SOCIAL | Up Your Ups

What You Should Know About Selling Cars Online Today.

August 23rd, 2010 -

It’s always great to get a independent thought about the automotive industry. Chris Brogan has done this just for you. He has just completed buying a car on line. His experience is valuable intel for anyone in the automotive marketing business.

Here’s his to do list for you: My thoughts are in (italic).

Make your sites more mobile-friendly. Flash doesn’t cut it in the smartphone era.

(You need to think like the end user. Where are they obtaining information and how do I make it easy for them?)

Add listening tools to your marketing efforts.

(Listening posts are critical. Step one is to make sure you are on top of comments and posts. Think in minutes not hours!)

Have a social presence, so you can respond and invite in potential buyers.

(You really need a comprehensive plan here. Watch out for internal pit falls.)

Work with the manufacturers’ social media people, like Christopher Barger at GM and Scott Monty at Ford (and your manufacturers of choice).

(This is great advice. If nothing else start reading them daily.)

Look for alternatives to the current business models, as sales won’t rush up on gimmicks and discounts alone.

(Retail offers don’t sit well in the social world. Fixed op offers are great. Be creative don’t rely on your old retail habits.)

Consider the after-sale. I just bought a Camaro SS. Do you doubt that I’m prime for aftermarket and/or related offers? Heck, I couldn’t even find my tripometer reset until this afternoon. I’d be a perfect candidate to build a deeper relationship with, and you’d have a sales funnel extension.

(This is where a monthly newsletter come in play. It’s easy and you have the content if your blogging. Build the relationship!)

Equip your buyers with social extenders. People don’t buy cars fast enough for you to build a single relationship. Seek the referral, and the share. Not one local dealership had a Facebook Like button next to each make/model.

(This is relationship selling on a scalable platform. Insert social marketing into as many traditional or digital marketing efforts as possible.)

The New Marketing Triangle For You And Your Automotive Ad Agency

July 13th, 2010 -

The Master Merchandising Triangle has been the corner stone of retail advertising programs for the past 30 years. Inventory, Sales Staff and Advertising were the three legs to the Master Merchandising Triangle. Each need to be in place for an effective marketing plan.

The concept is this:

Inventory: Desirable inventory at the right price point is in place and ready to be promoted.

Sales Staff: A well trained and informed staff is ready to sell the promotional vehicles.

Advertising: An attention getting message and a good buy with lots of frequency is in place.

When all of these were aligned you could count on a successful promotion. Today; however, the advertising leg of this triangle has changed drastically. When Lee Galles created PRA (Planned Result Advertising) the only marketing channels available were broadcast television, radio, newspaper and direct mail.

As a result I would like to share with you the new Automotive Marketing Triangle.

The three legs of great automotive marketing are now:

Traditional Media “TV, Radio, Direct Mail, Newspaper”

Digital ”Websites, Text, Email, Banner Ads”

Social Media “Blog, Facebook, Twitter”

You can’t ignore these three critical marketing channels.

One doesn’t replace the other, they only enhance each other. When all three areas are
working effectively the integration is magical. They grow in strength with
each other and are enhanced far beyond their singular strength.

Today, many dealers are questioning traditional media. If you want to make
your traditional media stronger, add digital and social to your marketing
plan. If you want to make your digital marketing more effective, get
involved in social.

One reason dealers are hesitant to execute under this New Marketing Triangle
is budgeting. Budgets are tight and dealers are just not sure how to
integrate the three. Here’s some simple but effective advise.

70/25/5 Budget Plan

70% of your budget should be in traditional media.

20% percent in digital.

5% percent in social media.

Reality is this: Social Media doesn’t cost a lot of money just a lot of
time. You only need to budget $2,500 to have the most powerful plan in your
market. It’s really a no brainer.

Your automotive ad agency needs to get you on top of the New Marketing
Triangle. Three good legs are a lot better than two.

How are you doing on your new triangle?

What’s The Cost Of Survival? The Good News Is It’s Not That Expensive!

July 5th, 2010 -

It really is a matter of survival and you need to get your automotive ad agency on the ball. If they’re not prepared get some outside help fast.

Let me know your thoughts. Give me call if you’d like to discuss further.

Is Social Media Expensive? Here’s Some Advice For You And Your Automotive Ad Agency.

June 29th, 2010 -

What does survival cost? That’s what we are really talking about.

Social Media is being looked at by many dealers as an expense they can’t afford. If you’re questioning your investment into social media you and your automotive ad agency need to address two questions.

1) Do you want to be competitive in 3-5 years. In just a few years several of your competitors will own the social media market. You won’t be able to compete for this space. That’s right , you’ll be out of the game and there’ll be very little you can do about it.

So look in the mirror and ask yourself can I really afford not to be engaged in a serious social media plan?

2) Are you really in social media or are you just pretending to be a player. It’s easy to spot the pretenders. You just can’t hide. You’re either in or your out. You’re either doing it right or your doing it some other way.

Don’t be fooled by pretenders. CAUTION! They’re everywhere! They’re knocking at your door. Many live right inside your store. Pretenders will fool you into believing you’re on the right path.

IF YOUR SOICAL MEDIA PERSON HAS ANY OTHER JOB IN THE STORE, STOP!

This person can’t keep up. Trust me. If your store has passion and purpose this individual will not have enough time to keep you on point. This requires a full time effort.

After all we’re talking about survival!

I encourage you to review your social media implementation strategy. Time is critical. Do it right.

No imitations and no half baked efforts.

The cost of a great program really is not very much.

Ask yourself right now do you have the
time, resources, and expertise to run a social media program everyday?

The clock is ticking.

STOP asking yourself how can I afford social media and start asking how can I NOT afford social media.

Territorial Disputes: The #1 Killer of Social Media Programs

June 23rd, 2010 -

Don’t choke the messenger. I’m only reporting on experience!

If your Automotive Ad Agency or your Internet department is staking claim to social media be careful.

The #1 killer of social media programs is territorialism. In most cases this starts with people involved in the Internet department.

Now, I’m sure there are capable people in your Internet department but social media directors they are not. Just because they work on the Internet doesn’t automatically qualify them for this critical role.

Imagine you’re the coach of a football team. You’re down to one quarterback and he comes up hurt. You need a replacement. You need someone to take you to the championship game.
Do you go out and find the best available quarterback to run your offense or do you look to the center. That’s right the center.
The center raises his hand and makes his case. I’ve been handling the ball on every play all season. I’m the guy that starts every play in pressure situations. I’m a team player and I’ve been on the team for years. I think I can do this!

This is like handing your social media future to your Internet department.

There’s no track record to even suggest they can be successful. It won’t be followed with dealership traffic.

Your Internet department is paid to sell cars today. How long has it taken you to get the right people in the right place? Why move them?

Don’t be fooled by territorialism. Keep the right people in the right jobs.

Don’t move your prize receptionist to a service advisor. Don’t put your best floor guy in the Internet department.

So, think twice before you give your social media program over to your Internet department.

It may look like an easy solution but from my experience you’ll only lose time, money, opportunity and sales!

Ron, Wheeler, Founder/CEO, Wheeler Advertising, Tel-Edge, and the Wright Edge Advertising.

The Integration of today's marketing channels is the single most important task you have as a retail marketer. This blog is designed to assist you in discovering ways to integrate traditional, digital and social media into a dynamic free flowing marketing program. Up Your Ups is "An Integration Think Tank" and we look forward to your interaction with us.

If you have questions or if you have suggestions on how I can improve this site, please don't hesitate to email them to me at rwheeler@wheeleradvertising.com

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