May 2018

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Automotive advertising agencies are challenged to provide more for less to serve a consolidating auto industry and today’s Internet has provided them with the media and the methods to do it. Budget conscious consumers are firmly in the driving seat on the Internet Super Highway and auto dealers have directed their marketing messages to their online showrooms vs. their brick and mortar facilities to get their attention. More accurately, they are following their customers onto the World Wide Web and hoping that their past and pending customers will find them there.

The days of hard sell retail messages in conventional media like radio, T.V. and newspaper as well as dealer-centric banner ads and websites promoting daily dealer specials are numbered. Today’s car shoppers have been empowered by the search engines to filter out dealer messages in favor of information on exactly the new or pre-owned vehicle they are searching for. In addition, Social networking communities of online friends have rallied their support and opinions to help car shoppers decide what they should buy and from which dealership they should buy it from. After all, what are friends for!

The consumers’ new found source of information on the Internet to assist them in their car shopping process hasn’t replaced the need for automotive advertising agencies in the retail auto industry, but it certainly has changed their role in it and the methods that they must use to earn their agency fees. The first adjustment that an automotive advertising agency must make in their business model is to recognize that the internal profits that they used to realize in their radio, T.V. and print production departments can no longer be supported by their auto dealer clients. Reduced sales volume and profit margins on the auto dealers’ side of the table demand a better R.O.I. for every dollar and while these departments are still required to produce digital marketing material for online campaigns the production costs must be a fraction of previous pricing to remain competitive with the newly developing online resources that an auto dealer has access to.

The agency must still provide creative that is relevant to the market and they must define the target audience that would be most receptive to it, but once again the World Wide Web has changed the rules and automotive advertising agencies must learn what they are and follow them. Top of the mind awareness is still job one for automotive advertising agencies who understand that they can’t time the buying cycle for everyone on the Internet Super Highway and therefore they must maintain a consistent message across multiple channels to be on the short list when the customer is ready to purchase a vehicle. Diversification across multiple media and frequency of targeted messages to qualified buyers isn’t a new practice but the methods, media and skill sets required to get the job done have changed.

Networking and the related referrals and sales sourced from it has been an integral component of internal selling processes for auto dealers since the first vehicle was sold but it has had little to do with conventional advertising — until now that is. Social networking and the related Internet media channels that have grown to support it are now a primary target audience for automotive advertising agencies. Word of mouth advertising has grown exponentially as viral messages travel through social networking channels with the opinions of like minded car shoppers who use these online communities of friends to share their car shopping experiences before, during and after their buying cycle.

Initial attempts by automotive advertising agencies to market to these social networks from the outside through the use of banner ads or as wolves in sheep’s clothing trying to invade a network of friends were soundly rejected. Members valued each other’s opinions and shared experiences over a self serving auto dealer or their automotive advertising agency.

Monetizing social networking has been a challenge but new technologies that integrate established marketing channels with social networks from the inside out have provided the solution. ronsmap, for example, is a game changing consumer-centric online inventory marketing platform that embeds a social networking engine on their communal site as well as every vehicle posted on it by participating auto dealers. Their application, vBack, provides an Ask-a-Friend / Tell-a-Friend feature that solicits feedback from friends on the various social networks that an online car shopper trusts. These influences then act as agents of the auto dealer — without their knowledge — under the direction of a friend which allows the automotive advertising agency to market from the inside out vs. from the outside in. C2C marketing vs. B2C marketing is the key to monetizing social networking and ronsmap is a new technology based exit on the Internet Super Highway that has opened this new channel to auto dealers.

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Automotive tools are highly specialized in nature. Many a time a particular automotive tool serves only a single purpose. Therefore it is essential to have a set of automotive tools in order to avoid any interruptions in the business. However the automotive tool set is extremely expensive. At times, the cost of the tool is more than the cost of vehicle that needs repair. Sometimes the cost of tool set may be more than the vehicle needs to be repaired. Hence automotive tool financing is becoming essential nowadays.

There are some legitimate financing companies have an expertise in financing automotive tools. You can seek their help by submitting an online application provided by them. They ensure fast approval of the amount required to acquire automotive tool set.

Automotive tools financing is normally available under various options. Automotive Air compressor is one among them which helps in acquiring the equipment which costs thousands of dollars. There are various types of compressors like compact air compressor, piston compressor, single stage compressor, two stage compressor and so on. Due to automotive tool financing it is possible for almost all companies to acquire any of the aforementioned types of air compressors.

Automotive hand tool financing is required to keep ready a well-equipped set of hand tools like wrenches, screwdrivers, clamps, sockets, installer or remover equipments etc. These tools are indispensable for running an automotive repairing business. Acquiring any one of them is affordable to all. But keeping a set of such tools is really expensive and hence the need for automotive hand tool financing is essential.

Welder financing is yet another category of automotive tool financing. A high quality welder is important for the automotive business. There are some precise welders like arc welder, stick welder, TIG welder, and MIG welder and so on. They are essential to apply heat in a given area. The sophisticated nature of the welders raises their price tags and that’s why automotive repair business people go for automotive tool financing to acquire them.

Automotive waste and recycling equipment are required by certain companies for disposing the hazardous wastes in a safer way. In fact many shops find it profitable to recycle the wastes. Therefore such equipments are becoming essential in an automotive repair shops. They are highly expensive and as a result of which automotive tool financing is required to acquire these equipments.

Brake lathe is yet important equipment in any automotive repair shops. They allow you to work on all types of brakes. You may need a combination of brake lathe, heavy duty brake lathe or car brake lathe depending upon the type of your business. However any type of brake lathe is expensive and not possible within the reach of all. Hence brake lathe financing is essential.

The automotive industry has undergone several changes in the past hundred years. Keeping yourself updated of the changes and using the latest equipment can help increase your revenues. Though essential, this equipment is very expensive and so seeking the help of a financing company is required. Some genuine financing companies offer assistance to acquire automotive tools without any frustrating procedures.

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To train – or not to train – is not the question according to automotive advertising agencies who understand the importance of investing in the people part of the sales and service process by providing training before, during and after the sale.  Training has often been considered as an afterthought by auto dealers who have enjoyed the luxury of having more customers than cars with a never ending supply of salespeople and service writers who earned a higher than average income for their efforts.  Today’s consolidating auto industry has changed the math for auto dealers who now have to deal with shrinking sales volumes, reduced profit margins and the resulting loss of a ready willing and able sales and service staff whose incomes have been reduced along with dealer profits.

Automotive advertising agencies have always been tied to their auto dealer clients bottom line – whether they knew it or not – and today’s automotive advertising agencies are realizing that their areas of responsibility do not stop at the front door of the auto dealership.  Automotive advertising plans geared for the Internet using digital marketing platforms coupled with internal sales and service processes powered by integrated technologies provide efficiencies that allow auto dealerships to operate with reduced budgets and support staff in sales and service.

Unfortunately, many auto dealers and automotive advertising agencies have been operating with the false sense of security that the people aren’t as important as the technology and/or the processes that they have applied to replace them.   That is as untrue today as it was yesterday. People still like to do business with people that they like and human nature has survived on the world wide web.  The real solution for auto dealers forced to operate with fewer sales people and service writers is to train them in the use of the new technology, however, not at the expense of training them in understanding human nature and proven old school best practices to sell a car.

New technologies and automotive advertising applications include training solutions that offer efficiencies similar to other sales and service processes that have been applied to reduce expenses for auto dealers.   However, even the best training system can’t teach someone to be a nice person and/or to place their customer’s interests ahead of their own.  These applications must be coupled with people skills that are best hired vs. taught and they start before the sale or even the hiring of the sales person or service writer ever begins.

Internet based applications like Hire The Winners help human resource departments sort through applicants in the hiring process.  Their focus is on personality traits and people skills surfaced in a series of videos posted on a site that is linked to help wanted ads.  This screening process allows the auto dealer to determine how the applicant will react to various real world scenarios in the sales and service process.  Applying this filter before investing in training and lost sales opportunities caused by a bad hire provide an R.O.I. that can be easily verified with improved employee retention, C.S.I. / S.S.I. scores for the dealership and incremental increases in sales and service productivity by a well screened employee.

Similar advantages in training during the sales and service process can be applied by applications like DealerMouth that allow sales and service staff to promote themselves through their own websites hosted – and monitored – by the auto dealer to promote best practices.  This ongoing training by senior management compliments the desire by the automotive advertising agencies to extend the reach and frequency of their online automotive advertising messaging beyond the auto dealerships websites and or third party automotive advertising platforms.  Training by example is a proven practice that can be applied on the internet super highway in the virtual showroom much like it used to be applied in brick and mortar facilities.

Newly developing applications focused on enhancing the sales process with integrated training components are also in development.  Applications designed for kiosk, desk top and even mobile platforms promise to support sales and service staff before, during and after the buying and shopping experience for customers.  Providing sales people and service writers with best practices and word tracks to enhance the customer experience during their sales and/or service presentation will empower the staff by offering them relevant information to help the customer make a buying decision.  In addition to increasing their individual productivity on a real time basis, there is a residual benefit of training the sales and service writer who will be better able to apply and retain the information built into their more consistent presentations to their customers.

Automotive advertising agencies are tasked with evaluating new technologies and automotive advertising applications to provide more for less for their auto dealer clients.  The presumption that these technologies can – or should – replace people in the process is misguided if it doesn’t increase the productivity of the people that remain.  Training will increase the R.O.I. that auto dealers receive from their staff.  More importantly for automotive advertising agencies is that training will directly impact the auto dealers bottom line which is certainly part of the job description for automotive advertising agencies in today’s challenging auto industry.

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I am a self described old school car guy but perhaps my definition of that well earned title has a different meaning than many of my contemporaries have assigned to it. My definition of a car guy is an entrepreneurial business man that is driven to win, who values relationships as a team builder and who prides themselves as being a community leader. The people skills needed to accomplish most goals in the car business are built on an understanding of human nature which has survived in the virtual world of today’s Internet Super Highway. However, the technologies and online processes needed to communicate to customers have changed dramatically and us car guys need to stay ahead of the curve to stay competitive.

Similarly, automotive advertising agencies serve the retail auto industry in much the same way that they have for decades. However, since the one constant in the auto industry is change — and human nature is also a constant — then change in the automotive advertising industry must be limited to the technologies that have developed to serve the newest media of choice; the Internet. Agencies are still striving to improve the reach, frequency, cost per impression and the basic R.O.I. of their automotive advertising campaigns delivered to a qualified and targeted audience, however in my considered opinion there has been a paradigm shift in automotive advertising as a result of the empowerment that the Internet has extended to the online car shopper.

Conventional wisdom supports the position that selling processes on the virtual showrooms being built on the Internet Super Highway must replicate and integrate with those used in the brick and mortar showrooms on local car rows, however that is reflective of the needs of the auto dealers, not the customers. Structured selling systems require repetitive processes that eliminate redundancy of data input and accommodate follow up and management monitoring which has little value to consumers who just want to know if the auto dealer has the vehicle that they want and how much will they have to pay for it.

Old school wisdom suggest that the goal for the dealer after an initial contact by phone, email or by an online visitor to their website is to make an appointment to get the customer into the showroom since, after all, you can’t sell them a car on the phone or on the Internet — or can you? New technology based solutions like AutoTransaXion introduced by Argistics provide an online transaction tool with a two way video customer interaction application that links to the auto dealer’s DMS, CRM and ILM in a comprehensive push/pull manner that replicates the real world selling process. The enhanced transparency and relevancy provided by this online communication tool satisfies the needs of the online car shopper while providing a seamless transition that allows the auto dealer and the consumer to complete an online transaction.

Most Automotive advertising agencies recognize the need to provide transparency and relevancy to attract online car shoppers but few are aware of solutions such as AutoTransaXion to convert these new opportunities on the World Wide Web to sales. Budget challenged auto dealers are demanding that their automotive advertising agencies deliver more for less and staying in touch with new technology is one way to deliver.

Another opportunity to leverage online resources for automotive advertising agencies in the know can be found in new online inventory based marketing platforms like ronsmap.com that utilizes its game changing technology to integrate social networking media with their platform. The extended reach and frequency of message provided by their vBack Ask-a-Friend / Tell-a-Friend application increases S.E.O. for the auto dealer by integrating their social networking engine with every vehicle posted on ronsmap, the auto dealers’ website and third party sites that the auto dealer posts their inventory on. As a result, leads and sales are increased exponentially as they tie into the viral messages powered by their C2C marketing methods vs. more commonly utilized B2C methods offered by banner ads and other attempts to market into social networking communities from the outside in vs. the ability for vBack to market from the inside out.

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The very competitive automotive repair industry depends highly on sophisticated equipment which is very expensive. Automotive repair equipments like hydraulic lifts, alignment equipment etc play a vital role in the business operations of this industry. Although expensive, they are indispensable in various repair services. Therefore automotive repair equipment financing is assuming greater importance in the automotive repair industry.

The traditional lending institutions may not be willing to finance sophisticated automotive repair equipment due to their unique nature. However, there are a few genuine financing companies which understand your needs and requirements. They offer financial assistance under various categories and at better interest rates.

Commercial car wash requires lot of equipment and so an automotive repair industry needs to be equipped with all the essential equipments for the same purpose. Automatic car wash, In-bay car wash system, vacuum system etc are some of the sophisticated equipment required in car wash processes. But they are quite pricey especially in case of multiple car washes. Therefore, one can acquire the sophisticated equipments through automotive repair equipment financing.

Tire changer is another important component of any automotive repair shop. Nowadays people are particular about the tires they use and thus excellent tire changer equipment is indispensable for satisfying the customers. Automatic tire changer, PAX tire changer, manual tire changer are some of the equipments available in the market. They can be expensive and so the automotive shops need to look for automotive repair financing.

Auto body equipment plays a crucial role in making a wrecked vehicle to useful. This work however involves full line of auto body equipments like straightening equipment, painting bays and so on. In case they have to be worked on various types of vehicles, a full line of auto body equipment can be quite expensive. In such cases the help of automotive repair financing is much required.

Wheel balancer is another vital tool in an automotive repair shop which helps in assessing the potential problems in the wheel, quickly and accurately. Therefore this equipment helps in providing improved customer service. But the cost of wheel balancer is high and so wheel balancer financing provided by some reliable financing companies is essential.

Wheel alignment equipment is another valuable tool in an automotive repair shop. It saves time and helps the mechanic in easy and quick assessment and repair in any vehicle’s wheel alignment. Though essential, they are quite costlier and so many repair shops are not able to afford it. However automotive repair equipment financing provides valuable service to repair shops to acquire these essential tools.

A frame machine in an automotive shop helps to provide life even to severely damaged vehicle. It is also quite expensive, but some valid financing companies offer easy financial assistance to acquire a frame machine.

Automotive repair equipment financing therefore helps almost all automotive shop owners to acquire the valuable automotive repair tools. The financing companies provide straight forward approach in offering financial help. They provide fast approval with minimum application process. Even an online application is enough to get financial help from them. These companies offer help at better terms so that owners can pay their bills in low easy monthly installments.