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This week as thousands of automotive professional head to Las Vegas for the 2012 NADA Convention, hundreds of vendor are preparing their booths to connect their products and services to interested buyers.

If you have never been to NADA, it can be overwhelming. Walking the exhibit hall can be exhausting.  If you can wear sneakers, bring them.

I wish  Segways were allowed to move me around the hall because vendors and dealers know the sore feet and backaches that are associated with being at a trade show for three days.

Finding The Magic Bullet at NADA

I’d like to make a suggestion to dealers who are heading to NADA to look for the next “magic bullet” to improve their sales and profits.  You may have a shopping list filled with booth numbers and VIP parties and those things are well and good.  However, the next magic bullet for your business and professional life may be something you didn’t think to add to the list.

To lead a world class life and business you need to invest in yourself first before adding more shiny objects or distractions. Regardless of your role in the dealership, true leadership requires the knowledge, passion, and energy to lead.  Do you have a limitless supply of these building blocks to success?

Your Top 2 Investments in 2012

Many of you know that I have a busy travel schedule. I would most likely be very sick today if two years ago I didn’t make the same two investments I am encouraging you to make.  The two investments are education and exercise.

Two years ago, I was inspired by Grant Cardone to read 70 books a year.  I took the challenge and have been rewarded 10X for the time I invest in reading. The knowledge, insights, and motivation I receive each week from reading is priceless.  Yet, as I meet with automotive professionals their commitment to reading is weak at best.

Need some books to start you on your way?  For industry professionals working for someone, read “Linchpin” by Seth Godin.  For business owners read “Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter” by Liz Weisman.

Reading helps to open our eyes to the experiences and opportunities that this world offers.  Being a business owner in today’s economic and social climate is not without its challenges.  Don’t go it alone.  Leverage the insights and experience of others and I guarantee you will be rewarded by your commitment to read on a regular basis.

Creating Unlimited Energy

The second investment I would like to challenge readers is in their diet and exercise.   I can’t say that the health of automotive professionals are any worse than any other industry. Regardless,  why compare ourselves to anything less than a lifestyle that generates the energy, clarity of mind, and passion.

The commitment to “move” each day in a form exercise that works best with your schedule and physique is the best investment you can make for your career.  Healthy people are the wealthiest people in the world.  With your health and vitality your opportunities are endless.

Since we are in the people business,  consider the difference in your work if you radiated health and positive energy each day because you felt great!

So, enjoy the 2012 NADA Convention. I am sure that there will be many “things” that will help you at work but don’t forget that without an investment in yourself, your true value will be drained by your work.  Take time to re-fuel your mind, body, and spirit.   Leaders Lead….so start with yourself!

 

 

 

 

 

Will 2012 be the year that dealers start to get serious about understanding the data and analytics behind their website and consumer shopping behavior?  I think the momentum is building on many fronts.

As I travel the country consulting with dealers, it is clear they are looking to develop a more accurate ROI for all their traditional and digital investments.   Dealers want to see which investments are influencing conversion during the Zero Moment of Truth.

Running a dealership by gut feelings are no longer working to increase market share and profits.  The tools are now available to get a much clearer picture on consumer behavior, so my question is: “Are you ready to take your marketing strategy to the next level?”

New Tools To Help Dealers

In 2011 I wrote about the advances that Google Analytics have made and how Google is bringing innovation to business intelligence tools.  I have also highlighted the technology and innovation from Dataium which is giving the automotive industry a new way of looking at car shopping behaviors.

Related to this trend will be advances in Automotive CRM platforms that will infuse business process with consumer shopping data and website behavior to create better sales and communication processes.

Look out for some products that will be introduced at the 2012 NADA Convention and the 2012 Digital Marketing Strategies Conference.

Google Analytics Webinars and Multi Channel Sales Funnels

To help dealers move toward a deeper understanding of their own website analytics and what that data can say about their marketing investments, I am sponsoring a new webinar series.

The first three webinars will focus on Google Multi Channel Sales Funnels which is a new feature in Google Analytics.  The first webinar is scheduled for February 13, 2012 and space is limited.

Take a minute to watch this summary of Google Analytics and Multi Channel Sales Funnels:

Join The Webinar Series

The Google Analytics webinars will start on February 13, 2012 and registration will be limited.  Here are the steps to get into the free webinar series:

1. To join you must first have permission to login and setup Google Analytics from your dealership.
2. Then go to www.AutomotiveSEOStudy.com and join the community.
3. Once your membership has been accepted, complete your user profile with a photo.
4. Join the Multi Channel Sales Funnels Group, by clicking on this link.
5. Mark your calendars for the three webinar dates.
6. You will receive a link the day before each webinar to register and join the session.

The Automotive SEO Community website will be a support system for members who participate in the webinars.  The website community also has a wealth of data and information from previous webinars and training programs that we have offered on Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Please pass the word while registration is open.  Dealers participating in the webinars must have access to Google Analytics.

 

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

Google has made a major upgrade to the Google Analytics Interface and I will be writing a number of articles highlighting some of the most powerful features that can be leveraged by car dealers.

If you have not taken time to work through then new interface and reports, I strongly suggest that you invest some time this month.

For this article, you will need to expand the “Conversions” menu on Google Analytics navigation bar. (shown on right)

Multi Channel Funnels

Multi-Channel Sales Funnels is a feature that visually displays your TOP CONVERSION PATHS, which is one of the most important discussions you need to have in regards to your primary website.

I wrote about Multi Channel Funnels this earlier in the year, but the new interface finally makes it easier to use and report on this feature for the average user.

Google will show you a snapshot of shopping behavior that leads up to a lead being submitted which they call “Assisted Conversion”.  See the description Google provides below:

You need to setup a conversion “goal” in analytics to have the report accurately reflect what you consider a conversion. You can setup a conversion goal for new car leads, used car leads, service leads, parts leads IF your website provider has the ability to differentiate form submissions by page source.

Of course, a conversion does not have to just be a lead, it could be having a video watched or a coupon being downloaded, so you can get very creative.

Channel Groupings

Google has setup some Basic Channel Groupings for users of Google Analytics which can be customized for the Automotive business.  I clicked on “Channel Groupings” from the menu under Multi-Channel Funnels, and used the “Copy Basic Channel Grouping Template” to create a customized automotive rules.

I called this Channel Grouping “Automotive Sales Channels“.  Once the group was created, I started to create sales channel rules that apply to car dealers.

For example, you can add a new rule called “3rd Party Classifieds” to track consumer activity on Autotrader.com, Cars.com, EveryCarLiosted.com, GetAuto.com and Craigslist.org.

The purpose of these channels is to see how consumers behavior during the Zero Moment of Truth before they submit a lead.  This will give dealers INSIGHTS into which websites consumers visited prior to visiting your website, as well as the PATTERN of their behavior.

The data will document how some consumers move back and forth between ZMOT influences and your website a number a times before submitting a lead.

Creating a Custom Rule

To Create a Custom Rule, you can copy what Google has already setup for other websites.  For example, when you look at the rules in the Social Network Channel, you can see that one of the dozens of websites listed in the channel rule is Facebook.

You can copy the syntax of what Google calls a “Matching Regular Expression” for any website.

So I created a number of entries for popular third party classified websites, and of course the list is bigger, so go at it!

This rule will allow be to see the “paths” that consumers took prior to submitting a lead or just visiting my website.  This is the start of adding CLARITY to dealers who are tired of not knowing which websites are INFLUENCING consumers during the Zero Moment of Truth. (ZMOT).

Seeing The Assisted Conversion Path

Once this is setup, you can start to see consumer behavior as it relates to your website traffic, as shown below:

Of course, you can really create as many channels and rules that you want to better document your digital marketing strategy.  So if you want to break out your “microsites” from organic traffic, you can easily do that by creating a rule called “Microsites”.

Better Visibility into Automotive ZMOT

The takeaway from this post is that for the first time Google is making it EASIER to see which investments in the Zero Moment of Truth are contributing to conversions.

Now, that is exactly what car dealers have been asking for; which online investments are helping to driving traffic and sales via my website.  This upgrade along with data tools from Dataium, which I previously wrote about, will be dramatically impacting advertyising investments and BDC strategies in the years to come.

Dealers can start using the new features in Google Analytics to create effective digital marketing investments driven by data and not a gut reaction or a smooth sales professional.

Brian

  

Brian Pasch, CEO

PCG Digital Marketing

Text PCGedu to 75674 get information on our upcoming conferences

Brian Pasch