If you can clearly explain how change is beneficial, you'll inspire your team to make it happen.  Here are some ideas on embracing the changes...

Your right to be in someone's inbox can be revoked if you don't keep earning your place.

What could possibly be new in the world of email marketing? You probably are already using email marketing for your dealership, and you might even be getting some results with it. But there are some innovative ways that high-volume dealership groups are using to win business from you, and if that concerns you, we have some solutions. See the list...

Being a successful car dealership is much more than attracting customers, efficiency among your departments, and selling cars. Those are all the basics any dealer can tell you are necessary to run a dealership business. We’re talking about knowing your market, which means understanding who you are marketing to instead of assuming everyone is a customer. That won’t do you any good if you aren’t able to meet their wants and needs. 

Here are five tips on how any dealership can conquer their market: 

1. 1. Leverage Your Geography: A car dealership based in southern California is going to have a different market than one in northern Vermont. That’s why you want to make sure your inventory accurately reflects the area you are located in. From there, you can create promotional events and sales specifically for that region. For example, a Winter Clearance event on all 4-wheel drive pickups and SUVs would do well in Vermont, but may not make sense in sunny California.

1. 2. Make Sure Sales Knows Your Inventory Inside And Out: In the 1950s, car makers did a great job educating their salesmen on how to sell against the competition. They developed training materials, crib sheets, and other sales aids. This is a lost art these days and is nonexistent with used cars. If your sales team took the time to look up the models in your inventory and study the safety features, performance, and options, they will come across as experts in the models they are selling, build buyer confidence and close more deals. You’ll have a better idea of what your customers want, and as a result, it’ll affect what cars you choose to have on your lot.
    

2. 3. Study Customer Demographics: By having a better understanding of who the majority of your customers are, you can also determine the right cars to sell. What is the average age of your customers? Are they single professionals or families? By knowing who your customer is, you’re able to make the car buying process less of a transaction and more of an enjoyable experience by perfectly matching a car to your customers based on who they are and what their wants and needs are.

3. 4. Have the Right Cars Ready: Knowing what your customers want will help inform your acquisition decisions, but even acquiring the right vehicle won’t help if you don’t have ready and available when the customer arrives. Your make-ready process needs to be in sync with your sales operation, to ensure the cars you need are ready and available. Keep your reconditioning operation efficient to ensure your cars are frontline-ready when you need them. Management software from companies such as AutoMobile Technologies can help keep your recon employees and vendors focused and fast.
    

4. 5. Create Customer Loyalty: Dealerships can create customer loyalty in several different ways. Where a lot of dealerships fail in this department is by letting customers go as soon as they drive away in their new car. As a result, there’s a negative stigma surrounding car dealerships assuming a dealer only cares about a customer to get the sale. If you want to conquer your market, show how much you appreciate your customers (including previous ones) by sending emails, service coupons, follow up calls, and more. If a dealership goes out of its way to make a former customer feel valued, they’ll remember and let people know. 

Conquering your market as a dealership is not as simple as target advertising and selling an SUV to a couple who are expanding their family. It’s about connecting with the area you serve and creating a relationship with your customers that is far more valuable than any sale. After all, customer loyalty is one of the most useful things any business can have. Although you can’t buy customer loyalty, you can conquer your market and establish a name for yourself in the area you serve. Follow the above tips and stay consistent, and you’ll become the dealership to beat.

If you look at the highest-performing dealerships, they have effectively established an influential culture that can overcome the potential negative influences of poor dealership culture. Some observations of how company culture can help or hurt your business are in the latest article from AMT. Read the full article here.

If you want to grow your dealership's success faster, slow down and take the time to hire the right people. Be mindful of these items:

Job Descriptions

One-sided Interviews

Desperation

Fact Checking

Your dealership employees are a reflection of your brand. They are who your customer interacts with, purchases from, and need to build trust with before they make their vehicle purchase. Each new hire costs...(Read more)

No matter how well your dealership is doing in sales and against the competition, there is always room for growth. It’s as simple as asking yourself a few questions that explore how your dealership performance can improve. 

Three of the most significant areas in your dealership that will always require improvement revolve around your customers and your staff. See the full article here.

Did they tell you it was ok to call them?

Communication is one of the most important aspects of running a thriving dealership. Customer service is improved, financial operations are streamlined, departments work together much more effectively, and more. Customer contact is the very core of what keeps business moving at a dealership. Without customers, there would be no business – plain and simple. 

There have been recent significant changes in how dealerships conduct business. More and more dealerships have entered the digital age of technology to serve their customer’s needs better. But how do you create a system of communication amongst your customers that not only shows your location is “current,” but is also capable of meeting their ever-growing demands? Within moments of a customer landing on your website, they know if they want to do business with you. Take a more in-depth look. 

Time is of the essence when turning cars through recon. Don't let your process cost you.

A recent article published on the AMT website discusses ways to speed up vehicle sales with a focus on reconditioning practices. The five "tips" are noted below, but the full article (linked below) is worth a quick read for anyone looking to shave days off their turn times.

1) Post descriptions, photos, videos, and prices ASAP

2) Have A Reconditioning Team Ready 

3) Buy Better Cars 

4) Give Proof 

5) Automatic Approval 

Read the full article on the AMT site.

Being active in the community can drive more activity on your dealership lot. There are other benefits, too. Read the article.

Research shows what you already know: engaged employees are more productive, more loyal, and more profitable.

The folks at TINYPulse performed an in-depth study of employee engagement in 2019, and here are some of the top-line takeaways:

Employee loyalty is decreasing - 43% of workers would be willing to leave their companies for a 10% salary increase

Leadership teams lack self-awareness - While 39% of managers strongly agree that management within their organization is transparent, only 22% of employees feel the same way. `

Workers need better direction - Less than half of employees feel that their promotion and career path is clear to them.

Employees aren’t getting the recognition they deserve - Only a third of workers received recognition the last time they went the extra mile at work.

Employees care deeply about their coworkers - 91% of people rate their coworkers positively, and yet just 9% of people think their average coworker is very happy. `

Most cultures are decidedly mediocre - Less than one-third of people believe they have a strong culture. `

The #1 factor that predicts performance is the level of support provided by managers. 

Here are some ways to promote engagement in your organization.