Integral Dealer Developments Inc

Marketing Consultation

2019-06-26

Marketing is not a problem you can expect to solve by throwing money at it. There is no quick fix. The only true solution to a sustainable, long-term marketing approach is a comprehensive strategy that best utilizes your resources. Our consultation is fully customized, detail-oriented, and uses transparency as well as education to help you make decisions that are right for your business. We take a bottom-line approach and focus on increasing net profit as soon as possible while systematically encouraging long term growth.

Comprehensive marketing consultation analyzes the overall health of your business and the strategies you currently have in place. The first step involves an audit so we can paint a picture of the dealership from the owner’s point of view. The more information we receive, the better we can help you. Having a third party look at your business helps you objectively analyze your strengths and weaknesses. Even the most disciplined business owners are usually caught up in day to day affairs and have some difficulty with the balancing act. We will help you make executive decisions and bring a fresh perspective to your seasoned outlook.

First, we look at financials. Our audit analyzes gross sales, profit, and your gross marketing budget on an annual, quarterly, and monthly basis. This illustrates sales trends over the last few years as well as month by month. This information allows us to assess your financial strength, trajectory of your business, and marketing trends within your dealership. We examine which factors have influenced sales and isolate variables to determine internal and external factors that have affected your business. You only need to share information you are comfortable disclosing.

During the audit process, we breakdown your marketing approach by category. We look at every outlet independently while using compelling metrics to assess which strategies are most effective. We examine third-party websites, traditional marketing strategies, radio marketing, tv marketing, call center marketing, direct mail marketing, social media, google-AdWords, SEO strategies, web development, customer retention, email marketing, and more. We assess your budget for each category, strategies in place, call to action, target demographic, and more. We then breakdown each category further to assess the average number of leads per month, average cost per lead, average number of units sold, average customer acquisition cost, conversion rate, average net profit, and more. This data can show you which areas are most effective within your current strategy and shed light on how to move forward.

Lead generation is only effective if you have the infrastructure in place to convert leads into sales. Your business development center needs to be trained on best-practices to help receive leads and reduce friction as they are converted into a sale. Our consultation assesses your business development center in a systematic manner to view strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. We analyze your conversion rate through every marketing avenue, look at engagement rates on social media, examine remarketing strategies, reputation management, and more. Whether we work with the owners, a secretary, or an entire business development team, we will fine tune your strengths and weaknesses to help increase sales and maximize return on investment for your marketing budget and fixed overhead for salaries/wages. Before launching or tweaking any marketing campaigns, we ensure you have the personnel in place to capitalize on the increased number of leads and improve the conversion rate of your marketing strategy as it stands.

Social Media for Car Dealerships

2019-05-16

Social media is a great tool for both customer acquisition and customer retention for car dealerships. Social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram are both free to use and invaluable when it comes to branding, customer acquisition, and customer retention.

Building an audience on social media can be difficult. Fortunately, car dealerships have plenty of resources available to them for creating engaging posts. First of all, most dealerships have massive inventories. Put these cars in front of potential customers by taking high quality photos and videos of your inventory. In addition to posting pictures on a daily basis, promotions, discounts, and other calls to action can help build a fan base and keep users engaged.

Branding is an important aspect of social media utilization. Always be sure to stay authentic and true to your brand. Distinguishing yourself from your competitors with clever hashtags, competitions, and promotions, can have a huge impact on word of mouth business. Social media is an extension of everyone's social circle. It is a modern day word of mouth and can be extremely effective if you work the system.

Don't be afraid to set a bit of money aside to promote posts and subsidize your following. Building a social media presence takes time but throwing a bit of money at the problem always helps. This is especially important if you want to push particularly unique or compelling content.

Customer Retention

2019-05-16

Customer acquisition is the most difficult aspect of marketing. There are no shortage of car dealerships and getting a new customer through the door can be time consuming and expensive.

An often overlooked aspect of marketing but equally valuable to any business is customer retention. It is much easier to retain a customer than it is to find a new one. It is important to offer a quality product or service and make sure the consumer has a great experience. Assuming you satisfy your customer, the next step is retaining this customer as a long term repeat.

The most common methods of customer retention in the car business are through social media, service departments, email marketing, direct mail marketing, and follow up calls. By staying in touch with the customer and providing them incentive to come back to the dealer, you are positioning yourself for a future sale. If your customer acquisition costs are $1,000 per unit through traditional marketing, what would 5 free oil changes really cost if it keeps a customer happy and coming back to your dealership? At the end of the day, your cost on these oil changes might be $100 but when the customer wants a new vehicle, he'll know where to go. Service and direct marketing are a deadly combination to keep customers coming back for more.

If you don't have a service department, don't worry. You can still keep customers engaged through social media and email marketing. Both of these methods are free and easy to utilize by a capable BDC. Simply compile all of your customer's contact information and provide them with quality content, promotions, etc. to keep them coming back for more. Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, and more are all avenues through which you can keep old customers engaged. Try offering how-to videos, articles, cool photos, competitions, and anything you need to keep your audience engaged.

Email marketing is another free tool or minimal expense through companies such as Constant Contact or Mail Chimp. These websites allow you to draft compelling emails that are aesthetically pleasing and even provide you analytics on email marketing campaigns. They help you understand what your customers want to read and keep that communication line open for a future sale.

BDC Consultation

2019-04-10

Let us meet with your business development center to provide training and guidance to make their jobs more efficient and enable them to increase sales. With a comprehensive marketing approach we can often reduce customer acquisition costs and generate more leads without increasing your marketing budget.

Your business development center is the front line between potential customers and your sales team. They should help reduce friction from the moment a lead is generated and make the process from contact to sale as smooth as possible. A good business development center knows how to field phone calls in a courteous, professional manner. They also know how to respond quickly and comprehensively to email leads and third party site referrals.

They should know how to answer questions and add value to potential customers and their visits. Appointments are crucial but so are follow-ups.

Business development center management should be proficient in the basics of marketing. Hiring staff with a basic understanding of SEO, Adwords, Facebook, Instagram, and all the relevant third party websites can be very helpful for owners. By understanding the fundamentals of every potential avenue for customer acquisition, your Business Development team can increase revenue and reduce customer acquisition costs.

Analytics are an important aspect of running a business development center. Every customer that contacts your dealership should be screened for how they found you. By collecting this information, you can see how many leads per month come from each marketing avenue. You can then refine your marketing strategy by improving certain campaigns or throwing money at areas where the acquisition costs are meager compared to the number of leads generated. At the end of the day, the math is pretty simple.

Your business development center should never operate autonomously. Car dealerships thrive off customers that walk through the door. Management should meet with the BDC on a weekly basis at a minimum to discuss marketing campaigns, what’s working, and what isn’t. Collaboration can lead to constant improvement and bridge the gap between the different departments.

Google Search Network for Car Dealerships

2019-04-10

Google adwords or “pay per click” is broken down into a few categories. One popular avenue is for ads to display on the “search network” where they index on the SERP (search engine results page). Ads on the search network can target very specific keywords to take advantage of micro moments on the Internet. Used for both branding and sales, the search network is a great place to narrow down your target audience and pinpoint customers who are ready to buy.

The search network targets generic search results but can also be used on other sites such as google maps or shopping. Quality scores mixed with appropriate bidding dictate positioning on the search network.Certain keywords have more volume than others and higher bidding prices. The art of PPC is in finding the right keywords to target that maximize ROI for your business.

For smaller, independent dealers, it is best to micromanage adword campaigns to generate the most ROI. This process begins with choosing the right campaign manager. Most business owners have been cold called almost daily about “Being Listed on the Front Page of Google!” What a deal right? Wrong. Most of these businesses are looking to set you up as an account, bill you a few hundred (or thousand) per month, and use whatever budget you give them to loosely manage your money. Most of these companies do not understand your business. The management fees aren’t what really cause your business harm. The issue is how they allocate your budget.

Pay per click is an art that works differently for every business. Say someone searches “car dealership Miami.” The bid for this click may be $30 to rank on the first page of Google. Unfortunately, tons of car dealerships will show up. Yes, you only pay per click onto your ad but how close to purchasing a vehicle is this individual? More specifically, how close to purchasing a vehicle is someone who searches “car dealership repairs” Miami? You may actually show up in the search queue for a search that is related to repairs when you don’t even have a service department. When you have a poorly managed campaign, campaign managers will often overlook these erroneous clicks that should be prevented through negative keywords, phrase match keywords, and exact match keywords.

How about someone who searches “Used Nissan Sentra For Sale Miami”? Seems oddly specific right? Interestingly enough, the person who searches this keyword is much closer to the sale than someone who is looking for a car dealership. This “micro moment” is worth taking advantage of because the customer already knows what they want and you can put the solution in front of them. Exact match keywords like this will have less traffic per month but will cost less per click and have fewer erroneous clicks. When you put an ad together that lands the customer on a page with the exact car they are looking for that is complimented by a nice website and a good support team, you have a very high chance of turning this click into a sale.

Car dealerships Miami may get 10,000 searches per month while “Used Nissan Sentra For Sale Miami” may only get 1,000 searches per month. As a result, you will likely see far fewer clicks to your website by targeting the more specific searches. How do you compensate for this lack of traffic? Pair up your entire inventory with an exact match search. Doing so will allow you to target 50 different exact match keywords with a total volume of 50,000 searches per month. By targeting all the different makes and models of vehicles and focusing on local searches, you can actually have traffic from customers that are ready to buy and your customer acquisition costs will be much lower. In addition, lower search volume will eat less of your daily budget.

“Used Nissan Sentra for sale” is a phrase match keywords that may have extremely high volume and eat up a lot of your budget. Why? It doesn’t have local connotation. If you have incredible SEO and are able to target high traffic searches like this without paying per click, more power to you. For most independent and even franchise dealers, these searches are simply out of reach. It is better to narrow down the searches with local connotation, which will eat up less of your budget and get your inventory in front of customers who are in closer proximity to your dealership.

Search Results for Car Dealerships

2019-04-10

Many dealerships have grown accustomed to subcontracting their marketing efforts or giving their BDC autonomy and the budget they ask for. As a result, they rob themselves of the basic knowledge necessary for due diligence as a business owner. Owners should understand the basics of how search engines work and always keep an eye on their positioning in organic and paid search results. Nobody understands a business as well as its owners. Marketing bridges the gap between goods and services sold and the consumer. How you reach potential customers is paramount to your success as a dealership. Car sales is an old business but the latest technology can help you narrow down your demographics based on location, interests, search history, and more.

When an individual types in a search query, the SERP (search engine result page) will be littered with results. Whether the person is just looking for information or ready to buy a product, search engines will put the most relevant information possible in front of the user. These search engine results are broken down into a few categories. Both ads and organic search results will be displayed. The ads are positioned via quality score and bidding strategies by interested parties hoping to put their information, services, or products in front of a potential consumer. Ads can index in generic search results, on local maps, under shopping, and more. The actual ads can be generic or display ad extensions such as links to specific parts of your website or show reviews under a local listing.

Automobiles are a big purchase and a huge part of our economy and culture in the United States. In the digital era, many businesses have capitalized on this demand from a marketing standpoint. Third party websites have bridged the gap between consumers and their questions in a way that search engines can’t. CarGurus, Kelley Blue Book, Carfax, TrueCar, and AutoTrader are some of the many third party websites that help consumers learn about different makes and models of vehicles they are interested in. In addition, consumers can learn about the value of their car, the cars they may be interested in purchasing, and more.

Third party websites compete in search results for both organic searches and pay per click. As a result, it is challenging for dealerships to compete with these big businesses in search results. Dealerships need to acknowledge that these third party sites are multi-million (and multi-billion) dollar tech companies. They are big businesses and understand how search engines work. As a result, competing with these companies in search results requires tact.

There are a few things that your car dealership offers that these third party websites do not. The first is something TANGIBLE! Your dealership has the inventory. You have the cars sitting on a lot ready for their new owners. CarGurus doesn’t have a dealership down the street with 100 cars to choose from. Carvana has certainly tried to bridge the gap and create an online marketplace but at the end of the day, cars are a huge purchase. People want to see what they are getting. Another component that your dealership offers that these big businesses do not is a local context. You know your demographic and have the ability to target consumers in your area.

A sound marketing campaign knows how to capitalize on the strengths of your business and the weakness of these bigger businesses. Put your inventory in front of the customer through third party websites but don’t hesitate to compete in organic and paid search results as well. By using phrase or exact match keywords to display your inventory, you can snag customers by putting what the consumer wants in front of them. In addition, a good website combined with financing options and a decent inventory will allow you to reduce friction and convert leads into sales.

Car Dealership SEO Strategies

2019-04-10

Search engine optimization is the process of getting traffic through the organic search results on search engines. The process involves content generation, keyword analysis, link building, and more. SEO campaigns are comprehensive and time consuming but yield great long-term return on investment for targeted digital advertising. SEO may be a good approach for larger independent or franchise stores.

SEO is broken down into a few primary categories: on page optimization and off page optimization.On page optimization involves content generation that is geared toward your readers. Content should have relevancy, detail, and target keywords that are good potential avenues for outreach. Having reviews on your website such as information and breakdowns of certain vehicles are examples of on page optimization.

There is a certain flow to on page optimization that consists of meta titles, link structure, descriptions, headers, and funnel all the way down to keyword density in the body of your articles. Format is important for on page optimization but so is relevancy and original content. Search engines crawl your site and look at a variety of factors from relevancy all the way to user feedback. Search engines will analyze how long readers stay on your page which is called the “bounce rate.” This example of user feedback is examined by search engines because it shows how visitors respond to your website. Better user feedback usually suggests relevant content that is both engaging and valuable to visitors.

Off page optimization is made up of link profiles that dictate authority. Sites with higher authority have links from relevant websites that serve as a type of vote for website credibility. Domain and page authority is a way of measuring a website’s authority by using a logarithmic scale from 1-100 that shows the strength of a website. Higher-ranking websites have more links from more high quality websites. This popularity contest makes up off page optimization.

Sound SEO campaigns involve a combination of both on page and off page work. Check out websites such as Full Spread Consulting for more in depth articles on web development and SEO.

Vehicle Service Contracts Myths and Stigmas

2019-04-10

Vehicle Service Contract Myths and Stigmas

There are many stigmas affiliated with extended warranties. To some customers, the idea of extended coverage for a low price sounds too good to be true. The reality is that consumer protection laws, contract law, and insurance backing all serve to protect the consumer and enforce contracts. Just like any contract, VSC’s are face value and enforceable by law. Any reputable warranty company has an obligation to the customer and expectations by the car dealership to handle claims with integrity and due diligence.

Preexisting Conditions

It is not uncommon for a customer to buy a used car and return to the dealership a soon after with issues. These issues will typically initiate the claims process. The service department will start by diagnosing the problem. If the issue is a leaking seal, wear and tear such as worn out motor mounts, bad breaks, etc. the claim may be denied. Why? A head gasket leak for example doesn’t happen overnight. Seals take time to fail the same way break pads or tires slowly wear out. If a car has 100,000 miles and a claim is initiated 2 weeks after the vehicle is purchased, the likelihood that the claim is turned down due to preexisting conditions is substantial. Many dealers clean up an engine to conceal leaks and sell the car as-is. They then put the burden on the warranty company to cover issues that were actually already a problem at the time of sale. Preexisting conditions are a gray area that have been heavily scrutinized and lead to many myths about warranty companies. If an ac breaks 6 months after purchase or an engine overheats and breaks 2 years into a service contract, the warranty company should be obligated to pay assuming the items are covered by the contract.

Gap Insurance

2019-04-10

When you purchase a vehicle, depreciation starts right away. Many vehicles will depreciate about 20% in the first year. New cars and some high-end cars depreciate faster than average. Unfortunately, most insurance policies cover the market value of the car. This depreciated value is represented by the market value at the time of the claim. If a car is “totaled” (price to repair exceeds market value), the insurance will take the car and write a check for the market value of the vehicle.

Many customers choose to finance their vehicle at the time of purchase. Car loans typically range from 60-84 months and involve as little as 10% down. Say the purchase price of a car was $20,000. If you put $2,000 down and financed the remaining $18,000 with a 5% interest rate, you might have a monthly payment of $340 with a 60-month term. In total you will pay $2,381 in interest unless you pay off the loan early.

Unfortunately, accidents happen. If you drive this same car off the lot, and have an accident a year later, you will still owe $16,400 in principle. The purchase price of the vehicle was $20,000 but the reality is that the vehicle was likely purchased above book value from the dealer. The book price may have been $18,000 at the time of purchase and the first year of ownership may have seen 20% depreciation. The book value of this vehicle after one year may only amount to $14,400 but you could owe $16,400 for the balance of the loan after the car accident. Remember, insurance pays for the market value of the car at the time of the incident. Their contractual obligation is independent of your finance agreement.

In the example above, there is a $2,000 deficit after the car accident. During some scenarios such as rapidly depreciating new cars, this deficit might be even larger. When you total a car, you now have no car and are still paying a monthly payment toward a vehicle you no longer own. If you had purchased GAP insurance, this deficit would be covered by the GAP insurance policy (separate from your insurance policy). GAP insurance policies can usually be purchased from the dealer at the time of purchase or directly from your insurer. They help reduce risk when you finance a vehicle and insure financial peace of mind beyond the traditional insurance policy. When the loan exceeds the market value of the vehicle at the time of an accident, GAP has you covered.

When you purchase a GAP insurance policy directly from a dealership, they typically charge a flat premium.

Claims Process

2019-04-10

Most claims usually begin with an issue with the car. Ideally, these issues surface after the car has been on the road for some period of time. If there is an issue when you drive off the lot, this will usually qualify as preexisting and the issue should be taken up with the dealer. Once a service contract is purchased, the problem can be anything from the engine overheating to the a/c blowing warm air. Most of the service contracts have extensive coverage so the car can be taken in for service for even the most minor issues.

When a service contract is purchased, there are usually a few options for the deductible. Some contracts have a disappearing deductible where the service contract price has a minor increase to compensate for the lack of a deductible. Typically however, service contract claims have a $100 deductible (this is recommended to minimize unnecessary claims).

Most reputable service contract companies will pay full retail for parts and labor at any ASE licensed service facility. Usually the customer takes the car to the nearest service facility (if your dealership has a service department, lucky you). The service advisor at the service facility usually initiates the claims authorization. The customer pays the deductible and has a few options. One, they can get a ride or two; they can get a rental car. Most policies include rental reimbursement, towing services, and lockout services even travel reimbursement (if they are away from home when the issue arises). These services allow the customer to get the car to a repair facility without causing further damage to the vehicle or unnecessary inconveniences.

The service department will typically take notes from the customer’s complaint and follow the warranty guidelines defined by the terms and conditions within the service contract. These terms may vary depending on the company but during most cases, the mechanic on site diagnoses the problem. The service contract company will then either authorize the claim and initiate the repair or elect to send out an inspector. With a large network of independent inspectors, most companies can have someone on site within 24 hours. This delays the claims process but insures that an independent third party can assess the issue without bias.

If the claim is approved, the service contract company will pay the repair facility either by ACH, check, or credit card. Regardless, they usually pay full retail for parts and service and rental reimbursement if applicable.