Top Posts

• Why build a lead marketplace?
• Reply.com Launches World's First Marketplace For Enhanced Clicks™
• Reply.com Launches Auto Loans in its New Lead Exchange

Categories

• Ad Networks
• Affiliate
• Auto Loans
• Autos
• B2B Lead Generation
• Click Marketplace
• Economy
• Enhanced Clicks
• Insurance
• Interesting Companies
• Lead Generation
• Lead Marketplace
• Lead Quality
• Online Marketing
• Press Releases
• Real Estate
• Reply! Coverage (Autos)
• Reply! Coverage (Real Estate)
• Reply! News
• Research
• Search
• SEM – Paid Search
• Social Media
• Special Finance
• Tradeshows
• Uncategorized

Free Lead Generation Tips

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

RSS Feeds

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Community

In the September 15th, 2008, Commemorative Edition of Automotive News, we celebrated GM’s 100-year anniversary.  Keith Crain, Publisher and Editor-In-Chief, said, “General Motors has magnificent heritage.  It will be fascinating to watch its second hundred years.”  Crain couldn’t have said it any better.  GM today sent out 1,100 FedEx letters to dealers, apparently stating, “We do not see that GM have a productive business relationship with (your dealership) over the long term,” according to a copy of the letter that the Associated Press received.  This comes one day after Chrysler closed 789 of their stores.

These cuts are only a portion of the 2,600 stores reportedly expected to close, which means we have yet to see the worst for GM.  In addition to the closings, 470 Saturn, Hummer, and Saab dealers are awaiting their fate as GM plans to sell these brands.  Chapter 11 for GM seems inevitable, although we’ll have the final ruling on June 1.

What will the next hundred years look like for GM?  Will there be a 200-year anniversary Commemorative Edition of Automotive News?  I certainly hope so.

My thoughts are with all the hundreds of thousands of people that were directly affected by the Chrysler and GM closings, but the questions that have always been in the back of my mind even before all this happened is, ‘Why did the domestic brands allow the gross over-saturation of their dealerships?  How did GM allow 25 Chevrolet stores (which was close to 40 only two years ago) to be opened in a 25-mile radius of Chicago?’  I can’t be the only one thinking this.

I agree with Keith Crain, but I think it will be more fascinating to watch the next five years, and I hope for nothing but the best for GM and all automakers.

Let’s hear your thoughts.

While there have certainly been rumors flying around our office (and probably yours, too), it became fact yesterday: Chrysler announced that 789 of their 3,188 dealers nationwide will be forced to close.  This is a 25% reduction in their retail network, and I’m guessing it represents close to 40,000 people losing their jobs.  Once the list became public (click here for a PDF copy), I immediately printed it out.  All forty pages, stacked higher than any other stack of papers on my desk, now stares me in the face with a big black binder clip holding it all together…this report is too large for a staple.

It’s been stated that between Chrysler and General Motors, the two automakers will close roughly 3,000 stores nationwide.  I guess that means when I print out the General Motors list, I’ll need to take it to Kinko’s and have it spiral-bound.

This is, without a doubt, a sad day in history.  My heart goes out to all the dealers and their families that have been impacted by this announcement.  As I scrolled through the list, I spotted at least two dealers on each of the forty pages with which I’ve spoken at one point or another over the past five years, and I’m shocked at some of the names on this list.  On an afternoon conference call with a business partner of Reply!, we learned that this company’s largest local advertiser (a Chrysler dealer) was also shut down today.

So what does this mean for us?  In my opinion, it means the auto industry is approaching rock-bottom—and I say that in a positive way.  With all the stores that have closed—and all that will be closing—the domestic dealers left standing should be healthier.  I am also hopeful that the remaining dealers embrace performance-based advertising and invest in media where they can measure the return on their investment.  At the very least, consumers know they can get a good deal on a new car right now and demand for consumer leads should be maintained, as dealers will fill in the gaps to service new consumers.  More consumers buying means more dealers selling, and that’s a step in the right direction.  We look forward to providing dealers with a highly-measurable online marketing platform for the acquisition of locally-targeted Enhanced Clicks™ and leads.

I could continue sharing my opinions, but I’d like to hear yours.  Please share your comments with us.

You’ve all seen it… You drive past your local car dealership that’s been in the community for longer than you’ve had a driver’s license and *poof!*  The next day it looks like a ghost town.  Anyone who’s traveled out of Oakland International Airport recently has probably noticed that the brand new, multi-million-dollar dealership that was built right off the Hegenberger exit with a three-story, state-of-the-art facility only a few months ago, is now completely vacant.  This is only one of the 3,800 dealerships reportedly expected to shut down by the end of 2009.  I hate to admit it and I don’t even know if I’m old enough to say this, but times have changed.

A wise man once told me that the definition of “insanity” is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result.  I’m not sure where this definition came from (anyone know?), but it’s true.  If you ask me, retail auto dealers have two choices:

• The first choice they can make is to bury their heads in the sand, keep everything status quo, and hold their breath waiting for things to get better.  Dealers can continue the same Internet marketing strategies, measuring results by the same metrics and, hoping that we’ve seen the worst of it, take the Annie approach–keeping their fingers crossed that the market will pick up “tomorrow.”  Tomorrow never comes.
• The second choice they can make is to accept the fact that we’re facing challenging times, and start figuring out what they can do about it.  They make decisions to change their marketing strategies in correlation with the economic climate.  They realize that the days of a 15% closing ratio may be in the past for now, and that if you’re doing 5-8%, you’re still doing a great job.  Don’t mistake this for accepting mediocrity, folks.  I call it working hard, but working smarter. 

Many dealers have recently reached out to us, asking how they can improve their results with all of their Internet prospects.  A trend that’s been catching on lately is reevaluating their territories, meaning the geographic areas from which they’re pulling consumers.  You know that cross-sell report that the manufacturer sends you every month?  C’mon, sure you do. It’s that report that you immediately place in your circular file as soon as it comes across your desk. 

Cross-sell report… Who needs it?  You do, and so do we.

As every dealership knows, a cross-sell report gives them an enormous amount of data, such as who bought cars, what dealerships sold them, where the customers live, and even what banks the deals were financed through.  Dealers can tell how many sales they lost from their own backyard to their competitor, and this section of the report is usually called the “pump-in/pump-out” report.  Some of our most successful automotive clients have been using their cross-sell report to strategize on their third-party lead territories, and it’s working.  Based on dealer feedback, we’re finding that while a 50-mile radius around the dealership used to make sense even a year ago, it’s no longer the smart way to buy leads.  Plainly stated, just because that territory worked for you in the past, doesn’t mean it works today.

Ben Gensch at Parks Chevrolet in Augusta, Kansas, recently found success in changing his territory.  “Because of a struggling economy, our dealership was forced to make adjustments to our advertising campaigns and strategize new ways to maximize our exposure without compromising excess spending,“ Ben states.

“Having the right mix of key ingredients is the solution to a more profitable Internet department.  One of those ingredients is purchasing third-party leads.  Historically, we were targeting a 75-mile radius that generated many leads, but also created busy work that produced minimal sales and lacked efficiency. We decided the only way to maximize our opportunities was to narrow our target zones and focus on key zip codes that were historically making us money. “

Ben looked at his cross-sell report and realized that the majority of their recent sales were in their target PMA.

“As we all know, most dealers have been forced to get more aggressive on price, therefore making it a ‘buyer’s market,’ especially on new vehicles. Research indicated many surrounding dealers are fighting for the same customer, and all were within a few hundred dollars of each other.  The dealership that is closest usually wins the sale.  Ever since we looked at our cross-sell report and decreased our target zone to a 10-15 miles radius, our opportunities for closing those customers became significantly higher. The end result was a better return on investment, higher gross sales, and better CSI.“

Some dealers may choose to limit their territories to areas in which they’re already doing well, while others may choose to go after the areas in which they’re losing business.  I suggest they do both.

Is it time you reevaluated your coverage areas for your Internet marketing?  Absolutely.  Dig that cross-sell report out of the trash, start using it for what it was designed for, and let your third-party lead providers know where they should be generating leads for you.  Times have changed–so should your marketing strategies.

Good selling.

Reply! is thrilled to be sitting on J.D. Power’s Automotive Roundtable, October 14-16, 2009.  Since 1986, the Automotive Roundtable has become the premiere forum for auto industry leaders and executives to share and discuss the developments and market forces that affect the automotive industry.

Upcoming Meetings

Automotive Internet Roundtable – 2009
October 14-16, 2009
Red Rock Resort
Las Vegas, NV

Speakers at the meeting include CEOs and senior business leaders from automotive manufacturers, global suppliers, major retailers, and experts from the corporate, industrial, financial, technological, political, and consulting sectors.  If you are attending the event and would like to schedule a meeting, please let us know.

The news on autos continued slide is wide spread.  I find the image below a powerful example of the challenges facing the industry.  In fact, several articles forecast a very bearish forecast 10 million units in 2009 and if accurate, paints a  challenging year for the industry.

Even with gas prices under $2 a gallon, inventories are growing and many in the industry see heavy incentives necessary to to move vehicles and engage consumers.  According to Jim Lentz at Toyota, “the biggest issue we have seen is the lack of people coming through the door.”

To me there is encouraging news with the unfortunate downturn in auto sales – eventually dealers are going to  embrace online and aggressively move wasted offline advertising to the Internet where they can produce and track measurable results.  This is a new year,  it is a great time to test and improve the bottomline.  At Reply! we have powerful tools to either drive leads to your business or qualified clicks to your website.

Need consumers or traffic – we can help.

According to an article in today’s USA Today, Ford says November U.S. light vehicle sales tumbled at least 31% while  Toyota sales fell 34%.  They are the first major automakers to report U.S. sales. 

Despite the downturn in sales, Reply! continues to see strong demand for online automotive Leads. 

Below is Reply!’s presentation from Digital Dealer 2008. Additional posts from our time spent at this year’s Digital Dealer conference can be found here:

• Digital Dealer Wrap Up
• Reply! and the Dallas Mavericks Dancers…

Few things in life bother me more than management teams of various companies conveniently blaming their shortcomings on the macroeconomic environment. Never mind that before the slow-down their company wasn’t in a much better situation.

When was the last time Chevrolet, Ford, or Chrysler produced the best-selling car in the country? Over the last ten years—besides the massive, gas-guzzling SUVs that lacked any significant innovation—what other claims to fame do these companies have?

Is it really that complicated to figure out that the market responds positively to cars like Accord, Camry and Prius? How many millions of these models do Toyota and Honda need to sell in order for the domestic manufacturers notice the trends?

Interestingly enough, I see similarities between the problems plaguing the domestic “big three” and a company in a very different industry, Yahoo. They all try to solve their problems through deal-making, rather than turning to innovation and a long-term, viable, differentiated strategy. Combining Chrysler and GM for the cash is a horrible premise and, for synergies associated with volume and size, is an even worse idea. You get to the right volume by introducing models that consumers want to own, not by combining models that should have been cut long ago and will continue to lose market share.

Here is a 5-point plan that I think will go a long way toward putting the American car makers back on the road:

1. Own a product-line that’s made up of winners
   Car makers produce cars to make money, period. They should shut down all money-losing models, now. There should be no loyalty to any brand because one of the executives gets nostalgic when he rides in one. Kill the money-losers and cut enough elsewhere to become cash flow positive now—this quarter.
2. Simplify your plan and, in the short-term, only commit to proven strategies
   Cut the consultants and simply listen to the market. Don’t get too fancy with your products for the short run (the next 2 to 3 years). You need to have your own Camry, Accord, and Prius.
3. Communicate a killer strategy for the next 10 to 20 years
   As a nation, we like big ideas and big thinkers. Take a big bet and act like a visionary—become a visionary. For heaven’s sake, you guys have been in this industry for over 300 years combined. Where do you think the industry will go in the next 10 to 20 years? Solidify and communicate a differentiated, growth-oriented, and exciting strategy. Not only will your employees get fired up, but your customers will come along for the ride.
4. Bring in new, driven, motivated leaders
   Bring a CEO from a distant industry and a distant geography. Let’s see, people in what state buy a lot of foreign cars? California? Great, bring a CEO from that state. Steve Jobs would be great. You need a visionary, not an operator. All of you have excellent operators.
5. Deal with UAW
   The Union needs to wake up and understand that you can no longer be an employer that also produces cars but, rather, you are a car maker that employs qualified, professional, and hard-working people so you can make the cars and always earn a handsome profit. These employees should get paid a wage that represents their fair market value, and should be treated as your most valuable asset. You need to have the right to increase or decrease the size of your employee base as the market changes and opportunities arise or vanish. Any other type of relationship will not allow you to build a sustainable company for any of the parties involved.

To get the above done, you don’t need money from the government. In fact, I suggest that you stop wasting your time in Washington, and instead focus your efforts on fixing your own problems and cut enough to reach sustainability without counting on outside help. Own your problems and seek opportunities in the current market.

We have a nation of 300 million and a planet of over 6 billion screaming for cheaper, smaller, and more fuel-efficient cars. All car makers will be doing exactly that over the next 5 years. How will your approach be different than the simple, generic response we have come to expect form Detroit? Give it a try and surprise us with a response that does not further confirm the depressed nature of the industry but, rather, will uplift us by communicating your visionary strategy for the next decade or two and live up to your own, legendary past.

We’ll all be there to cheer for you and will drop our Toyotas and Hondas so we can once again own a symbol of American ingenuity.

My sincerest wishes for your success.

Payam Zamani
A founding father of the online automotive industry

I’ve been in the online lead generation industry for four years now and, in our business, it makes me a senior citizen.  I’ve worn many different hats at Reply!—from starting out on our retail automotive sales floor, selling to single dealerships, to managing our entire Retail Automotive business.  I’ve also worked with real estate agents, selling face-to-face at the National Association of Realtors Convention in 2004.  While I’ve never directly sold cars or real estate, I speak to lead buyers all day long.  In all the feedback I’ve received, there’s one thing I hear time and time again; Internet leads only work when they are worked.

Most lead buyers are constantly hiring and firing lead providers because “the leads don’t close.”  Six months down the road, they get a call from the provider they left, and the salesperson discusses changes to lead generation techniques and validation processes. The dealership or real estate agent gives the provider another chance—six more months pass and the leads “still don’t close,” and the cycle repeats.

Why don’t leads close?  Is it the lead buyer not properly working the leads, or is it the leads themselves?  I believe the answer is, “Both.”  Some of our clients tell us our leads were a waste of time, while others depend on us to hit their monthly sales targets and are very profitable.  Both are right, depending on how leads are called and nurtured.

The lead provider has two responsibilities: setting the right expectations and offering controls for the buyer to segment.  It is the provider’s job to communicate that Internet leads need to be worked and, when a buyer closes 10 of 100 leads, the other 90 will never transact.  It is the provider’s job to explain the follow-up process that is most successful when applied to Internet leads and discuss that lead validation is imperfect, so the lead buyer understands invalid leads are part of the game.  Ultimately, it’s the provider’s job to send leads that are intentful.

Assuming the right expectations are set, the buyer has the responsibility for working the leads.  Our most successful clients tell us that Internet leads are no different than floor traffic or face-to-face appointments—they need immediate attention.  Their auto-response emails are immediately sent to the consumer, and a phone call is placed within five minutes of a lead being received. Often, three to four phone calls at varying times of day are required to reach a consumer. Following the initial contact, the consumer should be placed in a drip campaign—coupled with phone calls—until an appointment is set, with continued follow-up until the lead buys or is unworkable.

From time-to-time, one of our customers becomes angry over “poor lead quality.”  I have a rule that I follow before I call a client back.  I take a snapshot of the last ten leads we’ve sent, and I call them myself.  The same result happens every time; I’ll be unable to reach one lead, leave voicemails for six, and I’ll speak with two to three people that want to talk about a car or real estate transaction.  Two to three appointments set from ten leads should ideally result in one sale, and we arrive at our 10% closing ratio.

If you’ve decided to invest in online, performance-based marketing, create a game plan regarding how you’re going to work the leads.  One of our top clients is a Toyota dealer in Southern California that closes 14% of their leads each month!  They call every lead four times-per-day, and keep the consumer in their database for up to six months, with frequent contact that is gradually reduced as time passes.  Our top real estate agents work leads for much longer; for most agents, one sale will cover their marketing costs for an entire year.

Many variables can affect your experience with Internet leads. One thing is clear—Internet leads are a predictable and measurable marketing investment, and will only work for you if they are actually worked.

Happy selling.

At Digital Dealer, the keynote address had an interesting stat:  cost to sell a car with offline advertising is $600, while cost to sell a car with online advertising is $300.  I thought Cory Mosley should have just put up that one slide and asked the audience the following question, “Why are car dealers still advertising offline?”  To be honest, I don’t get it.  If a business could consistently achieve a 50% reduction in the cost-of-sale, wouldn’t they rapidly shift their ad spend from offline to online?

Then I read an article at DrivingSales.com on managing advertising waste.To me, the article is about measuring the impact of advertising. Do more of what works, and immediately stop what isn’t working.  Most importantly, only invest in advertising if you can measure the impact.  It’s no secret, the automotive industry is suffering as the economic downturn accelerates and people delay big-ticket purchases.  Perhaps car dealers are seeking better controls, more flexibility, more measurable ROI—or just don’t believe that online really works.

Here is my challenge to all service-based businesses (not just car dealers): for one month, let’s say November or December, stop all offline advertising and shift your entire advertising budget to online.  It doesn’t matter if you are a car dealer advertising in the local classifieds/TV/Radio, or a Real Estate Agent advertising with postcards and grocery store shopping carts; see what happens to your phone calls, walk-in visits, cost-of-sale, and close rates when you shift ad spend online.  Any takers?

Next Page →

Search

Reply.com Links

• About Us
• Press
• Photos
• Reply.com

Reply! Jobs

• Director, Search Engine Marketing
• Regional Sales Manager
• Regional Sales Executive - Autos
• Regional Sales Executive - Reply! Real Estate
• Microsoft-Certified Software Engineer/Architect
• View All

Recent Comments

• michael jordan shoes: as soon as people reolize
• DAVID REID: THANK YOU GOD BLESSED.
• DAVID REID: THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME
• Ugg Classic Cardy Boots: I really appreciate this post,
• uggs: thank you for

Recent Posts

• Reply! Sees Gold in Vegas, Baby!
• Reply! CEO to speak at Fifth Annual Piper Jaffray Global Internet Summit
• Google Ogles Local Advertisers, Experiments with Flat-Fee Ads
• The Fifth Annual Reply! Halloween Spooktacular!
• VentureBeat Lauds Reply! for Better Ad Conversion Rates than Search or Display Ads

Blogs We Read

• Must Read
  • TechMeme
  • Silicon Alley Insider
  • Tech Crunch
  • Venture Blog
  • John Battelle's Search Blog
  • Seth Godin's Blog
  • Kelsey
  • Google Blog
• Ad Exchange News
  • Advertising Age
  • AdExchanger.com
  • Adweek
  • Brandweek
  • ClickZ
  • iMedia Connection
  • MediaPost Publications
  • New Media Age
• Research Firms
  • Borrell Associates
  • eMarketer
  • Forrester Research
  • Gartner
  • Kelsey Group
  • ThinkEquity LLC
• Analytics
  • Compete
  • comScore
  • Quantcast
• Lead Generation
  • Lead Marketwatch
  • B2B Lead Generation Blog
  • LeadCritic
• Auto
  • DrivingSales
  • JD Power
  • Edmunds.com
• Real Estate
  • ActiveRain
  • Inman News
• Insurance
  • InsWeb
• Behavioral Targeting
  • AlmondNet
  • BlueKai
  • Demdex
  • Exelate
  • Jumpstart
  • Lookery
  • AudienceScience
  • Tacoda
  • ValueClick
• Organizations
  • American Association of Advertising Agencies (4As)
  • Association of National Advertisers (ANA)
  • Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB)
  • Magazine Publishers of America (MPA)
  • Online Publishers Association (OPA)
  • Web Analytics Association (WAA)
• Traffic Quality & Attribution
  • Anchor Intelligence
  • Click Forensics
  • DoubleVerify

Archives

• November 2009
• October 2009
• September 2009
• August 2009
• July 2009
• June 2009
• May 2009
• April 2009
• March 2009
• February 2009
• January 2009
• December 2008
• November 2008
• October 2008
• September 2008
• August 2008
• July 2008
• June 2008
• May 2008
• April 2008

Admin

• Register
• Log in
• Wordpress

Grab this swicki from eurekster.com