It’s Saturday! Blow up the Balloons, blow up the squiggly air man thingy, get your game faces on and get ready. Barely anyone will walk on to your lot today. Any ideas why?

Before you continue reading this article, do me a favor right now and go grab your local newspaper. Open it up to the first auto dealer ad that you see. I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but you’re likely looking at a spread that has pictures of vehicles, finance/lease rates and the price of the vehicle right? The top banner of the ad says something like, “Biggest Sale Event of the Year!” or something to that effect. This is what I call “One Size Fits All Advertising”.

The Problem? This form of advertising rarely fits any size. It’s more like no size fits all. Let me explain why.

*Perhaps the most important message of the whole ad gets the least amount of real estate. Whaaaaa?

When you consider your own journey to purchasing a vehicle, what were some of the things that you considered high priority? Was it price alone? If you were just beginning research, did your wish list have anything to do with price or was it more about safety, size, look, feel, economy, etc?

Here’s what I’m getting at. If you’re *human, you have emotions. Your emotions dictate your wants/needs. Your wants/needs help you create value. And the things you see value in, you spend money on. Based on this theory, I suggest taking some time to create customer segments. I’m not asking you to pre-judge the people that will fall into these segments BUT, doing so will help you dial in your advertising efforts so that you can promote the things (features, programs, events etc.) that these segmented groups of people will be most receptive to.

Here are some possible customer segments off the top of my head.

• Young families

• Retired/Seniors

• Military/Civil servants

• Union workers

• LGBT

Let’s use young families as an example. What are people with young children typically emotionally interested in? SAFETY, more space, climate control, fuel economy, convenience, seating capacity and so on. Now look at the newspaper ad from earlier. Does it  even remotely speak to the emotional needs of young families? If not, how many qualified people from that customer segment should you expect to see on the lot?

Do you see where I’m going with this? To get the most out of your advertising, you need to focus your advertising efforts on the things that people are interested in. You need to speak to their emotions. The way you find out what they’re emotionally interested in is by creating customer segments. Once you create segments, you should design ad campaigns that speak to the customers in each segment.

In my next article, we’ll look at how this concept translates to the web so that you can get your dealership website dialed in and converting more qualified traffic.

*I’m assuming that if you’re reading this article, that you are in fact a human.

Okay, you got me! This article has nothing to do with me, and everything to do with you.

On a daily basis I analyze dealer websites which I’m convinced had the same content writer. Have you ever seen websites with sentences that read like this, “Our team of automotive professionals have the knowledge you need to buy the right car...”? or “We understand that everyone has different financial situations, that’s why we’re proud to offer auto loans for every credit situation...”? or my favorite, “We are an award winning __________ dealer here to serve you!”...

OH SHOOT; that’s your website?!? Don’t worry, I’ll look away while you quickly delete those portions of your site content.

If you’re familiar with dealership website content that reads like a conceited teenaged football jockey wrote it, then read on! I’d like to dispel a myth and offer a content creation suggestion that you can take to the bank.

The Myth: Talking about yourself and your achievements makes you look more professional

Wrong! It makes you sound like the kind of person who stares at himself/herself anywhere a reflection can be seen. Nobody cares about you. They don’t care about your stupid awards. Why? Because they are your awards, not theirs.

You see, everyone has a favorite letter of the alphabet. Can you guess what it is?  Yup, the letter ‘I’. Instead of spending so much time talking about yourself and calling it a day, try refocusing your content on how being an award winner will help the consumer move closer to what they’d like to achieve or obtain.

This leads me to...

A Suggestion: Make Your Site Content All About The Consumer!

There are several ways that this can easily be done, but here’s the suggestion I’ll make here.

Put yourself in your customers’ shoes. Write out a list of things that automotive consumers would want/need to know to help shape their purchase decision. This list could include topics like:

• Buying vs. Leasing

• Used car buying 101

• Private seller vs. Certified Dealership

• Financing options

• Credit rebuilding program

• Graduate student program

• Senior discounts

• Military discounts

• Affinity programs

• Used car specials

• New car specials

• ...and the list could go on and on

Once you’ve compiled the list, think about your customer. Make every sentence you write a benefit to them. Show them how they can get what they want by working with your dealership. If you truly aim to help others achieve what they want, you will get everything you want (If you know who said that, write it in the comments below).  

Last thoughts

We could go in a million directions from here, but doing so would end us right back to where we are now. Confused about what makes good content, and discouraged not know how to get started. To summarize; stop talking so much about yourself, start talking about your customers.

How have you used content to drive more sales?

Every day in North America, millions of people utilize search engines with the intent to find answers to their implied questions, or identify solutions for their problems.  Think about the last search you conducted online. Was it with the intent to find answers or solve problems? Of course it was.These days, anytime I want an answer for something whether it’s who starred in a movie or how many horsepower a vehicle has, I jump online and begin searching.

Automotive consumers are no exception. When they begin entertaining the thought of a new vehicle, a wishlist (so to speak) of emotional needs and wants is formulated. Most consumers rely on information gathered online from dealer/manufacturer sites, reviews, YouTube, blogs and forums to fine tune that wish list in an effort to determine what they’re really looking for.

This is where you as a dealer have a massive opportunity to help shape the automotive consumer’s purchase decision. The way to attract a larger audience is by providing subtle, informative content via your website. According to Consumer Barometer, your dealership is one of the top places online that automotive consumer go to find information. This means that your website is the perfect medium to produce content that will answer questions and solve problems. As you consistently provide content, you’ll be pegged as the credible source of information that will keep consumers coming back for more.

Today’s consumer is looking for content that will educate and enrich their lives. They desire to learn something useful or something that will advise them about a product or service. Today’s consumer is also looking to be entertained. By combining those three elements (Educate, Advise, Entertain) you’ll be doing something that most of your competitors aren’t and in turn, you’ll dominate the web.

So, what problem does the average customer have? What implied question(s) are they seeking answers to? Often, the toughest part about creating content is figuring out what topics to discuss. As a suggestion, I’d encourage you to put yourself in the customers shoes. Go sit in one of the vehicles in your showroom and ask yourself, “what would I want to know about this vehicle”. You’ll quickly realize that you have a plethora (yes, I just said “plethora”) of topics to cover.

How-to videos, vehicle walkaround videos, video test drives and blogs are all great ways to get your message out and picked up by search engines. Content feeds search engines and will help you draw in higher quantities of qualified traffic. Higher traffic places the odds in your favor and will increase your conversion opportunities.

When you decide to get started producing content that educates, advises and entertains, be sure to show people the human element of your dealership. I mentioned this concept in a previous article and I’ll touch on it again. People purchase vehicles from people. By supplying informative content that displays the human element of your dealership, you’ll break the ice much quicker, build rapport and loyalty and become a credible source of information. That credibility translates to trust, and that’s when the purchase decision is solidified. People purchase vehicles from people that they trust.

What topics do you think consumers would find valuable? List them below!

When my wife and I were in the process of potty training our toddler; CORRECTION: When my wife was in the process of potty training our toddler (I liked to think of myself as the fan that cheered him on from the bleachers), we tried a million different “strategies” to get the idea of going potty to stick in his head.

After every successful potty-going experience, my wife rewarded him with a treat of his choosing. We’d clap and cheer for him to express our excitement and show him that he was doing the right thing.

After a while, successful “potty-going” was the norm. We gave him enough treats and positive reinforcement to the point that he began to believe that going potty was his idea all along. After all, he liked the treats and trusted that we would provide the right treat to meet his needs, and now continues to go potty because it’s in his best interest to do so.

You’ve made it this far, keep going with me on this one.

Relevant Content

Relevant content works in a similar way doesn’t it? It’s the “right treat to meet the needs” of those consumers that are searching for it. It gets their attention and trains them to keep opening or seeking out the information that you provide. It essentially rewards them for accomplishing what you want them to and with strategically placed calls-to-action, they’ll be following through how you want them to because it’s in their best interest to do so - it will become the norm.

Content isn’t meant to be a covert operation either. The content you provide needs to be thought out and should provide real valuable information. Have you ever clicked on a link that you thought was relevant to your search only to find out that it was an ad infused cocktail of useless information? Don’t do that.

Provide Real Value

Once you provide value, you’re in a position to ask people to do something that you want them to. It’s the law of reciprocity. You give something of value, and you’ll get something of value in return; in this case, the click-through or download or task that you want the consumer to accomplish after engaging with your content.

On the flip side, if no real value is delivered to the consumer, you’re better off wasting your time filming Harlem Shake videos for YouTube.

What treats are you providing for online vehicle consumers? Let’s get the conversation started below.

As smartphones or similar device usage increases in popularity for automotive consumers to research vehicles, it's important to identify ways in which you can use the available technology to help drive qualified traffic to your dealership.

QR codes; also known as Quick Response Codes, aren't that new anymore, yet in my opinion dealerships are only scratching the surface on how they can be used as an advertising and marketing (yes there's a difference) resource to promote various programs at the dealership level.

Here are 3 ways that you can implement QR codes into your advertising/marketing efforts to drive more showroom traffic.

1. On Your Website

This may sound odd at first, but think about the impact you could have in driving traffic to your dealership if you placed a QR code on your homepage or VDPs that had a caption along the lines of, "Take us with you!" or something to that affect. The hope here is that when the customer leaves their home, your mobile optimized website is on hand and ready to go. The objective is to keep your brand and image at the top of that consumers mind the next time they open their mobile browser.

Alternatively, you could do the same thing on any of your fixed ops pages that leads the consumer to a mobile optimized coupon that they can bring in to the dealership for discounts on oil changes, repairs, or parts.

2. In Your Print Advertising

Kick things up a notch by assigning a QR code to every vehicle listing that you advertise. You'll want to make sure that they specifically link to the VDP for that vehicle and not just your home page. That would defeat the purpose.

Imagine your customer reading the news paper or automotive magazine and having access to more vehicle information on-the-go! At first thought, it may seem like this strategy would prevent the phone from ringing, but what your dealership visits increase dramatically. You see, online consumers want fast access to information; they don't want to jump through hoops to get it. Once the customer is on your mobile site, they'll have access to advanced features like "click-to-call" and maps integration for easy directions to your dealership.

3. On Your Business Cards

Here's one for you. Of course you've seen QR codes on business cards that either direct the user to the dealer's website or saves their contact information right? What about promoting each of your sales people with their own landing page on the site where their QR code leads? This works great for dealerships who have employees that speak different languages. Promote the fact that you speak different languages, or show off the personalities of your employees. This is a great strategy to show the community that human beings work at the dealership which will also be something unique you can do to set you apart from your competition. Just be sure to include a lead capture form on each of those landing pages.

There are undoubtedly a Novemdecillion (it's a word, look it up) ways to effectively and creatively use QR codes in your dealership's advertising and marketing. These are just a few that I thought of to get the juices flowing.

How are you using QR codes and what's working for you?

This past week, I made the risky move of upgrading to the newly released Windows 8 operating system; Microsoft’s bold attempt at upgrading their OS which has kept the same fundamental functionality for more than a decade. While slightly hesitant to upgrade before a service pack was available, I ultimately chose to take advantage of Microsoft’s limited time $39.99 upgrade offer. Talk about utilizing the "urgency" close right?

As I’ve played around with the new OS for the past few days, I’ve made some observations that may turn out to be a prediction of a new technological frontier for dealers who are looking to kick things into high gear... or I may just be out to lunch. Whatever your opinion may be, just go with me on this for a minute.

New Windows 8 Features

The most noticeable of all the new features for Windows 8, is the shiny new start screen which really acts as a dashboard to your most visited apps. Though some critics complain that Windows 8 is optimized for tablets, I haven’t had any problems finding my way around with a mouse.

Microsoft has redesigned the UI for many of their apps and have included some new apps, all of which come with a very streamlined and integrated experience. Among my favorites are the new music player app which comes loaded with the ability to stream full length music and a new “smart dj” tool that automatically creates a playlist based on an artist genre of your choosing.
 

How Dealers Could Benefit From Windows 8

Thanks for listening to me ‘nerd out’ for a second. Let me get to how car dealers could actually use Windows 8 to leverage new business and reach larger groups of car shoppers in their own home.

What got me me thinking was the newly added “Store” app which allows users to browse from a variety of both paid and free applications. Simply select the category of app you wish to download and you have the ability to select from hundreds if not thousands of apps to have installed on your PC. If you know your way around the app store or play market, this will be quite easy for you.

Imagine what would happen if you created a Windows 8 app that was compatible on both desktop PCs and Windows tablets? There has been a lot of talk around whether or not Dealers should develop iPhone and Android apps vs. keeping with mobile websites, but think about the doors you could unlock by tapping into an even larger traffic source!

Let’s talk numbers. By 2008 (according to Forrester), there were 1,000,000,000 (Billion) PCs in use with a forecast of 2 billion in use by the end of 2015. It took 27 years to reach the 1 billion mark and will only take 7 years (from 2008) to reach 2 billion. If that’s not simply incredible to you consider that the average number of PCs needing to be sold year after year since 2008 is 142,857,142 in order to reach the forecasted target by 2015.

Now, have you purchased a new PC lately? Don’t they come pre-loaded with a Windows operating system? According to Amazon, every new PC sold between June 2, 2012 and January 31, 2013 will receive a special upgrade offer of only $14.99, thus placing Windows 8 well within the reach of hundreds of millions of people.
 

Just To Get The Juices Flowing

Consider how many of the 142,857,142 PC buyers this year are also in the market to purchase a vehicle or are at least conducting some level of vehicle research. I’ll tell you what - that new Microsoft ‘Store App’ is pretty fun to navigate and somehow sucks you in just like Apple’s famed App store and Android’s Play Market, so imagine what competitive advantage you’d have by placing your dealership and your brand in front of the masses.

I envision a personalized shopping experience filled with user reviews, dealership videos, blogs and news. Since the app is installed on the personal computer, (and I’m just thinking out loud here), imagine if there was a way to have your app send notifications to your potential customer's calendar, email, social networks and more. I think this is just the tip of the iceberg and if done strategically, dealers could tap into a massive market of vehicle shoppers.

To take it one step further, though Windows 7 and 8 tablets don’t contribute much to tablet sales as of current, Windows 8 tablets are forecasted to help tablet sales increase by 4% according to Gartner. Apple still remains king of the mobile arena with roughly 60% market share, however,with an estimated 117,000,000 tablet shipments in 2012 alone, 4% works out to 4,680,000 (4.68 million) Windows 8 Tablet shipments and that is more than enough users to inject your dealership with some serious prospects.

In closing, let me say that there are many, many avenues to help drum up new business. I had the pleasure of attending Lon Safko’s keynote at AutoCon in which he enlightened us on the various social media marketing opportunities from Facebook to Second Life. I swear - by the end of his presentation there were multiple silent explosions in people’s heads, followed by smoke trailing out of their ears.

The point is that there are sooooo many ways to prospect for new business and technology, whether revamped or emerging provides you with more ways to reach out to potential buyers than ever before. Windows 8 is just another example of something you could use to leverage new business for your dealership.

What do you think? Kindly leave your comments below. Happy developing.

Contrary to what the title of this article suggests, I am not going to write about how not to close deals. Rather, I will focus on some of the simple steps to the sale that often go overlooked that prevent more deals from being closed. In vehicle sales, the amount of units you push directly affects the amount of money you collect so it’s crucial to keep yourself in check so that you can constantly strive to kick your sales up a notch.

This weekend I spent some time shopping around for a new laptop for work. I knew (within a ballpark) what I would need and had done some research. Does this sound familiar to any vehicle shoppers you have met recently?

After conducting some research, I began to go to the retail outlets that I knew carried the product I thought I was looking for, but found myself moving from store to store because I couldn’t find a professional salesperson that was really willing to take my money. Based on what I experienced, let’s take a look at a couple of sales fundamentals that ultimately lost the deal for these salespeople.

Lack of Listening Skills

In the first store, the “salesperson” (otherwise known as the order taker) didn’t ask any questions to properly find out what product would suit my needs. He was only simply willing to talk about the product that I thought that I wanted/needed. Every time I would try and talk, he was more interested in cutting me off to tell me about the promotional offer that would accompany my purchase.

I think you’d agree that the first fundamental rule of selling is to ask relevant questions and then keep your mouth shut. In other words, you have two ears and one mouth. Use them proportionately.

No Solutions

The second store actually did a great job at fact finding to determine the best product for me, but had no ability to create solutions that would work suitable for me. I realized that oftentimes, the reason that real solutions aren’t provided (especial in the world of retail), is because sales people don’t know what they can or cannot do. I personally believe that there is a solution to every problem - even if at first it doesn’t appear to work for the customer, there can always be consensus made and deals closed.

My business partner and myself went out of our way to ask questions that we figured would solve our own problems, however, the salesmen just didn’t appear to know enough about the “can and can’t do’s” that store #2 ultimately lost the sale.

Conclusion

Store #3 earned my business and closed the deal because they both asked relevant questions and listened to my answers and also provided solutions to the problems that I had pre-sale. They wanted my money and were willing to come up with a way to take it from me.

These may seem like pretty simple sales fundamentals, but believe you me - they are not being utilized as well as you might think, especially for being fundamentals. How well do you listen to your customers? How well do you know the dealership “can and cannot’s” so that you are able to provide the best solutions for your customers?

If not closing deals is on your agenda, stop practising the fundamentals. If you’re interested in kicking things up a notch, try re-introducing the fundamentals back into your current sales process with greater force than ever and you will be well on your way to closing more deals.

Thoughts?

I know what you're thinking – who does this guy think he is? How does he know what my “thing” is. Good – I have your attention.

I find it absolutely fascinating just how many dealerships I've walked into over the past couple of months and found, you ready for this? Silence. No customers on the lot, sales people hanging out around reception, flirting, cracking jokes, texting and the list goes on. Everything opposite of what should be happening is happening.

I spent a few minutes with a client at a major franchise dealership just last week talking about this exact topic. He is at his whits end with how things are looking at his dealership but just doesn't know how to turn things around and foster a productive change at his store.

Are you, or someone you know feeling the same way? Let's bring things back to basics for a few minutes and look at a couple of ways to turn things around. Success is hanging in the balance.

Do You Dream?

Sounds cheesy I know. One of my kids favorite movies is Disney's “Tangled”. The story of Rapunzel who has been locked up in a tower her whole life and has a dream to check out the annual lantern festival on her 18^th birthday. Haven't seen it yet? Sorry for the spoiler.

There's one scene in the movie where in Disney fashion, the characters break out into song about Having a dream. The essence of it is that each character had a dream at one point and for whatever reason it was taken from them. Now, back to you and I.

Do you have a dreams? Have they been taken from you due to the economy, dream stealers or a plethora of other excuses? Do you still know what you want for your dealership?

If you'd like to create positive, productive and profitable changes within your business, here are the first two steps.

1. Define (or re-define) your dream

2. Gain a burning desire for its achievement.

Moving on...

Willingness to Learn / Willingness to Take Action

Have you ever read any self-help “be successful” types of articles? They all seem to offer the “fail proof” way to achieve greater success. They always seems to start with putting the pen to paper and writing down goals. Goals are great, don't get me wrong. I just don't agree that they are a sustainable driving force to helping you accomplish the success you are seeking.

Don't believe me? How many people do you know that actually stick to their New Year resolutions? If setting goals gave us enough sustainable power to act, there would be no more New Year Resolutions – the world would be a better place filled with extremely thin, successful, wealthy, patient, traveling, money-saving people.

Let me submit that before putting pen to paper, one must determine the level of their willingness to learn and willingness to take action. Think about this for a second. You've clearly defined your dream and now have a burning desire. If your dream is to have a more successful dealership by selling more vehicles, take a moment to rate your willingness to learn and willingness to take action in order to make that dream happen.

If I asked you to give yourself a “Willingness” score, what would it be?

Take a minute, pull out a piece of paper and give yourself a “willingness to learn” score between 1 and 10 (1 being none, and 10 being high). What did you come up with? Now do the same for your “willingness to take action”. What? Two 10's? Really? That's amazing! Now where would your score go if I told you the only way to make this happen is to abstain from drinking coffee for one full month? Why the sudden decrease?

Here's why goal-setting isn't the first step to success. All of us have goals, most of us haven't really determined whether or not we have the willingness to make them happen. Often the only thing that stands in the way of achieving dreams is our willingness to learn new ways of doing things and our willingness to take necessary action. Are you willing to do whatever it takes to make your dreams a reality or would you prefer to just keep going as you are?

Conclusion:

Stop with the shenanigans! Continuing to do business the same way with no willingness to learn or take action will just give you more of the same depressing results. If you aren't picking up what I'm putting down right now, then selling cars and being profitable just isn't your thing.

Now - Stop blaming the economy and other lame excuses for your lack of success. Achieving your definition of success is in your capable hands. Define your dream, determine your level of willingness, and enjoy the results. You deserve it.

Michael Cirillo is the Executive VP at AutoVelocity™ and works with dealerships to help them achieve greater success through their marketing efforts.

www.autovelocity.ca

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778-475-5412

For those of you who know a little bit about me, you know that I  worked in the print media and advertising industry for nearly a decade and grew up around the industry my entire life. I want to spend a couple of minutes discussing some concepts that I am more than confident will help your dealership in attracting new and returning customers so that you can start seeing more (and better) results for your dealership immediately. That's right - I just said "IMMEDIATELY".

A little bit of background first:

Over the years, you've probably noticed that the ads you see in the newspaper or in magazines haven't really changed much. They consist of a bunch of pictures of vehicles and the prices associated with those vehicles; Starbursts with low finance rates, or bold letters promoting the BIGGEST SALE EVENT OF THE YEAR! Everything always seems to revolve around price.

There's no doubt that price is an important topic, but maybe not as important as you might think - especially if your aiming to get a fresh influx of new customers walking onto your lot.

To demonstrate, let me encourage you to drive down any auto mile wherever you are, and take a look at the signage that dealers are placing near the roadway with hopes that it will capture new business. What do you see? 

• Employee Pricing Event

• Red Tag Sale

• Really Big Sale

• Year End Clearance

• Inventory Blowout - unbeatable pricing!

Everything revolves around price!

Not even in the market!

Have you ever considered what percentage of people in your area are even in the market to purchase a vehicle? Think about it. What good is busting your chops over showing people how low your finance rates are, or how low your prices are when majority of people aren't even in the market to buy? Don't believe me? Consider this example.

Have you ever found yourself thumbing through a consumer electronics flyer from the weekly paper? If you're like me, you do it all the time. I'm sort of a gadget geek. But what happens when you get to the appliance section of the flyer? You slam the thing shut or throw it away? Why do you think that is? 

Vehicles are much like appliances. When you have appliances that are working, purchasing new ones are the last thing on the totem pole of priorities aren't they? So it is with vehicles. When people have a vehicle that is working, they aren't really in the market. All the best pricing and finance rates in the world won't do a hill of beans for your efforts in attracting new business.

Plenty of Fish in the Sea...Just Not Where You're Looking

Have you ever heard that saying before? It's absolutely true. There are plenty of fish in the sea. The problem is that by focusing primarily on price, you and all of your competitors are fighting over a very small portion of in-market consumers. Have you ever wondered why your print ads aren't getting you the results you want? Have you considered why your website isn't producing the leads that you want it to? 

When you really take a look at it, Dealers that enter the arena prepared to battle over price may not realize that they are fighting over around 2-5% of the entire population. That's really the percentage of people that are in the market to buy a vehicle today. So much effort for so little potential! It's kind of depressing isn't it?

Let's use the odds in your favor. In order to start seeing immediate (measurable and duplicate-able) results for your marketing efforts, you may be required to change the way you think a little, and perhaps; change some of your current process to meet consumer expectation. All in the name of profitability.

What Drives Consumers to Buy?

If only 2-5% of consumers are in the market to purchase a vehicle today, have you considered how you could tap into the other 95-98% of the market that perhaps would be willing to purchase a vehicle but may not necessarily be in the smaller percentage that cares about price?

It's absolutely vital for every dealer that wants to start selling more vehicles, products and services to understand what drives consumer purchase decisions in order to offer something really unique and actually tap into a never ending pool of customers. Let's take a look at a couple of examples of what drive consumers to purchase.

1. Emotional needs / wants: We all have them and because of that,advertising how your products and services can fill an emotional need will actually help you penetrate a larger market and get your business in front of more interested people.

I'm a perfect example of this. A couple of years ago, when my wife and I received news that she was expecting our second son, one of the first things we discussed is how our small sedan would no longer fill our transportation needs (Emotional need #1 - necessity). Could you imagine two car seats, potentially two strollers not to mention half the house that you have to pack up when you have kids, all crammed into the back of a small sedan? We went from not being in the market to being in the market in a matter of days.

The more we thought about what we would need, other issues came up. Safety (emotional need #2), Comfort (emotional need #3), Room (emotional need #3), Vehicle features (emotional need #4) and so on. Price wasn't even on our mind yet because we were too busy formulating our list of needs.

Then came the emotional wants. Status (emotional want #1), luxury (emotional want #2), add-ons (emotional want #3)...you get the picture.

You see, not everyone is in the market to purchase another vehicle. Everyone however, is in the market of fulfilling their emotional needs and wants. While all of your competitors are engaged in the price battle over a small percentage of the market, you could be addressing the demand of a larger market and funneling those consumers into your dealership. You will never run into a short supply by focusing your energy on the things that everyone wants fulfilled – Their emotional needs.

When you have your approach set up correctly, you've strategically provided the right information and uncovered the emotions of your customers, the results will be like magic.

2. Reciprocity: Have you ever heard of the law of reciprocity? This is something that successful marketers have been using for decades and let me tell you, it works extremely well! Most cultures have this law hard-wired into the back of their minds. To simply define it, let me sum it up as I give you something and as a result, you give something in return.

Often I find dealers practicing this law, but in reverse. Customers often have to make a purchase before they can get the value added offer, when really it should be flipped the other way around. Give something of value to the customer first, build the relationship and they will reciprocate by making a purchase from you.

Conclusion:

Whether you want to believe it or not, it doesn't really matter. The definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting a different result. If you truly want to increase the profitability of your dealership, stop focusing so much energy on pricing vehicles appropriately and start tapping into a larger pool of potential customers.

It has been an amazing week here at the offices of AutoVelocity™. We are seeing many exciting things take place in the industry and it's awesome to be a part of it.

As I sit in my office this morning and do my routine check up on our clients websites, I am noticing a growing trend in the industry which I think deserves some attention. I'm not going to waste any time beating around the bush because dealers' need to know the truth - especially before too much damage is done.

How many websites do you have?

The fact of the matter is this: If you have more than one website for your dealership that almost entirely duplicates the content of another one of your websites, STOP!!! You may not realize how much harm you are doing to your online marketing efforts.

Without getting too technical, let me just sum this up by saying that GOOGLE (and other search engines) LOATH YOU! It sounds harsh, but it's the truth. 

At face value, it may appear that having more than one website would allow you to soak up more digital real-estate thus getting you in front of a larger traffic source, but that is simply not the case. You are accomplishing absolutely nothing!

Not Like Traditional Advertising

I know what's going on here. Having worked in print media for almost 10 years (and being around the print industry most of my life), I know that via that medium you can reach more people by running the same ad in a variety of publications or magazines in multiple locations. 

The internet is not like traditional advertising. Using traditional advertising logic will not work here. The web is a new arena which requires dealers to adapt or perish. Okay, maybe that's a little harsh - you get the picture though.

Google's Purpose

Allow me to quote from one of our eBooks, "Three Automotive Digital Marketing Tips" that I'd greatly encourage you to download if you haven't already done so.

Google's primary objective is to deliver search results that are 1) most relevant to what searchers are looking for, and 2) as close to their physical (the searchers) location as possible. Their algorithms are constantly scouring the web to find content that resembles what people are searching for and then deliver it. This can put the odds in your favor, depending on what your move will be from now on.

With that in mind, if you have a duplicate website kicking around the web all you are doing is confusing the heck out of search engines, and most importantly your customers.

Rock and a Hard Place

The thing about duplicating content across multiple sites is that you really put Google between a rock and a hard place. You are forcing them to make a decision of which site to give credit too albeit increasing the chances that they will just give up and not rank any of your websites. The object is to get your site more visibility, not take it away and that's essentially what you are doing by having duplicated websites on the internet.

How to make it work

If you want to increase productivity (and profitability), let's take a look at how you can turn things around for your ultimate advantage. There are instances when having multiple websites is a good thing.

Microsites

A microsite is a separate domain that has laser focus on one topic. For example, if you wanted to increase the exposure of one of your make and models, you could start by creating a microsite that focuses on nothing but that make and model. Do this for every make and model you have. In this way, you can have multiple web entities soaking up web traffic without doing yourself harm.

Keep it focused

Don't succumb to the temptation of placing your entire inventory on your microsite.

Keep the site and the information on it focused to just one topic. Doing so will allow you to reach more targeted clusters of consumers and draw them to your full blown dealer site using strategically placed (soft sell) calls to action.

Conclusion

Here's my final plea: Stop with the madness! Stop doing yourself more harm than good! If you have multiple websites that are really just duplicates of your primary website, GET RID OF THEM! The end-of-the-day initiative is to increase profitability by selling more vehicles, products and services. 

The web is not like traditional advertising where having your ad placed in various publications in multiple areas is the way to get to attract more people. One main website is all you need and if you want to ramp up the exposure a little, talk to your web provider about creating some targeted microsites.

Attract more qualified traffic, sell more vehicles.