Industry News & Trends

Its 11:54PM on a Wednesday night..

Jeff Kershner
Posted onMay 17, 2007 at 1:19 AM
Updated onUpdated on Oct 23, 2008 at 11:59 AM

A dangerous this world has become. Its 11:54PM on a Wednesday night and I’m sitting here writing my next posting for DealerRefresh (that will be posted soon after this). I’m sitting here listening to a MP3 that I downloaded from allofmp3.com (some rock’n Russian MP3 music site). But somehow the MP3 has become corrupted and a few songs are not playing throughout. I love this album so much that I jump onto Amazon.com, search for “Gabriel & Dresden” and in less then a second, there it is! Not only is there the album that I want to buy but also a recommendation for another re-mix album that I was not aware even existed. In less then 1 minute I have spent over $40.00 (but with free shipping) on 2 CD’s. My god, how awesome is that?

A true example of how my generation shops and the power of the internet at work.

Some might ask..”Jeff, why did you not just download it from iTunes and have it within seconds?” Because I hate itunes and why should I spend over $10.00 for an album with less then CD quality when I can own the whole album for the same price and compress it into any format I want?

Why did I post this? Cause I can, and to also show how my generation goes about buying stuff.

Jeff Kershner
Founder of DealerRefresh - 20+ Years of dealership Sales, Management, Training, Marketing and Leadership.
R
Oh aren't you Mister Cool!

Look there is already a trackback on this post. I think people are on to you, bro.
J
  • J
    Jeff Kershner
  • May 17, 2007
dude..when you got it you got it!! haha...but seriously, I'm still waiting to find out who trackbacked it. I bet it was a BOT!!
A
...services such as Urge are pretty cool as well. Urge (and its various competitors) allow you to download and play unlimited songs as long as you are continuing to pay their fairly reasonable monthly subscription fees.

Granted some artists are not available as an option, but I do think I would spend at least the monthly fee buying CDs of various artists that are available and I like the thought of less "waste" (plastic wrap, CD cases, etc.).
--
Andrew Salamone
<a href="http://www.carsgofaster.com" rel="nofollow">carsgofaster.com</a>
K
Jeff - I love this post! It is an accurate reflection of today's generation of car buyers and how we need to market to them. Selling music isn't like selling cars, lol, but there is truth in it! This also ties into your new inventory issue. The buyer looks for a certain new car at the local dealership lot, does not see it, goes home and looks online, and finds it elsewhere - instant gratification! The internet has made inventory access incredibly open to today's consumer, and while each dealer might want to be the primary source of new car inventory in their region, impatient shoppers are going online to see who actually has the car they want in stock. It is just part of the reality of today's more educated (and impatient) consumer. While the politics of dealerships might not like this, I believe the dealerships that understand and adjust to best meet today's consumers' needs will lead into the future. Kevin Frye/eCommerce Director - Jeff Wyler Automotive Family
J
  • J
    Jeff Kershner
  • May 17, 2007
Andrew,

Coming from a DJ background (club DJ that is) I like to own my music, not rent it. I don't know..I've never tried one of those services, maybe I should give it a shot. Auggghh..another monthly on top of NetFlix, XM, Digital Cable and any other monthly convenience charge I've forgotten about. I know there's another 1 or 3 in there! :)
G
  • G
    Greg K.
  • May 17, 2007
Jeff,

You really need to stay away from Amazon and hit up sites like www.primalrecords.com great place to see charts and cool kats from frisco that have the hot wax. Also check out www.satelliterecords.com another place to check out the DJ tracks. You are right our generation is all about instant gratification. We want the cool stuff and we want it now. That includes our cars!

Honestly I shop at Amazon to - its just too easy!

Later on,
Greg K.
J
I challenge any one to find a misic site better than this site:

http://pandora.com/

10,000+ musicians ranked and rated by >200 characteristics. You key in a favorie song or artist, then the "Music Genome Project" looks for songs/artists with similar characteristics.

I don't know who Gabriel & Dresden is, so I plunk it in there.
1st song: Gabriel & Dresden - Dust in the WInd... Not bad, liked the original better (hahaha)
2nd song: Beam and Yanou (disco influences, female vocal, modal harmonies, trippy soundscapes & prevalant use of grooves).
3rd song: Gabriel & Dresden - Lets Go.

Nice upbeat grooves.
I've named that station: Dealer Refresh!

I slip on the 'phones, kick start the pandora, rev up the 'board and let 'er rip! AND... ITS ALL FREE!

It's a great time to be alive!
Joe
E
I was reading these comments and thinking to myself: "I've got the perfect site for him to check out! And I'll post it once I finish reading the rest of these comments!" But, alas, Joe has stolen my thunder!
Pandora.com is a fantastic (and FREE!) place to check out not only music by artists you love, but others that are in the same vein. Glad to see others are aware of it, and spreading the word!!!!

Erik Eklund
carsgofaster.com
J
  • J
    Jeff Kershner
  • May 17, 2007
Erick, don't worry about Joe stealing your thunder. I'm aware of Pandora BUT I'll admit I actually forgot all about it. Thanks for reminding me.

Greg, I'll be sure to check out www.primalrecords.com and www.satelliterecords.com. Thanks for the heads up.

Joe, I feel privileged to have a radio station named after DealerRefresh and I'm glad you're diggin Gabriel & Dresden.
C
I'm a big Live365 fan. If you use FireFox, the station you select will play as a playlist (can you say winamp?) instead of using their browser window player.

About trackbacks...I noticed that you fixed the links, but I still couldn't ping a post of yours. Are you receiving trackbacks since you fixed the URLs?
C