In many markets the competition for online car shoppers is so intense that business owners feel that they are in the Super Bowl of online marketing, where every play (strategy) could be the difference in their sales each month and winning the “prize”. The difference between being #1 in the market or the country is getting smaller and smaller.

Businesses who understand the competitive nature of online marketing will only be rewarded with the “winner’s trophy” if their play book is evolving. Resting on past laurels is a game of Russian Roulette.

So the question for you to answer is this: “Are you using outdated plays that the competition already knows or that fails to move the needle like it once did?”

Creating a New Playbook

Dealers wanting to be the next market leader and want to bring home the Super Bowl ring need to be testing “new” automotive advertising strategies. New is a relative word since I’m not suggesting ideas that some dealers have known about for years.

Dealers who are not testing 24×7 managed chat, mobile text marketing, retargeting banner advertising, mobile websites, and localized social media advertising are missing very important “plays” that will move the needle.

There are another handful of “new” ideas that are working at dealership we coach, Google is forever changing the rules. These changes give opportunities to those who are watching the ball.

Quick example: What process at your dealership is in place to identify customers with Google email accounts? What process has been setup to encourage them to “Google +1” your key website assets?  Have you updated your blogs to integrate the +1 button?

If you are saying that you already tested chat, text-marketing, banner retargeting, etc. and they didn’t work for you I would respond that you had the wrong players executing the strategy.

Thinking Like Greece

I’ve also noticed a growing trend that dealers are shunning investing in new areas of opportunity because of fear of a double dip recession. It’s like the Greece austerity measures have crept into the mind of dealer principals and the thought of increasing or changing their marketing budgets have strong resistance.

No dealership will get to be the dominant player in their market by cutting budgets and reducing marketing investments.

I understand that for some dealers the summer months may be filled with anxiety over supply shortages. It been public for some time that some imports will not see their pipeline levels back to normal until September. So if this shortage is not new news, what has your dealership done to compensate for this reality?

In theory, this would be the best time to test new strategies but in reality the resistance to change is seemingly stronger.

I love to work with dealers that challenge their “lizard brain” that Seth Godin speaks about in his best seller “Linchpin“. (We all have Lizard Brains by the way!) I love to work with dealers willing to embrace change and work to create a customized marketing strategy for their dealership.

So if you are doing the same old thing every month at your dealership, you are like a football superstar that is sitting on the bench during the Super Bowl. So much potential but no commitment to engage your opponents.

When you are ready to get off the bench, and want advice on how to revise your playbook, give me a call. 732.450.8200

Want To Learn About New Marketing Strategies

Members of the automotive community who want to move the needle NOW can send two of their staff members to an upcoming PCG Pit Stop event for a special price of $495.

That’s two people for the normal price of one. Details on upcoming dates and cities can be found at http://www.pcgpitstop.com.

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It is clear that organic search results shown on Google Page One are being influence by social media posts, likes, fans, and now +1.  Just this week I noticed that a dealer’s Facebook page moved to the second spot on Google Page One over well aged and well linked microsites.

This dealer has over 35,000 likes to his Facebook dealership page.  The highly trafficked Facebook Page outweighs the SEO strength of his other web assets.  Change is here and documented!

Google +1 Implementation

Now we have Google +1 to play with and people are asking how they can leverage this new search “stamping” tool.  According to Google’s website:

“Click +1 to publicly give something your stamp of approval. Your +1′s can help friends, contacts, and others on the web find the best stuff when they search.”

Do you believe that your business provides great products and service to local consumers?  Do your employees feel the same way?  If the answer to both questions are “YES”, then what strategy do you have in place to educate and energize each employee to +1 your key digital assets.  These assets are MORE than your website.

Your Google +1 strategy should include your Youtube Videos, microsites, press releases, slideshare docs, etc.  Any web assets that will help consumers connect with your brand and that show your company in a positive light.

Have you started tagging your web assets with the +1?  What are you waiting for then!

Empowering Your Customers

Once you and your employees have been educated and a strategy put in place, next comes family, friends, and customers.  This means that you email templates and communication process for soliciting reviews can be enhanced to leverage the Google +1 tag.

Have you added the +1 toolbar on all your blogs like the one at the top of this page? This toolbar makes it easier to get your readers and fans to engage in your +1 strategy. By the way, have your new customers been encouraged to +1 tag your Google Adwords ads?

By the way, before you leave this page, use the toolbar at the top to +1 the article and share it with your network.  What are friends for, correct?

When You Use Google +1 – SERP’s Change

Here is a quick task, please follow along with me.  Log into your Google Account.  Go to Google and search “Automotive SEO“.  Here is what you will see if you are logged into your Google account:

The first two listings should be www.dealer-seo.com and www.automotiveseo.co. 

Click on the +1 button for these two listings.

What happens after your +1′d these two listings, the next time you search for this same phrase “Automotive SEO“.  What changed?

Now was that hard to do?  You know the top search phrases that consumers use to find your goods and services.  If your website is not at the top of search listings, these +1 tags from local consumers can make your listing stand out.   Do you want your website assets to stand out?

The Bigger Picture – Socialized SERP’s

Google is aligning business interests and search engine result pages (SERPS) to get more consumers to create a Google account and use Google tools.  Once Google decided to get into the review business, a clear signal was sent.  Reviews posted with GOOGLE accounts can be leveraged top increase SERP visibility and traffic; that’s Google Boost.

Now that Google allows consumers to “mark” their favorite search engine result pages, once again businesses will educate and encourage consumers to mark THEIR listings to create a more visible SERP listing.

The future of SERP’s is socialized and personalized results for local markets.  The sooner your business engages with a proactive review collection process and now a proactive +1 process, the faster your SERP listings will be standing out.  The faster your PPC campaigns can be enhanced with “stars”.

Do You Have A Search Strategy

If you need assistance implementing a strong search marketing strategy that includes reputation management, SEO, Google Adwords, or Google Boost, we would love to discuss your needs and come up with a customized plan for your market.  Call our team at 732.450.8200 and ask for Matt O’Such for a free consultation.

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A Bronx Nissan dealership opened on the former lot of Cox Nissan which was closed for a number months prior to Teddy Nissan acquiring the property.

Teddy Nissan is bringing a fresh approach to Nissan car sales in the Bronx.

Today they demonstrated their commitment to excellence by hiring one of the hardest working Internet sales professionals in the business: Stan Sher.

Stan Sher has been an active member of the automotive digital marketing community and a regular contributor to poular car dealer sales website.

Nissan Internet Marketing

According to Stan’s profile, he is well qualified to run Teddy Nissan’s Internet marketing efforts:

“I have managed the Internet sales departments for various Acura and Honda dealerships where I hired and trained sales consultants to handle internet leads utilizing the proper lead management tool. Trained BDC representatives to handle internet leads and phone ups as well as lease retention. Created a follow up process for new and used car internet sales process. Worked as a sales desk manager and also a TO for sales consultants to close deals. Maintained dealer website and internet advertising for proper compliance. I have worked on evolving a strong social networking presence to create positive reputation management for RedNumbat. I am currently the Internet Director for Teddy Nissan in New York. I also do internet sales and marketing consulting, writing, and blogging for Dealer Internet Sales Solutions (DISS).”

I wish Stan Sher and the Teddy Nissan team the best of success selling new and used Nissan cars in the Bronx.

New York Nissan Car Sales

There are many choices for Nissan sales and service in New York. In fact, you can do your homework on www.dealerrater.com to see how the customer service stacks up for Nissan dealers in New York and the five boroughs.

Simply stated, Stan has a wonderful opportunity to deliver outstanding customer service to New York Nissan customers and stand above the crowd. If you read the reviews for his nearest competitors, if Stan does the basics correctly, he can have 100 positive reviews in the next 6 months. Once he has 20 positive reviews he will have 1000% more postive reviews that any of his nearest competitors.

This forum has discussed the importance of Internet Reputation Management and with a fresh start in the Bronx, Teddy Nissan can leverage tools like Dealerrater.com to stand above their competition.

Customer Service Opportunities

Here are a few links to local Nissan dealers and their customer review pages. After you take a moment to read some of the reviews, you can see that Stan has a great opportunity to hit a home run. The current dealers have a very poor IRM and I didn’t post the worst ones. In fact, take a look at all Nissan dealers in the New York City area on Dealerrater and see the opportunity that Stan could have if they focused on the customer experience.

Koeppel Nissan

• Koeppel Nissan Reviews on Dealerrater
• Koeppel Nissan Reviews on Car Dealer Check

Nissan of Manhattan

• Manhattan Nissan Reviews on Dealerrater
• Manhattan Nissan Reviews on Yelp
• Manhattan Nissan Reviews on Edmunds

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