Posted by Dealer Specialties
Combining the power of “instinct” and “knowledge”
by Al Hess, General Manager – Field Operations & Sales
I remember when I purchased my first car. My sister had a friend who worked in the loan department of a bank. This friend had access to two books, a ‘black book’ and a ‘blue book’. I had no idea what those colors meant, but it had to be important and secretive, or they would have had more descriptive names!
I was told that these ‘books’ were used by the bank to determine vehicle value and loan amount, and this knowledge was considered inside dealer information. That ‘best friend’ relationship my sister had, and the knowledge it provided created a feeling of empowerment. Now armed with a plethora of non-consumer information, I was ready to buy a car.
Fast forward several decades and “amazing how the car buying process has changed!”, all for the better! Now that the playing field among consumers, banks and dealerships has leveled out, how are automotive retailers adapting?
Like most movements, there are stages of innovation, awareness, adoption and even resistance. The current ‘pricing analytics’ movement in the automotive industry is no different.
There is a segment of the dealer population that continues to rely on the ‘gut instincts’ of a market savvy used car manager with close ties to street wholesalers and local auction pricing. Their marketplace is viewed as ‘local’ and these dealers have built a successful business on knowing their customer’s needs. These managers’ likely buy and price inventory much the way they always have, with possibly some additional help from price points found from simple searches on a few popular shopping portals. While this practice has worked tremendously over the years, I anticipate this legacy dealer behavior is shrinking, as more dealers move to embracing real time market intelligence, robust information from total market overviews, and inventory analytics provided by the growing popular segment of pricing analysis tools.
There have been new businesses created around this movement, and more industry vendors adopting some form of analytical tools within their current product offerings to meet the diverse needs of the dealer universe.
The ‘friend at the bank’ has since been replaced by the internet. There is no more ‘inside information’ rather transparency and empowerment to all parties in the retail process. ‘Profits driven by high grosses due to higher retail prices’ are being replaced by ‘profits driven by accelerated turn due to the right stocking and the right pricing’. It is an exciting time for automotive retailers due to the growing insight and access into business intelligence provided by innovative industry vendors. While yesterday’s dealers could only rely on the strength of its used car manager, tomorrow’s dealers will derive their success from the rich balance of ‘gut’ and ‘business intelligence’.
A growing % of dealers have moved with passion to gain an early advantage, others are ‘fast following’, and others are ‘waiting to see’. Yet all dealers will eventually be forced to adopt some form of advanced science into their pricing and stocking methodologies lest they risk being out-smarted by their competition and their customers, and they may not even know it.
What has been your experience of combining the power of “instinct” and “knowledge” to evaluate inventory price points?
May 25 2010 | Product Updates | 1 Comment »
Posted by Dealer Specialties
Digital Dealer (#DD8), Orlando Florida – Recap
by Al Hess, General Manager – Field Sales & Operations
This was my fourth Digital Dealer conference (DD8) and the fourth with distinct personality and content. Apart from other industry events, DDC is well worth the time and money investment. Digital Dealer reports that the Spring 2010 conference dealer attendance and exhibitor presence was at a record high. The two hot topics this year, based on my observations, were 1) pricing analytics (necessity, usage and market advantages) and 2) social media.
The discussion around pricing analytics remains interesting. The dealer community I speak with understands the general purpose and existence of the tool yet differ on how in-depth they need to go for a complete vehicle analysis and how much to invest in a corresponding product. Many are performing pricing analysis and comparisons using one of several free tools already embedded in an existing solution. Others invest in more robust analytics focused on per vehicle profit objectives, allowing such analysis to drive their inventory selection. If you attended the DD8 general session, you likely walked away as I did realizing there continues to be multiple methods for accomplishing the same result for marketing cars, stocking and turning inventory to maximize profits.
Social media discussions continue to focus on reputation management and the need to engage customers now in a social community forum. The risks are simply too great for any dealer not to be monitoring what people are saying about them, and forfeit the opportunity to engage online. The monetization of that social media effort comes not from a direct marketing strategy of advertising vehicles for sale, rather from promoting and protecting your brand and your community purpose. Selling cars can be a trickle down result from the extent of your social media presence and how well you execute what are now clearly defined best practices.
A third interesting observation is while many vendors had a mobile solution within their product offerings, there was very little session content around mobile. Mobile is a most exciting and opportunistic area for all retailers, including automotive retailers. This landscape is being crafted currently at rapid speed. I am very interested to see if DD9 at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas October 12 – 14 addresses this topic with more education.
What direction is your business taking to help select, turn and price inventory?
May 03 2010 | General | 2 Comments »
Posted by Dealer Specialties
Did You Say “Foursquare”?
by Vicki O’Neill, Marketing Manager
Have you heard the Foursquare buzz? Well, you probably have and that’s what’s brought you here – curiosity, interest, opportunities perhaps? I’m following the #DD8 twitter feed for the 8th Digital Dealer conference in Orlando this week and it’s interesting to see the tweets and comments about Foursquare. There seem to be a lot of questions about what Foursquare is under the #foursquare hash tag as well. So….let’s do this!
What IS Foursquare?
Foursquare is a location based application that allows iPhone, Blackberry and Android users the ability to “check in” to any business. OK….WHAT? The concept of “checking in” is similar to checking in to a hotel or for a flight. At a hotel, you let the front desk know who you are, that you are there and they give you a key. With a flight, you can go to the counter or check in online. On Foursquare, it’s very similar. You tell people who you are, whenever you go somewhere you “check in” – only it’s with your mobile device. Once checked in you can see who else is there, who the “Mayor” is and connect with them if you want. Once you have two check-ins more than any other participants, you receive your “room key”, “airline ticket” or in this case “Mayor”. More on “Mayor” status below. You can even add a 140 character message or “shout out” with your check-in. Pretty cool, huh?
- So….why is this important for businesses? Yes, it’s another social media tool, some think it’s a “fad”, but people are using it. So if people are using it, it’s a resource businesses need to be aware of intent, use and WIIFM. It’s also a new way to promote your business through word of mouth, connecting with “techy types” and to identify, maintain and reward loyal customers.
- What types of businesses will find value? Any that offer a product or service Seriously, any business where a patron/customer/prospect/shopper, etc. has the opportunity to leave with a positive experience, is the type of business that should know about Foursquare.
- How can car dealers benefit from Foursquare? My initial thoughts are 1) reward loyalty with discounts for oil changes, maintaining service schedule according to manufacturer or incentives for repeat vehicle purchases 2) give points toward a dealer incentive when items created on their to-do list are “checked off”, or 3) reward points for adding valuable dealership “tips” that others would find useful and increase floor traffic.
Why would I want to spend time using YET ANOTHER social media application? My time is precious!!
If you are interested in social media, new technology and an early adopter, you’ll want to use Foursquare simply for the pure pleasure of being “in the know”. How’s that for an answer? :-) BUT, thinking beyond that, and given it’s early adoption/acceptance by mobile users, it’s easy to see that this is going somewhere. When I joined about two months ago, the buzz was “why would I want to be on Foursquare?”. Now, it’s evolved into ”I think I need to be on Foursquare”. Why? Because businesses are starting to reward their “mayors” or loyal customers for their return visits. That’s really what it’s all about. Oh! And being competitive. We like to win things and show our accomplishments. But who likes to lose? How determined are we to get back our lost title or accomplishment? Ummm….I fall in the determined group so I might be somewhat competitive in trying to get a title back, #justsayin
What’s the deal with being “Mayor”?
- From a consumer standpoint…it shows where you prefer to shop, eat, visit, work out, etc. It’s a lifestyle list of who you are and what you like to do. With repeat visits, you are being rewarded for your loyalty with a special only available to you – the Elite!
- From a business perspective…it’s a way to reward or start rewarding the “mayors” of their business. We’ll use a car dealership as an example (since it’s the industry in which I work and a little more challenging to figure out how to make it work). There could be multiple Mayors for one dealership, i.e. Mayor of Oil Changes, Mayor of New Car Department, Mayor of Previously Owned, etc. However the dealership is listed for others to find/see in the list of businesses, those are all the options for “Mayor”.
Did you say I could earn a badge for that?
Yes, you earn badges for various activities and visits – most are not business specific but visit/frequency specific. Badges are more for users than they are for businesses. As a user, badges can range from your initial check-in badge or “Newbie”, “#4sqday Badge” – which you could only obtain on 4/16, or for 10 check-ins at venues tagged as a gym to receive your “gym rat” badge (to name a few). Here’s a current list of badges available and how to get each. Pretty impressive list!
A concern….Do I REALLY want people to know my EXACT location?? That kind of freaks me out!
Well, you can still use Foursquare and not let people know where you are. But what’s the fun in that?? There is an option during check-in that you can modify your “Share with Friends” notification to “No” for a specific location. What they see instead of the actual business name/location is “Off the Grid”. So you are still playing but no one knows where you are 
While Foursquare isn’t for everyone, it seems to be the next phase of social media. Early adopters are trying it and obtaining mayorships and badges now in preparation for what the future holds with Foursquare opportunities. The “competive spirit” types are tying it to see how many “Mayor” titles and badges they can get, but even more challenging, is to maintain their Mayor titles. You can learn more about Foursquare by visiting their site.
Check out this article by Mashable and how Five Top Brands are “Mastering the Game of Foursquare”. What potential do you see for Foursquare?
April 21 2010 | Social Media | 3 Comments »
Posted by Dealer Specialties
Mobile Marketing: The pie is getting bigger!
by Al Hess, General Manager
How Much Do You Want?
As auto retailers watch mobile commerce evolve, car dealers will need to begin developing a plan that incorporates this new consumer engagement channel. Stats point to consumer’s preference for going direct to a dealer’s inventory in search for the ‘product they want, and are ready to buy now’. Most mobile shoppers are interested in the core functions or utility in a website, and prefer a ‘digest version’ of the traditional site. Let’s all remember these screens are small and mobility has its own unique set of needs. Mobile auto shoppers want to see photos and read about vehicle features that interest them, and they expect a fast and diverse way to ask questions – how they want, when they want. You’ve heard the coined phrase ‘location, location, location’, right? Well, in the mobile world – it’s all about location, geo-location, which means search with immediate access to requested information with multiple call-to-action options in which the retailer may communicate. Mobile is PC computing with a broadband connection in the palm of one’s own hand!
So remember, whether the statistic is one out of five or one out of four consumers shop on-the-go, the ‘mobile point’ is they are shopping for cars – and it’s on their mobile device. And the number of mobile auto shoppers will grow in relationship with the exponential growth of mobile! To see an example of how to effectively promote your inventory on a mobile device, text ‘promo2’ to 50123, and click on the link.
If you are not engaging your shoppers properly in the mobile environment today, consider your store closed and your customers/prospects are going to the competition. Welcome to the mobile party where being ‘fashionably late’ may have its cost.
What’s the opportunity cost of NOT playing in this space? And is it worth the risk?
March 08 2010 | Uncategorized | No Comments »
Posted by Dealer Specialties
Mobile Marketing: Generating customers (part 2 of 3)
by Al Hess, General Manager
What was the last purchase you made on your mobile device? Really?
Industry stats and trends fluctuate and are only as credible as their source. Yet, it would be a wasted effort to argue the point that there are several core trends developing and capable of sustained momentum which will change how we all shop. Whether the last fixed phone line will terminate in 2015 or 2020, the point is people are abandoning fixed phone lines for their mobile device. We all want communications to follow us where-ever we go. Whether we text a billion messages or some other huge number last year, the point is many people have found an alternative to talking on the phone – instead they are texting because of the control, expediency and spontaneity of the tool. The personal efficiencies of texting have been embraced and leveraged to communicate in large scale, and still allows for texting to be fun and productive.
Regardless if retailers will double their mobile ad spend to $2B in 2010 or not, the point is retailers are finding value in investing in mobile and are migrating advertising dollars from broadband to where the traffic is: wherever they want to be. Whether or not smart phones are 20% or 40% of total handset penetration, the point is more hardware manufacturers are building more smart phones and more retailers are selling more smart phones. The perfect storm of decreasing hardware costs, decreasing data subscription plans, expanding supply and exponential growth in usage and value will continue to fuel this self-fulfilling cycle to the point where mobile technology will be core and central to much of our communications and daily culture, beyond what we experience today.
So what does this all mean to the retailer, especially the automotive retailer? It means being an early adopter is passé and forward thinking retailers need to have a mobile presence now. Think ‘websites’ five years ago. Mobile is the next frontier, right? It also means having your website built for a mobile world. Tapping and increasing screen size will not work in a mobile environment where consumers have choices to view actual mobile developed sites. Translate: lack of a mobile website = shoppers visit a website they can actually read and enjoy! These same trends also reflect a dealer’s need to carefully evaluate spending on features and advanced technologies that have yet to be proven on a larger scale, specifically mobile e-commerce.
Past behavior predicts future results, right? If so, will your local market’s behavior change to accommodate technological advances or will they hold their ground with traditional means?
March 02 2010 | Mobile Technology | No Comments »
Posted by Dealer Specialties
Mobile Phones: Not just for talking! (Part 1 of 3)
by Al Hess, General Manager
What was the last thing you did with your phone? I bet it wasn’t making a phone call.
Mobile Usage Q4 2009
You can’t go anywhere anymore and be immune from mobile technology. It’s not just the lives of who we know that are impacted. People are using their mobile devices for so much more than talking: texting, browsing the Internet, sending photos, interacting on Facebook or posting on Twitter, downloading apps, and listening to music. A mobile device, or smart phone, could probably occupy our entire day with the plethora of applications to use!
Mobile is clearly changing the lives of people across the globe: whether introducing pricing and distribution efficiencies into agrarian societies where none existed, implementing new forms of commerce exchange where even national banking systems have failed, or enhancing communications and knowledge transfer onto a new medium. And the impact of mobile technology is present and clear.
I continue to be amazed as I see a constant presence of everyday people talking, reading, browsing and texting in airports, in stores, in hotels, on beaches, on planes, walking down a street, or when driving cars! There are no age demographics that remain untouched. It is almost robotic in behavior!
The ubiquitous of mobile communications is apparent and its growth curve remains impressive. With more mobile phone plans than population and with more internet access included with each new plan, there is mounting evidence that the race for the central hardware device in our lives will be the smart phone, capable of completing the needed communicative tasks in one hand, weighing in under 5 ounces, and its preferred access to the Internet will be through a ‘browser’ viewed in a 1 square foot window. Amazing!
How does the migration from a traditional phone line and desktop computer to a mobile smart device effect how consumers find information, make purchases and share information? More importantly, in our business, how do you anticipate mobile technologies affecting how shoppers find your dealership, want to buy a car or truck from you and create long term customer relationships?
February 25 2010 | Mobile Technology | No Comments »
Posted by Dealer Specialties
by Glen Garvin, Dealer Specialties
Why a recapitulation? It sounds so much better than a “recap”… more professional… more important…
I think this was one of the best NADA conventions I’ve ever attended. Dealer attendance was up from last year, but still significantly down from years past, it’s not all about quantity. The quality of engagement, conversation, networking and learning was outstanding! Here are a few random thoughts and notes that a few days after the convention are still resonating with me:
- Driving Sales is going to be huge. That’s not a news flash or an outlandish prediction but Jared Hamilton’s a huge rising star and with some recent tweaks, the site will become more and more useful as an industry resource and community. #justsayin…
- A few shots have been fired at GOSO recently and I was surprised myself that their booth wasn’t more well attended or a bigger splash. I had predicted they’d be one of the biggest buzz makers at NADA and that didn’t really happen. Don’t get me wrong, I think their Facebook application for inventory is slick but it’s not exactly difficult to replicate. They’ve got a nice presentation; it just didn’t show well at NADA.
- The one booth I didn’t get a chance to see that did generate some positive buzz was Dealer Mouth. I need to check them out… seems like they were one of the surprise winners.
- The NADA workshops were seemingly well attended. This was my first time as a workshop speaker and I definitely had it easy with a great panel, but our sessions were standing-room-only and many others were as well. I think this just goes to show how engaged the dealers were at this show. If you haven’t heard Suzuki of Wichita’s story and how they operate, I suggest you do! Changing the way things are done! Special thanks to Eric Miltsch of AuctionDirect, Tom White Jr of Suzuki of Wichita and Paul Potratz of Potratz Advertising.
- I’m a little biased but this was the first time Dominion Dealer Solutions really came together under their brand and the booth was busy the entire show. It presented well, looked great and sparked dealer interest. The ultimate goal of packaging together integrations between their powerful brands is in progress but even now some offerings have realized these synergies and special pricing packages have been put together. Pretty cool to see this emerging.
- Perhaps I had low expectations but the Dealer Track Open-Track event was really well attended. It looks like they increased the number of marketers, evangelists and promoters of their product that night. And, of course, the DT party was great afterwards. Cuba Libre is an awesome place.
- I think one of the best things Dealer.com has going for them is how actively engaged their personnel are in the industry. They are everywhere, engaged everywhere, learning and sharing everywhere… speaks well of their entire organization. They have a very good product but the people in their organization make them who they are!
- And I think Rafi Hamid has cloned himself… I see him too frequently in too many places for Rafi to be one person. In fact, I think I saw him with and without a beard within minutes of each other. Keep an eye out for that…
February 22 2010 | Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
Posted by Dealer Specialties
What will you make of NADA this year?
by Glen Garvin, Dealer Specialties
I’ve been attending NADA for quite a number of years now and in that period of time I’ve changed my outlook on the conference considerably. Fair warning: I’ve never attended as a dealer, always as an Allied Industry or Exhibitor and this year as a Speaker (plug: http://bit.ly/bhL6ru). Despite not being a dealer, I would guess that many of you have changed your outlook as well… especially in the last few years.
Pre-registration attendance is up this year but still well behind two years ago. My perception is that in the preceding years, dealers and managers would attend for some “get-away” time mixed with a couple of soft agenda items such as, “I’m looking for a new CRM company” or “I want to investigate website opportunities”. Dealers would highlight some vendors in the NADA book and off they would go. They might sit in on some workshops and their OEM meetings… then spend some time having fun.
How does that differ from today? Oh, I still think dealers know how to have fun and will make time for that. It’s understandable, rational and well-deserved after putting 2009 in the books. Surviving 2009 alone is a feat and the “industry correction” has caused dealers to re-examine things they haven’t in a long time… to become more engaged… to be more hands-on. The result? Operations that are more efficiently ran, leaner and better. In many ways this is easily compared to pruning a tree. I’m always nervous about doing this as I worry that it won’t grow back better and stronger as anticipated…and it always does!
So, with dealers more operationally and strategically focused, what does this mean for the NADA conference? I think we’ll see that translate into more engaged dealers with more specific agendas. There won’t just be highlights in the pre-show book, but questions and plans to see more, learn more, attend more workshops, engage vendors in thought provoking conversations and more idea generation.
What can you do to help make the most out of NADA? Here are some tips:
- If you engage on Twitter or Social Media, follow the sites. Follow @2010NADA and #2010NADA. If that doesn’t mean anything to you (or even if it does) you should attend one or multiple of the social media workshops being held at NADA! Here is a link to all of the workshops offered: http://bit.ly/drjH9x
- Visit your current and prospective vendors. Here’s a list of the exhibiting companies http://bit.ly/bwLWKF. Why your current vendors? What better, non-pressured place to engage, learn and ask questions?
- Network. At lunch, on the shuttle bus, at social events, anywhere… ask others, “What did you see that was interesting?” or “What was the best thing you’ve seen?” or “What workshops did you attend?”
More than anything else, make a plan and enter the 2010 NADA convention with the “end in mind”. What do you want to walk away accomplishing and then make a plan to reach that goal. But don’t forget to have some fun too… you’ve earned it! Here’s a good place to start: http://bit.ly/agvuao
February 10 2010 | General | No Comments »
Posted by Dealer Specialties
by Glen Garvin, Group General Manager
If you could let your Twitter followers know what vehicles you have in stock, would you?
It is an exciting time at Dealer Specialties for many reasons and the most tangible reason is the release of our new Inventory Management Software, IVM 3.0. With an incredible amount of new tools enhanced by a new customizable user-interface, IVM makes inventory management easy and robust at the same time. The press release with more information can be found on our website. The most recent feature is the ability to post vehicles to Twitter which will be available next week in IVM 3.0.
There is a cautionary tale to be told about this, however. This is similar to giving my son a $300 baseball bat. Used under the right circumstances, he’ll have great results. However, my son is seven and left to his own devices, I’m quite certain there wouldn’t be a piece of furniture, door knob or light fixture without significant damage. There needs to be some rules or at least some guidelines in place before he takes possession.
So, let’s say you don’t want to damage your furniture with your new bat… how do you utilize Twitter without messing stuff up? Here are some things to do:
1) If you don’t have an account, get one. Easy to do. Go to www.twitter.com … you’ll figure it out on how to sign up. If you struggle with this… seriously… give up. Spend a couple minutes uploading a photo and putting your information in your profile.
2) Figuring out what to do on Twitter seems difficult at first… that’s why a lot of people quit quickly. Try to find some folks you know to follow. Follow @getauto @dealrspecialts @ggarvin for sure (duh). Follow people and they’ll start following you back… some will anyway… people are cool like that.
3) As much as you want to play with your new toy… you really can’t make much use of it yet… sorry. You need to start listening, following conversations and watching news items. Explore. Search. Try http://search.twitter.com/ and type in some topics of interest. After you listen, then engage…
4) Once you understand the landscape, you can start to post some stuff where you might be able to make some money… but don’t think about the goal of selling a car. Think about engagement and how you can help people. For instance, winterizing tips or other points of value…this will engage more people.
5) So, you want to sell a car on Twitter? Think of a win-win scenario… are you the type who walks into a cocktail hour or happy hour and announces that you have cars for sale with a megaphone? I hope not. Same thing here…do you have a nice car for sale? Maybe one that stands out, one that is unique, one that is specially priced or in high demand? Well, then… now you’ve got something. Post it out there… just don’t do it too much or people will stop following you. Who wants to be solicited all the time? Maybe one a day or 3-4 specials per week? It is easy to do in IVM, just set your Twitter account up under settings, then click on the vehicle to post to Twitter. It’ll give you the default information for the vehicle like the year, make and model and a shortened URL… be sure to add some description to why it is a special vehicle or special price.
Just realize that even a $300 bat sometimes misses the ball… so just keep swinging – just not too often 
January 29 2010 | Product Updates | 2 Comments »
Posted by Dealer Specialties
Welcome to the new Dealer Specialties website! Launched June 30, 2009, the site creates a more comprehensive user experience and displays a complete representation of products and services offered.
Take a look and let us know what you think. Were you able to quickly and easily find answers to your questions? Is the information valuable? What’s missing, if anything?
We look forward to your comments and feedback.
Thank you!
July 01 2009 | Company Updates | No Comments »
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Combining the power of “instinct” and “knowledge” 
There is a segment of the dealer population that continues to rely on the ‘gut instincts’ of a market savvy used car manager with close ties to street wholesalers and local auction pricing. Their marketplace is viewed as ‘local’ and these dealers have built a successful business on knowing their customer’s needs. These managers’ likely buy and price inventory much the way they always have, with possibly some additional help from price points found from simple searches on a few popular shopping portals. While this practice has worked tremendously over the years, I anticipate this legacy dealer behavior is shrinking, as more dealers move to embracing real time market intelligence, robust information from total market overviews, and inventory analytics provided by the growing popular segment of pricing analysis tools. 
