DealerRefresh

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

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The Best Leads Your Store Will Get Tomorrow

Damn you 2008!

Real change is happening out there. It’s subtle and it’s taking years to play out so it’s hard to see, but it’s very real and it all traces back to 2008. Let’s go for a walk, turn over some stones and let’s find some ROI out here!

The financial crisis of 2008 caused a once in a generation event that’s now called “The Great Recession”. It impacted every country, every business and everyone on the planet (except for Jerry Thibeau & Brian Pasch ;-).  The Go-go years are gone, we’re in a “new normal”, business is good…but different.  Your instincts tell you your customers are still feeling the effects. Has our customer changed?

What’s going on out there?

[Read more…]

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Would You Rather….

Let’s all gather ‘round for a nice Internet Sales version of the game, “Would You Rather”.

It’s easy to do… just pick one situation (or all of them), and tell us which outcome you’d go for, and why. And remember folks, this is all hypothetical, so don’t go getting your britches in a bunch about having to choose one or the other. I don’t want to see any “well I’d do something entirely different” or “I have a solution for both”… just put on your crisis management hats and pick a side, okay?

Trust me, it’s good for the brain.

Would you rather…

A. Get three third party email leads
Or
B. Get one phone lead

A. Spend $2,000 on PPC
Or
B. Spend $2,000 on high-level SEO

A. Get an email from a customer saying “your price is too high”
Or
B. Get an email saying “you don’t have what I want”

A. Have a Service Appointment form on your site that never gets responded to
Or
B. Have no form at all

A. Have a competitor directly under you in the SERPs
Or
B. Have a negative consumer review directly under you

A. Have a payplan that pays out for previous Internet customers
Or
B. Have one that pays out for Internet-based Service revenue

A. Remove all the phone numbers from your site and rely only on the email forms
Or
B. Remove all the email forms from your site and rely only on the phone numbers

A. Lose your domain name
Or
B. Have your mail server blacklisted

Remember…it’s either one or the other. None of this.. "I’d do something entirely different". You have to choose form the given situations. Give each "Would You Rather" some deep thought and share your feedback. Have FUN!!

Guest posting by Mitchell Turck
Internet Consultant with
WebNet Services