Can you be an “Old School Web Guy”? I have been in the saddle a long time comparably, when it comes to selling cars online. My indoctrination came in 1995 and has evolved from there. My priority with making my dealer website my main effort has always been a tenet for me and now for my dealer clients. In this web 2.0 environment there are so many options, that it does become very confusing for dealers to know what direction to put their efforts and their dollars. Fundamentally, though, it only makes sense to focus on generating those first party leads. We know the high quality of first party leads and that they have the highest closing ratios, which makes it strikingly obvious to generate them.
It only makes tangible sense to point your digital spend to generate those high quality 1st party leads, thus ensuring the best advantage to close those leads you are generating. Third party inventory sites and lead sources still have a place in a dealer’s digital arsenal, but it is only a supplemental action and not a main effort. That is why the “Old School Web Guy” in me is focused on my main dealer site for the basis of my online marketing efforts; it is my back bone for all my online initiatives.
There are a lot of smart people who are using many innovative ways to make their impression online utilizing social networking, tweets, and other resources. However, the surfer still generally gravitates to the dealer‘s main site to access the information they are seeking in getting their next vehicle. That is why it is so important in doing an accurate analysis to point resources into the generation of those 1st party leads.
SEO and SEM are terms that are loosely thrown around when we speak of getting people to our home page. However, these are two of the key elements in getting potential clients to see our inventory, submit leads, credit applications, and pick up the phone to call us about the vehicles and other services we offer.
We as automotive retailers are in a dog fight. We are in challenging times. Our budgets are limited and it takes concerted effort to understand where and what our main effort is and how we can seize our objective in moving iron. The bottom line is now, and in my humble opinion, has always been our ROI. I heard recently someone say that “it” isn’t all about the ROI. Well, if it isn’t, then what is?
We don’t get paid and our dealers don’t make money unless we sell cars. We are in an ever evolving digital age. Every day we see the emergence of new technology that increasingly takes us further down this digital road. Just before I sat down to write this article my 5th grade neighbor and her Dad showed off the new iPod’s they had just purchased. She was explaining to her Dad how the wireless function worked on her iPod. That is just one small example of how fast we are evolving. When I was in 5th grade, we were focused on the next neighborhood pick up football game. This 5th grader was focused on downloading new apps to her iPod.
After recently attending Digital Dealer Conference, I was introduce to some astounding software that could only be dreamed about in 1995, when I was dialing up on AOL to answer my Internet requests. Moreover, the technologies that caught my eye the most were the ones that focused on generating leads, selling leads….closing leads off of a dealer’s site. I am an old soldier. We were taught to focus on our main effort and to seize our objective (OBJ), accomplish the commander’s intent….accomplish the mission, consolidate and reorganize and get ready for our next mission. (There is a lot more to it of course, but you get the idea.)
In essence, the same tactics can be applied to 1st party leads and their importance to accomplishing our Dealer’s intent of selling cars, gaining profit, and satisfying customer’s. One of our first tasks in our operation order (OPORD), after receiving our restated mission, was to conduct a METT-T (Mission, Enemy, Troops, Terrain/Weather and Time Available) analysis. Essentially, it is the same in preparing our digital spend analysis to focus on our main effort of garnering 1st party leads off of our main dealer website.
The commander's (Dealer’s) intent describes the desired end state. It is a concise expression of the purpose (selling cars, gaining profit, and satisfying customer’s) of the operation and must be understood two echelons below (sales manger’s, sales personnel) the issuing commander. ..Dealer. . It is the single unifying focus for all subordinate elements. Its purpose is to focus subordinates on the desired end state (selling cars, gaining profit, and satisfying customer’s). Its utility is to focus subordinates on what has to be accomplished in order to achieve success.
For this “Old School Web Guy” and old soldier, harvesting those precious 1st party leads is where I chose to focus my main effort…..digital spend. It is a must to accomplish the mission and achieve the commander’s intent and attain total victory.
