Ferrari's charismatic founder may have already passed away but he is immortalized in a supercar that bears his name. The 2002 Enzo Ferrari was made to usher in a new generation of vehicles for the new millennium. It was designed by Ken Okuyama who was the former head designer of legendary firm Pininfarina. Only 400 were ever produced and all of them were sold even before production began. It appeared in…

The Two Rules

Most of us have heard about the two rules in life. Number one; don’t worry about the small stuff. Number two; it’s all small stuff. In business however, we must challenge this way of…

What would it mean to you if you were to pick up a skill that enabled you to quickly build rapport and credibility with your customers and help you earn more of their trust? Would it be worth a little bit of effort and time to master it? And how excited would you be if you could start using this skill with your very next customer?

Then pay close attention to this…

Welcome to this week's edition of Black Book Market Insights, with in-depth analysis of used car and truck valuation trends and insights straight from the auction lanes. Click here to download the full…

Black Book, a division of Hearst Business Media that provides new- and used-vehicle valuation services and custom data licensing solutions, today announced a distribution agreement with Gauss Digital Marketing to leverage Bullseye Prospecting as a resource to streamline efficiencies and elevate profit potential in auto dealer customer campaigns.

Powered by Black Book, Bullseye Prospecting is a comprehensive, all-inclusive platform designed to help marketing agencies automate customer…

Myths are dangerous things. They are invented from misinformation and the unknown.  For example, only a few thousand years ago it was generally believed that if you sailed too far out to sea, you would fall off the end of the earth. It was only when man dared to sail out beyond where they had previously sailed that they proved…

For this week's Think Tank Tuesday, I interviewed Ray Bleser: owner of Northeastern Fine Jewelry.

Ray introduces a different way that he portrays his brand to instill trust in his customers. Many business owners still use price to advertise their brand; storytelling is a unique method that Ray uses to make sure that he is giving his customers the best service that they've had.

If…

The four bases that make up a baseball diamond can be directly related to the car shopper’s journey. We all know the path begins online. The final destination, or home base, is the dealership. The goal is to surpass all your bases and arrive back at home, or rather, get…

5 Tips on Successful Email Marketing for Car Dealerships

Email marketing continues to be one of the most effective online marketing strategies that dealerships can conduct. In fact, nearly 75% of adults say that email is their preferred method of communication (Apogee Results).

According…

Use Twitter to its fullest potential! In this week’s Hard Facts, Samantha talks about how you can use Twitter to search for potential customers and engage with clients. Using this resource will ensure that you’re expanding your brand and business.

If you're an advertising or marketing…

Imagine coming into work one day, firing up your computer and seeing the following message pop up onto your screen:

Your files have been encrypted by TeslaCrypt. Your documents, photos, database and other important files have been encrypted. Private…

Each month, I get one or two requests similar to the one I received from a salesperson named Phil who works at a dealership in the northwest. I thought it would be a good idea to share with you his particular e-mail and my response.

Phil wrote:

In my sales meeting today we were told that getting cash down is our biggest problem. I understand that cash down…

For dealerships that are considering video marketing, or in the early stages of developing their video marketing strategies, we recommend starting with inventory videos. Inventory videos are a great way to attract and emotionally engage car shoppers. According to a recent Gallup study, “businesses that optimize this (emotional) connection outperform competitors by 26% in…

Take new actions to implement these steps and be the Destination Dealership for Women. Really. Here are 8 ideas that will drive business and your bottom-line:

1. Engage each one of your female ups in a respectful manner, or they will…

Index from Kerrigan Advisors shows high inventory levels, gross margin compression, and weak sales forecasts depressing public auto retailer valuations

Irvine, CA, May 18, 2016 – Kerrigan Advisors today announced that The KAR Index™ (The Kerrigan Auto Retail Index) has dropped 9% - from 496.82 to 452.49 – in just the last two weeks, indicating depressed public auto…

What's Your Why?

We all need a reason to get out of bed in the morning and do what we do. For a lot of us it might be to provide for our family, while others have a greater vision or…

What are you doing to make sure your business stands out? On this week’s Think Tank Tuesday, I spoke with Andy Heck about what makes Alpin Haus such a distinct brand.  It’s more than a slogan or the logo that comes with any business. Watch now to see what Andy had to say about branding: …

Key Insights into Understanding the 2016 Car Buyer’s Journey

Car shoppers today are online before they ever step onto your dealership’s lot. And while this trend is not new news, a study commissioned by Cox Automotive through IHS Automotive confirmed that this is new normal for car shopping. Although dealerships may understand this, many have not made the switch from…

Black Book, a division of Hearst Business Media that provides new- and used-vehicle valuation services and custom data licensing solutions, unveiled its May residual forecast illustrating the downward pressure on prices that increased supply will continue to have over the next few years.  

Black Book forecast data show that residuals on an average three-year-old vehicle will dip from the current three-year retention of 52.0% in 2016, to 47.8% by 2019. Retention values on a…

Dealers are in for a wild ride. The next 5+ years will be filled with revenue from recall work; a shortage of technicians; shop capacity that can’t keep up with demand; parts availability issues; and, as a result, irate customers.

Recalls certainly challenge consumers’ patience and dealers can find themselves in a constant battle, fighting to put out fires,…