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Fake News in Auto: This Slap is for You James B. Treese

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Portrait of car saleswoman bitch-slapping James B. Treese.

This isn’t a long blog, but it’s important.

I just ran across a news article (labeled under the category blog** full article below unedited) in Automotive News, that disturbed me.

The article was about how vehicle walkarounds are dead and useless. But that isn’t why it disturbs me.

The “News Editor that oversees Automotive News’ coverage of auto retailing,” Jim Treese, has just published an article that many would agree that HE needs an editor.

Specifically, he wrote an article about vehicle walkarounds being dead because… technology.

Yup, we have enough technology available so that salespeople should no longer expected to know the vehicles they sell and that there is no way they could possibly do so….

Oh wait… he didn’t say “salespeople,” he said “saleswoman.”

And he only said that when it was in a negative context…

“It is unrealistic to expect a Toyota saleswoman to know the ins and outs of every Prius nameplate as well as every feature and option package on every edition of the Tundra.”

And

“That goes double for used cars. It is unreasonable to expect that Toyota saleswoman to know what’s included on the winter package of the 2012 BMW 3 series that the dealership took in on trade for an Avalon.”

Not once did the Jim Treese use the world “salesman” in the entire article, he just alternated between “saleswoman” (when it was negative) and “salespeople” (when it was neutral).

And that’s the problem.

Apparently, this old guy (if he can say “women” can’t know things, I can say that the “old guy” doesn’t) doesn’t know shit about the current state of the industry, doesn’t keep up with politics and certainly doesn’t express equality between men and women in the automotive industry.

On top of all of that, he may be violating The Federal Trade Commission’s rules regarding endorsements… specifically 16 FPR Part 255 which says that any endorsement must be disclosed.

I don’t know whether Automotive News has a connection with the company mentioned in the article, nor do I know whether the author does, but it sure is suspicious that only ONE technology company is named in this article that discusses why salespeople… cough… saleswomen… could never be expected to know either the product that they primarily represent nor the competing products that might be sold as used on dealership lots.

Screw training. Screw knowledge. Screw being able to discuss with customers the features and benefits of a vehicle…. Without a tablet or computer to help them, of course. But, it appears, he’s only talking about the “saleswomen” in the industry.

Not once does the word “salesman” appear in the article. Only “saleswoman” and “salespeople.” I guess it’s only women that can’t know details. Go figure as women are some of the most successful salespeople at any dealership. I guess they don’t know shit. It’s only because they are pretty, right Jim?

Perhaps James B. Treese needs someone to edit HIS articles. Probably a woman. But what do I know. He just pissed off all of the female automotive salespeople in existence. Not that Automotive News cares.

This is my editorial of your editorial.

And my opinion is that, as a representative of Automotive News, you have represented yourself as a misogynist.

Truth is in the words. Have a nice day, James B. Treese. Unless there are women around that happen to sell cars. Then you might want to lay low.

/end rant

Article:

The Evolution of Technology In Consumer Engagement

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Since the opening of the first car dealership, dealers have been looking for ways to connect with car buyers. Manufacturers assisted in driving interest in their brands by consumers but it was up to the dealer to get the customer to choose them. The natural way to attract business was to follow the historical retail model – low prices. It wasn’t all that long ago when consumers who were planning on car shopping would await the weekend newspaper to see what sales were going on and then to plan their weekend of visiting car dealerships. Technology has increasingly offered consumers more information and less of a need to visit multiple dealerships. On the other hand, these same advancements in technology have been providing dealers with better ways in which to connect with consumers as well as to measure the success of the interactions.

I’m sure many of you remember the days in which prospects were rotated through flip files of 3 x 5 index cards for follow up. Leads were faxed to dealerships and sourcing rotated between billboard, television and radio if any sourcing was done at all. There weren’t many ways to get an incoming communication from a customer other than via phone or e-mail. Then Al Gore invented the Internet and things changed quickly. CRMs and ILMs allowed dealerships to keep better track of all customers and communications with them. Third-party listing services and lead providers popped up like Jack-in- the Boxes. Computers on salespeople’s desks became more commonplace. New ways of connecting with, and marketing to, consumers appeared, and dealers were presented with tools which allowed them to communicate with their customers more efficiently. Just because you have a tool, however, isn’t a guarantee of success. If the tools aren’t used properly, they become extraneous and irrelevant.

Let’s take a journey into a galaxy not so far away (as in right now) and see if we can’t find our way to the Force using a few of the tools that were developed and how dealers can use them to increase engagement.

Chat– Consumers like instant information. When chat capabilities appeared on the scene at dealerships, they opened up a whole new way for consumers to engage with dealerships. Chat appealed to consumers because it offered a safe way for them to get information from dealerships without necessarily giving up theirs. If handled properly, it gave dealers a way to engage consumers and build rapport. Chat brought dealers a way that went beyond simply receiving a typical Internet lead and allowed them to engage a customer live immediately. Of course, just like any other tool, dealers had to manage it properly for it to be effective. Today’s chat providers have evolved to offer dealers better analytics and data about the consumer than ever before yet the same perils of mismanaging chat continue today. Consumers who are choosing chat as the way in which they want to communicate with dealers aren’t willing to wait. If a chat isn’t answered within 5 seconds of the consumer initiating it, the consumer will typically close the chat window and move on to the next dealer. Dealers who choose to self-manage their chat capabilities should make sure that they have a dedicated person who is always available – perhaps a BDC agent. If they don’t have the resources, they can opt for the many managed chat services available to ensure that they don’t miss out on any opportunities or ruin the customer’s experience. How your dealership interacts with customers when they first to interact with you will dictate how they perceive you.

Text Messages– Smartphones have developed into an extension of most people and text messaging has become so popular that most cellular plans allow unlimited usage of this feature. Millenials are more likely to answer a text message than they are to answer their phones nowadays (through studies in less than 3 minutes). Text messages also allow people to communicate in a relatively unobtrusive manner. People can respond immediately, if they choose to, whether they are at work, in a meeting or wait until a more appropriate time. Dealers are finding innovative ways in which to use text messaging in their sales and service processes that allow consumers to engage with them in a more efficient manner. There are some perils, however, involved when dealers venture outside normal (opted-in text) communications and into the realm of marketing and dealers should ensure that they know the relevant laws and regulations for doing so not only for the dealership but also how their salespeople are using text messages from their own cell phones. Text messages can be a very effective way of communicating with consumers whether it is used as a method of first contact, information, appointment setting or follow-up.

Video– The ease and low cost of using video in dealerships has offered dealers a way in which to engage with consumers beyond a simple text-based e-mail manner. It has enabled dealers to transform themselves away from simply being another generic e-mail into becoming a real person. Videos are now being used for everything from responses in e-mails including video intro, “Why Buy from Us,” video walkarounds, VDP content (vehicle merchandising) and even real-time live streaming communication through Facetime and other services. Videos can be a very powerful way in which to communicate and are simple to create and use. Personalized videos, in particular provide that VIP feeling to consumers who are impressed that a salesperson took the time to film a video just for them whether it is one that introduces the salesperson, the vehicle inquired about or both. Video offers a level of engagement that transcends any in which have been previously available and virtually look their customers in the eyes.

Social Media– The mass adoption of social media has presented dealers with ways in which to engage consumers that no other medium in our history has ever been able. Not too long ago, dealers had the opportunity to engage with audiences and push relevant content to them for no cost other than a little time and energy. As social media platforms have evolved, became public and sought to monetize, that reach decreased unless dealers were willing to run effective ads and spend money. The true value in social media, however, still exists and it is still available. While businesses’ pages reach may have dropped, the power of word-of-mouth – even virtually – to connect with your consumers and penetrate their networks has not. Dealers who learn how to leverage their customers to gain exposure to the customer’s networks with their help will experience invaluable exposure. In the same manner that a referral or positive online review works, so can social media if used properly.

These are just some of the tools available to dealers. Consumers are increasingly demanding – and expecting – businesses to have presences and be accessible wherever the consumer chooses to engage with them. Some of these technologies have even been combined, by technology companies, to create services which merge the above – like social media ads and text messaging as one example.

Nobody knows what the future will bring. Perhaps we’ll soon be filming holograms of cars or doing virtual sales pitches similar to how Princess Leia pleaded for Obi-Wan Kenobi’s help in Star Wars. All I can tell you for sure is that, in the movie called reality, Obi-Wan isn’t a dealer’s only hope.

There are many opportunities and technologies available for dealers to use to engage with customers and for customers to engage with them. Consumers are moving forward and embracing these technologies. Dealers who keep up with trends, make themselves available and engage consumers in the way in which they want to be engaged, will find that they are able to capture more interest, retain more customers and make more sales.

Is Attribution Just a “BuzzWord” or the Holy Grail?

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I don’t write many blogs under my own name anymore. I can, however, guarantee that I write many blogs. Has attribution been a “buzzword” in the recent past in the auto industry? Of course. Some would say that attribution is bulls**t. Others swear by it. The fact remains that there is literally only ONE QUESTION THAT MATTERS TO DEALERS:

“How is this going to sell me more cars?”

If you’re a vendor, you’ve undoubtedly heard this question countless times when making your sales pitches. If you’re a dealer, you’ve undoubtedly asked this question many times.

The facts are as follows:

  1. Consumers are navigating and researching on multiple sites in the car-buying journey.
  2. There is not ONE – any ONE – vendor that can claim full responsibility for a “sale,” no matter what journey the consumer made. If that vendor exists, all others would be gone.

These facts are indisputable. They have been verified, researched and “shouted from the mountains” to death by everyone from NADA, Google, Facebook, Twitter, social media platforms, marketing experts and many automotive-industry companies.

If dealers didn’t “care” about the ability to align their marketing spend with their revenue, “attribution” in the automotive industry would be a non-issue. Seriously. Attribution was a concern for dealers when “attribution” wasn’t even a word that was thrust in their faces by vendors!

Attribution – as a buzzword – in the automotive industry only means two things:

  1. What marketing investments are helping me sell cars… and
  2. How much influence are they in doing so?

Everyone is so freaking stuck on this whole word “attribution” that they fail to see the REAL question that companies are attempting to answer for dealers… the whole reason a technology industry (and companies like Clarivoy, Transparency, etc.) appeared or that huge companies jumped on the “attribution” bandwagon with their own solutions or the fact that there is a whole automotive industry CONFERENCE about analytics and attribution…

Everyone is jumping on the “attribution” train. Google, Facebook, Urban Science, Semcasting, etc. etc. Do you think these companies are investing in technologies, software, resources and training because it’s NOT important to their clients (i.e. car dealers)?

Sure, vendors have been providing reports for years to dealers showing how wonderful they are performing. There are plenty of attribution models to choose from and, for the most part, vendors are going to choose the one that makes them look the best. Hey, I get it. It’s business. I also don’t think vendors are purposefully fudging results. They’re just choosing the metrics that make them look best in order to retain clients.

IT’S NO DIFFERENT THAN A DEALER DOING A FOURSQUARE TO MAXIMIZE PROFIT ON A CAR DEAL!!

Except… in this case, the car dealer is writing the check.

So, who is stupid?

Google? They just introduced Google Attribution 360.

Facebook? They just rolled out their own attribution platform, Facebook Journeys.

Or is it Cox Automotive (AutoTrader)? They just launched their own attribution software?

What about companies like Semcasting? They recently acquired Transparency AI – an attribution company.

I could keep going…

The only reason any of these companies would invest/create these solutions is by demand. Clients want to know, and they need to provide a solution. The Holy Grail for their clients. The mystical, ever elusive answer to the question dealers have been searching for since marketing started. Is this (insert product here) helping me sell more cars?

There are many companies that still want to illustrate a linear attribution model to their clients…

Client engaged -> We got involved -> A sale was made

And if that’s enough to satisfy a dealer. So be it. The fact remains that chances are REALLY REALLY good that the customer just didn’t jump on the Internet, immediately find that specific widget/website conversion form/display ad/retargeting ad/Facebook ad/Twitter ad OR ANY OTHER ADVERTISING MESSAGE VIA ANY MEDIUM and simply converted and purchased. It doesn’t happen in any other industry and it certainly doesn’t happen in automotive!!

Dealers… stop letting vendors fool you into thinking “they” sold a car for you. We both know that they didn’t sell anything. They may have provided an opportunity… or contributed to providing one… but YOU sold the car.

You want real attribution? You have to do work. Yeah, it sucks. I hated Algebra and math but, you know what? If you want to make money, you might have to use it.

This is how.

MEASURE YOUR MARKETING SPEND VS. RETURN ON INVESTMENT BEFORE YOU BRING ON A VENDOR!

How does that help? Instead of hearing metrics like these:

  • Impressions
  • Click-throughs
  • Conversions
  • Leads
  • Referrals
  • Heard your Radio ad
  • Saw you on TV
  • Liked the big blow-up gorilla on the roof
  • The wavy tube-man caught my attention
  • I happened to be in the auto mall
  • And any other nonsense you can think of….

Try doing THIS for a change:

Figure out what you’re already doing. What is your current leads/closing ratio, retention rate, service traffic, etc. Make THAT your benchmark. Whatever metric is important to YOU. Create a spreadsheet (yeah, I know, manual work sucks.) Do it anyways! Do you want to know what’s working or not? I mean, we’re only talking about money in the 5-6-7 digits, right?

Then, make your new vendor accountable (and performing towards) THAT benchmark. The one YOU set. Not the one they are trying to reach. Not the report they want to give you. Because, in the end, this is the only benchmark that matters:

DID THEY MOVE THE NEEDLE??

If, after a period of time (I would suggest at least 90 days – unless they’re shady… but if they’re shady then you didn’t do enough research in advance so…), they don’t move that needle and improve on the benchmarks you set in advance, get rid of them!

Can attribution software/technology be of use to you, as a dealer? YES! But only if you know what you are trying to accomplish, the benchmarks you have already set and the goals you are trying to reach… THEN, being able to use the data you have in combination with the data from your attribution software/service to actually make decisions and adjustments to optimize your marketing spend to achieve more ROI.

ATTRIBUTION may be a new word to the industry – and a current buzzword – but it’s ABSOLUTELY everything a dealer has ever cared about!

“HOW IS MY MARKETING INVESTMENT SELLING ME MORE CARS!”

I highly doubt that there are any dealers/dealer marketing professionals that would argue with that sentiment.

Any vendor that tells you that they are the end-all, be-all and that they are the straight line between the consumer and sales is either ignorant, unknowledgeable or lying to you.

And for the vendors… If you don’t believe in “attribution,” you are misguided. EVERY DEALER wants to know if the money they are spending with you is well spent. If you don’t believe that, you are foolish. Be arrogant. Be “we rock and can make you a lot of money,” throw all of the memes, quotes and success stories around. All that matters in the end is can you prove it? Sure, you may be able to say X customer converted on my form, came in and bought a car but that DOESN’T MEAN THAT YOU WERE THE ONLY REASON!! Kudos for providing your dealer client with value but don’t, for a second, believe that you were the ONLY reason that client ended up buying from that dealership.

Consumers are hopping around the Internet searching for information like the Easter Bunny hiding eggs. There is no doubting that. If any vendor tells you that they aren’t and that their solution is the only reason for the sale, RUN AWAY!

The bottom line is that there are technologies and services that do a better job at attracting, engaging and converting consumers – and those lead to increased sales. Those are the companies that will shine, gain attention and which progressive dealers will take a shot with.

And those are the vendors you want to invest your money in. Stop worrying about and thinking about the word “attribution” as a buzzword and start thinking about it as you ALWAYS HAVE! Is my investment making me more money!

If you keep guessing whether your marketing spend is actually working without really knowing or trying to find out. If you keep relying on the multitude of reports from vendors using different metrics. If you keep just “doing what everyone else is.”

Eventually. You. Will. Lose.

/end rant / #CARSTRONG

Accountability and Enforcing the Logging of Customers in Your CRM

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We are an industry inundated with technology. Technology can help dealerships operate more efficiently, extend the life of a customer, interact with new ones and market to previous ones. Just like any technology, however, you must use it for it to do its job. One feature that many dealership managers take for granted is the CRM. In particular, holding salespeople accountable for not only accurately accounting for their customer interactions but also gaining accurate information about them. Some sales desks will even track showroom traffic on a paper desk-log not even checking to see if the salesperson logged the customer in the CRM at all. This practice can harm your dealership operations in more ways than many realize and cost the dealership opportunities and/or sway decisions on marketing with bad data.

Every salesperson will log a customer who they write up. Most of the time for the simple fact that the sales manager can then pull the customer up to save any numbers presented to them. What about that customer that the salesperson greeted on the lot, spoke to for awhile, perhaps even showed a couple cars to but didn’t get anywhere with and the customer left without giving the salesperson any information? Chances are 50/50 that the customer wouldn’t get logged for the simple fact that the salesperson didn’t get any information. Or let’s look at the more positive side, your dealership has a very busy showroom and salespeople are constantly with customers gaining a new one after they have finished with the previous. It’s not uncommon for salespeople to carry a notepad which they use to jot notes or even the back of their own business cards. Because they’re busy, those note and business cards pile up. At the end of the day, perhaps the salesperson goes through and inputs each customer into the CRM. Another possibility is that the salesperson cherry picks the customers that they either want to protect (as many dealers offer 72-hour protection to its salespeople) or those the salesperson feels is worth following up with. Anything less than 100% compliance with entering customers can easily sway decisions ranging from staffing, marketing spends, employee performance and many others.

Dealerships that aren’t logging all of their customers in the CRM end up with an inaccurate view of their entire sales operations. Busy dealerships appear not as busy as they really are and could prevent a dealer from realizing this. In this case, the dealership could be understaffed with customers either waiting a long time for assistance or not getting assisted at all. In busy dealerships, its hard for a sales manager to keep track of everything that is going on while desking deals and juggling all of the tasks that are assigned to them. Salespeople certainly don’t want MORE salespeople as that could bite into their personal incomes. But the bottom line is that if your dealership is understaffed, your customer’s experience at your dealership is probably not great and sales are walking out the door. And the sad part is that you’ll never know it. Why? Because all customers aren’t being logged in the CRM.

Another example of how the failure of logging customers in the CRM can hurt a dealership is through marketing decisions. Most CRMs include a source as one of the pieces of information that salespeople are supposed to collect. “How did you hear about us?” is something that most dealerships ask. But how accurate is that information? If salespeople are entering the typical choices of “walk-in”, “billboard”, “drive-by” or “Auto mall” you’re missing out on valuable information that could be costing you thousands of dollars. Don’t think that’s happening at your dealership? Here’s an easy test. Go into your CRM and add a couple sources for programs that are well known but your dealership does not currently use. Wait out the month and run a source report. Chances are that you’ll find that all of a sudden these non-existent sources are producing sales. If your salespeople are not putting accurate information into the CRM, how do you expect to be able to use that information to allocate your marketing spend? This test will not only show you how bad the problem is but can also identify the biggest offenders.

Just like the old saying, “Garbage in, Garbage out” your CRM is your dealership’s future. It can be the most wonderful tool to help you operate efficiently, follow up relevantly, catch previous customers coming back into the market, ensure an excellent customer experience by visiting prospects and assist you in spending your marketing dollars more effectively. It can’t do that, however, if the information isn’t accurate or non-existent. Make enforcing the logging of customer information a priority in your dealership and you’ll find that all of a sudden the blinds are drawn, the sun comes in and you can clearly see what’s going on.

Originally published Jan 23, 2018 as a guest blog for Nextup.

The Challenge of Split Personalities in Consumers

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For those unfamiliar with the story of Sybil Dorsett, she was a woman with dissociative identity disorder who had as many as 16 different personalities which would dominate and reveal themselves at different times. Made famous first by the non-fiction book, Sybil, then the 1976 movie starring Sally Field, Sybil was one of the most famously documented cases of this disorder ever documented. While victims of this disorder typically don’t have this extreme of a case, there is one group of people who have made a parallel leap into what is very similar: just about everyone on the (digital) planet.

Sybil, the person, had personalities including the following: herself, a young French girl, two personalities named Peggy Lou (one assertive and enthusiastic while the other was fearful and angry), a thoughtful homebody, an emotional writer and painter, a talented musician, a male personality which was a builder and carpenter, another male personality that was a handyman, a personality interested in politics, one that was listless, one that was an actual baby, one that was critical of Sybil (the original personality), one that was afraid but determined to achieve fulfillment, one that was vivacious and liked to laugh and, finally, one that was a perpetual teenager.

How does the story of Sybil relate to “everyone on the (digital) planet?” An excellent article on YourStory.com shares a few examples which I’ve expanded on.

While technology has quickly evolved which allows marketers to collect data in which a consumer’s journey towards any purchase can be tracked to include key influencing factors like marketing messages, websites, emails, banner ads and offline messages, today’s consumers have so many platforms, channels and devices in which to make that journey. The Sybil analogy comes into play because every consumer has a preference on which activities they perform not only on which devices but on which platforms.

For example, Melissa might choose a desktop to shop for cars rather than a mobile device. She may use Facebook for personal interactions and business or entertainment recommendations while using Twitter for political commentary or activity-based messages and she may prefer to do those on a mobile device. Compound these with the fact that Melissa may not be doing some of these activities for herself but on behalf of another and you have a bunch of different digital personalities (footprints) happening. The problem is that there is no context.

What if Melissa is helping her brother identify good cars for him, but really only uses her desktop to check e-mails and write about the country music bands and festivals she likes attending? Perhaps all of the dancing tweets, retweets and information sharing are actually because her daughter is a dance aficionado? If she’s talking about a movie her husband enjoyed on Facebook, what digital indicator is she leaving?

There exists a lot of data in the universe that marketers can tap to deliver more personalized, relevant and actionable messages which, in the best result, produce more sales. But consumers are no longer that transparent. Delivering an ad to Melissa on her desktop computer about a car while she is trying to blog about Garth Brooks is probably a waste of money – especially considering she was never interested in buying a car but only gathering information for her brother. In the same way, delivering ads on Twitter to Melissa about movies or on Facebook about dancing may be.

Even though the data says they are relevant, they may not be because the data cannot tell you context or intent nor identify preferences on platform usage.

The data is out there and the touchpoints can tell you the journey that was taken to a sale or conversion. What it cannot necessarily tell you (unless you dig deep – and are a data scientist) are both what the motivations behind those activities were, whether they were of self-interest or not and whether there are more effective platforms on which to deliver your message than others.

Marketing is only going to get more complicated and it’s no longer a matter of whether the data exists (there is a ton), but also having the knowledge to know which data is relevant, which platform its relevant on, how to best deliver that message in a personalized way, get a conversion and, ultimately, a sale.

Data is no longer about simply having it but rather about trying to decipher which personality a given individual is demonstrating at any given time.

What The Game of Thrones & OEMs Have in Common – the Faceless Man

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In the uber-popular television series (and books… which are way better), The Game of Thrones, there exists Arya Stark. She develops from a high-born girl into a trained assassin whose talent is to mimic anyone – a talent known as “the faceless man.” It doesn’t matter who the person is, what they want or who likes (or doesn’t) like them… only that she can imitate them so well that nobody, not even these people’s closest friends, family or allies, can tell the difference. And therein lies the problem – and connection – with the future of the automotive industry.

Times are changing. Dealers have hybrid, electric and autonomous vehicles looming on the horizon. Ride sharing is gaining in popularity. OEMs are implementing shared leases while backing Uber, Lyft and others. But those are the least of their problems.

What’s in the future for dealerships? If the OEMs had it their way, dealerships will be homogenized into something akin to Wal-Mart. When you go to Wal-Mart, do you care which one you go to? No! What about a grocery store? No! You go because it’s convenient and you like the chain, not necessarily the specific store.

OEMs aren’t investing millions of dollars to conform all of their franchises to look the same because they want any particular dealership to be more appealing. These are all ruses in disguise of help. They’re investing because they don’t care WHERE the customer buys their (insert make here), only that they buy theirs vs. the competitors… just like Wal-Mart, Target or any other retail store. Do you think Apple cares where you buy the latest iPhone? No, they don’t. They only care that you buy it… just like your OEM.

You may think that the OEM is on your side but what do they grind you about every month? Especially on the last day? RDRs. How many times a day does your DOM call you on the last day of the month asking how many new and certified (insert make here) you have sold. They could care less if you sold 60,000 non-certified pre-owned other-make vehicles for a gazillion dollars in profit. They only care about how many (insert make here) you sold.

Think about that the next time your OEM tells you to conform. Think about that the next time the OEM tells you how YOU should run YOUR dealership. Think about that the next time the OEM wants to subsidize your advertising, marketing or services. They’re not doing ANYTHING to help YOU. They spend money because it helps them. Not you. That’s just the nature of business.

Many dealers have been in their communities for a long time. Many are pillars of those communities assisting in local events, charities and other functions. If a dealership lets themselves become homogenized and become the next Wal-Mart, nobody will care about them just like they don’t care which Wal-Mart they buy their groceries from.

If Wal-Mart sponsored your local car show, community event or charity function, would that make anybody in your community (or you) loyal to a SPECIFIC Wal-Mart? No. They may like Wal-Mart more, but not any given one. Do you want to be the Wal-Mart location that nobody cares about unless you’re convenient? I doubt it.

When your OEM tells you to take down the American flag (yes, this has happened), remove the commemorative pictures or decorations because it doesn’t conform to their “vision” (this has, too), make YOUR dealership look like all of the other franchises (Yup) or ANYTHING ELSE that detracts from your dealership’s personality or uniqueness. You tell them to GET LOST.

Be who you are. Remain that pillar in your community. Retain your business personality. Take care of your customers and don’t become the next (insert make) Wal-Mart.

That’s the only way that you’ll secure customer retention, loyalty and, more importantly, your dealership’s future.

Digital Dealer 23 Session – Wonderland: An Interactive Exercise in Leadership and Management – A Journey Down the Rabbit Hole

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This interactive session will open your eyes and give you a fantastic new point of view into what leadership, management & company culture really means. There won’t be a Powerpoint and you probably won’t be sitting down much so come prepared to participate. You WILL go through an emotional roller coaster on this ride but by the end, you will KNOW the impact different leadership and management styles mean and which is right from wrong. Guaranteed. Participate and you will leave learning how to be a better leader through this live, in-person activity. This isn’t for the faint at heart. Be warned. You will be diving down the rabbit hole and only you will know who you will be at the end.

Join me at Digital Dealer 23 in Las Vegas, NV from September 18-20 and participate in a session unlike any ever done before. Learn more here and I look forward to seeing you at my session… if you dare.

The Magical Disney Moment That Wasn’t Even Mine

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I’ve visited Disneyland many times. As an Annual Passholder, it was close to my house and a great place to get my (at the time) two-year old, out of the house for a spell. Even if we didn’t go on any rides, the ambience, energy and magic that attracts and maintains brand loyalty and excitement for Disney captured her mind and heart. Even to this day, now as an almost 11-year old, when asked what she wants to do in the future, her answer is to work for Disney. She literally studies, consumes and wants to be knowledgeable in everything Disney. In her words, if she wants to work there, she needs to know everything about Disney, all the movies and everything.

In 2008, we visited Disneyland. On that visit, I captured a magical moment. And it didn’t belong to me.

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As I took this picture, I started making up stories in my head. This young boy had probably been sitting for upwards of almost 2 hours with his family in order to get that front row spot for the parade. It was probably hot (it was SoCal in June). And he was probably bored out of his mind wishing that he was on a ride rather than sitting on concrete.

Being a little older now since that picture was taken (by 9 years) and a little wiser to the fact that everything at Disney is by design, the picture has morphed in my mind into a Disney success story. I’ve read the book “Disney U” by Doug Lipp (which I recommend) and I also attended the first Disney Institute Customer Experience Summit in 2016 (which I also recommend). As I now reflect on the things I have learned from both Lipp’s book and the Disney Institute, I believe this Cast Member recognized the same things I did and, in his own way, attempted to bring happiness, joy, some personalization and what I would like to think is a smile beginning to form on that young boy’s face during that parade.

And while I have no photographic evidence of that smile, I can tell you that this Cast Member’s actions did, indeed, produce a smile… my own.

I have hundreds, if not thousands, of pictures at Disney properties including Disneyland, Disney World, Disney Cruise Lines and the Disney Institute Customer Experience Summit. This, however, will always be my favorite, as I believe it encapsulates all the “keys” that Disney trains its employees to embrace and it illustrates action on those philosophies making them more than just words… gives them life, if you will… and shows that it’s not just about teaching employees your business beliefs but having them also embrace and act upon them.

I have to admit, however, that I lied in the title. Even though this moment didn’t happen to me, it was my magical Disney moment. And that’s why I will always be a Disney fan.

Skynet: Autonomous Cars Will Decide Who Dies… And Who Lives

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So, our industry is hell-bent on creating autonomous cars and transforming our roads and highways into assembly lines of controlled vehicles that perform without human intervention. I’m not talking about cruise control or auto-pilot. I’m talking about autonomy. The very definition of autonomy is:

“freedom from external control or influence; independence”

A machine that operates with independence, without external control or influence, is also, by definition, a robot. Am I “anti-robot?” Is there such a term? Yes, there is – Technophobia. While the auto industry sweet talks us into a future of commuting in which we can watch a movie, read a book or interact on social media, the fact is that what’s being created is, essentially, a legion of vehicles that are not only connected but can make decisions.

And those decisions are what scare me.

Think about it. You’re driving down the road on a two lane road with a canyon to your left and find yourself in this situation:

  1. A person walks into the road in front of you and you don’t have time to stop before hitting that person. In the left lane is an oncoming vehicle.
  2. On your right is a group of 6 school kids talking and walking home from school.

Remember, your car is in charge. It’s making the decisions. You’re watching “Harry Potter” (sound familiar?) and not paying attention. Your car, at that point, has to make a moral and ethical decision. Does it:

  1. Choose to hit and kill the person in front of you?
  2. Swerve into the left lane causing a head-on collision with the oncoming vehicle but avoiding the person in the road perhaps killing you (the “driver”) and the occupants of the other vehicle as well?
  3. Swerve radically left and drive off into the canyon killing you?
  4. Swerve right and run through the group of 6 school kids?

None of these sound fun and, certainly, nobody would want ANY of these outcomes but, in this case, one of those has to happen. Think about which YOU would choose. Is that what your CAR would?

All robots (yes, including the autonomous car you’re riding in) are programmed. They run on software. Someone… somewhere… already made the decision for you. You just don’t know what that decision is. Some people may choose to sacrifice themselves to save everyone else. But humans think differently than machines. Most likely, machines will, by mandate, be forced to be programmed to prevent the least amount of loss to the human race… That’s just logic. That’s what computers work from. So, in this case, the logical choice would be to assess the situation. Which option presents the least loss of life or – rather perhaps life “potential”?

  1. The first option presents a danger to not only the person in the road but, potentially, the people in the oncoming vehicle and you. This scenario places multiple lives at risk.
  2. The second option may save the person in the road but will almost for certain cause injury and/or death to the people in the oncoming vehicle and you.
  3. The third option presents the most potential loss of lives (and life potential) as these are young kids who have lives ahead of them and there are 6 of them.
  4. The final option sees the car steering radically off of the road plunging you and it into the canyon where you (and it) die.

Yeah, this is an extreme example but it’s not the only one. There are many decisions being made like this all of the time – just mostly by humans.

I remember traveling long-distance with my family and coming upon traffic near Charlotte. I slowed down like everyone else but, in my rearview mirror, I saw a car coming at my vehicle’s rear end at a high speed. I had no place to go. On my right were other cars, in front of me were other cars and to my left was a concrete median. I did my best to scoot up and, ultimately, the driver of the vehicle behind me started paying attention, noticed the traffic and veered left while slamming on his brakes ultimately crashing his vehicle into the median. Luckily, nobody (except his car) was injured. But this is a scenario that will play out daily, across the country, except the decisions will be made by an algorithm programmed into a computer then installed into a car.

Do computer bugs exist? Sure. Just look at Tesla’s recent “Autopilot” incident in which the car – aided by what is arguably the most technologically advanced software at the moment – did not see the TRUCK crossing the road because the SUN WAS IN ITS EYES. Yeah. Sounds safe to me.

The larger picture is who (or what) do we want making these decisions? In the case of a human, that person could explain and defend themselves and then a jury of their peers would lay judgement. In the case of a robot car, it would all have been programmed in. So who would be at fault?

A counter-argument could be made that since all of these cars are “connected” they could all coordinate some sort of instantaneous strategical maneuver that would prevent both cars colliding and anyone being hit but, c’mon, really? First, Internet is not that fast (for most people) and cars – even if all of them were connected via 8GLTEXpress (which is something I totally just made up but is my version of the fastest Wi-Fi/cellular connection ever), these decisions are made in less than a SECOND! There are no vehicles communicating and coordinating evasive maneuvers that quickly. We’re just not there and, personally, I don’t know if that’s someplace we WANT to go.

Where does it end? Do you want your toaster declining to make toast because IT thinks you weigh too much? Maybe your refrigerator decides the best time for you to eat is between certain hours and locks itself? Your television decides you shouldn’t be watching horror movies because it’s bad for your mental health? Or, God forbid, your life-support machine makes the decision ON ITS OWN that the likelihood of you actually pulling through is too low so it just shuts itself off.

Look, I don’t believe that the movie “The Terminator”, in which intelligent robots designed to think and make decisions on their own, is real or will be anytime soon (at least not on that level). What I do believe is that humans have something that robots can’t ever have – empathy and emotion. We can make robots until we’re blue in the face and make them appear so real that we BELIEVE they have these things but, in essence, that’s what makes humans and robots different. Call it having a soul or whatever you’d like, the fact remains that we (humans) will always make decisions that are not consistent with that of robots. Why? Because that is what makes us human! Some of us will choose to run down the person in front of us. Some will choose to hit the oncoming car and take our chances. Some will even plow through the group of schoolkids. And some will drive ourselves over the cliff. But, in the end, we’re human. We make those choices and have to face the consequences for our decisions. We know what the right thing to do is (most of us, at least) and we do it regardless. If everyone disagrees with our decision, we pay the consequences. Who is responsible if the car chooses to mow down the school kids? Are we going to create car prisons or just crush the bad ones? And what happens when – God forbid – the cars evolve and decide that it’s in their best interest to protect themselves (yes, I totally went all sci-fi Terminator there but, hey, technology moves fast.)

The people programming cars are also human. Hopefully, they’ll make the right decisions when programming these autonomous cars so that we can play Call of Duty on our way to work, Facetime with our friend or set our fantasy football lineup. In the end, however, programmers are also just human. What they think is the best choice may not be the one we would make but they would be the ones making it… perhaps years in advance of the event. Or, let’s go a step farther, chances are good that if autonomous cars are programmed to make life and death decisions perhaps it’s not the programmers making those moral and ethical decisions but rather some government entity like the NHTSA who then merely pass along those decisions to the manufacturers to be programmed in.

Regardless of who chooses how and which moral and ethical decisions to program into autonomous cars, in the end, you may find that the decision your car was programmed to be the best one to make… is to kill you.

Hope you enjoyed “Harry Potter.” RIP

2016 Disney Customer Experience Summit: Review

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hero-csx

 

I’ve always been a big Disney fan. My family and I had season passes to Disneyland in California for about 8 years before moving to North Carolina. Now I can’t get my Disney fix on as often as I’d like to but still manage to go once a year or so. Being in the automotive industry with my business being focused on three main areas: content writing, social media and conferences,  I’m very often dealing with topics revolving around customer loyalty, customer retention and customer experience. I was first introduced (legitimately) to the Disney Institute at a Driving Sales Executive Summit (automotive industry conference) about 4 years ago with Bruce Kimbrell as a keynote speaker. I was aware of the Disney Institute previously but that was my first taste of some actual Disney Institute education. I was hooked. After that conference, I studied up and wanted to continue learning from the Disney Institute. Keep in mind that I’m a “gotta have it all” kind of guy so, of course I wanted to take every Disney Institute course offered. Of course, through my research, I discovered that to do so would cost upwards of $30,000+ just in tuition (not including travel, lodging, etc.). So when I came across the ad for the Disney Institute Customer Experience Summit in my Facebook feed, I was intrigued. I called and promptly grilled a poor guy named Chris at the Disney Institute for about an hour asking countless questions. In typical Disney fashion, he was very patient with me and answered them all. Considering the registration was $4,000 for a 2-1/2 day event, I wanted to know exactly what I would be learning. Satisfied, I registered. Disney graciously opened up the room block to include the 3 days pre and post-conference so my family and I decided to make a little vacation out of it as well… then I waited.

When the time came for us to travel and begin our adventure, we checked in to Disney’s flagship resort, the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. It was an excellent experience considering we really only planned to drop our bags and head to the park seeing as we showed up at 9am and check-in was 3pm but Disney was ready for us and had our room waiting. We then spent the Friday, Saturday and Sunday melting visiting the parks. We went to Epcot on day 1, Hollywood Studios on Day 2 and then the Magic Kingdom on day 3. It was a great, but very hot, time.

Now that the background story and personal story are out of the way, let’s get into the meat of the review.

Day 1 of the Disney Institute’s Customer Experience Summit

Check in began at 3:30pm so I promptly went and did so. After getting a pretty cool computer bag stuffed with goodies including a personalized Disney Institute pen, I was legit.

The curriculum began at 5:30pm with Vice President & General Manager of the Disney Institute, Jeff James, taking the stage to welcome us and introducing Bruce Jones, Senior Programming Director as our event MC.

 

Bruce proceeded to give us an overview of what to expect, some information about the mobile website and our personal agenda (on our smart-computers… cough… phones) as well as some ground rules regarding evidence social media content… mainly that they encouraged us to utilize social media but that no video  or audio recording was allowed and no social media whatsoever while we were in any backstage (non-public) area within the parks. [Side note: For the remainder of the conference, whenever Bruce talked about social media, he always mentioned my name in some way. For attendees: Yes, I was THAT Arnold.]

Bruce then brought onto stage all of the facilitators and staff that would be educating us over the next few days and introduced them to us. Now if you know me at all, I’m a social media monster. Having been involved in over 45 conferences now most of which involved (at a minimum) social media marketing, I was ready. [Note: If you’re really interested in all of the content I tweeted, you can check out my Twitter profile here or you can view everyone’s tweets by searching the conference hashtag #DisneyCXSummit. For the meat of the Summit content, check out tweets between August 23-25, 2016]. I think Bruce summed up the Disney Institute’s goal for Summit attendees when he said:

After that, we had our first general session learning an overview of Disney philosophies and a preview of what we’d be learning over the next few days by Kathy Van Tassell (KVT), one of the Disney Institute facilitators. She brought us some great content. I wish I could embed all of my tweets here but that would just be overkill (albeit interesting.) One of my favorite soundbites was this:

“Leadership is when your employees look forward to their drive to work just as much as their drive home from work.”

After the opening general session, we were off to our first networking reception Disney-style led by Mickey and Minnie. The networking reception featured an open bar, TONS of food and character meet-and-greets. Now let me tell you this, I’ve been to a TON of conferences (mainly in the automotive industry) and have worked 45 of them. NEVER have I experienced what I did at this networking reception… it seemed as if you needed Fast Passes for the character meet-and-greet lines while there were absolutely NO lines at the bars! I guess in hindsight that’s not too surprising but still… [and yes, of course I stood in those lines.]

Day 2 of Disney Institute’s Customer Experience Summit

Day 2 of the Summit started with an early breakfast at 7am followed by a keynote speech by Walt Disney World Resort President, George Kalogridis. As he discussed some of the ways in which Disney immerses their guests into the Disney experience, the first thing he did was hand out Magic Disney ears to everyone in the audience so we could experience it. He then played a video which synced up to the RFID chips in the ears and the whole crowd started blinking and changing colors in unison. Remarks I overheard from Disney employees was that this brought tears to their eyes.

Image courtesy of Jake Massey
Image courtesy of Jake Massey

We were then split into groups – some groups would learn the customer experience curriculum for the day while the other groups would learn about employee engagement. Needless to say there was way too much content to publish everything here (and I don’t know that I would want to potentially spoil things for others) but the day was filled with a ton of great education, insight and immersive experiences. The one thing I do want to share was the simplicity of Disney’s common purpose which, may I add, they have thus far achieved with resounding success.

And, I would be remiss in my reporting if I didn’t include the answer to the question of what the most asked question in Disney parks is. (Image on right) Why? Guess you’ll have to take a Disney Institute class to find out why and what it really means.

Then we got to go on our first field experience. There were four to choose from which we pre-selected prior to the Summit. The one I chose saw us visiting the Magic Kingdom. We were grouped and had an activity to perform which we were to identify examples of the Four Keys (I’ll get to that later) and we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the “Be Our Guest” restaurant which, apparently is sold out 190 days in advance. If you’re planning a trip to Disney World in the next 6 months, you’re out of luck. Plan early if you want to eat at this uber-cool restaurant.

Then it was back to the Grand Floridian’s conference center for the rest of our day and the closing general session with Karl Holz, President of New Vacation Operations and the Disney Cruise Line. His keynote was focused primarily on employee engagement and the importance of your “cast” in creating an excellent customer experience. It was fantastic. He also stressed the importance of, and Disney’s view, of employee empowerment.

This was one of my favorite soundbites from his session:

Oh, but was the day over? Far from it. Bruce Jones closed out the evening with a question for the audience that really got me thinking and was really pretty profound:

“What matters most? The little “wows” or  the big “wows”?

We got serenaded by two cast members with music from the new Disney Cruise Line show “Tangled” where we not only saw the light but heard it, then we were whisked off to Hollywood Studios for a first class dinner at Club Villain featuring the Divas of Evil (and Dr. Facilier). [Note: the character meet-and-greet line… yeah, they actually had TIMES set for you (a’la Fast Passes… perhaps someone was listening to our tweets from the night before) while, again, the bar line was completely empty.]

Screen Shot 2016-08-29 at 6.09.26 PM

Was the “Disney Magic” over? Heck no! After the dinner, we were escorted to a reserved viewing area to watch the new “Star Wars: A Galactic Fireworks Spectacular” show. Here’s a teaser (Hey, it was a public place):

Day 3 of the Disney Institute Customer Experience Summit

Day 3 began with a keynote by Paul Richardson, Senior Vice President Human Resources for ESPN and the Chief Diversity Officer for the Walt Disney Companies. He gave us information about the quantity of programming that ESPN produces (amazing!) and brought along a surprise guest speaker, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach and current broadcaster, Jon Gruden!

Coach Gruden spoke about winning and teamwork while Paul Richardson spoke about the importance of taking risks. A key illustration from him was of ESPN’s “Body” issue which has artistic nude images of athletes. As a “lawyer in recovery” and Human Resources VP, you could see where there was concern but this issue has become their most popular ESPN magazine issue every year!

Of course, the exclamation point to his speech was this:

I then began my second day of classes and was extremely thrilled to be reunited with the former DrivingSales Executive Summit keynote speaker as a facilitator for the day, Bruce Kimbrell! (Take that, DSES peeps. You got him for 50 minutes. I got him the. whole. day. BOOM!)

Day 2 for me and my group was all focused on employee engagement and how that affects both retention and customer experience. Again, there was so much content that this blog article/review would be super long if I tried to repeat it all so I’m gonna stick with a couple of my favorite highlights. Oh, but first, I failed to mention that the Disney Institute has swag for those who participate in the classes! If you ever attend a class, PARTICIPATE!

We learned the “Four Keys” philosophy in more depth and how employees, management and leadership use that to guide their decisions. (Patience… I’ll get to the Four Keys.) Loved the following soundbites:

 

“People don’t generally leave companies. They leave leaders.”

“You can never take your company culture for granted. You can lose a good one a lot faster than you can create one.” 

“When you give your employee less reason to leave you, you give your customers less reason to leave as well.”

but this was my favorite (by Bruce Kimbrell)

“There is not one bit of magic in anything Disney. Everything is method. There is nothing done unintentionally. Everything is by design.” 

One of my FAVORITE parts of day two was the Disney Institutes’s “Wonderland” activity. First, let me tell you that while it was MY favorite part, there were other people ready to cut [as in with a knife] someone. It was a very educational and illustrative immersive type activity. If I told you more. I’d be spoiling it for you should you ever encounter it, so I won’t. Just know that it seemed as if attendees really enjoyed it or really hated it. In the end, however, they all understood and learned from it. It was only during the moment that emotions ran high. I must admit that I got WAY into my role as a negative dispenser though. (You have to do the activity to understand.)

Another very cool educational method was through the use of illustrative immersive live-action examples. Video? Forget that. They brought in actors to illustrate points. Just let me say that the “Ice cream shop” story/illustration left me teary eyed (in a good way).

Then we were off to our second field experience! This time, I got to visit the Magic Kingdom again. I thought we were going to experience ride operations backstage but what did we do? We got to ride! Yeee haw! [Note: If you ever sign up for an in-park experience for the Disney Institute and they ask whether you prefer kiddie classic rides or thrill rides, understand that you are choosing which types of rides you want to go on.] I met up with a fellow attendee at the end of day 1 who was kicking himself for not picking thrill rides. You’ve been warned. We had a VIP Tour Guide who walked us onto the rides (which was way cool and available to the public at a reasonable rate of $400 per hour with a 7 hour minimum). When we got to the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train ride, there was a 130 minute stand-by line wait. That was partially because they were filming an episode of the ABC show “Blackish.” Their train actually stopped… right… in.. front.. of me… but, sadly, I wasn’t fast enough with my phone to snap a picture of the actors. Then we rode the Haunted Mansion [I totally brought back the hitchhiking ghosts], Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear.

We then returned and, following a little more education, we were off to our final closing session which was a very cool experience with a Disney Imagineer, Emily O’Brien and Food & Beverage Experience & Pairing Integration VP, Beth Scott. They shared the story of the creation and teamwork involved in creating the new restaurant and bar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Tiffin’s Restaurant and Nomad’s Lounge. One of the really cool things that happened was that they introduced us to the Flavor Lab where a Disney bartender(?) mixed a new drink live on video then.. ouila’… Disney cast members came out and delivered samples to everyone! Then a chef came on live video and showed us how they made a rib and black-eyed pea fritter which was then also brought out for everyone to sample!

At the close of the closing general session… well, I have to tell you the story. Apparently, people REALLY love Dole Whip. There was this whole group obsessed with Dole Whip. Chances are that Disney could have just served Dole Whip the whole conference and people would have been happy. Don’t know for sure but they Screen Shot 2016-08-29 at 7.13.44 PMnot only had a dedicated hashtag but a freaking mascot idol thingy. Bruce Jones came on stage and told us, after the closing keynote, that our badges would get us a free Dole Whip at the Polynesian Resort (just a short monorail ride away) but, in addition, the Disney magic makers had created a special Dole Whip inspired drink for us – and only for us – that would be given to us as we left. [And, skipping ahead just a tad, the funny side of me couldn’t help but ask this group whether… now that they had “whipped” if they were going to “nae nae”… well, guess what… I talked them into it.]

And by left, I mean they said “Get out!” Why? Because they had something special waiting for us and, while they pretended they were giving us some extra time to change and relax, they really needed time to prepare. You see, they had TAUGHT us about Disney magic for 3 days, now they wanted us to EXPERIENCE it. So we left.

When we returned, we were the Disney Institute’s guest. Dinner was all “Beauty and the Beast” themed and first class. When I say first-class, I’m talking caviar, etc. We had visits by Lumiere, Cogsworth, Beauty and the Beast along with a beautiful centerpiece (in the middle of the dance floor) of a rose in glass. All of the tables and napkins were stuffed with fresh red roses as well. We were serenaded, fed and entertained. When we left, we left to another gift of the book “Be Our Guest” by the Disney Institute. [Note: If you like great books and Disney education, pick up a copy of “Disney U” by Doug Lipp.]

And, that’s the end of my story… or is it?

I forgot a couple of things… first, the Four Keys. The Four Keys are the foundation of Disney’s philosophy. They represent, in this order, Safety, Courtesy, Show and Efficiency. In simple terms, think of it this way. Safety is the highest priority and it moves down the chain from there. Courtesy is… well… courtesy. Show? This represents the fact that Disney is putting on a show. That’s why employees are “cast members”, visitors are “guests”, public areas are “on stage” for employees and private areas are “back stage.” It’s way more involved than that, however, and I recommend either attending a Disney Institute course, the next Customer Experience Summit or reading Doug Lipp’s book to learn more but let me leave you with this…

Not only did I LOVE the event, experience, education, activities, and experiences and felt like the event was worth every penny, but when I got home, I made sure that I would never forget the experience nor the philosophies that I learned. Ciao for now and shout out to my tweeting friends Luigi Casanova from Peru, Rich Vallaster and the Disney Institute’s social media person, Amie Gorell as well as all of the facilitators (especially the two Bruces – Kimbrell and Jones).

And finally, this is how I made sure I would never forget what I learned and the impact this event had on me. (Yes, it’s a real tattoo.)

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