It may be a simple truth, but it's a valuable one. Tom Peters reminds us not to stoop so low as to badmouth the competition. …

News about the FIFA World Cup and rock-star soccer players have been making headlines lately. One of the hottest player’s of the moment is Cristiano Ronaldo, who’s not only an exceptional player but a major brand ambassador for big hitters like Nike. So, how can you brand your dealership like Ronaldo?

BE 2 PERSONAS

According to Nike, Ronaldo is known as two people: the superstar soccer player…

"I'm not a businessman, I'm a business, man."- Jay-Z

What most people don't realize is that even a living person can become a brand. This is a basic staple of advertising and sometimes it needs to be asked: what exactly is a brand? In a…

In a heartbreaking video titled “The Importance of Appearances,” a social experiment unfolds that sets up the same scenario with two very different people. In the first scenario, we see a person dressed as a homeless man collapse in the middle of a busy sidewalk, as if he were ill, and begin to cry for help. The pedestrians look curiously, but continue to walk by the man as he lies there for over 5 minutes with no assistance. The second scenario shows the same incident, but the person is…

Content marketing and exposure are becoming increasingly important in digital marketing and today’s race for eyeballs. In the automotive space, there are many companies that do great jobs marketing and optimizing exposure for dealerships through websites, search engine optimization, social media marketing, pay per click ads, newsletters and more. While these companies do an…

A lot of people have the misconception that a public relations firm simply deals with the media while churning out press releases. While this may have been closer to the truth in the past, the digital age has greatly transformed the opportunities available to gain exposure for clients. Great PR firms have capitalized on these opportunities to further increase exposure for…

In the October 2013 edition of Dealer magazine, I examined a phenomenon that occurred last Christmas. Partnering with luxury shopping site Gilt.com, Starbucks offered an ultra-exclusive steel metal loyalty card for sale on their site for $450. The loyalty cards came pre-loaded with $400 in Starbucks credit…

Would your customers get a tattoo of your brand?

A recent article on Forbes told the story of Swiftwick, a sock company that had such a fervent following that customers had been getting their logo tattooed on themselves. According to the article, this company does little to no…

I came across an excellent blog article recently that discussed the different forms of loyalty that exist in the car business. In this article, the author described three levels of customer loyalty: Brand loyalty, dealership loyalty and salesperson…

Employees will treat your customers EXACTLY the way you treat them. If your employees are well cared for, they will focus on being good to your customers.

This is why, according to Shep Hyken,  the secret to building a customer service culture is not to start focusing on customers, but rather employees. He says that great companies "hire the right people to fit into the culture. They train them both technically and on how to…

A few weeks ago, Ford managed to accomplish a task that many brands dream about but never achieve… to have an ad go viral. You might think this is a good thing except for the fact that this particular ad went viral for all the wrong reasons.

JWT India, Ford’s…

This is part 1 in a series about building brand ambassadors at the dealership.

It isn’t what you’re saying on social media that has the biggest effect on your business. It’s what others are saying about you that makes the true impact.

I’ve used those words in various forms since 2008. It’s…

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but I feel that being imitated means the imitator lacks the creativity to come up with ideas on their own.

Virtual Sales Associates (VSA’s) has become a popular title in the chat industry lately. ActivEngage coined this term in 2007 and now other chat…

Next to computers, tablets, and smartphones, our cars are often the most technologically-challenging item that we deal with on a daily basis. Every model year brings out new gadgets and gizmos that are designed to enhance, adapt, and often-times engage with other technologies that we carry with…

The SPCA has teamed up with Mini Cooper in New Zealand to teach three dogs how to drive. Why? The Auckland SPCA hopes to dispel the idea that abandoned pets are second-rate with the social campaign.The chosen doggies-- Porter, Monty, and Ginny -- are learning to drive in rigs with paw-activated accelerators and…

Don’t be afraid of bad reviews.  More and more consumers are going online and posting reviews, and other consumers are reading these reviews and using them in their purchase decision process.  With the growth of social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, mylife, Friendster (and the list goes on and on)  these reviews are getting shared with larger and larger audiences. According to a recent study, 70% of online consumers consult ratings or reviews before purchasing, and that same…

Continuing on the path I started when I wrote "Building Your Personal Brand by Harnessing The Power of Social Media" I wanted to write a second post that digs a little deeper into a few aspects of that…

Are You Exceptional?

Well, are you? It's a question you should ask yourself sooner rather than later, before you do though you should check your ego at the door and be honest with yourself. I ask because it's the difference between what's expected and the service given that will decide whether…