For some time now I have dabbled with texting customers who requested information online and although the response has always been great I have had my concerns about having my cell phone number and the numbers of my staff being so available and some what unprotected. I avidly follow the work of awesome car folks like Elise Kephart, Robert Weisman and BDC trainer Sean Bradley and I agree with the value of texting in addition to phone calls and emails because it does allow our customer to…

            I have a confession to make. I am old enough to remember rotary phones and black and white TV without cable, satellite or remote controls. I grew up in a house without central air conditioning and the first several cars I owned ran on leaded gasoline. As I look back its fun to remember those things but I certainly don’t spend any time or effort trying to relive those times with those circumstances. Times have changed and so have I. For you to change, you must first let…

Sir Edmund Hillary was the first man to climb Mount Everest. On May 29, 1953 he scaled the highest mountain then known to man-29,000 feet straight up. He was knighted for his efforts.

He even made American Express card commercials because of it! However, until we read his book, High Adventure, we don’t understand that Hillary had to grow into this success.

You see, in 1952 he attempted to climb Mount Everest, but failed. A few weeks later a…

In a continuing effort to bring on the best new talent, Potratz has hired on dealer research and business intelligence expert Dennis Galbraith, founder of Dennis Galbraith Enterprises, Revenueguru.com, former vice president of Cars.com and former executive director of Automotive Internet Practice at J.D. Power and…

How to Provide the Most Positive Digital Showroom Experience

Car buyers are spending more time online shopping for a car than ever before! According to a

 Polk Study, internet usage has increased significantly, with ¾ of…

 …

Creating a great customer experience in your business requires work. Not only does it require work, it also requires both buy-in and trust. In Gallup’s “2013 State of the American Workplace Report”, they found that a whopping 70% of employees are either not engaged or actively…

I am posting this blog on behalf of Praveen Tamvada, Director of Marketing

Auto/Mate Dealership Systems 

Last weekend was my son’s birthday party, and I had the brilliant idea of providing him and his friends with water…

Most of all successful dealerships have a system or selling process that works for them. The system or process can vary according to the type of vehicles being sold, the demographics of the local marketplace and experience and personalities of the sales force. However, some of the more unsuccessful dealerships have strayed from their reason for having a system. Egos, over-control, lack of delegation and the dummying-down process of salespeople have given the retail auto industry a black…

AutoCon2013

September 4-6, 2013

Aria Resort & Casino

Welcome to AutoCon2013! For those of you who have joined us in Vegas for the conference, we're excited to have you here. We have an educational three days ahead of us, and we want to make sure…

Average service cycle expands from 140 to 145 days as Americans keep longer-lasting vehicles for more years than ever before; dealers must now market to the owner, not the vehicle

Daytona Beach, FL – September 4, 2013 – DMEautomotive (DMEa), the science-inspired, results-based automotive marketing leader, today released new findings[1] from DMEInsights,…

The only thing that isn't rising in the US is benefits for it's workforce. If Countries ahead of us in competitiveness can take better care of their workforce why can't the US-Corporate greed maybe? I'm a supporter of a free market economy but also an advocate of taking care of the ones who make it possible for you.

"Switzerland has topped the…

If not you could be losing a significant amount of revenue and market share! Dealerships across the country lose hundreds of thousands of dollars a year because they are not operating at their full potential. If you can't honestly answer the above question with a resounding yes, then take…

Increase Gross Profit, Increase Net Profit, Control Expenses, Increase Sales.

Chances are you have been living those four financial principles since you became the owner or GM. And if you are a service manager reading this, you have been the willing champion of the preceding 4 financial cornerstones to dealership success.

Can I ask you a question?

How does it make you…

Learn how you can double your income digitally by choosing a positive attitude. Find out how you can market yourself with out any cash. Stop waiting for outside forces to change your future use your positive energy and develop your own personal marketing strategy. Watch this week's Think Tank Tuesday and learn how to focus that positivity into productive leads.

ALBANY, N.Y. – September 3^rd, 2013 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (http://www.automate.com) announced today that its AMPS Dealership Management System (DMS) is fully integrated with Volkswagen Group of America’s ElsaPro, an electronic workshop manual that dealership service departments use to diagnose and repair vehicles. Volkswagen and Audi dealerships using Auto/Mate’s DMS will greatly increase efficiencies in the service department…

Designed by DMEautomotive Strategy and Analytics team, DMEInsights revolutionizes customer loyalty with a fresh new perspective for managing customer lifetime value

Daytona Beach, FL– September 3, 2013 – DMEautomotive (DMEa), the science-inspired, results-based automotive marketing leader, today launched DMEinsights, an innovative customer loyalty analytics system designed to…

There are many benefits to having an automotive loyalty program at your dealership to increase business and customer retention. You must be mindful, however, of some dangers that exist if the program is not implemented and administered properly.

Loyalty programs seek to reward behaviors. For dealerships,…

There is a saying in the medical field, “Prescription before examination is malpractice”. If you were a doctor examining a new patient who complained that pains in their abdomen had become intolerable, you would not simply prescribe a painkiller and send the patient home. You would perform a careful diagnosis that included bloodwork and tests, as well as a thorough physical examination.

A doctor must find out if the patient has an upset stomach, appendicitis or colon cancer…

Recently, I competed for the National Title of Ms. US Forestry Queen and heard several times over the weekend, “You are an extraordinary woman!”  I am humbled and appreciative of any complement, but this one makes me giggle a little on the inside.  Why do I giggle?  Thank about…