I’ve been profoundly impacted by a free book called “Winning the Zero Moment of Truth” by Jim Lecinski.  As a result of reading this book, I have created training materials, online workshops, and planning materials exclusively for car dealers on this topic.

If you never heard about ZMOT, read the free book, and then decide if you want to be part of this exciting automotive study.  Watch the videos on this website!

Before I launch our national ZMOT education campaign, I am inviting 100 dealers at no cost, to participate in the PCG six week educational program.   The program will consist of six, 1-hour webinars and follow-up conversations offline each week with each member,

The  Automotive Zero Moment of Truth study will take 100 dealers through an educational process that will guide their marketing and budgeting decisions based on the concepts shared by Jim Lecinski and the research of Google on online consumer shopping behavior.

The study members must be either a Dealer Principal, Dealership COO/CFO,  or General Manager and have the permission to share and discuss their marketing budgets with the study team at PCG Digital Marketing.

Budgets will NOT be shared with study members unless permission is granted.  If budgets are discussed, they will not disclose the member dealership name.  Privacy is key, but actual data will power the members of this study to new heights of success.

PCG Digital Marketing will NOT include dealers that are direct competitors in local markets because of the confidential data or innovative strategies that will be discussed on conference calls, webinars, and on the private forums.

Dealers will receive priority placement on a first come basis.

PCG will provide each member a set of proprietary budgeting models based on current consumer shopping models.  We have developed a series of tools that will guide dealers on restructuring their current advertising budgets.  If you want to have a powerful audit of your current spending, this is the study for you!

Dealers interested in joining this study should register at http://www.automotivezeromomentoftruth.com by October 1, 2011.

Dealers who are accepted to the program will be notified by email or by phone.  We reserve the right to accept/deny participation in this study based on competitive conflicts with current PCG clients or existing members of this study group.

I look forward to working with 100 dealers and creating 100 powerful marketing strategies for dealers who want to WIN the Zero Moment of Truth.

Brian

Brian Pasch, CEO

PCG Digital Marketing

Text PCGedu to 75674 get information on our upcoming conferences

Brian Pasch

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Like a proud father who is moved with emotion as he sees his child graduate from college, I was filled with pride when Westbury Jeep secured their graduation honors. In July Westbury Jeep was recognized as the #1 Jeep Chrysler Dodge dealer in the United States for June 2011.

Being #1 in the US for any brand is a great reward and a double blessing for a passionate and engaging dealer principal. Many factors go into achieving that level of success and the entire Westbury Jeep team should be congratulated. Creating a team that executes on all levels is not an easy accomplishment.

PCG Digital Marketing has assisted Westbury Jeep define and implement their digital marketing strategy for the past three years. We have also developed a great relationship with Joel and his team based on keeping them ahead of their competition in regards to digital marketing.

Joel Sporn, Dealer

Joel Sporn is a rare dealer principal that sought to understand all digital marketing concepts so he could adapt them to his specific vision for his franchise store. Joel is a student of strategy and fiercely competitive.

He chose to accept the responsibility of crafting his digital strategy and build a great team of marketing partners. Joel sought out and connected with people who could help him learn, execute, and integrate that knowledge.

Joel was patient to see the rewards of his digital investments, which is the main theme of this article. Too often the executive leadership of a dealership is disconnected from the staff that are tasked to research, select, implement, and manage a digital strategy.

This disconnect can cause dealer principals to be impatient. It is not uncommon for digital investments to be pulled off the budget before they bear fruit in as little as 60 days.

Search Engine Optimization Is Not For Short Term Planners

Digital marketing investments can have an immediate and clear ROI for dealers like adding 24×7 managed chat to a website, adding pop-up coupons, or operating a pay-per-click campaign with well-designed conversion pages. These digital strategies have an immediate pay-off and, when measured, create a comfort level with bean counters.

Other digital strategies require patience to create a market dominating success story. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the most misunderstood investments. Joel took the time to learn, craft, and implement a market dominating SEO strategy and the payoff is clear today. Since an aggressive SEO strategy can take over a year to implement and refine, few dealers ever see the fruits of their SEO investment.

Automotive SEO strategies are continually changing. Just recently Google added the “+1 Button” to search engine listing pages and this one change will have a major impact on click rates to dealer websites. The Google launch of their social media platform “Google+” also creates new opportunities to drive social links and traffic to a dealer’s website. Despite all these new opportunities, I caution dealers that have little patience to start an aggressive SEO strategy. If you are looking for SEO to make significant changes in online visibility and traffic in 90 days, don’t start.

Patience in Reputation Management

Patience is also required for Internet Reputation Management (IRM) processes, which yield an increase in online review counts each month. These reviews are visible to tens of thousands of in-market shoppers each month. Dealers who ignore their online reputation “scores” are in effect using their monthly advertising budgets to send consumers to their nearest competitors.

Dealers who want to fully leverage the digital divide must implement an in-store and post sale review gathering process. Implementation does not come without resistance from dealer employees. They are also uninformed and impatient on the benefits of doing “more” work in their already hectic workday.

The ROI to a commitment to IRM does not necessarily come in 30, 60, or 90 days, but when a dealership has 200+ more reviews than their nearest competitor, the pay-off starts to become very clear. When consumers call and ask for sales professionals they never met because of an online review, your sales team will take notice.

Unfortunately, I have already started to see dealers give up on IRM process investments. I’ve been told that it’s too hard to ask happy customers to take 60 seconds to post a review inside the store. I’ve been told that none of their customers have Google accounts. Both are excuses and lies.

Dealers, what lies are you and your employees believing that are holding back your online marketing success? Digital marketing takes a well-defined strategy and as I have outlined; patience. Success also takes a commitment to learn and lead from the top executives of the company.

We have mentored Brickell Honda, located in Miami Florida, over the past 2 years and they have over 800 reviews posted directly on Google Places. They have a market dominating digital marketing strategy that includes a strong belief in presenting a positive online brand image. With the correct leadership it is amazing what can be accomplished.

Do You Have Patience?

Westbury Jeep and Brickell Honda have demonstrated patience in crafting and implementing their digital marketing strategy. Success did not happen overnight. Their success came from having a strategy that reviewed all their current marketing investments, which resulted in an action plan.

These two dealers are examples of a new breed of automotive professionals that are making the investment to develop a strategy that includes technology, training, and the willingness to be ahead of their peers.

Has your dealership made a commitment to create a dominating digital marketing strategy? If dealers continue to measure success in 30, 60, or 90-day intervals they will never reap the rewards, which are produced from implementing a comprehensive digital marketing strategy.

I am not implying that your digital investments should not be measured each month. I am saying that until dealership executives invest in digital marketing education for themselves and their team, they will never have the patience to win the race. They may win a short sprint but never the marathon.

Successful car dealers are marathon runners.  If you are looking for a new trainer, give us a call.

PCG Digital Marketing can offer a full assessment of your advertising budget and blueprint for success.  The marketing blueprint will build the confidence that you will cross the finish line with a broad smile.

Brian Pasch, CEO
PCG Digital Marketing
Text PCGedu to 75674 get information on our upcoming conferences
Brian Pasch

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I am writing to remind those who care to DOMINATE their market, to consider these opportunities.

24×7 Managed Chat

If you would like to significantly increase high quality website leads using chat and have a money back guarantee, give us a call.

Managed 24×7 chat is real and effective. 35% of the chat leads come after you are closed. Chat leads close higher than website leads. So what are you waiting for?

Want 40% more website leads this month?

The ROI on chat is amazing. For most dealers, 24×7 managed chat is less than $1,000 a month and generates a 10x ROI. Now that’s exactly the numbers dealer principals need to hear about.

If our managed chat solution doesn’t deliver 40% more website leads, you get your money back!  

Mobile Text Marketing

If you would like to start building powerful opt-in mobile marketing lists, which have 95%+ consumer delivery rate, give me a call. Email open rates hover around 20% and are dropping. Mobile marketing is the channel that Gen Y and Z want to use!

We will design the showroom banners, signage, and desktop tent cards to engage your showroom customers. We’ll give you the strategy and word tracts to get your team engaged in collecting mobile phones. We’ll show you how to add mobile messaging to your print ads and TV commercials.

We will enhance your email marketing campaigns to drive more customers to opt-in to your mobile campaigns.

Do more with what you have in place for under $500 a month with a power mobile text marketing strategy.

Re-targeting Campaigns

Add up the total visitors to your website in a year to start to see the opportunity to touch these consumers multiple times during the year with a strategic banner advertising campaign.

For many dealers, annual unique visitor counts total over 100,000 people and many of these are local buyers. Imagine creating new messages each month to enhance your online reputation, sharing your work in the community, or the arrival of new models.

I challenge all dealers to invest $500 a month in a retargeting PPC budget to start building your re-marketing list. Each month that goes by you are losing people that may never come back.

ALL advertising investments that drive traffic to your website can be enhanced with retargeting. If you are using radio, TV, print, SEO, and/or PPC to drive traffic to your website, building a retargeting campaign makes all of these investments better.

Reputation Management Consulting

Here is a fact; all advertising investments are impacted eventually by your online reviews.

We have written about it in the past and we have turn-key solutions to help your team get MORE reviews that your competitors.  We show dealers how to use the Google Places application as well as the #1 rated in-store platform PrestoReviews.

Do a search on your dealership name and one page one is Google Places and your reviews. 30% of dealership organic traffic is on their store name. Google Places shows up on Page One 25,000 – 50,000 times a month for car dealers.

Our research has shown that less than 20% of car dealers have a proactive reputation management process in place. Despite selling thousands of cars a year and servicing 10x that number of cars, most dealers have less than 30 positive reviews online.

Dealers are still struggling to get buy-in from their team and implement in-store review process. So, we are now offering in-store consulting and training services to jumpstart your review process.

A 2-3 day visit to your store will demonstrate how to implement in-store review processes in service, sales, and F&I. We’ll make sure a proactive reputation management program enhances your online brand. If your dealership does not have HUNDREDS of strong reviews online, you are a candidate for onsite training.

Keep in mind that having strong reviews enhances your SEO positioning. Having poor reviews hurts your business because showing up on Page One with bad reviews just drives traffic to your competitors.

FOUR OPPORTUNITIES

I’ve listed four opportunities that have a clear and measurable ROI. No smoke and mirrors. Immediate visible results.  Are you utilizing all four?

I’ve listed four opportunities that have a clear and measurable ROI. No smoke and mirrors. Immediate visible results.  Are you utilizing all four?

PCG will work with your team to implement one or all of these solutions to ensure that you are dominating your market. We will ensure that you generate more leads and will stand by the ROI of these investments.

It starts with a call. You can call me direct at 732.672.2356,  Matt O’Such at 732.450.8200, or Lizelle Landino at 201-800-1315. Keep in mind that we work with ONE OEM brand per market so if you want the very best in digital strategy, be the first one in your market to call.

Brian Pasch, CEO
PCG Digital Marketing
About Brian Pasch

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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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Autotrader’s decision to purchase VinSolutions has created an interesting dynamic in the automotive advertising industry. The acquisition further reinforces industry predictions that Autotrader wants to create a comprehensive integrated marketing and advertising solution for car dealers.   CEO Chip Perry, in a letter to VinSolutions customers, confirmed that:

“This acquisition of VinSolutions nicely complements the vAuto, CDMdata and HomeNet acquisitions, enabling us to eventually provide you with a one-stop, single-sign-on software solution.”

In the past 12 months Autotrader has been on a buying spree with purchases of Vauto, HomeNet, Kelly Blue Book, and CDM Data.  Already industry bloggers are predicting what future Autotrader purchases would look like! For the record, Cox Enterprises, which owns Autotrader, also owns Manheim Auctions.  When you step back and look at the roles that each company plays in automotive wholesaling, pricing, valuations, advertising, marketing, and sales of cars the lineup is very impressive.

VinSolutions Will Operate Independently

There are many ways to view this latest transaction so I will share mine.  First let me say that Chip Perry also stated that: “VinSolutions will continue to operate independently and function as it does today under current CEO Mike Dullea.“  What this actually means one year is anyone’s guess; this industry is far from predictable.

The purchase of VinSolutions is a win for existing VinSolutions customers in many ways. Before I present my opinion, some background information is needed. In the past year VinSolutions has been a marketing juggernaut.  Bravo to Mike Dullea and Sean Stapleton. Their booth at the recent Digital Dealer Conferences and NADA, for example, has been buzzing with activity.  Some would say that they have had the most active booth in the website niche for the past year.

The VinSolutions marketing buzz promises dealers an fully integrated platform which reduces the number of vendors dealers need to contract to deliver a robust digital marketing platform.  I have to congratulate their marketing team for taking their brand to the next level, which obviously caught the attention of Chip Perry.

The Cash It Needs To Smooth The Pavement

VinSolutions’ aggressive sales program have created a surge in new dealer accounts and brand visibility.  This growth has not come without hitting some bumps in the road on customer service and technical support.  Since I speak with dealers across the country,  its not uncommon that people share with me their vendor aches and pains.  No dealer platform escapes criticism so this is not unique to VinSolutions.

The feedback I received from VinSolutions customers is that the promises of product integration are really impressive but the installation, training, and technical support was a bit frustrating. Some components were not as seamlessly integrated as promised and needed extra calls to work out the kinks.  Any company that is growing as fast as VinSolutions often faces cash-flow constraints. These practical constraints can result in not having enough trained back-end staff to handle growth.  Without specific internal knowledge of VinSolutions, I would predict this is close to reality.

The cash-flow from the Autotrader.com purchase plus the expertise the AT management team can offer will be near term benefit from this acquisition.  I’m sure the Executive Team at VinSolutions is aware of their opportunities to improve platform support which will make VinSolutions an even stronger competitor to companies that include Dealer.com, Cobalt, and Dealerskins.

Will Sales Synergies Be Realized?

One of the potential benefits of this acquisition will be a more robust, local sales presence to introduce dealers to VinSolutions products. Selling Autotrader advertising solutions is much different that selling a comprehensive marketing platform so I would predict that field representatives would be best utilized for appointment setting and not product demonstrations.

Also, for the most part, Autotrader sales representatives are not replacing a product or service when they close a deal; most dealers use both AT and Cars.com.  So it will be interesting to see how field representatives can maneuver the politics and emotions that come up when a conversion about a website change emerges.  This sales channel will also be a benefit to existing VinSolutions customers because it will provide more real-time feedback on what dealers want in their marketing platform.  This should feed and enhance their product development cycle.

It will also be interesting to see if the Autotrader hook-up will accelerate OEM preferred vendor endorsements for VinSolutions technology.  With automotive website providers jockeying for “preferred vendor” status, it is clear that a big piece to profitability will be OEM co-op funding to dealers using specific website providers.

Consolidation & Integration Will Accelerate

This acquisition will trigger further consolidation in automotive marketing and advertising platforms space. The VinSolutions marketing team hit a nerve in the auto industry.  If given the choice, dealers would prefer NOT to deal with 6-8 vendors to handle websites, ILM, CRM, Social Media, SEM, SEO, Chat, Analytics, and DMS.  Stand alone vendors you are forewarned!

The push for companies to provide fully integrated data and marketing products will be accelerated by this transaction. The coming year will be very interesting indeed!  I’m very glad that PCG Digital Marketing can serve dealers regardless of their marketing platform choice.  I fear that smaller, single solution website vendors will be forced to merge or eventually shut their doors.

If you haven’t noticed, Dominion Dealer Solutions has already started to jointly market their robust independent marketing solutions to car dealers. Their message is clear; we also have end to end solutions for car dealers.  One decision I fully endorsed was the consolidation of  the XIGroup and Dealerskins website technology.  We’ll have to wait and see how their companion products to the new Dealerskins platform for CRM, Social Media, etc. will be packaged.

I am sure that this acquisition will inspire Dealer.com to deliver an integrated CRM solution sooner than later to complete their award winning comprehensive advertising platform for car dealers.  Dealer.com recently released the Social Relationship Manager (SRM) and improvements to their paid search platform called TCD which are leading edge products with virtually no peer.  These advances leave just one big hole; CRM.  Let’s start the egg timer and see when Dealer.com delivers the missing piece of their integration puzzle.

The Cobalt/ADP merger is another example of consolidation and coming innovations.  I recently had a demonstration of the new Cobalt platform and the speed of change and focus to deliver a powerful platform to dealers was confirmed.  You might remember I wrote about my optimism with this merger after visiting with the Cobalt design team right after the merger was announced.  I am glad to say that the team did not disappoint!  I’ll have a comprehensive report published shortly.

Fall-Out From Acquisition?

Now that Autotrader is in the dealer website business, how will this impact their product portfolio with industry players like Dealer.com, Cobalt, ADP, and Dominion.  Will this trigger less favorable product recommendations like Vauto in favor of DealerTrack AAX?  Will Cars.com benefit from new alliances formed by this new competitive stance?  It will be interesting to see what the industry players have to say about this; privately of course.

Chip Perry wants to head off potential concerns about anti-competitive behavior in his letter which states: “As we evolve and grow our suite of software solutions, we want you to know that we recognize your need for choice and flexibility in the tools you use. Therefore our vision is to offer open platform solutions that provide you that flexibility to work with our and other vendors’ tools as much as possible.”

Looking Ahead

The entry of Autotrader.com into the car dealer website business will produce more innovations in integrated advertising and analytics.  I’ve stated a number of time that the ADF 1.0 specification, which defines how data passes between marketing partners, is outdated.  Now that Autotrader has all the pieces of the data stream, I wonder if they will pioneer the equivalent of a ADF 2.0 specification for these own products to give them an Analytical Data advantage?

It will also be interesting to see if the larger website platform providers will seek to integrate an offer an automotive advertising solution to compete with the synergies that Autotrader will offer VinSolutions customers.  Will new alliances be formed with Cars.com, Automotive Advertising Network, or EveryCarListed?

ADP/Cobalt already has a strong marketing platform in their sister company Dealix with UsedCars.com but Autotrader has made a major push to brand itself as a new and used car marketing platform.  Dealer.com has the best integration with Google Adwords of all platforms and one could argue that this technology is superior to Autotrader.com for generating leads and sales.

I congratulate Chip Perry and the Autotrader executive team for taking a bold step to create an integrated automotive advertising and marketing solution for car dealers.  This is good news for VinSolutions customers.  The industry will be closely following these developments because consolidation and integration are long overdue. Dealers can truly benefit from seamless integration of data and better business intelligence tools that are based on this data.

Looks like I’ll have to be expanding our dealer training classes on some new marketing strategies this year!

Download Copy Of Article

You can download a copy of this article as a PDF on this link:  http://www.slideshare.net/brianpasch/autotrader-purchases-vinsolutions

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Did you know that your local competitor just got smarter?  You thought that they were behind the ball with digital marketing, social media, and leveraging the Internet but that was yesterday’s news.

Your local competitor did wake up.  They realized that they were behind and took action.  Good entrepreneurs are not perfect but when they realize that they are losing market share and wake up they can be a fierce competitor once again.

If I were you, I would be looking over my shoulder because your competitor is using their recent knowledge to mount an attack.

Your competitor attended a 20-group meeting, a social media conference, or a digital marketing workshop, and the lights went on.  You were too busy to notice this change so I thought I would send a warning shot over the bow.

You Once Had An Edge

I was pleased to know that you got started with social media and digital marketing a few years ago and had an edge in your local market.  You exploited that edge and basked in the sun of your success.  Congratulations.

You were rewarded with greater sales, website traffic, and market share. Over the past few years you have been busy implementing the things that you learned by engaging in the educational opportunities offered by this industry.

In fact, I’ve noticed that you have been so intent on implementing what you learned you have been too busy to attend any new workshops in the past year.  Is it still true that you got so many ideas in 2009 and 2010 that you have decided to skip attending conference this year?

Why pile on more ideas when you haven’t had a chance to implement those from 2009 right?

Your Competitor is Smiling

To paraphrase a famous business book, while you have been busy implementing last years’ digital marketing strategies  “the Cheese has moved again”.

Do you need an example?  Today being on Google Page One is not as important as being on Google Page with strong positive review stars.   If you are one Page One with bad reviews, your advertising budget is helping to direct more business to your competitors.

If you haven’t focused on a strong IRM process, much of your Automotive SEO work may be actually hurting more than helping your online sales.

No Time To Get Complacent

Is this scenario describing your dealership?

• Are you the incumbent that has decided to attend conference every other year?
• Are you the dealership that recently woke-up and engaged?
• Are you the dealer who wants to engage but needs assistance creating a competitive digital marketing strategy?

The dealers who want to remain relevant cannot afford to skip a year of education.  The industry is moving faster that most can comprehend yet I hear so many excuses why dealers think they can take a break from learning.

• “I’ve been to that event last year”
• “I can’t take time out of the office.”
• “The speakers and topics are always the same”
• “I’m the only person in my market that gets it.”

The reality is that the best conferences have not only new topics but also important revisions to existing strategies that you are using.

Two years ago little data on consumer behavior on dealer mobile websites was being shared, today we have a wealth of data to discuss.

Two years ago the conversation on reputation management was just starting and today the case studies on the impact of online reviews is chilling.

Google has recently changed their standards for organic search rankings and many dealers were penalized for poor link building processes.

Invest in Education in 2011

Since your competitors are heading to conferences, workshops, and online learning opportunities based on the most relevant topics for 2011 I thought you would want to reconsider your lack of action.

You have the power to remain ahead of your competition and find where the cheese has been moved.  What will you do?

I hope to see you in Orlando for starters.  Lock in a $100 discount off Boot Camp Registration by taking advantage of this special registration link.

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Car dealers see hundreds or thousands of consumers come through their doors each month depending on location.  I challenge dealer principals and dealership equity holders to step back and ask how they are leveraging those connections.

There are many new ideas being presented at 20 Groups, Automotive Conferences, Boot Camps, and on blogs on how to better connect with consumers. Is it SEM, SEO, Social Media, Banner Advertising, Re-Marketing, or something new?

There is a scarcity of documented automotive white-papers on grass roots consumer surveys. When was the last time you read a dealer generated white paper  that asked consumers to share their motivations, processes, or influences in the car buying process.

Yes, the largest companies in our industry have case studies, but what about the dealers on the front lines of automotive sales and service?  I would love to read local survey data from a dealership group that sees 2,000 customers a month in their sales and service channels.  Are you willing to share feedback from your store?

Industry experts, thought leaders, and peers are great motivators for change. Outside influences challenge dealers to consider looking at their businesses in a new way. But why have dealers not asked their own  customers for advice?  Dealers are asking consultants whether they should engage in Facebook.  Did you ask you customers if they are regular Facebook users?  Regular Twitter users?  Foursquare?

Survey Your Customers

I just wanted to remind dealers that their local customer behavior is unique in many ways.  By conducting regular in-store surveys over the next 30-60 days, you will get some data that can be monetized.  You just have to define a process and start collecting data.

Here are some simple questions that you can ask your customers when they are in the store.  Of course, you don’t have to ask them all of the questions at one time or visit:

1. Do you have a Google or YouTube Account?
2. Do you use Facebook?  If Yes, how many times a week are you on Facebook?
3. Do you use Twitter?  If Yes, how many times a week do you Tweet?
4. Have you ever used Groupon?
5. Do you use any of these mobile applications: FourSquare, Whrrl, or Google Places?
6. Did you visit Autotrader.com before coming in?
7. Did you visit Cars.com before coming in?
8. Did you visit our main website before you came in to purchase a car?

If Yes, How could we improve our website?

Don’t rely solely on out of town experts like me!  It’s your business so activate your local consumers to refine your marketing strategy.

Consider creating Point-Of-Sale (POS) materials to activate your customers to engage with your dealership online.  Do you have any “Join Us on” Facebook, Twitter, or FourSquare desk cards, window stickers, or banners in the dealership?

Let’s get back to engaging our customers and collecting local marketing data that can be used to prioritize your digital marketing strategy.

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If you are not sure if you can attend, please register for a future webinar since the demand for this top webinar will be strong.  Car dealers are looking for ways new ways to leverage their most valuable assets: their cars.

Presented by Brian Pasch, CEO of PCG Digital Marketing, “Supercharged Marketing For Your New and Used Cars Online” fill focus on the newest marketing strategies for new and used car dealers to get more traffic and sales from their internet-based media and advertising.

The webinar will also address recent research that shows how dealers must be selective when sending their inventory out to so called “free” advertising websites.  You can read Brian’s position paper on this link:  Warning About Free Advertising Websites.

PCG will be offering clients new webinar topics each month so that your team can keep ahead of your competition.

The PCG webinars will be 2 hours in length as is ideal for any stakeholders in the dealership who want to increase leads and traffic for new and used car inventory – and will include a Q&A session.

Questions can be sent directly to Brian at brian@pcgdigitalmarketing.com .

Learn more about the newest Digital Marketing Strategies and SEO Tips visit us online at http://www.pcgdigitalmarketing.com

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

Internet Sales Managers are also recommend that they join www.internetsalesmanager.org

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“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear – Frank Herbert  - Dune

I’m writing this post at 35,000 feet as I am approaching Sydney, Australia on United Flight 863 from San Francisco. I have been traveling 13 hours of the 15 hours flight, and with land not too far away I started to reflect on the flight because of how I felt earlier in the day.

This afternoon, while in San Francisco, I actually had a short period of anxiety about flying which is not normal for me. I couldn’t exactly figure out why. But as I reflected on this discomfort, I started to understand the root of the problem. When I had told friends and colleagues about my trip to Australia, almost all of them had commented on the length of the flight. They acted as if I announced that I was going to run across the country.

Many said that they would never travel 15 hours on a plane. Others were convinced that flying coach class would be miserable, but in fact it wasn’t at all. These and other excuses actually have no reality except in the mind of the fearful. So since I have regularly traveled eight hours back and forth from Europe, I never felt that fifteen hours would be a far leap

Unaware of the influence of my friends’ negative projections on my trip, I had started to have cautionary reservations about getting on my flight today, but until now I didn’t realize how their feelings affected me in subtle ways. I was beginning to doubt my proven instincts and my vision for a trip with my son Connor in the land down under.

But actually, I slept the first 7 hours of the trip, watched some movies and read a book and now with 2 hours left to go I’m laughing at how easy the trip has been.  I don’t feel any worse than any flight to Europe

What is Holding You Back?

I wonder how many people are held back from experiencing new adventures because of fear; internal or external.

My flight to Australia brought to mind what is happening in the auto industry.  I have participated in numerous executive strategy sessions that discuss digital marketing opportunities and budgeting.  Fear or panic is often dealers’ common reaction to the suggestion that they increase digital marketing spending.

The tried and true advertising models of TV, radio and newspaper have created a sense of security for automotive retailers, best compared to traveling domestically.  Not many dealers are afraid of a quick trip to Vegas or to place another ad in a local newspaper. It’s something that they understand and have experienced first had.

Digital marketing spending is just like traveling to Australia; dealers have heard it is beautiful and a “must” in their travel portfolio but can’t see themselves getting on the plane.  It is not uncommon for dealers to react with fear when I suggest that they increase their overall advertising budget dedicated to digital marketing from less than 15%  to 30-50% over the upcoming year. Their reaction is normally followed by:

“What will I have to cut in order to spend more on digital marketing?  My General Managers will freak out if I reduce their traditional advertising budget!”

This article is not meant to answer this specific question because it is different for each dealership location but let me ask you a question:

Is the reason why the average automotive retailer spends less than 15% of the advertising budget on digital marketing because of the fear or because they have carefully measured the ROI of all digital marketing strategies and have chosen wisely?

Related to that question, are sub-questions:

1. Have dealers become too comfortable with what was successful in the past?
2. Does engaging in discussions about digital marketing strategies make dealer principals feel awkward or even stupid?
3. Has the lack of historical ROI data and published case studies on digital media strategies prevented dealers from embracing new opportunities or is that just an excuse?

I know a few dealer principals that have admitted to feeling awkward about engaging in digital marketing discussions when they don’t understand it themselves.  They feel vulnerable.  In these cases, my participation in planning meetings is to act as a bridge, creating analogies from traditional advertising to introduce the new paradigms of the digital and social media era.

A rising number of dealers are pushing through fear and realizing that to reach new highs for their business they must let go of the past and embrace the future of automotive retail marketing. 

In many cases, the advertising team that brought dealers to their initial pinnacle of success will not be the team that brings them to their next mountaintop experience.

Since traditional media is difficult to measure true ROI, advertising agencies have had a free pass to continue dealer spending without fear of losing budget share but that is now changing.  Dealers are now developing models to hold all methods of advertising to a standard cost/reward model.  The agencies that can’t provide a fully integrated menu of traditional and digital marketing services will perish.

The Digital Compass

The automotive industry does need guidance for the constantly changing digital terrain. Dealers need a “Digital Compass” that directs their decisions and helps them “test the waters” for the new advertising opportunities that exist in the digital world.

A “Digital Compass” initiative should hold all methods of marketing to the same standard of excellence and ROI. The dealership of the future will have marketing budgets based on data and not fear of change.

Educational forums, social networks, digital conferences and reputable consultants can act as a dealer’s “Digital Compass” in the same way the pilot of US 863 knows how to take me to Sidney.

However, dealers have to make the first step and get on the plane so they are not left behind.  The transition will never happen until dealers let go of the past.  Dealer principals have to put aside their fears and excuses and embrace digital marketing, social media and reputation management with gusto.

The digital marketing plane is leaving the airport…will you be on it?

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“The biggest barrier to better social media engagement for companies surveyed is a lack of resources, with more than half of companies (54%) saying this is a significant problem, the report said. Nine out of 10 businesses (90%) say social media is taking up more time internally than a year ago.”

The data collected in the survey parallels my experience as I consult with car dealers seeking to create powerful Internet Marketing strategies for 2010. More than any time in the past, automotive budgets are being adjusted so that a majority of the funding is directed toward online advertising. This is reflected in increased spending for Google Adwords, banner advertising, SEO, blogging, video, social media and microsite designs.

The survey data documents a turning point in retail automotive operations. In years past, software and technology have reduced the staff hours needed to complete sales or marketing tasks. Some reading this article may remember hand typing sales contracts or a newsletter that now is produced with a few clicks of a mouse.

The turning point is that Internet Marketing and engaging customers online takes real people doing creative writing, videos and online customer service. It’s a labor intensive operational shift that requires increasing staff levels and dealerships need to recognize that shift.

How Much Should I Spend?

A common question I hear from dealership executives is; “How much should they be spending in each online strategy?” There is no easy simple answer to that question because each online advertising strategy will depend on local competition and your sales goals.

More importantly is the honest assessment of the commitment, skills, and availability of your staff and your ability to track the ROI on your online advertising spend. These two factors will be hallmarks of successful dealers in 2010.

An important change is on the horizon in 2010. With the increase in online spending and a decrease in monies spent on radio, TV and newspaper, dealers will have the opportunity to directly track a majority of their advertising investments. Let me emphasis that this is a major change and opportunity for car dealers. Automotive executives need to make the commitment to track their online media spending. Many dealerships will miss the rich information provided by implementing an online tracking strategy.

For example, do you have unique phone tracking numbers for Facebook, Review Websites, Press Releases, Microsites, Google Maps and Twitter? Is your website capturing the referring URL for every customer that submits a lead form? Are you creating consolidated sales reports by website and phone source? Do you know how many cars were sold off Facebook this month?

Media like radio, newspapers and billboards relied on either tracking phone numbers or sales staff surveys to related store traffic to a sale. It was an imperfect system. With many budgets going 75% or more to online spending, dealers must realize that the holy grail is getting closer; calculating the true ROI on your advertising strategies.

Do you have the right team in place?

I am currently interviewing candidates for dealership group in South California for position called Digital Media Specialist. This role will support the Internet Marketing needs of their 11 stores and also work with the PCG Digital Marketing marketing team to create a unified and competitive Internet Marketing strategy.

The job description requires the ability to write and communicate professionally online. Experience with social media, press releases and advertising is a must. The salary requirements of these candidates that have applied for this job ranges from $40,000 -$65,000.

The position will enable the dealership group to more effectively blog, write press releases and engage local consumers on Facebook and Twitter, to name a few targeted tasks.

I commend the decision of their Executive VP to create a blended model of internal staffing and outside expertise. This will give the GM’s immediate in-house resources for day to tactical marketing projects and the benefit of outside experts to direct the overall strategies for the dealership.

This is a model that will be replicated in 2010 across the country. The pace of change in the online marketplace will make it difficult to be competitive with only internal marketing resources.

As I have said many times before;

“The most important hire for car dealers in 2010 will be a content writer“.

For smaller automotive groups or stand alone stores, in may not be cost effective to hire a full-time staff position so dealers will need to look at consultancy models.

A shared resource for Internet Marketing implementation can cost dealers a fraction of what a full-time person would require. For example, the PCG Digital Marketing has an effective starting package for $995 a month which brings those functions listed above to under $12,000 a year.

The key point in regards to staffing is that doing nothing is not an option. Online marketing spending is on the increase so in 2010 you will have more competition online. With recent changes in Google which shows Twitter and Facebook activity in real-time, dealers more than ever, need to implement a smart comprehensive online marketing strategy that include social media, blogging, microsites, press releases, banner adverting, SEO, SEM, IRM, video, document publishing, photography, and link building.

Looking Toward 2010

I look forward to 2010 as the opportunities for online engagement and new technologies keep me busy testing new strategies for success. Executives submitting marketing budgets for 2010 need to reflect on the findings of the study from Econsultancy and Bigmouthmedia. It is a snapshot of what is happening to business owners all over the country.

With increased spending comes increased competition. With increased spending comes accountability. Dealers must have a rock solid tracking system in place to determine which online strategies are giving them the best results so that they can be nimble throughout 2010.

Since effective online marketing and social engagement are labor intensive, car dealers must have the staff in place to be effective. Dealership staff must be trained on how to leverage social media and online marketing tactics; it’s not intuitive for most people. At the pace of change in this industry, going it alone may not be the optimal choice.

Doing nothing will make your competitors smile.

Automotive Marketing Boot Camp

Car dealers looking to increase the skills of their staff should send them to the Automotive Marketing Boot Camp on February 12, 2010. It is schedule the day before the offcicial start of NADA so they can benefit from both educational experiences, back to back. Jarod Hamiltion, will be the keynote speaker with the opening night on February 11th.

About the Author

Brian Pasch is the CEO of the PCG Digital Marketing and can be found online at:

http://twitter.com/automotiveseo
http://facebook.com/paschconsulting.com
http://www.dealer-seo.com

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Automotive Internet Marketing specialists, the PCG Digital Marketing (PCG), announce the launch of a new comprehensive Internet Marketing package price at $995 per month.  The new offering will provide car dealers with customized online marketing solution that will include microsites, content development, blogging, social media, internet reputation management and Adwords strategies on a monthly basis with the convenience of a predictable monthly budget.  

The services delivered in PCG’s monthly package is configured based on the dealer’s current marketing strategies and vendor relationships. The PCG Digital Marketing package can work with any car dealer platform or existing service providers.

Automotive Social Media Strategies

Automotive social media platforms and online automotive portals have grown in popularity as the majority of consumers begin their car research online. By 2010, Generation Y will outnumber baby-boomers and become one of the most important consumer targets.  96% of Generation Y have already joined social networks. 

Dealers looking to leverage blogging, social media, Automotive SEO and Internet Reputation Management  networks can be overwhelmed with the amount of time and work needed to make an impact online.  Hiring a full time employee who can effectively manage these tasks would require a minimum $50K per year salary. 

With the new PCG package, dealers can saturate their local and statewide online marketing efforts for under $12K per year.   PCG’s new program includes a comprehensive approach to state-of-the-art Automotive SEO, blogging, online press releases, Internet Reputation Management, and social media networking. 

Predictable Marketing Budgets

Brian Pasch founder and CEO of PCG saw a need for this type of fee-based package in the Automotive community.  According to Pasch, “I hear the frustration of dealers at conferences who share stories about just how hard it can be to find the right person, or the person that was designated for Online Marketing was pulled off to work on other projects.  With this package, dealers can leverage the Automotive Internet Marketing expertise that PCG is known for and free up other employees to focus on what they do best.” 

Pasch also points out that Internet Marketing has no one-size-fits-all option.  Those not specifically experienced in the world of Automotive SEO and Marketing may have a harder time understanding the best practices for the industry.  “It’s another gamble that dealers don’t have to take.  PCG has proven success in Automotive SEO that a typical Internet Marketing Agency cannot immediately claim.”

Auto dealers who would like to learn more about our new comprehensive Internet Marketing package can contact the PCG Digital Marketing at 732-450-8200.

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To continue the interest and momentum from the 2009 Driving Sales Executive Summit, I will be c0-hosting a weekly webcast on Automotive Marketing with JD Rucker from TK Carsites and Paul Rushing from DealerBytes.  The show will air every Wednesday at 12:00 Noon EST.

The first “rehearsal” for the live show will be on Wednesday October 21, 2009 at 12:00 noon EST.    The link to join the weekly show is: http://ustream.tv/channel/dealer-internet-marketing.  There is no cost to attend and we invite everyone interested in Automotive Marketing (Automotive SEO, SEM, Social Media, IRM, etc) to join us each week as we discuss a number of timely topics.

Join The Discussion

Everyone who joins the live broadcast can submit questions during our open mic shows and we will post the topics we will cover over the next two months during the first show.

Since the three of us have different approaches to achieving success online, the show is designed to guide, educate and clarify the misinformation that is out in the field of Automotive Marketing.  We also plan to have some guests on the show in future weeks so every week will be of value.

Get On Our Show List

If you are interested in getting on our show email reminder list, send me a note:  brian@paschconsulting.com and this week we will have a more organized sign-up process so you can get a reminder each week and be informed on the webcast topic.

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Dennis Colome will demonstrate to owners and sales managers how to bridge the gap between Internet department and showroom floor. As the creator of iConsult Performance Coaching Program, Colome is as an industry leader in sales and marketing strategies with over 32 years of automotive dealership experience. Over the past 15 years Colome has trained over 1,200 dealerships and has assisted 16,000 dealership and OEM personnel.

This course will cover phone scripting that will allow managers to create a relationship with the prospect. In addition, the psychology of the buyer and the basic human behaviors to get the prospect to open up and build positive relationships will be uncovered. 

Doug Hadden is the manager of Training and Development for DealerTrack Inventory Optimization, powered by AAX. Doug helps Dealerships and large Dealer Groups to sell more vehicles, faster, with higher gross profits utilizing DealerTrack’s Inventory Optimization Solution.

 Hadden will show managers how to utilize key data points to make smarter decisions when it comes to managing inventory. Specifically:

• How to identify the right inventory
• How to close more trades
• How to maintain profitability

The goal is for attendees to walk away with process and practices that they can put in place immediately to begin driving change for their dealership. 

This year’s Digital Dealer Conference takes place in Nashville, TN, November 1^st-3^rd. 

Car dealers who would like to learn more about the Digital Dealer Conference or wish to register to attend can visit http://www.digitaldealerconference.com/ for more information.

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For many dealers their name and brand awareness is very strong in their local community and close surrounding towns.  When I meet with dealerships to discuss their Automotive SEO strategies the conversation always seem to turn to marketing outside their official PMA.  They ask how SEO can be used to get web traffic for people who search for “towns” in or near their major competitors.

With sales and revenue down, dealers are looking for ways to increase their marketing radius into and around their competitors PMA.  This conversation has some gray areas because there are some brand rules about traditional marketing channels. There are emerging rules for Internet marketing but all are not very effective or smart. 

In high density areas of the country it gets even sillier because in a 20 mile radius there can be three dealerships competing for the same local eyeballs.  In California for example, Irvine BMW and Shelly BMW are just 20 miles apart.  When consumers have many local choices for one brand, how do you control Automotive SEO to a PMA?  You can’t and that is why controlling localized SEO is practically impossible.

Car manufacturers are scrambling to set rules but for every rule they make, there are large dealerships that break the rule. Internet marketing rules are often unenforceable.  So while Automotive SEO tactics are somewhat unregulated, here is a proven strategy, in this first article in the series,  that can help expand your awareness in a larger marketing radius.

Clever Client Testimonials

In California, Glendale Infiniti and Infiniti of Santa Monica are close in proximity and rivals.  Infiniti of Santa Monica has hundreds of customers over the years that live near Glendale but purchased in Santa Monica.   There is not an Infiniti dealership in West Hollywood and this town sits in between these two competitors.  The demographic is perfect for a foreign performance car like the Infiniti brand.

Knowing how Google organic indexing works, a clever dealer could create a page on their blog or dealer site with a customer testimonial (300-400 words) for towns near Glendale where they have customers.  When they create the page, they could use an HTML structure like what is shown below.  Keep in mind that the META keyword tag is not really used by Google.

Automotiove SEO – Web Page Design

Title:  West Hollywood Infiniti Owners Drive to Santa Monica for Savings

META Description:  West Hollywood Infiniti car owners drive to Santa Monica for great car prices and excellent Infiniti service.  West Hollywood Infiniti owners deserve the very best Infiniti car prices in Los Angeles County.

META Keywords:  West Hollywood Infiniti cars, West Hollywood California Infiniti prices, West Hollywood Infiniti car dealer, West Hollywood Infinity, West Hollywood Infiniti, West Hollywood Infiniti service, West Hollywood Infiniti parts

HTML page name:   http://www.yourwebsite.com/west-hollywood-infiniti-cars.html

For examples that demonstrate this technique in action, you can search Google for:

• Inglewood Infiniti
• Sherman Oaks Infiniti
• Burbank Infiniti

which are other towns in the LA area and you will see that Infiniti of Santa Monica is #1 or #2 in organic search for these town names.  This goes for many of the surrounding town in LA County. 

For aggressive Internet marketing clients, we have created a software program to create static optimized web pages for every town in their surrounding communities.   For non automotive clients, we have created a page for every town in their state.   There are some design issues to avoid the pages from becoming too identical but we have found ways to make it easy for the pages to exist.

Don’t Re-Invent The Wheel

This web page architecture is the same that many major car lead collector websites use.  They often create a page for every town in the USA and a page for every car brand.  Here are example pages from www.cars.com and www.carsdirect.com that are in the Google Index when searching for a G37 in Massachusetts:

www.cars.com/go/buy-cars/kdcu/Infiniti/G37/Cambridge-MA/ -

https://www.carsdirect.com/used_cars/listings/Massachusetts/Marlborough/01752/Infiniti/G37

You can see how they have created a directory structures for brand, model and towns in the USA.  If this model works for them it will also work for any car dealer; big or small.  Employing localized web page push-outs we have clients that are on Google Page One for every town in a 100 mile radius.

Food for thought….are you ready to dominate your PMA and beyond?

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