FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Highest Rated Vendor in Owner Marketing by Dealers

LOUISVILLE, KY (February 8, 2013) – J&L Marketing announced today that it received the DrivingSales Dealer Satisfaction Award for Owner Marketing in a special ceremony at the 2013 National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Convention and Expo in Orlando, Florida. This is the second year in a row the company has earned the award. J&L also achieved the highest rating in Customer Pay Clinics and Equity Programs.

An innovative leader in multi-channel direct marketing solutions for more than 20 years, J&L Marketing employs data driven strategies powered by its proprietary program, bPrecise®, to develop and execute special events and programs for automobile manufacturers, dealer groups and dealers that are proven to increase traffic, market share and the bottom line.

The Owner Marketing Award was presented to J&L Marketing by DrivingSales. DrivingSales is the automobile industry’s largest car dealer social network in the world; with users in one out of every three dealerships in the US and participants from nine countries. The annual awards measure auto dealer satisfaction with services provided by vendors. Dealers rate vendors and then submit reviews to DrivingSales, where they are verified and used to calculate final scores and determine the highest rated vendors.

“The only thing more rewarding than receiving this award last year, is receiving it again this year,” said Scott Joseph, president of J&L Marketing. “It means that dealers not only trust their business to J&L, but that our company is making a real difference in their business. One that can be measured in sales, customers and ROI. Dealers are taking time out of their busy days to rate their experience with J&L, and this award lets us know that we’re doing right by them and their customers. For us, there is no greater honor.”

DrivingSales reviews serve as a valuable resource to dealers when searching for vendors and provide objective competitor comparisons. Ratings are available at http://www.drivingsales.com/ratings.

J&L MARKETING
Founded in 1991, J&L Marketing is the nation’s highest rated automotive owner marketing agency. Using data driven strategies powered by its proprietary program, J&L works with clients to design and execute their direct marketing efforts. J&L Marketing’s automotive equity data mining and lead generation, sales events, customer pay service clinics, email, direct mail, microsites and virtual BDC provide a complete range of automotive multi-channel direct marketing solutions for both sales and fixed operations. The company is a preferred vendor with GM, Chrysler, BMW, MINI and Mercedes-Benz. More information is available at www.jandlmarketing.com.

I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know when I say showroom traffic is down and continues to decline. Ten years ago customers visited 6.7 dealerships before they purchased a vehicle, five years ago that number dropped to 4.3, and today it’s 1.8. Aside from lobbying for a ban on the Internet, improving your Internet lead to sold customer process is critical.  Just as important is to get to customers before they log on. And the way to do that is with data driven direct marketing.

Automotive Direct Marketing
There are basically three ways a dealer can advertise: traditional media, the Internet and direct marketing. Sure, you can buy more time on radio and television, but consumers are still going to go to the Internet. You can advertise online, of course, then they’re already on the Internet. Or you can improve your direct marketing strategy, and that’s exactly what many automotive leaders are doing. In a recent poll of more than 900 executives, 60 percent said they were increasing their email marketing budget. That’s because direct marketing response rates haven’t dropped in the past five years—in fact, they’ve risen.

Plus, by communicating with consumers directly, you reach them before they reach the Internet. But sending your hard-won customers a template email or letter probably isn’t enough to hold on to their business, your marketing needs to be driven by data and a strong owner marketing strategy.

Data Driven  
The first question is, “Do you have access to the data you need?” That might seem self-evident, but I speak to dealer groups that have so much going on they’re no longer sure what they have or how to use it. Not only aren’t they making the most of their resources, many are paying for overlapping technologies. Others are using products that only reclassify and resort data, without offering the benefits of actually applying the information to better market to their customers. Or the data is being underutilized and not finding its way into the sales process; instead it’s getting lost in the shuffle or hung up in the system.

But let’s say you’ve got your data and it’s solid. The next question is, “Are you using it to drive your marketing?” Because data alone won’t win you more sales and better customer relationships. It needs to be fully integrated into a multi-channel direct marketing strategy that is personalized to each customer and their current situation, determining not only what you communicate, but also when. And each element of a campaign should interact with the other, strengthening your message and ultimately resulting in more cars sold.

Strategy
Data needs to be incorporated intelligently and consistently. To take your automotive marketing initiatives to the next level, you need a strategy that informs your daily operations and is fully a part of the sales cycle. Because if you don’t have a direct marketing strategy, you’re losing a critical opportunity. You’re forfeiting the ability to harness the power of data to communicate with your owner base, to develop communications—and offers—that are tailored and timed for each customer, to maximize response rates and increase your sales. In short, you become part of the downward trend in showroom traffic, rather than one of our industry’s shining exceptions.

No matter how much things change in our industry – how many new models are launched, how many innovative technologies are introduced, how many revolutionary products are unleashed – dealerships are still built on the same chassis. Or at least they should be. Customer satisfaction.

“A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all.”
– Michael LeBoeuf 
Business author, professor and consultant

But What About …

Search engine optimization. Lead generation. CRM. Pay per click. Social media. Inventory management. Online reputation. Every day, I hear dealers bandying these words about, wrestling with issues like what new products to bring on board, how much resources to devote to them and which ones  deserve prioritization. Then, once they’ve made those difficult decisions, dealers are left with an even more daunting task. Figuring out how to integrate their ever expanding battery of online tools, software and systems into one efficient and streamlined operation.

But it has to be done. We know that. Because today it’s Internet, Internet, Internet. Customers aren’t coming out to dealerships and kicking tires, they’re clicking on them from the comfort of their own homes. Ten years ago, customers visited 6.7 dealerships before they bought a vehicle, now they visit 2.1 dealerships. And 85% of them start shopping for an automobile online.

So if a dealership doesn’t have a heavy web presence, it better get one. Not only that, it would pay to monitor what customers are saying about the sales and service departments on sites like Yelp.com, Edmunds.com and DealerRater.com. Because the old saying, “There’s no such thing as bad press”? There’s a new kind of press – online reviews – and businesses that don’t rate well, don’t fare well.  

“It is not the employer who pays the wages – he only handles the money. 
It is the customer who pays the wages.”
– Henry Ford
Founder of Ford Motor Company

The Wheel: Customer Service

Everyone is in a frenzy to get their hands on the next latest and greatest “thing”, whatever it is. But you already have the most valuable resource you could ever hope for – your previous customers. Sure, you can purchase services, consult specialists and increase your online presence, but in the end, you can’t control the Internet. You can, however, control your owner base. I think of this as a two-step process: remember and remind. 

Step one: a dealership needs to remember that while how it does business may have changed over the years – and here I’m going to show my age – from books to software and cash registers to computers – the reason for its success remains the same. Good old-fashioned customer service. The dealer needs to remember that promoting and rewarding excellence in this area is one investment that will never suffer from obsolescence.

The Vehicle: Strategic Communications

Step two: a dealership must remind its owner base why they chose to purchase their car from that business in the first place – exceptional customer service. But it’s all about timing. The dealer needs to do this before they risk losing a previous customer. They need to do it before that customer hits the Internet “to see what kind of deals are out there”, but they can’t do so before the customer is ready to “hear” the message. Otherwise it’s not an effective use of resources.  

It’s a fine line and it’s why many dealerships turn to companies that specialize in multi-channel communications for help developing proactive owner marketing strategies. Either way, campaigns should not be a one-time deal or created with an only-when-we-need-it approach. They need to be strategic and systematic in order to be effective.

Even if a campaign doesn’t draw as much of a response as a dealership might have anticipated or hoped, there is a lot of valuable information to be gained. That’s when a dealership needs to ask some tough questions. What are some of the reasons why the communication might not have performed as expected? It provides the opportunity to analyze the results, refine the strategy, revise the communication, reassess the targeted customers and try again. If it was a great success. I’d recommend the exact same course of action, so the campaign can be even better next time.

Put It in Drive

The products, software and systems a dealer uses to build the vehicle that drives its business evolve over time. But the wheel remains the same. Or at least it should, so long as it’s great customer service. Because if it is, I’m ready to bet that ride will get the dealership exactly where it wants to go.

Over the years I’ve met many successful and innovative GMs who stand out in my mind for their ability to drive customers to their dealerships for sales, service and parts. One of the things they have all had in common is that they are committed to continually developing and refining processes to support their staff, systems, tools and customers.  

Invest in Tools—and Processes    
The other day I was talking to a GM who is excited about a tool his dealership recently acquired—and has been using with some very impressive results. He explained that his team had drawn on the product’s features to make it their own, to integrate it with their sales and service departments. They developed processes, procedures, documents and communications around the tool to support the way their dealership does business and the way its customers buy cars. And it’s been paying off with some of the best ROI, trades and closing rate the dealership has seen in years.

A key factor in the success of this GM’s dealership is that he understands the importance of not only investing in the right tools for his team; he also knows it’s critical that they’ve got the processes to back them up.

Develop Processes That Are Customer-Based 
In speaking with dealerships across the country, I’m always surprised by the number that still cling to old school ways of doing business, relying on processes that date back to a time when walk-ins drove the automobile industry. At these dealerships, their systems have changed, their tools have changed, the way their customers buy has changed, but many of their processes haven’t.

On the other end of the spectrum are dealerships with GMs at the helm who are dedicated to making sure their processes support all the different ways customers are drawn to a showroom—Internet, phone, email, microsites, third-party leads, marketing, and yes, old-fashioned walk-ins. They understand there is no one-size-fits-all process. And they know that if they are going to empower their staff to sell the way people want to buy, they need to provide them with the right tools—and processes.

Specialized Processes Versus Specialized Staff
I’ve talked about this before; how it’s easy to get caught up in the specialization trap, creating separate tiers or departments based on types of leads. I’ve discussed how, in today’s world, leads overlap and that a customer who started as an Internet lead can then become a phone lead and end up a walk-in lead. Things aren’t nearly as clear cut as they once were. They’re much more fluid. Dealerships don’t need specialized sales people; they need cross-trained sales people who are flexible enough to adapt to this new reality. And the most effective way of guaranteeing their success is to ensure they have the specialized tools and processes necessary to thrive.

Make Vendors Part of Your Process   
Before purchasing another tool, remember that you’re not just looking for a product, you want a partner, too. Ask yourself—and the vendor—if they have a process in place that supports their product and your dealership’s sales structure. Do they offer staff training, best practices, scripts, support materials and calls? Are they truly “with you”? Are they there to provide not only a service, but also their insight and expertise?

If not, you might want to keep looking. But don’t be discouraged, it’s all part of the process.

Data mining—or knowledge discovery—is one of the latest buzz words you hear batted about. The definition varies, depending on who’s doing the talking, but basically it refers to the process of collecting and extracting data, analyzing it from different perspectives, detecting correlations or patterns, and predicting future behaviors based on these findings. With all the attention on data mining, you might think it’s the be-all and end-all. But the truth is, it’s just the beginning. Because it’s what you do with the data that really matters.

Lead With Your Best Leads 
Data mining starts with collecting data about your customers. Remember, it costs much more to earn new customers—and why should you pay for third party leads when your best leads are already in your system? That’s why I recommend making previous customers, and their data, your primary focus.

Keep in mind, however, that simply having data isn’t enough. What good does it do your dealership to know that customers who own a certain model purchase a new vehicle an average of every 3.9 years? Or customers who opt for a pre-owned vehicle upgrade their car an average of every 5.2 years? This type of data is only beneficial when it informs your dealership’s strategies and processes.

Put Data In The Driver’s Seat
It used to be that, in order to hit their numbers, dealers would come up with special offers and then put money into television ads, radio spots, newspaper ads or direct marketing campaigns. Whatever the chosen advertising methods, a dealership would start with offer to be communicated and then decide which viewers, listeners, readers or customers to target. But in today’s marketplace, that’s no longer a strategically sound model. Data should be driving the marketing efforts, steering decisions such as which customers to target, when to communicate with those customers and what offers to make available.  

Go From Data To Deals
For data to be a key component of a dealership’s sales process, it must be incorporated in marketing efforts and outbound calls. Many dealers rely on data mining products to accomplish this, but it is important that they don’t settle for a one-size-fits-all solution. I recommend looking for tools that allow you to maximize your dealership’s potential and take full advantage of its unique customer base.

Your data isn’t generic and your marketing shouldn’t be either. Don’t settle for an owner marketing strategy that amounts to an impersonal template being dumped into bulk mail or blasted via email. You’ve got the data, so make the most of it—or partner with a vendor who can ensure that you do. Your data should be fully integrated into a multi-channel marketing strategy that is personalized to each customer and their current situation, determining not only what you communicate, but also when. And each element of a campaign should interact with the other, strengthening your message and ultimately resulting in more cars sold. 

Data is also critical with outbound calls. Sales people are much more effective when they know a customer’s history and what a customer’s future patterns are likely to be based on that history.

Build On Your Success
The end game is to sell more cars and data is the bridge that can get you there. Last month I wrote about a dealership that has successfully made data part of their sales process and incorporated it in their marketing campaigns—and I included a thank you note they received from a customer. So not only is that dealership moving more vehicles, it’s increasing customer satisfaction and strengthening customer relationships for future sales. Plus, customers are telling their families and friends they need to buy their next car from that dealership. According to my data, that’s the kind of marketing results just about every dealer I talk to strives for.

As I travel the country visiting dealerships and speaking at 20 Groups there seems to be a common theme. How do dealers get the most of the Ad dollars? While this question may seem simple it has become much more challenging in the last couple of years. In fact, dealers are now spending Ad dollars with 20 to 25 Vendors on Average every month vs 10 years ago when it was just print, radio, direct mail, and TV. The reason dealers are spending with more vendors is because the ROI is much higher for all the products and tools than traditional media of the past. So, as the market is re-inventing itself the dealers are faced with several challenges.

1. How do I keep up with all my vendors?
2. How do I choose new ideas or product for my dealership?
3. How do I implement these new ideas?
4. How do I hold my vendors accountable?

The dealers are looking for new and more productive ways to spend but they are becoming very cautious as to how to make it all work.  Here is a different and much easier way to do this.

The bottom line is it all about GROWTH. We have all suffered from 2008 and now as the economy gradually improves it is time to GROW. So, How do we do that? Well there is only 3 ways to Grow your Business.

1. Increase your number of active customers
2. Increase your average profit per transaction
3. Increase your customers’ repurchase frequency

So, as you are calculating your Ad Budget and figuring out how much to spend and where. Why not figure out how much money you would like to go to achieve these goals. Furthermore, you can hold your Vendors more accountable to provide you these results.

Just imagine the next time you have a Vendor pushing a new product you ask them.  How is it going to help me Increase my customers, profit per transaction, or frequency of customers? If they cannot provide you with a sufficient answer as to how their product or service will accomplish this than this may not be the product or service for you. Remember, everyone vendor has the latest and greatest product on the market.  But, how many of your Vendors really understand your business and your goals at the dealership. It is all about implementation with new products or services. If a vendor does not know how to apply their product to achieve your goals than your chances of success will become much lower. Because, this product or tool will never gain traction in your dealership!!!

The last suggestion I would make is this: Tools are fads and end to end systems are here to stay. When a vendor says they have a new tool I would run because that even if that tool is great it will not have staying power in the marketplace. Buy systems that help you achieve the goals. Now more than ever dealerships need the tracking, training, scripts, etc to make it happen at your dealership. If not you will be stuck with all these shiny tools that are not getting utilized by your employees.

It’s safe to say that, every day, some of your hard-won customers log on to the Internet and begin shopping for new or pre-owned vehicles. Believe it or not, a staggering 85% of consumers start the car buying process online.

What does that mean to you? It means that your dealership is fighting to keep its customers before they even walk in the door. In fact, if a customer likes what they find on a competitor’s site, you may never get the opportunity to hold on to them.

Why you don’t want customers to shop the Internet
When one of your customers sits down at the computer, enters “car dealers” and hits “search”, they immediately take the power of the sales process out of your hands. They are then, quite literally, driving the car buying experience.

Not only does the customer shop out the price of a vehicle with your competitors, they may even pit you against yourself. For instance, a customer could get one price from your Internet manager and another when they use a national auto program such as Costco’s.  

Even if a customer stays with you, you’ll get less profit on a vehicle because they can counter your offer with that of other dealerships’ quotes. Plus, they probably know the exact cost of the automobile, which gives them another advantage when negotiating.

Why your dealership needs a strategy 
At this point, it’s clear you definitely want to connect with your customers before they go online. The truth is, you should make contact prior to them even thinking about purchasing a vehicle.

There are a number of reasons for this. One, if you can intercept them before they reach the Internet, you’ll get more profit per deal because they haven’t shopped you out. There’s also a good chance they’ll purchase more frequently, because you’re jump-starting the buying process.

It’s not difficult to see just how much of a difference these two simple facts can make:

Let’s say you’ve sold 10,000 vehicles and retained 2,000 customers. These customers purchase an automobile every 5 years, for an average of 400 cars per year.

If you use those same numbers but communicate with customers earlier and get them to purchase a vehicle every 4.5 years, the total is 445 cars per year. That’s 11.25% more sales every 12 months.

Add to the mathematical equation above an additional $200 profit per vehicle because the customer didn’t make it to the Internet and you’re talking serious money. A profit increase of $89,000, to be exact.

This doesn’t even take in to account that – when you maintain relationships with customers by reaching out to them before they’re ready to buy – you build your customer base. That’s because more of them purchase from you and remain loyal to your dealership, so your defection rate actually decreases.

What you gain by not losing
By keeping your customers and getting to them sooner so they buy more frequently, there’s a good chance your dealership will profit a number of other ways as well.

For one, you’ll have the first opportunity to acquire quality used vehicles for your lot, which means less time, money and hassle than purchasing autos at auction. Plus, the profits on those trade-ins will be higher because there have been fewer changes of hands.

There’s also the fact that, when you retain a satisfied customer, they tell the people in their life about the quality sales and service they experienced at your dealership, which provides great leads for new customers. This is critical, especially when you consider that up to 50% of purchasing decisions are based primarily on the advice of friends and family.

Why just doing something isn’t doing enough 
Dealers already know they can’t afford to wait for customers to come to them. So when there’s a little down time, they may send a postcard, make some calls, sponsor an event. It’s sporadic. Even worse, it’s not systematic or strategic. And the return on investment often doesn’t justify the expense.

Communicating with customers doesn’t just need to be consistent; it needs to be consistently smart. Targeting customers whose leases are about to expire doesn’t constitute a strategy. You need to look at your customer base carefully and determine which ones are potentially the most profitable. Then market to those customers in a way that is sure to reach – and motivate – them.

How to get a strategic start: service-in-to-sales
The average new car dealership, according to NADA, spends over $600 in advertising per new vehicle retailed. But what about the customers who are already in your dealership? The ones with a couple of hours to kill while they wait for service to be completed on their vehicles. At that point, marketing to them is free.

The service department can offer a customer a loaner to run errands, a vehicle that is an upgrade from their current car. Then they, or a member of the sales team, can ask the customer how they liked the ride and start working a potential deal. 

How you can put the Internet to good use
Keep in mind that there is a time when you want consumers to shop the Internet for new and pre-owned vehicles. And that’s when they’re NOT your customers.

The Internet is ideal for conquest sales, because it gives your dealership the opportunity to compete against other dealerships for their customers. 

If you don’t currently have a strategy in place for connecting with your customers before they hit the Internet, give it some serious thought. Because there’s a high probability one of them logged on to start looking for their next vehicle in the time it took you to read this article.

• Rewrite the job description for salesperson to include those “no pay” activities that pay off in the long run.
• Reward salespeople for generating a predetermined number of customer reviews via spiffs or a bonus program. 
• Educate the sales team, stressing the importance of proactive prospecting, online reviews and the dealership’s cyber reputation.
• Establish penalties for not securing online reviews, particularly if positive reinforcement isn’t effective.

More and more, I hear dealers across the country wrestling with the challenges of social media, asking themselves tough questions like:

• "Can I pencil social media?”
• “Does the auto industry belong in social media?”
• “Why should I continue spending time and money on social media when it isn’t selling me any more cars?”

From Face-to-Face to Facebook

Social media isn’t about selling cars. Or maybe I should say, social media is about much more than selling cars. It’s about the future. It’s about being where your customers – and potential customers – are. Consider these facts:

• Facebook has 750 million active users and 64% of them have “liked” a brand
• Twitter has 100 million active users and 33% of them share opinions about companies or products at least one a week

Do you really want your competitors to be the ones being “liked”? Are you ready to turn a deaf ear when customers tweet well – or sometimes even more importantly, poorly – of your dealership?

Not only is social media how consumers are communicating, it’s how they’re buying. Nearly half (48%) of consumers combine social media and search engines in the buying process. And a staggering 85% start shopping for an automobile online. Not by looking in the paper, not by reading billboards, not by watching TV commercials, not by listening to radio spots and not by going in the showroom. Online.

What Good Is Social Media?

In a recent poll of over 900 business leaders throughout the nation, 55% said they plan to increase spending on social media in 2012. Only 2% project decreases. Their responses revealed that the value of social media totheir businesses is very similar to its value in the auto industry.

Social media can provide many benefits to your dealership, helping you:

• Build awareness of your dealership and its services
• Communicate and interact with your customers and target market
• Monitor comments and conversations between customers and potential customers
• Increase traffic to your website
• Learn more about – and respond to – your customers and their likes and dislikes, as well as their interests and concerns
• Create new business and connections
• Develop targeted special offers
• Become aware of – and react appropriately to – negative comments and issues that may damage your dealership’s reputation

Yelp for Help

It’s important to remember that social media isn’t just a method of reaching out to customers. It’s a way of learning what people are saying about your dealership, your service, your salespeople and your special events.

Social media is a powerful resource for discovering strengths and areas that may need some improvement. Because consumers aren’t just shopping the Internet for vehicles, they’re shopping for dealerships, too. It’s critical that you know – and have the opportunity to respond to – comments and criticisms.

I recommend monitoring your dealership on sites such as Yelp.com, Edmunds.com, DealerRater.com and Google Places, as well as encouraging satisfied customers to post reviews on these sites and your Facebook page.

Does Social Media Pay?

In a recent survey of more than 200 marketing executives, only 26% said they can effectively measure the ROI of social media. When asked what they felt was the primary value of social media, note that driving revenue didn’t even place in the top four:

• Awareness building
• New customer acquisition
• Building customer loyalty and retention
• Expanded reach to new audiences

Make sure you understand what social media does well and use it for those purposes. After all, you wouldn’t use a wrench to drive a nail – and you shouldn’t rely on social media to drive sales. There are better tools to accomplish your goal. 

Define Success

It is best to set reasonable and realistic goals for a social media program. Ask yourself what you hope to accomplish – more “likes”, more customer interaction, more traffic online and in the showroom, etc.

Because when it comes to evaluating the effectiveness of social media, success isn’t measured in sales. It’s measured in the things that lead to sales – relationships built on trust, loyalty and community. And if you’re not online communicating with consumers today, they just might not be in the dealership buying from you tomorrow.