Going a bit astray from the normal blog of what we can do to change and improve our current processes and offerings in the automotive industry, I’d like to touch on something broader.

I recently participated in a customer service loyalty conference – the FCA MOPAR Parts & Service Conference – and it was wonderful as I watched a sales through service…

No matter what you do in life, it all comes down to getting it done. If your customer comes into the service Department and you write a repair order, it’s basically irrelevant until the vehicles completed and the orders processed. There are a lot of things involved with them such as assigning a technician, addressing the concern and implementing the correction so the…

Do you shy away from giveaways and win-a-prize type mailers? If you’re like most dealers, you probably do. Giveaways are frowned upon for fear of attracting customers who are more interested in winning a prize than buying a car.

Customers come into your dealership daily. When asked if they need help, the normal response is: “No, I’m just looking.”…

Great leaders and organizations inspire people because they are good at explaining why they do what they do. Their why gets people motivated. Their why makes people want to work for that company. Their why makes people want to buy their products.

For auto dealerships, your purpose is your “why buy” or “value proposition” message. The goal of this message is…

One of the biggest challenges facing the automotive industry is the way consumers feel about buying cars.  Their overall dispositions have changed, the reasons they purchase and lease have shifted, and the ways in which they want to buy are moving from the showroom floor to the digital world.  All these things are causing a major shift in the way…

For anyone who finds it difficult to decide which car they want to buy, a new tool that merges psychology and technology can help.

Introducing: CarTron

According to a recent study, over 60% of new car buyers and 70% of used car shoppers have no specific car model in mind when they begin their car shopping journey. Most consider the internet to be the most influential source in…

Dealer discounting for both service and sales have gone entirely too far. This discussion will focus upon service, and we'll address sales in our next discussion.

OEMs and their franchise dealers placed a heavy emphasis on becoming competitive in the service market place dating back 25 plus years. This effort was designed to stem defection of customers to the independent repair shops, become more price competitive, and drive more traffic back to the franchise dealer. Has this strategy…

Most companies view content marketing as a means to rank higher in search engines, establish thought leadership and engage with their audience. Content, such as newsletters and blogs distributed via email and social media channels, enables businesses to stay top-of-mind with clients and prospects. It can be used to educate existing customers and any prospects investigating a…

We don't have an "accountability culture" in the car business, and we need one. Badly. For great examples why, just look at the sports we love that are so successful!

The NFL keeps stats on players that boggle the mind and produce hours and hours of ESPN commentary; basketball hinges on free throw percentages that can haunt a player’s (and team’s) season; and, from…

This Week in Social Media

News for the Week of October 17

Pinterest Increases Targeting Options for Ad Campaigns

Pinterest provides an opportunity for your business to reach new and existing customers by targeting because Pinners are looking for ideas to act on. People use Pinterest to get…

How to Find and Convert More Car Buyers with Digital Marketing

Most consumers today head to the internet to research their next car and the dealerships they will visit. And most dealerships have an online presence to connect with these consumers such as a website and a few social media sites. For most car shoppers, your online presence will be their first…

New patent covers “demand/price driver” engine that powers pricing and features analysis found in CarStory Market Reports; data provides dealers with in-demand selling points for every used vehicle on their lot and gives car buyers insights to make better, more informed decisions

Austin, Texas – October 18, 2016 – CarStory, the…

There’s a big push in our industry right now to bring as much of the car buying process online as possible. Startups are entering the space believing that consumers want this ability and automotive vendors of all sizes are creating products to facilitate that.

However, some dealers are afraid to adopt these solutions for fear of loss of control and decreased…

| by David Metter

“Just because it can be counted, doesn’t mean it counts,” said Tom O’Regan, CEO of Madison Logic in a recent IAB study. “As you rise up the…

Indian streets are the second biggest street arrange on the planet and comprise of roads, National highways and State roadways. The inconceivable systems of streets also have noticeable turnpikes; very much associated cloverleaf Interchange, flyover and waterway Road Bridge are lengthiest and major in India and also in Asia. In spite of being second…

Remember when airbags were a feature? Heck, remember when side airbags and even mp3 players were a feature?

Those days are gone; at least on the Swapalease.com marketplace.

The national online car leasing marketplace has reviewed its complete inventory of vehicles and decided certain features of yesterday are so common today (or irrelevant) that it will no longer include them as a searchable check box for visitors and members. Here is the complete list of…

Helion's expertise and scalability of services allows auto group to focus on core business and improve customer experience as it acquires four new dealerships

Timonium, MD – October 17th, 2016-- Helion Automotive Technologies announced today that New England based Balise Auto Group has enjoyed tremendous growth in the past four years, with…

It makes good sense to sell your rig at a certain point in its life, preferably before the vehicle runs into a state which is beyond repair. People often delay the sale fearing the scale of the undertaking, but the fear is often baseless. In fact, the process of selling an old RV is not as complicated as one thinks. All you need is to know the proven and time-tested tricks of the trade. And what tops the chart? Looks, of course. A clean and shiny motor home sells fast. Even if you have…

We lose sales every day because we have no Accountability Culture: We have lost accountability. To understand how that happened, and what to do about it, we have to look back.

We all romanticize the Rolex-wearing old-school salesman from “back in the day”: in the business for…