In B2B marketing, there’s no scarcity of brand messages from vendors to dealers. Increasingly, those messages now tend to market how the vendor’s products and services help dealers create a better customer experience, rather than focus on the products or services themselves. But is that a good thing? Certainly dealers now recognize that customer experience is…

If you're a GM or dealer principal I have to ask: Do you have any idea what your BDC is doing right now? 

A few weeks ago a general manager I’ve known for some time was bragging about the performance of his group’s Centralized BDC. He was almost gushing about how well they were doing and how there was no conflict between the BDC and the various floor teams. He told me…

All of your advertising won't help you if your showroom and digital showroom aren't managed correctly. Too many dealers are ignoring two of their biggest points of sale. On this episode of Hard Facts, we'll identify potential mistakes and correct them today!…

Changing the Way Your Dealership Markets to Women

While studies show women are the fastest growing consumer group, there’s still a disconnect between the number of women purchasing in the automotive industry versus the number of women working in the industry. Not only does this have an impact on marketing style, but it also has an effect on the overall success…

In the modern auto dealership market, trends are quickly changing. Data and technology applications provide brand new ways to reach current customers and attain new ones – as well as market to consumers most likely to make a purchase today. 

Advancements in the data-as-a-service industry has paved the way for new methods of customer acquisition which has separated into two…

News for the Week of October 19

Pinterest Improves Place Pins

Pinterest announced it’s now even easier for users to locate their favorite spots on a map using Pins. New…

If you are active on Twitter, you might have already noticed the addition of a tiny lightning bolt icon up in the menu bar where you can find your mentions or direct messages. Last week, Twitter launched Moments, a new feature that makes it easier for users to stay up-to-date with what’s happening in the world.

Basically, Moments makes it so that you…

Several carmakers continue to offer aggressive lease deals for less than $150 per month, including Volkswagen with current deals on the Jetta S ($139 monthly) and the Passat 1.8T Limited Edition ($179 monthly). These deals can be found on Wantalease.com, the nation’s largest online marketplace for new lease deals.



Volkswagen joins other brands such as Ford, Chevrolet, Honda, Nissan and Toyota as offering multiple lease deals under $200 per month. Chevrolet is offering three cars…

The used car market is flourishing today and when someone goes to a Dealership to look for a previously owned vehicle, they have a dozen questions they would like answered. For some customers, there is hesitation in purchasing a used versus a new vehicle, but the price drop often overcomes their concerns. In order to provide assurance to…

While SEO isn't new to those of us in the digital marketing industry , there are plenty of small and local businesses that are only now being introduced to the power of organic search traffic. Whether you're a salesperson for a marketing company who needs ammo to…

Navigating Change (After the Show)

If you and your team have attended one or both of the automotive marketing conferences this October, you might be trying to decide how to make that investment of time and resources count.  Maybe you’re considering implementing a new system, or even just a set of new ideas or processes, at your dealership.  Where do…

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 report.

 

The Black Book Market Insights report this week continues to take a look at the depreciation trends of specific Volkswagen diesel vehicles affected by the recent emissions/software situation. The report shows that since…

The key to continued growth and success in business is simple: evolve. This week, I'll demonstrate the importance of evolving your business and yourself to keep the money flowing and new business expanding.

The web provides a plethora of content including articles, editorials, infographics, images, videos, and photographs.  While this content creates a great visual experience for web browsing and researching, it’s important to keep in mind copyright and intellectual property right laws if you wish to utilize any content on a website, blog or online channel.



Many…

Would you ever consider letting a member of your sales team on the floor to sell cars without any training?  Could your sales…

Communication and engagement go together like biscuits and gravy, like macaroni and cheese, like bacon and eggs.

 Most of the time, it’s pretty hard to have one without the other. (Who wants a dry biscuit anyway?) Now that everyone is hungry, it’s time to tak

e a look at the many ways communication is at work in your dealership and…

There are constantly new trends and social media platforms popping up, but several of them don’t stick around or never completely catch on to be worth your time. However, there are a few newer platforms and tools that seem to be catching fire for advocates, marketers, and overall social media and mobile users that may…

Albany, N.Y. – October 19th, 2015 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (http://www.automate.com) announced today that more than 100 of its customers, including dealership executives and managers, attended its annual User Summit. Ten industry vendors also exhibited at the event that was held in Oak Brook, IL near Chicago on October 12th and 13th, 2015. Auto/Mate's User Summit is designed to share the latest features and give in-depth training on…

Mimicking customer behavior is one of the oldest sales techniques in the business. So is finding common interests and building rapport. However, with three generations of car buyers in and out of dealerships daily - Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y - it’s harder than ever for salespeople to accomplish this convincingly, let alone understand what type of experience each…