Thank you to everyone who participated in the 10^th Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition “Back to the Future” SCVNGR promotion!

It was not only designed to be a fun way for attendees to interact with the conference but also to introduce attendees to the power of location-based marketing. We hope you enjoyed it and thought it was fun.

First a few statistics:

• We had 116 people participate

• There were 24…

The new federal regulations that went into effect this year have added to the never-ending compliance requirements that dealerships have to deal with. Fortunately, most dealers have found that the Risk Based Pricing Notice and updated Privacy Notice requirements are pretty easy to handle. Utilizing the Credit Score Disclosure exception to Risk Based Pricing Notices and using the New Model Privacy Notices is relatively simple – just a few more forms to add to the pile. The Red Flags Rule is…

 The Automotive Summit Series, hosted by Thought Leadership Summits on June 14th & 15th at the Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey

Ford's Jeff Eggen, Experiential Marketing Manager is a featured presenter at the Automotive Social Media Summit on June 14th.  Jeff’s presentation will discuss how to “Break Through” and gain exposure by combining the power of Reality TV, Social Media, and Online Gaming.  Jeff will explain how Ford's “Focus Rally America” attracted…

Today, Facebook is launching a deals program similar to those on sites like Groupon and Living Social, testing offers in five major cities across the U.S. These deals will include major discounts and exclusive offers for tickets, passes, and more. People can then share it by “liking” to potentially get greater discounts if friends buy into an offer. Although this program is still in a test stage, once released in all areas it will have great potential for…

Automotive Education Takes To The Road

PCG Digital Marketing is pleased to announce that we have select 7 cities in the United States and Canada to host the PCG Pit Stop tour. With the growing success of our educational conference format, we have decided to make it more affordable for dealers to send their employees for additional…

Jim Ziegler, Ralph Paglia, Larry Bruce and VinSolutions Host "Internet Battle Plan V"

Atlanta, GA: Top automotive industry trainer Jim Ziegler presents a dynamic super seminar event to help auto retailers meet fiercely competitive marketing challenges in today's high-technology retail environment. This major automotive learning opportunity will be held in Kansas City on May…

     Vilified, customers petrified of an industry wrought with ne’er-do-goods;

Loathed and convicted of wrongs committed by others- perhaps we’re misunderstood?

What appears to me is an honorable, loyal sister and brotherhood.

Apologizing for the sins of others enduring the scorn and disdain;…

PRESS RELEASE

Media Contact(s):  Mark Scott

404-568-7905 (ph), 404-435-2047 (cell)

mark.scott@autotrader.com

NEW ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN HIGHLIGHTS AUTOTRADER.COM’S LARGE SELECTION

OF NEW CARS FOR SALE ON SITE

Brand New TV Spot Borrows Imagery from AutoTrader.com’s Heart…

Let’s face it, every dealership is looking for short cuts to help manage Social Media more efficiently and effectively.  One option is to outsource your dealership’s Social Media to someone who can take care of certain tasks for you.  Social Media still requires your participation and any task that doesn’t…

What if we had an all car-guy tv network? I will say that this is in no way meant to offend. It is all just good natured fun and I hope we can all laugh at ourselves. If it offends, please accept my apology. Also, check your card, you may not be a car-guy after all.

All Auto TV Network Program Line-Up

5 -6 AM: Morning Prayer- Brad Alexander and Craig Lockerd open with morning devotions and discuss today’s…

Many dealers are hesitant to let their salespeople use Facebook because they expect employees to waste too much time chatting with their friends, playing Farmville, etc. This concern is understandable when you want your salespeople to be on the floor selling, following up to leads over email and phone, and making the most of their time. But you can’t ignore the fact that the majority of your potential leads are using Facebook and it is a legitimate tool for…

When a friend posted this picture on Facebook, first I laughed and thought back to those crazy college days with pranks and practical jokes involving duct tape.  Then my thoughts wandered into the humor of my adult life, where I joke about things being held together with duct tape and Popsicle sticks.  Then it dawned on me there is another meaning to…

A recently filed lawsuit against an auto dealership accused a sales manager of sexual harassment and sexual battery against a salesperson. According to the complaint, the employee was harassed continuously over a ten day period and ultimately quit due to the alleged behavior.  The complaint further stated that the dealership should have known what was going on and tried to correct it.

The dealership responded that the claims have no merit, that it has a zero-tolerance harassment…

I never question the freshness of a candy bar when I buy it.  If the candy bar is not up to my standard, I toss it.  It would “cost” me more in effort than what I spent on the candy bar to report my dissatisfaction.  When it comes to big ticket items, there is a lot more at “risk” and customer satisfaction becomes a turning point in the decision making process.  So how can a salesperson narrow the gap…

Much of what employees learn in the car business is from watching and listening to their co-workers.  This type of education can be invaluable in many areas such as sales presentation, demonstration, and closing techniques. Of course, it can also lead to picking up bad habits like pre-qualifying customers by appearance or shortcutting the sales process.

An area that is frequently learned more by osmosis than by formal training is legal compliance.  Dealers often assume that their…

Or QR?

As I was working on dealerELITE the other night, something occurred to me while playing with QR Codes... why do some technologies fail, and others prosper? Do we as a consumer/user have something to do with…