Archive for the ‘Automotive’ Category
Last week I was at BlogWorld Expo in Las Vegas. It was a fantastic time to listen to some fascinating sessions and talk to my fellow social media geeks.
One of the much discussed features of the conference was that Ford had a bunch of cool cars in the parking lot that we could take out for a test drive. Obviously the hope was as well as personally warm to the brand and the brand representatives (from what I understand this was successful), they were also hoping folks would blog about the cars and the experience. Sadly I didn’t get chance to try the cars so I have nothing to report on that score, but I did talk to a few who did and who were buzzing about the whole thing.
If you are an auto dealership, how cheap and easy would it be for you to get some buzz in the same way? Turn up at an event with some cool cars, preferably something ordinary folks would never have a chance to play with. Just give people an opportunity for a pleasurable experience with nothing asked in return. You can hope, but don’t ask.
Does it work? Yes. It works very well. Check out this event where myself and others were invited along to a supercar day. We weren’t asked to but couldn’t wait to blog about it.
Guaranteed Buzz
Another approach is to provide outstanding customer service in social media and online. Go the extra mile, wow people with your responses.
Do not, however, fake customer service using social media as a bandaid. People can and will call you out on it. This article by Outspoken Media for example.
Last, you could court controversy. This is a high risk strategy that sometimes backfires. I would caution against it, and aim to steer you towards the more positive ideas above, but companies have had some success getting traction in social media and spilling over into traditional media by pressing emotional or political hot buttons. A recent example is this Obama halloween mask which, though in poor taste (and offensive to many), has spread around Twitter.
The key in all of these is to know in advance what you want people to say, and match what you want people to say with what they are interested in talking about. Do not give math geeks sports memorabilia and Disney princess fans the latest version of Grand Theft Auto 
What buzz campaigns have caught your eye recently? Please share in the comments …
Today I wanted to give you some insights into the investigations I have been making into Automotive Dealer web marketing efforts. Even if you are not in that market, you might get some ideas for how you can improve your own campaigns.
When you look around the web at any field in business there are often common mistakes, either because “that is the way things are done in our industry” or because everyone copies each other. Do not parrot a flawed model, optimize your web experience for customers so that they are more inclined to go with you rather than every other clone out there!
- Go commodity - The biggest mistake I see car dealers make on the web is an over emphasis on commodity features. What do I mean? Focus on price, or information every other dealer has. Where is the differentiation? This is the web, we can’t assume our website is the only one the visitor will read today! Provide a reason why the visitor should choose you over any of your competitors.
- Me-Me-Me – You know what? The visitor is not that interested in your CEO/MD/Sales team. Customers want some information, to feel a sense of trust and confidence, but when it is all about you then the visitor is turned off. Tune in to what the customer needs and wants to know, and get out of the way.
- “Check book marketing” – When I look at a lot of automotive company websites it is obvious that someone has opened their bank account to an agency and said “just make it happen”. Stale website, expensive non-optimized advertising, and me-too approaches. Most good agencies want to collaborate to make campaigns a success, make sure your agency emphasizes what makes you different and better rather than take the easy cookie-cutter approach that does not get results.
- Lack of engagement – Rather than put your customer at arms length you need to invite them in, get them to interact, invite questions, and know that you are responsive and have a customer-focus. This is like sampling your customer service before purchase, and also great for keeping customers around longer term. Even something as simple as a newsletter can start the process. Out of sight, out of mind!
- Rush – It is unlikely that a visitor is going to make a purchase the first time they see your site, so why are so many of these websites in a rush to get you out of the “door”? You need to hold interest and not be so eager. The customer could be at any point in the buying cycle from initial research to price comparison, so you need to be sensitive to these needs and help and encourage rather than push.
I think the root cause of most of these issues come down to
- Partial abdication of responsibility – You want a good job but do not feel you can get very involved in the process. In fact, you need to be involved because it is you that is being represented. The experience of your website will directly impact how your customers feel about you.
- Outbound thinking - By prioritizing what you want to say rather than what you want the visitor to experience you set yourself up to be a blowhard rather than a good salesperson. The best in sales are listeners first, remember that and you will not go far wrong.
- Building a fixed brochure – Websites can be so much more than brochures. Plus everything is measurable and can be continually optimized. Do not settle for mediocre, be constantly looking to improve and grow.
Thankfully all of these issues are easy to start fixing today, and they all start with your prospect. The more you can focus on pleasing and catering to your potential customers wants and needs the more you are going to give that positive impression you need in order to be competitive and make more sales!
As I explained in “10 Reasons Why Car Dealers Need to Get in the Social Media Game,” it’s more important than ever to connect with consumers. What’s going to stop a patron from going down the street and buying from your competitor?
So, you’ve taken the advice and signed up for the most popular social media sites– what’s next?
It’s time to use your social networks to build a community and improve your brand equity.
1. Do your research
Find out how to use your social media tools.
Here are a couple useful books:
The Twitter Book by Tim O’Reilly and Sarah Milstein
Facebook Marketing:Leverage Social Media to Grow Your Business by Steven Holzner
If books aren’t your thing, you can always utilize the web for information on the use of social media tools.
2. Who to add– Building your community
Your customers are doing their web research before venturing out to the dealership, make sure you find them first by establishing an online presence. Also, add your vendors and business partners. When following people on Twitter, remember that the rule quality over quantity applies. Soshable’s post, “Following on Twitter: Quality vs Quantity,” offers great insight to the science of building a following on Twitter. “Twitter is not a popularity contest.”
The “Cash for Clunkers” scheme may have jump-started car sales, but with the state of the economy, it’s safe to say that the program offered a temporary fix. Dealers are making sales few and far between. So now more than ever, it’s important to connect with consumers. Because after all, what’s to stop a patron from going down the street and buying somewhere else?
BOALT will soon be releasing a product to make the process of building these relationships easier and more efficient. We haven’t given away much information on our product for car dealers, but I’ll give you a hint– start thinking more about your social media strategy. I can also tell you that we are launching the product on November 1 at the 7th Annual Digital Dealer Conference in Nashville, TN.
Ten reasons why your company should be utilizing social media
1. Social Networking Sites have overtaken porn as the Internet’s #1 activity.
2. Twitter has seen an increase of almost 1500% over the last year.
3. Two out of three people on the PLANET visit social networks.
4. Time spent on social networks is growing at three times the overall internet rate.
5. 100 Million YouTube videos are watched every day and every minute 20 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube.
6. More than 5 billion minutes are spent on Facebook each day and more than 1.5 million pieces of content are shared on Facebook daily.
7. If Facebook were a country, it would be the eighth most populated in the world, just ahead of Japan, Russia and Nigeria.
8. If YouTube were a country, it would be the third most-populated place in the world.
9. 3.8 billion tweets and counting.
10. 68% of Internet users have used social networks, while only 65.1% have used email.
These are the social media realities. If you don’t have a social media strategy in mind, then you’re already behind.
BOALT’s Newest Fan
Sage and her BOALT Frisbee
BOALT would like to take the time to introduce our newest fan, Sage. She couldn’t contain herself when she got the Frisbee from our BOALT schwag package.
Sage, the Boxer, belongs to our friend Jason Tracy of Fresh Input Web Solutions. As we are breaking into the automotive industry with our top-secret project, Jason has been a tremendous asset to our team.
Want to know more about Sage and Jason?
Follow them on Twitter: @Boxerlicious @Freshinput
The Car Allowance Rebate System, better known as Cash for Clunkers, was created to encourage drivers to pull their gas guzzling monsters off the road and trade them in for something more fuel efficient.
Initially the government allocated $1 billion for the program that began in late July and was planned to continue through to November 1st, however, in the first week the $1 billion was already depleted.
President Obama’s administration is pressuring the senate to increase the program by $2 billion. The house has already weighed in with their approval.