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umer.autojini · Dec 12, 2008

If you are doing mass mailing using your own campaigner software... then it is best to setup the server in house... I know that we, AutoJini.com, do not allow mass emails from client software... most hosting providers will also not allow that... ones that do allow, you don't want to be on their network or be sending from them... as one bad sender will block the emails for legitimate senders.

I would recommend two solutions...

1. Move the email blasts off your network to third party... as this would give you better open rate... better list management and all the other features that a company in this field can provide.

2. If your ISP allows setup of Mail Server... then setup Postfix or Sendmail or Exim or any other mail server on your internal network that is used just for outgoing blasts... have your regular emails at the same place as now... so you don't have to worry about security, spam, viruses, blacklisting and all the other headaches that come with full blown setup... to get started you need to get a static IP from ISP... would need a reverse DNS on the IP (AOL, Hotmail may block without RDNS)... update the current SPF with new IP address, very simple thing to do... and install DKIM or DomainKeys if you want to get white listed on Yahoo... should not take more then 1 hours to setup. Then signup for AOL FBL (Feedback Loop), Hotmail SDNS, Comcast FBL and you are all set.

Gerald · Dec 11, 2008

I would have to agree, it would be terrific to have the capability, but only if there is a dedicated IT staffer to assist, and in this day and age of many dealers shrinking, that resource is a rarifying commodity. My organization just let 1 of our 2 guys go, and now the 1 is overworked.

The ability to keep your email server clean of SPAM is an excellent point, one I think that is constantly overlooked. I have been harrassed into mass-emailing our customers when our sales have slowed, but no one seems to care when I tell them the potential risks. Oh well. In a perfect world, I would definitely go with in house email server.

mattwatson81 · Dec 11, 2008

This is a good question.

Configuring a mail server is a pain in the rear. You have to worry about things like DomainKeys, SPF records, DNS records, SPAM filtering, Virus scanning, and all sorts of other fun stuff.

I wouldn't recommend doing it in house unless you have good IT resources available.

There are a lot of companies that offer hosted exchange services that you can look in to.

We offer free email hosting for our customers. We host email for several hundred dealers.

Chip Grueter · Dec 10, 2008

There's a few things to consider about mail, but they all boil down to incoming mail and outgoing mail. Incoming mail is easy to deal with whether hosted on your own or through a provider, however there are benefits of hosting your mail server locally, especially if you are running Exchange.

Pros
1) Active directory integration and ease of setup/use.
2) The mail store is local, so send/retrieving is always instantaneous, no issues with having to use cache mode or tieing up your bandwidth when you send out an attachment to your entire company and they all have to download it individually.
3) Shared contacts and calendars are easier when you can utilize the full features of Exchange and active directory.
4) You can make sure your reverse DNS is setup correctly, which is not always the case with a hosted solution.
5) If you sign up for something like Postini ($1/month/user) you now have a backup system in case your mail server goes down - your emails get queued up, you get a VERY good SPAM filtering service and you have the option for them to do archiving for a slightly higher price.

http://www.google.com/a/help/intl/en/security/compare.html

6) In all reality, your ISP should NOT be telling you how many emails per hour you can be sending. You're on a business line and you're conducting business practices. Dump them if they push back on you - however if you're using your Exchange server and not theirs, I can't imagine they'd say anything.
7) You get control over everything.

Cons
1) You get control over everything. In the wrong hands, a very bad situation. Exchange is a very "set it and forget it" application, however everyone has a tinkerer in their company and that can lead to trouble. We run Exchange 2003, and aside from updates, we haven't touched the configuration since 2003.
2) If you're sending out your newsletters/bulk emails from the same box and IP address as your day to day mail, there's a good chance your IP is going to get mistaken for a SPAMMER and you'll have to work very hard to make sure your day to day emails end up in inboxes and not junk/spam folders. In the six years we've been in business, we have not sent a single email to our user base and we still struggle with email reaching people correctly.
3) There are hardware and software expenses that are paid up front. A typical server will run about $2000-$3000. An offsite backup solution will run about $45/month per gigabyte of data. Smaller businesses can get away with something like Windows Small Business Server which integrates Active Directory and Exchange for about $1200 plus Outlook licenses for each user - however for bigger organizations the cost does add up fast.
4) You will need an IT guy or a Managed Services firm. You'll want someone responsive if anything should happen.

If it was my company/dealership, I would be hosting our email locally at our dealership or at our BDC. I wouldn't be sending our newsletter/bulk emails through that server, I'd want to keep it as "clean" as possible. I'd find a service whose sole job is to do that and who takes SPAM very seriously, like Constant Contact. The last thing you want is for your lead follow up emails to not make it to your potential customers.

Chip-

bpulseadmin · Dec 10, 2008

Kelley Blue Book Now Releasing Values Weekly, Introduces New Methodologies

Kelley Blue Book, www.kbb.com, the leading provider of new- and used-vehicle information, is now publishing its used-vehicle values weekly via its Web-based product KarPower Online(R). Prior to this week, only the Kelley Blue Book(R) Trade-In Values were updated weekly, while other values were published in the Kelley Blue Book Official Guide every other month. The Blue Book Official Guide also has an updated publishing schedule with its frequency moving from every other month to monthly. Blue Book Official Guide customers received their first monthly edition in November of 2008. IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 8/PRNewswire

In addition to striving for greater accuracy through more frequent updates, Kelley Blue Book has added an 'Auction Value,' which is what a used vehicle is expected to sell for at a wholesale auction. An additional change includes a name change for the company's Wholesale Value, a long-standing benchmark for automotive lending, which is now the 'Wholesale Lending Value.' The Wholesale Lending Value will be updated weekly reflecting the value of a vehicle that has been fully reconditioned, inspected and is frontline ready. Finance companies can now use Kelley Blue Book's Wholesale Lending Value without any additional calculation to mitigate risk and better manage lending portfolios.

"Kelley Blue Book had been planning to move to weekly values for some time, but with the changing economy and the volatility in the automotive marketplace, we sped up the process to offer greater accuracy now," said Paul Johnson, president and CEO of Kelley Blue Book. "Having access to the most timely and relevant values in the industry will allow automotive businesses to have insight into the market each week to make the most informed buying, selling and finance decisions."

New Values Definitions

Auction Value: The expected auction transaction value.

Auction Value is what a vehicle is expected to sell for at a wholesale auction. The Auction Value assumes the seller has properly disclosed the condition of the vehicle (including any flood or frame damage). It does not include buyer's fees or the buyer's transportation costs and assumes the vehicle has not yet been fully reconditioned, inspected or prepared for retail sale.

Wholesale Lending Value: The expected finance value of a fully reconditioned vehicle.

Wholesale Lending Value is a trusted benchmark value for wholesale and retail lenders. Based on Kelley Blue Book's Auction Value, the Wholesale Lending Value assumes that the vehicle is in good or excellent condition, fully reconditioned, inspected and prepared for retail sale.

Kelley Blue Book Employs Advanced Analytics

One of the greatest challenges facing dealers and lenders in the automotive industry today is pricing vehicle inventories as close to market as possible. When timely and market-reflective values are in place, these businesses can allay risk, minimize losses and increase profits. Values updated weekly using hundreds of thousands of actual transactions with regional factors applied, help businesses better manage their inventories in a volatile economy.

In combination with supplying weekly values to the industry and introducing the Kelley Blue Book Auction Value, the company has also revolutionized its valuation methodology. The company's move to a more robust quantitative approach using improved statistical models and advanced analytic techniques has been in development for more than a year. Kelley Blue Book has now significantly upgraded its statistical models analyzing more national transaction data than ever and taking into account additional macroeconomic factors and industry trends to produce the most refined values in the company's history. Such factors and trends include the cost of gasoline, production levels, supply and demand, catalytic events (e.g. hurricanes, floods, spike in gas prices) as well as competition in each vehicle segment.

"Kelley Blue Book's commitment to delivering the most market-relevant values in the industry is reflected in recent enhancements to its advanced valuation methodology," said Vince Nelson, executive vice president of Information Services for Kelley Blue Book. "The significant improvement to our values and the underlying data collection, warehousing, analytics and more frequent distribution results in values in which the industry can have great confidence."

In the last year, Kelley Blue Book forged several new data supply relationships with auctions, manufacturers and dealers, dramatically enhancing the company's data points available for analysis into the tens of millions. In the last year, The Trusted Resource(R) has also deployed more than a dozen automotive analysts into regional markets nationwide, with sophisticated hand-held devices to capture localized information and a depth of data not available through standard auction reporting. The placement of these analysts across the United States ensures that data collection is of the highest quality and conditions in regional markets from California to New York are well understood and documented.

Kelley Blue Book collects data from many sources in varying forms. Once the data is collected it goes through a normalization process and is then scrutinized by an in-house data analytics team for missing information and anomalies in the marketplace, as well as to identify regional trends. Any abnormalities or vehicles with missing data are then scrubbed from the information set prior to reaching the company's new state-of-the-art data warehouse. Each week these highly inspected data sets go through a sophisticated regression model and are then validated, producing used vehicle values that accurately reflect the market.

The updated models and methodologies now employed by Kelley Blue Book enable the company's forecasting timeframe to be among the shortest in the industry. Currently, Kelley Blue Book forecasts its weekly values one week or less prior to publication, whereas other guidebooks forecast their used-vehicle values three or even four weeks before they reach the hands of dealers and finance companies.

"All of these new analytic processes enable Kelley Blue Book to provide the industry with unrivaled insights into the automotive marketplace, continuing the company's preeminence in vehicle pricing and values," said Johnson. "With these game-changing enhancements in data collection, quantitative modeling and personnel, the industry can expect the most timely and accurate values today, from a name they know and trust."

About Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com)
Since 1926, Kelley Blue Book, The Trusted Resource(R), has provided vehicle buyers and sellers with the new and used vehicle information they need to accomplish their goals with confidence. The company's top-rated Web site, www.kbb.com, provides the most up-to-date pricing and values, including the New Car Blue Book(R) Value, which reveals what people actually are paying for new cars. The company also reports vehicle pricing and values via products and services, including software products and the famous Blue Book(R) Official Guide. According to the C.A. Walker Research Solutions, Inc. - 2008 Spring Automotive Web Site Usefulness Study, kbb.com is the most useful automotive information Web site among new and used vehicle shoppers, and half of online vehicle shoppers visit kbb.com. Kbb.com is a leading provider of new car prices, car reviews and news, used car blue book values, auto classifieds and car dealer locations. No other medium reaches more in-market vehicle shoppers than kbb.com.

Brad Burlingham · Dec 17, 2008

I'm curious what dealers think about this program. We have tried it a couple of times and its very hard to determine how much of a value it is. obviously, edmunds leads are great but you can't really be sure how many of your edmunds leads come directly as a result of your "premiere" status

bpulseadmin · Dec 8, 2008

The industry's leading provider of the highest quality Internet-generated consumer leads to auto dealers nationwide, today announced that in October, the company enrolled its 600th dealer in the Edmunds.com Premier Dealer Program, setting a new benchmark in program sign-ups by an Edmunds.com PDP partner. Fort Lauderdale, FL (PRWEB) November 19, 2008 -- AutoUSA

"We're a big supporter of the Edmunds.com Premier Dealer Program, and have actively promoted it to our dealer clients because of the results we've seen," said Phil DuPree, president of AutoUSA. "It increases a dealer's online presence and puts them in the spotlight on one of the most popular automotive sites in the industry."

The Edmunds.com Premier Dealer Program was developed to help drive more in-market auto buyers to a dealer's Web site with increased visibility and positioning on the Edmunds.com Web site. Dealers receive exclusive lead territories, top placement in Edmunds' Dealer Locator, dealer-branded advertisements throughout Edmunds.com, custom-designed dealer PDP program Web pages and Edmunds.com dealer endorsement messages.

AutoUSA was the first Edmunds.com partner to offer the Premier Dealer Program, which was launched in 2006. Since then, AutoUSA's program participants have consistently reported increases in lead quality and closing ratios as a result of the additional Edmunds.com Web site exposure, and the portal's popularity as a trusted source for vehicle reports, research, articles and comparisons.

"AutoUSA has been a fantastic Edmunds.com Premier Dealer Program partner," said Sean Peoples, executive director of business development for Edmunds.com, Inc. "Because they really understand how to help dealers realize the full benefits of the program, their success in promoting it is no surprise."

About AutoUSA (www.AutoUSA.com):

AutoUSA, Inc., is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and a subsidiary of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE: AN), the largest retail automotive company in the United States. AutoUSA is an independent third-party provider of leads to more than 4,000 dealerships. The company has built its success on a combination of advanced web-based technology and a network that includes the country's most well respected online automotive resources, including Edmunds.com, Kelley Blue Book, MSN Autos, Yahoo! Autos, America Online, NADA Analytical Services Group, AutoVantage.com, AutoNation.com and AutoUSA.com. The vast majority of Ward's Top 100 eDealers use AutoUSA. More information is available online at http://www.autousa.com.

Justin Duff · Dec 18, 2008

I would love to see something like this come to be a standard in Google's search engine. I think they could do better by listing smaller thumbnails of the vehicle and listing more, yes I said MORE! Keep the text about the car smaller and make the customers click on the vehicle to read everything about it. Google could display 10-20 cars in the space they are currently using to show those 3. We automatically distribute all of our dealers' inventory to Google Base and I think this would help drive more traffic to their site.

Dec 10, 2008

We track our source for traffic by using Analytics Tools & Solutions for Your Business - Google Analytics

We have never seen Google Base bring significant traffic to us.

I remember, couple of years ago, when you type '2007 ford F150' in Google, they will show a simple search section right below their logo, from there, it tie to the Google Base search engine. It is a great tool, but they took it away, I will never understand why they took it away.

Let face it, not everyone know they have to go to http://base.google.com to find a car.

I hope they bring that feature back for dealer...

Google base has about 2,964,457, vehicles (as of Dec 10 2009), Autotrader.com claim they have about 3M cars. You can tell there are lots of dealer feed their inventory to Google Base.

Dec 10, 2008

Gary,

You make a good point. I guess we won't know until they finish testing. Either way, I would have to agree with Casey on this for now.

matts1 · Dec 10, 2008

This is semi-off topic.

My question..
How many consumers actually search Google for a specific vehicle? I feel like it has to be an overwhelming minority.. but maybe I'm wrong?

My point..
I purchased a new Acura a year ago. I used google to get to manufacturer sites to do my homework on the vehicles; build my own using their configurators, etc. When I was ready to purchase a vehicle I headed to google and looked up local Acura dealerships or maybe I used the manufacturer site "find a dealer" function, I don't remember anymore. Regardless, I knew what I wanted and just needed to find the closest Acura dealership. I didn't type "2007 Black Acura TSX" into google and expect to get a live listing.

If I had been shopping a used vehicle I would have headed to KBB or Edmunds to do my research and gone directly to Autotrader.com when I was ready to find MY vehicle.

Let's equate this to shopping the internet for tickets to a football game.. I'm not going to google and typing "NY Giants Dec 29 tickets" - I'm going to well known sites designed specifically to assist me in purchasing event tickets like stubhub or ebay to check out whats available.

I hear so much of "indexable inventory" these days and I wonder how much value this really yields?

Is anyone aware of any tangible market research to support the frenzy over displaying live listings on google.com?

Thanks!

Dec 10, 2008

Richard, you're right. Historically, I believe, they've been wary of putting too much emphasis on sponsored results to retain market share but I also think they're slowing moving the market. Instead of making sweeping changes that would alienate users, I think they're aiming to add more sponsored results (and functionality for those results) so slowly that the market will not respond negatively.

Dec 9, 2008

If Google starts putting too much emphasis on sponsored results, they will lose market share.

Dec 9, 2008

Since we are on the topic of Google another item that can help you that I use all the time is www.google.com/trends which give you advanced insight into what keywords people are searching. Just thought I would share.

Dec 8, 2008

"great win for dealers"

but it used to be free to have your link there!
this looks awfully-a-lot like sending a data feed to google and paying to play for leads, which sounds a lot like..

Casey Copeland · Dec 8, 2008

I just don't think this will happen, atleast not in the interface displayed here. Just too cumbersome for the user.

Dec 8, 2008

I can't show you anything without it popping up on DR. Maybe I should just start my own blog.... Hmmm....that is a good idea. I wonder what I should name it?

Dec 20, 2008

I started about a month ago im upto 50 of my cars with videos. i have also been carring my flip camera around and asking custemers if they would say something nice about us. no one has turned me, because i just start shooting! Check my owner:

Login to view embedded media View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wB5WhunZOo&feature=channel_page

Login to view embedded media View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LXCprl0NUo&feature=channel_page

Login to view embedded media View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3CGzSHriXI&feature=channel_page

http://www.youtube.com/user/SparksBuick

Im doing a One take, on the fly, promote myself, be myself. so far I have had great numbers on plays and comments from people telling me they are watchiing them.

Let me know what you think

Tim "One Take' Jennings

Dec 19, 2008

I started about a month ago im upto 50 of my cars with videos. i have also been carring my flip camera around and asking custemers if they would say something nice about us. no one has turned me, because i just start shooting! Check my owner:

Login to view embedded media View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wB5WhunZOo&feature=channel_page

Login to view embedded media View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LXCprl0NUo&feature=channel_page

Login to view embedded media View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3CGzSHriXI&feature=channel_page

http://www.youtube.com/user/SparksBuick

Im doing a One take, on the fly, promote myself, be myself. so far I have had great numbers on plays and comments from people telling me they are watchiing them.

Let me know what you think

Tim "One Take' Jennings

Dec 8, 2008

Over the last week Youtube has changed alot, added tweaks, new features, HD video is just one of the cool add-ons. Google has been adding some new things too for search... maybe something really cool is brewing??

Jeff ur right on, these Flip video cameras are insanely easy to use, and the HD version is under $250!

http://www.theflip.com/products_flip_ultra_specs.II.shtml

Yes the quick capture is good for email vids!

Any dealershop shooting their own videos should look into one of these Flips.

Dec 7, 2008

Interesting note. Are you aware of many dealers actually doing the video walk-arounds? And is it better to use the Flip or simply subscribe to a service like one offered by SisTer Technologies (sp?)?

Dec 30, 2008

Very interested in a price on good leads. Please respond quickly. 615-573-2276

bpulseadmin · Dec 3, 2008

AutoUSA, the industry's leading provider of the highest quality, Internet-generated consumer leads to auto dealers nationwide, today announced the launch of a used car inventory pay-per-lead program for dealerships. The new dealer-friendly program, which was successfully piloted by AutoNation, the largest retail automotive company in the U.S., lets dealers post their used vehicle inventory at top automotive sites such as AOL Autos, CarPerks.com, Overstock.com, AutoMedia.com, CarDomain.com and AutoUSA's used car Web site, AutoUSAused.com. AutoUSA is offering the inventory marketing and lead generation service with a pay-for-performance pricing plan, in which dealers only pay for the leads they receive each month. Fort Lauderdale, FL (PRWEB) December 2, 2008

AutoUSA, the industry's leading provider of the highest quality, Internet-generated consumer leads to auto dealers nationwide, today announced the launch of a used car inventory pay-per-lead program for dealerships. The new dealer-friendly program, which was successfully piloted by AutoNation, the largest retail automotive company in the U.S., lets dealers post their used vehicle inventory at top automotive sites such as AOL Autos, CarPerks.com, Overstock.com, AutoMedia.com, CarDomain.com and AutoUSA's used car Web site, AutoUSAused.com. AutoUSA is offering the inventory marketing and lead generation service with a pay-for-performance pricing plan, in which dealers only pay for the leads they receive each month.

"Our focus has always been providing dealers with the highest quality Internet leads. With the current economy, the simple fact is that more consumers are considering used vehicle purchases," said Phil DuPree, president of AutoUSA. "We are committed to supporting our clients in every area that we can. Providing a pay-for-performance used car inventory marketing program greatly enhances their chance to sell more used cars, and at a low cost per sale."

Dealers who sign up for the program will have will have their used vehicle inventory appearing online within a week. Used car inventory data will be pulled through the dealership's existing inventory polling partners, such as Dealer Specialties, DMI, HomeNet, etc., and can include new vehicle inventory if the data is also available.

With the program's pay-for-lead pricing structure, dealers only pay for the leads they receive each month, compared to other inventory marketing services that charge expensive monthly fees whether the dealer receives any leads or not. And, there are no long-term contract commitments. Dealers can opt out of the program at any time with a 30-day notice.

AutoUSA's used car inventory lead program also employs the same stringent filtering and scrubbing process used to generate its award-winning, new car leads. The system eliminates duplicates, and filters out leads with missing or incorrect contact information such as phone and email addresses.

"Fifty percent of online used car sales come from new car leads. Our research also shows that VIN specific leads close at a high rate," said DuPree, who adds "our goal with the used car inventory lead program is to provide dealers with the great quality of leads, speed of delivery and excellent service we've achieved with our new vehicle lead program, and we expect to see the same results - increased profits."

For more information on AutoUSA's used car inventory pay-per-lead program, call 800-243-9935.

About AutoUSA (www.AutoUSA.com)
AutoUSA, Inc., is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and a subsidiary of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE: AN), the largest retail automotive company in the United States. AutoUSA is an independent third-party provider of leads to more than 4,000 dealerships. The company has built its success on a combination of advanced web-based technology and a network that includes the country's most well respected online automotive resources, including Edmunds.com, Kelley Blue Book, AOL Autos, MSN Autos, Yahoo! Autos, NADA Analytical Services Group, AutoVantage.com, AutoNation.com and AutoUSA.com. The vast majority of Ward's Top 100 eDealers use AutoUSA. More information is available online at http://www.autousa.com.

Apr 7, 2009

Hi Alex,
Great article and spot on. I've been involved with Internet marketing at many levels since 1999, but working in the automotive space for just a few years now.

I'm still amazed at some of the basic things that auto dealers miss such as ROI, poor lead management, and too many HIPPOS. Sometimes some of the best local Internet marketing is free or minimal cost, but most auto dealers won't pay attention unless it cost $500 or more per month.

Dec 12, 2008

Thanks for the great post Alex!

There has been many post & discussions in regards to the Internet Directors position in the past and have touched a bit here and there. With this post you have provided all of us the endurance of true aspects to the new marketing formula.

The Internet Director should be right at the level of the GM & GSM. Be part of the weekly Monday meetings, or however yours is set up. The Internet Director should have the authority to go right to the decision maker at the dealership. Providing the support to the IT department, that department will shine!

AKA THE GOLDEN DEPARTMENT. This is where your best bang for your buck is.

It gets very frustrating when planning a great marketing idea based upon the Internet when you cannot get to the decision maker. Work up the chain of command, for which your ideas get thrown to the side.

The Internet Director should be the individual to oversee all CRM activities, website, marketing oh yes and sales staff. You may be asking “why in the world the sales staff”?

•Providing the importance of the Internet
•Having them be noticed on the internet (I had my prior sales staff write up an About Me for each one)
•Get them on a schedule for following up with old prospects, daily work activities and mailers to their prior customers for upcoming birthdays, holidays & service deals.
•Work as a team for creating marketing ideas. You can get lots of feed back when you take your sales staffs ideas into consideration. (Instead of throwing them off to the side).
•Set Tasks in the CRM tools for them if needed (depending on the size of your staff)

If there is a CRM tool that’s in place at your dealership and no one is using it….. Eeeeek! Do you realize how much $$$$$ is setting there. I am not talking about the cost of the CRM tool!

I am talking about the customers that are in that CRM tool…

I would have a field day or should I say a kid at Christmas!

Let me see, if I ran a dealership or owned a dealership my Internet Director would be right at the top level of management.

Having the Marketing Agency, Dealership, IT Department & Manufacture work together with all marketing tools that are available you will succeed.

If you are missing links in the formula then you can’t ride your bike. Yeah you can sit there look cool, tweaking your little mirror, checking out your cool noisemakers you got installed on your spokes!

However it would be a lot smoother to your coolness when cruising!

Thanks again Alex for this post. I may have got a little off track but as a true supporter for all Internet IT Departments & Business Development Centers I speak from past experiences.

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