It happens every day. You sit in your morning meetings and you review the daily log from the day before and you ask each salesperson, “What is going on with Mr. & Mrs. Smith?” And then it happens, the salesperson goes blank and gets that “deer in the headlights” look. You wait….. and nothing. Across the table there is always “the guy.” You know, the salesperson who…

If you haven’t heard, it’s getting harder for businesses to reach their audiences on Facebook unless they’re willing to spend some money. Estimates are that the average reach for a company post on its Facebook page is around 2-6 percent organically. There are only two ways to increase that. First, by paying for Facebook ads. And secondly, through interaction…

Consumer Experience Meets Technology 

Consumers are continuously putting information and data about themselves into the online world, and in order to take your dealership to the next level, it’s important to focus on what’s being said.  Creating a positive overall customer experience is integral to the success of your dealership, and that begins where shoppers are…

Ever wonder why CarMax is the largest seller of pre-owned vehicles, selling more than any other company?  They retail 160,000 used vehicles just about every quarter and make approximately $2,200 per unit front-end profit -- over $350M.  If you do the math on 153 locations, each store averages 348 unit sales per month and grosses right at $800,000. In addition…

As we head into 2016, one of the most exciting new technologies that some dealers are experimenting with are beacons. Beacons are small, inexpensive hardware devices that can be attached to a wall in the showroom or placed around a dealership's lot. Using Bluetooth technology, the beacon detects nearby smartphone devices and can send customers push notifications with a welcome…

Recently Auto/Mate received a 'Best Places to Work' award from the Albany Business Review for the sixth year in a row. We have also been voted a 'Top Workplace' by the Times-Union multiple years in a row. Focusing on employee happiness has long been one my top priorities. People often ask me how I do it, but before I answer that, I'd like to explain why I do it.

This is a fact: your customers will never love your company unless your employees love your…

December is here, which means the holidays are right around the corner. When we think of Christmas, several things come to mind, one of them being good ol’ Saint Nicholas—or Santa for short. 

The holidays are the perfect time to appeal to consumers and find innovative ways to bring in-market shoppers into your dealership. A simple way to attract more business…

By now, pretty much everyone has heard about the power of social media and the effect it can have on businesses that are leveraging it to enhance their bottom line. What may or may not be known—even by the businesses that are using social media to their advantage—are the actual numbers that are churning behind the scenes of specific social campaigns. So how can…

One of the fastest growing practices that dealerships are utilizing to increase sales is prescreening a Service Customer that has either made an appointment to have work done on a vehicle or just shows up. In addition, there are numerous companies that offer equity calculations not only on vehicles that bought from the dealership but even those that did not. The “Auto…

In the past, consumers were limited in their options when they had any sort of complaint or service issue with a particular business. Those options, however, have progressed and today’s consumers have moved on from phone calls and e-mails to air their complaints. They now turn to review sites and social media in an effort to get businesses to rectify a perceived…

The reason that consumers don’t trust us is simple… the messages we send them aren’t believable.

Point in case: Doug Demiro, a former manager of Porsche Cars North America, and now author of a popular column on automotive website Jalopnik, answered a…

Most of the time the goal of a dealership's advertising is to reach car shoppers and convince them to visit your store. But what about the customers who are already in your dealership? You're probably thinking there's no need to advertise to them. If they're in your showroom, there's a pretty good chance you can close them. And you're right - unless one of your competitors…

In the automotive industry, hundreds of customers pass through dealerships on a daily basis. Each of these customers will interact with dealership staff multiple times during their visit - whether they’re there to buy a car, or for a simple oil change. It’s very easy to function as an organization with a focus on efficiency - how quickly can you complete a…

Albany, N.Y. – November 16th, 2015 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (http://www.automate.com) announced today that Kaarma has completed integration with Auto/Mate's Dealership Management System (DMS). Auto/Mate's Fixed Ops Suite in its DMS now seamlessly integrates and sends customer payment and communications records to Kaarma's service applications.

"Auto/Mate makes it…

Today, most people have the perception that marketing is intrusive, right? Pop ups, banner ads, commercials, e-mail campaigns and junk mail are routinely considered annoying. Well, if this is what you think, you could be wrong. In fact, according to…

More than fifty percent of car shoppers are viewing dealership websites with their mobile devices, so having a mobile marketing strategy to connect with them is not only recommended, but critical for future survival. The benefits of "going mobile" are many and well documented, including the ability to make relevant offers to a specific target market, and the ability to…

Albany, N.Y. – November 9th, 2015 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (http://www.automate.com) announced today that it has been named a “Best Places to Work” in New York State’s Capital region by the Albany Business Review. Auto/Mate was one of nine companies honored in the medium-large category (companies with 50 to 149…

While consumers regularly patronize independent repair facilities, dealers have always been able to rest assured that any recall repair work would remain in their hands. However, according to an article in Automotive…

How Well Do You Know Your Consumers? 

Do you know their likes, dislikes, what content they’re most likely to engage with? If you don’t, you should. Knowing your consumers is the first step toward turning them into customers who will return time and again to your dealership. Whether you know it or not, consumers have been talking, and there are some things they’d…

It Was Always Burning 

How Automotive Dealerships Can Win With Today’s Consumers

There’s not a dealership around that hasn’t noticed the changes today’s consumers have brought to the marketplace. The differences between shopping trends of the past and the way people want to do business today can be seen and felt on the showroom floor and the lot in every…