Yes we do. keep reading

I’m going to assume that you’re like me; you didn’t dream of working at a dealership.  NASA, the court room, or even the White House were probably more along the lines of what mommy and daddy got you thinking about early on.  But here we are pounding pavement and fighting for pennies.

What brought you here?…needed some money for some reason I bet.  Did you intend to keep doing this after you got that needed money?  NO!!!??  Why the hell are you still here???!!!  So basically you’re telling me the next best thing hasn’t come along yet.  How long will it be before you stop looking for the next best thing?

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Whats happening here on DealerRefresh?

Well, since the addition of the new Dealer Forums, we have been hard at work moderating and commenting on all the different threads.

And of course there are the original starter threads that have turned out over 50 – 100 posts/comments…

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Automotive vertical search provider CarsDirect licenses ContactAtOnce! chat service to increase interaction between consumers and car dealers.

ATLANTA, GA – September 21, 2009 – ContactAtOnce!, (contactatonce.com) a leading provider of car dealer chat and other internet marketing tools that move online shoppers into live conversations with car dealers, today announced that CarsDirect, a leading online automotive shopping service and lead provider, has licensed the ContactAtOnce! chat service.

“CarsDirect has always excelled at connecting consumers shopping for new and used vehicles online with reputable dealers,” said Ken Potter, Vice President and General Manager of Automotive Sales and Industry Relations at CarsDirect. “Adding car dealer chat features to our rich portfolio of products and features makes it even more convenient for our users to ask questions and set appointments and as a result, we are delivering more qualified leads to our dealer partners.”

ContactAtOnce! powers presence-aware “drop-in business cards” that appear on CarsDirect web pages alerting shoppers when dealer personnel are available to answer questions about the specific car shown on the web page. Shoppers may then initiate instant communications whenever they choose. The ContactAtOnce! car dealer chat system automatically measures advertising effectiveness, helping both CarsDirect and dealers constantly improve their businesses.

“CarsDirect is a pioneer among automotive website providers,” said John Hanger, President & CEO of ContactAtOnce!. “We are honored to have been selected as their provider of car dealer chat services.” ContactAtOnce! chat features are available immediately, at no additional charge to CarsDirect customers with the premium advertising package.

About CarsDirect
CarsDirect (www.carsdirect.com) is a leading online automotive shopping service, research portal, and lead provider, providing new and used automobiles and related products and services, such as loan and lease financing. CarsDirect is a division of Los Angeles-based Internet Brands
(www.internetbrands.com), a leading operator of community and e-commerce consumer websites.

About ContactAtOnce!:
Contact At Once!, LLC is a leading provider of car dealer chat and 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. www.contactatonce.com

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Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, AOL and Hotmail may all seem the same but are their users?

MailChimp helped with an eMarketer study on the engagement of email users across the different major email service providers and according to the study, Gmail users are more likely to Open and Click on your emails. I think this could be due to the “trust” factor that Gmail users have with NOT getting Spam. I have been using Gmail since it was introduced and I know if an email makes it into my in-box, there’s a 99% chance that I want to read it or have opted-in for it at one time.

When asking your customers for their email address, ask them for their Gmail address!

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KBB wants to change how auto leads are bought and sold

Guest Posting by Cliff Banks

Kelley Blue Book is launching a bold initiative, hoping to revolutionize the way online leads are bought and sold.

In the process, it’s turning its back on a rather successful revenue generator while speeding into a business dominated by AutoTrader.com and Cars.com.

In July, Kelley announced it was launching an online classified listings service for new and used vehicles and will charge dealers on a per lead basis. It’s calling the venture KBB’s Trusted Marketplace.

For years, AutoTrader.com and Cars.com have employed a subscription-type model, in which dealers pay a flat rate each month to list their inventory on the two automotive sites. The price is determined by the level of service a dealer chooses.

At times, dealers have grumbled about the seemingly high prices AutoTrader charges, and say the cost does not always match the level of performance.

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