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| As selected by Activengage |
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This post asks whether dealers are still doing a 2-tier pricing system (lot & Internet) and which they think is better, and why. And it's drawing some heated discussion ... click to learn more.
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Is your social media strategy 'kicking butt'? If not, you might need a little social media strategy tune-up. Click for four common areas where dealerships get tripped up in executing their strategy.
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What's even more important than driving traffic to your site? Focusing on your dealership conversion and how to optimize it. That's the half of the equation that you need to turn your site into a lead generation machine. Click to learn more...
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| How-to’s by industry experts |
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 4 Tips for Advertising on FacebookCurrently Facebook gets about 100 Million plus unique visitors each month, that is over 1/3 the US population. On Facebook your competition isn’t other business owners it’s the litany of status updates, party photos and comments that are pouring in…millions per hour. Here are 4 tips that will help you when advertising on Facebook…some pretty obvious.
1. Target your audienceFacebook users divulge a lot of information about themselves in their profiles and you can target users based on profile info: age, gender, location, college, relationship status and interests. Changing content to fit the users’ behavior is incredibly powerful and will mean a big boost in clicks and conversions. 2. Test, test, test … Strategically, Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)Testing ads in Facebook as with all online marketing is twofold: click volume and conversion rate. By combining Facebook’s behavioral targeting for the click with a landing experience behavioral targeting can gain large boosts in your Facebook advertising conversion rate. 3. Track everythingFacebook allow you to track the number of clicks and times your ad is shown, but it doesn't track Post-Click. This is a huge drawback to any online marketing. Using a landing experience platform in combination with Google Analytics you can quickly and easily build, test and track your traffic from Facebook and other online marketing mediums. 4. Don't miss the messageMessage miss match is the number one cause of page abandonment and low conversion. Your message must match what got the click in the first place. Because you have so little space to capture the respondents’ attention it is so imperative that your landing experience engage the customer and match your message. Larry Bruce is Founder/President/CEO of MicrositesByU and can be reached at lbruce@micrositesbyu.com or 281.455.3811.
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INDUSTRY NEWS IN THE LAST 24
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 Toyota to Recall Lexuses in U.S., Japan on Risk of Stalling Toyota will recall some Lexus models, model year 2006-08, both in Japan and the U.S. due to defective valve components that could lead to stalling. This is in addition to current recall of the Lexus GS 460. Toyota will inform U.S. regulators this week. Bloomberg.com, July 3, 2010
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 New Car Could Let The Blind Drive Amazing as it seems, Ford is working on a high-tech version of the Escape that would allow a blind person to drive. Not yet a reality, the vehicle would use “non-visual interfaces” technology for "seeing" and maneuvering the vehicle just as a seeing person would do. TheDetroitBureau.com, July 2, 2010
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 GM Seeks Billions in Credit for Life After Uncle Sam GM is reportedly working behind the scenes to establish a $5 billion line of credit to make itself sell-able to potential inventors. Toward that goal, the company is working to rid itself of $42.2 billion in outstanding liabilities and reach investment-grade ratings. Wall Street Journal, July 3, 2010
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Get a fast-paced overview of employment law and the essentials necessary to protect your business when it comes to hiring, terminations and personnel management.
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Daily clicks to increasing dealer revenue & profits
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 OPENLANE Expands North American OperationsOPENLANE announced today that it is expanding its footprint and capabilities in North America by adding new features to its online wholesale auction site in the U.S and by launching a new site in Canada ( OPENLANE.ca). Contact at Canadian email or U.S. email for more info. Enhancements include: • Completely redesigned Vehicle Detail site • Upgraded Search and Bid/Buy Confirmation pages • One-screen web-listing page
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 AutoUSA Launches POWER Listings? AutoUSA, the industry’s leading provider of the highest quality Internet leads to auto dealers nationwide, has launched POWER Listings? (used car ads through strategic marketing partners), a pre-owned inventory marketing program powered by Cargigi. This new source of quality inventory leads enables auto dealers to market and advertise their used car inventory daily on the most popular free classified websites. Find more info at www.autousadealers.com.
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 Beep! Automotive Ad Network Introduces Brand-Specific Targeting Goodway Group's Beep! Automotive Ad Network today announces brand-specific targeting initiative. Allows automotive advertisers to reach auto shoppers that are most likely to purchase an individual brand. Goodway layers the user-specific data to target the campaign specific to that brand's customer profile. For more info visit the Goodway Group.
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| How-to’s by industry experts |
 Increase Your Service Department Profits Through Customer RetentionAre you tracking those customers who came to visit your service department during the warranty period and have not been back? Are you tracking those customers who purchased a new vehicle from your dealership and have never returned for service? Tracking customer retention is the bread and butter of a profitable service department. It is the Service Department's responsibility to close the customer buying cycle by ensuring that every new vehicle purchaser remains a loyal service customer, buying their next new vehicle from your dealership so they can continue to receive your great service. Click here or click on the image for insight into increasing customer retention by at least 10 pecent!
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| auto dealer sales & marketing |
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 Sell More and GrowBy Joe VerdeLet's look at the importance of management processes and procedures. These procedures are important for 2 reasons: 1. You and your salespeople need clear guidelines on everything you expect them to do. Until you develop clear guidelines, save yourself the grief and don’t even expect them to do their job. 2. You can’t just bark out orders and hold your salespeople accountable to follow vague directions like, “Go find a customer and sell something.” Problem: If there isn’t a customer on the lot, they can’t go find one. You’re busy, shorthanded, don’t have the right people, etc. But until you outline what you want, good luck selling more. It’s important to realize that hardly anybody, including yourself, will take it upon themselves to figure out exactly what has to be done. Hardly anybody will dig in and learn all they can about the ‘task at hand,’ come to work to work, and do their best job every day with no supervision. That’s why your salespeople need you to create guidelines for them. If your dealership will set up and then require you and every manager to follow these requirements, policies and procedures every day – your personal income will double. When you focus your attention on the most important tasks, good stuff happens and you start selling cars, having fun and making money. Joe Verde, president of Joe Verde Sales & Management Training, can be reached by email. Click here to read this article in its entirety.
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| bringing sales into service and service into sales |
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 Making Sense of Ion Sensing TechnologyWhen a young technician returned from a training class, bursting with enthusiasm over a new technology he'd learned about called "ion sensing technology," someone had to tell him the technology wasn't all that new! In fact, ion sensing technology has been around for more than a decade, but it just never really caught on. Originally, ion sensing ignition systems were used for "knock" and "misfire" detection. But there are more possibilities now, including Generation 2 technology. The circuitry is ingenius, and our young technician was rightly so enthused. Click here or click on the image to bring this engine sensor real-time information into your service department!
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| driving technology in and around the VEHICLE |
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 Smartphone Owners Want More Vehicle TechnologyJ.D. Power study indicates high demand for wireless connectivityA recent study by J.D. Power and Associates looks at the growing ownership of iPhones, BlackBerrys and other smartphones, uncovering a significant growth in connectivity and revealing the following findings: — Before a price is revealed, the study indicated 77 percent of smartphone owners demonstrated interest in wireless connectivity systems for their vehicles. That's compared with the industry average of 64 percent. — More than one half — 56 percent to be exact — of vehicle owners with smartphones also are interested in mobile routers, according the study. Analysts mentioned how that's compared with an industry average of 46 percent. — Almost half of consumers who already have a smartphone are interested in having an in-dash computer versus the industry average of 38 percent. — Nearly 40 percent of vehicle owners with smartphones currently use them in their vehicle to get driving directions. — Approximately 20 percent of vehicle owners with smartphones use their device to listen to music through connection to external or vehicle speakers. — Non-branded premium sound systems garner the highest interest level.
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| how to make & keep your DEALERSHIP environmentally responsible |
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 5 Simple Steps to Improved Gas MileageBeing environmentally in tune doesn't have to include trading in your current vehicle for a hybrid or EV. Instead, you can help your customers keep their cars properly maintained for optimum performance. The Car Care Council has a 5-step program to help protect the environment and save money at the pump. Click here for a print-out of the council's program to help drivers "go green". And then click on the image for a few pointers on environmental awareness.
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