DealerRefresh

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

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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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Are You Closing Your Appointments at 80% or Better?

SponsoredLearn how to provide The Perfect Appointment in your dealership and enjoy 80% show rates and 80% close rates!

In 2013, we officially introduced dealers to The Appointment Culture as an answer to the dozens of worthless activities we observed managers, salespeople and BDC agents conducting in some effort to appear as if they were truly setting and selling appointments. 

In reality, they weren’t setting actual appointments, customers weren’t actually showing up on time, and virtually no one was actually closing “appointments” above the level that they closed their Traditional Ups. (Given this, why even encourage appointments if these won’t improve your close rates?)

For the most part, dealership employees were “box-checking;” that is, they were reporting and saying all the right things, but the needle wasn’t moving. Of course, in the growing market, it was hard for group executives, regional managers or dealer principals to know if their teams were really setting appointments that showed and bought, or if they were getting smoke blown up their backsides.

In the growing market, most stores were merely faking their appointment execution as their sales teams and (especially) BDCs were basically stealing from them.
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Digital Dealer 22 Review with Kevin Frye #DD22

Can Peyton Hoffman Keep Me from this 5-Hour Energy Drink & another Digital Dealer review?

Woo hoo! It’s spring break!

I mean – “Hey boss, is it OK if I go to Digital Dealer 22 in Tampa to learn about the latest and greatest in automotive digital?”

Use your noggin knucklehead!

The last approach might be more successful if you want to join fellow dealers in sunny Florida to work, train, and network 24/7 to become a better digital dealer when you return. And who doesn’t want to go to Tampa, Florida for Digital Dealer 22 after a long, cold winter? Are you ready to begin this recap? [Read more…]

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Simplifying Attribution to Propel Efficiencies and Profits

Despite changing consumer behavior patterns, many if not most dealers continue to evaluate third parties only on “hard lead” measures and discount others forms of influenced purchase behavior. Consumers want to be in control of their experience and they are reluctant to provide their contact information because they fear the repercussions of unwanted marketing and solicitation.

These influential experiences appear anonymous to the dealer looking through the lens of a traditional hard lead, and even when a flow of hard leads is provided, many dealers struggle to ascertain their value when they can’t attribute them to immediate sales, even when the leads are proven to have made a purchase elsewhere.

As competition in the automotive space increases and sales plateau, dealers will need a continually better way to understand the complexities of consumer shopping behavior and refined data to help cut through the clutter and focus on their marketing spend,

A Strategy, Goal, and Framework

After months of research and analysis, Cars.com has launched an attribution strategy that begins to resolve the conflict between how consumers shop and how advertisers measure and differentiate valuable data. While slow to adopt, the general consensus across the industry does acknowledge that the traditional way of measuring performance does need to change.

The goal is to provide automotive advertisers – OEMs and Dealers – with a better understanding and appreciation of the next generation of value measures that better reflects the connections with Cars.com Consumers, using a framework to demonstrate value and influence called Influence Drivers. The frame will continue to evolve and grow with the consumer and consists of Digital Drivers, Physical Traffic, and Revenue Signals.

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NADA 100 New Orleans Refresh from Ryan Gerardi

NADA and its dealer members have experienced many major milestones over the past 100 years, and had the fortune of celebrating this in New Orleans last month at NADA 100. Being adaptable to changing circumstances has allowed NADA and its members to thrive. The traits of hard work, diligence and perseverance continue to propel dealers toward the future.

Whether or not you were able to attend NADA 100, DealerRefresh has you covered. As Assistant Editor I was on the beat broadcasting via Facebook Live all three days, snagging interviews with DealerRefresh Sponsors and other exhibitors from their booths, attending special events, and more. For a glimpse of what we were able to capture, which is literally but a mere fraction of everything that occurred at this year’s convention, here is a breakdown of the video material we produced:

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Recap of 2016 DrivingSales Executive Summit and AutoVentures

For three days in the middle of October in the far reaches of the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas – the Conference Center – nearly a thousand of the auto retail industry’s more savvy dealers and thought leaders assembled to attend the industry’s most progressive dealer executive event – the 7th Annual DrivingSales Executive Summit.

During this brief and exhausting period were Keynote Addresses from global business leaders, Breakout Sessions presented with industry thought leaders, panel discussion, a Best Idea Contest, and the Innovation Cup. And for the second year there was the AutoVentures Summit.

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Digital Dealer 21 Review with Kevin Frye #DD21

Helping Jerry Thibeau rehydrate in the Vegas heat

Helping Jerry Thibeau rehydrate in the Vegas heat at Digital Dealer 21

When it is 104 degrees, do you enjoy:

  1. Replacing the shingles on your house
  2. Laying down some new asphalt for your driveway
  3. Going to Las Vegas in August…

Aw c’mon, it’s a dry heat, right?

Kinda like the inside of one of those convection ovens I suppose. Yes, it was HOT in Las Vegas, and it was even hotter with some of the best in automotive gathering for Digital Dealer 21 at the MGM Grand for several days of learning, networking, and gambling.

Did I say gambling?

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Digital Marketing Mysteries Exposed at Digital Dealer 21

In August 2016 at Digital Dealer 21 in Las Vegas, Digital Marketing Mysteries were exposed during the Naked Truth panel session moderated by April Rain. In the weeks leading up to the event, hundreds of questions were submitted through the AutoHook website which a committee then sorted through to select but a few to address with the panel.

The collection of “Hard Questions” that were tackled by the hard knocks panel (see below) centered largely on paid media spending, social media, and attribution, and effective tactics.

Included on the panel were:

Scott Empringham, Owner/CEO of Flashpoint Communications
Alex Jefferson, E-Commerce Director of Proctor Dealerships
Kelly McNearny, Senior Auto Retail Strategist at Google

The Naked Truth stripped down the roaring complexities of the digital world to reveal the most common pain points dealers face today when shaping their marketing strategies and we were able to capture it live on Facebook for people not attending the event. Be sure to check out the recording and let us know what you think.

autohook-dd21-naked-truth-panel-fb-live

The Naked Truth campaign was a real success for AutoHook and for Digital Dealer and it brought up new ideas and opportunities for doing something similar at future such events as well. Shouts out to everyone that was involved and be sure to stay tuned for future similar initiatives.

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DealerRefresh and Digital Dealer 21 – What to Expect

The Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition fuels the passion that drives the automotive industry’s most progressive, highest-grossing dealership groups in the country. As the auto industry’s premier twice-annual event, Digital Dealer plays host to more than 100 exhibitors and 1,000 attendees for an epic 3-days.

DD21 - What to Expect

The 21st Digital Dealer Conference & Expo will be in Las Vegas from August 8-10 2016. The benefits of the event include:

  • Build customized solutions for your dealership with over 100 educational sessions led by top dealership executives, trainers, and consultants.
  • Learn best practices and new ideas with peers from similarly sized dealerships at the Peer Strategy Roundtables.
  • Demo the latest products & services from 120+ technology-focused providers at the Digital Dealer Exhibit Hall.
  • Receive expert counsel from top keynote speakers, including executives from the country’s top 100 dealership groups.

At Digital Dealer, you will learn how to create and refine a seamless omnichannel car buying experience that will better integrate your online and offline efforts.

DD21 - Who Should Attend?

If you’re interested in attending DD21, DealerRefresh members qualify for a $250 discount off the registration price. To benefit, simply click here and enter the promo code ‘dealerrefresh’ when registering and the discount will be automatically applied.

Register Now for DD21

 

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VIDEO: Good Times for DealerRefresh at NADA 2016

NADA is always an incredible time of hustling, shuttling, walking, conversing, learning, and of course socializing. This year in Las Vegas was no exception. Multiple people I spoke with told me it was their most successful NADA event in a while.

I too had a terrific experience, conducting interviews, making new friends, and catching up with others. Friday and Saturday I spent walking back and forth between the two halls capturing interviews and cameos of more than a dozen folks. On Sunday, Jeff and I were able to walk the expo hall and hit a few booths together as well, this time with no camera action, which was a relief.

The Cars.com party is the only social event I hit. You’ll see a clip from it in my video below where the hi-performance rock band Royal Machines put on a fantastic show with guest appearance from Juliet Lewis signing CCR’s Green River which was a welcome and pleasant surprise.

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