiting the customer only.

3. Waiting customers make the perfect captive audience that is ready for some form of engagement. Most people who are waiting enjoy any form of diversion from their wait, to make time go by quicker.

4. In-person engagements by sales reps may be considered less appealing to customers. Many people view this as overly direct and “sales-y.”

5. Charj has found that advertising to an on-site audience can yield up to 40% average CTR. On-site audiences are more likely to interact with a touch screen, than an in-person sales consultant.

6. By allowing sales consultants to approach customers off of an engagement, Charj has seen that the conversion rate could increase by over 150%.

7. By allowing customers to choose which advertisements they engage with, it makes the up-sell process much easier and less intrusive, allowing the sales consultant to approach them for specific products or services, such as wipers, winter tires, warranties, etc.

It’s becoming increasingly obvious that utilizing a customer’s time while they are waiting for their paperwork or finished car, could prove to be a huge opportunity in improving engagement and increasing up-selling opportunities.

It may seem like a good idea to always be the one writing about your dealership, but in reality consumer-generated content is as important, if not more so, than your own writing. This means it's crucial to take control of your message.

1. Consumers trust ratings more than they trust you. It’s true; studies have shown that consumers trust reviews 3 times more than any brand messaging.
2. Most car buyers read ratings before buying. Bazaarvoice has found that 68% of car buyers will read ratings and reviews before making any purchase decision.
3. Car buying is a high consideration purchase. In fact, it’s one of the highest consideration purchases consumers make. They will do more research on cars than just about any other purchase, so you want to make sure you have lots of good information for them.
4. Car buyers seek out information in LOTS of places. On average, shoppers will check out 24 sources before they purchase, half of which are digital. Basically this means the amount of information they receive or seek out via word-of-mouth, commercial, or traditional advertising is comparable to the number of online and mobile sources they’re consulting to inform their purchase decisions. Digital sources including your website, competitor websites, and third-party review sources are going to be the top sources they consult.
5. Reviews are easily accessible. 53% of car buyers are looking at reviews on mobile devices, and over 30% are actually reading them while they’re in your dealership.

With all this information, it’s easy to see why consumer generated content is so valuable. Consumers are constantly seeking out information they can trust, and with cell phones always in their hands, it’s easy for them to get that information. This means you need to take the reigns on your consumer generated content and reviews, to ensure that customers are seeing your dealership for what it really is.

ALBANY, NY, UNITED STATES, December 5, 2016 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Auto/Mate Dealership Systems announced today that Patrick Reilly has joined its team as the new Head of Marketing. Reilly brings more than 25 years professional experience in marketing research, advertising, branding and strategy for technology companies and agencies.

In his new role Reilly will oversee the development of a corporate marketing strategy that will increase awareness of Auto/Mate's position as an industry leading DMS provider, fulfill its growth objectives and drive revenue. 

"Patrick brings a wealth of marketing knowledge to this position and I'm excited to have his energy, expertise and guidance for achieving our ambitious vision for Auto/Mate's future," said Mike Esposito, President and CEO of Auto/Mate Dealership Systems.

Prior to joining Auto/Mate, Reilly held senior marketing positions with CommerceHub, a cloud-based retail marketing platform; and with Pitney Bowes Software, a global data, location intelligence and customer engagement solutions provider. His ad agency experience includes roles as EVP of Smith & Jones, and as President of Citrin-Reilly & Associates. Reilly has a proven track record of increasing customer engagement, lead generation and revenue while creating and implementing research-based marketing programs.

"In addition to having a great product, Auto/Mate has a compelling brand, story, company culture and message," said Reilly. "I'm looking forward to executing a strategy that will convince auto dealers that this DMS solution is their best choice."

Auto/Mate's award-winning DMS product is ideal for large auto groups and single-store franchises. Automotive Management Productivity Suite (AMPS) is a cost-effective and user-friendly solution with many advanced features. Auto/Mate is the #1 DMS vendor in customer satisfaction and is known for its outstanding customer and technical support.

For more information, visit http://www.automate.com or call 877-829-7020.