Next Day Traffic

DON’T YOU BUY NO UGLY TRUCK

A little old lady, started as a sketch and turned into a phenomenon. Mike Strong and Tommy Charles created one of the funniest pieces of car creative ever. From the sketch to the real thing, this was a piece of advertising that stuck out in an ordinary market and has people talking about it 20 years after it ran in some markets.

If your advertising message is confusing and not generating any traffic for your dealership – you may need to get out on the edge…

How many of you host a monthly “New Car Owners Clinic?”

How many General Managers actually do vehicle deliveries for new car customers?

The answer is like the slogan for the US Marine Core… “A FEW GOOD MEN”

When traffic is down, you must (you are crazy if you don’t focus on ways to resell and up sell). I was sitting with a General Manager today and overheard his phone call with a doctor who was finalizing the details for his wife’s new SUV. The doctor went on with the GM about making sure his wife understood how to work the mirrors, and make sure her seat belt was adjusted properly, and make sure the radio was tuned to the station she wanted. He was doing all this and making such an effort because he cited that his wife never really understood how to work all the features of her old car and wanted her to be safe while driving the new one home without him.

I love cars. I would drive a new one everyday if I could. From Corvettes, to Land Cruisers, Scions to Expeditions – I would swap out everyday just to keep that new car smell and have the thrill of trying something new. I can’t imagine driving a car for 48 months and not knowing how to work the NAV or operate the seat heaters. Make sure your customers do, or else they may not be your customer next time…

A simple illustration (actually one we created back in 2006 for our dealers) to illustrate just how easy it is to create heightened levels of internet traffic. The image on the left shows how mass media drives web traffic, which ultimately turns into a call or text communication and finally leads to an appointment. The image on the right shows what a heightened search engine presence either through SEM or a Compended Blog can create for you. Internet Traffic is the cheapest to create if you know what you are doing and will make it rain hundreds of buying customers on your dealership if you treat them right.

From a little-known U.S. Senator from Illinois to the White House, in what, 18 months? President Obama has been on the fast track. Let’s hope his leadership puts America on an even faster track to recovery. From the confidence polls I have seen it appears the country has a more confident attitude about the future.

Two comments I would like to make on Obama’s rise to the pinnacle of the Presidency.

First, one of the producers at our Agency was big on President Obama’s candidacy from the get go. Everyday he would show me the email and text messages received from the Obama camp on issues, appearances and need for contributions.

Only history will bear this out, but I believe this President is not just the first black man elected, but also will be acclaimed as the first to win the biggest political prize by working the internet and his ‘voter body.’

I don’t remember exactly what Senator McCain’s comment was when they asked him about the Internet but it was something to the effect of “he couldn’t even turn on a computer!” If you are a dealer principal or marketing decision maker, the parallel between ‘winner’ and ‘loser’ must not be missed:  GET WITH IT OR GET LEFT BEHIND.

The second point is attitude. That 100% ‘we can do this’ mentality that overcomes all obstacles on the way to the top. Candidate Obama proclaimed, “It’s time for a change,” all along the campaign trail. The only thing that didn’t change was his belief that the brass ring was within his grasp no matter the odds.

Our market is tough right now, and our trail forward is going to be filled with obstacles. Give a tip of the hat to the new President and make yourDecision 2009 that succeeding comes with an attitude of I CAN, not, I cannot.

A McGraw-Hill research study from 1980 to 1985 found that those businesses which chose to maintain or raise their level of advertising expenditures during the 1981 and 1982 recession had significantly higher sales after the economy recovered. Specifically, companies that advertised aggressively during the recession had sales 256% higher than those that did not continue to advertise. 

The automotive environment does not always allow an operator the luxury of spending more in a down market, however, there is much to be said about “consistent spending.”  

By spending your dollars consistently month after month, in the areas that will “create” the most traffic, you can fix a lot of areas of your business that seem to be have a lot of ebb and flow.  

Auction Trends

In talking with dealers last week, located from New York to Texas, I have drawn one conclusion about trying to guess or plan for auction trends in different markets:

No two auctions are the same right now.

In Georgia, cars were bringing ‘clean book’ on Tuesday; there was a shortage and they couldn’t find enough to restock from the year-end push in December. However, on Thursday, another dealer in that same town reported that he was buying ‘back of rough book’. On the same day, in New York you could name your price. You could get what you wanted and pay what you wanted. Meanwhile, cars were scarce in Texas. So my advice to you – throw Automotive News in the trash, hit delete on Auto Remarketing Emails and look at your own trends and what has been selling the best in your defined market area and what your are able to retail the best. Your 20 Group buddy, your district manager, even your ad guy may all have information on what is selling and where it is – but you must employ and empower. Make your managers make the decisions. When they are wrong, hold them accountable and when they are right – recognize it.
In the next 60 months, Used Cars will either make you a fortune or a minimal amount of money. Prepare yourself by recognizing your own market and what you need to focus on with inventory. Then plan your advertising based on who you are selling and what you are selling and be prepared to make a fortune.

My close dealer friend, Ronnie Watkins, told me something the other day that every dealer or owners needs to remember and execute. Used car trends are seasonal. Certain vehicles will sell in greater numbers at certain times of the year. 

Every January, Ronnie knows which cars and price points he wants on his used car sale lot. He knows the ratio of import-to-domestic, value points, cash cars and wholesale pieces. Ronnie has created a system with his used car manager for keeping records and knowing what to plan for and when. You see as a Ford dealer (a Ford dealer who holds 25% Ford penetration in his county), his goal is make the 1st quarter get off to a ‘rock star’ start and get momentum moving in his direction early in the year. It helps with profit, it helps with attitude of sales people and it helps fuel his business model. A great used car strategy can be the difference in how much money you make in ‘09 vs. how much you lose.

Buying two weeks of network television with 500 rating points per week in a 4-day flight and backing it up with 20,000 direct mail pieces to your owners is like having 6 lbs. of dynamite:

On paper it doesn’t do that much to impress you, but when you set it off it can create one hell of a bang. In this market, YOU can create one hell of a share of voice and have an unprecedented ability to draw traffic to your store. 

This is the type of market where you have to be more focused and increase your frequency. You have to talk to the right group of people and spend the money to talk to them MORE than you do when times are good. But don’t ask me, ask some of these big name dealers who have owned multiple franchises for many years, spent millions on advertising and made hundreds of millions, if not billions. The share of voice and return on investment presents a great opportunity for you in this market.

1. Never Take No For An Answer
2. Give Value First
3. Treat All Customers Like Family
4. Always Tell The Truth
5. Prospect Everyday
6. Keep A Positive Attitude
7. Return Every Phone Call & Email
8. Underpromise & Overdeliver
9. Never Make An Excuse For Your Price
10. Keep The Faith

Toyota Dealer Advertising

A Toyota dealer who I was with today had his BDC manager in his office while we were having an advertising meeting. The manager was giving every reason in the book as to why his lead conversion numbers sucked. He cited the biggest reason is the growing number of customers that “do not return phone calls.” He said, “We call and call, and call again, but nobody will call us back.” I thought to myself, “That’s because your phone messages are weaker than well water.”

We live in a world where a customer watches shows like “American Idol” & “Family Guy” which dominate their dayparts in most markets. What you need to do is get creative to get these customers on the phone. Go out on the edge, leave an almost crazy sounding message and that probably will incite a call back – or at least they will think you are the most excited sales person they have ever seen. 

Be hyper and enthusiastic – don’t just call and say, “Mrs. Smith, this is John Paul calling from Strong Automotive, to follow up on…”  

STOP RIGHT THERE! 

Try this…

“Mrs. Smith, I have located the perfect black Camry, with all the accessories you had on your wish list, as well as the trim options and interior color you requested. This car just arrived. It’s shiny and has that new car smell. Please let me know when you would like to see it (then give name and number).” 

or a more serious approach…

“Mrs. Smith, buying a new car is a decision you will only make a few times in your life and I want to give you all the information that you need to so you can make the best informed decision.”

Whatever you do – get your salespeople away from leaving the same redundant messages over and over. Just think about the fit that my Toyota dealer pitched when he had to listen to excuse after excuse from his BDC Manager… Now get to work, monitor phone calls and spend some time listening to how your people are communicating.