DealerRefresh

Obstacles, Observations and Opinions of an Automotive Internet Sales & Marketing Manager

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Online Reviews Made Easy: 5 Steps to Build Your Google Review Link

It is a well-known fact that your online reviews are your first foot-in-the-door with a new customer. It is also widely known that it is essential to respond to ALL reviews – be they negative or positive – but the struggle with online reviews is keeping them up!

Your dealership may be one of the lucky ones. You may have a dedicated staff member that daily monitors your online reviews, but if your dealership is one of the many that do not, I’d like to show you a great way to continue to build consistent online reviews, by creating your Google Review Link.

As technology progresses, consumers collectively have become more and more reliant on what is “easy.” How many times has a company directly asked you to review them online, and you think to yourself, “I’ll get to it when I get to it.”? Most likely that has happened more than you can count, but think of the times when a company has directly sent you a link that you just click on to review them. I know that as a consumer myself, I am 100 times more likely to click on that link and post a review of my experience if the source to do so is sent directly to me.

Setting up a Google Review link for your dealership is easy, and it only takes 5 steps to get started.

[Read more…]

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#RefreshFriday Ep. 39 – Classified Listings and Cost Per VDP – is this STILL a Relevant KPI?

On tomorrow’s #RefreshFriday Dan Sayer and Jon Berna (Mr. Truth) join us to discuss the VALUE of 3rd Party Classified Websites. Dans post over in the dealer forums was the driver for this week’s RefreshFriday. Thanks Dan!

Determining the value of 3rd Party Classifieds can be fairly complicated. Despite all the promises around greater attribution tools, we all know the greater number of eyeballs on our inventory, the higher the influence is on vehicles Sold. So, keeping the classified websites somewhat accountable for consistent KPI’s is still compelling…

  • Which KPI’s should you be tracking?
  • Is the cost per VDP view still a relevant measurement?
  • How does reporting differ between the Classified Websites?
  • What other KPI’s should you be tracking?
  • What attribution tools are in the horizon?

Join us Friday (tomorrow) at 1pm EST, LIVE on Facebook for the answers!

Latest Hot Topic in Forums

QR Codes – In or Out?

ppenton Noob

First Name:
Phil
Company:
Xcite Advertising
Location:
Chicago

Here’s a thread that for some reason has yet to find its death…

As I mentioned on #refreshfriday last week, over the last several days or so I’ve been presented a QR code over a dozen times. I scanned each one – I couldn’t resist!!. Maybe it was only out of curiosity, but I also did it because there was a relevant CTA behind the QR code – scan to leave a review, scan to register your product, scan for a list of accessories to match your purchase, etc. 

Maybe they were before their time? Maybe I’m just crazy… the below post from Phil Penton is several years old now but still gets commented on. Check it out! –  https://dlrfr.sh/QRCodesINorOUT

Will QR codes make a comeback? 😉

-Kershner

——-

QR Codes…  has this been a hot topic lately.  I was never completely sold on QR codes.  I look at my entire family and only my sister and I figured out how to use them.  My father, for example, has a smartphone and if you asked him to scan a QR code, it might take a couple of hours for him to figure it out (the need to download an app is their biggest drawback in my opinion).   My mother – I don’t think she owns a smartphone, so she’s out.

“But Phil, their old.”  Maybe they are. But I’m a techie and so is my sister.  We get it and we still don’t use them, other than to say we gave it a try.  If I look at my closest friends, they don’t use them.  They all have fancy smartphones and I bet only a few have the software installed.  (It’s probably because I told them how to do it).

I have always said text messaging is for the masses.  It may not be cool or flashy… but you know, even my father and mother can text.

These articles put an interesting twist on the future of QR codes and NFC.  Industry titan Google is stepping out of the QR Code game.  I think that says something.  Will they be the first of many?  Most likely not, and QR Codes will stick around, but there may be better technology out there soon.

Google Kills Off Those Little Square Codes You Scan With Your Phone (GOOG)

Google Throws Its Weight Behind NFC – Tech Europe – WSJ

Google Ends QR Code Initiative – PCWorld

Guess we will see how it all works out.  If you have any thoughts about QR Codes and their importance, please share them with me.  I really want to like them 🙂

Join the discussion

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It’s the Boring Stuff that Sells Cars

It’s the Boring Stuff that Sells Cars

As you and your team review your sales plans for 2019, it’s important to remember that the dealers growing market share use the same websites, tools and marketing sources you use. Just like you, they’ve yet to discover a magic bean or digital secret that can sell vehicles without effort. They’ve discovered, as most dealers have, that selling cars isn’t hard, it just takes work.

Moreover, top dealers understand knowing is just a fraction of the job of selling cars; the bulk of what drives their growth is the doing. And doing, for most people, is boring. However, as top dealers know, it’s the boring stuff that sells cars. [Read more…]

Latest Hot Topic in Forums

Classified Listings and Cost Per VDP – Relevant still or meh?

Dan Sayer Noob

First Name:
Dan
Company:
Anderson Auto Group, LLC
Location:
Lincoln, NE

I’m back in retail after being on the vendor side (which I think everyone in retail should do at least once and vice versa) for nearly two years.  Prior, I spent 14 years on the retail side mainly in Internet/BDC/eCommerce/Dig Ad.  Around 2010, I was struggling how to measure ROI of classified vendors [insert joke here].

Leads didn’t make sense so started focusing on their cost per VDP.  Back then I was holding AutoTrader to under a dollar and Cars.com to $.85 and really used that through 2016.  During that time, if they wanted a package up-sell I needed to see that cost stay the same or lower for it to make sense and ultimately keep the product.

Fast forward to 2018 and it looks like my stores (same group I was at prior) are running just below $.70 per VDP view with both AutoTrader and Cars.com (CarGurus is quite a bit lower per).

My question to you is do you use Cost Per VDP as a KPI and if not, what do you use in 2018? Analytics/Referrals, Leads, Actions on site, etc?

Join the discussion

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Avoid The Averages Because They’re Costing You MONEY!

Countless decisions get made every day in dealerships based on averages. Popular examples include market day supply, average retail price, average days on lot and average wholesale price. Too often we trust these numbers (simple averages) as if they are the be-all end-all.

After doing something for so long, we begin to take it for granted. We assume the numbers must be right. But what if we’re wrong? [Read more…]

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Digital Dealer 25 Review with Kevin Frye #DD25

Old Men Reunion at Digital Dealer 25. Barry Brodsky, Amir Ammirrezvani, David Metter and Shaun Raines

“What’s that you say sonny?”

Digital Dealer 25, which means hmmm, how many years?

It must be a lot since my first Digital Dealer (3…) as I got off to a brilliant start when I arrived in sunny Las Vegas to pick up my badge at registration.

“Mr. Frye, we cannot find you anywhere in our system…”.

Guess who forgot to register for DD25?  [Read more…]

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The Devolution of an Industry Conference [Video]

Joe and Bill are at it again, behind the camera. “This time a Manager and his Employee get caught up in the industry conference craze, attending one after another. With visits occurring more frequently, they become less and less valuable.”

I know many of you can relate as we have had this discussion many times in the dealer forums.

Be sure to check out more funny videos around industry sales and marketing from the DealerKnows team – https://www.dealerknows.com/category/videos/funny-videos/

The Devolution of the Industry Conference Starring:
Joe Webb
Bill Playford
Brent Wees
Shaun Raines
April Rain
Eric Miltsch

Written by Joe Webb Edited and Shot by David Hudson Directed by David Hudson and Joe Webb

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Here’s how to get your first 100 Facebook Reviews

People rely on Facebook reviews because of their accuracy over time. Of course, not every single review reflects perfectly the customer experience, but an aggregate review score quickly tells new customers what type of experience they can expect at your dealership.

Unfortunately, there’s no shortcut to get Facebook reviews or improving reviews and ratings overnight. If customers regularly have a subpar experience then your ratings will reflect that and the only lasting way to change ratings is to improve your customer’s experience.

For many auto dealerships, however, it’s not so much a problem of quality ratings and reviews, but rather the quantity of customers leaving them. If your dealership has less than 10 Facebook reviews it sends a bad message to potential customers.  Even if your sales and service are top-notch, it takes time to build up credibility online.

This guide will walk you through a simple approach to getting your first 100 Facebook reviews. It requires you to manually send review invites and even though it is a free approach it will require an investment of time. [Read more…]