The Dealer Impact Blog

The Power of Satellite Videos, the number one way to drive traffic to your virtual dealership!

Videos provide visual stimulation and an emotional response, however provoking an action from that response only happens when people can find them. Satellite Videos dramatically increase conversion ratios and time on your website, but the general population is not on your website day in and day out.

Dealer Impact believes your website presence should be in as many places as possible, all the time. We all know YouTube is the number one video portal on the internet, so if you export your videos, let’s say 100 for easy math, that is 100 more Points of Presence (POPs) you didn’t have before. The video player comes with an embed code that allows you to integrate these videos anywhere. You can embed them on Facebook pages, eBay, Cars.com, blogs, anywhere.

Each video acts like a satellite in cyberspace, a POP, for people to find you. Place them in popular social media sites or portals where there are hundreds of millions of potential customers giving them a direct link back to your dealership.

Let the power of Satellite Videos put your dealership on the screen of every computer on the planet.

Brian Cox

President

Dealer Impact Systems

www.dealerimpact.com

Tags: dealership, google, leads, search engine, video, youtube

Key Innovations From the World of Auto Marketing

Published: May 30 2008 by iMediaConnection

In a tight economy, it takes ingenuity to capture the attention of in-market shoppers. See what tools the automotive industry uses to generate consumer interest and increase conversions.

As you would expect, today’s biggest trends in the automotive industry all revolve around e-commerce. As more consumers head online to research and shop for vehicles, vehicle sellers and marketers have to provide the websites, electronic tools and online information consumers want and need.

Yet, they are also challenged to attract and retain in-market auto shoppers to their online turf, especially during a weak – and therefore highly competitive – economy. This calls for innovation in areas such as campaigns, eye-catching visuals and clever SEO tactics. Following are five of the big marketing trends we’re seeing in the automotive industry and how they’re affecting and changing the online environment overall.

Mobile marketing
Although mobile marketing has been popular for a while, it’s only recently that companies in the automotive space have started to optimize this communication channel. 

Take a look at the work of some companies currently employing this technology. Dealership e-newsletter service IMN Loyalty Driver has started including mobile coupons in its publications. When customers receive an e-newsletter that includes a coupon, they enter their cell phone number into the space provided and within seconds the coupon is delivered to their phone as a text message. To redeem the coupon, customers only have to show their phone at the dealership.

Mobile marketing company Gumiyo makes it possible for a dealer to place trackable keywords, VINs or stock numbers next to vehicle advertisements (both print and online) that consumers can text from their cell phones. These buyer-generated text messages receive automatic dealer replies with specific vehicle information, or promotions with links that launch a cell phone’s web browser. Services like this make a dealer’s inventory directly available to cell phones, potentially shortening the sales cycle and increasing the value of offline advertising.

Innovative uses of video
Full-motion vehicle videos are steadily gaining in popularity. We’ve seen many dealerships and portal sites licensing video content because it delivers compelling presentations that keep viewers on sites longer which, in turn, raises conversion rates. In response to the overall success of video-based ads in the automotive market, vendors are starting to experiment with video in unique and innovative ways. The Wall Street Journal online for example, is now using a video component to supplement many of their articles and special features, including those about the automotive industry. 

Another great example of this is MyDealerBroadcast. The company is working with dealerships to deliver automated, personalized email messages in response to customer vehicle inquiries. Each message includes an embedded photo along with a link to a vehicle video. Once an email is sent, the dealership sales team receives instant text and email alerts whenever the customer interacts with the message, so they know what leads are hot and when to follow-up. Not only does their product guarantee that a customer vehicle inquiry will be answered promptly, the inclusion of video gives the customer immediate access to the information they want in an eye-catching presentation that grabs attention and better primes them for the sales call.

Web services
The automotive industry is data-heavy: With numerous new vehicles released every year, each with more than 10,000 option and pricing configurations, a dealer or portal trying to get complete vehicle information online and provide configuration and comparison services has a steep development hill to climb. Because of this, web services are rapidly gaining in popularity.

Web services allow companies to focus on core competency – how the application manipulates and enhances data for the best consumer experience – rather than structuring, warehousing and updating the source data. In addition, using web services for VIN decoding, mapping to used vehicle values and configuration and comparison reduces development cost and shortens the development cycle because it obviates custom databases and coding. And unlike framed-in applications, web services allow for the freedom to customize every aspect of a website’s look and feel. 

Dealer generated leads
Virtually every dealer has a love-hate relationship with third-party lead generators. On the one hand, they deliver solid sales leads, but on the other, volume does not equal quality, and multiple dealers often receive the same leads.

Some companies in the space are helping dealers to skip the middle man and generate their own leads by creating small landing pages for individual vehicles, or by using SEO to drive consumer traffic to these pages. eBizAutos, a leading innovator of online marketing solutions for dealers, and NowMarketPlace.com, a new company creating dealership websites that combine the power of video and the web, are putting the power of lead generation in the hands of dealers.  

OEM-owned vertical ad integration
Vertical ad networks are a big topic right now, and in the automotive space we’re seeing manufacturers using this model to create their own vertical channels. General Motors, for example, recently began offering its dealers a comprehensive digital marketing package for free. Designed to drive more in-market shoppers to GM dealership websites, the program will enable GM to better coordinate its national advertising message with its dealers’ local advertising for consistent messaging that grabs casual shoppers, as well as sophisticated, brand-savvy shoppers. 

These five trends attest to the industry’s commitment to attract and retain online vehicle shoppers. The steady sophistication of websites, marketing campaigns and interactive tools is a boon for customers and, therefore, the automotive industry itself.

 Source: http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/19405.asp

Tags: leads, mobile marketing, video, web services

Why now is the Time To Step Up Lead Efforts

Published: June 05, 2008, iMedia Connection

With consumers tightening their purse strings, it’s more important than ever for marketers to reach out to potential customers with relevant offers they can’t refuse.

Debate continues in the media as to the fate of the U.S. economy: Are we in a recession, or merely flirting with one?

For brand marketers, it turns out, the effect is the same. Consumers, made wary by gas prices over $4.00 a gallon, the mortgage mess and less-than-stellar employment forecasts, have tightened their purse strings. And when consumers spend less, marketing — traditionally a company’s first budget-cutting line of defense — is in trouble.

Yet there is much evidence, scholarly and anecdotal, that points to the wisdom of maintaining marketing spend during a recession. In fact, a recession is an ideal time to take advantage of consumers’ comfort with familiar brands by creating web-based interactive, direct-response campaigns that offer special promotions and savings.

Why web-based? A recent report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project reveals that 81 percent of internet users research products online — for convenience (78 percent), time savings (68 percent) and the ability to find bargains (ranging from 38 percent of 50-to 64-year-olds to 62 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds).

Tough economic times not only lead consumers to do online research, they lead to more time spent researching and comparing brands and prices. A recent Prospectiv survey, which discovered that 84 percent of those polled had changed their shopping habits due to concerns about recession, gives further clues to consumer behavior in this economic downturn:

• 66 percent are logging more hours online researching and comparing brands and prices
• 74 percent would welcome more online offers, coupons and e-newsletters from their favorite brands and products
• 60 percent are more likely to sign up/join a website or online community that offers recipes, healthy meal ideas, cooking tips and savings they can use at home

As consumers under financial pressure ponder a switch from favored brands to generics, brand marketers must seek out ways to engage consumers online, using direct-response interactive marketing to reinforce the value of brand.

We strongly believe that marketers should consider countering the effects of the downturn by stepping up programs that build strong relationships with consumers who have exhibited interest in your goods and services. Take the opportunity to add to your in-house opt-in email newsletter list and reach out with these tips:

• Consumers are eager for special promotions and savings during tough economic periods — now is the time to consider a brand-building campaign.
• Consider campaigns designed to generate leads as well as near-term sales. Whether you have a brick-and-mortar store or website, use a well-timed, anti-recession campaign to drive traffic.
• Provide information that’s clear, relevant and easy to find online. The Pew study found that 43 percent of searchers were frustrated by a lack of information, or the difficulty of finding information about brands they were interested in. Another 32 percent were confused by the information they were able to locate.
• Be selective in your programs. Market only to consumers you identify who have an interest in your product/brand and have requested your offers and promotions.
• Be aware that some 70 percent of internet users are still concerned about giving out personal information or credit card information online. Treat your customers with care — many of them are wary.
• Monitor campaigns closely for performance and redirect your efforts as needed to improve results.
• Consider using pay-for-performance lead-generation programs. You’ll pay only for results, versus clicks or impressions.

Don’t forget the most important metrics of a brand campaign — quality and relevance. In difficult times consumers aren’t shopping for nice-to-haves; they are focused on must-haves. Here, pay-for-performance lead-generation campaigns that build your own opt-in email lists and produce consumers who are interested in your product and brand are particularly useful because they make it easy for marketers to ensure relevance, and simple to measure lead quality at several points in the campaign, before handoff to sales.

Finally, in a down market brand marketers must maintain a laser focus on lead-generation best practices to ensure high quality leads and maintain a respectful relationship with consumers to build trust and discourage abuse of consumer privacy.

Opportunity for brand marketers comes in many forms. In these unstable economic times, it is incumbent on marketers to reach out to consumers with offers, promotions and information that reinforce brand preference, provide much-needed purchase information, and offer advice, tips and ideas for living well while saving.

http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/19521.asp

Tags: leads, marketing, recession