Our store is not always the "low price leader" therefore, we don't seem to have very much success with classified sites. I have never appreciated Autotrader.com's tiered dealer approach, because even if I was the cheapest 2007 Ford Taurus in a 200 mile radius of the customer's search . . . . if I wasn't a $4 or $5k a month Premium Paying dealer, my Taurus wouldn't show up until all the Premium Dealers' Taurus' had been listed.
My free Dealer Specialties feed seems to work fine for us. I get tons of response off eBay Local classified listings. Maybe since eBay is the number 1 automotive site searched in the country I'm getting that much more exposure. On the eBay format my customer can search by miles or price and it seems to be a more neutral approach. I would love to hear from an Auto Internet department selling tons of cars from Autotrader.com leads.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
Desperate for IT Help!
In the ever changing world of technology, the infrastructure of the dealership network becomes more critical. Consumers are becoming more savvy, network resources and IT support are stretched further than ever. It seems that we must become more proactive than reactive to meet the needs of the onslaught of data being moved in a blink.
Protecting the consumer and dealer information brings a new challenge each day.
I welcome a conversation on best practices about real time IT support handling the ever increasing amount of data being produced on a daily basis. If you don't have a full time IT guru what do you do when you have a blackberry meltdown, or your server crashes, or email gets shut down due to a virus that mysteriously found its way to your desktop?
Protecting the consumer and dealer information brings a new challenge each day.
I welcome a conversation on best practices about real time IT support handling the ever increasing amount of data being produced on a daily basis. If you don't have a full time IT guru what do you do when you have a blackberry meltdown, or your server crashes, or email gets shut down due to a virus that mysteriously found its way to your desktop?
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Have Internet Special Coupons run their course
Maybe it's just a sign of the times, but I'm getting five to one credit app leads to coupon leads today where six months ago it was just the opposite. Has the Internet Shopper gotten a little more e-savvy and learned that they can get that $200 or even $500 from anybody at the dealership, not just the Internet guy or gal? Does it really give someone a strong sense that they need to schedule an appointment online? We're now including in the details of any online priced vehicle that this special Internet price INCLUDES the $200 coupon savings that you can get when you log onto www.mycarlot.com and fill out the coupon. That way, if somebody does show up holding the golden fleece in their hand, printed from their home dell, expecting additional savings, we've covered our bases by showing that discount in the online price. I'm about to decide to use that pop-up funtion for special promotions other than discount coupons and try to generate more leads from a different approach. Your thoughts . . . . .
Must have vehicle pictures for Used Cars
Name your 5 must haves as far as vehicle photos.
And what about flaws? Does your GM want customers to know before they come look that there may be a scratch on the rear fender, or the tire tread may be a little marginal, or there might be a slight stain on the driver's seat? All good questions and no wrong answers.
Since we do a ton of business on eBay both local and national, we try to shoot a flaw if it is something we ourselves would be concerned about after striking a deal sight unseen.
Our Dealer Specialties rep comes twice a week and if he notices something he might be unsure whether to shoot or not, he contacts me or my used car manager to make that call. I like that our first shot is consistently the 3/4 front driver's side so that all our online inventory looks very consistent and gives a great presentation for the customer. Second most important to me is the "money shot" which shows the customer exactly the tread remaining on the tire. Of course, you need a good interior shot and dashboard. We do 20 photos and I can't imagine how a dealer committed to e-commerce could live with just 6 or even 10. Again, the fact that we do business on eBay far away from the dealership is probably the main reason we shoot so many photos.
And what about flaws? Does your GM want customers to know before they come look that there may be a scratch on the rear fender, or the tire tread may be a little marginal, or there might be a slight stain on the driver's seat? All good questions and no wrong answers.
Since we do a ton of business on eBay both local and national, we try to shoot a flaw if it is something we ourselves would be concerned about after striking a deal sight unseen.
Our Dealer Specialties rep comes twice a week and if he notices something he might be unsure whether to shoot or not, he contacts me or my used car manager to make that call. I like that our first shot is consistently the 3/4 front driver's side so that all our online inventory looks very consistent and gives a great presentation for the customer. Second most important to me is the "money shot" which shows the customer exactly the tread remaining on the tire. Of course, you need a good interior shot and dashboard. We do 20 photos and I can't imagine how a dealer committed to e-commerce could live with just 6 or even 10. Again, the fact that we do business on eBay far away from the dealership is probably the main reason we shoot so many photos.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
To GM "Handraiser" or NOT to GM 'Handraiser", that is the question . . . . .
This is my very first blog hosting experience therefore let's be bold!
There must be a legitimate reason that General Motors continues the "Hand Raiser" lead program other than to identify a customer accessing their GM Supplier discount pin. However, after my internet manager guys have weeded through hundreds of these hand raisers we are still trying to identify their value. I have linked you to this e-auto dealer blog because I value your opinion and believe others can benefit from this dialogue.
So let me give my opinion first: I believe GM should continue the program but allow a dealer to opt out if they see no value or haven't the time to tackle these leads when they come in 20 to 30 at a time. I guess ultimately you want as many names, phone numbers and email addresses in your lead management tool as you can possibly gather, but there should be a better way for GM "mission control" to scrub these for good email addresses and/or good phone numbers.
Further, if we are truly moving this ship toward "e"-commerce then there should be another mode of sending these leads that only want a "mailed" paper brochure. These "brochure"customers almost never give a working phone number and they are missing an email address. So, let's work on keeping e-commerce online and old-commerce thru the post office.
There must be a legitimate reason that General Motors continues the "Hand Raiser" lead program other than to identify a customer accessing their GM Supplier discount pin. However, after my internet manager guys have weeded through hundreds of these hand raisers we are still trying to identify their value. I have linked you to this e-auto dealer blog because I value your opinion and believe others can benefit from this dialogue.
So let me give my opinion first: I believe GM should continue the program but allow a dealer to opt out if they see no value or haven't the time to tackle these leads when they come in 20 to 30 at a time. I guess ultimately you want as many names, phone numbers and email addresses in your lead management tool as you can possibly gather, but there should be a better way for GM "mission control" to scrub these for good email addresses and/or good phone numbers.
Further, if we are truly moving this ship toward "e"-commerce then there should be another mode of sending these leads that only want a "mailed" paper brochure. These "brochure"customers almost never give a working phone number and they are missing an email address. So, let's work on keeping e-commerce online and old-commerce thru the post office.
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