DealerRefresh

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

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The Enormous Untapped Potential of Live Chat for Service – Part I

New vehicle sales in the US came in below Spring’s market expectations, evidence the industry is starting to experience the decline analysts have been expecting despite new vehicle incentives. As new car sales flatten, the service drive will play a critical part in dealership revenue. Not that it hasn’t in the past:

Total profit-for-average-US-dealers-light-vehicles

According to recent NADA data, fixed operations account for nearly 50% of dealership revenue. But for some reason, dealers still don’t give the service drive any digital love. In fact, a recent study by the National Automobile Dealers Association indicated that dealers are only leveraging 3% of their digital marketing to optimize service drive performance. Fortunately, you probably already have the tools available to vastly improve your service department’s digital presence and your bottom line. One of those powerful tools is live chat.

Before I get into the ways your service drive can utilize chat to boost ROI (I’ll save those tips for another article), let’s go into WHY chat is the untapped potential of your digital fixed ops and, specifically, service. [Read more…]

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Dealers Still Own Their DMS Data…For Now

Information is power – it’s a truism we all know. But in the 21st Century, access to information is where the real power lies. This point has been illustrated with crystal clarity in the recent CDK / Reynolds & Reynolds lawsuit brought by Authenticom. The public fight between these companies is finally getting its day in court and the first round has made headlines throughout the auto industry.

CDK and Reynolds & Reynolds handle the vast majority of the data management software sales for the auto industry. CDK alone boasts more than 27,000 retail client locations and is the primary provider of data management systems (DMS) to most of the top US dealer groups.

Reynolds also represents a large portion of the market and bundles DMS solutions with consulting, training and management systems for the entire dealership. Both companies also offer data integration, the combining of separate data to present one, unified view. Simply put, the two companies represent the lion’s share of the data available in the auto marketplace.

When you’re dealing with that much information, you’re also talking about a lot of power.

[Read more…]

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What Traditional Dealerships Can Learn from Carvana

If you’ve been in the car industry, you’ve probably heard of the new dealership on the block, Carvana. They are known for their car vending machines. That’s right, vending machines.

Carvana’s mission is “to change the way people buy cars by providing a completely painless and transparent car buying experience online, eliminating the need to take the intimidating trip to the dealership.”

Their aim is to provide exceptional service and cut the dealership costs, saving customers $1,500 or more on their vehicle purchase.

Carvana’s business model is quite intriguing, but the real reasons why traditional dealerships can’t compete with Carvana are different than what you may think.

[Read more…]

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GUYFAX – A Revolutionary Mobile Dating App for Women [VIDEO]

Joe Webb, again has me in tears. A great laugh for your weekend. And while you’re at it, be sure to subscribe to Joe’s YouTube channel!

GUYFAX …a revolutionary mobile app – putting the information women need to make a decision in the palm of their hand.

Another comedic video from the mind of Joe Webb made for the Women in Automotive Conference. This is what would happen if automotive technology had real-world applications.

Give Joe Webb a shoutout in the comments for not only making us laugh but for being one of the “real ones” on the industry. #Respect

Starring:
Hannah Roman and Joe Webb

Written by:
Joe Webb
Directed and Edited by:
David A Hudson and Joe Webb

Produced by:
Christy Roman

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VIDEO: How to Turn Customers’ Phones Into Cash Registers

You know that thing that the Internet is really good at, buying stuff? Let’s apply that to the most expensive stuff anyone wants to buy…new cars. -Aaron Krane, Drive Motors.

This is not only the viewpoint of Drive Motors Founder and CEO, Aaron Krane, but also what inspired him to form the San Francisco based company in 2015. And it’s this simplicity that is so infectious with franchise dealers.

During my recent interview with Aaron, our second in the last 12 months, one thing was particularly clear to me – Aaron isn’t bent on being disruptive to the vehicle transaction process. Quite the opposite. He’s seeking to enhance it, for dealers and consumers.

[Read more…]

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Dealers: Sales Got You Down? Get Out of Town!

When the rowdy frat boys of Animal House fell upon hard times they needed something to take their minds off a bad situation. Road trip!

With J.D. Power reporting June SAAR to be the weakest first half since 2014, dealers need to rethink their second half. Get some fresh ideas, implement new concepts, network like mad, and work closer with your vendors.

Here’s a list of events and conferences to consider (in order of upcoming dates) or you can visit www.vendorDBauto.com and search CONFERENCE.

Rally, my dealer friends! The NADA new-vehicle sales forecast remains unchanged at 17.1 million for 2017. Remember! It wasn’t over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor.

Women in Automotive
Sunday, July 9 – Tuesday, July 11, 2017 at Omni Orlando Resort at Champions Gate. Jack Simmons will be the emcee along with Eliana Raggio from DealerOn. Between these two you won’t need a second cup of coffee! Agenda, speakers and workshops look well-developed and offer a large variety of topics. Prices are $595 for the full 3 days or $295 for any one day. Contact: 407-412-9988

Internet Sales 20 Group
Monday, July 10 – Wednesday, July 12, 2017 at Hyatt at the Bellevue in Philadelphia, PA. There’s a King of the Ring cash prize of $1000 that sounds fun, a Trending Now Tedx-style workshop and on Tuesday night, a hypnotist! $1045 conference fee. The conference is brought to you by Dealer Synergy. Contact: 856-546-2440

VinSolutions VinWorx User Summit
This annual event is Tuesday, July 11 – Wednesday, July 12, 2017 with optional days to meet with your Performance Manager at the Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center in Kansas City, Missouri. Speakers include Mark O’Neil, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Cox Automotive; Mike Burgiss, V.P. Digital Retailing at Cox Automotive; Jim Roche, Sr. VP of Marketing, xTime; Tim Mueller, Google Automotive Retail Strategist; Brian and Glenn Pasch; Joe Webb; Bobbie Herron. There is no charge for this event but you have to have a VIN ID #. Contact: [email protected] [Read more…]

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4 Reasons You’re Not Getting Great Dealership Reviews

We watch a lot of videos around here, that goes without saying. Almost 1,000 videos come through on any given Monday, so it’s pretty easy for us to have a grasp on what’s important to car salesmen.

Customer reviews are at the top of the list, it’s not surprising considering 84% of people trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation. They can make or break not only dealerships, but individual salesmen as well.

Over the years there has been an increase in videos centered around review requests; but in addition to that, the requests are getting more innovative and direct with a variety of strategies.

4 REASONS YOU DIDN’T GET A GREAT REVIEW, OR ANY AT ALL…


 1. You didn’t squash issues beforehand

This is a strategy we see a lot now, “Please contact me before submitting your review if for some reason you don’t feel completely satisfied, I can try to fix whatever it is.”  Address any negative feelings before the customer submits a review and tell them you need all 10’s and perfect scores for it to count. [Read more…]

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Can a $100 Chatbot Really Replace 2 BDC Agents?

 

SponsoredCan a $100 Chatbot Really Replace 2 BDC Agents?

Before I answer the question posed in the title, let’s agree on a few things:

  1. Facebook is not going away;
  2. Most of your customers are already there;
  3. Your kitten pictures and inventory vomits aren’t being read; and
  4. Facebook Ads work, but you need to start communicating with these prospects!

Because you have a dealership Facebook page, you already have Facebook Messenger – that’s a given. Every Facebook account has access to Messenger and everyone on Facebook can and many of them want to communicate with car dealers and other businesses via this application.

You do understand that, right? Many people on Facebook (and on your website) want to communicate with you via Messenger!

But I Already Have Online Chat & Text, Why Do I Need Messenger?

Your online chat is fine; and as I’ve written before, online chat is no longer an option on your dealership website. But, with all of chat’s pluses, it’s not Facebook Messenger. Unlike online chat, which allows the prospect to remain virtually anonymous, Facebook Messenger gives your team instant access to all of the prospect’s publicly available Facebook information as soon as they start communicating with you!

Yes, this means you get ALL OF THE PROSPECT’S PUBLIC INFORMATION AS SOON AS THEY INITIATE A MESSENGER CHAT!

With Facebook Messenger, you can actually answer your prospects’ questions and begin to build rapport, since you don’t have to get personal with them in order to create a lead in the CRM. Oh, and with the right partner, your chatbot actually does nearly all this work.

Okay, But Can a $100 Chatbot Really Replace Two BDC Agents?

Sort of…

The truth is that while a $100 Car Dealer Chatbot can do the work of an infinite number of BDC Agents, for some dealers this means they might actually need to add BDC Agents.

This happens because their Facebook Ads, Facebook Posts and even their own websites begin generating hundreds of new chats each week via Messenger with each one of these chats turning into a real sales lead! (Because none of these Messenger chats is EVER anonymous!)

Chatbots can not only answer your Facebook Messenger communications instantly and correctly, but they can do so 24/7/365. Chatbots never get sick, they’re never late to work, and they can handle a nearly infinite number of conversations simultaneously.

Oh, and chatbots cost you a whole lot less than a single BDC agent. (Great car dealer chatbots can cost as little as $100 per month for round-the-clock coverage.)

Wait, What’s a Chabot?

A chatbot is like an answering service that works with virtually any major provider of chat-like applications and/or products (Facebook Messenger is the most famous of these). Chatbots are most often driven by rules and scripts, though sometimes can be powered by artificial intelligence.

Just like an answering service, the best car dealer chatbots act like an extension of your team. The only difference is that the chatbots do all or most of the work that a human would normally do when communicating with a prospect or customer.

In fact, great chatbots are basically decision trees that can answer customer questions faster and with more accuracy than an expensive salesperson or live BDC agent. When necessary, based on the rules created, chatbots can even “warm transfer” a customer to a live agent who can assist with anything requiring human intervention.

Car dealer chatbots provide instant two-way communications between your dealership and your customers. They help you build trust while maintaining a single communication thread that includes the lifetime history of messages. Facebook Messenger chats become sales leads your team can follow up with, because you’ll immediately have access to your customer’s Facebook public profile information.

Moreover, with the right Chatbot partner, you’ll even answer Messenger chats on your own dealer website!

Okay, I’m Ready to Learn More, Now What?

Just a few steps and you’ll be going strong with the one chatbot partner I recommend in automotive; one with no contract and no commitment:

  1. Start with this link.
  2. Watch the quick 88-second video on that page.
  3. Click “SIGN UP” on the link to the right of the video (also on the bottom of the page).

That’s it. They do all the work; but understand that at $100 per month and no contracts, this is not a “high-touch product” many dealers are used to overpaying for. In other words, this does not require a 5-hour meeting followed by seven demos and a final okay from your group’s CEO.

Be ready to buy and start generating real leads really freaking fast!

Good selling!

 

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8 Tips on How to Engage Website Visitors and Capture More Leads

Dealers in 2017 report that their number one priority for digital marketing is increasing lead conversion.  However, there’s more to reaching online customers than getting them to fill out forms, since we know only 10% of car shoppers will fill out an online contact form or communicate via email. Many car shoppers engage with your site for information and resources, with no interest in converting at all– but they are still there for a reason.

A great digital strategy should include website optimization for both lead capture and lead engagement. With both more, and better, opportunities for conversion, and resources to engage buyers at every stage, dealerships can expand their reach online– which is the first step to making more sales in person. Let’s attack each category to get to the bottom of this.

[Read more…]