It’s common to spend so much time trying to get pages to rank that we overlook the images we use on said pages. Sometimes, it’s just as important for a …

Just those three words evoke all types of emotions and memories. Those three words bring back memories no matter what age you are now, the model of the car, the cost, the dents the dings, the noises coming from under the hood, how long you owned it, and perhaps most of all ”Man if only I had kept________ what would that be worth today?

The first feeling most people think of…

Auto/Mate Dealership Systems is conducting a survey about CRM and desking solutions. We want to know what the most important features are and what matters most to users when considering purchasing a new solution. We would greatly appreciate your time and help with this survey, which is only three questions and should take approximately three to five minutes of your time! In two weeks, we will choose one random entry from our survey respondents and award that winner a $200 Visa gift…

It's a very competitive world these days.  Most of the new surveys indicate that the average customer is now only VISITING only 1.4 dealerships before making their decision.

I was in a dealership yesterday and a couple of the sales people were complaining about this and a lot of customers were buying at another dealership.  Managing YOUR activity, including follow up, is more critical than ever before.  Instead of complaining about it, PICK YOURSELF UP AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT…

Tech billionaire and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban says he is fed up with the social network giant and plans to go elsewhere with his business. He is sick of getting hit with fees up to $5k to get his message across to Mavericks fans stating on the Inquisitor, "We are moving far more aggressively into Twitter and reducing…

With the median vehicle age exceeding 10 years, the automotive technology on which repair operations must be competent on a daily basis spans more than 20 years.  This is especially daunting when you look at the rocket ship trajectory of near-term developments.  Add in all makes and models and you've really got a challenge.

This reality dictates that your financial…

On November 11th, I posted information on some of the direct impact OBAMACARE will have on your stores.This posting hopefully will help you get a handle on what the "FREE RIDER" provision has in store for you and help you formulate a business model to minimize your exposure to the penalties that come along with this law. A dealer owes a "FREE RIDER" penalty ONLY if it meets two provisions. 1) If you employ MORE than 50 full time employees or full time equivalent (part time employees which…

There were several takeaways from Nielsen's recent mobile studysurrounding restaurants, travel, and the automotive industry, but the one that surprised me the most was that 43% of automotive searches on mobile devices…

With the election season at our door steps it’s on everybody’s mind. And, you can’t help but to wonder whenever you see or talk to someone, “Who are you voting for?” We make our own assumptions based on a variety of factors. But, have you ever thought to look at that person’s car? Bumper stickers are one of the most popular election merchandises. I know what you are thinking. What does that have to do with accessories?

When your customer purchases a vehicle from you, they don’t go to…

A couple years ago Chicago was riddled with potholes through a long winter.  After seeing customer after customer come in with blown tires and bent wheels we saw an opportunity, and not just for the parts and service departments, but for our customers as well. 

We started a seasonal wheel and tire program offering our customers a set of four winter tires mounted on steel wheels for a fixed price.  The sale price also included storing the off-season wheels and tires at our dealership. …

Service is an "elbow to elbow" people business. As I (we) have traveled and observed so many Dealership Service Operations, there is still one overriding factor that every Customer Service Organization must understand and adhere to. This is people business.…

The value of having one of your videos go viral is hard to measure accurately but there’s no doubt it’s a huge boon for your brand. To get that kind of spread is hard to achieve though, you could make hundreds of videos all designed to go viral and get nowhere. On the other hand, you can make one video where your star accidentally injures himself and end up going viral overnight. The problem is that you rarely can fake it. The internet has a good nose for the authenticity and can smell…

This one will be different but I am going to attempt to bring "Food for thought" using simple…

There are times when you're going to post a piece of content that is too good to post in just one place. It could be extremely informative, very timely, majorly entertaining, or perhaps you just really liked it and want to post it in…

Still haunted by the ghost of the 14 million vehicles recalled for faulty floor mats and brake pedals, Japanese automaker Toyota Motors announced today that it would be recalling another 3 million cars – including 67,000 Prius models – due to a defect in…

Go Virtual / izmocars solution provides Nissan dealers in Mexico with stable and progressive website technology while supporting Nissan Mexicana’s brand values and lead generation efforts

San Francisco, CA and Mexico City, Mexico – November 14, 2012 – izmocars (www.izmocars.com), the world's leader in interactive media content for the automotive industry, today announced…

Let me pose a question to you. If you knew what was going through your customers mind during the sales process, would you enhance your chances of selling them a vehicle ? The answer , of course, is yes.Well, NADA has surveyed 3000 new vehicle owners who recently have gone through their purchasing experience.The question posed to them was "what did you hate the MOST about your buying experience?" The number one answer was " it takes too much time".Number two was "I hate the back and forth…

If you don't PRACTICE THE PLAYS BEFORE PLAYING THE GAME, you WILL FUMBLE the ball.  Our brain learns from DOING, not just hearing.  Practice until you can't get it wrong!  Team up with a buddy and practice the selling steps every day!

Question for the forum... Please share your experiences and thoughts on third party upgrade events.  Guarantee or no guarantee???

I am exploring adding third party events to our established remarketing program, and looking for some experiences that other dealers may have had, and which companies they have utilized.  I am hoping for some cost structure and ROI expectations, as well as traffic assumptions.  Easy for the vendor to project, would love to hear the htoughts of those…