A couple generations ago, if you didn’t carry cash on your person, perhaps a personal check was accepted at your favorite store.  Then credit cards became an option, followed quickly by debit cards.  And now, with technology changing seemingly overnight, two new payment options are becoming available to consumers at select and very notable retailers.

Apple…

Think about the last time you visited a business such as McDonald’s, Target, or a 7-11.  Now, think about the store itself – did you select the store because of convenience, or because you were dedicated to a specific location?  Sometimes the answer is both, but more often than not, like most consumers, you are making the choice based on…

While I love to be active myself, I certainly could not call myself a big fan of watching and keeping up with sports. It seems, however, that you cannot turn on a television, read a newspaper or use any social media recently without hearing about continuous misdeeds and wrongdoings of NFL players. I’m sure that you’ve seen them as well. So this is not designed to rehash,…

Virtually every dealership today uses their website, social media channels, and email to be a part of their “voice” when it comes to communicating with their customers and begin building a “trust” relationship long before the shopper ever visits their store.

The ultimate goal of each of these communications is to drive the consumer to your lot.  Your team is…

In its 2014 Automotive Buyer Influence Study, AutoTrader.com researchers determined that social media has little impact on auto sales, and traditional media as a shopper resource is heading continually downhill. In fact, only 7 percent of millennials turn to print newspapers to look for vehicles. And, after many have said that millennials aren't interested in buying vehicles, this study says that mobile-addicted millennials are the shoppers spurring the most change in the vehicle…

Things change. There’s no getting around that. The most effective marketing strategy in the world can be rendered ineffective in a day by an algorithm change. Or your thriving Facebook page could become a ghost town due to the monetization of Facebook. The only constant in the world is people’s desire for content. Content comes in many forms. In fact, everything you put out…

Recently, AdAge reported that Walmart is starting a loyalty program. Based on their price-match guarantee, Walmart is launching an app named “Savings Catcher,” which consumers can use to receive refunds for items purchased at Wal-Mart that have been found for a lower price…

This blog is the first in a series I plan based around how to better use dealer data in marketing to customers. There is a reason that ‘Big Data’ has been a hot topic in the automotive industry for the last few years. Many retailers in other industries are using it quite successfully to target their marketing and offers to their customers based on transactional and…

With Big Data and analytics having been the hot topic over the past couple of years, many dealers are recognizing that they can increase the effectiveness of their marketing. Many dealers, however, outsource much of their digital marketing to vendors that sell them on the use of their data to achieve this. The problem is that most vendors don’t really use it as they say they…

Delta Airlines recently revamped its loyalty program changing how rewards are distributed to its customers.  In an article in Knowledge@Wharton, Peter Fader, Wharton Marketing Professor, applied the concept of customer centricity in reviewing Delta’s current…

Omnicom will buy up to $100 million in ads on Instagram (owned by Facebook) this year. The ads on Instagram so far have been limited to using people’s Facebook profiles in order to target them, but working with Omnicom will…

On March 9, the popular television show “60 Minutes” aired a segment titled “The Data Brokers: Selling Your Personal Information”. In the segment, Steve Kroft interviewed various privacy experts who explained how companies are collecting and selling very personal information in ways…

Data security is becoming an increasingly public concern as databases from large retailers continue to be breached and consumer information exposed. Congress is holding hearings this week with top data security professionals to discuss how best to prevent future breaches. The concern is so high that Congress is considering implementing…

There’s one thing that all auto franchises have in common when it comes to service: battling independent auto shops. I’m fairly certain that not a day goes by when you have either a customer on the phone or in person who is price-shopping you with an independent. There are many ways to build value in dealership service versus independent service shops when talking to…

Target’s massive data breach, which caused an estimated 40 million credit and debit cards to be compromised during the holiday period, will end up costing them more than just headaches. Target first became aware of the breach a week prior to announcing the breach to the public. This slow response time imperiled consumers.

I was personally affected by this…

A recent study by Barclays Bank revealed interesting statistics about consumer behavior as it relates to small and medium-sized businesses. The study included the retail behavior of 2,006 consumers and also surveyed loyalty business…

Every day in North America, millions of people utilize search engines with the intent to find answers to their implied questions, or identify solutions for their problems.  Think about the last search you conducted online. Was it with the intent to find answers or solve problems? Of course it was.These days, anytime I want an answer for something whether it’s who…