Dealers on Facebook
By: Ed Steenman
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Social media continues to be a challenge and opportunity for auto retailers. Periodically we'll share highlights of dealers' activities online and this time we focus our attention on a single point dealer who has been actively using Facebook to cultivate customer relationships and what it has meant for customer communication, retention and vehicle sales.
Auburn Volkswagen is a single point Volkswagen dealership located in Auburn, Washington, a suburb of Seattle. General Manager, Matt Welch, first hired a team to build "dynamic pages" for his store. These dynamic pages essentially place the entire content of his dealership's website inside the Facebook environment. Users can browse inventory, build a vehicle, and even schedule a service appointment online without ever leaving Facebook. Beyond these dynamic pages, the store also actively engages the local community with regular "Wall Posts", including everything from brand information to humorous out-takes and bloopers of their TV commercials - even the company Christmas video!
And what was the result? Over 240 fans, to date (and growing), active comments, and some wonderful new customer interaction. Matt Welch shares just one example, "Just the other day, a Jetta customer posted on her own Facebook page that she had a flat tire. It was rainy, cold miserable day. Fortunately, because she was a friend of Auburn Volkswagen on Facebook, our sales manager could see her post and took the initiative to contact her and offer to drive out to help her with a new tire. She was so excited, not only about the tire, but the fact that we took the time to help her that her next post was 'I LOVE AUBURN VOLKSWAGEN!' All of her friends saw her post, as well as all of our fans, over 800 people total. According to Matt, "You can't buy that kind of positive publicity and it all happened because of Facebook."
Welch reports that he receives emails everyday on Facebook with customer comments and he estimates his store does two or three new car deals a month as a direct result of his presence there. Not bad for a media portal where the only cost is a little time and creativity.
This article originally appeared on the website of Dealer Marketing Magazine.
Ed Steenman is owner of Steenman Associates, a traditional and new media strategies firm located in the Seattle, Washington area. Ed represents and consults for a wide variety of automotive dealers, dealer groups and their agencies throughout the U.S. For information you can reach his company at (425) 427-9692.
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