I’m sure that most managers are familiar with the frustration that comes with discovering a salesperson decided a sale was not to be made without really working the lead, letting a perfectly good customer leave the lot. Perhaps the salesperson pre-qualified them and decided they weren’t a “today” buyer; or didn’t like how they looked; or, after a few probing questions decided they couldn’t afford to buy. The fact is, when a customer leaves without a deal being made, most sales managers get irritated.

And, when it comes to digital customers, often salespeople, internet managers or a full-blown BDC – whoever handles those leads -- can find themselves chasing their tails, making multiple phone calls and sending several emails to unresponsive leads.  This can lead to cherry-picking from that pot of leads, going for the ones that look like they are a more likely sale.

In either scenario, with walk-ins or digital leads, your dealership could be missing sales with poor sales practices that absolutely affect your close rates.

Your leads should all be looked upon as sales opportunities. But, I am sure you have noticed that those following up with your leads (and yes, they belong to the dealership NOT the salespeople) tend to favor one type of lead over another.

Typically, this practice develops when people have more success engaging with leads from certain lead sources than others. My bet is that their pay plan is tied in some way to their success. And this can lead to cherry picking leads. Whether that “success” is tied directly to sales or setting appointments makes no difference. They are going to chase their pay plan by strategic selection of leads.

For example, let’s say your dealership has a high closing rate on leads from your website, Cars.com, and/or CarGurus, but a lower closing rate from other lead sources. Perhaps this is because these leads have better information, or these customers tend to answer the phone and engage via email. This means less work for your staff, higher paychecks, and better individual performance.

However, that doesn’t mean leads from other sources are bad. It could mean that your staff has gotten so used to focusing on the leads from certain sources that they work them faster and with more enthusiasm, neglecting other leads. Those “other” leads receive slower responses and less effort is exerted in engaging with them or answering their questions in depth.

This practice by itself will lower overall closing rates. Why? Because every lead is an opportunity. There is no way for your staff to know which of your leads are ready to buy. Only when your staff decides for themselves that one lead source is better than another does that fact become reality.

In the end, all leads should be treated the same, regardless of source. Just as it is impossible to know which customers walking on the lot are “today” buyers, the same goes for digital opportunities.

Ensure that your staff isn’t discriminating against any particular lead source, that they are working your process with each and every lead that comes in and providing each digital customer with the same courtesy, information, and quick response. Your closing ratio will

Auto Dealers can now turn anonymous website shoppers into named shoppers and lackluster leads into intelligent leads for frictionless engagement

Columbus, OH (October 30, 2018) - Clarivoy today announced the launch of ShoppersON™, a combination of three products: Anonymous Shopper™ Identification, HDLeads™ and CRM Sync, into one revolutionary platform that is a powerful new way for auto dealers to identify and engage with in-market shoppers.

“ShoppersON is a ‘Now Platform.’ Many times dealers can’t wait for a marketing campaign to generate more in-market shoppers, they need more leads now. ShoppersON instantly delivers more low funnel shoppers directly to the CRM so that dealers can connect with shoppers today,” said Clarivoy CEO Steve White. “ShoppersON turns anonymous website shoppers into named shoppers and lackluster leads into intelligent leads, resulting in frictionless engagement. The auto industry has become more transparent to the consumer, but the consumer has become more opaque to the auto industry, which now has a huge challenge converting website traffic into leads. Website conversion rates and lead quality continue downward, driving up the cost of leads and sales. With the patent-pending technology of ShoppersON, we empower dealers to lead differently,” White added.

ShoppersON, X-Ray Vision for Dealer’s Websites

“Our Anonymous Shopper™ Identification, included as part of ShoppersON, is literally X-ray vision for your website,” White stated. “We turn anonymous website visitors into named shoppers who are then segmented by prior customer and conquest shopper. These anonymous shoppers can then be contacted with an old-fashioned phone call or targeted via Facebook or other marketing channels.”

ShoppersON Creates the Perfect Lead

ShoppersON includes HDLeads™, real-time lead enrichment to create the perfect lead, providing dealers with access to full and complete leads that include additional demographic and contact information; no more fake name and email address.

ShoppersON Syncs to the CRM

ShoppersON also delivers in-market shopper data directly into the CRM. The dealer doesn’t have to log into another dashboard to use and benefit from the product. ShoppersON pushes the anonymous shopper and enriched lead data right into the CRM; prioritizing and expediting closes through predictive scoring for new and used vehicles.

“BDC Managers, Marketing Directors, Sales Managers, Internet Managers and more should all turn ‘ON’ this revolutionary new lead source,” said White. “Take advantage of enriched shopper information, unlike anything you’ve seen before, and generate more engaging conversations with shoppers.”

ShoppersON™ was recently selected as a finalist for the 2018 DrivingSales Innovation Cup Award, which annually recognizes the most innovative dealership solutions.

Limited-time market exclusivity options are available. For more information, or to sign up for a product demonstration, visit: https://www.shopperson.com.

 About Clarivoy:

Clarivoy is a marketing technology firm specializing in unified, unbiased business intelligence. Their measurement and identity solutions reveal more about their clients’ customers, their advertising and their path to success so they can drive more sales. Clarivoy’s proprietary technology grants marketers superior visibility into their customers and campaigns – across all channels, all devices – online and offline. Armed with this new information, marketers can have certainty and stop guessing what is working and what is not. https://www.clarivoy.com.

Columbus, OH (October 10, 2018) - Clarivoy, a pioneer and leader in automotive marketing attribution, today announced that its new product, ShoppersON™, has been selected as a finalist for the 2018 DrivingSales Innovation Cup Award, which annually recognizes the most innovative dealership solutions. Many companies applied, but DrivingSales’ panel of dealer judges could choose only five finalists to compete for the award.

Finalists will compete onstage for the Innovation Cup Award at the 2018 DrivingSales Executive Summit (DSES). The event, to be held October 21-23 at The Bellagio in Las Vegas, brings the most progressive automotive dealers in the country together to discuss innovative and effective trends that drive increased sales.

This is the second time in three years Clarivoy has been selected as a finalist and, in 2016, Clarivoy won the DrivingSales Innovation Cup with their proprietary attribution solution.

“I am very proud of our Clarivoy team and delighted we are once again a finalist for the Most Innovative Dealership Solution. Our mission is to provide dealers with the best marketing technology that ensures unified, unbiased business intelligence and superior visibility into their customers and campaigns. ShoppersON takes this one step further,” said Clarivoy CEO Steve White. “In car sales today, the dealership which responds the fastest, in the most relevant way, gains a competitive advantage. Our mantra for the new product is to enable dealers to ‘Lead Different.’ To do this, they need new ways to identify and engage with in-market shoppers and that is what ShoppersON does,” White continued.

For more information, or to sign up for a product demonstration, visit: https://www.shopperson.com.

# # # # #

About Clarivoy:

Clarivoy is a marketing technology firm specializing in unified, unbiased business intelligence. Their measurement and identity solutions reveal more about their clients’ customers, their advertising and their path to success so they can drive more sales. Clarivoy’s proprietary technology grants marketers superior visibility into their customers and campaigns – across all channels, all devices – online and offline. Armed with this new information, marketers can have certainty and stop guessing what is working and what is not. https://www.clarivoy.com.

I am an avid amateur cyclist and, for those of you that don’t know much about cycling, there are different levels for amateurs. In road racing, all male cyclists begin at Category 5. Without going into exactly what moves a cyclist up the ranks, just understand that the lower the category number, the better the cyclist. Category 1 is the highest level. At this point cyclists have proven their abilities and are even invited to ride with the U.S. Olympic Cycling team, to race against the top pros in the world. Category 1 amateurs are considered some of the top cyclists around the globe. Why am I telling this story? Because one of them was me.

Each year, before and during the DrivingSales Executive Summit, DrivingSales and IM@SWEB organize bike rides and Clarivoy partners up with industry friends including Flick Fusion, Dealer Inspire, Dominion Dealer Solutions and EAutoAppraise to show support. Given my background and love for cycling, I immediately brought Clarivoy in as a sponsor because fitness, exercise and living a healthy lifestyle are vital ingredients to feeling good and performing at your best in real life. These rides provide DSES attendees with an opportunity to do just that.

To achieve Category 1 took a lot of work. I didn’t simply start out racing 120+ miles. It was a process that involved repetition, determination and the desire to improve. It was hard work, but I progressed because I put my mind to it -- determined to succeed. Success took practice. It wasn’t always easy, but I kept pushing myself to get better.

In cycling – and participating in other fitness activities – it’s not just the physical body that needs practice to achieve peak performance. It’s just as important for the mind to get exercise, to push yourself mentally to achieve the highest levels of acuity.

Now, why am I talking about cycling? Well, my story is a great analogy for any business activity. And, tying this over to our automotive industry, especially in marketing (both digital and traditional), there is no way anyone can succeed without pushing themselves to be competitive, constantly learning more to keep up with the trends and new technologies. Failure to do so will simply result in the inability to keep up with the “peloton,” and you will inevitably fall behind.

The DrivingSales Executive Summit is an event held every Fall that allows dealership employees to exercise their minds, stay on top of new technologies and strategies, keep up with the competition and win the race.

Unfortunately, it’s estimated that only 5 percent of dealerships invest in their employees by sending them to these industry events. By simply attending, taking notes, and implementing the strategies learned upon returning to your dealership, you can place yourself at the front of the pack.

At this year’s DrivingSales Executive Summit educational topics include how to hire and retain employees, how to create pay plans and how to build a culture that promotes employee retention, customer engagement and loyalty. Other sessions are focused on fixed operations, including finding talent, retaining service customers and effective marketing for customer acquisition.

The customer experience is extremely important nowadays as a differentiator. There are plenty of sessions where you can learn how to create a better buying experience, make your operations more efficient, increase F&I revenue and dive into the new realm of digital retailing. Of course, branding, mobile, social and video marketing and lead generation are also represented, alongside inventory and pre-owned sessions, search engine optimization and, my favorite, attribution. And let’s not forget the amazing keynotes the DrivingSales team has arranged.

This conference presents a fantastic opportunity for dealership employees to not only learn from industry experts, but also from their peers within the automotive industry. And, just like the title of this blog, which is a quote from the famous American journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson, it presents an opportunity to exercise your brain, learn how to improve and how to then continue that forward momentum to keep your dealership both in the race and winning it.

If you’re attending this year’s DrivingSales Executive Summit, I will be presenting a session that teaches six insights into how to sell more, spend less and beat your competition in this very competitive automotive industry.

I invite you to attend my session, Monday, October 22 at 10:00am, at the DrivingSales Executive Summit, October 21-23, 2018.

Buy the ticket, take the ride. You won’t regret it. I’ll see you there!

Columbus, OH, September 12, 2018 – Clarivoy, a pioneer and leader in automotive marketing attribution, today announced it has been recognized as one of the 2019 10 Best Tech Startups in Columbus by the Tech Tribune. 

Founded in 2017, The Tech Tribune delivers the latest technology news, in-depth technology articles, and insights on the hottest technology startups all over the world. The Tribune staff compiled the very best tech startups in Columbus, Ohio, by considering several factors including but not limited to:

·        Revenue potential

·        Leadership team

·        Brand/product traction

·        Competitive landscape

Additionally, all companies must be independent (un-acquired), privately owned, at most 10 years old, and have received at least one round of funding in order to qualify.

“We are very proud to be recognized by the Tech Tribune as we work hard to keep on the leading-edge of technology in our industry to best serve our clients,” said Steve White, Clarivoy CEO. “Clarivoy provides a single, complete view of how people buy cars and where to get the next sale. We are the auto industry’s most trusted source of truth for optimizing the performance of marketing campaigns by using unified, unbiased business intelligence to provide clarity that reveals which ads work, and which don’t – empowering marketers to invest in solutions, not speculation,” White continued.

Clarivoy’s Attribution API software gives dealers, vendors and marketing agencies visibility into the total number of cars each vendor and marketing source are responsible for influencing monthly. It provides continuous confidence in the value of the vendor’s offering to the dealer through an independent, trusted voice.

Clarivoy’s Identity Graph fuels the new API technology and is created using proprietary technology that can match a person to multiple devices across multiple channels. The Attribution API software delivers monthly attributable sales to Clarivoy’s growing Attribution API partners and is very simple to set up. All that is required is the installation of Clarivoy’s tracking code on all relevant website properties. Clarivoy then works with dealers to obtain sales data and deterministically matches the sales file with leads and vendor website traffic to show the vendors’ true impact on vehicle sales.

For more information, or to sign up for a product demonstration, visit: http://www.clarivoy.com

# # # # #

About Clarivoy:

Clarivoy is a marketing technology firm specializing in unified, unbiased business intelligence. Their measurement and identity solutions reveal more about their clients’ customers, their advertising and their path to success so they can drive more sales. The company’s attribution software was named the winner of the 2016 DrivingSales Innovation Cup Award for the Most Innovative Dealership Solution of 2016. Clarivoy’s proprietary technology grants marketers superior visibility into their customers and campaigns – across all channels, all devices – online and offline. Armed with this new information, marketers can stop guessing and start knowing what is working and what is not. http://www.clarivoy.com.

Throughout the history of our automotive industry – and even more so as we increasingly progress into the digital era – dealers have been focused on gaining more leads. Just about every widget and message on dealer websites has one single goal – conversion.

Does your website have 100 annoying pop-ups and 20 different ways to communicate with your dealership? Many dealer websites require that the customer give up their personal details in exchange for pricing or product information which they came to the website hoping to find... and less and less customers are willing to share those details.

According to a recent article on CMSWire, the desire most retail companies have to gather customer information is precisely why these conversion frictions exist. Many dealerships aren’t willing to give out information; and the same goes for many customers. This exchange of information is a thing of the past. Why? Because consumers aren’t invested in any dealership until THEY decide that they want to be.

Your dealership can’t force consumers to pay for information with their personal details. They’ll simply go elsewhere to find it. It’s not as if there’s any lack of places they can go. In fact, if you don’t add pricing, or create easily navigable websites providing the information consumers desire (pricing, etc.), they can easily find it on third-party listing sites.

Dealerships spend upwards of $25-$30 per lead from third-party sources including listing sites, as well as lead providers (and their own manufacturer). And, if a dealership gets 100 leads from these sources at an average cost of $25 per lead, they are spending $2,500 per month.

The question is, which leads in fact convert at a higher rate and are of higher quality? There is no doubt – and any industry expert will agree – dealer website leads convert at a higher percentage than any lead from an outside source.

Don’t misunderstand me. I am not bashing these third-party listing services and lead providers, they provide a valuable benefit to dealers and can significantly increase exposure, visibility and traffic to the dealer’s inventory. The point I’m trying to make isn’t that vendor-partners aren’t valuable. Rather, that a lack of information, and the amount of friction a consumer experiences when trying to obtain that information directly from a dealer website, drives them away from the dealer and over to sites that make it an easy and friction-free experience.

Widgets and various other technologies on websites are great -- as long as they provide value to the car shopper and don’t present obstacles. Communication tools, trade-in valuation tools (that offer accurate information), VDPs and pricing information are the main things consumers are looking for.

Failing to provide tools that are easy to use and accurate, and which make gathering information seamless for the consumer, will only hurt your conversion rates and force consumers to seek that information elsewhere. In the end, you may very well end up paying someone else for that customer’s information – unless, of course, the customer decides to go to a competitor who provides the information and less friction.

We’re in the age of transparency and information. Don’t be afraid to lose sales by being fully transparent online. Chances are that consumers can find it anyways -- without your help. By providing it in the first place, you build trust with that prospective customer and they are more likely to start a conversation with you and buy or service their vehicle at your dealership, versus the competition. And -- bottom line -- that means increased revenue for your dealership.

I recently read a great blog about our industry by thought-leader Seth Godin. It explains how manufacturers and dealers do things very differently. Godin shares that manufacturers have worked for hundreds of years to refine and create more efficient ways to produce a quality product; evolving from “stopwatches and spreadsheets” to the robotic-assisted assembly lines that exist today, which have, according to Godin, “turned the process of making a car into a predictable, improvable system.”  However, in Godin’s opinion, dealerships are not faring quite as well.

Throughout the history of auto dealerships, processes have always been an essential part of operations. These processes mostly revolve around retail sales and the most efficient and successful way is to sell a vehicle. They have been added to and refined over the years and now a literal bible exists with advice about how salespeople should guide the consumer when shopping for a vehicle.

But maybe… just maybe… things have changed.

As Godin states in his blog: “Car dealers might try to measure the easy metrics of output (how many sold) but they’ve consistently failed at managing the improvised human interactions that car salespeople engage in.”

Don’t worry. I’m certainly not here to tell you how to run your dealership or to preach about what processes you should use. I’d like to share a useful piece of information about how, in today’s Internet-driven world, the way you run your digital dealership is just as, if not more important than, how you run your physical dealership.

During the time the car shopper remains in the digital universe, they feel have all the time in the world. And, there’s an additional catch here: there’s nothing your dealership can do to influence that online customer if you don’t even know there are there. It’s one thing to know that 50,000 people visited a VDP page, your website, or a third-party site, but that is somewhat meaningless if those customers don’t convert. Sure, some of them may just stroll in. But you’ll never know why, where they came from, or what message influenced them unless you have some way to capture that information. And, that information is the key to successful marketing.

Most dealership spends a ton of money every month marketing to consumers. Far too frequently it’s hard to figure out where those consumers came from, which marketing channel is working, or which message resonates with them.

The problem lies in the fact that marketing is incredibly dynamic. For example, the effective channels which exist today (if you’re measuring) may become obsolete within as little as a year.

Managing your marketing budget and keeping up with processes that make for an effective marketing strategy can be a never-ending task.

The good news is that the information is out there to help you improve results, track customers, manage marketing channels and optimize results. You need to make sure you have a good, trusted method of attribution in place.

I have no doubt that every dealership would like to get the best bang for their marketing dollars. If digital (or even physical) processes are getting in the way, perhaps it is time to rethink how we’re doing things, evolve and create new processes and better ways to measure and adapt to our society. Consumers certainly are!

As time goes by, digital marketing is increasingly integrated into car dealerships’ ad budgets. Because of that, many options have developed which allow dealerships to create exposure and deliver ads in a more direct and targeted way -- more than was ever possible with traditional media.

Even some forms of traditional media have become digital, such as radio, which in its digital form allows you to target a specific demographic and interests, which certainly wasn’t possible before. Because of this explosion of digital marketing options dealers can be hard-pressed to keep up with the choices and any ROI, which they may, or may not, get from their advertising budget.

Historically, the dealer or general manager would meet with their ad agency regularly to discuss creative, budget and frequency. The ad agency would then make the appropriate media buys and the dealership would hope for the best. With digital marketing, so many channels are available to utilize that it’s harder than ever to be on top of your game for every channel.

According to a recent blog on Digitally Cognizant,  digital marketing spending will be close to $120 billion by 2021. And, bringing it closer to home, a recent article in Automotive News states that, according to 2017 NADA data, Internet ad spend has eclipsed all other advertising spend combined. Therefore, your dealership would be wise to consider having someone in-house on your staff to oversee your digital marketing and ad spend.

For most dealerships, the person in charge of digital marketing inevitably ends up being the Internet manager, or Internet director (by title), whose pay plan is centered around sales commissions. Because of this, those staff members are more interested in selling cars than managing digital ads, the website or, at the very least, paying attention and analyzing where that budget is going and how it’s performing.

Many dealerships look to sales performance and expect an Internet department to pump up unit volume – and rightfully so. But that stud Internet department which pumps out units and profit can suddenly grind to a dreadful halt if someone isn’t paying attention to – and optimizing – where the digital budget is going and how it’s performing.

Having someone whose sole job is to manage, analyze and optimize that ad spend could, in fact, INCREASE sales performance; simply because budgets can be dynamic and shifted to better performing channels. Yes, dealers are used to designing pay plans around sales. It’s safe. But it may be costing you money in wasted ad spend and missed opportunities.

Who should you look for when (not if) you end up choosing to create a position like this? The Digitally Cognizant blog suggests that you may not want to look at experience as a hiring factor; rather someone with education and knowledge in current digital marketing platforms – like a recent graduate.

Why? Because, the article states, “it’s not years of experience that matters but finding someone who’s worked with digital marketing tools and techniques on actual campaigns and can point to tangible results.”

My thoughts are that most successful dealerships and groups have someone in place whose sole job is to ensure their digital marketing spend and channels are performing. This person identifies those which are performing or failing to perform, optimizes the ones which are and cuts the ones which are not.

Many dealers will consider this an extra fixed expense but, in all actuality, it’s necessary. As Internet spend budgets continue to increase as a percentage of dealership budgets, it will only become more important and necessary to have someone with the knowledge, skill set and focus on what will become, if it is not already, most of your advertising budget.

And, by optimizing your digital marketing ad spend, that employee is helping you sell more cars. Which is what every dealer wants.

Clarivoy’s Attribution API helps CarSoup.com Show Auto Dealers how it’s Helping them Sell More Cars

Columbus, OH, June 25, 2018 – Clarivoy, a pioneer and leader in automotive marketing attribution, today announced that CarSoup.com has embedded Clarivoy’s multi-touch attribution technology into its website, which ensures proper credit is attributed to those marketing sources that influenced the customer’s vehicle purchase. Now CarSoup.com dealers will gain a more holistic view of all the vehicle sales that CarSoup.com influenced from Clarivoy’s independent, unbiased attribution technology.

CarSoup.com is an online venue for buying, researching and selling new and used vehicles with 6 million vehicles listed nationally from over 20,000 dealers and thousands of private sellers.

Clarivoy’s Attribution API software will help CarSoup.com dealers by using “Any-Touch” attribution. Any-Touch attribution makes sure proper credit is attributed to those marketing sources which influenced the customer’s vehicle purchase, whether first, last, or somewhere in the middle, finally getting away from the dated last-click attribution models plaguing the industry.

“We are very excited about this partnership with Clarivoy. With Clarivoy’s new Attribution API, we can finally show performance according to the amount of sold vehicles that have CarSoup.com in the buyer’s purchase journey. Dealer’s will no longer be reliant on salespeople to properly source where a buyer came from. This enables us to consult with our dealers and provide data they can trust. As a result, our dealers know they are spending their marketing budget in the right place; thus, we can truly prove our value,” said Brian Bowman, President of CarSoup.com.

According to Steve White, Clarivoy CEO, in the eyes of a dealer, the value of a third-party auto vendor, marketing agency or website provider is reduced to one thing: Leads. Since most visitors to a dealer’s website or third-party site are unidentifiable, 95 percent of the value of that vendor or marketing partner is lost. “Unless you are the first or last touch in the CRM, you probably aren’t getting credit from the dealer. Even if you do get credit, it’s only for leads you delivered and NOT for anonymous shoppers that result in sales. Dealers and third-party auto vendors receive millions of unique web visitors per month, and yet less than five percent identify themselves. Who are the other 95 percent, and did they purchase a vehicle? By partnering with us, CarSoup.com can now truly show dealers their real performance,” said White.

Clarivoy’s Attribution API software gives dealers, vendors and marketing agencies visibility into the total number of cars each vendor and marketing source are responsible for influencing monthly.  It provides continuous confidence in the value of the vendor’s offering to the dealer through an independent, trusted voice.

Clarivoy’s Identity Graph fuels the new API technology and is created using proprietary technology that can match a person to multiple devices across multiple channels. The Attribution API software delivers monthly attributable sales to Clarivoy’s growing Attribution API partners and is very simple to set up. All that is required is the installation of Clarivoy’s tracking code on all relevant website properties. Clarivoy then works with dealers to obtain sales data and deterministically matches the sales file with leads and vendor website traffic to show the vendors’ true impact on vehicle sales.

“Our Attribution API software provides dealers with monthly visibility into the total number of vehicles sales that our Attribution API partners influenced each month. This will allow CarSoup.com, armed with more data, to consult with their dealers to improve their results,” said White.

For more information, or to sign up for a product demonstration, visit: http://www.clarivoy.com

# # # # #

About CarSoup.com.com (http://www.CarSoup.com.com)

CarSoup.com is an online venue for buying, researching and selling new and used vehicles with 6 million vehicles listed nationally from over 21,000 dealers and thousands of private sellers.

About Clarivoy:

Clarivoy is a marketing technology firm specializing in unified, unbiased business intelligence. Their measurement and identity solutions reveal more about their clients’ customers, their advertising and their path to success so they can drive more sales. The company’s attribution software was named the winner of the 2016 DrivingSales Innovation Cup Award for the Most Innovative Dealership Solution of 2016. Clarivoy’s proprietary technology grants marketers superior visibility into their customers and campaigns – across all channels, all devices – online and offline. Armed with this new information, marketers can stop guessing and start knowing what is working and what is not. http://www.clarivoy.com.

In the old days, if consumers wanted to buy a product or find specials, they turned to the Sunday paper, the radio, or simply visited their local store. Then, the Internet appeared, and everything changed. It became incredibly easy for consumers to find information and, at the same time, gave marketers more ways to push their messages to consumers. But now it seems as if we may be amid a new trend – voice search.

The two leaders in voice assistants are Amazon, with its Echo line, and Google, with its Home devices. A recent article in Forbes solidifies this upward trend in consumer use, focusing mostly on Amazon’s Echo, and how consumers are using it.

In a study of 39,000 Amazon Echo users, it was found that Echo owners spend more per year than non-Echo owners and purchase items more often. In fact, once consumers purchase an Amazon Echo their spending on Amazon jumps 29 percent. Not too shabby! While this is great for Amazon, other retailers are more guarded in their participation, since Amazon typically only pushes Amazon products.

Google, on the other hand, is a completely different story. Google Home may not have been first, but it’s catching up. And it is more attractive to retailers since, well, Google isn’t a retailer. According to the Forbes article, Google recently surpassed Amazon’s Echo in quarterly sales for the first time ever. While consumers can still do searches on Amazon’s Echo, Google’s knowledge-base is far larger; and their technology is designed to help consumers find what they want, when they want it, whether that be information or retail products.

Why does any of this matter to car dealers? Well, voice assistants aren’t going away. In fact, manufacturers recently began integrating Amazon Echo and Google technology into vehicles.

And then Google recently partnered with one dealership, Paragon Honda, to develop technology that makes it easier for consumers to communicate with the dealership. Consumers will eventually be able to schedule service appointments and pick-up and delivery through Google Home, without ever having to call the dealership.

In January, I wrote a blog about the future of marketing and autonomous vehicles that discusses the opportunities for marketers to get their messages in front of consumers who aren’t doing anything but riding in a vehicle. If voice assistants continue to grow in popularity, it’s inevitable that Google will figure out how to integrate marketing messages into their voice assistants – and, of course, create additional revenue.

It is even possible that, rather than using computers for a simple Google search, consumers will shift towards using voice assistants instead. This, of course, could put a dent in PPC revenue for Google that can only be recovered through integrating marketing into Google Home.

Amazon created two products that could be perfect at this – Amazon Echo Show and Amazon Echo Spot. Like the Echo itself, both are effective as voice assistants. And, they also recognize when a person is walking by and display messaging on their screens. Currently, these messages are about news, trending videos, weather, etc. But, that doesn’t mean they couldn’t easily become advertisements. AND, if a customer chooses to watch news via their Amazon device, advertisements could easily be included. Then that “click” that was once done with a computer, suddenly becomes a voice prompt from the customer.

In our technology-filled world, as a marketer you must keep on top of new technologies and think about all future possibilities, so you can capitalize on them once they appear. We can already write a book purely using voice dictation software. Is it an impossible thought that voice assistants will eventually create marketing opportunities?