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 »
Posted by Dealer Specialties
Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!
June 10 2009 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
