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Dec 1, 2008 · Dec 1, 2008

High turnover, low turnover...bottom line is anything is better then a cookie cutter cobalt site. LOL

Sep 14, 2007 · Sep 14, 2007

i just change my site to higherturnover. Very good company to work with, very profeesional reliable and reasonable.
I wish i dealt with them a long time ago.

umer.autojini · Mar 19, 2007

I have not used them... but do subscribe to their blog.. contains lot of useful information. Esp. following the Craiglist vs AutoTrader post.

Jeff... any chance that in these website profiles the URL could be made a link.

Sep 11, 2007

When looking for a web site provider, you have to be proactive and do a little bit of research yourself. What I mean is, you need educate yourself on the technology you are buying.

As far as Dealerskins goes.. They rely way to much on frames and flash technology..both of which can hurt you when it comes to search engines. (As far as inventory pulling...they do a fine job though...well except if you are using EDS) They just don't seem to be keeping with the times as far as proper web design / development trends are concerned (for example...Web Standards, CSS, RSS feed marketing, Accessibility, SEO...the list goes on)

Their sites were cutting edge a few years ago.. but most web surfers (your customers) have grown tired of all the flash and glam. They want good, clean design that loads quickly so they can find the info they are looking for fast.

Do some research. And don't just speak with web developers who's primary focus is car dealerships. You may not want to go with them..but they can provide valuable insight into what some of these web design companies are telling you. Go to Borders and visit their web design section. Surf the Internet. And do all this before you sign on the dotted line!

May 1, 2007

Eric,

You may want to go the route that we did at my previous company. We had one vendor for the website and one vendor for the inventory. So for Boucher (my previous employer), we had Cobalt for our websites and CarSpot (my new employer) for the inventory display and management. The main reason that we chose not to use Cobalt to display our inventory, was that CarSpot gave us the flexibility to make the inventory display templates "look" the way that we liked and fit our needs. I should add that our choice was very easy, as we already were using CarSpot to manage our online inventory.

You can check out the site that I'm referring to, at:

http://www.boucherautos.com

All 18 dealerships use Cobalt for their websites and frame in CarSpot's inventory display templates (to the customer, the integration looks seamless.)

Also, you may want to look at CarSpot's Solo, as it sounds like it would match your needs very well. It's the only camera on the market that has a VIN barcode scanner built in. With the CarSpot Solo, you can scan the VIN and take as many pictures as you want; go to the next car and repeat. Once you're done with all the cars that you want to shoot, you hook the camera up to a computer and it syncs the pictures with the information that is polled from your ADP system (or pretty much any other DMS system).

You can check out the CarSpot Solo device & the rest of CarSpot's suite of Live Inventory Solutions at:

http://www.carsgofaster.com

I hope this was helpful and wasn't too much of a shameless plug. The moral of the story is that you don't have to use the same vendor for the website as your inventory display. There is more cost using 2 vendors, but you can get closer to where you want without going custom (much more expensive).

-JoE Drosen
National Sales Director, CarSpot

http://www.carsgofaster.com

Mar 20, 2007

Eric-

I think you have a great grasp of what is most important to each dealership. I redid my previous dealers' website from Izmo to Dealerskins for a couple of reasons, the primary one to show off our dealership and add "flash" to the buyer. The design process was quick and realtively painless. Perhaps the best reasaons (for me) was tech support- it was prompt, and the reporting tools in the back end which helped me determine how best to structure and place my monthly specials.

Basically, I would ask each store why they think ADP/Dealerskins is the way they should go, and if it boils down to "sex appeal" then the decision is easy, but if it is more substantive, it is a tougher call. Me personally, I would go with Dealerskins in a hearbeat.

I had few issues with inventory update- I would change pricing occasionally on old-age units and only a couple of times had issues with sold units still posting, which was more an R&R issue than anything else.

Bottom line- I got great results, quick turn-around and thorought follow up during the design process and when I needed tech support. I don't think you will make a bad decision either way.

Good luck
Gerald Hand
Toyota of Irving

umer.autojini · Mar 8, 2007

DealerSkins will not have an issue polling the data. ADP API are well documented and there are numerous programs (EZD, Reflection, ViaDuct, etc) out there that can grab the data from ADP with ease. If the data is bad to begin with then manual intervention is required.... but if you enter in the correct information only thing manual you would need to do is upload the images.

My 2 cents on the providers... note I work for a competitor (AutoJini) so it is going to be bias.

I find lot of ADP Dynamic sites to be the same look and feel... which is a good thing and a bad thing. Also under the research / vehicle features/specs sections one has to do lot of clicks to get to the information. This is where one misses one click inventory from AutoJini, DealerOn, and IdealerNetwork. Most of the website providers will use images and 360's from Edmunds or eVox. One can also always go with ADP BZ Results... and if you find that ADP Dynamic is not cutting it for you then move to BZ Results should be really painless... I do love ADP Dynamic clean look and feel and the flow is just very easy and one does not get lost.

You are right... Dealerskin sites are really busy... but I'm sure that they can give you a totally custom implementation. I find that on most sites.. they still use frames... which will not help you in search engines... and one can't seem to be able to turn off the sound... and the 360 are in QuickTime

... The homepage colors and the effects are exciting and it pops out and visitor won't forget it. But I would say that the sub page navigation and distractions are too much for avg import buyer.

-- Farooq

Mar 8, 2007

Our three-location dealership family is in the process of switching websites. After a bit of research, I’ve categorized our web options into three groups:

All-inclusive website/online marketing/CRM tool

Standalone website

Local web design/host service

After considering cost, functionality, relevance, and flexibility, we have decided to pursue a standalone website. We all use Autobase as our CRM, ADP WebSuite internally, and our IT manager (who is VERY sensitive to Can-Spam requirements) requires Mozilla (and his watchful eye) for our email campaigns.

Out of our standalone site options, we are considering two. ADP Dynamic Web Premier and Dealerskins. Two locations (our MB-Volvo-VW store and our Audi-Nissan-Subaru-Toyota-VW store) have decided on ADP and our Dodge store opted for Dealerskins. Ownership would like to use only one vendor, so we have a dilemma.

As an ADP advocate, here is my argument. I believe there are three main differences between the two. Here are two.

1. The look. In my opinion, ADP offerings are clean, fresh, and plenty flexible for our needs. With a few small icon changes on the inventory pages, I think ADP would be a homerun for an Import store. Inventory is represented well, and the media gallery (with int. and ext. spins) is very impressive. I think Dealerskins sites are naturally too busy. Both have good navigability, but seeing through the clutter is a bit trying.

2. Calls to action. Dealerskins uses too many calls to action that require giving up gross. In a market where most of our OEM lines are exclusive to the area, I don’t believe such a plan is needed. ADP uses well-placed, relevant calls to action throughout all pages of the site. I can see the benefit to a Dodge store, but I don’t know if the average Volvo buyer would necessarily respond to a $200 Internet coupon.

Which finally brings me to my question. I believe that compatibility with our current inventory database is another very important difference. Since we use ADP already, our compatibility with Dynamic Web regarding inventory polling should be seamless. And I have heard that Dealerskins uses a 3rd party program to link ADP inventory to the site. I have also heard that ADP considers any non-ADP polling as hostile, and treats it differently. From what I understand, some manual input is necessary. Is this true? Is there a distinct disadvantage to Dealerskins because of this? With the exception of photos, I would prefer to be hands-off when it comes to inventory updates to our site.

Sincerely,

Eric J. Deising
Internet Sales Manager

Jul 30, 2007

Any comment in the negative seems inappropriate here, given my place and position as the "other guy." But really, down the street here in Chicago, I can get a piece of pizza for $4. But a block away, I can get a piece of pizza and a soda for $3.25. Yeah, I like the $4 place and sometimes I am lazy and go there anyway. But the $3.25 place, that pizza is just as good and provides me with a free can of pop. So, lately... I'm strecthing out my legs and going the extra block. My wife is happy, cheaper lunches and more exercise...

Take a second and ask yourself, if the $$$ they want for this stuff worth it. Does it really taste any better? Could you be eating a few lunches for the price one?

That is not for me to decide. But in time, this stuff they are charging for is going to drive dealers to the $3.25 place. And here at Cars.com, we'll gladly send you a case of pop.

Apr 3, 2007

Thanks Jeff. I've personally been messing with AutoTrader on and off since 2001. I think part of our issue has to do with the fact that we don't use a decent inventory control program. We have been using ADP's WebVehicle, but it works so poorly we basically have to rely on a hack program to get our inventory where it needs to go. Hopefully we'll be making a change soon.

Andy McBride at HomeNet has been a huge help. I would like to use their system or something similar - we're looking around right now.

Mar 30, 2007

We've had numerous issues with AutoTrader in the past, and everytime we re-sign with them those same issues come up again. It hasn't mattered if we were a premium dealer, a basic dealer, or are getting our cars up there for free because we advertise in the magazine. The issue is inventory - it always turns into a major mess with them. The first month things are always fantastic, but somewhere during the second and third month it all goes to hell:

1. Sold units do not come off AutoTrader - even after calling to have them removed.
2. If you do not use their back-end tool, you cannot get anything done. When using multiple third party sources, and having multiple rooftops, this is extremely cumbersome.
2. Atlanta is completely oblivious to their local reps and dealers - they might as well be in India
3. We can put 1,000 cars on AutoTrader and only sell 5 or less units while those same cars are listed in other places with much higher results.

To get back to the original question, it has been my experience that it doesn't matter which level you're at with AutoTrader. Why waste the money on the more expensive packages?

Mar 29, 2007

Jeff-

I don't think you are being hard on Autotrader- not at all! When they give us some token increases in abilities of their new products for an additional $500/month, let's make sure it is going to make sense.

Last spring I had to fire Autotrader because according to our records, we had sold 2 vehicles in November and 2 more in December. Deep down, I knew we had sold more, but I had nothing to stand on. I got a full-court press from them in trying to intimidate me to not cancel, I would be missing out on some 300,000 autoshoppers, teh largest car sales point in the US, etc.

I got back on the bandwagon 4 months later, and started to get some results and now use the premium listing. I have had great results, but I am not afraid to hammer them if need be. We are accountable for our numbers, and they (the vendors) need to be accountable to us!

Of note, the other day an ex Autotrader rep alluded to a lofty goal they had set ("X factor" or something to that effect). Basically, it was a monumental goal of sales set several years ago, and they now, with modest (ha, ha) rate increases each year hope to achieve this goal.

Dec 13, 2011

HTML emails often get bounced just because they have a lot of images, etc. However, the info on blacklist monitoring is superb. Thank you very much for those links. Great quick article, great info, and complete. Thank you again.

Mar 2, 2009

Designing an HTML email that renders consistently across the major email clients can be very time consuming. Support for even simple CSS varies considerably between clients, and even different versions of the same client.

I found this CSS support in email prospects guide to save Internet Sales Managers the time and trouble of figuring it out for themselves.

Guide to CSS

spreadsheets.google.com

Happy Selling

Mar 2, 2007

Email – The love/hate relationship - John Max Miller

Let’s first talk about the love…

Email is really the new telephone. It’s BETTER than the telephone. You never HAVE to answer it; you can even ‘listen’ and not answer it! It doesn’t ‘ring’ at dinner time! You can answer it at 4am and no one is upset by that! It’s more convenient for discussions; you don’t have to be available when someone wants to ‘talk’ to you. Email REALLY is cool…

Now the hate…

I have been using a blackberry since the day they came out. I am an ADDICT! It never leaves my side, wakes me up at night, and takes time away from my family every day when we are on vacation. I spend my day ON email and never seem to be able to get away from it.

Now let’s get down to business… How can email help me make more money?

Email will only help you make more money if you USE IT PROPERLY.

Email is NOT a business toy – it is a tool that if used wrong can cut you so deep you will bleed to death – financially!

Email is about communication! Email must first and foremost GET DELIVERED to your customer. No matter the message and how poorly or how well it is written, it has to get into your customers IN BOX.

How do YOU ensure delivery?

Understanding blacklists and becoming white listed is VERY important in this email delivery space.

Blacklists - If you are sending out multiple emails at a time, you need to make sure that you continually monitor blacklisting sites. These sites are independent non-profit companies that specialize in finding ‘open relays’ where ‘spammers’ may be sending emails from and literally can STOP YOUR EMAILS DEAD IN
THEIR TRACKS. You can send 2500 emails and not one of them ever gets delivered.

Email Blacklist Check - IP Blacklist Check - See if your server is blacklisted will allow you to check if you are blacklisted.

ORDB: Level Up with Crypto & Blockchain Gaming will allow you to check if your servers have open relays and could be blacklisted.

If you are sending emails out of your dealership, over your network, you need someone to monitor your open relays and your black listings. If you become blacklisted, you will need to go through a process to be taken off the black list. This is a process that, if you are sending emails on a regular basis, will have to be CONTINUALLY monitored. Being blacklisted and being taken off does NOT mean you won’t be blacklisted again.

Let’s now get a good understanding of white lists.

Whitelists are, in essence, and approved sender list managed by the ISP’s (Internet Service providers – AOL/Yahoo/Excite etc.) themselves.

In order to be white listed with EACH ISP, you need to go through a formal process and prove/show evidence to the individual ISP that the people you are communicating with have asked for you to communicate with them (permission based). ISP’s, even if you are white listed, can stop delivering your emails to their customers if your emails receive certain levels of “This is spam”, complaints.

You might ask “why would someone who has asked me to communicate with them mark our emails as spam?” Think back to your desktop… When you receive emails, what do you review… advertisements selling you something or emails sent from someone personally to you. This is now where you get into the content of the email issue…

Let’s discuss content!

If you get an email with a bunch of cars zooming across the screen or videos or pictures… what is your first impression?

I just received an email from a friend.
I just received SPAM.

Most people will in less than a second choose #2. Make your emails personal. Don’t send canned responses with canned pictures. ALWAYS put your message first so they see you are writing them a personal email.

People buy from people they like and trust. This is still a people business and ALWAYS will be.

So we all know that delivery is the #1 issue. Get the email to their INBOX!

Manage your open relays on your servers; make sure you are not black listed – weekly. Make a concerted effort to get white listed with ALL the major ISP’s.

And once you know that your emails are being delivered, make them personal and relevant so the customer appreciates the communication and responds by coming into the dealership to SPEND MONEY.

After all – it does not say ‘Church’ or ‘Synagogue” on the front of your dealership! Make money with your email!

-
A big thanks to John Max Miller; over at @utoRevenue for writing this
article and clearing up a few questions I’m sure we all have about email and email delivery. If you have more questions or are looking for some help with your email marketing, John invites you contact him at 1-413-243-4800 or jmiller@autorevenue.com .

Mar 3, 2007

Hi Chip,

Like other Autotrader.com products, the new stuff is just as great. Unfortunately though, ahead of most dealerships comprehension.

More importantly I’d like to comment on your troops that are out in the battlefield everyday, and how many not just sell the number one online automobile advertising service, but go above and beyond the call of duty to educate, assist, and consult dealerships to prove how beneficial Autotrader.com is to them.

Sometime ago at a dealership in rural Dixon, IL, I inherited an internet department that sold 3 cars a month. With no CRM/ILM/Vehicle Management tool, just a camera, cell phone, computer, and Autotrader.com, the first month I sold 15 vehicles. Only being in the automotive world for a total of 3 months, did I figure it all out by myself in one month?

From there I was recruited by a larger dealer group up the road that unfortunately was not accepting to any type of internet/website advertising despite many individual’s efforts. Needless to say I am not there anymore, and since have taken the career opportunity of a lifetime (not a job when you love what you do) to represent and consult for the most cutting-edge, automotive CRM software company in the country. Proud I am, but…

Did I get to this position all by myself? Did you, as CEO of the 7th largest online advertising company in the world, achieve that accomplishment without the support and knowledge of others around you? I believe the most successful in any business surround themselves with the likeminded. For me that was your area rep, Maria Green.

Because of Maria Green going above and beyond the call of duty to educate & assist me on your product to show how dealerships can utilize it to sell more vehicles, and even though I’m not at a store to sign a contract, I now encourage Autotrader.com as an essential for every dealership I visit across the country.

Great product yes, but nothing without the troopers like Maria in the everyday battlefield making it a success.

Jeff Larsen

May 13, 2010

I just started back working at a smaller mom and pop store selling Jeep and Chrysler, where the owner and GM don't feel that the internet, internet customers, and internet marketing is valuable/viable.?. Having been at a big multi-franchise, internet savy store, I ve seen the results! Any suggestions on how to win over my new GM/owner and provide them some good data?

May 29, 2008

Has anyone tried www.autoalert.com?

This tool was developed initially for Mercedes-Benz stores. It has the ability to capture data from your DMS and matches your customers with the current Mercedes programs for the month that would put them into a new lease or retail contract with an equal or lower monthly payment with $0 out of pocket. We saw the presentation on Tuesday and were floored at the examples and results we saw. I was just wondering if anyone else had seen or used this product.

Any comments would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Tommy Justice
Atlanta Classic Cars Mercedes-Benz
BDM/ISM

Mar 20, 2007

Gerald~
Thank you for mentioning the cost / lead & cost / sold! We can always look at our #'s and be pleased with them from what we see, but not taking into consideration the expense of the lead itself! Your information is taken into consideration. Keeping track in the amount of the lead and the leads you had sold will define if the lead is being worked correctly or the lead provider is not effecient enough. They can be pricey at times, but sure pay off if they are worked right!

Mar 20, 2007

Some other numbers you may want to trakc would be cost/lead and cost/sold.

You want to strive to keep your cost/sold around or under $20, and cost/sold under $300. This will help ensure if you are paying for 3rd party leads and they are not producing, you will be able to trim the fat and put those monies elsewhere so they can help your bottom line. The obvious exceptions would be if your cost/sold was say $400, but your average gross was great enough to offset the higher cost. Then you can negotiate with your vendor and see if they can save you some money on your cost.

Good luck!

Gerald Hand
Internet Director
Toyota of Irving

Mar 14, 2007

Dan -

That is great you use the sales department as your internet team. I did that for a long time. I worked hard in the department, set the appointments, did the meet and greet with the customer and whomever the salesperson that had welcomed the customer got them. The salesman were very receptive with getting the honor of the internet customer. For they are serious buyers.
I now have 2 active salespeople in my department & they get alot of sales out through the internet. Working hard and keeping up the good work does get you further & surely pays off.

**We work hard to stay #1 in Michigan & #5 in the nation for KIA**

Jennifer Schrader
Internet Sales Manager
Williams KIA

Mar 13, 2007

We also use our Sales Department as our Internet Team. We are positioned in an Automall in Cincinnati, Ohio. These are statistics for a combination Mazda-Kia dealership.

Appt/Leads = 30%
Appt/Kept = 50%
Appt/Sold = 50%

We consistently close at about 8% on purely internet leads. We do not take phone calls from our website or third party vendors into consideration.

Mar 6, 2007

After seeing the percentages for the appointments made, kept & sold, I am impressed with the varities. I am the Internet Manager & BDC Director for Williams KIA. Ensuring the following up process with the leads will make a large difference. If you want a department to be successful and to work right, you need to have the right person running it and the right team to follow through with it.
Set/Kept - 81%
Kept/Sold - 61%

Overal holding 19%

Good luck to you all!

Feb 26, 2007

As a former BDC director I can tell you your appt kept and sold ratios are right in line however, your appt set ratio is too low. It should be around 37% and you should be able to maintain the same show and sales ratio. My suspicion is that the dept is not following up on leads often or long enough.

Feb 23, 2007

Chrysler & Jeep is our brands. Nashville Metro area. Right now I am doing:
22% Set appt
of that 60% keep appt
of that 53% sold
7% overall lead to sold ratio

Anyone know of any reports/studies showing this type of data for the industry?

Thanks in advance.

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