In recent months business owners have had to adapt to a global pandemic, economic shutdowns, employee layoffs, peaceful protests and riots, and operational efficiency changes to help deal with all the above.

So, you may think it’s understandable if you’ve been ignoring your content marketing strategy. However, turbulent times provide an ideal…

According to an interesting study by Forrester Research, many businesses fail to communicate in a way that enhances and solidifies the business-customer relationship. The same can be said for some…

When it comes to working conferences, there are many different thought processes. The first, of course, is that a lot of money is spent between the cost of renting the booth space, sponsorship, the actual booth itself, staffing, swag, prizes and travel expenses. Conferences are indeed a considerable investment, and everyone wants to see a return on their…

It’s a well-known fact that people buy from people (or companies) they like. There are certainly many different ways to get customers to like your dealership, from providing a great customer experience to being active in your local community.

However, consumers are increasingly finicky when choosing where to buy or service their vehicle. In…

There you are, working on your to-do list, trying to create content for your dealership. You sit there and contemplate what you can write that will be relevant and interesting to your customers. But no ideas come to you. The more you think about it, the more frustrated you get, until you simply give up trying and move on.

Content marketing can be frustrating.…

I actually wanted to flip the title of this blog to “why use one word when a hundred will do?” People tend to use FAR too many words these days in PR and marketing material – they simply don’t know how to keep it short and relevant. And, in my experience, most audiences find long cluttered sentences a frustrating read.  A great slogan to go by really is KISS – Keep It Simple…

In a recent blog, I wrote about how content marketing is more of a long-term play.

In addition, to attract an audience, it is vital to offer more than purely sales content and “buy now!” messages. Consumers are constantly bombarded with these salesy messages.…

If you hold a management position in the retail automotive industry, you’ve probably had a customer attempt to leverage something to get what they want. Whether it was an unreasonable request, or simply a last-ditch effort to get a perceived wrong made right, many of you will have run into this situation.

In the past, a customer’s leverage was typically the…

There is one common problem most companies run into when they start a content marketing strategy. Frequently, executives have unreal expectations and expect to go from zero to hero in a matter of days. They want an immediate return-on-investment – such as leads, engagement or website traffic. I am afraid that is simply not realistic. Hey, sometimes you can hit gold straight…

We’ve all seen it happen. In fact, chances are really good that you’ve done it yourself -- posted that Facebook status update, sent that text message, or that e-mail and then – oops, you notice those typos or grammatical errors…after it’s too late to correct.

Well, does it really matter? In a word, yes.

When dealing with your friends, you can…

I recently read an interesting article in Forbes about cause-based marketing which states that  55 percent of consumers would switch brands and/or pay more for a product or service to a company that…

Every successful business needs customer feedback to gauge how they are doing. Customer loyalty, experience and retention can’t be modified without hearing what your customers think. Dealerships rely on such things as manufacturer surveys and online reviews to get an idea of how well they are doing. Some will even go a step further and email their own survey, or have their…

There is plenty of buzz nowadays in the automotive industry about the customer experience. Everything from improving the in-showroom experience, to the finance experience, online experience and the service experience; mostly by using technology and the proper training of employees in how to properly interact with customers and treat them … well,…

When it comes to earning business, the customer experience has become a key differentiator. These days, sales and service customers tend to choose convenience and experience over pricing. In fact, dealers that consistently provide an excellent customer experience, make it convenient for the customer to interact with them, and broadly promote this, are thriving, while others…

Great content comes in several forms. However, many people think of content as just the written word, such as blogs and articles. For those who aren’t writers, or don’t have the time to write, this can seem like a daunting task.

It’s tough coming up with ideas and, even when you do, explaining your idea in writing, rather than speaking about it in person, can…

One of the best ways to get your name out to your audience is through a consistent regimen of relevant educational content of interest to your audience. This helps position key people in your dealership or organization as industry thought leaders and gains indirect brand exposure.

Doing this consistently can lead to news stories, conference speaking spots and…

I’m pretty sure most of you have received some sort of marketing that was either irrelevant, offensive or perhaps just made you say, “Why the heck am I receiving this?”

For marketing to be effective, it must reach the right audience at the right time.…

The art of public relations has changed dramatically in recent years and now includes a myriad of services and possibilities. Today’s consumers are exposed to as many as 10,000 brand messages per day and, to break through this noise barrier, public relations must adjust methodologies accordingly. While this is certainly a challenge, there is a way to make things a tad…

Study after study finds that word-of-mouth is the single greatest influencer when it comes to marketing. Providing a consistently excellent customer experience, then having those customers go out and tell their family and friends about it is the marketer’s holy grail. According to many, it’s perhaps the easiest and least expensive way to acquire new customers while also…

Conference season is upon us and each business is competing with hundreds of others for attention. A strategy is needed, or your business simply ends up as part of the noise everyone fast-forwards through – media and attendees alike. So, how do you break through the “noise” barrier and actually get attention? Here are some tips:

1. Press Releases – While…