I recently read a fantastic article that an HR Professional wrote about her experience buying a MINI. The article itself focused on lessons in leadership she had…

They say that no good deed goes unpunished and great things will eventually be spoiled. This happened to microsites in recent years. What started off as a great strategy was overused and abused by some vendors to the point that now many dealers are scared to touch them.

Here's a brief timeline in case you're not familiar with the evolution of microsites. ADM…

Do you think your customers feel the same about your company as you think they do?  Think again, they probably don’t.

These days, car dealerships, try to express their individuality from their competitors through value propositions. Almost every dealership has some sort of template or message as to “Why Buy from Us” integrated into their communications with…

In 1991, a 5’2” 125-pound cowboy stared into the face of Wolfman Skoal. a young 2,000-pound bull with a bad reputation. So bad, in fact, that a $500 bounty existed for any rider that could tame the beast and ride a full 8 seconds. Wade Leslie accepted the challenge. As he mounted the bull in preparation for his ride, the bull promptly lay down in the pen. He considered…

The past two years has seen a decrease in the number of website leads for many dealers. We're getting more visitors and fewer people filling out lead forms. The trend has caused what I've seen as an increase in the number of calls to action on pages, particularly on inventory pages. This is a mistake.

The truth is this: more is not more. It's less when it…

According to Black Book® data, the average price of a used vehicle for model years 2009-2013 saw a slight improvement in August with overall depreciation at -1.3% compared with -1.5% in July. Domestic cars changed the most at -2.5%; import cars changed -1.6%; domestic trucks changed -1.1%; and import trucks changed -0.8%. Average pre-recession depreciation is historically between -1% and -2% monthly, and Black Book expects overall 2014 depreciation of -13.5%.



The lower…

On Episode 9 of the +MarketPunch Podcast, Joe Chura CEO of DealerInspire explores what Responsive and Adaptive web design is all about and what it means to your mobile web strategy. 

The differences and similarities between RWD & AWD

- If one is "better" than the other

- Why we should pay attention to Google on the subject

- The bottom line when it comes to…

We'll this is it, the time has finally arrived- no more Sundays of having to watch downhill skiing, slow…

Are you executing your processes???

First, a mini-rant. It will make sense why I'm starting with a rant before getting to the meat of the issue.

I was on the phone with a social client and their prospective search marketing provider the other day when I was blindsided by ignorance. It wasn't what I expected from a company that came highly recommended for their search prowess, so I called later…

As women become the fastest growing car-buying segment, influencing 80 percent of the car-buying decisions in the U.S., it is imperative for auto dealers to focus their sales strategies towards securing more female customers.

Unfortunately, at times, women have been underserved and do not have fond memories of their last experience. So it all lies on the shoulders of the dealership to ensure that female buyers have the "ultimate car buying experience" when they walk into your…

Two years ago while looking for a new digital marketing home I penned this blog post based on my observations visiting prospective employers.  Though I am happily nestled in a progressive and healthy wonderland right now, I find the points that I raise still very relevant in today's automotive digital marketing world:

Any good salesperson knows that the last way you want to greet a customer is with the words,…

The bad part about search engine optimization in the automotive industry is that there are so many companies that report on what they do for SEO rather than what they're accomplishing with their efforts. We've seen this hundreds of times when bringing on new clients and it's time to set the record straight.

It isn't hard to track the key performance metrics…

Imagine yourself entering a business where everyone seems to be hurrying around and you are greeted with, "Someone will be with you in a second" as…

See what Scott Sparks has to say about the Zeck Ford Service Department!

Their President's Award Winning Service  Department is second to none ! They deliver Award Winning Service through a combination of a Professional Well Trained Staff. A Clean Modern Facility, State of the art Equipment , and Computerized Invoicing, Record Keeping and Information Systems. Zeck Ford provides friendly…

This article was written by Steve Hall. 

Follow this Recipe for Better Results

Summer in Kansas City is the time to smoke, grill and barbecue. The other day I was putting together my special rib sauce and it occurred to me that cooking is a lot like managing. Cooking when you have a great recipe is a lot easier –­ and the results are consistently better ­if you’re…

When it comes to negotiating with a car dealer, what’s the comfort level of men and women? Swapalease.com, the nation’s largest online car lease marketplace, was interested to take the pulse of car shoppers around the country. According to their findings, women are now warming up to the negotiation process. Click here to see the complete findings.



An online survey was presented to more than 1,000 drivers…

One of the many byproducts of training in so many dealerships is that you get to observe all the different ways people do things. Like how they answer the phone or talk to a customer in the service drive.

Over the years, I’ve made it a point to take note of some of the ways Advisors and Managers blow their customer up in the service drive and I thought I would share with you my observations and my Top 5.…

You could have the most talented team on paper, but how can you know they're the right fit? Many businesses struggle with this issue when hiring new team members and promoting current employees. …

Is this a reasonable concern with dealers?

Targeted re-marketing to existing DMS contacts is a issue most dealers leave to routine, email and letters generated daily from dealership level.

Is the ROI measured? 

Can the dealer do a better job?

LIVE MARKETING is a new automotive forefront player in the data space, concerning DMS data mining. The company has been in development of a brilliant strategy to use multi-channel media -- and -- to roadmap the process of re…