There are many paid search vendors in automotive retail; however, that doesn't mean they're implementing best practices. Host Dane Saville offers perspective on what differentiates a company that'd simply be your dealership's vendor versus valuing a true partnership.

If…

During this challenging time, all dealers and automotive retailers are looking at their advertising expenses and trying to decide how much they can cut without it hurting their business any more than necessary.   While there is no magic formula, it is a fact that search volume is down in the auto industry by around 30%, which gives you a rough idea of how much (at least) you probably can cut your digital ad spend with little negative affect.  On the other hand, reaching out to your…

I put together a short list of 6 tips that progressive dealers can use to implement creative solutions to ensure the safety and health of their customers and employees.

If you think of other helpful tips, feel free to add on to this list. 

Here are mine:



1. Formalize, communicate and execute an action plan



Everyone’s inboxes are flooded with information from companies about their…

As the Novel Coronavirus continues to spread and reports of hand sanitizer and toilet paper shortages increases, our team wanted to do something to help support car dealerships that have recently shut down their showrooms.

After many discussions with clients & partners, the team created materials for dealerships that don't have the internal marketing staff or resources to update their website and enhance their customer communications.

Free…

As we work through the Corona-Virus together here are a few things to consider as you build-out Virtual Retailing.

Online Credit Applications Increase as Shoppers Seek Alternative Means of Vehicle Acquisition

Swapalease.com, the nation’s largest car lease marketplace, reports car lease credit applicants registered a 72.3% approval rate in February, an increase from the January rate of 70%. The desire to have more flexibility in a lease has continued to be a primary driver for more people to seek vehicle leases with shorter terms that they can afford on secondary markets such as…

There's a "public" in public health

Pandemics don’t care where you were born.

They don’t discriminate based on gender, sexual preference, or the color of your skin.

Pandemics don’t care who you voted for, nor whom you support in 2020.

They don’t pay attention to what cable news channels you watch, radio…

The Coronavirus is disrupting businesses across the globe and its full impact is yet to be seen. Dealers have been contacting us to see if we have any advice as far as what can be done in their service departments to limit any risk both to employees and customers.

The following are a few simple suggestions that can help…

With all the worry and concern out there regarding the Coronavirus and the impact it will have on public health and business, this is a great time to talk about video communication. It has always been the perfect tool for connecting with consumers without having to be fact-to-face.  

To be really effective your video communication platform…

Welcome back to our video series, “What’s the Story with Ali Reda?” We’ve been hearing from Ali about how he ended up here with us, how his business has evolved and got all his tips about community,…

Continuing this season's look at automotive paid search, host Dane Saville takes a quick dive into the effects of poor budget planning and pacing.

If you haven't yet subscribed, you can do so here: …

While we all know that the coronavirus (COVID-19) is causing chaos in many ways with some thinking it is fake news cause by the media and others worried. Our concern is that any intervention by the Federal government is a slippery slope that can only mean the beginning of increased Federal involvement.

Many car dealers rely upon an uptick in sales around tax-time and even factor that into projected sales. While we're in this state of "it's overblown," think of the following (and we're…

Service retention rates in dealerships have been steadily declining over the last three years, according to Affinitiv’s recent Automotive Loyalty Trends study, which analyzed data from more than 1,000 auto dealerships.

In domestic brand dealerships, service retention rates have dropped from 61.2% to 60.2%. At import brand dealerships,…

Every small business owner is fearful of running into legal trouble. If you own and operate your own automotive repair business, you know that getting sued (even if you are not at fault) can be extremely expensive.

However, every auto repair business runs the risk of getting into legal trouble. Many car owners have been burned before by…

In our digital world, it can be easy to discredit direct mail – but that’s a mistake.

According to the Direct Marketing Association, direct mail has a response rate of up to five percent versus just under one percent for digital.

That makes sense when you consider that it’s not unusual for the average person to receive 300 emails a day, half of which they delete without even opening. On the flip side, the average person may receive only three…