"In the age of information, ignorance is a choice."  ~ Donny Miller

Would you consider baking a cake before reading the recipe?  Would you play a new board game before reading the rules?  When you make digital marketing decisions before consulting the data in your Google Analytics, you're not only being just as short-sighted, you're setting yourself up for failure.  And the stakes are much higher than ruining a cake or losing a game.

It's easy to become overwhelmed with the new tools that bombard us weekly, all of which claim to be the magic bullet you've been looking for.  But at the core of everything you want to accomplish on your website, is the impartial data contained in your Google Analytics.

Is that new chat program engaging the visitors on my website better than my old one?  Analytics knows.  Is that vendor sending traffic that's converting to leads?  Are visitors spending enough time looking through my VDPs?  What was the response to that email blast I sent?  Analytics knows all of this, and much more.

Remaining oblivious to the important information that your Analytics is trying to tell you could be a death sentence for your dealership.  You can only fix a problem if you know it exists.  You can only build on lucrative strategies if you know they're working.

If there isn't someone at your dealership who has already been tasked with overseeing your Google Analytics, appoint someone today.  Don't wait!  Typically Analytics are the purview of the Internet Manager, but the GSM or the GM could step into this role if need be.  If none of these people are educated about Analytics, consider hiring an outside company, or, at minimum, a consultant who can share their knowledge and get your Analytics point person set up with the basics.

If you do nothing else in your Analytics, at the very least you must set up some Goals.  Why?  What are Goals?  Setting a Goal in Analytics is a way to tell Google that there is a specific action you want to get data for.  Some examples are lead form submissions, VDP views, service appointments, and call, chat and text interactions.  These metrics are especially useful when evaluating the quality of traffic coming to your site from your various vendors.

As the saying goes, knowledge is power, and in the age of information, if you choose ignorance, you also choose to be powerless in driving traffic, leads and sales for your store.  Take charge of your data and use that power to build a stronger, more lucrative dealership.