I'm convinced that effective and welcoming onboarding is one of the keys to solving our industry wide turnover problem.  Here are some tips and points to not forget when developing your dealership's onboarding process.  

https://youtu.be/pUj0bK0ed_M

I'm convinced that effective and welcoming onboarding is one of the keys to solving our industry wide turnover problem.  Here are some tips and points to not forget when developing your dealership's onboarding process.  

https://youtu.be/pUj0bK0ed_M

Did you know that less than 6 in 10 women car buyers report not being satisfied with the initial greeting at car dealerships? Last week, we discussed how to improve in-store guest engagement with 7 ‘face-to face’ suggestions.

However, when the initial interaction is via email or social media, your response is no less important. Digital communications have the advantage of being read when your customer has the…

Arguably, one of the most important marketing channels any dealership has is their website. Think about it. How much money do you spend simply to get customers there? When you combine all marketing efforts including, but not limited to, SEO, SEM, some third-party listing sites and more, dealerships spend tens of thousands of dollars (or more) per month.

Once…

It hasn’t been that long ago that customers were only able to handle customer service issues in person or by phone. Now, of course, there are many options for customers including social media, chat or through reviews. What would you do if a customer were standing in front of you paying you a compliment? Hopefully, you would thank them for the compliment and their business.…

Saint Petersburg, FL October 10, 2018 – LotMonkey, a strategic in-dealership merchandising solution for franchise car dealers, independents, dealer groups and OEMs, today announced it has appointed automotive industry veteran…

Columbus, OH (October 10, 2018) - Clarivoy, a pioneer and leader in automotive marketing attribution, today announced that its new product, ShoppersON™, has been selected as a finalist for the 2018 DrivingSales Innovation Cup Award, which annually recognizes the most innovative dealership solutions. Many…

Did you know the customer data sitting in your DMS is the most valuable asset you own—even more valuable than your real estate and inventory combined? Yet I don’t know any dealers that have a budget or defined strategic objective to invest in, increase and maintain the value of this asset.

When you have comprehensive customer data, you know something…

How do your consultants greet women customers when they come in the door? Does the content, context and tone of a greeting make a difference in the interaction? How about from your BDC with internet leads?

Dealerships spend so much time working toward showcasing a positive resumè of reviews – usually on several platforms. However, a…

No doubt, you have noticed that the usage of the terms Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) has skyrocketed in the last decade. Today, every industry is strategizing about how to leverage AI and ML to improve business. The automotive industry is no exception.   Dealers might think that these concepts mainly impact them at an OEM level, shaping technology…

When it comes to sales and service transactions in the retail automotive industry, a main strategy in acquiring new customers or repeat business has always…

There are a plethora of training programs and trainers in the automotive industry many of which have different styles, advice, and opinions. Often, those opinions vary widely. While training is indeed something I advocate in dealerships both as an ongoing initiative and for new-to-the-industry employees (no matter which department), no business can function as a…

In a recent blog, I wrote about how content marketing is more of a long-term play.

In addition, to attract an audience, it is vital to offer more than purely sales content and “buy now!” messages. Consumers are constantly bombarded with these salesy messages.…

Dealerships spend a lot of money on leads. The bigger the store, the more money spent. And, added to that expense are staffing costs and the time and effort involved in trying to engage with consumers who submit the leads.

In the car shopping process consumers conduct a considerable amount of research and visit many different touch points. A major goal of any…

Today, too many dealerships rely on old attribution models, such as first-click or last-click. While current technological advancements provide a clearer picture of marketing with more up-to-date attribution models, dealers are failing to leverage the best technology to reach customers.

There is an obvious challenge. While selling cars over multiple channels…

Today, it’s a well-known fact among dealers that a consistent presence on social media properties is vital to keeping their brand in front of consumers. It has also been found that some different types of content – text, images and video – perform better than others.

However, it’s still very difficult to know what the best TIME is to post content in order to…

Today one of five vehicles on the road are under recall. This year alone there have been 46 million vehicle owners notified of a recall; seven million of which are not related to the Takata airbag issue.

Recalls represent a significant revenue opportunity for dealership service departments. Whenever a customer comes in for a recall repair, there’s an…

I frequently write about how, in my opinion, dealerships would be wise to expand their thinking and change attitudes towards recall customers … and not just recall customers, but all customers

The customer experience is key to building customer loyalty, increasing referrals and securing repeat business. It is also one of a dealership’s most important…

It is widely known that Service is the lifeblood of all dealerships and, in many cases, keeps dealerships financially in the black. With the inundation of service requests by consumers, largely due to the increasing amounts of recalls that we’ve seen in the last few years, service departments are finding it more difficult than ever to accommodate all of the customers that…

Since Facebook has exploded, businesses have all rushed to capture their audience’s attention and leverage the platform’s marketing potential. In the beginning, gaining business exposure on Facebook’s platform was relatively inexpensive. As Facebook continued to modify its algorithm to appease its users and better monetize the platform when it went public, Facebook…