Did you know that your local competitor just got smarter?

You thought that they were behind the ball with digital marketing, social media, and leveraging the Internet but that was yesterday’s news.

Your local competitor did wake up. They realized that they were behind and took action. Good entrepreneurs are not perfect but when they realize that they are losing market share and wake up they can be a fierce competitor once again.

If I were you, I would be looking over my shoulder because your competitor is using his recent knowledge to mount an attack.

Your competitor attended a 20-group meeting, a social media conference, or a digital marketing workshop, and the lights went on. You were too busy to notice this change so I thought I would send a warning shot over the bow.

You Once Had An Edge

You got started with social media and digital marketing a few years ago and had an edge in your local market. You exploited that edge and basked in the sun of your success. Congratulations.

You were rewarded with greater sales, website traffic, and market share. Over the past few years you have been busy implementing the things that you learned by engaging in the educational opportunities offered by this industry.

In fact, I’ve noticed that you have been so intent on implementing what you learned you have been too busy to attend any new workshops in the past year. Is it still true that you got so many ideas in 2009 and 2010 that you have decided to skip attending conference year?

Why pile on more ideas when you haven’t had a chance to implement those from 2009 right?

Your Competitor is Smiling

To paraphrase a famous business book, while you have been busy implementing last years’ digital marketing strategies “the Cheese has moved again”.

Do you need an example? Today being on Google Page One is not as important as being on Google Page with strong positive review stars. If you are one Page One with bad reviews, your advertising budget is helping to direct more business to your competitors.

If you haven’t focused on a strong IRM process, much of your SEO work may be actually hurting more than helping your online sales.

No Time To Get Complacent

Is this scenario describing your dealership?

Are you the incumbent that has decided to attend conference every other year?

• Are you the dealership that recently woke-up and engaged?
• Are you the dealer who wants to engage but needs assistance creating a competitive digital marketing strategy?

The dealers who want to remain relevant cannot afford to skip a year of education. The industry is moving faster that most can comprehend yet I hear so many excuses why dealers think they can take a break from learning.

“I’ve been to that event last year”
“I can’t take time out of the office.”
“The speakers and topics are always the same”
“I’m the only person in my market that gets it.”

The reality is that the best conferences have not only new topics but also important revisions to existing strategies that you are using.

Two years ago little data on consumer behavior on dealer mobile websites was being shared, today we have a wealth of data to discuss.

Two years ago the conversation on reputation management was just starting and today the case studies on the impact of online reviews is chilling.

Google has recently changed their standards for organic search rankings and many dealers were penalized for poor link building processes.

Invest in Education in 2011

Since your competitors are heading to conferences, workshops, and online learning opportunities based on the most relevant topics for 2011 I thought you would want to reconsider your lack of action.

You have the power to remain ahead of your competition and find where the cheese has been moved. What will you do?

Share the wealth!

There is nothing better than having another event for dealers to here about convertshun metrics we should all easily b attaining.  Im sayin 70% and up convershen!  Thats HUGE!

Join me – Larry Bruce – for the 1st evar Bruce Event.

It will be April 1st, 2012 at the Bismark Super 8 and I’m the speeker!

Dont worry, there wont be any wine tastings or beer drinking – it will pure busyness.  Thats why we’re going to the freshly paved Super 8 in North Dakota.  You wont have to worry about those clowns Jeff Kershner and Alex Snyder being thier or even that Pasch guy because theyre banned from attending.  No distractshions from anything but your Random Access dealerhsip Website.

Its just about convurtsion for your dealersip websete.  Wen I say 70% comversion Im not kidding.  Technicly it isnt your websit because well be talking about the microsite and how strong it convurts for yur busyness because microsites are the king of everything and because thier is nothing more impotant than your very important microsite strategy because micorsite make convertson happen but it is grater than just microsite coversion because we are also going to talk about reputateshun management.  Ive been watching over 5 billion dealsips engage on sites like facebook and friend finder to learn the secrits of getting customers to engage on those sites – especially friend finder.

And now the most impotent part, get to know your speaker and host:  Larry Bruce!  Im gonna let the video speek for myself, Larry Bruce.

Win.

This is obviously a parody on April Fools day.  No, there isn’t a “Bruce Event” happening and no, Larry Bruce did not write this.

Share the wealth!

The 10th Digital Dealer Conference starts Tuesday, April 19th in Orlando FL.

Attending Digital Dealer 10?  View the agenda here.

In less than 3 weeks, many of us will be trolling the halls of the The Rosen Shingle Creek Resort during the 10th Digital Dealer Conference in search of deeper knowledge.

As usual, there are lots of sessions to choose from. I always recommend mapping out your agenda before hand or you will quickly find yourself missing out on a session you otherwise shouldn’t have or wished you had attended. Depending on the session and who’s speaking, many times the rooms get filled up, so if you’re a little late it’s a real hassle finding a seat. Trust me, print out the agenda and map out the sessions you want to attend before hand.

If you’re in a session and you see me - SAY HELLO!! I’ll be tweeting from the conference. I know Mike likes it when I do that -  Follow me on Twitter.

I’ll also be part of Session #204 Lessons from the Best of the Best
What does it take to succeed in today’s aggressive market? Learn what four directors did to drive record retail sales

Facilitated by Phil Sura, VP UnityWorks Media

Outline: What action items will they take back to the dealerships?
1. What processes should I be focused on to drive results? What are the successful directors using?
2. What technology should I be focused on to drive results? With hundreds of options, how do I start the process of selecting the technology and companies that will make an impact?
3. What does a good job look like? What metrics should I be focused on? How do I measure the key areas that I need to pay attention to?
4. There is so much to do.  How can I set up a department to drive great results?

Panelists:
David Metter:  Founder of three successful ventures including BlueAuto Interactive, HT Automotive Consulting and Mobile TattleTale Applications. Strong background on both the retail and vendor side.
Jeff Kershner:  Founder of DealerRefresh and Director of Marketing at Younger Motor Car
Wayne Ussery:  Director of Internet Marketing for Jim Ellis Automotive for 14 years.  This Internet team is selling an average of 425 units each month.
Mike Groves:  e-Commerce Director for Apple Auto Group, one of the top 100 e-commerce dealerships in the country.  Mike took Internet sales from 70 to 160 in 2.5 years.

Stop by and support the session. Phil has put together a great pane!

Here are a few of my personal recommendations and sessions I’ll be attending or have my clone attending.

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Looking to increase your Lead to Show?

Lead to Show is a critical step in the lead management process. The more people you drive into the showroom floor, the more cars you sell. But what are you doing to get more customers to SHOW?

Join myself this Wednesday,  March 23rd as I review a service that I’ve been using over the last 2 years to not only obtain more leads from my dealer websites but also a tool that increases our Lead to Show!

Resulting in additional sales.

It’s 30 minutes – take your lunch break and join me.

Date: March 23, 2011
Time: 1:00-1:30 p.m. EST <<–
Location: Your desk
Website: http://bit.ly/gwJ86R
Phone: 646-467-8226
Event Type: Free webinar
Host: HookLogic, featuring Jeff Kershner of DealerRefresh.com
Contact: Aimee Kessler Evans, HookLogic
Email: aimee.kessler@hooklogic.com

Driving leads for your dealership is challenging enough. But what can you do to actually get them through your door?

That critical step in the marketing process is measured as Lead to Show. And it could be the key to growing your sales.

Targeted incentives are a proven effective way to get motivated buyers into the showroom. The right incentive, like a gift card or cash card, offered to the right customer will help bring that customer to your dealership over your competitors. And, done right, those customers will make a beeline to your sales staff when they get there!

Learn the one sure way to improve your Lead to Show ratio in this free, 30-minute, “get it done” webinar with Jeff Kershner of DealerRefresh.com.

Share the wealth!

Join DealerAdvantage / Cars.com for a live conference right at your desk

Be sure to join myself and several key industry professionals Tomorrow March 9th for this educational web conference!

Share the wealth!