Preface

After almost a couple of  years of working with a leading internet marketing vendor and working the speaking circuit Volker Jaeckel (aka “@VJnator”) returns to the dealership world as an Internet Sales Director.  “Here is my story of rejoining the store and the steps I took that made my website the best performing in my group and achieved “#1 CPO Dealer in the state” status six months in a row.  Let me share how I believe a new Internet Manager can quickly make their store a success as well.” (Stay tuned for my  upcoming workshop “Internet Marketing Cliff Notes -short, sweet and successful.”)

Chapter I - It hurts to crawl on my knees again. Luckily it is only temporary.

That is it….I am back into the dealership world. I missed you, the world of shiny showrooms, the smell of rubber and the so-distinctive new car smell. And yes, I missed the challenge of helping a store achieve its full potential as a 21^st century dealership embracing the Internet.

Tip #1: View your site through your customer’s eyes

Where do I start? Personnel? Process? Lead Providers? – No, I decided that shouldn’t be priority #1.  What is most important is getting an idea of how your dealership appears to your prospects. I needed to first put on my “consumer-glasses” to understand what they are seeing, and then I can determine the path forward that will get the consumer to buy at my store. What did I do? Let’s crawl and see.

All of us in the dealership should know by now that at least 90% of all car shopping starts somewhere and somehow online. Shoppers “Google or Bing around” search phrases related to the model desired and the city they live in. This initial search generally leads to reviewing 3^rd parties like Edmunds or AOL.Autos for test results and independent car experts’ advice. After that, they most likely end up on the OEM’s manufacturer website, lured by whatever seasonal offers or events are taking place right now. From the OEM website, the customer drills down to find which dealership is closest to their zip code. 

 So, taking this roadmap of typical automotive buying behavior, my first action should be clear: “CHECK YOUR DEALER WEBSITE(s)”. The things I will be looking for are pretty straightforward.

Does my website has the same advertising messaging my OEM is portraying on their site? For me as an eCom Director it is mandatory to have events like “Autobahn for all” or “Sign then drive” event on all my dealership websites. I am not speaking just about having the graphics but also written content of these national campaigns on my site(s).

Tip #2: Make sure shoppers responding to OEM advertising and programs find them on your site.

Adding OEM promotional content assures that local prospects looking for those campaign deals will find familiar territory and verbiage on my site. They know immediately that “VJ Motors” is participating in these well-known manufacturer deals seen on TV, Radio, Off- and Online. As a dealer, doing this will guarantee me a fraction of the millions and millions of dollars spent by my OEM. I get my piece of the huge advertising campaign pie – and everybody knows….I love pie.

Here was my first plan of action:

• Determine my OEM’s current ad campaign (In this case the “Going Going Gone Event”)
• Update all new car specials shown in the website with the particular “Going Going Gone” phrase
• Main URL page showed as first slider Going Going Gone event participation, linked to the New Car Special page
• SEO Content was modified and “Going Going Gone Event” as well “Autobahn for All” slogans were weaved in on homepage, New Car inventory page, New Car Special page and various model pages.

Because we all know that SEO results do not show up overnight, the written content placed on the described pages is here for the long run and should be not taken down when the OEM campaign stops – most likely you will see the same named event taking place again a few months down the road and in the meantime your content pages hopefully left some impactful results in the SERP.

Tip #3: Leverage all your content in social media and see SEO results soar

Post promotional content in your social media, such as a photo montage on your blog captioned “VJ Motors in Motorville enjoys the hundreds of customers stopping by customers during the VW Going Going Gone event.” The reason for doing this is that search engines love news updates through social media streams. By optimizing these channels with your dealership name and the event name in the post, you are supporting your organic SEO piece by piece. Try it – it has worked for me! 

Tip #4: “But I have no time to do any of this”

As a busy dealer, aligning with OEM’s may sound like a lot of work and too much of a hassle. I felt this way too.

There are two main ways I’ve found to alleviate the hassle issue: Choose an endorsed website provider and work with their professional account strategist. 

If your dealership has an endorsed website provider with OEM-coordinated advertising campaigns, the work you need to perform on your end will be a little bit less, thanks to perfectly timed and “ready-to-go” websites and landing pages at the start of the national campaigns.

Another thing that helped me was that I could speak to my account advocate at the website provider to assist me in my efforts to tweak my messaging to my taste. So, if you’ve signed up for this type of service – use it, bring up your ideas, and let them do the main frame work. That way you can focus on the other things you need to do, making a dealership or dealer group successful – as I will show you in my next chapter.

Preface

After almost a couple of  years of working with a leading internet marketing vendor and working the speaking circuit Volker Jaeckel (aka “@VJnator”) returns to the dealership world as an Internet Sales Director.  “Here is my story of rejoining the store and the steps I took that made my website the best performing in my group and achieved “#1 CPO Dealer in the state” status six months in a row.  Let me share how I believe a new Internet Manager can quickly make their store a success as well.” (Stay tuned for my  upcoming workshop “Internet Marketing Cliff Notes -short, sweet and successful.”)

Chapter I - It hurts to crawl on my knees again. Luckily it is only temporary.

That is it….I am back into the dealership world. I missed you, the world of shiny showrooms, the smell of rubber and the so-distinctive new car smell. And yes, I missed the challenge of helping a store achieve its full potential as a 21^st century dealership embracing the Internet.

Tip #1: View your site through your customer’s eyes

Where do I start? Personnel? Process? Lead Providers? – No, I decided that shouldn’t be priority #1.  What is most important is getting an idea of how your dealership appears to your prospects. I needed to first put on my “consumer-glasses” to understand what they are seeing, and then I can determine the path forward that will get the consumer to buy at my store. What did I do? Let’s crawl and see.

All of us in the dealership should know by now that at least 90% of all car shopping starts somewhere and somehow online. Shoppers “Google or Bing around” search phrases related to the model desired and the city they live in. This initial search generally leads to reviewing 3^rd parties like Edmunds or AOL.Autos for test results and independent car experts’ advice. After that, they most likely end up on the OEM’s manufacturer website, lured by whatever seasonal offers or events are taking place right now. From the OEM website, the customer drills down to find which dealership is closest to their zip code. 

 So, taking this roadmap of typical automotive buying behavior, my first action should be clear: “CHECK YOUR DEALER WEBSITE(s)”. The things I will be looking for are pretty straightforward.

Does my website has the same advertising messaging my OEM is portraying on their site? For me as an eCom Director it is mandatory to have events like “Autobahn for all” or “Sign then drive” event on all my dealership websites. I am not speaking just about having the graphics but also written content of these national campaigns on my site(s).

Tip #2: Make sure shoppers responding to OEM advertising and programs find them on your site.

Adding OEM promotional content assures that local prospects looking for those campaign deals will find familiar territory and verbiage on my site. They know immediately that “VJ Motors” is participating in these well-known manufacturer deals seen on TV, Radio, Off- and Online. As a dealer, doing this will guarantee me a fraction of the millions and millions of dollars spent by my OEM. I get my piece of the huge advertising campaign pie – and everybody knows….I love pie.

Here was my first plan of action:

• Determine my OEM’s current ad campaign (In this case the “Going Going Gone Event”)
• Update all new car specials shown in the website with the particular “Going Going Gone” phrase
• Main URL page showed as first slider Going Going Gone event participation, linked to the New Car Special page
• SEO Content was modified and “Going Going Gone Event” as well “Autobahn for All” slogans were weaved in on homepage, New Car inventory page, New Car Special page and various model pages.

Because we all know that SEO results do not show up overnight, the written content placed on the described pages is here for the long run and should be not taken down when the OEM campaign stops – most likely you will see the same named event taking place again a few months down the road and in the meantime your content pages hopefully left some impactful results in the SERP.

Tip #3: Leverage all your content in social media and see SEO results soar

Post promotional content in your social media, such as a photo montage on your blog captioned “VJ Motors in Motorville enjoys the hundreds of customers stopping by customers during the VW Going Going Gone event.” The reason for doing this is that search engines love news updates through social media streams. By optimizing these channels with your dealership name and the event name in the post, you are supporting your organic SEO piece by piece. Try it – it has worked for me! 

Tip #4: “But I have no time to do any of this”

As a busy dealer, aligning with OEM’s may sound like a lot of work and too much of a hassle. I felt this way too.

There are two main ways I’ve found to alleviate the hassle issue: Choose an endorsed website provider and work with their professional account strategist. 

If your dealership has an endorsed website provider with OEM-coordinated advertising campaigns, the work you need to perform on your end will be a little bit less, thanks to perfectly timed and “ready-to-go” websites and landing pages at the start of the national campaigns.

Another thing that helped me was that I could speak to my account advocate at the website provider to assist me in my efforts to tweak my messaging to my taste. So, if you’ve signed up for this type of service – use it, bring up your ideas, and let them do the main frame work. That way you can focus on the other things you need to do, making a dealership or dealer group successful – as I will show you in my next chapter.

Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov famously tantalized his dogs by ringing a bell to alert them that food was about to be served. The dogs, soon wise enough to associate the sound of a tinkling bell with a big juicy steak, began to salivate each time the bell tolled.

This associated behavior is known as “classical conditioning,” and the parallel between the doghouse and the dealership cannot be clearer. Obviously, the incoming lead is the “ringing bell” in your dealership, and the dealers are the hungry dogs pouncing on the lead.

Right? Wrong.

Instead, what I hear all too often in my visits around the nation’s dealerships are lackluster lead responses like “Ahh, that can wait a little bit.” or “Somebody else can take the phone call.” Over the past four or five months, I’ve noticed this non-responsive attitude toward leads becoming more common than ever.

What happened to the urgency? Shouldn’t every Internet sales person know by now that the first fifteen minutes are the most critical when it comes to new automotive leads? Why are all the Internet sales processes taught in OEM seminars and Dealer Group guidelines going out the window?

To understand this seemingly irrational behavior, we must return to Pavlov’s dogs.

In the same experiment, Pavlov began ringing the bell WITHOUT providing food, to see if the dogs would still respond with salivating and pouncing. Result: Without the food (stimuli), the bell elicited less and less “drooling” and, after a while, the behavior became extinct.

The moral of the story? For a variety of reasons, Internet Sales Managers have stopped associating leads with sales. As a result, sales urgency is out and “lead lethargy” is in. In order to understand why, we must identify the reasons and establish best practices around digital automotive lead management.

Why Automotive Leads “Overflow” is Turning Alpha Dogs into Lapdogs

Why have so many dealers stopped associating leads with sales? Believe it or not, one key reason is the sheer abundance of leads. Digital automotive marketing has done its job almost too well, and as a result, there is an unprecedented flow of leads and lead sources. Like Pavlov’s ringing bell,today’s Internet Managers are inundated with nonstop chimes, buzzers, pages and calls, all alerting them that leads are pouring in.

With “too many” leads for one Internet Salesperson to handle; the reward for selling a car will be still there, but the closing ratio will drop. This drop will probably defeat company’s policies (closing ration >10% and so on). If a dealership has an average of 200 leads coming in per month, even if an Internet Salesperson sells 18 cars a month, they will still not be able to make a dent. Realizing this, the salesperson begins “cherry picking,” handling the lower hanging fruit (e.g the rare used car in inventory with tons of inquiries), and neglecting the fresh 3rd party leads, most likely the leads w/ the highest cost per sale ratio.

How to Yank the Leash on Automotive Lead Management Apathy

1.Staff up. Many managers hear this story and think the answer is to decrease leads. Instead of canceling leads, I suggest converting one or more salesperson into your Internet team and supplying them with the lead “overflow.” By sharing the wealth, you get to keep all your leads and still make sure each one gets the attention it deserves.

2.Limit leads per person. Even a dog faced with 2,000 juicy steaks can’t eat them all. Sharpen sales concentration by limiting the number of start-to-finish leads to 80-90 per person/month.  If they are an absolute pro, 120 start-to-finish leads may be doable, but don’t risk it unless you are sure this person is well-versed in your internal process.

3.Correlate effort and reward. To keep that urgency going, you have to make sure the stimulus is there. Let your team know “This next incoming lead will be the only one for today.” Limiting leads will stretch the necessity to handle each lead with thoroughness, according to your automotive  lead management process. Needless to say, it was also increase staff motivation. All of a sudden the dog who was sitting with his tail between his legs will be streaking after the tennis ball.
 

These lead management practices work, I can assure you. I have turned around 3 franchises in the last 6 months to #1 CPO in state, #2 CPO in the country, and #1 New Car dealer objective, and so on. By integrating these practices, I have helped dealership realize the most Internet department sales ever, not by minimizing lead count, but by allocating the right resources in my eCommerce departments.

In conclusion, while I do not expect Internet Sales people to start drooling and pawing when an Internet Sales phone page comes across, these lead management practices should urge them to get out of their chair and “take care about business” right away.

And? Did this post ring a bell?

VJ - The Social Media Buzzer

PHOENIX  -  ATLANTA

Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov famously tantalized his dogs by ringing a bell to alert them that food was about to be served. The dogs, soon wise enough to associate the sound of a tinkling bell with a big juicy steak, began to salivate each time the bell tolled.

This associated behavior is known as “classical conditioning,” and the parallel between the doghouse and the dealership cannot be clearer. Obviously, the incoming lead is the “ringing bell” in your dealership, and the dealers are the hungry dogs pouncing on the lead.

Right? Wrong.

Instead, what I hear all too often in my visits around the nation’s dealerships are lackluster lead responses like “Ahh, that can wait a little bit.” or “Somebody else can take the phone call.” Over the past four or five months, I’ve noticed this non-responsive attitude toward leads becoming more common than ever.

What happened to the urgency? Shouldn’t every Internet sales person know by now that the first fifteen minutes are the most critical when it comes to new automotive leads? Why are all the Internet sales processes taught in OEM seminars and Dealer Group guidelines going out the window?

To understand this seemingly irrational behavior, we must return to Pavlov’s dogs.

In the same experiment, Pavlov began ringing the bell WITHOUT providing food, to see if the dogs would still respond with salivating and pouncing. Result: Without the food (stimuli), the bell elicited less and less “drooling” and, after a while, the behavior became extinct.

The moral of the story? For a variety of reasons, Internet Sales Managers have stopped associating leads with sales. As a result, sales urgency is out and “lead lethargy” is in. In order to understand why, we must identify the reasons and establish best practices around digital automotive lead management.

Why Automotive Leads “Overflow” is Turning Alpha Dogs into Lapdogs

Why have so many dealers stopped associating leads with sales? Believe it or not, one key reason is the sheer abundance of leads. Digital automotive marketing has done its job almost too well, and as a result, there is an unprecedented flow of leads and lead sources. Like Pavlov’s ringing bell,today’s Internet Managers are inundated with nonstop chimes, buzzers, pages and calls, all alerting them that leads are pouring in.

With “too many” leads for one Internet Salesperson to handle; the reward for selling a car will be still there, but the closing ratio will drop. This drop will probably defeat company’s policies (closing ration >10% and so on). If a dealership has an average of 200 leads coming in per month, even if an Internet Salesperson sells 18 cars a month, they will still not be able to make a dent. Realizing this, the salesperson begins “cherry picking,” handling the lower hanging fruit (e.g the rare used car in inventory with tons of inquiries), and neglecting the fresh 3rd party leads, most likely the leads w/ the highest cost per sale ratio.

How to Yank the Leash on Automotive Lead Management Apathy

1.Staff up. Many managers hear this story and think the answer is to decrease leads. Instead of canceling leads, I suggest converting one or more salesperson into your Internet team and supplying them with the lead “overflow.” By sharing the wealth, you get to keep all your leads and still make sure each one gets the attention it deserves.

2.Limit leads per person. Even a dog faced with 2,000 juicy steaks can’t eat them all. Sharpen sales concentration by limiting the number of start-to-finish leads to 80-90 per person/month.  If they are an absolute pro, 120 start-to-finish leads may be doable, but don’t risk it unless you are sure this person is well-versed in your internal process.

3.Correlate effort and reward. To keep that urgency going, you have to make sure the stimulus is there. Let your team know “This next incoming lead will be the only one for today.” Limiting leads will stretch the necessity to handle each lead with thoroughness, according to your automotive  lead management process. Needless to say, it was also increase staff motivation. All of a sudden the dog who was sitting with his tail between his legs will be streaking after the tennis ball.
 

These lead management practices work, I can assure you. I have turned around 3 franchises in the last 6 months to #1 CPO in state, #2 CPO in the country, and #1 New Car dealer objective, and so on. By integrating these practices, I have helped dealership realize the most Internet department sales ever, not by minimizing lead count, but by allocating the right resources in my eCommerce departments.

In conclusion, while I do not expect Internet Sales people to start drooling and pawing when an Internet Sales phone page comes across, these lead management practices should urge them to get out of their chair and “take care about business” right away.

And? Did this post ring a bell?

VJ - The Social Media Buzzer

PHOENIX  -  ATLANTA

Good news for early adapters in our so beloved automobile industry. When you are one of the pioneers using in your ads, Maroni stickers, or even on Business cards the two-dimensional barcode like images – a.k.a. quick-response codes or in short QR-Codes – you past the stage of  prior “thinking out of  the box” with flying colors.

As you know adaptable smartphone apps are able to scan and then convert the code into a picture ad or other information you would love to share with your potential clients.

Advantage for the consumer: Recalling “what was shown or said in an ad” with a push of a button.

Advantage for us dealerships: Unlimited "air" time - 24/7/365

The MGH group conducted a survey to see how consumers are adapting to the “new” technology, which is actually now out for more than a year. Here is the great news and opportunity for us dealers:

• Almost 75% of smartphone users are very likely or at least somewhat intrigued to recall   advertising and marketing messages with QR codes
• Awareness among smartphone users rose to 65% (have seen a QR Code)
• 56% recognized the two-dimensional images on product packaging
• 45% recalled to have seen them on magazines and (ATTENTION PLEASE) on coupons
• And more than a quarter of the users saw the QR’s in newspaper ads (is your dealership still doing off-line advertising in your local newspaper? If so “jam” a QR code into your ads!)

So, the question here is “what did the smartphone users use their code for?”

The top-3 contenders are:

• 53% want to find coupons or discounts on their products or services they want to obtain from a business
• 52% want more product or service information (did your OEM already convert their new car price stickers and show the QR code? You should check because it is on almost every manufacturers agenda to “put it out there”)
• 33% just scanning it to have the opportunity to win in sweepstakes

The rest of usage reasons are: accessing videos, making actually purchases, signing up to receive more information and last but not least interacting with social media networks.

One of the more important reflections of the survey (especially from the business owner standpoint), which was held in February 2010 via the Vision Critical America panel, is showing an indisputable fact and a huge opportunity for everyone who wants to play in this “QR league”.

70% of the first time QR code users and those who used it already having following motivation to do so:

• They want to find deals and/or discounts (87% !!!)
• They want to play and enter into sweepstakes (64%)
• They want to have access to more information (63%)
• They actually are ready to purchase right away (60%)
• They enter their information into your database to receive more information from you on the products or services you offer (53% - here comes the good old permission based email marketing in my mind)

So, I hope I provided you with some brain teasers to make you even more think if and when you should join the “QR-force” and get your business another (two-dimensional) platform. In my opinion, this should be a no-brainer for you.

Good news for early adapters in our so beloved automobile industry. When you are one of the pioneers using in your ads, Maroni stickers, or even on Business cards the two-dimensional barcode like images – a.k.a. quick-response codes or in short QR-Codes – you past the stage of  prior “thinking out of  the box” with flying colors.

As you know adaptable smartphone apps are able to scan and then convert the code into a picture ad or other information you would love to share with your potential clients.

Advantage for the consumer: Recalling “what was shown or said in an ad” with a push of a button.

Advantage for us dealerships: Unlimited "air" time - 24/7/365

The MGH group conducted a survey to see how consumers are adapting to the “new” technology, which is actually now out for more than a year. Here is the great news and opportunity for us dealers:

• Almost 75% of smartphone users are very likely or at least somewhat intrigued to recall   advertising and marketing messages with QR codes
• Awareness among smartphone users rose to 65% (have seen a QR Code)
• 56% recognized the two-dimensional images on product packaging
• 45% recalled to have seen them on magazines and (ATTENTION PLEASE) on coupons
• And more than a quarter of the users saw the QR’s in newspaper ads (is your dealership still doing off-line advertising in your local newspaper? If so “jam” a QR code into your ads!)

So, the question here is “what did the smartphone users use their code for?”

The top-3 contenders are:

• 53% want to find coupons or discounts on their products or services they want to obtain from a business
• 52% want more product or service information (did your OEM already convert their new car price stickers and show the QR code? You should check because it is on almost every manufacturers agenda to “put it out there”)
• 33% just scanning it to have the opportunity to win in sweepstakes

The rest of usage reasons are: accessing videos, making actually purchases, signing up to receive more information and last but not least interacting with social media networks.

One of the more important reflections of the survey (especially from the business owner standpoint), which was held in February 2010 via the Vision Critical America panel, is showing an indisputable fact and a huge opportunity for everyone who wants to play in this “QR league”.

70% of the first time QR code users and those who used it already having following motivation to do so:

• They want to find deals and/or discounts (87% !!!)
• They want to play and enter into sweepstakes (64%)
• They want to have access to more information (63%)
• They actually are ready to purchase right away (60%)
• They enter their information into your database to receive more information from you on the products or services you offer (53% - here comes the good old permission based email marketing in my mind)

So, I hope I provided you with some brain teasers to make you even more think if and when you should join the “QR-force” and get your business another (two-dimensional) platform. In my opinion, this should be a no-brainer for you.

We all know Facebook is right now for dealerships around the nation the #1 choice when trying to engage with customers off-site, next to the biweekly or monthly ownership email marketing “blast” (my God do I hate this term “blast”) and/or dealer newsletter provided by IMN, Outsell, 3Birds Marketing or OnStation.

But I could discover throughout my held trainings and seminars that we as dealers very rarely know about the motives of consumers, why they are following us or a brand – why do they like us. What make fans and followers click?

A recent conducted research of Co-Tweet and ExactTarget came closer to provide an answer. The following motives and answers will possibly help dealerships to adjust their engagement level on Social Media Networks. It will help us further in creating new approaches to “catch” potential customers’ attention.

Here the Top 10 Motivations why Consumers “Like” a Brand on Facebook and Follow

1. 40% want to receive discounts and promotions

2. 37% want to show support for the brand/company to thers

3. 36% hope (want) to get free samples, a coupon (a.k.a. freebies)

4. 34% want to stay informed about the activities of the company

5. 33% want to get updates on future products

6. 30% want to get updates and information on future sales

7. 27% like to get fun and entertainment out of it

8. 25% want to get access to exclusive content

9. 22% mentioned they were referred by someone to follow this brand/company

10. 21% want just to learn more about the company

Wow, would you have guessed it. Consumers actually like to receive update and information on future sales!

And by the way, don’t feel bad when you do not have too many interactions, shared thoughts and ideas or provided feedbacks from your “fans, followers and likes”.

The survey found out that indeed only 13% want to interact directly with the company.

So, my suggestion would be: Take the numbers, share them with your sales and management team and start to tailor a Facebook Marketing plan around the findings.

Happy reading, planning and executing...VJ the Social Media Buzzer

We all know Facebook is right now for dealerships around the nation the #1 choice when trying to engage with customers off-site, next to the biweekly or monthly ownership email marketing “blast” (my God do I hate this term “blast”) and/or dealer newsletter provided by IMN, Outsell, 3Birds Marketing or OnStation.

But I could discover throughout my held trainings and seminars that we as dealers very rarely know about the motives of consumers, why they are following us or a brand – why do they like us. What make fans and followers click?

A recent conducted research of Co-Tweet and ExactTarget came closer to provide an answer. The following motives and answers will possibly help dealerships to adjust their engagement level on Social Media Networks. It will help us further in creating new approaches to “catch” potential customers’ attention.

Here the Top 10 Motivations why Consumers “Like” a Brand on Facebook and Follow

1. 40% want to receive discounts and promotions

2. 37% want to show support for the brand/company to thers

3. 36% hope (want) to get free samples, a coupon (a.k.a. freebies)

4. 34% want to stay informed about the activities of the company

5. 33% want to get updates on future products

6. 30% want to get updates and information on future sales

7. 27% like to get fun and entertainment out of it

8. 25% want to get access to exclusive content

9. 22% mentioned they were referred by someone to follow this brand/company

10. 21% want just to learn more about the company

Wow, would you have guessed it. Consumers actually like to receive update and information on future sales!

And by the way, don’t feel bad when you do not have too many interactions, shared thoughts and ideas or provided feedbacks from your “fans, followers and likes”.

The survey found out that indeed only 13% want to interact directly with the company.

So, my suggestion would be: Take the numbers, share them with your sales and management team and start to tailor a Facebook Marketing plan around the findings.

Happy reading, planning and executing...VJ the Social Media Buzzer

The first part of “Consumer Trends for 2011” – a research performed by trendwatching.com, showed three trends so far on how consumer behavior will change and how we, the dealerships can prepare ourselves successfully for the upcoming year.

We covered so far topics on “Consumer will look for more realness and human touches”, "Consumers will be more prone to try new products and new services” and that they will look out for “more targeted pricing and offers”. Which other trends will be important for dealerships to take a look at? The Part 2 will discover how important Status symbols are still for consumers and how a dealership will be able to get “Evangelists” involved in their referral business.

1. Consumers will look out for gaining Online Status Symbols Trendwatching.com clearly defines and recommends for businesses to supply costumers with any kind of symbol or badges. This “symbol” can be a virtual one (like we already know from Foursquare and their variety of “unlocking badges” and the mayor seal of one particular business location) or a “real world” one with real world prizes like T-shirts, caps or just special coupons. I can see you already frowning and ask yourself, “what in the world is a real world status symbol I can give to my customers?”, and it actually much more easier than you possible thought. Check your key fob, please! Do you see any CVS, Publix, Borders or Fitness Club member cards on it? Yes? – Here we go, that is what will be in 2011 even more valuable (and as we all know not a new idea). Checking on myself, I particular shop at these places, who had provided me with a key fob card, and as I do other consumers as well love to be members of a club, free of charge but with benefits allowing them to save more money than any other regular customers or even get a cheese bagel for free as you see here at the ad, asking particular for your card or tag.

In regards to the virtual world, we have seen and heard about car dealerships setting up their own iPhone or Android dealerships app into realty, with the idea to provide their customers with a feel of “security” (click the app and connect instantly) and “specials on demand”, without jumping on the computer, looking up the special page, hitting the print button, taking the paper…and so forth, you get the idea.

Last but not least, try to get your customers be the mayor of your dealership and reward her with a “bonus, bonus special”, just because they checked in at your dealership location again. When you didn’t do the task so far and at least checked out Google Places, Foursquare, Gowalla, Groupon or even Facebook Places please put it on your to-do list for early on in 2011. Get familiar with the Geo-location based services, promoting business who decided to create specials for particular check-ins (like mayor ships) or for everyone, who is coming by and is using your dealership for buying parts or needs service.

2. Consumers will convert into “Twin-sumers” and “Social-lites” Early on adapters, who knew how consumers selecting their dealerships in the future know what I am talking about. As trendwatching.com pointed out there will be two different kind of online shoppers in the future. One type will be the “Twin-sumer” – a consumer with similar consumer patterns, likes, dislikes and who are hence valuable sources for recommendations on what to buy and where to get the best purchase experience.

You can be certain that these consumers will know how to work review sites like Yelp, Merchant Circle or more car specific review sites like dealerrater.com, Edmunds dealer reviews and Presto Reviews. When you are not familiar with any of these review sites – Holy Moly, it’s about time for you to get your team and dealership behind the idea of reputation management. An early on adapter on “how important customer reviews for a dealership can be”, is Dick Hannah Honda and its General Manager Joe Orr with more than 220 reviews on Dealerrater, dominating the entire state of Washington and giving Honda prospects a sense of security and the right place for a good deal.

On the other hand we have consumers operating as “Social-lites”, who are using their social circles and social affiliates to spread their experiences out into the world-wide web. Owning the business and trust of a “Social-lite” consumer, will make it possible to “grow” you an Evangelist and Advocate for your business. In the old days we had asked our customers for referrals, most of the time short after the sale or around 4 weeks later, hoping the customer had a name for us. Now, we know when a “Social-lite” was satisfied and agreed to take a photo for our Dealer Fan Page or doing a YouTube testimonial, she will be happy to spread the word throughout her circle of influence. Her followers will see the video or photo and she will get immediate responses out of it – your own Dealer Evangelist was just “created”.

This concludes part 2 of Trends for 2011 – What is your customer up to Part 3 will be posted in the next couple of days.

The first part of “Consumer Trends for 2011” – a research performed by trendwatching.com, showed three trends so far on how consumer behavior will change and how we, the dealerships can prepare ourselves successfully for the upcoming year.

We covered so far topics on “Consumer will look for more realness and human touches”, "Consumers will be more prone to try new products and new services” and that they will look out for “more targeted pricing and offers”. Which other trends will be important for dealerships to take a look at? The Part 2 will discover how important Status symbols are still for consumers and how a dealership will be able to get “Evangelists” involved in their referral business.

1. Consumers will look out for gaining Online Status Symbols Trendwatching.com clearly defines and recommends for businesses to supply costumers with any kind of symbol or badges. This “symbol” can be a virtual one (like we already know from Foursquare and their variety of “unlocking badges” and the mayor seal of one particular business location) or a “real world” one with real world prizes like T-shirts, caps or just special coupons. I can see you already frowning and ask yourself, “what in the world is a real world status symbol I can give to my customers?”, and it actually much more easier than you possible thought. Check your key fob, please! Do you see any CVS, Publix, Borders or Fitness Club member cards on it? Yes? – Here we go, that is what will be in 2011 even more valuable (and as we all know not a new idea). Checking on myself, I particular shop at these places, who had provided me with a key fob card, and as I do other consumers as well love to be members of a club, free of charge but with benefits allowing them to save more money than any other regular customers or even get a cheese bagel for free as you see here at the ad, asking particular for your card or tag.

In regards to the virtual world, we have seen and heard about car dealerships setting up their own iPhone or Android dealerships app into realty, with the idea to provide their customers with a feel of “security” (click the app and connect instantly) and “specials on demand”, without jumping on the computer, looking up the special page, hitting the print button, taking the paper…and so forth, you get the idea.

Last but not least, try to get your customers be the mayor of your dealership and reward her with a “bonus, bonus special”, just because they checked in at your dealership location again. When you didn’t do the task so far and at least checked out Google Places, Foursquare, Gowalla, Groupon or even Facebook Places please put it on your to-do list for early on in 2011. Get familiar with the Geo-location based services, promoting business who decided to create specials for particular check-ins (like mayor ships) or for everyone, who is coming by and is using your dealership for buying parts or needs service.

2. Consumers will convert into “Twin-sumers” and “Social-lites” Early on adapters, who knew how consumers selecting their dealerships in the future know what I am talking about. As trendwatching.com pointed out there will be two different kind of online shoppers in the future. One type will be the “Twin-sumer” – a consumer with similar consumer patterns, likes, dislikes and who are hence valuable sources for recommendations on what to buy and where to get the best purchase experience.

You can be certain that these consumers will know how to work review sites like Yelp, Merchant Circle or more car specific review sites like dealerrater.com, Edmunds dealer reviews and Presto Reviews. When you are not familiar with any of these review sites – Holy Moly, it’s about time for you to get your team and dealership behind the idea of reputation management. An early on adapter on “how important customer reviews for a dealership can be”, is Dick Hannah Honda and its General Manager Joe Orr with more than 220 reviews on Dealerrater, dominating the entire state of Washington and giving Honda prospects a sense of security and the right place for a good deal.

On the other hand we have consumers operating as “Social-lites”, who are using their social circles and social affiliates to spread their experiences out into the world-wide web. Owning the business and trust of a “Social-lite” consumer, will make it possible to “grow” you an Evangelist and Advocate for your business. In the old days we had asked our customers for referrals, most of the time short after the sale or around 4 weeks later, hoping the customer had a name for us. Now, we know when a “Social-lite” was satisfied and agreed to take a photo for our Dealer Fan Page or doing a YouTube testimonial, she will be happy to spread the word throughout her circle of influence. Her followers will see the video or photo and she will get immediate responses out of it – your own Dealer Evangelist was just “created”.

This concludes part 2 of Trends for 2011 – What is your customer up to Part 3 will be posted in the next couple of days.