What Drives the Automotive Aftermarket’s Online Shoppers

E-commerce continues to be on a rapid path of growth in the automotive aftermarket industry, especially as the average age of automobiles climbs beyond its current record of 11.4 years. According to new research by …

Tips and Strategies on valuing a trade or buying vehicles outright!

Valuing vehicles is a skill and as with all skills they can be learnt. How do you learn? PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.

If you are an experienced valuer this just may be a good refresher. If you are just starting to value vehicles hopefully you find this beneficial. If you get one or two tips out of this list it has been worth your while to read.

• Use an…

Albany, N.Y. – June 20th, 2016 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems today announced the full agenda of speakers and presentations for its National Customer User Summit to be held September 19-21, 2016 at the Hilton Chicago/Oak Brook Hills Resort & Conference Center. All sessions offer practical "how to" advice from vendors that integrate with Auto/Mate's dealership management system (DMS), and/or actionable strategies that attendees can take home to…

Still need to feel more secure about a secure cloud?

Summer is officially here and like a good oil change, your document management could probably use one last tune-up for a smooth ride into the new quarter. Our solution is a great place to start in maximizing efficiency, but most importantly, keeping paperwork more secure.

Going paperless can be an exciting…

Can you guess what the most common complaint about sales people is, from both customers and sales managers alike?

It's this; sales people simply talk too much. And since many of us do indeed talk too much, what do you think the second most frequent complaint we hear about sales people would be? It's this; we don't listen. In light of the first, this second complaint…

This Week in Social Media

News for the Week of June 16

Snapchat Content Now More Discoverable

Snapchat is bringing updates to users and making its content more discoverable by revamping its Stories and Discover pages.  The Snapchat Discover page will now feature a grid-style format, much like Pinterest, as well as headline previews which will allow users to…

The intention of a loyalty program is to show your customers that they are appreciated and encourage them to choose your business over any competition. These programs can create value and generate lifetime relationships with customers -- as long as the experience remains consistently pleasant.

However, a trend currently rearing its head in the loyalty…

This is probably one of the first questions that stress most auto buyers when they have to purchase a car. A brand new car is always an exceptionally alluring alternative, yet monetarily it may not generally be a reasonable decision. The buyers who is new to the driving a car, need to be extra aware as damage and renovation for new cars certainly cost a great deal more to settle than for used cars. There are a lot of considerations that go into buying an auto and each angle should be…

Leadership qualities are not as cut and dried as they used to be.

By Sally Whitesell for Fixed Ops Magazine

Many leaders feel that being professional in their position means being organized, focused and strong. They never let their personal life or emotions enter into relationships with their…

Every business in existence knows what they do – or what product they offer and the associated features and benefits. Every dealership knows what they do best – which is obviously, sell cars. Successful dealerships equip their team with key players that know how to sell cars. But very few…

Comparing yourself to competitors in the same market...is it really such a good idea?

In this week’s Hard Facts, Samantha explains why it's not always ideal to compare your business to a competitor's, but how to do it properly in the right circumstances. Watch now!…

As far as defining moments go, what’s the difference between meeting someone new, interesting, and exciting and getting someone to read our work? The answer is...not a thing!



A good personal introduction will establish interest, expectations, and a direction that the initial conversation can go. Likewise, a good written introduction will establish the direction…

Are you a sales person or an order taker? 

Businesses today can no longer count on passive consumers; in fact, it’s a given that shoppers will enter your dealership empowered with more information and technology than ever before.  In order to build trust in your brand and win over savvy shoppers, it’s important to keep up with what’s important to them in the marketplace.  While it may not be possible to pinpoint everything that’s transformed shoppers from passive to empowered, it’s clear consumers entering your dealership…

As consumers, we are influenced by everything we hear and see, everywhere we go, and in everything we do. Whether we realize it or not, no purchasing decision is made entirely on our own. Instead, however large or small the influences may appear, we are swayed by people, marketing, and opinions every day.

It might be a recommendation from a friend, an online review, or a Facebook post recommending a great new product that was recently purchased.  ­Whatever form it takes, all of these…

You Can’t Sing

 

I used to be a fan of American Idol. I found it interesting in the way the season series started. People would stand in line for hours and hours just to get the chance to audition for the show.…

By Sally Whitesell for Fixed Ops Magazine.

"It’s human nature to want to work with people we like and can relate to. As a matter of fact, we not only want to work with them but we want to work harder for them."…

There’s no question – the recall crisis is eroding the confidence consumers have in vehicle safety. Every day, we hear of more vehicles being recalled for various reasons. If nothing else were to get recalled, we’d be looking at an “estimated” completion date of around 2020. That’s assuming the parts to fix the recalls aren’t themselves recalled -- as was the case when TRW…

Social Media has become an important channel customers use to reach out to businesses. From tweets expressing their displeasure, to Facebook wall posts asking for additional information, increasingly, customers utilize these channels to engage and communicate with you.

Facebook realizes this and, as a result, has opened up new ways for customers to…

Attention to detail can lead to fewer car accidents. In this week's Think Tank Tuesday‬, Paul explains how being dumped into an automated voicemail system can make it extremely difficult for customers to access your business.…