News

PCG Digital Marketing is pleased to recognize automotive industry leaders who will be educating dealers at the upcoming PCG Pit Stop Conference on July 16 and 17 at Hyatt Regency in Huntington Beach.

Industry thought leaders Ralph Paglia, Kathi Kruse, JD Rucker, Brian Pasch, and Paul Potratz are just some of the personalities that will share their insights into the latest opportunities for car dealers to grow their business online.

Paglia’s hands-on workshop, entitled “Digital Guerilla Marketing Strategies and Tactics,” will show dealers how to take advantage of emerging Internet marketing tools for guerilla marketers and how to recognize when their competitors are using these same tactics against them.

According to Paglia, “No dealer should try these techniques without knowing the risks and returns.”

Kathi Kruse will be addressing all conference attendees at the opening dinner reception on July 16^th with a keynote address titled: “How to Generate Through Social Media Integration.”

According to Kruse “Before they visit your store, internet savvy car shoppers spend up to 11 hours online researching you and your store. They bypass the Yellow Pages and cable ads to see what their Social network says about your reputation and inventory.”

JD Rucker, automotive social media pioneer, will be leading a popular workshop entitled “Facebook Marketing vs. Facebook Advertising.” With Facebook and Google + dominating discussions on new media strategies, Rucker brings to the table a proven tactical plan that dealers can implement to dominate your local markets.

The PCG Pit Stop Conference tour after Huntington Beach will continue its road trip to St. Louis, Seattle, Vancouver, and Toronto, delivering world-class education to car dealers on subjects they need to leverage new media opportunities.

12 Workshop Subjects Offered

The Pit Stop Conferences are open to any dealership employee but were created with Dealer Principals/GM, General Sales Managers/ISM, and Fixed Operations Managers in mind.

A total of 12 workshops will be presented in each city including strategies for Fixed Operations, Internet Lead Management, Video Search Marketing, Google Places, and Mobile Marketing.

To register for the PCG Pit Stop^® program or for more information, visit http://www.pcgpitstop.com . Dealers can also call 732.450.8200 ext 5 and ask for Renee McGowan to register via phone.

About Ralph Paglia

Ralph Paglia has 20+ years of leadership in information technology enabled automotive marketing strategies and tactical implementation. Widely known as the outspoken Director of Digital Marketing at ADP Dealer Services, Ralph is now the Vice President of Digital at Tier 10 Marketing.

About Kathi Kruse

Kathi Kruse is an Automotive Social Media Expert, Blogger, Coach, Author, and Founder of Kruse Control Inc. Born in the heart of Los Angeles to a family of “car people,” Kathi’s passion for the car business spans a 30-year career managing successful dealerships in Southern California. Kathi is co-author of the book “Next Up – Essential Social Media Strategies for Auto Dealerships.”

About JD Rucker

JD Rucker is Director of New Media at TK Carsites, responsible for research, development, and implementation of dealership marketing strategies on search engines and social media.

JD is also President of Hasai, Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of TK Carsites that specializes in viral marketing campaigns in and out of the automotive industry. His works, strategies, and quotes have been seen in hundreds of publications and news outlets including NY Times, NPR, and Time.

 

in 2010, world class speaker Grant Cardone was speaking at the Innovative Dealer Summit hosted by Tim Jackson and the CADA.  Grant stated that the most successful  CEO’s in the USA read over 70 books a year.

At first I was taken back at the sheer volumes of information that these business leaders were absorbing each year.  What struck me were the words that Grant used: “the most successful” He was not referring to owners and CEO’s that were collecting a paycheck under with a title.

In January, I made a commitment to read a book a week (52 a year) and I have been able to keep that pace going.

Candidly, I kick myself for not investing in reading earlier. Each week I am tapping into the wealth of information shared by top leaders, executives, and creative thinkers.

Books like “Linchpin“  by Seth Godin, “The Go-Giver” by Bob Burg, “Getting Naked” by Patrick Lencioni, and my current book “The Mirror Test” by Jeffrey W Hayzlett have truly changed the way I lead and conduct my business affairs.

Unlimited Opportunities

I feel like a kid in the candy shop!  There is a wealth of information available to business leaders; CEO’s, General Managers, Sales Managers, Service Managers,  and any employee that wants to find success in their chosen career path.

When you start reading this many business books, you start to see a recurring theme.  I saw it in Grant Cardone’s books and today in Jeffrey Hayzlett’s book.

What is this theme?  The author candidly states that a small portion of their readers will actually carry out the winning strategies they share in their books.

The author’s experience is that resistance to change is a greater force than any million dollar upside move.  Sounds crazy, but in reality, many business executives are restricted by their “lizard brain“; a phrase coined by Seth Godin in his book Linchpin.

I could tell a dealer that by attending one of our PCG Pit Stop conferences that they could save tens of thousands of dollars a year and they yawn.  I could tell them that they could ruin their brand by ignoring their online reputation and they smile and say that they will get to it soon.

Where Do You Stand?

How about you?  Are you engaged in education? Are you reading weekly?   Is your path heading for greatness or are you content on just being good?  Are you too worried about this month’s sales goals that you can’t plan for a more effective full year of results?

My coach Rick Ivone often repeats this simple reminder:  Good is the killer of GREAT!

I ask my readers this question because over the past few months me and my team have been talking to dealer principals, general manager, and Internet sales manager about participating in various workshops and automotive conferences designed to energize, educate, and improve the bottom line for their dealership.

To be candid, the responses have shown their indifference to the topic.  Investing is education and testing new strategies is not a priority.  Every excuse in the book is used to avoid change.  Their “lizard brain” takes control and rejoices.

It seems like taking a day out for learning is tantamount to asking the dealer to cut off their arm.

Ironically, my reading has demonstrated to me that investments in education will have the highest ROI for leaders because they can apply their new knowledge across an entire organization.

The Bigger Picture Is Ugly

Dealers spend tens of thousands of dollars every month on automotive advertising and marketing, yet will not take a day out of the office to learn how to save THOUSANDS of dollars a month.

Dealers spend millions of dollars to develop their brand yet will not invest a day out of the office the learn how to protect their multi million dollar asset from being hurt online.

Dealers take pride in their business “strategy” but few understand that with changes in Google search engine, over 60% of dealers are doing more to help their direct competitors than themselves.

Marketing and advertising in a digitally socialized world is constantly changing.  Change brings opportunities.  Opportunities bring more sales and profits to a well run business.  Who is keeping you abreast of all these opportunities?

Automotive Leaders Need Balance

Until automotive business leaders demonstrate balance in their professional lives, they will be destined to stay mediocre.  Our lives must be balanced with emotional, physical, spiritual and intellectual investments.

Leadership starts at the top. If the dealer principal and General Manager place little value outside workshops, conferences or monthly reading then you can’t expect the entire organization to flourish and reach its full potential.

I am committed to educate, energize, and lead those who want to grow in their professional lives.  If you want to join me on that path, the door is open to significantly change your business outlook and profits.

You just have to take that first step.  Join the team.

 

The organizers of the  Driving Sales Executive Summit kick off their “un-conference” on October 13th and Brian Pasch will be there.  The Executive Summit is designed to attract and motivate leaders in the automotive community.  The Driving Sales event has attracted many thought leaders from inside and outside of the Automotive industry for a power packed two day event. 

Brian Pasch will be participating in the Driving Sales event in Las Vegas at the Hard Rock Hotel with fellow Internet Marketing and Social Media leaders Paul Rushing and JD Rucker.  This will be the first time all three of these men will sit down together at an automotive conference.

Some have called them the ”three musketeers” of Automotive SEO and Social Media.  In any case, they will be part of a round-table event on Tuesday October 13th at 4:00 pm.  Anyone attending the event will get a collector traveler’s mug from PCG.

Driving Sales Las Vegas

 If you are planning on attending the conference, I hope you will join the roundtable event.

The goal of the Driving Sales Las Vegas event is to raise the bar for automotive educational seminars by breaking the traditional format that conferences follow.  The un-conference is designed to hold both the presenter and attendee accountable for the success of the summit. 

Automotive SEO Strategies 

If your car dealership is looking to raise the bar for your Automotive SEO campaign, we encourage you to speak with Brian Pasch at the Driving Sales Summit or call our office for a free consultation.  By calling 732-450-8200 you will start the process of knowing exactly where your website stands. 

When you call, make sure you ask about out Automotive Microsites.  If you want to dominate sales in your Primary Marketing Area (PMA), you will find equally passionate employees at the PCG Digital Marketing who can help you achieve your goals.

If you can’t attend the Driving Sales Executive Summit, Brian Pasch will also be speaking at the 7th Digital Dealer Conference in Nashville which runs from November 1-3rd.  If your schedule does not permit you to attend either conference, call our offices for a private consultation about our Automotive SEO services.

Executive Summit Agenda

 Here is the published agenda for the Driving Sales  Executive Summit

Tuesday, October 13, 2009
9:00am	On-Site Registration Open
Noon	Luncheon
1:00pm	Current Web Statistics: What Are Your Customers Doing Online? New and comprehensive data clearly illustrating how the automotive Internet shopper becomes a buyer… or doesn’t.  - Skip Streets, Compete
	New Media Transitions: Lessons Learned —  Developing a clear marketing strategy and partnering with suppliers of profit generating systems  - Dennis Galbraith, RevenueGuru.com
	Media Spend: Efficiently Reaching Today’s Buyers – Triple your results by understanding how the media environment has changed and will continue to change  - Will Travis, Dentsu America
	Technology Showcase: You Heard It Here First! - Five-minute presentations of new products and services you don’t want to miss:   Piracy Prevention – Richard Winch, eXtéres Corporation   Chat Integration– Todd Smith, ActivEngage   Targeting Data – David Armitage, Blue Kai   Social Marketing – Ralph Paglia, ADP   Pump Up Service – Reuben Muinos, DealerSocket   Mobile Marketing –  Al Babbington, OneCommand   Don’t Pay for Search – Mike DeCecco, Dealer.com
3:30pm	Break
4:00pm	Breakouts
	Evolving from an Internet Presence to an Internet Business - Don Crawford, eBay Motors	Search Marketing Panel  - JD Rucker, Hasai  - Paul Rushing  - Brian Pasch
	Roundtables, Session I
	Chat Integration	Piracy Prevention
	Targeting Data	Media Spend
	Statistics Data	Internet Presence to Internet Business
	Roundtables, Session II
	Pump Up Service	Post Click Marketing
	Social Marketing	Reputation Management
	Don’t Pay for Search	Reducing Dealership Ad Spend & Increasing Business
5:30pm	Networking Reception at “Wasted Space Club” in Hard Rock
	Ongoing
	Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn Bootcamp:  Hands-on guidance on how to get followed, how to get fans and how to have your own channel on YouTube.  - Gary May, Interactive Marketing and Consulting Services
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
7:30am	Breakfast
8:15am	Service Marketing: New Solutions for New Challenges – Learn how you can win the service customer battle profitably by using new marketing techniques  - Kevin Root, DriverSide and Lonnie Miller, R.L. Polk & Co.
	Social Media: Where it Works in Business and Does it Fit in Automotive? Understand what it takes for your business to succeed with proven strategies for creating social programs and prescriptive steps for getting started  - Aaron Strout, Powered
	The New Economic Model for Dealership Advertising — With consumers creating millions of uniquely targeted content pages daily, how has the economic model of dealership advertising been affected?     – Jared Hamilton, DrivingSales.com
9:45am	Break
10:00am	Breakouts
	Secret Metrics Revealed  - Joe Orr, Hannah Honda	Throw Out Your Internet Department!  - Howard Polirer, AutoTrader.com  - Rafi Hamid, vAuto
	Roundtables, Session III
	Service Marketing	Social Media
	Metrics Measurement Including Google Analytics	Throw Out Your Internet Department!
	History Report Intelligence	Mobile Marketing
	Respect Your Data
11:30am	Trust Agent: How trust moves online and how it impacts the automotive buyer and the business overall.  - Chris Brogan, New Marketing Labs
12:30pm	Bloggers’ Lunch