Add Your Car Inventory to Facebook!

February 4th, 2010

The brains behind the Lot Vantage application have come up with another great new way to allow auto dealers to get more exposure and generate more leads. Users of the web-based software can now post their entire car inventory directly to their Facebook page, allowing people to look through the listings without ever having to leave their favorite social media portal.

Why Facebook? Facebook has more than 350 million active users, about half of which use Facebook every day. Facebook also has about 65 million mobile users, meaning they use their mobile phones to access Facebook. This offers car dealerships and individual sellers enormous potential for growth and sales. They now have the ability to communicate with customers, update their customers of promotions and events, and display their vehicle listings on Facebook – creating a virtual dealership complete with customer service and sales in one easy-to-use place. An “Inventory” tab is simply added to the top of the Facebook page and voila, your cars are displayed on the 2nd busiest site on the internet.

Those interested in Lot Vantage can visit motors.lotvantage.com, email sales@lotvantage.com or call 866.881.3229

U.S. Auto Industry Sales Mixed Across Car Makers

January 19th, 2010

The U.S. auto industry had one heck of a year in 2009. Nearly every automaker in the United States struggled to stay afloat and sales plummeted thanks mostly to the recession. December, however, did bring some good news as the industry continued it’s slow rise out of the pits. While shoppers’ enthusiasm is still below pre-crises levels there was a slight uptick in auto sales during the last month of ‘09.

The annualized rate of U.S. auto sales went up to 11.2 million, which is up from 9.1 million at the end of 2008 but still far below the 16 million it was before the economy bottomed out. Like Jessica Caldwell, senior analyst at Edmunds.com, said, “It’s not even growth, really — it’s more like stabilization”.

Some U.S. automakers are being hit much harder than others. Of course, GM and Chrysler have been the two most negatively impacted by the recession. Chrysler’s December sales were down 4% from last December and annual sales were down 36% for 2009. General Motors, which is now largely owned by the United States Government, saw December sales drop 6% below December ‘08 levels. GM’s annual sales were also down 30% from 2008. For GM, those drops can be attributed to a reduction in fleet sales, a drop in spending for consumer incentives, and the decision to close the Pontiac and Saturn brands. Thanks to the U.S. Government’s bailouts of these two automakers and a $3 Billion Cash For Clunkers program auto sales were able to somewhat stabilize.

China, meanwhile, surged and has nearly matched the U.S. as the largest auto market.

The brightest spot for the U.S. auto industry has been the performance of Ford, which did not take any government bailout money. Ford’s annual sales were down from 2008 but December sales were up 33% from the same month in ‘08. The company’s stock has also surged to over $11 per share, up from just over $1 a share in early 2009.

Some people project that the number of cars scrapped in 2009 was higher than the number of new cars sold. This number wouldn’t be inflated by Cash For Clunkers because each clunker was traded for a new car. Public transportation in the United States has become more heavily relied upon as a result. Although there may be a slight shift away from personal transportation to public transportation, John DeCicco, a University of Michigan lecturer and former senior fellow at the Environmental Defense Fund, believes the U.S. is far from ending it’s love affair with the automobile.

Source

Auto Ad Spending Drops Everywhere Except Online

December 31st, 2009

Although auto dealerships across the country slashed their marketing budgets by 27% through the first three quarters of this year compared to 2008, they did increase their ad spending in one area that continues to see growth, the internet. Online ad spending soared 45% higher above last year’s figures as car dealerships realized the effectiveness of online marketing dollars.

A study performed by Northwood University for AutoTrader.com shows that the internet is the leading media driver of walk-in traffic for auto dealerships. Of the 25,000-plus participants in the survey, 54% said that the Web was the primary media source leading them to the dealership. With the internet accounting for such a large percentage of walk-ins its no wonder that new and used car dealerships spent about $3 Billion in 2009 in online advertising. That number is expected to increase even further in 2010 (by about 8.6%). Paid search results, web displays, social media, and auto-listing software are some of the places that dealerships are spending their dollars. Just like nearly every other industry, the auto industry has found a way to use the internet to its advantage and generate interest and leads much more efficiently by diverting their ad spending to the source that has the best ROI.

Sales Leads and New Customers the Result of Car Dealers’ Internet Presence

December 17th, 2009

There has been a clear shift in the past 10 years to a much more internet-oriented decision making process when it comes to looking for and purchasing cars. For many looking to buy a car the plan of action consists of the following:

  • Research which cars fit your needs on blogs, forums, and automaker web sites
  • Search the internet to find cars in your price range, using sites like eBay Motors and Craigslist
  • Contact the dealership or seller through the internet to set up a test drive

Consumers are using these steps more and more often in today’s internet driven society and dealerships have caught on, realizing the need to have a strong internet presence. While the number of actual sales that take place through the internet is relatively low, it provides incredible sales leads and makes it easier for customers to find the car they want.

Creating and maintaining a strong internet presence is no walk in the park, however. Many dealerships have hired full-time Internet Sales Managers just to handle their internet needs. Some of the most popular tools used by dealerships are eBay Motors and Craigslist. Both of those web sites allow auto dealerships to create a virtual marketplace that complements the physical car lot.

Many times repitition and volume is key to finding prospective buyers. Car shoppers may find just one of a dealers’ tens or hundreds of cars listed online and, after a little online communication with the dealer, they can end up buying a completely different car from the dealer, possibly one that isn’t even listed online.

In order to create a strong internet presence car dealerships, and even individual salespeople, across the country are using internet solutions to list their inventory over a wide spectrum of car sales sites. Automatic car listing tools like Lot Vantage give dealers the ability to mass-list their cars by simply entering the vehicle’s VIN number. After that all that is left is to wait for the leads to roll in.

In the Car Selling Business? You Need this Software

December 3rd, 2009

Whether you’re a private dealer or you work for a big-time dealership you probably know by now how powerful of a tool the internet can be for selling cars. People like to be able to see photos of the cars and read descriptions before they make a trip to the dealership. If you’re not using the internet to promote your lot then you’re wasting a valuable resource. Over 10 million people visit Craigslist each month and 40% of all online automotive minutes are spent on eBay Motors.

LotVantage delivers a “real time” showroom across multiple marketplaces from a single easy to use web interface. It allows you to list you inventory on Craigslist, eBay Motors and Backpage and creates your own customized web display. These marketplaces have created the conduit for the way vehicles are sold today. Craigslist and Backpage have re-defined classified listings at a zero cost, while eBay Motors extends a reach far beyond a local market continuing to deliver quality leads at a marginal cost. Lot Vantage simplifies the creation of compelling listings within the chosen marketplace(s) all from one interface and delivers lead information and listing automations to ensure sales success.

LotVantage is a monthly service with no setup fees and no contract, so if you decide that it isn’t right for you then you wont be stuck in a long-term deal. To start listing your inventory online with ease you can contact LotVantage at sales@lotvantage.com or by calling directly at 866.881.3229 ext 2.

GM Stops Auctioning Cars on eBay

September 30th, 2009

General Motors began an experiment in July that had dealers posting new cars for sale on eBay. The project ends today, and although cars didn’t fly off the lot as a result, the move peaked plenty of interest.

GM and eBay said the program, which was limited to California, was useful in helping determine whether auctions would work on a nationwide basis. The online auctions were credited with generating 1.5 million page views and 15,000 sales leads for dealers.

According to GM, about 95% of its California dealers participated in the program, which required little of them other than that they upload inventory information and guarantee availability of the vehicles listed for auction.

Although the auctions will cease after today, GM said it was not closing the door on the online auction format for good. Its dealers will continue to sell certified pre-owned cars on EBay, as do dealers for Ford, Audi, Lexus, Toyota and Mercedes.

In addition, GM’s spokesman John McDonald said the automaker would consider posting new cars for sale online again in the future, perhaps as early as next year.

George Peterson, president of marketing consulting firm AutoPacific, believes that Internet sales will play a larger part in the new-car distribution chain.

(Psst – George, we knew this already!)

Online Optimization

August 28th, 2009

Internet Directors know how crucial proper web optimization is to a successful dealership. Web optimization is typically comprised of a number of different areas, including search engine optimization, website analytics, and design, among many others.

However, optimization is more than just a standard set of practices. Those differences are one of the primary factors that make ‘do-it-yourself’ optimization without an inventory marketing specialist such a risky prospect. An inventory marketing specialist keeps abreast of the ever-changing landscape in order to implement best practices to achieve good positioning and visibility, and frequently conduct research to understand what your competition is doing as well.

If you are learning from scratch and implementing as you go, you can be put at a disadvantage compared to competitors who hire professionals.

 Roadblock #1:
Seeing Optimization as a Project With An “End Date”

Optimization, and online marketing in general, is a process, not a destination. It’s a road that must be constantly traveled for any measurable and optimal levels of success. At no time is your optimization process “complete”, in fact, once your initial online marketing plan sees any level of success, you should be seeking out other ways that you can improve your online presence.

Roadblock #2:
Not Planning For Long Term Optimization

Since online marketing is an ever evolving process, wise companies will plan for optimization over the long run. You can’t think of your online marketing as a short-term investment, and vertainly don’t want to divert internal resources for a few weeks. Think of online optimization more broadly, and give your optimization strategy the time and support it needs to be successful. If the program is understaffed or underfunded, it’s unlikely to find the success you’re seeking.  You will only get out what’ve put in!

Roadblock #3:
Not Monitoring Progress

Up until recently, it was next to impossible to know if your marketing plan was doing the job with traditional advertising such as radio, television, and newspapers. However Internet Marketing efforts are fairly sinple to track. I like to use cooking as an analogy, you have to test the food throughout the process to see how it’s going. If you need to make a change, you find out early on, and if the food is great, you know how to make it next time.

Inventory marketing is exactly the same. Track which sites and campaigns bring success to refocus resources in both the short and long run. These metrics are invaluable when you start additional campaigns.  The data will provide you with real results that you can point to. In today’s ever changing market, so much depends on customer preference.  Only when you start to get a feel for that preference will you see the best outcomes.

Roadblock #4:
Working Alone

By nature, most professionals working in the dealership understand sales.  That’s the dealership’s reason for existence, and everyone else within the organization provides some level of support for that function.  Online marketing is a very specialized discipline with a number of techniques and strategies to learn. Reaching out to an inventory marketing professional should be viewed no differently than outsourcing something like windshield replacements at the dealership.  It simply doesn’t make sense to spend time learning, rather than executing effectively from the beginning.

Putting it All Together

Now that you know some of the most common pitfalls that cause optimization programs fail you’re equipped with the knowledge necessary to eliminate the problem. You can start fresh, and get the optimization results you’re looking for. You might not see them overnight, but with time the effect will be noticeable.

Are you marketing, or still advertising?

August 12th, 2009

Just for the record, I’m not an “ad” guy. In a “Boom” economy ads work in just about any media, even bad ones. Up until the last 12 months when money was easy, so were sales. Now that the credit markets have tightened up, dealers have to start to market instead of advertise. Auto dealers are commonly the best business people in a city and commonly spend more than most other businesses in advertising. Unfortunately, auto dealers as a whole are sometimes also the weakest marketers. The difference between advertising and marketing is essentially this: Advertising is the shotgun that blasts your message out to potential buyers. Marketing is the mechanism that aims the shotgun to make sure you hit your target.

So how do you grow sales in a local market that’s down in double digits?

Step 1. Figure out what works.

Most dealers will tell you that some of their advertising works, and some of it doesn’t, however if you ask them to quantify that statement with numbers, silence falls over the room.

Start by running a simple cost per thousand analysis to determine what it’s costing you to reach 1,000 buyers through your current advertising streams. The cost doesn’t have to be down to the penny to give you a clear view of the playing field. This will help you determine how to reallocate your buying power by reallocating funds.

Step 2. Explore new ways to reach customers

Once you’ve identified the vendors that are not delivering an acceptable ROI for your advertising dollar, reallocate a portion of those funds to try new ways to reach customers. There is no shortage of automotive advertising portals available on the Internet, but the key is to find ones that work for both your inventory, and market. Craigslist is the most obvious, and if you haven’t already started posting your vehicles there, it’s a great place to start. Craigslist is one of the top 10 most visited sites in the U.S. and allows you to post your inventory one vehicle at a time at no charge. Craigslist does not currently allow for a datafeed, and the use of a 3rd party software like LotVantage is key to effectively promote and manage your vehicles. Lot Vantage provides unlimited craigslist postings for a flat $100 per month and will accept a datafeed of your inventory to eliminate the need to re-enter any information. The posting process takes less than 60 seconds and the software provides key features such as multiple craigslist templates, hit counters per vehicle, and reporting. For more information on Lot Vantage you can visit www.lotvantage.com.

Step 3. Reach the consumer on a personal level.

Any salesperson will tell you that the no one buys a car from someone they don’t like. There are simply too many choices to have to deal with someone that you can’t identify with or worst yet, don’t like. Advertising is the exact same, telling a story about your dealership is the first step in differentiating yourself from other dealers in your market.

The key to success in these trying times is to focus on what works and not get discouraged. The only thing that you have absolute control over every day is your attitude and effort. When you focus on these, everything else will start to fall into place.

eBay Motors Listings Grow By 29% In 60 Days

August 12th, 2009

Earlier last year, eBay Motors announced a drastic change in their pricing structure.  Effective September 3rd, 2008, every eBay user is permitted to list the first 4 vehicles each calendar year with no insertion fees.  EBay Motors also lowered their insertion fees 50% across the board in effect allowing dealers to list more new and pre owned vehicles with the same eBay Motors budget.

The result 60 days later is impressive to say the least.  On September 3rd eBay Motors had a total of 44,209 passenger vehicles listed on the site.  60 days later, on November 3rd eBay Motors has 57,256 listings.  The net change of 12,957 eBay Motors listings represents an increase of 29% in total advertised units over a 60 day period indicating that more and more dealers are finding success on eBay Motors.

eBay Listing Fees

In the current economic environment, it’s no secret that dealerships across the board are suffering significant decreases in sales, with some dealerships reporting up to double digit declines forcing dealers to reevaluate their spending habits and advertising budgets. Consumer marketing campaigns through, radio, television, and newspapers traditionally account for the bulk of a dealership’s advertising cost per unit, however in recent years we have seen a consistent shift toward online portals such as eBay Motors, dealership websites, and SEM as viable advertising sources for both new and pre-owned units.

As of late however, the online shift has hit seismic proportions in the auto industry. According to Autobytel, a staggering 91 percent of dealers plan to either increase or maintain their level of online marketing while other advertising mediums continue to feel the tightening of dealership wallets. Rich Greenfield of the Pali Institute reports that local television advertising by dealerships is down 50% from last year, and that the potential merger between GM and Chrysler could further exacerbate local television advertising woes. On another front the Orlando Business Journal reported earlier this month that Autotrader announced the closing of its Orlando call center early next year as part of a larger restructuring by the automotive giant. Last month News Media Group, publishers of the New Your Times, reported a decrease of 14.1% in print advertising revenues while realizing an increase of 16.4% in Internet advertising revenue.

The appeal of eBay as a marketing arm to auto dealers is no surprise given the reach of the automotive portal. Consider the following:

  • A vehicle is sold on eBay Motors every minute
  • eBay Motors receives 12 Million unique visitors each month
  • eBay Motors sold one million vehicles online between August 06 & April 08

This kind of reach into a global marketplace and the recent pricing restructure by eBay Motors will surely continue to deliver a powerful alternative to local advertising portals for dealerships seeking a broader audience and more cost effective advertising medium.

How People Buy Cars

August 12th, 2009

The other day while speaking to a dealership it occurred to me that in recent months I’d spoken to several individuals that used Craigslist to sell their car locally, and then used eBay Motors to buy another car often times several states away immediately bypassing the local newspapers’ car ads and local dealership websites.
Marketwatch.com’s Internet Daily recently reported that a new book published by Edmunds.com has predicted that 30 percent of new cars soon will be purchased through dealerships’ Internet or e-Commerce departments. In this age of online video, online consumer reviews, and access to a litany of information the only reason most people need to actually visit a car dealership is for the test drive and paperwork.

One of the largest contributing factors to car buying via the Internet is the consumer’s ability to research prices, specification, and availability at local dealerships from the comfort of their own home on their timetable.  Consumers also feel that by arming themselves with information prior to visiting the dealership they are more likely to shorten the amount of time spent at the dealership and negotiate a better price on the car they want.
I speak from experience, because it happened to me.  I bought my new (used) car from a dealer selling on eBay and negotiated my price prior to the end of the auction. When I checked with several other local dealers for the identical model and year with roughly the same mileage, the advertised prices typically were $2,000 to $5,000 more than the vehicle I found on eBay Motors.

Simply put: Newspapers, auto classifieds, direct mail campaigns, and television are facing what could be one of the most significant shifts in advertising dollars in generations.  EBay Motors, Craigslist, and other online portals provide instant access to information for consumers and deliver a more cost effective advertising medium to dealers.