While some dealerships have done an incredible job of surviving the storm that is the COVID-19 pandemic, in many cases, sales and service have decreased. Customers still want to buy cars and service their vehicles, but a good amount are still in a self-isolation.

As a result, most dealerships have experienced a decline in service revenue at a…

Many dealers have seen their online shopping tools be used nearly twice as much over the past six months. With inbound calls also continuing to rise, it seems consumer behavior modification is a natural response to the current climate.

So, what’s interesting about this? Phone and online closing rates are not corresponding to lead volume and the vast majority of customers still want to come into the dealership to finish the buying process.

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Introducing our first software release, a Chrome Extension called GMBspy. Earlier this year many of us read that Google My Business (GMB) categories could be read for any location by searching the HTML. This process works, but is super clumsy and slow. I needed a solution to more-quickly determining GMB categories. Why care about GMB categories? I believe they are one of the keys to learning why some businesses rank higher in local search than others. Should the OEM category be placed…

Anyone not responsible for vehicle inventory management may think it an easy concept but it is a stressful and labor-intensive endeavor normally bestowed upon one person: The Used Car Manager. This individual has an encyclopedias worth of knowledge in their heads about profit/loss margins of every vehicle on the lot - a figure that can change at the…

As a dealer, it was always frustrating to spend a ton of money on leads just to see sales-to-lead ratios stuck at 8-10%. Essentially, if I spent $25 per lead from third-party providers and received 100 leads, I would need to recoup over $2500 to make that service worth it. However, that doesn’t always happen. Some dealerships would say, “Hey, we sold two cars…

We want you to be profitable and proud of what you do. We want you to have all the success that you deserve. We want you to know that it’s possible for you! That’s exactly why we started the video series,…

The COVID-19 Pandemic has accentuated the need for automation across most service and manufacturing industries and the automotive industry is no different. There are countless tedious repetitive, task laden manual processes within automotive sales and service that greatly benefit from automation and its best application is to make business processes…

Today's Environment

Do you ever get fed up with the chatbots that keep appearing on websites even after you have shut them down?  Well, many websites could use some chatbot best practices! That is just one of several things I find that need to be fixed on dealer websites to improve the consumer experience.

I don't know how many of you have gone and tried to navigate your dealer website. In many cases it is confusing and an absolute nightmare. It is…

Chevy Trax is a great choice for those who want to get a car that is big enough for their large-sized families. It offers multiple advantages but it also has a few pitfalls that make this car lost its value somehow. Before making such a huge investment, you must be aware of both the pros and cons of Chevy Trax.

Here are a few pros and cons of…

Don’t Waste Your Advertising Dollars on Social Media

If you’ve been paying attention the last few months to all the noise about social justice you have heard that many big advertisers pulled their ad programs from Facebook, Instagram, and other online social media channels.

These companies included Coca-Cola, Starbucks, Hershey Companies, Levi Strauss & Co., Honda, Verizon, Unilever (which includes brands Dove, Hellman’s, Lipton, Surf, Ben &…

A great article in CBT News cites that almost half of customers who state they are loyal to the selling dealer go elsewhere to service their vehicle. Only one-third of all vehicle services are performed at automotive dealerships. And we know brand loyalty and…

Technology is transforming and revolutionizing everything around us, from the way we interact to the way we perform our daily activities. All industries have been deeply impacted by technological innovation and the automotive market is a great example of that. But is technology alone the driving force of progress in the automotive landscape or are there other factors in the equation? 

The truth is that the greatest…

The latest and greatest digital shift since COVID-19 hit has reshaped the retail landscape faster than could have been imagined. It has brought new opportunities and challenges alike. Major retailers are closing physical storefronts and investing heavily in digital platforms with very…

All dealers are suffering from the lack of used vehicle inventory. Consumers are being forced to gravitate to used vehicles for multiple reasons – They are less expensive plus the manufacturers aren’t pumping out nearly as many new vehicles as they are normally depleting available selection. To add insult to injury, even if the manufacturers WERE continuing…

Throughout history, humans have designed and created technology to make their lives easier. From the invention of the wheel itself to the eventual creation of the automobile, to today’s computer-integrated vehicles, we are more dependent on technology to improve our experiences than ever before.

But with that technology comes challenges. Most…

We’re back with another video in our series, Quality of Life!

Bringing you up to speed, we’ve been hearing all about the ever-evolving process of the relationship business. And this week,…