Today’s socially connected consumers have changed the tide in the automotive industry, from top to bottom. However, the dealership must also change, in the way that they collect data and use social media. Every day there is an increase to the number of consumers using social data and social media. Facebook has 1.7 Billion users, and Twitter and Instagram have almost half a Billion users. Customers are also using…

This Week in Social Media

News for the Week of August 22

Promoted Video Pins on Pinterest

Pinterest recently rolled out…

Is your phone ringing off the hook? Probably not.

In this week's Think Tank Tuesday, I reveal that with sending a simple ringless voicemail drop, you can start the conversation with potential customers that may not have answered an email or other advertisement. Grab more leads and build your business by utilizing this low cost, lead generating strategy.…

A dealership's CRM is at the heart of its entire sales operation. Choosing the right CRM for your dealership is exceedingly important in its success. However, when the purchase of the new CRM has been completed, there are still a few key items that need to be covered before the dealership can get up and running. Acknowledging that this process takes time and energy, from all members of the dealerships sales…

By Shawn Morse

Lessons can be learned from the Smartphone industry on how automotive solution providers should be delivering modern, innovative and nimble products and services to our dealership business partners.  Having the tenacity to rapidly deliver imaginative development, meeting customers’ real-time needs, and more importantly,…

Timonium, MD – August 22nd, 2016-- Helion Technologies announced today that 75 percent of small businesses have experienced security breaches in the last 12 months, according to a recent survey conducted by Osterman Research. The findings were published in a July 2016 report titled…

Albany, N.Y. – August 22nd, 2016 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems today announced the integration of its dealership management system (DMS) with the award-winning Dominion Dealer Solutions’ Sales Center CRM. Dealers using both Auto/Mate and Dominion’s automotive solutions will benefit from enhanced customer insight expedited by real-time updates of customer, vehicle, service and deal information in both systems.

"In today's competitive and fast-moving environment, it's…

Auto dealerships face a unique challenge when it comes to growing customer engagement. In general, the modern customer is inundated with advertising and people have become adept at tuning out messages. However, your brand has an opportunity to rise to this challenge and can use great rewards programs as a cornerstone of customer engagement. Here’s how:

Deemphasize sales

Although it may seem…

Despite a slight decline in overall transaction activity, average transaction size is up; record franchise values and rising real estate prices spur more sales by family-owned dealerships; domestic transaction buy/sell share increases

Irvine, CA, August 22, 2016 – The number of large, multi-dealership transactions rose by 52% YOY in the first half of 2016, according to The Blue Sky Report™, a Kerrigan…

Drive More Sales at Your Dealership with Data-Driven Email Marketing

Personalized emails targeted to the right buyer and at the right time can drive traffic to your inventory page and prospects onto your lot. Email is a highly effective customer acquisition channel and for the last ten…

You might ask yourself precisely why this Ip 192.168.1.1 isn't exposed to general public on the web. This is because, this specific IP is non-public to make sure that, personal computer attached to that distinctive wireless routers are only able to connect to the IP. Individuals who are outside of the wireless router range, can’t connect with that exact IP. One more thing you must know is this IP may be altered if needed. To put it briefly, if you're on a common public wifi system you'll not…

If you want to see everything from what your friends are having for lunch to what is going on in their relationships to up-and-coming trends, look no further than Facebook. In 2015, online sales reached a staggering $334 billion, and they are expected to climb…

You can’t Bing like you Google.  What we mean is: Bing is rolling out some new features that may optimize your strategy differently than Google does. From URL’s to shared tracking templates to custom parameters, Bing is making sure everyone can easily update their account in order to improve their campaigns.

Watch this week’s Hard Facts with Samantha to learn how to upgrade your Bing account.…

No matter the size of the dealership, independent dealer or automotive group, the maintenance of a website is just as important as the building of one. Focusing on this section means we leave out the MOST important aspect of the website; mobile-optimization, and that cannot be done, so here’s a quick fact to make sure that box is being ticked.

More than HALF…

Want to know the best way to increase customer retention? It's not rocket science. It all comes down to the relationships that your employees have with your customers. If your employees take good care of your customers, and your customers like your employees, chances are good those customers will come back again.…

Have you ever been to a home where the host truly made you feel like an honored guest? When traveling, have you ever stayed at a hotel where every member of the hotel staff made you feel like an honored guest at their establishment? 

Do you still remember those great experiences? How did the experience make you feel? I know anytime I have experienced the "honored…

Video content is now the preferred medium for consumers and statistics show that consumer Internet traffic for online video will increase by 80% by the year 2018. That’s not too far away.

And, when both are presented on the same page, consumers would rather watch a video than read text. For that simple reason, video content simply converts…

Dealership video content has quickly grown throughout the industry in the last few years, and it is yet another marketing strategy to set any dealership apart from its competitors. Dealership video can be utilized to create an entire package of video marketing to attract more consumers to your brand. However, with consumers more informed than ever before, certain and specific marketing ideologies need to be…

As the car-shopping landscape continues to change and compliance issues continue to dog dealers, investing in training and professional development remains essential.

Offering employees career-development opportunities creates loyalty and fosters a team environment as the dealership grows. As the saying goes, “You are the company you keep,” and it’s imperative to hire great people, retain them to create a solid company culture and manage a car dealer’s positive…

The majority of service departments are busy today, I've even heard "I don't need any more business", and that comment is concerning. Service departments are busy with recall work, but not necessarily customer pay work.

Most vehicles visiting dealerships today are late model, under warranty, and have minimal opportunities for customer pay work. They also provide little upside for new car sales opportunities. General maintenance and service, the industries bread and butter, has…