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Are You Patient?

At the 8th Digital Dealer Conference in Orlando from April 20-22th, I will be conducting a seminar on Internet Reputation Management on April 21st at 4:30 pm.  As I started to prepare my thoughts for the seminar, I wanted to encourage dealers who start an IRM process to be patient.

Even your most satisfied customers may not take the time that they promise to post a positive review online.  IRM is a numbers game and there are ways to make those numbers work in your favor.  Keep in mind that reviews can come from sales and service, which means that hundreds of customers a week can be asked to participate.  Between sales and service, you only need 1-2% cooperation to make a big difference.

You only need a few people a week to make a difference over the course of this year.  I like to set a goal that dealers should get 3-5 reviews a week so that at the end of the year you have well over 200 positive votes on sites like Google Maps, InsiderPages, DealerRater, and Yelp.  With 200+ reviews, I would estimate you would be drawing over 100-200 additional calls a month to your dealership.

The key is to make it easy for your customers to post a review.  One way to make it easy is to send your customers an email requesting their help in posting their experience online and provide a link to the site you want them to post.    Start with the most importance place. Ask them to post a review on Google Maps for you so you just have to make sure your business listing in Google Maps is correct.

If you plan to send out emails, please make sure your emails are designed to pass through spam filters.   There are a number of free tools online that can test your email message and give it a spam score.  Tip: keep the number a hyperlinks in your email low so it does not trigger your message as spam.

Reputation Management Portal

PCG has been testing what we are calling Reputation Management Portals (RMP) which are placed on an easy to remember domain name like www.iloveharechevy.com  or www.ilovecheckeredflag.com.   The RMP has quick links to all the popular places that dealers should have positive reviews.  They are customized for each dealership.  We design a postcard which dealers print and give out to happy customers in the service lane or as part of the sales delivery process.

The RMP makes it easy to add the website address on business cards, email signatures or in the body of the email.  The RMP reduces the long links that are often associated with a review page like Google Maps.

If you are interested in learning more about how IRM can significantly improve your online sales strategy, come to DD8 and attend my seminar or give our offices a call and speak with Jessica Guida, our IRM specialist at 732-450-8200.

If you would like to purchase a Ford car or truck, we have assembled a great list of Ford dealers across the country that can help you.  You can search Ford dealers in any state using this US Car Dealer Directory.

The Ford dealers listed below are our clients and have made a commitment to deliver outstanding customer service to local Ford owners.  We have unique digital marketing strategies for Ford dealers that include continuing with the great momentum created by Ford Fiesta social media campaign.

Ford Dealers

Of course, you should do your own research on website like DealerRater.com to see what your peers are saying about these fine Ford dealers.   These PCG clients have a great business in their local markets and we recommend that you patronize their businesses:

• Preston Ford
• Midway Ford
• West Herr Ford
• Don Chalmers Ford
• Rasmussen Stewart Ford

Ford Auto Dealers

If you operate a Ford Dealership in the United States and would like to be added to this page, please contact Carrie Valentine by emailing carrie@paschconsulting.com .  Our Ford dealers are also included in our new car advertising network CarDealerSale.com

If you are looking for a new or used car in Newport News, you should shop the most convenient websites that offers the best deals on cars for sale in Virginia.  The CarDealerSale.com network lists cars from local Newport News area car dealers and represent a simple, and efficient car shopping experience.  Select from hundreds of new and used cars that are for sale by local car dealers.

Using CarPort App™, cars from car dealers near Newport News Virginia can be displayed on a blog post.  For example, here are some Newport BMW cars that are for sale in the area:

Newport News Virginia

No one knows for sure where Newport News got its name, but “Newportes Newes” first appears in the Virginia Company records in 1619, making it one of the oldest place names in the New World. The most widely accepted folktale is that our city is the namesake of Captain Christopher Newport, commander of Susan Constant, flagship of the three ship English fleet that landed on Jamestown Island in 1607. He made several voyages to Newport News in the early days of the Jamestown Colony, bringing “good news” of supplies and settlers.

Newport News, settled in 1621, is approximately 23 miles long and three miles wide. It is the fourth largest city in size in the state, with it’s boundaries encompassing 70.38 square miles. Newport News has a population of approximately 185,200 people.

One of the largest car dealer groups in Virginia Beach and Newport News Virginia is Checkered Flag.  The family owned and operated dealer group has 11 unique brands and hundreds of cars in stock. They have been selling cars to Newport News car shoppers since 1964.  Now back to the history….

Newport News played a major role in the Peninsula Campaign during the Civil War. Numerous earthen fortifications and attractions that relate to the Civil War can be experienced in Newport News. In addition, the famous “Battle of the Ironclads” took place off the shores of Newport News in 1862.

Collis P. Huntington, a Northern railroad tycoon from Connecticut, brought two magnet industries to Newport News: the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad and Newport News Shipbuilding.  Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, established in 1886, built many of the U.S. super aircraft carriers including the Enterprise, Kennedy, Washington, Vinson, and Roosevelt.

 Newport News was designated as a Port of Embarkation by the U.S. Army immediately after America’s entry into WWI. The final major military base during WWI was Camp Eustis, which later came to be known as Fort Eustis. Named after the founder of Fort Monroe’s Artillery School of Practice and War of 1812 veteran Brigadier General Abraham Eustis, the camp was created in 1918 to meet the need for an artillery firing range.   Hilton Village, the first government-subsidized “planned community” was constructed as a pilot program due to the shortage of housing related to the war effort. Hilton was dedicated on July 7, 1918.