Tim James shares the importance of quality videos and tips on ways that dealers can make their videos more appealing to customers.

Today’s consumers are fickle beings. It’s much harder to keep their loyalty than ever before. And, while it may take years to earn loyalty from a single customer, it could take only minutes to lose it. Your dealership can do everything in its power to earn and keep a customer – from loyalty programs, to amazing customer service and luxury amenities. But, there is one basic…

For professional marketers across all industries, the top priority for 2018 is to convert leads into customers, according to Hubspot’s State of Inbound…

For many marketers, most consumer messages have long been based on some sort of sense of urgency. Take dealerships, for example. Even when the customer is in the dealership, everything is about the “big sale” and the threat of “buy now or lose this…

Baseball players are famous for their superstitions and rituals when performing. Some will refuse to shave. Some will wear their hat backwards. Some will wear the same pair of underwear every game. Do they know if those superstitions or rituals affected the outcome of the game? No. Does it matter? No. Why? Because the players are doing the same thing, in every game, the same…

Great leaders and organizations inspire people because they are good at explaining why they do what they do. Their why gets people motivated. Their why makes people want to work for that company. Their why makes people want to buy their products.

For auto dealerships, your purpose is your “why buy” or “value proposition” message. The goal of this message is…

Last week, a UK based travel company received an interesting Facebook post – a user posted a screenshot of a travel itinerary that listed a layover of 413,786 hours (or roughly 47 years). This, of course, was a technical glitch, as the itinerary did not show the traveler arriving at their destination 47 years later and I’m fairly certain the post was simply to inform the travel company about this technical glitch. The social media team – or one person on that team in particular – chose to…

Many businesses, including the automotive industry, have a strong focus on creating a better customer experience through technology. In fact, technology has transformed the customer experience across all industries. Consumers can buy a multitude of products online and have them delivered, in some cases, in an hour. Technology has even advanced to the point that consumers can…

Quality video content can manipulate emotions and convey meaning far beyond the capability of written words or any still images. But videos aren’t effective simply because customers can see you or view the vehicle, they also work well because another sense is stimulated – sound. In a personalized video email, your voice and message is conveyed without ambiguity. Customers…

Digital Marketing plays such an important role in a business’s success today that it is easy to forget how young this medium truly is.  It has, in fact, experienced a growth explosion that is historically unparalleled.  A new innovative marketing product seems to emerge almost on a daily basis. And everyone promises that if you use this new “insert buzz word here,” then you…

A little over a month ago, a couple of employees at a car dealership in Illinois published a music video on YouTube titled “Keys In A Box,” which parodied a sketch from Saturday Night Live. These two individuals proceeded to have a great time and showcased their dealership in a creative and fun way. Their reward? Over 67,000 views in just one month, as well as compliments from Jalopnik, Edmunds and AdWeek. I wouldn’t be surprised if this helps place…

In my last blog article, I discussed the importance of building rapport with leads through the use of “Why Buy From Me” and “Lead Response” videos personalized for each customer. Now I would like to take this one step further -- Building rapport should in fact start much earlier than simply upon the receipt of a lead.

Think about the first contact a customer…

That classic line from the song “Somebody to Love” by legendary band, Queen epitomizes the destination for consumers and the goal of all salespeople. There’s not a doubt in my mind that you’ve heard the phrase “People buy from people they like.” In the past, a consumer had to come into a dealership to start the car shopping process. This is where the important skill of…

Ever since the first car dealership opened, dealers have understood the emotional impact of “the walkaround.”  As consumers move through the buying cycle, they get to a point where they don’t just want, but need to experience a vehicle that they are interested in.  In the past, most consumers would visit the dealership in the evenings, when the lot was closed to avoid “being…

As a sales and marketing professional, you probably learned a long time ago that the best way to present your products is by using words that paint a picture. Not just any picture, a picture that puts each shopper in the picture; helps them visualize owning your product; and then mentally experience the emotional pleasure that results from that…

What’s rational about buying? NOTHING. In sales, we work in a world full of irrational behavior. Think about some of the "rational, logical" reasons why customers decide to trade in their vehicle.  Maybe they trade because of the newest, popular color; or, while waiting for an oil change, a shopper falls in love with the looks of that chromed out Jeep with the…