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Yup. Hence the giant lead gate right at the front of the tunnel into a "digital retailing" solution. Also known as a really bad customer experience.

When you ditch the lead gate and let customers play, you get more floor-ups. Maybe one day we can learn to appreciate floor-ups over internet leads.
I agree to some extent regarding lead gates. But, then if there's no lead gate how do you measure ROI? (What brought the customer to the store?) Curious on your thoughts here because that's where dealers have typically reverted back to the lead form in my experience thus far.
 
I agree to some extent regarding lead gates. But, then if there's no lead gate how do you measure ROI? (What brought the customer to the store?) Curious on your thoughts here because that's where dealers have typically reverted back to the lead form in my experience thus far.

I'm going to use a really scary word when it comes to marketing: faith. Would you rather measure ROI or provide a good customer experience? We just finished a RefreshFriday with Chip Perry talking about how so many non-automotive companies are obsessed with the customer experience first. Nobody likes a paywall or a lead gate.

I know @Jeff Kershner doesn't want leads. He wants floor traffic. Maybe he can chime-in to talk about what moved him.
 

✨ AI Highlights

# Summary Automotive dealers question whether Cox Automotive's new Essential Commerce platform is genuinely innovative or simply rebranded existing technology, with skepticism growing after seeing the actual Penske implementation. A Cox representative claims the solution automates the entire used car buying process with industry firsts in financing and payments, but forum members counter that the user experience is underwhelming—requiring multiple clicks and early soft credit pulls that likely drive high abandonment rates. The underlying consensus is that despite millions in investment, digital retailing tools continue to suffer from poor UX and high abandonment, raising questions about why vendors keep funding these perpetually underperforming platforms.

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