News for the Week of 12.9

Facebook Messenger Arrives at a Website Near You 

Facebook recently introduced new Page plugins for Messages and Events, allowing users to message your business easily and check out what’s going on with your Events directly from your…

December is here, which means the holidays are right around the corner. When we think of Christmas, several things come to mind, one of them being good ol’ Saint Nicholas—or Santa for short. 

The holidays are the perfect time to appeal to consumers and find innovative ways to bring in-market shoppers into your dealership. A simple way to attract more business…

By now, pretty much everyone has heard about the power of social media and the effect it can have on businesses that are leveraging it to enhance their bottom line. What may or may not be known—even by the businesses that are using social media to their advantage—are the actual numbers that are churning behind the scenes of specific social campaigns. So how can…

Automotive Future 

Autotrader’s recent Car Buyer of the Future study shows only 17 out of 4,002 people prefer the current car-buying process, with the rest saying they want significant changes. This means the industry needs…

News for the Week of November 30

Snapchat Story Explorer 

Snapchat introduced Story Explorer, a unique way for users to share experiences through the eyes of the community.  With Story Explorer’s technology, after viewing a Snap, users can see more of the story simply by…

How to Track Consumer Behavior and Leverage What You Learn

If your dealership is able to take advantage of the right tools, you can easily tell which consumers are in the car-buying market and what vehicles they’re searching for. This knowledge, however, means your employees’ approach is key in making sure they attract potential customers instead of scaring them off. …

Social Media News for the Week of November 23

Brand-New Google+ 

Google will look different for users due to its latest updates to Google+. Latest improvements focus on Communities and Collections, placing those features front and center for Google social media…

News for the Week of November 16

Pinterest Visual Search Launched

Pinterest lovers, rejoice!  The new visual search has launched, which means users can now search for items that appear in pins simply by tapping the built-in search tool and zooming in on objects of…

Knowledge is Power

Today’s consumers are more educated than ever, and that plays an enormous role in how they interact with your dealership and what they expect when they set foot onto your showroom floor. It’s important your dealers are prepared to interact with a generation that has access to endless information online and prefers utilizing it by researching their options…

Why Used is Better than New 

According to Santander Consumer USA, used cars are expected to outsell new cars nearly 2 to 1 this year, making it more important than ever for dealerships and sales professionals to understand what’s driving this trend and…

Bridging the Cross-Device Gap

For consumers, the car shopping journey has morphed into an online, cross-device journey. Now that you’re able to appeal to consumers who are taking the cross-device journey to purchase their vehicles, it’s important to continue that momentum by bridging the gap and pulling more consumers into your dealership. As discussed in Part I, it’s…

Smartphones and Tablets and Laptops, Oh My!

A Virtual Experience

A car shopping journey isn’t simple anymore, and consumers are using more devices and types of technology than ever to make their purchases. That means dealerships are striving to create the best cross-channel experiences for their consumers.

For consumers on car-buying journeys, devices and…

News for the Week of November 9

Buyable Pins for Android

While iPhone and iPad users have been enjoying buyable pins, the feature is now being offered to Android users. Pinterest lovers can now shop directly from the app and choose from over 60 million…

Stay Connected to Your Consumers

Are you mobile?

The mobile industry is not just booming; it’s taking over completely.

• 90% of smartphone users are online via their smartphone.…

What Is Showrooming? 

Showrooming, according to businessdictionary.com, is purchasing an item online, or elsewhere, after looking at and inspecting the item in-store.

In other words, consumers will come into your dealership to look at and test out features, services,…

Personalizing Customer Experience with Intelligent Advertising

Get to Know Your Customer

Consumers put an endless amount of information online about themselves, often daily. However, several marketing strategies don’t use that information to their advantage. If online users are taking the time to educate brands about their behavior, likes, dislikes, wants, habits, etc., it…

Generation Z : Digital Natives

Understanding Why the Youngest Car-Buying Generation is so Important

You’ve heard quite a bit about millennials, Gen Xers, and earlier generations. Now it’s time for Generation Z to get some time in the spotlight. Gen Z is generally made up of individuals born between the years of 1995-2012, and for automotive dealerships, that means this generation is just barely starting to scrape the surface of buying. However, they are a group to watch for…

News for the Week of November 2 

Google Play Music Introduces Podcasts

Google recently introduced a podcast portal which allows podcasters to upload their shows to Google Play Music. According to Google, contextual recommendations will be…

How Well Do You Know Your Consumers? 

Do you know their likes, dislikes, what content they’re most likely to engage with? If you don’t, you should. Knowing your consumers is the first step toward turning them into customers who will return time and again to your dealership. Whether you know it or not, consumers have been talking, and there are some things they’d…

It Was Always Burning 

How Automotive Dealerships Can Win With Today’s Consumers

There’s not a dealership around that hasn’t noticed the changes today’s consumers have brought to the marketplace. The differences between shopping trends of the past and the way people want to do business today can be seen and felt on the showroom floor and the lot in every…