There's a trend in which car dealerships use local television stations' web sites as an Internet alternative to drive sales. Accessed through station web sites, portals to dealership information can assist consumers looking to buy, sell, service...
Ralph Paglia worked at three car dealerships before taking a sales job with Reynolds and Reynolds, a major automotive information technology firm. While there, he said he'd never work for a dealership again. That was before I met the Gruwell...
If your Internet sales people are sitting behind a computer slamming out e-mail responses to purchase requests, it might be time for another strategy, says Shaun Kniffin, director-Internet sales for the Germain Motor Co. in Columbus, OH. Several...
What is the main element of success for selling cars online? First and foremost, the dealer principal must take an active role in making sure e-success happens. That means going beyond stated intentions and supporting the Internet department with...
As a former high school teacher, California auto dealer Mike Johnson believes in educating employees. He has created a “curriculum” for teaching rookies how to sell cars, training about 1,000 over the years, with four going on to...
If you have yet to embark into the automotive marketing land of “Search,” grab your ruby slippers and watch out for wicked witches while navigating through a confusing landscape. Search has become the latest buzzword for auto retailing...
Gone are the days when a dealership's Internet department was like a poor country cousin. It now is considered the place to work at many stores, and Internet leads are considered hotter and easier prospects than mere walk-ins.
I went shopping for a pre-owned car the other week. Was I ever dismayed at the lack of follow-up from the dealerships to which third-party sites had sent my Internet inquiries. Perhaps I'm biased. Having written about dealership best practices for...
Is your store foot traffic down, even as your brand maintains or even is increasing in share across your market area? It could be consumer website previewing at work. Dealers who complain of lower foot traffic could be falling victim to their own...
The battle for search terms and key words is becoming more competitive. Some dealers are getting frustrated with competitors who they say are engaging in unethical online marketing. One complaint is that some dealers, to drive more traffic to...