Some relevant news to anyone that uses Who’s Calling like myself.

”The eight-year-old company has agreed to be acquired by San Francisco-based Vista Equity Partners for about $55 million, according to a person who was familiar with the transaction. The deal is expected to close next month.”

I know The Cobalt Group has had some tight relationships with Who’s Calling. In the past I thought that The Cobalt Group would had acquired them. I’m sure they thought about it.

I’ve used several call tracking services and who’s calling is my personal favorite, so I hope this will not have any negative effect on their service and products.

Here is a link to
Who’s Calling gets $55 million answer – seattlepi.com

Get your dealership website listed these main online business directories.

Do yourself a favor and take the time and the small amount of money to get your dealers business information and dealers website listed in these top business directories (especially if you are publishing a new website with a new URL). It can help prevent your website from being sandboxed in the beginning and can help with your overall dealerships website (SEO) search engine indexing.

UPDATED: Sept 3rd 2009

Google Directory – Powered by the ODP
Submit: http://directory.google.com/

Yahoo! Directory
Paid submission review $299.00  (Renewed Annually)
Submit: https://ecom.yahoo.com/dir/express/intro/

Best of the Web
Paid Submission $99.95 USD (Renewed Annually) or $299.95 USD (One Time Fee)
Submit: http://botw.org/helpcenter/submitcommercial.aspx

GoGuides
Submit: http://www.goguides.org/info/addurl.htm

ODP – Open Directory Project – dMOZ
Submit: http://dmoz.org/add.html

Don’t forget to submit and optimize your dealer listings on Google Maps as well!!

Remember, when you are listed in a top directory, the directory is ofcourse linking to yourdealers website. This is considered high-quality link and is very good for your overall link popularity or Page Rank, which is an influential factor when it comes to ranking in the search egines.

I had a nice conversation with someone the other day and we were talking about how it’s so easy to get all these acronyms mixed up. You read an article in one magazine that talks about SEM and the next article you read refers to what seems to be the same thing as SEO. I myself have even been guilty of using different acronyms but not necessarily clarifying with the right terms.

So, I thought I would put together a few of the common acronyms to help clarify. I know these might seem elementary and obvious to many of us but it’s easy to get confused or just forget sometimes.

So lets review;

Search Engine Optimization (SEO):
The term used to describe the technique of preparing your dealerships website to enhance its chances of being ranked in the top results of a search engine once a relevant search is undertaken. A number of factors are important when optimizing a website, including the content and structure of the website’s copy and page layout, the HTML meta-tags and the submission process. This can also be referred to as Search Engine Positioning (SEP). Some companies commonly include SEO under the same umbrella as search engine marketing (SEM).

Search Engine Marketing (SEM):
The act of marketing your dealership website via search engines, whether this be improving rank in organic listings (search engine optimization), purchasing paid listings (PPC management) or a combination of these and other search engine-related activities (i.e. local listings, the new Google local coupon or link development). SEM is not always include SEO, so be sure to clarify this when you are speaking with an SEM vendor.

Cost-per-Click (CPC) or Pay-per-Click (PPC):
This is where an advertiser (or you the dealer) pays an agreed amount for each click a consumer makes on a link leading to your dealers web site. This is also known as “Paid Placement.”

Organic/Natural Listings:
Listings that search engines do not sell (unlike paid listings, CPC and PPC). Instead, your dealer’s website appears solely because the search engine has deemed it editorially important for your web site to be included. There is where your dealers’ website SEO comes into play.

There you have it. If anyone would like to share some thought or comments, please do so.

Firstly, I want to thank EVERYONE that visits dealerrefresh on a frequent basis. I get a lot of feedback, emails, and some really awesome comments from many of my readers. It’s truly a pleasure to get those comments.

To be honest, this site is heading in a direction that I never really intended. I have NEVER thought myself to be the writer or someone that can easily get my thoughts out on print for others to read. But I find with a few beers or a Beam and coke, the words seem to just pour out at times. Ha-ha!

With that being said, I thought it was time for a new and improved look! Along with the new look, I have a few new features I’m going to be adding in the near future. Speaking of that, if you are 1 franchise Internet Sales Manager, please contact me if you would like to be a part of my new PodCast interviews. We are going to keep it real, no holding back and since I don’t rely on vendors for advertising and making money we can even get our hands dirty in the bucket of truth.

A few notable changes; I have myself a real logo now! (courtesy of Chad over at AutoOne Media..Thanks Chad!).  It’s now easier to share DealerRefresh with others with my new “Send to Friend Link”. An easier to use Newsletter sign-up form for my “Random Newsletter”.. and yes I know I need to be more consistent with the newsletter. As much as I hate to do this, but I have added a few advertisements to help pay for the time and sweat  I put towards the site. Please note; these are advertisements NOT endorsements.

This business is only going to continue to evolve. The dealers and manufacturers that are not onboard now are going to find themselves stumbling in the years to come! Our consumers are changing and the way we market to them has to change. I remember over 6 years ago, asking the GM at the dealer I was working for at the time; where do you think this Internet thing is going to take us? He replied; “it’ll be a craze for awhile but then sizzle after a short period”. I guess it’s still sizzling?

Thanks again to all of my readers and hope you’re having a productive year!

I know this is not huge news by now and it’s more of a
merger then a buyout. I was waiting to get an
actual document from Reynolds&Reynolds before posting it. Click here for the document. The combined company will
continue to be named Reynolds & Reynolds, and the UCS brand will be
discontinued.

Today is a great day for Reynolds," said Finbar O’Neill.
"We’re creating the world’s pre-eminent dealer services provider by
leveraging the great product and strong technical capabilities of UCS while
continuing to build on Reynolds’ relentless focus on serving our
customers."

Now if they could only build a CRM system that actually works well.

You’re browsing the latest edition of an automotive dealer based magazine and the headline reads – How we Tripled Our Online Sales or How DealerABC’s Process Helped Sell More Cars. You think to yourself, “oh, this might be a good read”, something from an actual Internet Sales Manager that’s doing the daily grind like we are and not just another article from the CEO of a vendor.

So you’re reading this article and by the time you get to the third paragraph you quickly realize it’s just another one of those bull shit plugs for BZ Results.

Truthfully, I’m getting real tired of this. How many articles can a magazine have that is nothing more then a hidden advertisement for BZ Results? I thought ADP would have help put an end to this crap.

Sorry to voice off like this but I just get tired of it and I think it’s really doing no service to us reading these magazines.

Sara Maudlin wrote a great article for Dealer Marketing Magazine – “Keeping & Growing The Dealership’s Customer Base”

The article touches on several different avenues of Customer Relations Management. From CRM Vendors, to CRM in the service bay, DMS integration, Process and commitment from upper management.

Towards the end of the article, she goes on to mention the growing use of informal user groups and blogs such as DealerRefesh and MercedesCRM.com. I guess actually I got 2 plugs. Thanks Sara!

It’s a great article if your in the CRM end of the business and we ALL ARE!

Click here to read Sara’s Article

Lately, reading the dealer magazines has been nothing short of annoying. I swear every article is about Search Engine Marketing (SEM).

I took this quote from an article in the recent issue of Dealer Marketing Magazine, “There’s a reason why so many vendors are actively promoting Search Engine Marketing to dealers – J.D Power and Associates reports that in 2005, 90 percent of all Internet new vehicle shoppers used a search engine.”

I believe there’s another reason it’s so highly promoted; it’s an easy and quick way of playing the dealer out of money. The magazines are shoving search engine marketing down your throat every opportunity they get. I’m NOT saying SEM isn’t important; however, you need to have some understanding of SEM before you get into the game and sign your dealer up with a vendor.

It’s too easy to be sold on search engine marketing if you don’t understand it. I’ll sometimes play dumb when an SEM vendor calls just to hear their pitch. I can’t tell you how many times they use tricks to try and show me how my competition is found when the consumer does a search with our dealer name and town in it.

Many of these vendors will assure you they are going to get you top placement in the Search Engine results (in the paid listings of course). You should be aware, though, that showing up at the top of the paid listing does not result in higher conversion on your website. It might help your CTR (click-through rate) but that doesn’t mean you are getting a targeted audience. An SEM vendor can quickly blow through your ad budget by spending $2.00-$3.00 or even more per click to get you top placement. But again, are you targeting the right customer; and even more, are you targeting the customer that is in the right phase of their purchasing process? Many people click on the first thing they see regardless of whether or not it’s relevant. Or they think that if it’s at the top it must be what they are looking for. A large majority of consumers using Search Engines don’t know how they work nor do they know the difference between natural and paid placement. The next time your parents are on Google or Yahoo, ask them which ads are paid and which ones are free. I bet you get the deer in the headlights look!

SO, before you sign up with a vendor, here are some very important elements I think you should consider before choosing a search engine marketing vendor for your dealership.

1.  Which other local or competitive dealers are using the same vendor?
You might want to be careful here. If you’re using the same vendor that your competition is using, this could give that vendor the ability to drive up the Cost Per Click for some generic keywords. I have also seen some vendors use the same descriptive text for two different dealers.

2.   What is the message/copy they are using in the description area of your ad?
This copy is just as important as the page on which you are landing your consumer and the message needs to be consistent with the landing page. If your ad reads “Price Quote on a 2006 Mercedes C230 Sport Sedan,” I recommend landing that customer on a Quick Quote form for a Mercedes C230, not the Home page. If you decide to use a company that another dealer in your area is using, be sure they don’t use the same copy in your ads that they are using in the other dealers’ ads.

3.  Where are they sending your consumer traffic? Are they sending all of your customers to the Home Page, specific pages within your site or do they provide you with exclusive landing pages?
If you’re a customer looking for a Honda Accord V6, and you click on an ad for Honda Accord, would you rather be taken to a dealer’s Home Page or a page that has relevant information regarding the Honda Accord, such as Honda Accord inventory and/or a Get More Information or Pricing? Statistics show that landing your customer on a page for the specific content they are searching for will result in higher conversion.

4.  Are the pages to which your vendors are sending your consumers converting (are the consumers filling out a contact form or calling the phone number on that page)?
If your pages are not converting, this could mean several things. To list a few;
1. You’re not targeting the right audience with your ads.
2. Your page is not relevant to the ad or to what the customer is searching for.
3. The page on which you are landing your customers is not built for effective conversion.

5.   If the vendor builds specific landing pages, do they “Brand” your dealer in the page or are they making your dealer anonymous?
I believe in branding your dealer on your landing pages. If you’re going to land your customers on anonymous pages (not knowing they are dealing directly with your dealer), I have found that you’re almost forced to use some type of price persuasive call to action to convince your customer to give up their information, making your page and dealer all about price and not having the opportunity to make some money (this is what the lead providers do for us). This leads to number 6.

6.  What is the overall message or call to action they are using to persuade the consumer to give up their information?
Is price your primary focus? Maybe you’re a volume dealer and it doesn’t matter. But maybe you’re a dealer that still likes to make some profit on the front end and you want to convey a different message other than price to persuade the consumer to deal and buy from you. Price Quote is the easy way; why do you think all the 3rd party lead companies use this form of call to action? We all know, though, “Price Quote” does not always provide the highest sales conversion!

7.  Will your website vendor work with the SEM vendor you’re choosing? – Very Important!!
Some websites do not have the ability to place the necessary code in your web pages for tracking and analytics purposes. Ask your potential vendor about the difficulty of adding their tracking code to your website.

8.    Does your vendor provide statistical reports?
If your vendor cannot produce reports for you…look elsewhere. Here are a few things you want to look for;

• CTR (Click through rate) for every Ad Listing and the text that is being used in that ad (the title and description).
• Position of your ad when it was clicked on and if a conversion took place
• What you are spending per click for each keyword and keyword phrase
• Conversion rates for each keyword or phrase
• Day of the week click. Are you customers clicking more during the weekend or the weekdays? Optimize your budget accordingly.
• A list of other dealers who are showing up for the same keywords.

I have had vendors in the past who didn’t want share this information with me because they were afraid that I would use the keywords that they had “optimized” for my dealer and learn how to do it myself. Whatever. I dropped them like a brick. (I’ll keep that vendor’s name to myself.)

So be careful before signing up with an SEO vendor. Do your homework so you can hold them accountable and be sure to get your reports on a monthly basis.

Sign up with a vendor that is going to work WITH you and not just for you. And get involved! You wouldn’t send that $5K newspaper ad to the printers without approving it would you?

Could you tell me about Dealix? What do you like about them? What do you not like about them? You say good things about AutoUSA. Are there others you like? And why? Thank you for being there for us buddy!

-M Curry

M. Curry,

Thanks for your feedback. I often wonder how many people are out there visiting my site. So when I get an email from someone such as yourself, I know what I have here is helping others, and that’s what is all about.

I don’t endorse ANY 3rd party lead vendors. I think you need to test them all to see which ones work best for your dealership. I have found that demographics, the make of cars you’re selling and your cliental can have a huge effect on which 3rd party lead vendors can send you the most qualified customers.

For example; I was at a Subaru dealer and was buying leads from Jumpstart. We were closing an average 20% of the leads each month. So when I accepted the position here at the Benz dealer, I brought Jumpstart on board right away. I was really disappointed to fine that the quality of leads I was now getting from Jumpstart were nowhere near what I was getting for the Subaru dealer.

One thing you have to do before you can blame a 3rd Party lead vendor is to be honest with yourself; are you maximizing every lead? Are you calling that customer as soon as the lead comes in? Are you making the number of phone calls and emails it takes to get the customer to interact with you? You do have to be fair if you’re going to hold the vendor liable.

Something else to consider; are you not only tracking the cost per lead, cost per sale but also the overall ROI of that lead source. Maybe your only closing 5-6% of a vendors leads but you’re getting a higher average gross from that customer.

Returning to your question, “Could you tell me about Dealix”. I’m sure you are aware that Dealix is now owned by The Cobalt Group and they do more in-house SEO then the other vendor. They have several sites (invoicedealers.com) they use to generate leads. One that is strong in the search engines right now is their www.dealernet.com. If you scroll to the bottom of the homepage you will see it’s owned by The Cobalt Group. Dealernet.com is doing what many sites are, converting 1 consumer into several leads by funneling the customer into a process to get a “price quote” for more then one vehicle (and sometimes as many as 6, automotive.com is guilty of this). You can see evidence of this in the photo below.

Another irritating factor, these websites encourage the customer to apply for financing, extended warranties and insurance; taking away the dealers opportunity to make money in the F&I department.

Something that I have tried to do in the past, but with no luck, before signing up with a lead vendor, ask to get a copy of each and every website they are buying their leads from. Many of these lead vendors are buying leads from:

• carpricesecrets.com (a personal favorite)
• carsbelowinvoice.com
• whypaysticker.com
• newcarinsider
• localcarprices.com

and several other websites. It’s your decision to decide if you think these websites are producing valuable leads. For me..No..but again, the demographics for the vehicles I sell can be different then yours. I’m sure these websites produce a decent lead for volume dealers with a good second chance credit department.

I was thinking about the Dealer Summit I attended last year; particularly about a speaker from one of the larger 3rd Party Lead providers who spoke regarding 3rd Party Leads and how they still have a place in the dealer marketing process. I agree that 3rd Party Leads to do have a place in a dealers marketing process, but I myself have been cutting back on the providers with whom I deal with and have repositioned my budget, distributing it into different avenues in an effort to get more qualified customers.

I remember asking this speaker, “Why will 3rd Party Lead vendors not disclose from WHERE the lead ORIGINATES (except for the occasional Edmunds lead)?”

Did the lead come from Edmunds or KBB?
If so, I know I have an informed customer who is potentially getting quotes from a variety of dealers. The key point here is that the customer is most likely very informed about the product and could be shopping other vehicles as well. What’s the angle I need to work this customer?

Did the lead come from CarPriceSecrets.com or Carsunderinvoice.com?
Now I know I could have a dealer distruster or just a price shopper and I have to change my selling process and how I interact with this customer via email and phone.

Maybe the lead came from Car and Driver or MotorTrend.com?
Now I’m possibly dealing with an enthusiast and again can change the wording in my emails and initial phone conversation, allowing me the advantage in dealing with this customer’s personality.

What about leads from WomenMotorists.com?
Here is another great example of where you could change your follow-up process and how you interact with the customer.

I was told the reason this specific 3rd Party Lead Provider did not disclose this information to the dealer was due to the possibility of the dealer cherry-picking the leads and not giving all of the leads the same attention they deserve. Though I can somewhat agree, I wasn’t thrilled with that answer. Personally, I think one reason is because they don’t want the dealer to see that the majority of their leads are coming from these inferior price-driven websites.

What do you think?

Would it be beneficial to know exactly what websites your leads are originating from?

Post your comments here.