The tribal wisdom of the Dakota Indians, passed on from generation to generation, says that "When you discover that you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount."

However, in government, education, and frequently in corporate culture including Dealerships, more advanced strategies is often employed, such as:

1. Buying a stronger whip “Great idea, just change the pay plan to get better results of course with same strategy”

2. Changing riders “Hire a new manager only to run the department according to current dealership’s philosophy and strategy”

3. Appointing a committee to study the horse “Appoint top Manager of the dealership or Group of dealerships only to study to see how this dead strategy work can work, let's see how we can make our current philosophy & strategy work”.

4. Arranging to visit other countries to see how other cultures ride horses “Let’s visit the peers of same Group who are employing the same strategy” LoosersClub.com

5. Lowering the standards so that dead horses can be included “You know it is not working so let’s expect less from Sales, expect nothing from Parts and Service” now we are right on track.

6. Reclassifying the dead horse as living-impaired. “Internet is just a big Scam, it really doesn’t work. Very soon Auto industry will come to its senses and we will go back to our old fashion way making money hands over fist.” Really.

7. Hiring outside contractors to ride the dead horse. “Find the lowest cost outside consultant without dealership or dealer group experience. Consultant will take you to that frontier he has never been to”. Really! Together with your expenses. That is what you call "On the Job paid training for consultants".

8. Harnessing several dead horses together to increase speed “With that new and inexperienced automotive consultants. Implementing his recommended products and services to increase the consultant’s bottom line.

9. Providing additional funding and/or training to increase dead horse's performance “Have the same strategy just increase the budget. Vendors will get additional funding so they can bring Donuts, Coffee, Lunches, Dinners, Gifts and some games tickets. That is a great funding.

10. Doing a productivity study to see if lighter riders would improve the dead horse's performance. “ How about reducing the products, services and outsource work which is supporting the operations to see less work will get a better result with same strategy”

11. Declaring that as the dead horse does not have to be fed, it is less costly, carries lower overhead costs and therefore contributes substantially more to the bottom line of the business than do some other horses “You have a CRM or Web Site provider that you know are not doing what needs to be done but since it is substantially most expensive to have a new one in, so keep the lower cost services to save the bottom line."

12. Rewriting the expected performance requirements for all horses “Yes, we expect nothing! There will be nothing to disappoint about.” That is 100% increase immediately.

13. Promoting the dead horse to a supervisory position. “Let’s implement this strategy across the Dealership or dealer group to become an internet store or an internet Group to see better results with the same strategy”.

Once upon a time, cars were driven off the road by horse drawn carriages.  Drivers were mocked and told to revert to the old methods of transportation.  Where, exactly, would we be if we had listened then?

The fight between online and offline is very similar.  Sure, you may feel ill prepared to make the change, but that doesn’t mean that you should remain unchanged. 

Facts are facts.  When 90% of consumers are online, 90% of your business is online.  If it’s not, you’re in trouble.   Why should you approach 90% of consumers with 10% of your dealership?  Those numbers simply do match.  

It’s time for your dealership to step up and get online - all of it.  It may seem harsh, but a good employee that can’t figure out the Internet is not going to be a good employee for long.  There are two ways to deal with that.  You can either help your good employees by getting them trained on your e-Initiatives or you can hire their replacements.  You have faith in your people now, but rather than letting that faith convince you to stay on a path that’s destined for extinction, have faith that they can learn how to be effective in this new world. 

Times are tough.  The only way to combat the situation that the industry is in is by focusing your efforts on the one place with the furthest reach and highest measurability.  You need all your best people making sure that your e-Business is everything it ought to be.  All hands on deck need to be working to ensure that customers get what they need, get it quickly and get it online!

First of all, thanks so much for all the comments and conversation on my last posting.  This is really a vibrant community with many smart people involved!  I hope we continue the discussion with this next posting.

Business never sleeps.  The most effective way to be available 24-7 is by getting online and staying there.  When your showroom closes down for the night, your virtual showroom continues to shine.  When the mechanics go home for dinner, potential customers should still be able to schedule service on your website.  It's clear that whatever departments a client can visit in your physical establishment should also be available online.

When a potential client wants to check prices at 3AM, you should be available to them through the virtual dealership (website).  Hopefully the next day they'll come in and take a test drive. But if you're not providing the latest information online, you're operating with a major handicap. 

In your physical store, you've got managers making sure that everything is looking good and in order.  Those same managers really need to help take responsibility for their parts of the website as well.  They should take as much pride in what's displayed there as they do in their physical department.  (And, yes, someone has to be in charge overall of the e-Initiatives, but everyone can and should help and be involved!)  

Ideally, your web presence will be perfectly aligned with your physical presence and then some.  Your website has a much greater reach than your dealership does, so treat it right and keep it updated.  You won't be sorry! 

Rafi Hamid
630.808.3900 Direct Cell
877-808-3966 Toll Free
rafi@autoexecutive.com

Does your dealership have a “walk-in” department?  How about a “call-in” department?  Do you have an “ups” department?  These departments are obviously absurd, but the concept of an Internet department is still widely accepted.  The Internet is just another way a potential client is reaching out to your dealership.  It just so happens that the Internet now accounts for something like 87% of your customers!  Sounds like your Internet department is becoming your dealership…   

Walk-ins and call-ins don’t always tell you where they found your dealership.  Most of them probably found it online.  Even if they saw a commercial or a billboard, they still probably Googled the dealership for your address.  Your website deserves more than an “Internet department.”

Isolating your website and squeezing all your physical departments into the hands of an “Internet manager” is not effective.  The strategy for success is to kill the idea of an Internet department altogether and bring every department into your Internet efforts. For example, your pre-owned manager is probably obsessive about the way the cars look on the lot.  At any given time you can find him driving past the dealership, walking the lot and adjusting the cars.  Shouldn’t the pre-owned manager have a say on the way his inventory displays online?  He should have not only a say, but the responsibility to make sure that inventory is displaying correctly and that it displays accurate information.

As I’ve said before, your service guy should also be your Internet service guy, your pre-owned guy should be your Internet pre-owned guy!  What is the logic in compartmentalizing up to 90% of your business to one small department?  Your business belongs in your dealership.  That is what your website is for.

So make sure you’re furnishing the best possible information to your customers by encouraging company-wide website buy-in.

It requires much more than a single department to run your dealership.  Why shouldn’t it be the same for your dealership website?  Your website IS your dealership.  It’s a virtual way for customers to “walk-in.” Most of your clients start their search online.  Even your physical walk-ins are most likely there because they found you on the Internet.   The statistics should help us realize the importance of getting it right online.   

Would you advertise cars in the paper that were sold last month?  Would you refrain from telling customers in your dealership about a special financing deal that might convince them the time is right to buy?  Would you send one of the guys in the shop to greet a potential customer?  No, no and no.   

Why, then, would you consider allowing one department cover everyone’s bases?  The people that compose your sales department, service department, etc. are there for a reason.  They’re there because that’s where they make sense.  They’re good at their jobs.  They’re knowledgeable and skilled.  Most of all, they’re invested in their department.  Those are the people who should be responsible for your website.  If they’re good enough for your facility, they’re good enough for your virtual facility—and a whole lot better than someone who is not bought into their respective departments.   

Running a successful dealership is a team effort.   Don’t let yours be a sinking ship, let your team work together to increase the effectiveness of both your locations, online and off.

The fact of the matter is people are taking their time. People are planning their purchases and researching before making major decisions.  When a potential customer walks into your showroom, there’s a 9 out of 10 chance they’ve already scoped you out online. 

If they liked your website, they found your address, browsed your inventory and decided to head to your store and take a look around. This is a prime reason to maintain consistency between your web site and your physical site. 

So what does consistency mean?  In dealer world, it means no special “Internet pricing.”  If your customers find a price on your website, it should be the price.  You don’t want to discredit yourself by that kind of discrepancy.  It’s not going to do anything but frustrate your customers.  If they come out to your store expecting one price, then getting another, trust begins to disintegrate-- fast.   

That’s not where consistency stops.  It continues throughout the dealership.  It spans inventory, service shop, parts, financing, etc.  It’s imperative that regardless of where your potential customers are browsing, they are met with the same customer friendly experience.  Whether online or off, you should provide them with the same quality service across the board.  Everything you do at your dealership to build trust and create value needs to be reflected on your website. 

What do you do to build trust at your dealership website? 

It's no secret that the Internet Department is on the decline, but that doesn't mean what it used to! Instead of forgetting the Internet, it's time to recognize that every person at your dealership should be involved in ye olde Internet Department. And not just involved, but also savvy.

Each department should be responsible for their part of the website. Every computer in each department should default to that department's homepage on their Internet browsers. For example, your pre-owned manager should see pre-owned inventory every time he opens the browser to do anything. That way, he's constantly eyeing the pages, noticing when inventory is not updated and taking responsibility to keep his inventory fresh and relevant. Not only does this prevent your dealership from getting leads on sold cars, but also will help your search engine ranking. Constantly updated content means higher relevance.

Obviously, everyone at your dealership should want the best information possible on your website, but when the site belongs to a single department, it often gets lost in the shuffle. As we all know these managers are actually our Sales guys and they are interested in selling. If the site is completely out of their control, they're not going to be interested in what's going on with your online presence. When you give them the responsibility of keeping their part of the site updated, it helps them to realize that the dealership site is a tool for selling. And what sales person wouldn't love that?

Make sure you don't hand out responsibility without proper training and the website content should obviously not be a free-for-all to anyone at the dealership. The best intentions for inclusion don't mean much if an untrained employee gets into the back end of your site without knowing what they're doing. Passing out responsibility to well-trained individuals, throughout the dealership, will ensure that your site remains valid and well optimized.

In today's economy, we need all the help we can get. Lucky for dealerships, your website is one of the most powerful and cost-effective marketing tools you could ask for. The key is to keep it relevant, updated and at the center of the dealership. What experiences have you had with getting the entire dealership involved with the "virtual" dealership?

The Internet has grown to be a part of nearly everyone’s everyday life.  There’s no difference between the customer in the dealership and the customer on your website.  There’s no difference between your online inventory and your lot inventory.  Internet pricing is sticker price.   It follows that your used car manager and your Internet used car manager should be one and the same.

Every single person at your dealership, regardless of department should be your Internet department.  Your service manager, sales manager, parts manager, etc. should be in charge of their own Internet content.  This encourages your team to keep material up-to-date, and to take ownership.  Guaranteed that outdated online inventory would quickly begin to disappear. Once it’s up to them, they’ll get ideas, get comfortable and maximize their returns.   

If any of your dealership’s departments are not represented on your website, they need to be! Your website and your dealership should be FULLY integrated.  That means that every department, every service, is represented equally whether it be Internet or in-store.   

It is imperative that everyone in your dealership is trained on how to operate your website.   Make sure that your staff has gotten a chance to get familiar and comfortable with the site before you turn over the keys.  Any good website provider will offer training.  It’s in their best interest- as well as yours- to help you learn to use your site effectively.

Today’s Internet Manager is tomorrow’s General Manager.  I have been talking about this since 2001 and it’s all coming true…  Thoughts about this? 

 There’s been a real struggle over the last few years with online pricing.  Many dealers want to avoid listing prices for a number of reasons.  Competition is able to see your low rates and undercut you, it removes the bargaining that some dealers have grown accustomed to and many dealers fear that if a client doesn’t like their price, they’ll go elsewhere right away.

Some of these items may indeed be legitimate, however, there’s more to selling cars than bottom lines.  Dealers should not be afraid to provide Internet pricing on their inventory; the important thing is to make sure customers get what they need and feel secure on your site and in your dealership.  Transparency builds trust and trust can go a long way. 

Your Internet pricing and your lot pricing do not have to differ.  Online specials should be lot specials, online pricing-lot pricing.  The important thing is that your customers are able to see what they’re working with.

In this economy, car buyers are more careful now than ever before.  It’s important to them to budget accordingly and know the facts.  It won’t help your dealership to withhold pricing or skimp out on facts and details.  Customers not only need the pricing information up front, but they also need all the reasons a new car makes sense for them. 

Be sure to keep the consumer informed.  If you don’t, someone else will.  It’s infinitely better to keep users on your site because of your good information than to lose users immediately because they’re interested in costs and monthly payments. 

Give the people what they want!

Too often we find ourselves in a reactionary mode.  Instead of taking the time to plan and prepare, we find ourselves responding. 

Sending out the same response with the same information to every lead in your inbox is a mistake.  You don’t want to be in the position of reacting to leads.  Rather, take the time you need to determine the point and purpose of each and every lead. 

Here are a couple of things to keep in mind when looking for the best response to your customer’s contact.

Determine the Source

Don’t feed your customers information that they don’t want.  If you know what part of your website they were on when they submitted a lead, you can better determine the information they’re looking for.  Make sure to trace your lead back to its source before you respond.

Ask Questions

Don’t just spit out a template response.  Based on the lead source and information submitted, ask questions to engage the customer.  Be sure you give them the information they need, but let them know they’re communicating with a human being who’s interested in fulfilling their specific needs.

Be Smart

Feel the customer out. You don’t necessarily have to get them in for test drive right away.  Listen to what they’re saying, give them options, let them know you’re there to help and start a dialog.  In this economy, building trust will go a long, long way.