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Automotive Marketing

Automotive Marketing

How to Handle Inbound Sales Calls

As an industry, we have pretty much perfected the process of following up on Internet leads, but we are far from perfect when it comes to handling inbound phone leads. According to CallSource and IHS/Polk research, 84 percent of consumers purchase vehicles from a different dealership than the one they originally called.

The good news is, there’s a huge opportunity to improve. Consumers are using cell phones more than ever for research during the car-buying process. In recent years, this has led to a significant increase in the volume of inbound calls to dealerships, compared with the number of email and Internet leads which have stayed the same or even declined.

When a customer calls your dealership, most times you’ve got one shot to get it right. Which is why converting inbound calls to sales opportunities should be your number one priority. To ensure you don’t drive customers away, follow these tips. Read More

Brand Loyalty and Dealership Customer Service

What is Brand Loyalty, Really?

The automotive industry is extremely competitive – not just locally, but also at the manufacturer level. Manufacturers spend truckloads of money on conquest marketing and brand loyalty – which you would think should be great for dealers – and, to some degree, it is.

But think for a just a second here, does your OEM really care whether your customer stays loyal to your dealership? If you answered “No,” you are 100% correct. While manufacturers like dealers to treat their customers well, and build a loyal base, it really doesn’t matter to them whether your customers buy and service their vehicles with you, or any other franchise store, as long as that customer stays loyal to the brand.

That’s reality, folks. Those CSI surveys are only important to the manufacturer because they want to ensure customer stays loyal to THEIR brand, not yours. And there’s a critical difference between the two. Read More

Video: Maximizing Your Inbound Call Handling

With competition at an all-time high and sales margins shrinking more and more each month, no dealership can afford to ignore inbound call handling. In this eye-opening one-hour webinar recording, Bill Wittenmyer of ELEAD1ONE shares strategies, tips and tricks to improve inbound call handling performance and convert more valuable phone leads into appointments.

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Dealer Tip of Month: Managing Used Car Inventory

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Staying on top of the competition calls for a daily assessment of  your used car inventory.  Andrew Cowart, Camp Chevrolet Cadillac General Sales Manager, shares his one solid habit to set the market standard in Spokane, Washington in this Dealer Tip of the Month, first published in April 2017.

ELEAD1ONE 3birds Marketing Predictive Modeling

New Predictive Modeling, Integrated Marketing Solution for Auto Dealers

3 Birds Marketing, a two-time Inc. 5000-ranked automotive digital marketing company partners with ELEAD1ONE, the benchmark in automotive software. The partnership will pair 3 Birds’ powerful integrated marketing, analytics platform, and revolutionary predictive modeling solution with the comprehensive ELEAD1ONE dealer-focused suite of services.

The combined offering enables automotive retailers to quarterback integrated, data-driven communications throughout the entire consumer lifecycle, generating superior results across key digital channels and traditional touchpoints while creating cost- and time-saving efficiencies within their store. Read More

Sales Manager Superstitions

Quirky Sales Manager Superstitions or Fear of Change?

Back in 1998, while I was selling cars at a small Chevrolet dealership in Georgia, we had a daily ritual known as a lot party. This “party” consisted of completely rearranging the lot by moving different types of vehicles to the front line to draw the attention of potential customers. After the cars were moved and lined up precisely, the process of blowing up exactly 99 red balloons began. I’m not really sure why the number had to be exactly 99, other than the fact that our sales manager was a big fan of the 80’s song, “99 Red Balloons,” by the band Nena. Once the balloons were ready, the salespeople gathered 10 to 15 each and began attaching them to the cars on the lot. I don’t know if this garnered any additional business, but my manager insisted this routine be done every day.

The car business, like baseball, is full of these type superstitions. Read More

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