Smartphones now account for more than half of searches in many countries including the US.  At the same time, local businesses are typically aware that their business needs to show up on Google Maps.  What many don't realize is that the Google Maps app and Apple Maps app both rank in the top mobile apps used by US smartphone owners.

Car dealership general managers will often conduct searches of their business to see how they show up in SERP's (Search Engine Results Pages).  But few will open up their preferred maps app on their smartphone and conduct the same searches.  Seeing as mobile searches have surpassed desktop searches in the US, and these apps are among the highest used, it would make sense to double check a maps app for verification.

Therefore, a quick and easy tip for any business, including auto dealers, would be to search for their business using a maps app to ensure that their business name, address, phone number, and hours appear correctly.  If this information appears incorrectly or in an odd way, it's time to go back and double check the business' Google+ Pages listing as well as their Yahoo! Local listing to make sure that the information is making it's way over to the maps app in the correct fashion.  If changes to either of these profiles don't seem to update on the app, it may be time to contact Google and/or Apple and see if the issue can be expedited.

Having an accurate maps listing on desktop is now less than half the battle.  Have you checked to see how your map listing is represented on mobile apps?

Erich K. Gail, COO of the Cardinale-Group of Companies, gave a great interview the other day at the 2015 Denver Automotive Summit.  He spoke about how the Cardinale-Group has become the #5 (now #4) Highest Sales Volume eDealer in North America through ZMOT Auto!

Gail stressed the importance of a dealer-first focus with a management-driven culture.  This enables ZMOT Auto techniques to be fully utilized without ridiculous amounts of spend.

During the interview, he also touched on using a CRM as a nucleus for attribution, having a custom inventory and investment tool, mastery of phone skills, continuous training for associates and management, and, of course, a strong commitment to zero moment retail.  All these things together make up a dealership group that is fully enabled to take advantage of ZMOT Auto techniques.

Finally, Gail stressed the importance of family within the Cardinale-Group, mentioning as an example how every employee and manager have books they must read along with the rest of the group to help everyone grow to their fullest potential.  This kind of mindset fits in perfectly with the zero moment way of doing things, with the most unified and best possible staff ready to utilize the fully weaponized strategy provided by ZMOT Auto.

Watch the full interview here:  http://cbtnews.com/2015-denver-automotive-summit-erich-gail

Erich K. Gail, COO of the Cardinale-Group of Companies, gave a great interview the other day at the 2015 Denver Automotive Summit.  He spoke about how the Cardinale-Group has become the #5 (now #4) Highest Sales Volume eDealer in North America through ZMOT Auto!

Gail stressed the importance of a dealer-first focus with a management-driven culture.  This enables ZMOT Auto techniques to be fully utilized without ridiculous amounts of spend.

During the interview, he also touched on using a CRM as a nucleus for attribution, having a custom inventory and investment tool, mastery of phone skills, continuous training for associates and management, and, of course, a strong commitment to zero moment retail.  All these things together make up a dealership group that is fully enabled to take advantage of ZMOT Auto techniques.

Finally, Gail stressed the importance of family within the Cardinale-Group, mentioning as an example how every employee and manager have books they must read along with the rest of the group to help everyone grow to their fullest potential.  This kind of mindset fits in perfectly with the zero moment way of doing things, with the most unified and best possible staff ready to utilize the fully weaponized strategy provided by ZMOT Auto.

Watch the full interview here:  http://cbtnews.com/2015-denver-automotive-summit-erich-gail

Although digital marketing has been around for some time now, it's exponential growth in being used by a majority of businesses is relatively recent.  There is a danger that many "old school" marketers may one day be rendered worthless due to lack of digital skills and knowledge.  However, another danger exists of new, digitally driven marketers not knowing the ropes of traditional marketing enough to take full advantage of the channels available.

Traditional marketers have built up techniques, nuances and best practices over many years.  Just because digital skills are now relevant and in demand does not mean that this wealth of marketing knowledge can just be ignored.  Although people consume marketing through many new digital sources, the visual art of branding a company is still key.  The trick is combining this old knowledge with digital skills that help these practices adhere to the rules of new media.

Although having digital skills is a must in today's advertising environment, classic principles such as a basic sales funnel, awareness advertising versus zero moment of truth delivery and telling a story with a brand still apply.  The digital marketing landscape can only be best utilized when classic marketing principles are adapted.

Old-fashioned marketing and storytelling is just as important today as it has ever been.  What are some "old school" ideas that you all use to compliment your digital marketing efforts?

Although digital marketing has been around for some time now, it's exponential growth in being used by a majority of businesses is relatively recent.  There is a danger that many "old school" marketers may one day be rendered worthless due to lack of digital skills and knowledge.  However, another danger exists of new, digitally driven marketers not knowing the ropes of traditional marketing enough to take full advantage of the channels available.

Traditional marketers have built up techniques, nuances and best practices over many years.  Just because digital skills are now relevant and in demand does not mean that this wealth of marketing knowledge can just be ignored.  Although people consume marketing through many new digital sources, the visual art of branding a company is still key.  The trick is combining this old knowledge with digital skills that help these practices adhere to the rules of new media.

Although having digital skills is a must in today's advertising environment, classic principles such as a basic sales funnel, awareness advertising versus zero moment of truth delivery and telling a story with a brand still apply.  The digital marketing landscape can only be best utilized when classic marketing principles are adapted.

Old-fashioned marketing and storytelling is just as important today as it has ever been.  What are some "old school" ideas that you all use to compliment your digital marketing efforts?

Facebook advertising can be an effective way to raise awareness about a brand, build credibility by way of social proof, and drive traffic to sales and contests.  However, many dealerships still don't see the value of, or participate in, Facebook advertising.  This is a piece of the marketing puzzle that warrants another look by those who have decided that it is not worth the investment.

Before Facebook became available on the stock market, a business could reach most or all of its users with a post.  Enhancements to Facebook’s algorithms since their IPO have made it so that unless a post happens to go viral, only the top 20% of the people who seem to have an affinity for a business will ever see it's post.

In order for an automotive dealer to increase the number of Facebook users that will see their messaging, paid campaigns such as promoted posts are in order.  While people browsing Facebook aren't necessarily going to be customers that are ready to purchase, a business can increase it’s chances of getting their ad in front of in-market buyers thanks to the relatively thorough targeting options available for Facebook advertising.  Age, location, and a host of other parameters can be set to help get posts to the right people.

The people that respond to Facebook advertising might not always be Zero Moment shoppers, but then again they might be!  For those that buy ads and promoted posts on Facebook, how do you use it?

Facebook advertising can be an effective way to raise awareness about a brand, build credibility by way of social proof, and drive traffic to sales and contests.  However, many dealerships still don't see the value of, or participate in, Facebook advertising.  This is a piece of the marketing puzzle that warrants another look by those who have decided that it is not worth the investment.

Before Facebook became available on the stock market, a business could reach most or all of its users with a post.  Enhancements to Facebook’s algorithms since their IPO have made it so that unless a post happens to go viral, only the top 20% of the people who seem to have an affinity for a business will ever see it's post.

In order for an automotive dealer to increase the number of Facebook users that will see their messaging, paid campaigns such as promoted posts are in order.  While people browsing Facebook aren't necessarily going to be customers that are ready to purchase, a business can increase it’s chances of getting their ad in front of in-market buyers thanks to the relatively thorough targeting options available for Facebook advertising.  Age, location, and a host of other parameters can be set to help get posts to the right people.

The people that respond to Facebook advertising might not always be Zero Moment shoppers, but then again they might be!  For those that buy ads and promoted posts on Facebook, how do you use it?

How does a business get tons of immediate traffic to their website while building SEO the whole time?  The answer to this question lies in a combination of targeted marketing and SEO-friendly landing pages.

While there are many ways to drive traffic to a dealership site, issues can arise when a dealer wants to show up in SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) organically, but doesn't.  Most experts in the field of SEO know that there is no precise way to predict how long SEO efforts will take before a satisfactory result is seen.  Until a website shows up organically, targeted marketing in the form of pay-per-click advertising can help drive traffic to the dealer's site.

One common set up that seems to be fairly effective is to design a page on the dealership site that mirrors the keywords that a dealer hopes to increase visibility on, and then running a targeted marketing campaign via PPC to drive traffic to that page until the page begins to rank organically on its own.  This way, visitors to that page are immediately increased while the SEO efforts take hold, after which a dealer can switch their PPC focus to other terms they'd like to appear in SERPs for.

All in all, SEO efforts can be made more effective when used hand-in-hand with some search engine marketing campaigns, with the ultimate result being a stream of traffic to a dealership website on a preferred keyword or set of keywords.  What are some ways you all are combining different strategies to increase SEO for dealerships?

How does a business get tons of immediate traffic to their website while building SEO the whole time?  The answer to this question lies in a combination of targeted marketing and SEO-friendly landing pages.

While there are many ways to drive traffic to a dealership site, issues can arise when a dealer wants to show up in SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) organically, but doesn't.  Most experts in the field of SEO know that there is no precise way to predict how long SEO efforts will take before a satisfactory result is seen.  Until a website shows up organically, targeted marketing in the form of pay-per-click advertising can help drive traffic to the dealer's site.

One common set up that seems to be fairly effective is to design a page on the dealership site that mirrors the keywords that a dealer hopes to increase visibility on, and then running a targeted marketing campaign via PPC to drive traffic to that page until the page begins to rank organically on its own.  This way, visitors to that page are immediately increased while the SEO efforts take hold, after which a dealer can switch their PPC focus to other terms they'd like to appear in SERPs for.

All in all, SEO efforts can be made more effective when used hand-in-hand with some search engine marketing campaigns, with the ultimate result being a stream of traffic to a dealership website on a preferred keyword or set of keywords.  What are some ways you all are combining different strategies to increase SEO for dealerships?

Vehicle detail pages (VDPs) are a standard feature of any dealership website.  There are many approaches when it comes to VDP optimization - a practice which tries to increase the rate of lead submittals, and ultimately, sales.  Multiple schools of thought exist on this topic based on everything from detailed analytics to gut feelings.

Some dealers and marketers believe that a client should be able to do everything on a VDP that they could do in an actual store.  This might include financing, payment, or customization of a car.  However, while entire transactions may eventually take place on a dealer site, for now VDP optimization is best done with a "less is more" approach.

Generally, e-commerce does not occur on a dealership site.  With a big ticket item such as a vehicle, most customers are interested in choosing the color and features on a vehicle within their price range, seeing what others think about the vehicle and dealership (i.e. reviews), and inquiring about the automobile with as little friction as possible.  It is assumed that customers will come in person to check out the actual vehicles.  Thus, current VDP optimization should lean towards making that path as clear and obvious as possible.

Tons of blinking buttons, social links and options are definite conversion killers on VDPs.  Assuming customers are going to eventually come into the store, a site should do as good of a job as possible of making the vehicles look attractive in both pictures and descriptions, and putting all means of trackable communication (phone number, lead form, chat) at the potential client's fingertips.  At most, the customer should have the option to fill out a credit application or finance form as a lead.  VDP optimization mostly deals with taking a customer down a simple, easy to understand path that ultimately gets the dealership calls, form leads, chats and visits.  This usually means de-cluttering the VDP so that those elements are the most prominent.

A VDP that operates smoothly can help bring buyers to a dealership more quickly than a VDP with tons of buttons and options.  What are some other tips you guys have for giving zero moment of truth clients a clear-cut way to submit leads?