"Seeing is Believing" - a very well known quote, which pops in our head, when we are not just 100% sure what to make out of things we just learned or heard. Since today "I believe it when I see it" plays now also a role in the correlation between Social Media influence and a buyers behavior, looking at the just released research data from Foresee Results .

Even so more than 500 million people know, use, live and breath Facebook the Foresee survey is revealing some numbers, which may shock the one or other among us. I guess especially the self-proclaimed and hyped-catapulted Social Media Gurus need some oxygen right now, when I open the can of worms - just promise me you won't faint, please.

According to a customer satisfaction survey, conducted at the 40 top Internet retailers just 5% (read my lips please "F-I-V-E") of the shoppers were influenced by the retailer's social media channel or outlet to visit the particular store! So, how did consumers actually decide get onto the retailer's website and to find their way to their designated retail shopping experience?

Social Media Evangelists, please stay calm....

19 percent those surveyed actually followed tips and links generated though promotional emails, when on the other hand 8 percent just visited Google or any other search engine to get the desired destination link. Even so Social Media is still growing it was for the year 2010 and the retail industry not the influential tipping point for consumers.

The nearly 10,000 survey responses, which were collected in a 2 week time frame (11/29 to 12/15/2010) targeted shoppers who purchased from the 40 Top Internet Retailers. Deciding factors in the questionnaire were Price, Merchandise, Website content, and Website functionality.

Who ended up "where"?

• Best in class: Amazon and Netflix were ranked with Highest Satisfaction Scores on the shopper's end
• Need to improve: Sears and TigersDirect scored the lowest points in satisfaction (not only the lightning at Sears stores seemed to miss the mark)
• Considering all stores surveyed the overall satisfaction results showed 78 points out of 100 points possible (which s one point lower than 2009's survey)

The responses showed also that most likely the "website experience" was an important factor for shoppers rather than the price. The price savvy shoppers were most likely found on websites of HSN, Office Depot, Office Max, HP and Cabella and expected to find offers as their top priority. Content as a top priority was found in William-Sonoma's and Victoria Secrets website (hmmm, I wonder why?)

Shoppers who see the "site experience" as their top priority where most likely found spending money on Netflix, Dell, Home Depot, QVC and others. Best Buy, Macy's and Overstock (as many others) were looked after for "merchandise selection" as top priority.

So, after the shock - Social Media is not at all the Holy Grail - I guess we can figure out from here, that established online Marketing activities and tactics like website "browse-ability", inventory and content, high search-ability in the search engines and a smart crafted email templates or email newsletters.

Even so this survey was targeted to Online Retailers, the recipe can be held universal and will also fit retail stores and especially Car Dealerships, who are still searching for the Silver "shiny" Bullet. Make sure your business will be found when somebody in the market types into Google "2011 Chevy Impala Austin".

Show your potential customer who hopefully just picked you up on the search result will experience a website, offering adequate and thorough content pages on the model searched for and a "hook", where the website converts (a.k.a. form submission form or tracking phone number).

Let's go and "get' em Tiger".

posted originally on SocialMediaBuzzer.com

picture source: Whyatt.com.au

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.

 

According to research of http://trendwatching.com the year 2011 will have changes in consumer behavior which screams for a change in business behavior and attitude as well. No more Business as Usual please, when you want to keep the edge.

Here are the first three points trendwatching.com is pointing out of the eleven findings

1. Consumers will look for more realness and human touches

Chances for dealerships to engage with social media sharing more than ever. Consumer’s are craving for more authenticity, realness, human touch and less canned approaches to win their business. When dealerships taking the time to analyze, or even better watch the behavior and comments of their followers – you’ll gain insights to moods, wants and even their location, which then enable the dealership to send out targeted messages. Geo location based applications like Foursquare, Gowalla and Facebook detected these trends early, early on and made targeted advertising for businesses to their clientele an easy and achievable task.

2. Consumers will be more prone to try new products and services

Danger for dealerships – falling in old and not any longer workable habits. The old formula "one time a Benz or Chevy driver always a Chevy driver" is a tale of the past. Due to globalization of new products and services the customers becoming more liberal, more tolerant and also more experienced to digest information. This means, the customers knows more than you - the sales professional - when arriving in your showroom.

TMV or True Market Value, Show me the CarFax or Yelp reviews are not any longer just terms an insider buyer knows how to obtain the best deals or to questioning the heck out of the sales persons' brain. Since manufacturers producing more models than anybody possibly can handle or needs to buy a car, customers making decisions based on following facts

1. Car Makers who are understanding the value of human globalization (Ford and their new so called World Cars) and engaging in a s subliminal but consistent way via social media interaction, and
2. Companies who will offer the biggest value (maintenance free plans, Hyundai Assurance programs, Chrysler's "you don't like it - you bring it back", etc.) to potential buyers. Further transparency is the next big word, you'll hear more and more, especially on dealership levels.
3. Transparency on dealer levels are easy to achieve, when...., when the processes are in place and everybody in the dealership buys into the idea what needs and has to happen. However, transparency and reputation can be the evil twins for a dealer or Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny at once, presenting surprises like positive reviews, testimonials, rankings and ratings displaying your performance for everybody to see. It is essential for each sales professional to ask not any longer only for referrals but also to follow up and guide the customers post sales to review site that count in the automotive industry. Ask for a good grade and let the customer tell everybody how great you are.

3. Targeted pricing and offers for your potential customers

The times of the good old shotgun advertising – blast out your pellets or in this case your ad message and possibly you’ll hit one or two potential clients and trigger a purchase are over. I actually don’t care what your advertising agency or offline advertising rep is telling you. The fact that “radio and print is so hot right now and will never die” – is just not true, especially in the huge Metro markets. Rather going for the rabbit hunting approach, blasting into a bulk of running rabbits and two will possibly not make it. Instead develop the skills of a sniper. Sit in your hideaway, observe the target(s), make no noise and wait – wait until you see the desired 13-pointer, mark it - and "boom" - touche. You got this large deer because you were hiding out where the pack is eating - you targeted exactly the location where you'll find the best of the best. So, I am asking now, why don't you "hide out" where your customers are today? Online!

For example: Look at your fan base on Twitter, Facebook – what is your average follower age group, are these more female or male customers, are they actively engaging with comments on your postings? Target your message!

A Nielsen Study revealed that Baby Boomers just discovered the power of Facebook around a year ago, and this particular customer group loves to shop online (THOUGHT: are you offering a shopping card / check-out for your automotive parts and accessories)?

The second group of valuable customers - The Generation X is looking for offers or amenities who are considered “convenience factors” – like real-time online service scheduling, pick-up service and drop-off loaner cars for families with little kids of two and more – and the most upcoming digitally involved and engaged generation –

The Millennials – are having more than 2 social media profiles, using text messaging on mobile devices more than they use the device to phone around. Using texting to submit your instant mobile coupons and discounts, flash sales and even dynamic ad hoc pricing will make you “hip” in their eyes and gain you the edge.

This concludes part 1 of Trends for 2011 - What is your customer up to

Part 2 will be posted in the next couple of days.

Hundreds of attendees and digital Pros during the Digital Dealer conference and me; still haven’t found what I am looking for.

Time and Health did not allow me this time to attend to the 9^th Digital Dealer Conference in Las Vegas, and as I could see out of Twitter streams and raw YouTube footages – people had fun, great times and a lot of information. Comments like “The best Digital Dealer Conference ever”…”Thanks so much for a great show”…”We had a blast”, encouraged me to follow closely the real-time reportage on Twitter, using the designated hashtag #dd9.

I thought “when everybody is showing such engagement in Social Media, everybody is using twitter on their smart-phones like it is a breathing reflex (frequent and persistent), carrying a flip cam or similar like it is their 3^rd implanted eye, there should be actually no problem to find out for myself, who would have the most innovative products or “killer” services announced during the conference”…

Encouraged due to the mentioned facts above I decided to simply ask following question on Twitter using the hashtag #dd9:

Questions attendees, dealers.  Did you’ve seen any product / service during the #dd9 so far which have blown you away? Who are they?  

 

To make sure that the question would be noticed I decided further to post several (+10) variations throughout the days(s), hoping for a good outcome and inside views, what the vendor booths were showing.

Here are the Results: Nothing – Nada – Nilch – Zip – Null - Nichts.

Can you believe it that not one of the attending dealer personnel answered the question?

I received 4 (four!) vendor responses (PCG, VinSolutions, ADP and vAuto), which was alright, but what happened to all the other 850 attending dealers and possible 400 vendor personnel?

Does it show that the preaching done by speakers and presenters over the months “Social Media is about listening, engagement and answering” does not turn out to be valid? Is it because of the short attention span visitors develop during these conference days and are simply overwhelmed to find a clear answer?

What is it? Why could not one attendee or vendor answer this simple question, without promoting their own product?

Do you have an answer?

 We are all using abbreveations. SEO, SEM, SERP, PPC, CTR, yes even my entire name is now known as an abbreveation - VJ. Therefore I am sticking to the plate and wanted to share this Infographic of "The History of Search", and how this niche of PPC and SEM is a money making and generating machine.

Infographic by the PPC Blog.com

Day in - Day out. Like clockwork - tic, tac, tic, tac. Little voices already in your brain whispering "hey......hey.....do not forget to check in....and it has been already 12 minutes that you have had changed your status on Facebook......hey......hey.....and don't forget see that you finally hit the 1000 followers mark on Twitter....hey....." -Okay, when you are reading these lines here and you feel like "hmmm, sounds familiar, and you got by they was sweaty hands and a nervous twitch in your eyes - Houston we have a problem.

It appears to be you are definitive a candidate for the next show intervention, where we are trying to cure your addiction. YOU ARE INDEED ADDICTED TO SOCIAL MEDIA. Because I do not want you to suffer longer and questioning yourself, I have created my first 10 rules which are showing indicators you are in danger being hopelessness addicted to Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare and other drugs provided to us at no charge.

This phenomenon discribed above almost appears to be too real, when hearing about a new study out of the University of Maryland. The Center of International Media & Public Agenda asked 200 students of the University to "abstain for just one day" from all media. They were further asked then to describe their experience by blogging.

Outcome:

The students particpating in this study wrote more than 110,000 words right after the experiment. 100,000 words equals an amount of a 400 page novel! The professor [Susan D. Moeller], who conducted the study said: "I was struck by how the short media blackout personally and emotionally affected the students." So I conducted my own "non-reliable" study, just looking left and right (and into myslef) to come to following "VJ's Conclusion":

10 Reasons showing: You are indeed addicted to Social Media, when...

10.) you are flipping through the Cable channels to find the latest episode of "Intervention" and hoping for that the topic is "FACEBOOK" and not Cocaine

9.) your vanity license plate says TWIT FACE

8.) you tell your spouse on your 10th wedding anniversary "I LIKE YOU"

7.) you are coming home and the first thing you do pulling into the drive-way is making sure you are still the "MAYOR" of yor home

6.) you are checking John Walsh's show on Twitter and hope that the authorities of "America Most Wanted" will "FOLLOW" you, too

5.) you "SHARE" the birth of your 5th child from the surgery room via Live Podcast and YouTube stream cast

4.) you believe that Global Warming will indeed shrink the "TWITTERSPHERE" instead the Atmosphere

3.) you are sitting at the airport and scribble down on a napkin you found in your pocket "10 Reasons showing: You are indeed addicted to Social Media"

2.) you are setting "HASHTAGS" (#) in front of each post about your spouse and refer to her or him as "#THE OTHER ONE"

and finally the number one of 10 reasons showing that you are indeed a Social Media addicts is,

1.) telling your psychotherapeut during your session "Doc, I always feel like being followed by strangers and people I don't even know."

Any other suggestion which defintive will reveal you are a Social Media addict as well? Post them as your comments. Thank you for reading.

VJ (a.k.a. Twit Face)

We, the automotive industry professionals have learned by now that Social Media – The New Media – is becoming more and more a Toddler and is no longer an infant. When in early 2007 a few automotive dealerships started out to put their dealerships on MySpace and later on became friends with Facebook, nobody really had at this time in mind that Social Media will become an essential Marketing Tool, which would create Buzz, WOM and invite potential customers into our Social-Living room also known as “Facebook Dealer Page”.

Even though the economy suffered around the world in 2009, one market showed resistance during the recession: The Online Advertising Market. With a drop in total media advertising spending, the online ad spending increased by 2% which resulted into $55.2 billion. Okay, these numbers are promising – for marketers and ad agencies, but what should you do when you are a recession rattled dealer or dealer group, which is NOT looking to increase marketing dollar spending?

How will you still try to attract “new eyes” for your products? How will you make sure you’ll be found on the Web with all the competition? How are you catching all these “buyer eyes” online, when your store is closed and they actually have questions about your product?

A Digital Marketing Poll of “TopRank” earlier this year showed that six out of ten online marketing tactics were Social Media related complemented by an “energy-boost” of SEM and Email-Marketing. So, my question to you is now “Do you believe that then right ingredients of Content Marketing strategy and the various facets of the Social Media will be the right recipe to win you the title of Cake Boss (analogy: Cut out for you the biggest piece of your DMA pie a.k.a. market-share – bon appetite)?

The current results on the 2011 “TopRank” Digital Marketing Poll (part of the list below; at the point of writing 229 votes were submitted) are showing a trend, and YOU still can influence the outcome and ensure your voice is heard. Just go to “What 3 online marketing channels & tactics will you emphasize in 2011?” and take the survey.

Let me know what your favorites are when commenting on my post. Thank you!  

--VJ

Similar to the fairy tale of the Princess and the Frog, there is another phenomenon in the real marketing and advertising world what pretty much reminds me on this tale. You know it is something new out there, you are not really certain what it does, if it works – and most likely you only will find out when you try it. Just like giving the Frog a kiss and see if it turns into a prince.

We all have by now heard (I guess and hope for you) about Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr and other social media networking websites and networks. One of the newer kids on the blocks are social hubs like Gowalla, Where, Loopt and Foursquare. These three named social engagement tools are considered Geo-location based services which have only one goal in mind: To lure Users, Advertisers and Investors into their fangs. When in 2009 the Mobile Advertising segment scratched the $320 million mark, according to researchers at BIA/Kelsey, the year 2013 is expected to soar to $3.1 billion in the U.S.

May be I should quick reflect on the purposes of these Geo-location based services and explain what they are actually doing. Geo-location services are being embraced by mobile devices and encourage their owners to shop, communicate and socialize. When the purpose of these applications in the early phases were more likely game playing and seeing where my friends were hanging around, the momentum has now shifted. Capital Venture analysts nail it down: Location is one of the most important tools a merchant and marketer can use today. The opportunity to connect with potential consumers and existing customers of a brand can grow deeper. When you still doubt the success or let’s say upcoming phenomenal success of the last 3 mentioned platforms take this my friend:

• Just a few days ago Foursquare was able to secure $20 million in additional venture funding
• In April Foursquare just passed its first million member mark only to just passed 2 months later the 1.8 million member mark
• With this speed Foursquare is able to maintain a growth rate of approximate 15,000 users/day
• Foursquare has more than 15,000 business partnerships established, including Starbucks and even the news channel CNN
• The company “Where” has so far connections and business relations with more than 20,000 businesses
• Loopt has accumulated already 3 million users and attracted Gap and Burger King to their portfolio of clients
• Gowalla is up to 350,000 users

With the driving force of skyrocketing Smart-phone sales and approximate 11,000+ iPhone apps offering location services – the trend is not reversible. As you possible already know; Google with their location based application “Latitude”, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and numerous other Social Network platforms are adding or have already added Geo-location tagging. This is just the beginning. Further down the road is planned to combine Photos and Content with the locations. Chances for dealerships? Huge!!!

Just think about following scenario I discovered when I was a few weeks back in PA. In the evening hours I went to a restaurant, 4-squared my location to share it with my friend and followers to just say what I am up to and typing the info on the home screen of 4SQ. All this happened mobile (using a Blackberry). With my location (tracked to the smartphones GPS system) I also get a small information icon, placed on the right hand corner of the screen with the message “Check offers nearby”. One of the basic principles in Social Media “create curiosity” hit me up, I clicked and “voila” a Starbucks message shows up to tell me that the store right next to the restaurant offers $1 off any Frappuccino. What a perfect scenario in wanting to settle your nightly meal with a nice cold (or warm) Chocolate Chip Frappuccino.

The follow-up post on this topic will handle "how a dealer can utilize this technology for their advantage". In case you do not want to miss this, just sighn up for my RSS-feed @ SocialMediaBuzzer.com and being notified when the follow-up post will be life.

Too often do I get the question during my seminars "VJ, what is the ROI - what can I expect to make on money and how many cars will I be selling at my dealerships, when I am "signing up" for Social media?"....here we go again. I am not complaining that I receive this question but I am foremost dazzled that question is still comparing Social Media Marketing with the "old" way to do Marketing and Advertising.

What was in past (and of course still is) known as Monologue Marketing strategy - the shouting out of Marketers messages to the "may be listening" audience via T.V., Radio and other traditional marketing media has by far nothing to do with the Social Media approach and the possibilities to integrate into your existing marketing mix. Because we are now trying to communicate with potential clients and hope for a response to us, we are pretty much sure that we are now hoping to convert into a Dialogue with our new friend.

We want to find out if they "like us" (you probably have already noticed that Facebook "Friend" button was exchanged into the "Like" button), if they (customers of course) are talking about our organization and hopefully only good stuff, if our influence and brand recognition in our community is growing due to positive WOM (Word-of-Mouth) actions. A positive WOM campaign will end most likely up into positive comments on reveiw sites like Yelp, Merchant Circle, Presto Reviews and dealerrater (the two ladder mentioned are dedicated automotive dealer review sites), which fulfills the objective having postive listed online reviews talking great about you. That is what we want - positive reviews about our business from neutral sources, which are seen by consumers more than 70% reliable than a typical advertising message about your good doing.

With these so called "soft ROI factors" [a.k.a. Return of Engagement (ROE)] we are indeed on the path to create a positive impact on our products, company and ourselves. The video below (launched February) will show you a few more ideas what ROI in the Social Media environment means, and I hope that with changing the focus from former traditional

ROI = (Gain from investment - Cost of Investment) / Cost of Investment

 

into

 

ROI(E) =  Dialogue X  WOM = Penetration + SERP = Walk in Traffic

 

the idea becomes more clear.

And one last advice please - Social Media Marketing embedded in your Marketing Mix is a long-term goal and not a quick fix to work the old "Monologue" practices in a mass market.

So, I am still hoping to get the question, which pointed out in the beginning of this post, because it tells me that there is more work for me to do. More seminars and workshops I need to set up to assist dealerships and dealer groups in their process to integrate Social media Marketing into their overall Marketing objectives. Thank you for reading and thanks for commenting. Looking forward to your responses.

Source: Video-Socialnomics

 

"Okay Mr. Jaeckel, it is time for your yearly check-up. You know blood and lab work, heart-function, lungs and ahmmmm you know what else– well the whole nine yard.” “Well I am really not prepared for “all that”, ahmmm you know what I mean Doctor….do we have to do this…I mean….really? -- “Don’t worry Mr. Jaeckel the “not so nicest part” takes really only 10 seconds. Ready?” Well I can imagine how almost everybody of my peers right now is clinching together when reading this, but we all know that it is necessary task to avoid later implications in life or a possible never ending story of pain to come. And exactly this “yearly routine”, like the yearly physical at your doctor, should be an implemented process at your dealership and your dealer operations. I know, I know – it is not really the thing we are looking forward to, but when we want to stay healthy – physically and professionally – we need to bite this bullet. I am not aware exactly about your position at your dealership, but I am counting on you to be the progressive one, who sees that this is an absolute necessity to keep your operations running without any downtime and more severe hiccups. Therefore I created for you and your dealership’s next “physical” a check-list you may follow to make it an at ease endeavor.

1.) Mine checked in at 80 to 120. How is your blood pressure?

You are receiving incoming 3^rd party leads from several vendors (Dealix, AutoUSA, Autobytel, etc)? Make sure that you check these leads on a monthly basis for possible duplicates, which may when occurring, artificially bump up your lead count and bring down your closing ratios. Send these back right away and get your money back. My eCommerce experience at my then 11 stores told me in the past that double-leads (vendor X and/or Y) showed over the long run the least success in converting this lead into an appointment and/or sales. Stay healthy and measure the closing ratios monthly. When not done yet, track back these 3^rd party leads for the last 6 months and observe their performance. To start out for this exercise and to have a benchmark in case you’d never done it – 3^rd party leads should at least close at 7%. My suggestions for this “added-on baggage - get rid of these vendors right away, like you should get rid of your salt and fat diet, when your blood pressure reads 129 to 184.

2) Breathe-in and Breathe-out – Hold it – and exhale

So you received some more requests for a quote or inventory inquiries. How do you work them? By telephone (I hope you got the right number with the inquiry) and of course sending a response to the prospects submitted email address. You did it? Good! But now what? No phone calls are getting returned to you, no email responses either – well let's try it again….just like the exercise "breathe-in and breathe-out". Part 2, Phone call, left a message or sent another email a day later…Hold it and exhale…darn, again no message and no answer back from this prospect. “Well I try it one time more and when I am not hearing back from him, then forget it”…Hey, hey, hey – please hold on. Like the breathing, this email/phone follow-up is an ongoing process. Why in the world would you stop now to get this prospect to respond after your 2 or 3 day follow-up? Did you know that you need to “hit” a possible customer, who sent in an inquiry around 7 to 12 times in the first 5 days to receive any response? Through my dealership visits, one-on-one meetings and speaking engagements in front of dealer groups, I was stunned to hear that Internet managers or sales people involved of the lead follow-up just dropped out after only 3 days and approximately 5 attempts to get the prospects responding to them. What would you say when I tell you if you would have only tried 2 times more you would have increased your chances to get this prospect on the phone or email response by 60%. Please make sure that you will after this exam here a process installed, which will allow to follow up with the prospect the desired 7-12 times during a 5 days period, and hey…when you get the message the customer did already buy somewhere else, put his contact information into your Ownership Marketing Tool, you hopefully have installed at your dealership already.

3) My Target Heart Rate is 175. How are you keeping up?

As you know, you can eat right, exercise frequently, don’t smoke and drink (excessively) – all that won’t really help you, when your heart makes some problems. It doesn't matter if it is a heart murmur, a skipping beat or a defect valve, when your heart is not in-sync with your body, you possible will be not able to perform even the easiest tasks. This so important organ is similar to your action in using Media and Marketing for you dealership. With far more than 90% of all car buyers and potential clients being online and doing their research in regards to their vehicle they would like to obtain, we are (or better) we need to be at the places our prospects are turning to. With closings of mayor newspapers (San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, etc), car trade magazines (Autotrader print edt.), radio channels (Air America, Next media Group) the consumer shows these Media types a signal "I get my information elsewhere, 24/7 in almost real-time and at my leisure". Especially the hard hit print media in a preliminary cardiac arrest, dealerships now have to take action to put their marketing message out there, where it can be seen, on demand, for lower cost and higher returns. Instead to activate the defibrillator and try to jump start this cranky medium TV, Radio, Print in your local market, the time is right to check for a new "organ"-transplant. This new healthy and year by year growing "organ" is your digital online world. With Display Ads, Banner Ads and Re-marketing Ads, who follow the prospects and their online-surfing behavior to their preferred websites, you can track and re-engage with your prospect at day and night time, after they had initial contact with you on your dealer website. All clicks and impressions are measurable and will show you, how consumers have engaged with you. Almost like an EKG session, which will allow you to see where you can improve and what to look out for. Train this new muscle for your purposes – it is one of the most important ones to take care of.

4) Lab Work - get rid off your LDL (bad cholesterol)

Don’t tell me you are one of these people, who are afraid of a little needle pinching. There is no reason for fainting. With knowing now your HDL and LDL levels, blood cell count and so on, you have an idea if it was right to have turned into the Burger Diet at 9.15PM the last 90 days or if you may have overdone it. Just like the new hype and “must do” shiny thing of Social Media. Experts and Marketers are on the same gig “You need to do it”, and yes I agree to a certain point. You should be involved in your community as a car dealership, and you definitely should have a Facebook page you use as your community online billboard, which tells the stories of the Little League you are sponsoring with your label printed jerseys, which tells about your involvement with the local Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer and the yearly Drive for the Cure. Spread the dealerships involvement on Twitter to engage even more seekers of this kind of information and create more followers on your unique YouTube channel, showing videos of the events at your dealerships, etc. – BUT – start your Social Media engagement, when you are certain about your status on “How are my other processes working?”

• Do you have a long-term follow-up process in place for your incoming email/phone inquiries?
• Did you adjust these long-term email processes in regards to the economical downturn and credit problems people may have? The typical purchase window of 30 to 60 days after receiving an email lead is now at least by additional 30 days extended.
• Are all your Marketing activities fully traceable and in conjunction with your OEM’s marketing campaigns?

When you are aware of your processes, have them aligned and know that they are being followed by your crew, and then you have reached the grade point to engage in Social. As I had mentioned in my latest presentation at the 7^th Digital Dealer Conference in Nashville – CRAWL first (processes in place and being worked on) – then WALK (establish your Social Media presence and reserve your names. Make sure your name is not becoming a subject of being “brand-jacked”) - and when you successfully accomplished these two elementary things – RUN with all what you have. I am positive that it will be difficult for the competition to catch you.

5) And here comes the rubber glove

No, I am not telling you details on this procedure. I am sure you can picture it already. Never the less I still need to emphasize an important topic, which is almost as uncomfortable to talk about as hearing the doctor snapping on the green rubber glove. Let's ay you had the full check-up survived so far, results are looking good. It appears that you are healthy. On the Dealer Level - You know exactly which products in your dealership perform and bring the best ROI, your processes are in place and are being followed excessively, your advertising and marketing works perfectly with your chosen online media and your OEM’s online engagement, you have established a nice fellowship on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube, but now the last step in your exam is ready to happen - “here comes the glove” or translated in dealer lingo - What are you doing with your Social Media messages you put out there? It appears to me that almost 60 – 70 percent of all dealerships who are engaging in social media doing a fatal mistake. We all hear and (hopefully) know about the primary goals of social media:

Listen – Engage – Share Value!

Now, can anybody explain to me what an Inventory feed, which on daily basis shows up in my incoming feeds at Twitter create on Value? And the worst thing is these feed are getting pushed second after second over the next 3 minutes (depending on your inventory) onto my Twitter account and may even will be texted via SMS set up to me. What do you think I will do, when that is happening twice a day - right, I will “de-friend” you, you are out, game lost, don’t even try to get me back. Or how about this tweet “We are open today until 10.00PM. Check out our Inventory. Phone Number …” received at 12.47pm. I swear, 3 minutes later this tweet from the same dealership “We are open today until 10.00PM. Check out our Inventory. Phone Number …” oh, maybe they had a glitch and hit the send button twice. Okay, it’s fine. Now 5 minutes later after the second one “We are open today until 10.00PM. Check out our Inventory. Phone Number …” – are you trying to not any longer having me following you? Well, you asked for it, right? – and I push UNFOLLOW button. Why am I talking about it? I have discovered that we as dealers are putting a lot of work into the Social Media and try hard and ambitiously to attract followers and fans on our desired networking tools. When we have finally attract let’s say 300 followers/fans (real customers and not peers from other dealerships, vendors and personnel), we are proud, happy and should maintain this numbers and even gain more influence at them – and now with these kind of posts mentioned above, you are ruining your entire work in less than 5 minutes. Warren Buffett actually a dead on quote for this kind of behavior which states “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” Please think about it. For supporting my latest point I also included the link of my latest SocialMediaBuzzer Blog post - My Top-10 favorite engaging and valuable Tweets in Twitter. These examples show dealerships posts on Twitter and their nice examples, how to change the monologue behavior to an appropriate social media dialogue in Social Media. Okay, I hope this exam was not too uncomfortable. Keep in mind a doctor has the duty to try to keep you healthy and alive, also when he sometimes needs to be frank and brutally honest to you. It almost reminds me on my Military time and the saying I heard daily from my drill sergeant “When it’s not killing you – at least it will make you tougher”.