In the classic movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, we received a filmmaker’s glimpse into what humanity would experience in the event of a U.F.O encounter and actual physical contact with an alien. To many dealers, Millennials are very similar. They’re very different from past generations, are far more technologically advanced, and we really don’t know much about them…

Every dealership in the automotive industry has some sort of relationship with vendors and their products. Whether it be for a CRM, Website Design, DMS, Email Marketing, Call Reporting…You name it and it’s covered by a business in this industry. And while most will have the main argument in their quest for your business, the age old pitch “We Will Show You The Results You’ve Been Missing”, this isn’t…

Women are where it’s at when it comes to buying cars! They are also more generous with car dealer review scores!

We are so excited to share with you the Women-Drivers.com slick new mobile site, now with emojis.

With the increased participation of dealers and reviewers alike, its paramount that we continue to deliver a website and mobile platform that are more…

Do you spend massive amounts of time cold calling leads with little results? There's a simpler, more sophisticated way to reach your prospects on their phones without the time investment that cold calling takes.

This method can also be combined with email and other digital channels to send similar messages across multiple channels,…

If you're like most people, you probably use your Microsoft Office programs on a daily basis and don't even think about it. But if your dealership purchases software off-the-shelf, there's a fairly good chance you may be a software pirate. Meaning, there's a good chance that someone in your dealership has…

If you’ve ever worked in automotive retail, you know that there are constant internal struggles going on between employees and their departments. The structure of most dealerships actually encourage this – similar to how a salesperson’s pay plan incents them to sell cars.

The most obvious friction oftentimes occurs between sales and service. While in theory,…

Welcome to this week's edition of Black Book Market Insights, with in-depth analysis of used car and truck valuation trends and insights straight from the auction lanes. Click here to download…

According to Black Book® data, the average price of a used vehicle for model years 2011-2015 depreciated by -1.5% during July, slightly better than June (-1.7%). The market performance was similar to the depreciation rates seen in the past three years in the month of July: -1.4% in 2015, -2.1% in 2014 and -1.3% in 2013. Cars overall bounced back from June ending the month at -1.9% (-2.2%). Trucks as a whole finished at -1.2% for July. All vehicles are averaging a 12-month depreciation change…

This Week in Social Media

News for the Week of August 8

Twitter #Rio2016 Emojis Are Here

Emoji fans are sure to get some traction on their posts by following the Olympics and adding in some Olympic-themed emojis.  Check them out and keep your consumers…

The CarStory Advertising Network offers faster and more effective Vehicle Details Page deep linking from CarStory’s extensive and highly trafficked network of automotive marketplaces

Austin, Texas – August 9, 2016 – Dealerships can now attract low-funnel, high-converting consumers from the highly trafficked CarStory Advertising Network…

Social Media. The behemoth of all interaction. One that combines a personal nature to marketing efforts. Social Media and its power to influence consumers has grown in recent years and expanded more than most would have ever thought possible. If done correctly, social media can drive consumers…

CRM integration elevates video content from marketing tool to active and actionable lead generator

Urbandale, IA--August 8th, 2016--Flick Fusion today announced the integration of its SmartFlicks video marketing platform with DealerHosts^TM Technology Management Solution…

Every once in awhile you can experience a situation when the video game you are playing fails on a Windows based laptop or computer, so that it is hopeless to keep playing. Generally the display screen can just start flickering and the Xinput1_3.dll error message will probably appear on your personal computermonitor. The good news is, it is not that tricky to fix the Xinput1_3.dll error message.

How you have the dll complications?

Considering that the dll files…

Social media plays a big part in the lives of consumers, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise when you hear 67% of Twitter users are more likely to buy from brands they follow.  For any industry, it’s…

Auto dealerships that are not compliant feel the impact directly in terms of their loss of profits and reputation. Without a comprehensive compliance training program, car dealers’ bottom lines are affected.

Studies show that more than 73% of consumers prefer dealing with dealership staff that has completed compliance training and has certificates of completion on display. And more than 80% of dealers think compliance training and…

Auto dealerships that are not compliant feel the impact directly in terms of their loss of profits and reputation. Without a comprehensive compliance training program, car dealers’ bottom lines are affected.

Studies show that more than 73% of consumers prefer dealing with dealership staff that has completed compliance training and has certificates of completion on display. And more than 80% of dealers think compliance training and…

In the popular science fiction movie, The Matrix, the hero Neo is presented with two options by the mysterious Morpheus – the red pill or the blue pill. By taking the red pill, Neo would be enlightened into the real world. Whereas, if he chose the blue pill, he would remain peacefully ignorant of reality and continue to live in the fantasy world. If you’ve seen the movie,…

"If it were possible and practical, most people would never set foot in a car dealership when purchasing a vehicle."

The title of this post, along with the introduction were quotes from a recent article that appeared in Money. The survey and results were conducted by Accenture. Complete article available here.

It's no surprise that consumers aren't excited about…

The automotive industry, while very complex and diverse, has one unified major flaw. This flaw can directly affect every dealership in the country. It may or may not have a detrimental effect on the store's performance, as well as the reach and sustainability of the dealership itself. What is this massive issue? It’s simple; Vendor Herd Mentality. To…