I received this email from a very perceptive vendor:

I was wondering if you have ever done an article outlining the importance of good vehicle data on your website?  I have been building up my wish list for a new truck and consistently find a severe lack of option info on sites.  I know there is only so much info that can be had from VIN decoding, and that it becomes a manual chore to get really stellar info populated.  I just have to think that if you are spending all sorts of time adding content to other parts of your site to gain SEO value and sell your dealership, etc…  that spending the time to add options and details about the vehicle would also be beneficial.  This issue is probably more prevalent with trucks…I was curious to get your thoughts on it.

I figured this would be a good one for all of us to answer and discuss. Getting inventory to properly display is a very tough process; not only because of technology (mainly DMS difficulties), but also due to internal processes. This is all especially tedious when you are dealing with multiple stores.

How do you deal with things?

I think it’s time to REVIEW the RULES AGAIN for commenting.

There have been a few articles here lately that have run ramped with comments. As much as I would like to, I can’t possibly monitor each and every comment but I ask that we all try and play by the rules. Be open minded of others opinions and make every effort to be courteous, civil and understanding.

Lets review:

1. No Slandering – especially on a personal level. If you have had a bad experience with a company or their product, please share your thoughts but keep it tasteful and give examples to back up your opinions. Do not attack guest writers, writers or commenter’s! Keep it clean and remember we are all here for the same reason (at least we should be).
2. No anonymous posts – I admit, this one has gotten a little out of hand. If you have something to say, then it’s only fair to “show your face”. If you are a newbie, use the “Website” portion of the comments form to link to your website, Linkedin page or any other profile page that you use.
3. Excessive Pimping or Self-promotion of a website or company will be deleted. Be supportive, offer valuable feedback to other readers. This goes way further then merely plugging yourself or someone else. Believe me, we all see right through it.
4. Stay on Topic. The purpose of a post is to discuss that specific topic. Going off topic provides no value to other readers. If there is a topic you would like to discuss, send me an email.
5. Take full ownership of your comments. Always re-read your comments and feedback before hitting the post button. Don’t call me 3 hours later asking if I’ll remove your comments from the thread because you said something that maybe you shouldn’t have. This is the Internet, take ownership for your actions.

Did I miss anything?

Jeff

Complete dealership display advertising service at 20-30% the cost of traditional media

Cobalt, the leading provider of automotive marketing services, announced the launch of its PowerDisplay advertising service today. PowerDisplay is the first online display advertising solution designed exclusively for automotive marketing that is accessible to any auto dealer currently doing brand advertising. Provided as a turnkey service, PowerDisplay delivers dealer brand messaging to automotive shoppers in the dealer’s local area for fractions of a penny per impression. PowerDisplay delivers impressions that are more targeted at automotive shoppers yet typically 20-30% of the cost of traditional local broadcast media, in a service that is fully integrated with the rest of a dealer’s digital marketing effort. Unlike traditional media, dealers will not have to pay and then hope their advertising works; with PowerDisplay they will only pay for results – advertising that generates shopper visits to the dealer’s website and showroom. SEATTLE, January 23, 2009

Key aspects of the PowerDisplay solution are:

• Optimized for Automotive Marketing: Design, placement and measurement of display advertising is optimized for the needs of automotive dealers, rather than being a generic service. Cobalt Display Marketing Specialists are automotive marketing experts.
• Brand Awareness: Affordable brand exposure for dealers where consumers shop online.
• Targeted Reach: PowerDisplay goes out and finds consumers that are currently engaged with automotive web content in the dealer’s local market.
• Turnkey Solution: Cobalt Display Marketing Specialists work directly with the dealer to ensure successful implementation and measurement of display advertising.
• Pay-for-Performance: A unique pay-for-click model means a dealer does not pay to show the ad, they pay for the traffic that advertisement brings their dealership.

NADA[1] reports that the average auto dealer spends up to 65% of their marketing budget on local broadcast media – TV, Radio and Newspaper – yet more than 80% of automotive shoppers use the Internet as their primary resource during their buying process. Until now, only automobile manufacturers and a small percentage of dealers have had the expertise and been able to afford online display advertising. PowerDisplay makes this cost-effective marketing tool available to all dealers in a turnkey service to help them save money on advertising their dealerships’ websites while reaching more active automotive shoppers. With PowerDisplay the average dealer can have a high impact, highly measurable, online advertising program for a fraction of the cost of their traditional media budget.

PowerDisplay is Cobalt’s latest addition to the industry’s most comprehensive suite of dealer marketing services, including Dealer Websites, Lead Services, Search and Owner Marketing. It is fully integrated into Cobalt’s unique marketing results reporting. Cobalt dealers who embrace the company’s entire digital marketing suite not only maximize their marketing return-on-investment, they can manage their marketing pipeline from awareness through showroom visit the same way they manage their sales floor.

“PowerDisplay has been a tremendous asset to our organization,” said Shaun Weissman, Manager of Business Development for Rallye BMW of Westbury, NY. “Geo-targeting and contextual placement ensure that we are effectively targeting customers who are actively engaged in automotive content online in our market. We continue to see great results and are proactively minimizing our traditional media marketing budgets to invest in display.”

Cobalt’s PowerDisplay service complements a dealer’s website, email and search marketing efforts by increasing the exposure of their brand early in the consumer buying cycle. As documented in a 2008 Specific Media™ study of comScore™ data, display and search work together to maximize marketing productivity. Brand-and segment-related searches (for cars, automakers and vehicle classes) jumped by more than 100% in several categories after consumers were exposed to display ads for those brands.

“Dealers have been looking for a way to capture upper funnel customers and raise brand awareness more cost-effectively than with television,” said Max Steckler, Vice President of Advertising Products at Cobalt. “Cobalt’s PowerDisplay offers them the best opportunity for creating targeted brand awareness that is affordable, effective and easy to execute.”

“We chose Cobalt’s PowerDisplay solution after testing out display with Cobalt and a competitor. Cobalt’s cost per visit was 50% less than the competitor, it delivered more than twice the exposures, and increased leads,” said Xavier Brizar, Manager of Biddulph Mazda of Peoria, Arizona. “In addition, the campaign strategy I receive from my Cobalt Display Marketing Specialist is second to none and continues to add to our success.”

PowerDisplay is available immediately. To learn more about PowerDisplay, please visit http://www.cobalt.com/displayads/ or call 866.200.5099.

About Cobalt
Cobalt is North America’s leading provider of automotive marketing services. For fourteen years, Cobalt’s mission has been to help automobile dealers and manufacturers increase their retailing effectiveness and profitability. Cobalt provides marketing services to half of the automotive dealerships in the United States, as well as automotive dealers in Canada and Mexico. Cobalt’s marketing services are endorsed by approximately two-thirds of the world’s major automotive manufacturers.

DealerTrack Acquires AAX Inventory Management Suite Creating the Industry’s Most Complete Inventory Solution

DealerTrack Holdings (Nasdaq: TRAK), a leading provider of on-demand software and data solutions for the U.S. automotive retail industry, today announced that it has acquired the AAX® suite of inventory management solutions and other assets from JM Dealer Services, Inc.. The AAX inventory management suite will be marketed in conjunction with the current DealerTrack inventory management solution, InventoryPro™. DealerTrack will now offer the industry’s most complete set of inventory management solutions. LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y.

Launched in 2002, AAX is the industry’s leading solution with a wide variety of users, including the nation’s top six dealer groups. AAX has delivered strong used vehicle profit growth for their dealership customers coupling insightful analysis of transaction data with the industry’s most successful in-store inventory management consulting services.

“Building upon our current assets, including InventoryPro and data and analytic services provided by Chrome® and ALG®, the acquisition of AAX now positions DealerTrack as the industry’s most complete and best-in-class inventory management solution provider,” said Mark O’Neil, chairman and chief executive officer of DealerTrack. “We see inventory management as one of the fastest growing and most important segments within the dealership technology market and we believe we are well positioned to lead this growth. Additionally, we look forward to broadening our relationship with JM Family Enterprises, Inc. (parent company of JM Dealer Services) beyond inventory management.”

“We are very proud of how our associates have developed the AAX suite of inventory management solutions into the recognized leader in the marketplace,” said Colin Brown, president and chief executive officer of JM Family Enterprises. “DealerTrack is a great fit and we look forward to working with them as a technology partner.”

Separately, DealerTrack has further enhanced InventoryPro with the inclusion of additional transaction data and expanded analytic capabilities provided by ALG and the ability to update internet pricing. With these additions, InventoryPro has become an even stronger fully featured solution offered at an attractive price.

PriceDriver™ will be introduced at NADA as a stand-alone product which allows dealers to see current market pricing for vehicles in a clear and detailed format. Moving forward, DealerTrack will be offering three unique inventory management solutions for a dealer to choose from: AAX, InventoryPro and PriceDriver.

O’Neil stated, “We are really excited about the position this acquisition gives us in inventory management. With the AAX team’s strong industry knowledge and DealerTrack’s best-in-class technology capability we look forward to growing both platforms to help our dealers succeed no matter what their business demands.”

DealerTrack will provide additional details on the transaction on its upcoming fourth quarter and full year 2008 financial results conference call on February 19, 2009.

About DealerTrack (www.dealertrack.com)
DealerTrack Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRAK) is a leading provider of on-demand software and data solutions for the U.S. automotive retail industry. Our solutions enable dealers to receive consumer leads, submit credit applications, compare financing and leasing options, sell insurance, vehicle accessories and other aftermarket products, document compliance, and execute financing contracts electronically. In addition, the DealerTrack DMS (dealer management system) is used by dealerships nationwide. Over 20,000 dealers, 700 financing sources, and many other service and information providers are active in the DealerTrack network. For more information, visit www.dealertrack.com.

Leading automotive website adds chat capabilities to advertising packages to instantly connect dealers with buyers.

ContactAtOnce!, a leading provider of internet marketing tools that move online car shoppers into live conversations with dealers, today announced that Cars.com has licensed the ContactAtOnce! service. Cars.com will use ContactAtOnce! to power the DealerChat functionality that is now available to all franchise and independent dealers advertising their listings on Cars.com.  ATLANTA, GA – January 24, 2009

“At Cars.com, we are committed to equipping our dealers with the tools they need to engage in-market shoppers, drive traffic to their stores and close more sales,” said Dennis Galbraith, vice president of advertising products and training at Cars.com. “Every sale counts, particularly in today’s economy, and we want to be sure dealers realize the full value of their advertising investment with us. As car buyers near their time of purchase, DealerChat allows them to quickly verify a vehicle’s condition and availability right from the actual listing. Given the reluctance of some consumers to send an email or make a phone call, the addition of this channel provides dealers with a real competitive edge.”

The ContactAtOnce! software tracks all chat conversations, providing dealers with complete transcripts and allowing them to measure the effectiveness of online chat.

Cars.com dealers interested in adding DealerChat should contact their Cars.com sales representative.

About Cars.com:
Cars.com is the leading destination for online car shoppers, offering credible, easy-to-understand information from consumers and experts to help buyers formulate opinions on what to buy, where to buy and how much to pay for a car. With comprehensive pricing information, side-by-side comparison tools, photo galleries, videos, unbiased editorial content and a large selection of new- and used-car inventory, Cars.com puts millions of car buyers in control of their shopping process with the information they need to make confident buying decisions.

Launched in June 1998, Cars.com is a division of Classified Ventures, LLC, which is owned by leading media companies, including Belo (NYSE: BLC), Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI), Tribune Company and The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO).

About ContactAtOnce!:
Contact At Once!, LLC is a leading provider of Internet marketing tools for automotive sales, apartment leasing and other industries where consumers conduct research online before visiting a dealership or office. The ContactAtOnce! service typically moves at least 25% more website visitors into live conversations with sales people by utilizing a suite of technologies such as presence, IM/chat, VoIP telephony, video chat and text messaging, resulting in increased revenue and a better return on marketing expenditures. ContactAtOnce! is the only solution with features specifically for vertical search websites and over 35 such sites, along with thousands of merchant businesses, are using it today.