Digital Efficiency, to me, means getting the most from your digital marketing and digital advertising efforts (dollars). To get the "most", I see a glaring need for the recognition and maximization of Digital Assets. Digital Assets? Digital Parts, Pieces and Flow of the same. This post addresses Digital Flow Efficiency.

Recently, while attending a Digital Marketing training seminar, an interesting observation was pointed out. What happens on your website once a lead…

J.D. Power 2/3/2012

“Capitalizing on Market Momentum”

- North America should have an 8% growth in 2012. Here is the breakdown:

13.8 million sales in 2012, 11.5 million will be retail.

Why the increase in 2012?

1. Production and increased demand.

2. Aging fleet / pent up demand.

3. More new products over the next 3 years.

4. Rebound in leasing.

5.…

PCG Consulting, Inc. announced the recipients of the 2012 Spotlight Awards following the 2012 NADA Convention in Las Vegas. The Spotlight Awards recognize the five best products at the Convention that fill important needs for car dealers.

The following companies/products were recognized with a Spotlight Award for excellence in…

The CarChat24 beta test is almost ready to go and we would like to invite you to participate!

We are now looking for enthusiastic early adopters to participate in our beta to help us find bugs, give feedback and feature suggestions to improve our product.

What Are the CarChat24 Beta Program Details?

• Target beta start date is mid to late February.
• Beta testing period…

Warm congratulations to Kelly Automotive, winners at the state level of the prestigious Dealer of the Year award given by Dealer Rater! Chris Saraceno (L)  and his team worked tirelessly this year to go above and beyond their customers' expectations, and their efforts definitely paid off!…

Back by demand, VinWorx is coming back to Kansas City in June!  Not only would we like to invite you to PRE-REGISTER, we recommend it.  Here's why... 

For more information and to reserve your seat: http://www.vinsolutions.com/vinworx/

WHAT IT…

As a dealer you always have to watch out for shiny new objects that can promise one thing but deliver something entirely differently.  I had the opportunity to sit down with the folks from AutoAccelerator and demo their new iPad app for their CRM.  To say that I was impressed is an understatement.

Not only did this app have the eye appeal…

By now, many of you have verified your dealership’s profitability for 2011.  As most dealers, general managers and controllers understand, until we perform a final year-end reconciliation of each asset and liability account, the YTD profitability displayed on our income statement remains an unproven number.  For some of you, this verification process will result in an upward adjustment to your 2011 profitability. However, experience tells me that most dealers…

Many professional sales and sales management trainers believe that you have not "maxed out" on a vehicle buyer until that buyer initiates one additional sale (additional household vehicle or personal referral) during his/her normal purchase cycle. Mathematically, here's how the "one additional sale" concept works:  

Assume that the normal customer purchase cycle…

It's that time of year again.  Yes, one of my favorite blogs of the year.  I have always enjoyed writing about my experiences at conferences and conventions.  This blog is going to be great.  Why so great you ask?

Wait for it...

Wait for it...

Wait for it...

Boom...here it is.

This has been my most productive and educational NADA convention out of the three that I have attended.  I realized this year the importance of spending a…

10) Jim Ziegler's TRUECar Executive- Dunk Booth

9) The Alan Mullaly- "Ford didn't use tax dollars: Kissing Booth"

8) Chevy Volt's promotional "Sniff my tailpipe" booth

7) Kia's Crayon Corner where children design their next car!

6) VW's "This is the car you want" Jedi Mind trick training booth

5) Mazda's booth- well, they didn't actually have one, they were out front panhandling and looking for investors

4) The Bailout Your Favorite Manufacturer…

Many dealerships today are focused on the quick fixes that will improve car deals and attract clients to service. What they are not recognizing is this is the end game not the beginning of what steps should happen to reach their goal. Have you checked your culture in your store lately?

Many people in General Management positions who come into a new environment are also making these mistakes in getting things started. Here are some suggestions for making the transition:

1) Get a…

I am who I am.  I am me!  I work as me, I advise as me, and I write and publish as me.  I am this way because, as a person, I fit the “new credibility” very well:  I am all over the Web, and you can reach me by email and phone if you go to my website.  You can find me, easily, and find out about me, because I don’t hide.  I am real.  And I don’t…

Like so many other Americans, I gathered up my snacks and beverages to sit down in front of a television to catch the NFL Big Event.  Having a career in marketing and sales, I paid curious attention to the messages conveyed in the 60 second spots aired between plays.  This year, I heard it loud and clear from the Automotive Industry. 

One third of all advertisements aired during The Big…

by Motyka Johnson

A few weeks ago I wrote about how Google was going to include items from Google+ in their regular search results when users were signed in, calling it “Search Plus Your World”. Now that users have had some time to get accustomed to it, I wanted to touch on how this new way of searching could benefit your car dealership’s local search…

How much money do we let slip through our fingers by not insisting on a "front end" sales process for the service drive? We know customers that service in our stores will more likely than not shop for a new/used car at the servicing dealer. Are the service drive and the sales department battling each other or working with each other? Both play a vital role in customer retention and dealership profitability, but somehow the service drive customer doesn't get the same attention by the front…

The Data War is raging.

Automotive dealers are becoming more enlightened daily as they are being exposed at NADA and through forums such as DealerElite to the very serious matter of consumer and dealer data leakage. By data leakage, I am referring to the unrestricted polling or scraping of their dealership DMS (computer systems) by vendors providing software "solutions" that are suppose to be helping dealers organize and maximize sales. Typically, these vendors have inserted…

The 23,000 NADA Convention attendees in Las Vegas had over 1,000 booths to visit in the exhibitor hall.  The 2012 Convention broke all attendance records according to Stephen Wade, NADA Chairman.  The automotive industry is healthy and the diversity of exhibitors and products on display this year has never been greater.

At the NADA Convention I take time…