Dealership Website Visitor Priorities By Ralph Paglia Automotive Dealers Network
1. What Matters to Website Visitors
SUPERIOR DEALER SOLUTIONSsm
What Matters to Website Visitors (continued)
Let’s take a look at some of the charts and graphs which show the aggregated survey answers from over
5,000 dealer web site visitors… One of the more interesting results comes from when dealer web site visitors
were asked how soon they would be buying their next vehicle. Their responses to the “how soon” question
is shown in chart #1 below:
For Internet Sales Specialists and Managers who have been working with a mix of dealer
web site generated leads and leads from other sources, this comes as no surprise. The
Survey data validates the experience of most dealerships in finding that Internet leads
coming in from their own web sites result in vehicle sales at a far higher rate than Internet
leads from 3rd party lead producers and aggregators.
If you are like me, when a
customer says they will be buying
a vehicle in the near future, one of
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2. What Matters to Website Visitors
the first things you want to know if
there is a trade-in involved. In
trying not to be overly transparent
as to your concern over the
customer’s trade-in situation, you
might ask the question in this type
of format: “Will you be replacing a
vehicle, or adding another vehicle
to what you currently own?” The
dealer web site visitors who
answered the “how soon” question
responded to the replacement or
trade-in question as shown in the
next illustration, which is chart #2:
What the above chart goes to show is that visitors to dealership web sites who are in the market for a vehicle are
highly likely (67%) to be interested in the value of the vehicle they are replacing as a trade-in. Although some of
these people may intend to sell or otherwise dispose of their current vehicle, there would still be a desire to see
an estimated value. This helps to prove the value proposition of the industry’s two leading dealer web site trade-
in evaluation tools, Kelley Blue Book’s LeadDriver and Black Book Online.
So… What are these wonderful dealer web site sales prospects considering for their next vehicle
purchase?
Aggregating the surveys
shows that almost half of
them say (before they buy)
that they are interested in a
new vehicle. However, of
the 51% that did not indicate
an interest in a new vehicle,
16% of them are undecided,
or what I like to describe as
“open minded”. Their actual
purchase will be based upon
situational opportunity
factors including price and
availability.
Chart #3 shows dealer
web site visitor
responses to the
question about what
type of vehicle they
With over 35% buy next
plan to of dealer web site visitors saying that they intend to buy a pre-owned vehicle as their next purchase,
and 51% stating right up front that they are not interested in a new vehicle for their next purchase, it makes sense
to consider putting an emphasis on used vehicle specials as featured content on dealership web sites. With so
much emphasis and effort being made on competing in the hyper-competitive new vehicle sales arena, this data
suggests that an equal amount of effort in using dealer web sites to promote used vehicles may yield a higher
return. With used vehicles being somewhat more unique, and less of a commodity than new vehicles, the argument
for featuring and promoting used vehicles on dealer web sites gets even stronger when reviewing the survey data.
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3. What Matters to Website Visitors
Despite the software based tracking metrics that most digital marketing professionals use, it is interesting to see
what answers you get when simply asking dealer web site visitors how they found the dealer’s web site. The
answers received on the surveys show a different makeup than what we usually see when looking at Omniture
SiteCatalyst or WebTrends reports for dealer web site visitors. Take a look at chart #4 below and consider the
differences between what “stimulated” a consumer’s search for a dealer’s web site and the technology
they chose to get there:
The dealer web
site visitor
responses
aggregated into
chart #4 shows
there is a very
real opportunity
to drive more
traffic into
dealership web
sites using
integrated
marketing
campaigns.
Integrated Marketing campaigns are those that include both conventional media and online digital marketing.
Despite the current situation of few dealers focusing on using advertising to specifically drive customers to their
web sites, 44% of the Intellimark Surveyed dealer web site visitors indicated they got there as a result of
dealership advertising in non-digital conventional media sources such as TV, Radio, Newspaper and direct mail.
What is glaring to me is the low percentage (14%) of dealership web site visitors who got there using search
engines… These results indicate there are significant areas of opportunity for dealer web site traffic growth using
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Digital Advertising Campaigns.
When we break down the aggregated data from these Surveys within categories of those who say they intend to
get a new vehicle, versus those who intend to get a used vehicle, or are undecided (open minded), we get a
clearer picture of what is important to each type. For example, among those that indicated they intend to buy a
used vehicle, or are open minded about their next vehicle purchase, we wanted to see what vehicle type they
were most likely to consider. Understanding buyer intentions helps to guide us on what to feature in our online
specials and when we advertise on other web sites to attract more traffic. Chart #5 is shown below:
In chart #5, we
see that almost
40% were
looking for
passenger
cars… And, over
40% were
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4. What Matters to Website Visitors
looking for SUV
and Sport or
Specialty
vehicles. I was
surprised to see
that only 7.9% of
the used car
buyers were
looking for
The high interest in used passenger cars shown in chart #5 may have been influenced by the last 3 years of
pickup trucks.
sustained high gas prices. Used vehicle demand may be a leading indicator of what will sell on the new car lot. This
survey result also shows why the domestic auto industry’s continued emphasis on trucks and SUV’s is not
generating the level of interest we experienced prior to 2005.
So, what is most important to these used car buyers visiting dealer web sites? The aggregated survey results from
over 5,000 visitors to dealership web sites shows that price and payment is still king with pre-owned buyers. With
fuel economy rising to third place in importance and overtaking the previous perennial favorite, vehicle safety. In
chart #6, we see what the dealer web site visitor who is either undecided on new versus used, or wants a used
vehicle, says are the most important decision criteria used to determine the actual vehicle they will end up buying:
In Chart #6 we see that the most effective advertising may be that which features monthly payments,
followed by selling price… I know, very few of you are surprised. So, why do we continue to place
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5. What Matters to Website Visitors
advertisements intended to drive traffic to dealer web sites that do not feature payments, price or
even fuel economy?
I was guilty of thinking Looking at the
availability was a key factor, results of these
as Intellimark Surveys,
in the outdoor advertisement it is no longer a
shown in the image below: mystery why this ad
seemed to drive so
many more web site
visitors and phone
calls than the
“Largest Inventory”
advertising
campaigns:
These considerations, what to advertise and which message will get the most attention are the questions best
answered by surveys such as what Intellimark Group has put together. After all, if the message doesn’t hit the car
shopper’s hot spots, then it won’t get their attention amidst all the media clutter that is out there today.
Which brings me to another interesting insight from this survey research… What are the most significant factors in
deciding what type of vehicle to buy and when to pull the trigger? Of course, this is based on what car shoppers
say is important… Anyone who has sold cars long enough will tell you that how buyers act is often different than
what they say. Still, there is a lot of value in studying what car shoppers believe are the reasons they will decide on
a particular vehicle or deal. With that said, there are a lot of differences in what motivates vehicle buyers
depending on the vehicle type they are considering. So let’s take a look at chart #7 which shows the
considerations that dealer web site visitors reported when asked what factors would determine what, where and
when they would make their next vehicle purchase. These responses were aggregated and then segmented by the
specific vehicle types the buyers said they were looking for. Chart #7 breaks down vehicle purchase
consideration factors by type of vehicle the dealer web site visitor reported as being their primary
vehicle of interest:
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6. What Matters to Website Visitors
It is interesting to note that once again, monthly payments and vehicle selling price are the two most
important criteria. Fuel economy is more significant than at any time since the Arab Oil Embargoes of a
generation ago, especially for passenger car and commercial vehicle buyers. Surprising to me, coming from a
vehicle sales background, is the low level of importance placed on vehicle styling. Of course, once again I would
like to remind readers that these are what car shoppers “say” is most important and how they actually end up
buying may or may not correlate to what they said before they make their purchase… But, this still shows us what
these visitors to dealer web sites report as being most important and what will get their attention more effectively
than ads or specials focused on other criteria.
One of the many factors to consider when looking at these survey results is that these are shoppers who are very
deep into the sales process funnel. As indicated in chart #1, these are people who will be buying a vehicle fairly
soon and may have already gone through the process of determining what type of vehicle they will be getting
next. For these reasons, the degree of importance placed on price and payments may be far more significant than
people further away from their next vehicle purchase, who have not yet determined the type, make or model they
are most interested in. After all, when interviewing people who have already found your dealership’s web site, how
likely would it be that they have already decided on a make and model and are now looking for the right deal,
salesperson, convenience and financing terms? The results of this Intellimark Survey of dealership web site
visitors may not be too surprising to many people, but they do confirm that most dealerships are better served by
generating more visitors to their store’s web sites.
When considering the ways we can most effectively drive traffic to dealership web sites, it is highly
logical to look at what consumers who have already visited dealer web sites find most important to
them… Then we can use those most important criteria as a means of deciding what is most likely to work in trying
to get more of an already good thing; the car shoppers that visit our dealership’s web sites. These aggregated
survey results are all the more significant because of the sheer size of the sample… 5,000 dealer web site visitors
is highly significant from a statistical perspective. There are many ways to interpret and act upon these results,
but one plan of action should be strikingly clear. The use of integrated marketing campaigns that use a mixed
blend of media such as TV, Radio, Outdoor, geotargeted search engine and display advertising on web sites…
This is what works in driving the most valuable leads we can generate. The leads and phone calls coming from
visitors to our own dealership web sites.
Ralph has held positions such as OEM Partnership
Ralph Paglia
Executive for Reynolds and Reynolds, CRM/eBusiness
Director – Digital Marketing / ADP Dealer Services
Director, New Car Sales Manager, Used Car Manager,
email: RPaglia@AutomotiveDealersNetwork.com F&I Director, General Sales Manager and General
Manager. He led the development and design of
nationally implemented CRM and eBusiness programs
for Ford, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and other car
Co-Author companies. He also designed Ford’s BDC program
Rudy Martin Mercedes-Benz StarLeads CRM system and the
Vice President/ Intellimark Group Mercedes-Benz BDC.
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8. Automotive Dealers Network home
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11. Article Archive March 18, 2008
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Your Ad Here
Select an Article to view
3/18/2008 Where's Your Manager?! By Jim Bernardi
As I was getting my car serviced at a dealership while out of state, I
overheard a conversation coming from a customer & a service advisor that
truly concerned me. The conversation went south when the advisor stated:
well that doesn’t seem to be a priority at this location, Just then the customer
say’s “Where’s you’re Manager?” I just thought Wow, and how on earth does
the service manager put up with such a poor customer service employee in
this establishment? As the conversation became increasingly heated, the
service manager finally showed up. Well I thought finally there’s going to be
a resolution to what I saw was an easy fix. view article
PRESS RELEASE
3/18/2008 Service Center Rhythm & Flow By Bill
Zahrte
3/18/2008 Sale-Leaseback for New Car Dealer
Rhythm and Flow works like “Magic!”
Franchise Capital Advisors (FCA), a Scottsdale, AZ
I travel dealership-to-dealership attempting to put “Rhythm and Flow” in
based financial advisory company led by industry veteran
place in service departments. As we begin our service sessions one of the
Stephen Schwanz, recently completed a $3.5 million sale-
main concepts I look for and find in the most successful “Service Centers” is
leaseback financing for Caldwell Country
what I refer to as, “Rhythm and Flow.”
Chevrolet-Pontiac, the largest new car dealer in the
If you review the most successful sports team from the Coach through the
Caldwell area. Kevin Coffey, Caldwell's CEO stated, "This
players, you will find when they are at the top of their game they have
transaction let Caldwell realize significant gains by taking
“Rhythm and Flow.” view article
advantage of the current real estate and cap rate
environment to unlock the large amounts of capital
previously tied up in o ur real estate." He continued, "The 3/18/3008 More than US Postal Service By Hillary Torchin
proceeds are currently being rolled back into our One of the first forms of mass consumer marketing was the S&H Green
business development. view article Stamps program. Until December of 2006, people from coast-to-coast
licked and placed their stamps into booklets, then turned those booklets in
to redeem items from a reward catalog. This program was so popular
among consumers, especially during the 1960s, that the catalog was the
VEHICLE REVIEWS largest publication in the USA. It’s amazing to realize that S&H issued three
times as many stamps as the US Postal Service! Currently the company
operates as S&H Solutions and offers S&H Greenpoints, a digital version of
3/18/2008 Consumer Reports' 11 Worst Cars? Green Stamps, which can be earned online and in participating grocery
Consumer Reports' annual auto tests pavement driving locations. Marketing programs continue to work, every day. view article
conditions of 2008 models and reports scores up to 100.
3/18/3008 "Old School" Selling & Negotiation with Today's Buyer
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13. Where's Your Manager?
SUPERIOR DEALER SOLUTIONSsm
Where's Your Manager!? (continued)
The service manager listened to the advisor first (poor decision) then he listened to
his customer's concern. Guess what? The Service Manager decided that the customer
was totally in the wrong. I had an opportunity to listen first hand to the customers
disagreement in the waiting area and found that the department ran an advertisement for
a $14.95 LOF special, when the customer handed the coupon to the advisor at time of
check out the advisor simply stated: The coupon states-“Must be presented at time of
write up.” So the manager decided to back up the advisor at a risk of losing a
life-long, local, repeat car purchasing customer for $14.95. I sat there in awe
thinking, I would terminate this style of management in an instant.
Which leads me into this: For years dealers have looked for avenues to increase their
overall sales & performance within their franchise. “It all starts at the top”, so let’s look at what it takes to put
together a team of seasoned veterans within your immediate staff as well as the management team. What
embodiments do we need to recognize in our leadership team and what are the differences between “Manager
vs. Leader?”
While it is often inappropriate to discriminate or judge harshly, there are some rules of
engagements that come into the arena regarding hiring the Right Candidate.
Let’s look into the difference and you decide which characteristics fit your
current staff.
Managers avow; Leaders extend. Managers embrace average performance;
Leaders transform before it is necessary. Managers spend more time with tasks; Leaders spend
more
time with the work-force. Managers spend more time looking busy; Leaders spend more time with
their
sleeves rolled up producing real world results. Managers support under-achievers; Leaders are a
true
force of spirit and determination. Managers often micro-manage (resulting in poor performance;)
Leaders empower their staff to push the envelope which leverages their competition. Managers
believe
and have an “It’sRenowned motivational speaker Dave Anderson listed these characteristics regarding that demand
all about me” attitude; Leaders build competent and profitable teams
excellence from their individual selves.
Management vs. Leadership
Management is about systems, controls, budgeting, process and procedures; Leadership
concerns vision, direction, building a team and motivation. The positive attributes of management
and leadership skills are equally important. Management without leadership means you can't grow
what you keep. Leadership without management means you can't keep what you grow. However,
most people in management positions over-manage and under-lead and, thus, the majority of
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14. Where's Your Manager?
organizations are severely over-managed and grossly under-led. It's essential to work toward a
balance of sound management and solid leadership skills within your own leadership style. If you
lack the inherent talents to execute both skill sets satisfactorily, then you must staff your
weaknesses.
Get your team out of their personal comfort zones and
Insist on Performance
I am a firm believer that pay plans should be predicated strictly
on performance. If your staff was paid on production this would
certainly eliminate performance issues within your departmental
management. And it changes the attitude of your employees. They
must first recognize that tight scrutiny will be viewed when it comes to
customer satisfaction and increased performance levels in all team
members. Let’s take a look at ways to increase employee incentives &
pay plans accordingly. Pay plan structures should be observed in the
following modules in Fixed Operations.
Service Department Parts Department
Customer Satisfaction Scores Parts Sourcing by application
Labor Sales or Gross profit Parts Matrix Modifications
Parts & Labor Sales or Gross Profit Stock Quality Improvements
Customer Pay Labor Sales Reduce Obsolescence
Flat Rate Hours per Customer Repair Order Non-Stock Accumulations Sources
Customer Pay Effective Labor Rate Increase Parts Sales per Transaction
Parts to Labor Ratio Wholesale Parts Business Profit
Labor Sales Gross Profit Margin Integrity of your Inventory Data
Up-Sell Percentage Guidelines Employee Efficiency
100% Multi-Point Inspections (qualified Inventory Fill Rate Improvement
vehicles) Special Order Compliance Policies
100% Walk Around Inspections (qualified
vehicles)
100% Menu Presentations (qualified vehicles)
Recruiting
Makers vs. Breakers
When hiring a CEO, COO, CFO, CIO, Comptroller, or any other executive For large Automotive
position, there must be a true visionary behind the wheel. Determining the perfect Groups, finding the perfect
candidate for any organization can be a daunting task. The right candidate must candidate is instrumental in
embody the vision of the dealer and have a well thought out long term agenda in the overall progression in
mind when throwing their name into the arena as a prospective candidate. any company’s vision.
After many years in the automotive profession I have found a professional
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18. LETTER TO THE EDITOR
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20. NEW PRODUCT RELEASE
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NEW PRODUCT RELEASE
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33. Service Cener Rhythm & Flow
SUPERIOR DEALER SOLUTIONSsm
Service Center Rhythm & Flow (continued)
It is the ability to have all the “Game Plans” and “Game Plays” in
motion so everyone is playing on the “Same Team.” All people
involved with the team are striving toward the “Same Goals,” and the team
leaders have set their standards above the average.
With “Rhythm and Flow” as our guidepost, lets review 14 ways you can get
the “Magic” of “Rhythm and Flow” up and running in your Service Center
for optimum results.
Demand constancy of purpose for improvement in the service area. To earn more
money
and provide purpose for everyone in the Service Center, leadership must be innovative;
strive for constant improvement and continually challenge people for improvement.
Adopt the philosophy of “We are The Best.” I find that generally, most service
customers
accept average workmanship, or average service results. Your policy should never be
to
accept average; accept only the best from people who assist you perform your job.
Do not accept people who constantly have defective results. Quality comes from
inspection,
however improvement comes from a process that allows the improvements to happen.
Improvement is never a one-time event. Management, as priceas everyone responsible to
When consulting a customer to create a well quote, don’t cheapen the “Estimate” by
Management, using
is obligated to continually look for ways to reduce waste and find improvement. be discounted.
low quality replacement parts. Quality and Satisfaction can’t
Training is a job requirement. Too often workers have learned their
job from another worker. Unfortunately, the worker they learned their job
from wasn’t properly trained in the first place. . Workers need to be told
what their job function is and how it should be done, but from
management.
Supervision is not pushing people to get the job done, but rather
leading people to the conclusion it is important to finish the job on time
and do it well. The objective here is lead people to success by example.
Remove the fear. Many employees are afraid to ask questions or take
a position, even when they do not understand what the job is, what is
right or wrong. Management must remove the fear of asking. People will
continue to do things the wrong way, or not do them at all. For quality and higher productivity it is important
that people feel securecost feel that they areof dollars in productivity each month. The service department;
Department barriers and you thousands part of the team.
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39. More than US Postal Service
SUPERIOR DEALER SOLUTIONSsm
More than US Postal Service (continued)
Your customers have significant control over the information they
receive. Effective ways to smartly infiltrate their personal circles of
influence, by creating experiences, enable them to engage in ways that will
really make a difference in what they think, how they act, and most
importantly, what they say to others. But what does it take to really strike a
chord in your customers—to cut through the 5,000-plus messages that
barrage them each day?
Many major firms have enacted loyalty marketing programs: American
Airlines AAdvantage, Starwood Hotels Preferred Guest and Harrah’s Seven
Star being among the well-known named programs. But every day, millions
of businesses of all sizes create and implement their own programs.
I work with over 10,000 financial advisors who send their A+ clients a gift on their birthday... that is a
form of loyalty marketing. When the gift arrives, more often then not, family and friends are present. Someone
usually asks, “who sent the gift?” and soon, the financial advisors name is out there and is being spoken about
fondly. Many times, the phone number and email are given out and so, referrals are generated.
In the automotive industry there are many ways to promote
yourself and your firm through consumer marketing. The most
important aspect to keep in mind is the relationship between you,
your firm and your customer. What simple steps can you take to
stay “front of mind” with your client? Birthday programs are one
way of keeping in touch with your top customers annually, making
them feel special on the one day of the year that is most relevant
to them. Being remembered on your birthday is special and
personal. Are you doing anything out of the ordinary for the single
or widowed customers? Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and
Father’s Day are great opportunities to let your clients know
you’re thinking about them. One of my clients takes all of his
widowed customers out to lunch on Valentine’s Day. Another hires
a limo for herself and her single clients for a fun night on the town. Knowing the passions of your customers and
your own passion in life is key to a successful event. For instance, one of my clients loves chocolate – it’s an
everyday thing for him. For years, I suggested that he host a client event party that included his zest for
chocolate, such as a wine and chocolate pairing. He tried other conservative types of events, centered around
speakers and PowerPoint presentations, which were all moderately successful. It wasn’t until this past year that
he tried the event based on something he truly enjoyed – chocolate - and it was evident with his clientele that
they too were interested in it and found his intensity when talking about chocolate fun and thrilling. Since the
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46. "Old School Selling & Negotiation with Today's Buyer
SUPERIOR DEALER SOLUTIONSsm
"Old School" Selling & Negotiation (continued)
To stay “in style”, with today’s hot buttons: Customer Satisfaction, Shorter Selling Process, Up front Pricing; too
many manufacturers, trainers and sales forces are ignoring the most important part of selling to today’s customers:
Value!
As an industry, we never were that good, and in the last few years, we’ve gotten further away from real selling skills.
That’s why you’re seeing manufacturers struggling, why you’re seeing dealerships turning into condos and why the
best dealers who do get it, are growing faster than ever before!
Before I learned the right way to sell, my first 5 years in sales I learned everything you could possibly do wrong to
sell cars and I can prove it with my old W2s. You’ve heard my story; I was the 8-car guy my first five years, stopped
selling cars for 2 years and learned the only true skills in sales. And when I started selling cars again, I sold more
and earned more in 7 months than my first five years combined.
But I got the right training during those two years; I learned the
Old School Selling Methods that focused on the Customer and on
Building Trust in the salesperson and in Building Value in the
products you’re selling.
These tried and true methods of selling have been proven
throughout history, and I learned from the real pros: Ben Franklin,
W. Clement Stone, Napoleon Hill, Socrates and dozens of other
great men who developed the indisputable secrets to selling
anything to anybody and who shared those with all who would
listen. You talk about old school, these guys aren’t just real old,
they’re all real dead.
In class, our most common question is “What’s the best closing question?” and we always have to remind
people that closing is a process, not a question. And selling is the same ... it’s a very deliberate process
designed to take a stranger who doesn’t know you, like you or trust you (yet) and walk them through the
steps to buying expensive products.
And how about the Negotiation step – we still have to deal with price?
Even labeling it the negotiation step implies that price must be negotiated every time and it
implies that buying is about price. And it isn’t - buying is about Value!
• 16% of the people pay MSRP, and about 30% pay whatever they’re asked to pay when given
a price. (Tip: Ask for ‘sticker’ more often.)
• Negotiation is really about perceived value and justification.
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51. Customer Loyalty: More Important than Ever
SUPERIOR DEALER SOLUTIONSsm
Customer Loyalty: (continued)
Today’s car buyers happen to be more informed than ever and they
have the luxury of having far many more choices, both in dealerships and
brands, than the car buyer of yesterday. To think that it wasn’t all that
long ago when car buyers had their choice of either a Chrysler, Ford or
GM product. Next was the introduction of Japanese vehicles from Toyota,
Honda, Nissan and the European brands. Hyundai and Kia have quickly
made their presence felt to the point where even the Japanese auto
makers are looking in their rear view mirrors much like the way the Big
Three did when Toyotas and Hondas started to hit American roads. It won’
t be long until India and China join the mix. Some may snicker and joke at
the thought of a car labeled “Made In China”, however, somebody is going
to buy them.
In a relatively short time, we’ve seen the pie go from “The Big Three” to
being divided into smaller and smaller slices of market share. In today’s
ultra-competitive retail automotive world just doing your job isn’t enough
to keep your customers your customers.
Creating customer loyalty and retaining as much of your existing
customer base as possible is now more crucial than ever.
Loyalty Rewards Programs Have Proven to Create REAL Customer Loyalty!
Loyalty reward programs were first used in the airline and hotel industry to
help create a long-term relationship with each customer. Recently it seems
as if every major retailer, grocer, credit card and coffee shop is offering
some sort of reward card. These businesses did so because their respective
industries have gotten a little competitive. We’ve already covered the fact that
there is not an industry more competitive that ours. These other industries
have implemented programs that in essence reward customers for doing
business with them and it is without a doubt that they work! Stop and think about your own consumer habits.
Do you use your American Express card almost exclusively so that you can cash in your points for vacations?
Do you fly a particular airline over others because of frequent flyer points and the perks you are offered? How
about the rewards programs from big box retailers like Best Buy or even neighborhood shops like Subway and
Starbucks? The programs do a great job of locking in customers to spend more with their business
instead of going elsewhere.
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52. Customer Loyalty: More Important than Ever
The Time for Reward Programs in Auto Dealerships is NOW!
Reward programs can be set up so that your customers will earn points with every dollar spent in your
dealership’s departments. Reward cards are issued in both sales and service that allow customers to earn
points based on customer pay in service. The goal is to drive more customers to the dealership’s service
department. There is still a huge misconception with consumers that the dealership charges more for service
than the 10-minute oil change service center. Since this is no longer the case, we need to let the customer
know this and a rewards card program is the perfect way to keep customers in your service
department.
Some programs allow the customers to redeem the points toward service. This approach is strongly
discouraged as it has the long term potential to cannibalize into fixed ops revenue. Instead, use a reward
Program that is customized to offer immediate benefits in the form of exclusive discounts or perks for being a
loyal customer while earning points toward the next vehicle purchase. The service discounts and perks for
being a card holder are the short term rewards while the points earned toward a new vehicle is the long term
reward. The points compel your customers to see you first when it’s time to buy another vehicle rather than go
anywhere else.
There are several highly effective reward card providers that design
programs exclusively for the auto industry. All have a similar goal in
creating customer loyalty, however, most vary in some degree in their
approach or philosophy. You need to determine which program best
fits your dealership.
Some reward programs are designed to be just as much a powerful cutting edge e-mail marketing
tool as it they are a customized reward card program. They have been proven to effectively harvest up to
80% of the customers’ e-mail addresses. Once the e-mail addresses have been captured, they also provide
the necessary tools to revolutionize advertising, follow up and customer communication. They allow you the
ability to reach individual customers, your entire customer base and target your message by make, model,
year, lease, loan, cash deals, new or used, by mileage, days since the last service visit, even by sales person.
A few programs provide the ability to send e-mail messages or e-mails that contain customized CSI/SSI
surveys. E-mail surveys are great “buffers” to the actual manufacturer’s survey and allow the
opportunity to address any complaints or issues before the customer receives a CSI survey.
Dealers can also upload graphics and send them out as the body of the e-mail message. Some rewards e-mail
programs also provide the option to send template-driven vouchers in the body of the e-mail. Best of all are
the cutting-edge video e-mail features that give the dealership the ability to shoot a video right in the dealership
or upload television commercials and send them out via e-mail. Many dealerships use the e-mail feature to
notify customers of recalls, service reminders, new product introductions, announce incentive programs or
special events at the dealership, send a holiday greeting, etc. The sky is the limit on how this technology can
be utilized but the best part is that it is instant, easy and many times, free! Customers that don’t have e-
mail can receive any audio message just as instantly and easily as e-mail can be sent.
The good news is that these programs were designed to be an self funding solution. They create a
revenue stream that not only covers the cost of the program but also the discounting you offer in both sales
and service. For example, should a customer earn $500 towards their next vehicle purchase you’ll never have
to deal with anything less than a full gross deal. Some of the Reward Programs offer no-risk guarantees and
month-to-month agreements. The only thing you have to lose by not trying to create customer loyalty with
Loyalty Reward Programs is your customers!
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60. Article Archive March 4 2008
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SUPERIOR DEALER SOLUTIONSsm
Select an Article to view
3/4/2008 Do You Know Your Audience?, Jim Bernardi
Well yet another NADA Convention has come & gone. I, for one, had a terrific
time running into fellow colleagues & certainly had my share of meeting new
ones, not to mention the unlimited resources of positive & professional
networking that was accomplished this year. Our company Director of
Operations and I spent the majority of our time learning who our audience is
and who should be! view article
3/4/2008 E-Mail as a Customer Tool, Bill Zahrte
How do you stay compliant with communication in our regulated service
world?
Collecting email addresses is one way to make sure your efforts to keep in
touch with your customers has a purpose. But collecting the email address
from our customer can be mind bending. What you hear is “We don’t have
one”, or “I really don’t want to give out that personal information”. The other
excuse comes from the employee, “I forgot to ask”, or “Is an email address
all that important?” view article
3/4/2008 NADA Reflections, Bruce Reeves
As I peruse the write-ups and press releases from the NADA 2008
Convention, it strikes me how the influence of technology is a dominant
theme. Several vendors introduced new technology and initiatives that will
raise the bar on what customers expect and demand from auto dealers
now. The consumer experience, and their access and utilization of
technology (particularly the internet), is driving this revolution.
The bottom line is, that dealers have to anticipate and respond accordingly,
to what the consumer wants. view article
3/4/2008 Success with Special Finance, Lowell Bloodworth
Many automobile dealerships want to succeed in Special Finance, and
rightfully so, but some may be intimidated by the unfamiliar landscape.
Following are some guidelines which should help you to tread the path to
success.
Currently many Americans are in precarious financial conditions with
resultant poor credit ratings, and unfortunately more are joining them daily.
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