When I look back on my years as an employer I thought of tthese two things first-

1. Took me 10 minutes to count how many people who are  current business owners, General Managers or Leaders in other industries who worked for me.     17

2. What would I change?  I would have gone to the bank much earlier. Stubbornly wanting to do it all with my own money early on made it harder later on. Didn't learn to do it with other peoples money until I was older. 

Other than that, I wouldn't have changed a thing!!!

1995 USAX

SHOWROOM Prep.

1992 New England Auto Show

Met so many awesome people that week!

I walked into a store the other day and from the side of the showroom I heard, "Hey Spago!!" 

Not too many people under the age of 50 call me by that any more so I knew I was probably headed for a trip on the way back machine-- and sure enough, I was.  As I am apt to do these days having gotten back into working with dealerships I see old faces. I don't always recall the names--but the faces are clear. This day was a bit different though--Not only did I place the face but the name came right to the tip of my lips-----  I was catapulted back 30 years and enjoying it.

What happened then is cool- 

I was in a  high-line show room with some pretty savvy pros @ the top of their games--  But these folks got to hear a few good old stories about grosses paid and commission checks cashed that they could only dream of.  One tale explained the events when a guy came into the store and bought 5 S600's on the spot. We laughed about the sales person who would pay to have his client's owner's manuals wrapped in  leather. --The 80's & 90's were awesome !!! Then there was my favorite fable about the time I sold  $200,000 worth of Italian metal without saying a single word to the customer the whole 3 hours it took to work things out-- (That is a long story for another day)  The guy who knew me actually saw me do it, so the story had cred from the start. 

It is true, the older we become the smarter our parents seem, the older we become the more we look back at those younger days when taxes were lower and gas cost $1.75. Those were the days....and if done right, the older we become the more we can influence those who are not-

Boring story brought to an end quickly--  The point of this is relationships.  One of the guys listening to the stories these two old guys were telling was the GM of the place. Next week we are meeting to talk about what kind of vehicles I can help him find to buy from the public. New dog is going to learn some old tricks--     :  )

SCS

3/8/18

Understanding Buyer Personas

The Rogers Buyers Persona & Adoption Curve describes how new ideas are accepted and adopted by groups. The theory was developed by Joe M. Bohlen, George M. Beal and Everett M. Rogers at Iowa State University, in 1957. In the 1980's their research was then further developed by Geoffrey Moore. He applied the concepts to Technological products and services. The work done by these consumer scientists enables us to craft messaging and consumer communications that speak to the ear of each group of "Personas”.

-The Innovator-

Consumer description: Innovators are the first individuals to adopt. They are willing to take risks, youngest in age, very social and have closest contact to sources & interaction with other innovators. Risk has them adopting technologies which may ultimately fail--financial resources help absorb these failures.

Strategy:

Focus on the chance to be first and being part of something new.

Tactics: “Be one of the first to discover”    “Be one of the first to benefit from….”

-The Early Adopter-

This is the second fastest adopting category of individuals. These folks have the highest degree of opinion leadership among the other categories. They are typically younger in age, have more financial freedom, advanced education than late adopters. More discrete in adoption choices than innovators- they are-judicious in their approach to making changes..

Strategy:

Focus on the ability to lead the field—innovate—become a market leader

Tactics: Social media, **Thought leadership arenas, Challenge selling approach. “You will find as other enthusiast have found”

-The Early Majority-  

Individuals in this category adopt an innovation after a varying degree of time. This time of adoption is significantly longer than the innovators and early adopters. Early Majority tend to be slower in the adoption process, have above average social status and contact with early adopters and seldom hold positions of opinion leadership.

Strategy:

Focus on trust building. Show and prove concept.

Tactics: **Case study, spoken case story, reviews.

“You could be experiencing the success that they have been having...”

-The Late Majority-

Individuals in this category will adopt an innovation after the average member of the society. These individuals approach an innovation with a high degree of skepticism and after the majority of society has adopted the innovation. Late Majority are typically skeptical about an innovation, have below average social status, very little financial lucidity, in contact with others in late majority and early majority, very little opinion leadership.

These are fence riders, not sure if they should do something or they shouldn’t. More than any other audience, they agonize over purchase decisions and look for advice and acceptance from others before switching providers.

Tactics: State that you understand the risks involved. Offer a direct chance to talk to one your clients. The personal referral and assurance is what this person needs to do business with you.

-The Laggards-

These are the last to adopt. Unlike some of the previous categories, individuals here show little to no opinion leadership. These individuals typically have an aversion to change-agents and tend to be advanced in age. Laggards typically tend to be focused on “traditions”, likely to have lowest social status, lowest financial fluidity, be oldest of all other adopters, in contact with only family and close friends, very little to no opinion leadership.

Tactics:

In marketing terms these can be considered to be your present repeat clients or those of your competition.

Putting It All Together

Now that you have an understanding of Data Mining coupled with the persona descriptors and tactics that can attract more of each kind of consumer how could you tie it together? The wording of your offers, the description of your services and the messaging you express can now hit on the exact triggers you know are important to the buying public.

Examples:

-----Current long term clients to your business are the Laggards

Messages here need to be reminders of how good you have been to them over the years. Loyalty rewards offers. Inform them that you are keeping up with all that is going on so they don’t have to worry.

“Come see our new Service facility”   

“If not for you our valued customer…”   

“People like you have made us who we are today. Thank you!”

-----Folks out there looking for stronger “value” not just the best “deal” are the Late Majority.

“High quality @ down to Earth pricing”

“Our customer under pay but we over perform” 

“ ABC Dealership, where our people make the difference”

-----Innovators and Early/Late Majority can be spoken to in the same language.

Think of these as your competitions customers. These are folks who have not done business with you yet. But, will if they feel you have more to offer, have a compelling value proposition and are technologically advanced then who provides them the service now.

“Our top ranked service department”

“Easy, fast, friendly and affordable…”

“Online pricing, online scheduling, text reminders, shuttle service…We make it easy”

So if we merge all of it to make one comprehensive message that can speak to all audiences it could sound something like this:

“ Here we grow again!

We would like to invite you to come see our newly upgraded Service facility.

People like you made us who we are today and we want to show our thanks with these special opportunities

$20.18 Oil/Filter change, safety inspection

$201.80 added to your trade in

Quality work done on time by people you can trust.

XYZ Dealership, where “average” is a four letter word.

Etc…

Another approach would be to create messages to each individual audience and then cast data

mined searches to seek out these consumers in your market area population. You can use differing

indicators to identify the right people and demographic groups.

Targeted audience, focused phrasing, meaningful messaging and mindful strategic and tactical executions will allow you to thrive when others may be suffering. By putting the latest in technological tools at your disposal you can gain the unfair advantage that you’ve been looking for.

SCS  12/9/2017

Data source:

http://www.v12data.com/blog/a-look-at-trends-and-statistics-in-the-automotive-aftermarket-industry-2017/

21st Century Word of Mouth

Amy has just graduated from college and she is looking to buy a pre-owned BMW but, she has no idea which model or where she should go to purchase it. She posts on her Facebook page that she is looking for a car and asks her friends if they know which she should buy and from where. Her friend Mike comments; “You’d look sweet in a 3 Series”. Many of her other friends leave similar comments and she is steered toward that model. But, the question still remains as to where she should procure the car. As she has the habit of doing with Spring Break Vacations and buying anniversary dinner gift certificates for her parents she then heads to Google to search for good options. She creates a Google search with the following information in the search box; “Pre-Owned BMW reviews”. Amy represents one of the 88% of consumers these days who search on line prior to ever calling a dealership and that % is growing every day.

Bill has just started a landscaping business and his partner suggests they buy a pick up rather than a dump bed. Because time is money to him now, he researches on-line to find it. He too visits Google. During his search he notices a listing for a dealer at the top of the search page that includes the word “reviews” in its listing. He clicks into the information and reads what others have had to say about interacting with this business. He calls and made an appointment with that one store and buys the truck. After delivery he goes back to the web and posts his review outlining his experience.

Mary is expecting a child and needs a minivan or midsized SUV. Because it’s easier than driving around to different businesses over the weekend, Mary tweets out her need and gets involved in a long conversation thread filled with suggestions from her friends and family. With so many suggestions she gets confused and resorts back to how she found all the baby supplies, furniture and other amenities she will need for her soon to be arriving child. She goes to Google to find out what others in her same situation had to say. As with Bill from the above example, she finds what she feels would work for her but, two dealerships seem to have the near exact Honda Pilot. However, one of these dealers has reviews listed on their Facebook and Web page and the other does not. Feeling more comfortable after having read the reviews posted she calls and arranges time to visit the one with the reviews. The feeling of comfort Mary gains from reading about other customers experiences outweighs even the advice from her sister, girlfriends and neighbors.

In each case the first thing these folks did was talk about it. Odds are that most of if not all of that conversation will take place on Facebook or Twitter. They each involve themselves in consumer behavior which entails reading reviews. Amy, Bill, and Mary engage in 21st Century word of mouth.

Reviews Matter-

The meteoric rise and growth of web sites such as Angie’s List, Trip Adviser and Rate My Professor indicate the growing number of those in our country who value user reviews. Relaying personal experiences is not a trend; it has become common place. Smart, innovative businesses who seek long-term growth are keen to pay attention to these reviews and in many cases use them to shape improvements in products which best fit the trends they observe in what consumers have to say. Bottom line, if you are not paying attention to what is being said about your business on the web than you are not doing all you can to succeed. It’s that cut and dry. Those who do will prosper; those who do not will wallow in the way side. You owe it to yourself, your employees and those who depend on your ability to manage your business successfully to pay attention to this news. The hotel, restaurant, academic, technology and franchise car dealership worlds have adopted “review centric” mentalities. It is high time that those in your end of the automotive market do as well.

As mentioned in CBT News in May of this past year: “Consumers are 90 percent more likely to visit a dealer’s website and 5.3 times more likely to convert to a lead after reading positive reviews or seeing an above average rating for that dealer online” Become one of the dealers that has done what it takes to stay current. Recognize that buying trends are evolving and have been riding a tidal wave of change which will not stop. Give yourself and your business all the advantages available and you will be glad you did.

Become one of the dealers that has done what it takes to stay current. Recognize that buying trends are evolving and have been riding a tidal wave of change which will not stop. Give yourself and your business all the advantages available and you will be glad you did.

Balloons never sold a car

Balloons don’t sell cars, people do.

It’s an age old saying but people really do buy from people and the more human you can make the buying experience for a consumer the more successful you and your store will be.In this world of on-line marketing, social media blitzing and web site dazzle we tend to get away from the personal touch. People buy from people, we need to remember that, always.

So, that being said how can we get back to a human touch and how can we more personalize the interaction? Here are five tips that will make your customers feel warmer, feel more trusting of you and in the end be a less combative and easier to close consumer.

1. Put a face and add personalities onto your web site. If you don’t have one already create or add a “Our Staff” page or “Meet our Staff” page. This is very effective in breaking down walls and building a bridge of emotional connection with prospective customers. In fact, a well-known Review web site will allow you to do this so you may be able to utilize that feature instead. This leads us into the next tip…
2. Get reviews and spread them wide and far. It has been proven that over 80%of the buying public read and trust reviews. In fact, they trust them more than the words of advice from family and friends. Consumers trust other consumers so having a review culture in your dealership is very important to building trust.
3. Buy and use thank you notes. In my past some of the best sales advice I was ever given was to treat everyone as if they were your Grandmother. In the home and businesses I was raised in thank you notes were written after every birthday or Christmas. The art of hand written notes or letters needs to be reawakened. You may not choose to send one to each and every customer but, keep in mind those whom you worked with in your store who you feel would appreciate it and send them one. Just a quick note will do: “Thanks for your business, it is much appreciated” is all you need to write inside—it’s the action that will be most remembered.

If you are so inclined, track the results from those who you send them to. I will bet you a dollar that these are the folks who will send others to you to work with personally.

4.  Add your photos to your email signature. Not all formats will allow this but, adding this image has been seen to have great effects. There may be the odd time that someone will need to right click on the box to see it but, they will look. They will see your smiling face and they will have the “I like this person” chemicals start to flow in their brains.

5. Be social. Send out invites to your customers and prospects to join in on your various social media avenues. Here again, this may not be something you want to do with everyone but for those whom you do it will prove to be a great idea. We are communal by nature, we are interested beings and the majority of us want to belong to something. Inviting them to join will allow you to build a greater bond with your client base. Not all will accept, but again, as with the thank you note it is the effort that will be remembered.

These may seem to be very basic ideas and they are but, in the day to day grind; trials and tribulations of commerce and making deals happen we usually get away from the basics. We need to get back there, we need to find ways of making the on-line linear interactions feel and be more personal…Try it you will like it and you will turn more of your prospects into buying customers-Good luck!