Does your Service Manager need a Tune up?

Most Dealers and Managers want sustained performance from fixed operations. Like new filters and spark plugs for your car, the basics of service and parts may need a tune-up from time to time. With processes that improve your customer’s satisfaction and bolster service & parts production, your team can boost and then…

There are currently hundreds of major digital marketing companies in the automotive industry calling, emailing, and sending smoke signals to influencers and decision-makers at dealerships across the country. I say "hundreds" because I don't want to count them up, but it could actually be thousands. The point is that there are a ton.

It can be challenging to…

In the largest buy back action in U.S. history, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Fiat-Chrysler America (FCA) have agreed that, in addition to paying a $105 million fine, FCA will offer to buy back 500,000 RAM pickup trucks from consumers. The value FCA has to pay consumers for their vehicles is extremely consumer friendly - the…

If your dealership has a mobile website, you are probably aware that 30 to 50 percent of your total website traffic are mobile users. You also know these mobile users are performing actions with their smartphones that are aligned with serious shopping behavior. In a…

Subi Ghosh, Dealer Authority’s Executive Vice President of Marketing Joins Host Joey Little for talk on Digital Strategy and Women in Automotive

Listen to podcast here - Listen on…

Much like the rest of the social media world, Facebook is continually changing. One aspect they have been working on and improving is their approach to videos.

Thankfully, the days of scrolling through your news feed and having a video instantly play are long gone. Facebook has…

Industry veteran heads development of industry-leading analytics and reporting platform

Chapel Hill, N.C. – August 6, 2015 – 3 Birds Marketing, provider of fully responsive marketing solutions to the automotive industry through the integrated Wire 3.0 platform, is proud to announce Doug Van Sach as its new Vice President of Analytics & Insight,…

Women are responsible for two-thirds of the vehicles brought in for repair. Dealerships who understand this and seek to deliver the ultimate customer experience will reap the rewards at their service drive.

Offering top-notch car services in this department is critical for retaining women clients, as well as for up-selling a new or leased…

Below is snapshot from the 2015 Toyota Corolla video I posted on our dealership's

Facebook page. The link to the video can be found here.…

Social News for the Week of August 3, 2015

Google+ Gets Focused

With more and more people flocking to Google+, the site continues to improve the user experience.  With its latest improvements, Google is rethinking some things and making important changes to help users interact and use the site more…

New data and insight from Black Book shows where mainstream electric vehicles (EV) are feeling some of the heaviest depreciation curves, especially in comparison to their gas sister models. In some instances, the premium is +$20,000 difference between EV and gas sister model on new MSRP, however those same vehicles show the EV price at -$900 difference on a three-year-old used model.

Black Book editors looked at the prices of a new Nissan Leaf vs. Versa; a Mitsubishi i-MiEV vs.…

As far as content marketing goes, the most popular types of content educate and help your audience make informed decisions. It’s not enough, however, to simply write a blog article and slap it on your company’s website. All content (great or otherwise) needs syndication of some sort. This could be through newsletters, via social media, or other avenues.…

If you are a car dealer marketing in the know, you are aware that most of your car buyers are doing their research online first after ever internet marketing, emailing, calling or online ads, stepping foot in your showroom. Automotive dealerships, promoting their business online are very crucial as most of the consumers turn to the Internet when purchasing a car.

How You Can Sell a Car to Your Customers' Neighbors

You're losing sales every month, and by making this one simple change you can put a stop to missing high-converting leads. On this week's Think Tank Tuesday, I cover how you can turn all of your sales into multiple sales by just following this simple strategy. And to ensure your…

Millennials as Social Influencers: DO Talk to Strangers

Despite the instruction of their parents, today’s youngsters have discovered that talking to strangers may not be a bad idea. Now in their mid-teens to mid-30s, millennials have grown into adult…

With brand loyalty at its highest point ever, it’s time to take a new look at customer loyalty within your own dealership. According to IHS Automotive, as of the first quarter 2015, the automotive industry is sitting on a ten-year high of 52.8 percent in brand loyalty - mostly attributed to an increased diversity in model offerings and an increased popularity in…

De-Mystifying Your Consumer One Demographic at a Time

The modern dealership faces most of the same challenges of other brands in a competitive marketplace. And although it might sound daunting to figure out how to connect with every consumer, discovering your market is critical to helping your dealership market more effectively.  Knowledge isn’t just power,…

[With the on-again/off-again debate about Third Party Providers currently on (again), it seems appropriate to present this excerpt from our 2015 Online Automotive Leads mystery shop study.]

A high percentage of dealership desk managers still look at the Internet and their own internet sales teams as the enemy. For these shortsighted managers, the elimination of e-leads in their dealership might likely be viewed as a blessing.…

Who Runs the World [on Social Media]? Girls.

It’s probably not a surprise to anyone to learn the way men and women use social media varies quite a bit.  While men frequently turn to social media for business reasons,…

How can it be possible that I would leave a job I LOVE after 25 years?

The fact is that I have always liked to be ahead of the curve and today’s customers are rewarding evolving dealerships that offer true Online Deal Creation with real perfect payment – where all that is left is the test drive. Don’t believe this can be done? Well, I am convinced that it can…