Many businesses, including the automotive industry, have a strong focus on creating a better customer experience through technology. In fact, technology has transformed the customer experience across all industries. Consumers can buy a multitude of products online and have them delivered, in some cases, in an hour. Technology has even advanced to the point that consumers can buy a used vehicle completely online, taking delivery via a vending machine.

However, sometimes technology ceases to enhance and improve the customer experience and starts to degrade it.

Technology has certainly transformed how we do business but, in the end, do consumers really want a complete purchase interaction with absolutely no human involvement? No. What they REALLY want is an easier, more efficient and transparent buying process. Technology has assisted in providing that, but we can’t forget that people buy from people.

It is important to always remember that we are in a “people” business. Let’s look at it from a consumer car buyer perspective. Thousands – perhaps millions – of pages of information are now available online for consumers to access free of charge. Studies indicate that the average consumer visits 24 touch points prior to coming into the dealership, with dealership visits averaging under 2 percent of those visits. As a result, many assume that customers know more than the salespeople do when they show up at the dealership… and they may be right.

However, the problem is the customer still doesn’t know EVERYTHING. No website can illustrate to a customer how a car FEELS, SMELLS or DRIVES. In addition, even the most knowledgeable customer visiting your showroom very likely still has questions to ask and expects answers.

A recent study by the Harvard Business review reported that, “emotionally connected customers are more than twice as valuable as highly satisfied customers. These emotionally connected customers buy more of your products and services, visit you more often, exhibit less price sensitivity, pay more attention to your communications, follow your advice, and recommend you more – everything you hope their experience with you will cause them to do.” The study outlined how using an emotional-connection-based strategy within an organization can increase these types of customers, reduce attrition and increase customer advocacy. All of these things are exactly what car dealerships need to differentiate themselves from their competition.

I’m not being original when I say that the battle for consumers in the car industry will be in differentiation. Just don’t forget that it’s all about the people – your employees, leadership and customers.

The technology is there to help make the process more efficient, NOT to replace people. Consumers will never have an emotional connection with a vending machine. So, as alluring as that type of buying experience may SOUND, being a great place for people to visit; with great people to interact with; that take good care of your customers; and ensure a superior customer experience; will always win the battle.

Loyalty programs are nothing new to retail. In the beginning, most consisted of simple punch cards or other basic means of tracking customer transactions. As technology improved, many programs became digitized with key tags, cards and other ways for retailers to keep track of these transactions, aside from purely manual means.

Then came big data, enabling retailers to track transactions and analyze consumer purchasing behavior and trends. This resulted in better consumer engagement and more relevant messaging.

However, according to an article on Venture Beat, consumer interaction with brands has now become fragmented, forcing companies to review their loyalty programs and interact with customers via a more multi-channel strategy, rather than just point-of-purchase.

With the explosion of social media, along with various websites and other media, the entertainment industry leads the pack in consumer engagement and tracking. For example, Marvel – the superhero megastar – recently added a loyalty program to reward transactions and engagement across the many channels their consumers use to interact with the company.

And Marvel isn’t the only company adopting this. The Ultimate Fighting Championship also have a thriving rewards program. It rewards fans for doing things they already do to interact with the company, along with things that the company wants them to do – such as to tweet and purchase pay-per-views STREAMING, rather than via their cable provider, so as to bring more profit to the UFC. In exchange, fans can redeem points for items such as signed merchandise and special access to live events.

The Venture Beat article further revealed that, according to Visa 2016 Bond Loyalty Report, loyalty programs are all headed towards personalization and experience. The report shared that, “brands whose representatives make members feel special and recognized have 2.7 times higher program satisfaction.”

Ultimately, this goal of making customers feel special and recognized has always been the point of a rewards program. The only thing that has changed is with the level of rewards some programs now offer, it has become harder to make customers feel special, as many rewards programs don’t have exciting, appealing or attractive rewards.

While customers do like discounts, free services and other normal rewards, some want something more. That could mean VIP treatment, exclusive experiences or other relevant rewards… something that gets them excited and makes them want to earn points in the program, rather than just earning them by default.

The more interested and engaged you can get your customers in your rewards program, the more likely they will be to patronize your business on a regular basis. Don’t simply throw a reward program at your customers and hope they buy in. Create some memorable or unique rewards that are above and beyond simple free oil changes or discounted services. They don’t have to be expensive, just tailored to YOUR customers.

Think about the actions you want your customers to take and transform your rewards program into one that incentivizes them for doing those things. Keep in mind that you can also use loyalty points in lieu of discounts when pushing a specific product or service.

If you need to ramp up tire sales, rather than offering discounts, why not offer extra loyalty points? The other use for loyalty points is to leverage them when customers have poor experiences. The hospitality industry is very good at this. Have you ever had a bad experience during a stay at a hotel then, when you brought it to the hotel’s attention, they apologized with extra reward points? This practice makes the customer happy without any loss of revenue through refunds.

Keep your customer engaged and motivated. They will visit more often and, typically, spend more money on each visit. And that’s all you really want your customers to do in the end.

Customer loyalty is something every business needs and desires. Some companies are spectacular at accomplishing it, while others struggle.

According to a study by DMA, perhaps we’re missing an important fact… not all loyal customers are the same.

DMA’s “Customer Engagement 2016” study, takes customer loyalty a little further. It narrowed the pool of loyal customers into four groups: Active Loyals, Habitual Loyals, Situational Loyals and Active Disloyals.

It’s rather interesting to take a look at this:

• Active Loyals – According to the study, “Active Loyals” contains customers that are loyal to your company for both routine and special purposes. In the case of a car dealership, this would obviously include those that purchase cars from you and those that also service, with you regardless of any “deals” your competitor may have. They trust you, enjoy your service and don’t look elsewhere when they need anything related to their vehicle service or purchase needs.
   
• Habitual Loyals – These are customers that may or may not have purchased their vehicle from you, but are your regular service customers. However, when it comes time to purchase their next vehicle, they will shop you against your competition to make sure they are getting a good deal. They’ll probably still buy from you, based on their previous great experience, but it’s not a guarantee. Treat them right. Be fair when it comes to a new purchase and you’ll win their business.
   
• Situational Loyals – This group is the opposite of Habitual Loyals. They will shop elsewhere for service or parts if presented with a compelling offer. But will return to you when they’re ready to buy a new (or new to them) vehicle, due to the experience you provided. Of course, the lifetime value of a loyal customer is significantly higher when they are servicing with you, so this group is incredibly important to nurture and, hopefully, transfer into the group of Habitual Loyals. Service revenue is more consistent and vehicle margins are continuously decreasing so gaining this group’s loyalty in service is important.
   
• Active Disloyals – This group has no loyalty whatsoever. They’ll bounce from deal to deal without the slightest concern over loyalty or experience. Sure, if they have a bad experience, they’ll probably not return. But regardless how great an experience you offer them, chances are it won’t change their minds. All hope is not lost, however. Just because these tend to be frugal people, doesn’t mean you can’t earn their business. While they may be the most unlikely to be loyal, people change. The key to winning this group’s business is consistency in marketing, customer experience and competitive pricing.

Customer loyalty is a finicky thing. Is it possible to narrow down customers into one of these four groups through data analysis? Perhaps. Transactional records and behavioral patterns can help you identify these people, but it will never be 100 percent accurate. In addition, these groups of loyal customers are dynamic. Individual customers can bounce from one category to the other with one single misstep or perceived wrongdoing.

Customer experience is really the buzz word of today. It pays dividends to pay attention to all your customers and ensure that they have the best possible experience at your store – regardless of how loyal or disloyal the customer may be.

You may think that simply because you offer an excellent customer experience, your customers will be loyal… but what is really happening? Is it possible that YOUR definition of a great customer experience differs from your customers?

A recent article on Business2Community covered how a study by American Express of 11,000 people across the globe, found that roughly 2/5 of consumers believe that, while companies are helpful, they don’t do anything extra to earn their business. Only 7 percent of Americans reported that they felt companies exceeded their expectations; 31 percent reported that companies missed their expectations; and 59 percent believed that companies DID meet their expectations. Hey, 59 percent isn’t that bad, right?

Not exactly. Consider this: The fact that a consumer got a mediocre (meaning not great but not bad) experience at your business probably won’t elicit any sense of loyalty. When you go to the movies, you EXPECT the movie to play just like you expect your oil to be changed in the service drive. Perhaps the movie is a little out of focus, or doesn’t start quite on time, but the problem is fixed fairly quickly. That doesn’t mean you had a BAD experience -- but it certainly doesn’t mean you had a great one. Would that prevent you from returning to that movie theater? Maybe, maybe not. But what if a BETTER movie theater opened up not too far way… one with couches instead of chairs. Ottomans to rest your legs on. That might cause you to change your mind, right? It’s the same thing with consumers. They may not abandon you because they had an O.K. experience. But, if a GREAT experience comes along elsewhere, they just might.

In the same study, 22 percent of consumers felt that companies take their business for granted. And, 75 percent stated that they have spent more money at a business because of a good customer service experience. Which group do you think is more loyal? Well, according to the study, 13 percent report that they would spend more money with a company that provided excellent service. And, a full 35 percent said that companies that do provide excellent service have earned their business. But wait… 44 percent of the respondents EXPECT excellent service and do not believe they should have to spend more to get it. So which is it? Will they spend more for it? Or do they simply feel as if a great experience is expected?

Well, both. Regardless of price, consumers will spend more for great service -- but also expect it. And not only do they expect it, they are vocal about their experiences. When customers do have great experiences, 44 percent will tell other people. BUT, if they have poor experiences 56 percent are more likely to.

How much influence does customer experience have on purchasing decisions? A lot. 55 percent indicated that they did not follow through with a purchase due to poor customer service. Imagine losing out on 55 percent of potential sales or service business. And it can be something as simple as being placed on hold on the phone. How long are Americans willing to wait? Well, we all have limited attention spans and that proves to be the case in this study -- 19 percent are willing to wait up to 5 minutes and 29 percent up to 10.

Customer service and experience are key customer acquisition and retention drivers. Regardless of any other factor, consumers expect great experiences, prompt responses and personalized treatment. Any less than that -- while you may have their business for now, they’ll jump ship to your competition the second they offer a better experience than you do. Analyze, review and make changes that acquiesce your customers. Stop focusing on what YOU think is the best customer experience and start focusing on what THEY do. Only then will you earn their loyalty and reap the benefits.

If you’ve ever worked in automotive retail, you know that there are constant internal struggles going on between employees and their departments. The structure of most dealerships actually encourage this – similar to how a salesperson’s pay plan incents them to sell cars.

The most obvious friction oftentimes occurs between sales and service. While in theory, everyone is on the same page, how many times have you heard a sales or used car manager complain about what they feel are excessive reconditioning costs on a newly acquired unit, decreasing potential front end profit? I’d guess that’s nothing new to you. Used car managers are paid based on the profits they bring in on sales. Service managers are paid based on service revenue. So each has their own motivation for maximizing one or the other.

Well, does it have to be like this, or is there a better way?

Automotive News recently ran a story reporting a Mercedes-Benz USA initiative that will immerse corporate executives within retail dealerships so they can better understand how the decisions they make on a corporate level impact operations at the dealership level. Similar to the butterfly effect whereby a butterfly flaps its wings on one side of the world, eventually causing a hurricane on the other, decisions made that impact others can have consequences that the decision maker can’t predict or would never see.

This initiative also aims to help corporate executives identify and fix problems with customer experience, processes and financial considerations, including co-op money and incentives.

By putting their executives in dealerships, Mercedes-Benz isn’t doing anything new – at least in business. Most businesses – especially those in the hospitality industry – require cross training as part of their management curriculum. Restaurant managers will, throughout their training, work in each and every department in the restaurant – from cashier, to greeter, bartender, server, cook, etc. By having the knowledge of what it takes to do the job, as well as how difficult it is, the manager is better able to prioritize tasks in times of need and also identify traits that would make for good employees in certain positions. In addition, the manager can be sympathetic and more objective when making decisions, whether they be departmental, or more specifically position or staff-based.

How many times have you hired a General Manager and made them work as a porter for a few days? Probably not too many. Well, think about this for a second - one thing that’s consistent across every new or CPO manufacturer survey is the cleanliness of the vehicle upon delivery. Don’t you think it would be valuable for a GM to know if there is friction in that process that is extending the time it takes for porters to clean the vehicles properly; or if the dealership is staffed adequately to handle volume; or if the porters have the supplies they need to do an excellent job? Absolutely it would.

Now let’s revisit our first example. What if you had the service manager work with the used car manager for a week – visiting auctions, inspecting potential trade-ins – and then had the used car manager work with the service manager? Do you think they’d both have a better understanding of the challenges they both face? I bet they would.

The same logic applies to every position in your dealership. Do you want salespeople to understand why the F&I process sometimes takes so long? Let them shadow an F&I manager for a couple days. Perhaps they won’t complain about why it’s taking so long for their customers to go into sign paperwork anymore. Or, even better, maybe they’ll figure out ways to speed up the process on their end, thus making the entire experience smoother and more enjoyable for the customer.

Regardless of how many years of experience your managers have, unless that experience is at your specific store, your processes, staff, resources and facility vary by individual and by department.

Consider adopting a training process embraced by almost every other retail sector in existence. You may well find that you create a closer and more efficient team and a better working environment which, in the end, will translate into a better customer experience. And the end result of that is more money in your pocket.

A little over a year ago, the founder of a credit card payment processing company made an unorthodox move that resulted in some very mixed reactions and a whole lot of media attention. Dan Price, founder of Gravity Payments, cut his own salary by 93% (from $1 million to $70,000 per year). He did this so he could pay every single employee the exact same amount - $70,000, regardless of if they were the janitor or the receptionist, or how long they had worked there.

The story is not completely perfect and does come with some bumps in the road – his brother (and co-founder) sued him and there was also much speculation in the media about how successful this move would be.

However, it seems to have been a good decision in the long run. According to this story on HumanResourcesOnline, revenue and profits have doubled; new customer inquiries jumped from 30 per month to 2,000 per month; customer retention rose from 91% to 95%; and only two employees quit. Add to that the 4,500 resumes the company has received since this initiative and it would seem that the company is thriving with sales, happy customers and very happy employees. In fact, the employees are so happy that in July 2016, they collectively bought their boss a $70,000 Tesla!

I am pretty sure that any business would love to enjoy similar demand, growth and employee engagement to that of Gravity Payments. However, few businesses are in a position to pay every employee an annual salary of $70,000.

However, the point of this story is really that this particular leader’s personal sacrifice was the ultimate act of appreciation. One that immediately showed his employees that he valued them. In response, the employees increased productivity and worked even harder to ensure their customers were happy. The Telsa, while a grand and generous gesture, was simply a small part of this story. The message here in essence is that engaged employees who feel valued and trusted are the cornerstone to your business’s success.

While many people assume that money motivates everyone, several studies in fact prove that simply showing an employee they are valued and appreciated motivates them more than any amount of money ever could.

Another great example is Doug Conant, the previous CEO of Campbell’s soup. When he took charge he did a tremendous amount to change company culture, including making a commitment to celebrate employees at all levels for their individual contributions and achievements.

During his tenure, he wrote over 30,000 handwritten thank-you notes to individuals that worked for the company. Past employees still contact him to this day and express how much that gesture meant to them. A single, handwritten note showed that employee that he appreciated them and their individual achievements. In so doing, he made these employees want to work harder, better and achieve more.

In our industry, where with each passing month sales staff are on a continuous roller coaster of hero-to-zero, it’s more important than ever to ensure that employees feel appreciated, valued and recognized, not just  because of their sales numbers, but also for showing up and working hard. Even something as simple as personally handing out paychecks and thanking each employee can instill a sense of worth and show employees how much they are appreciated.

In doing so, perhaps… just perhaps, they’ll become more engaged, more productive and you won’t have to have a continuously running “Help Wanted” ad.

The retail automotive world demands a lot, including long hours, working holidays and little flexibility in schedule. Most dealerships require 1 or 2 “bells” per week, (working open to close) and don’t include many weekends off, as Saturday and Sunday are typically busy days, when consumers have time to shop for a vehicle.

 A recent blog post on the AskTheManager blog tells a very interesting story about a manager that questioned their decision regarding an employee who asked if she could come in a couple hours late so she could attend her college graduation ceremony. The employer had a policy of granting requests based on seniority. The employee couldn’t find someone to cover for her so, according to the article, this is what the manager did:

“I told this team member that she could not start two hours late and that she would have to skip the ceremony. An hour later, she handed me her work ID and a list of all the times she had worked late/come in early/worked overtime for each and every one of her coworkers. Then she quit on the spot.”

The manager felt this action by the employee was unacceptable, stating:

“I’m a bit upset because she was my best employee by far. Her work was excellent, she never missed a day of work in the six years she worked here, and she was my go-to person for weekends and holidays.”

The manager also mentioned that, during the same time, they adjusted another employee’s end time because that employee had purchase concert tickets. The cost of those tickets was considered in making the decision to grant that employee time off.

The blog went on to paint a very interesting background about this employee who asked for a couple of hours to attend her graduation, and why it was so important to her. She had bounced from foster home to foster home as a child, and was even homeless at one point. Despite all this, she had risen above her past; was their best employee; covered for multiple employees when needed; and had not missed a day of work in six years. She was the “go-to” person at the company and still had somehow managed to attend night school and earn her college degree.

But sadly, because the manager was blinded by a rigid set of rules and considered that the cost of concert tickets trumped a graduation ceremony for someone who was the most loyal, faithful and trustworthy employee; that company ended up losing their best employee.

The saddest part is that this manager didn’t write in to ask whether they had done the right thing. But rather, they wanted advice on how to educate this ex-employee that it was unprofessional to quit with no notice. And that, because the manager cared, they wanted to ensure that this employee understood how this could affect her professional career.

Over 1,200 comments were left on this blog post – the vast majority of which support the employee.

Managers have the responsibility to be fair and human in their interactions. Sometimes, having compassion and being human trumps any rigid rules and cost calculations.

A good manager should also be a good leader, able to identify when the right thing to do is to bend the rules for an employee. People have lives outside of work. Yes, even car dealerships. The ability to understand other people’s feelings and to weigh the importance of a personnel-related decision, versus the impact it has on the business, is paramount to employee retention and happiness. Think about this employee that was denied 2 hours to attend her college graduation. She was incredibly engaged with the business, a hard worker and valued her position at the company. She was well worth a small bending of the rules in order to maintain her as a happy, industrious employee.

It is a real shame that the manager didn’t even realize that a wrong decision was made. But one thing is for sure, no matter what business you’re in, finding an employee with the qualities of this one that quit is rare -- they should be treasured.

Keep that in mind the next time an employee comes to you with a special request. Don’t be so rigid that you can’t factor humanity into the rules. Chances are that simply allowing that employee the 2 hours off could result in years of hard work and loyalty. Or, you will have to find another person willing to commit like that. And in retail automotive, that might be a challenge.

This common saying is certainly one that everyone knows. And, whether it’s true or not, has endured time. Why? Because someone cooking for you is an intimate act that is satisfying and elicits fond memories. In essence, this act accomplished on a regular basis is supposed to be the recipe (pun intended) to win the love of a man, or woman. The gender of a person has little to do with what it takes to win their hearts.

That being said, this simple saying can easily be transferred from the realm of interpersonal relationships to the world of business. How? Every time a customer visits or interacts with your dealership, you are essentially feeding them.

Customers have appetites for quality products and excellent service. Just look at the hoards that stand in line for hours (or sometimes days) for every new Apple product. With each commercial, tease, leak or ad, Apple caters to that appetite. But why do consumers do this? Well, Apple has created a brand trusted by the masses. Consumers believe the product(s) Apple develop will be of exceptional quality and that they will receive an excellent customer experience while using them. The food in this equation is multi-dimensional.

Let me explain:

Apple is, by nature, a very secretive company when it comes to product releases. However, there are usually numerous “leaks” for any product offering, which culminate with a very short period of time between the customer entering the restaurant (the official announcement) and the main course (product release). These leaks serve as teases to their customers and whet their appetites for the product or service. Without these, customers would be left in mystery, with little information to help in the buying decision, and a rather short period to decide whether they want to plop down the typically premium price, or perhaps wait.

Once the main course is served, all preconceived notions, hopes, wishes, dreams and speculation end and reality sets in. Either the product or service lives up to the expectations of the customer – or they do not.

Customers are constantly fed either the appetizers (your marketing) or main courses (the actual customer experience). How they perceive or experience both can weaken, or strengthen their loyalty. If the experience is everything that it was hyped up to be, and the product fulfilled their expectations, they will probably get in line a little earlier the next time and be less skeptical or trigger-shy.

All dealerships advertise. The messages that you put out there whether it is about price, experience, or other unique selling propositions, whet the consumer’s appetite and get them to visit your dealership. Once there, their actual experience can either reinforce your marketing messages or convince the customer that you made false promises and are insincere.

Make sure that the food you are feeding customers – whether it’s the appetizer of the main course – fulfills all of your customer’s expectations and you’ll find that with each visit, they love your restaurant that much more.

And when the food is great, people tell their friends. Which is exactly what you want.

The intention of a loyalty program is to show your customers that they are appreciated and encourage them to choose your business over any competition. These programs can create value and generate lifetime relationships with customers -- as long as the experience remains consistently pleasant.

However, a trend currently rearing its head in the loyalty program space, while seemingly grounded in fiscal common sense, is alienating customers and actually making previously loyal customers less loyal.

An excellent article on Forbes.com discusses a trend in travel, hospitality and retail, where businesses revamp their loyalty programs to favor customers that spend the most money – not necessarily in total -- but with each transaction.

Airlines are an excellent example of this trend. In the past, most major airlines’ loyalty programs rewarded customers with points based on the number of miles flown, flights taken, or both. The recent trend delivers a double whammy to customers as these airlines have shifted their loyalty programs towards money spent on airfare, which favors business travelers that tend to book flights last minute, paying premium fares for their flights. A traveler that booked their ticket in advance, or took advantage of a sale, could even be seated right next to the business traveler who paid a premium price, but that customer would earn less points for the same travel.

The second change involves how many points it takes to redeem rewards. Airlines have increased the number of points needed to earn free flights and made it more difficult for “normal” travelers to earn rewards.

While on the surface these changes make economic sense for the airlines – reward those who spend more per transaction – this strategy might just be backfiring. It would seem reasonable to project that the majority of travelers are NOT business travelers who book at the last minute and pay higher rates. But rather those “less-important” customers who plan ahead and take advantage of fare sales. If that’s the case, doesn’t this strategy of making it more difficult for the majority of your customers to earn rewards and, by default, making them feel less appreciated, mean that, in the long run, airlines could find that they’re actually losing money?

And don’t feel like this phenomenon is limited to the travel and hospitality industry. Just research the recent backlash that Starbucks encountered when it revamped its loyalty program in the exact same way. Rather than rewarding customers for visits, now their loyalty program points are earned by dollars spent. And consumers did not take it well -- at all.

Every customer is valuable. While it is certainly understandable that businesses want to reward their best customers, it may be a bad move to do so at the expense of others. That normal (or frugal) traveler today, may just get a new job and become that business traveler airlines so covet. Yet, when they were a normal traveler, they were treated as somewhat less desirable customers… at least that’s what the airlines loyalty program communicates to them. Because of that, they now base their travel decisions on convenience and price, rather than loyalty to the airline.

Consistency in how appreciation is shown to your loyalty program customers is imperative. Designed correctly, your loyalty program should reward customers who spend and visit more by default. Those customers will find it easier to earn rewards simply because they’re doing more business with you. And that’s exactly what a loyalty program is designed to accomplish.

While car dealerships aren’t necessarily held in high regards by consumers, there are many dealers out there that are pillars of their community. Big hearted philanthropists who understand the sense of community and the importance of being involved. A great example of this – and the impact it has had on the community – is the story of a dealership in Victorville, CA, featured in a recent article in Automotive News.

Victorville Motors decided to create a promotion: “It’s a Gas to Go to School,” to encourage local high school students to attend class. This promotion, in cooperation with the local school district, offers students the chance to win a free car if they achieve perfect attendance throughout the school year. Students with perfect attendance records receive a golden ticket and access to a day-long celebration event which culminates in a vehicle presented to one deserving student.

Since inception, the promotion has expanded to include teacher attendance. It is now a bi-annual event with more districts and schools participating. Now, more than 100 local businesses also donate prizes, which increases the number of winners. According to the article, this contest has created more than $10 million in additional state funding to the districts involved, as California schools are funded by average daily attendance. In addition, it has saved these districts over $600,000 in teacher pay that would have been paid to substitutes had teachers taken their sick days. 

And what does the dealership get? The vehicles given away are wrapped with advertising for a year, so in effect the dealership gets mobile advertising around the local area for a whole year. In addition, they have the attention and appreciation of the staff, parents and students of all of the school in all of the districts that participate.

But, you ask, did it help them sell more cars? According to dealer principal, Tim Watts, he “stopped counting at 300.” Do you feel two free cars a year is a lot of money? Would you spend $40,000 to sell 300 cars? I think most dealers would.

This is a great example of how dealership involvement in their local area impacts the community and captures the hearts, souls and attention of… well… just about everyone. It’s hard to believe that all of those included and/or affected by this bi-annual contest wouldn’t give Victorville Motors first shot at their business. It is one thing to SAY you love your community, but this type of community involvement PROVES it to the people that matter most… your customers.

And, all of the high school kids in Victorville will eventually need to buy a car. If the contest continues, (which is likely as it keeps growing) it’s very possible that it will continue to influence consumer buying behavior in the local market across even more generations.

And, when you have positive word-of-mouth locally – well, you can’t buy any more effective advertising than that.