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Content Marketing: Hooked on a Feeling

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Content marketing is meant to lure an audience into your sales funnel by providing a solution to their problem without pitching your services.

Oftentimes when assisting a client in creating content marketing, the first thing that comes to their mind is content about their product or service. The problem with that is that they are confusing content marketing with advertising and, while the two should work together in tandem, they are much different from each other. 

A great article on Search Engine Journal explained how content marketing is more of a means to an end rather than a sales pitch. Content marketing is meant to lure an audience that has specific desires into your sales funnel. Not through telling them how wonderful your product is but rather by providing a solution to their problem without pitching your services.

“People don’t buy products, they buy feelings.” – Tony Robbins

The article explains that people aren’t buying a product or service but rather buying the feeling or solution that comes with having it. A great example that the article shares is that consumers aren’t buying a 1/4-in. drill because they want a drill but rather because they want a 1/4-in. hole for hanging up a family picture. The drill itself is simply a means to the real goal of producing a desired outcome.

This philosophy holds true throughout all content marketing. Rather than trying to determine how to get a customer to buy your product or service first, work backward and figure out what their end goal is.

In the dealership world, all customers want a better customer experience. Once you know what your customer’s desired end goal is (i.e. their family picture hung on the wall) then you can craft content designed to provide information that leads toward the solution they desire. Whether that means increased efficiency, shop capacity or an easier sales experience, all departments need to identify what the end goal of a customer is and try to accomplish it by designing their processes backward in order to achieve them.

When relating these things to your content marketing, once you have achieved these goals (or are actively pursuing them), content should reinforce these through content that reinforces the values and benefits that your dealership offers.

It’s one thing to write about your $19.95 oil change and quite another to create content about the importance of customer experience in service. By doing the latter, it reinforces that your dealership values a customer’s time and budget. When you do this, you are creating the 1/4-in. hole for them, which is exactly what they desire.

“When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures of emotion.” – Dale Carnegie

Every human is driven by emotion and, often, those emotions dictate decisions. Think about all of the things you’ve ever bought while standing in line at the grocery store simply because they were right there in front of you. Do you think that was an accident?

The same idea goes for content marketing. You want to make sure that the solutions — sometimes there are more than one — or outcomes that your prospective customers desire are answers that you provide. By doing that, they are more likely to be drawn into your content, more likely to follow you and, in the end, come to you when they are ready to hang that family picture.

Emotions sell. That goes for all advertising and marketing. Effective content marketing, however, doesn’t sell anything but rather elicits the emotions that lead to solving problems and offering solutions that they desire. If you can accomplish that, you will have plenty of prospects in your sales funnels and then, in concert with your marketing department, can move them down the funnel.

Don’t think of content marketing as a way to sell, but as a way to share a story that ends with the outcome the prospective customer desires.

By doing that, customers will pay attention to your product or service while ignoring all of the marketing e-mails, display ads and cold calls that your competitors are hitting them with. And that’s how you get your prospects attention and win the game. Hook, line and sinker. 

(Originally published On AutoSuccess, March 3, 2020)

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

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.

Pokémon Go as A Traffic Driver to Dealerships

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Pokemon Go DealershipsSo it’s been a long time since I wrote a blog (for myself, that is) but after attending Jim Ziegler’s Internet Battle Plan and watching a kid yell “I found a Pokémon!” then promptly walking into a wall then watching adult auto industry attendees, vendors and speakers choose to go Pokémon hunting rather than network with industry colleagues and dealers, it got me thinking. First, yes, I downloaded the app just to see what all of the fuss was about. My Pokémon Go experience lasted all of about 15 minutes. I’ve seen people argue that Pokémon Go is silly and a waste of time while also seeing others relay the benefits of the game including physical exercise, exploring one’s neighborhood and connecting with new people with (at least one) similar interest.

I probably wouldn’t have been even interested in exploring the app at all but for the fact that a client created a clever ad that tied into their business message and we started exploring ways in which we could exploit this trendy craze. Who knows how long this game’s popularity will last but, for now, it’s the hottest thing around. Playing to trending things is nothing new and if you can leverage it in a way that supports your message or drives business, I’m all for it (sans tragedies, politics and the other taboo topics).

In my research, I found that there are things called “lures” in the game. You get these by catching Pokémon and doing various things BUT you can also purchase them for $1 each through the app. These “lures” are like catnip to Pokémon and the area in which the lure is set shows up within the game to other players. Of course, seeing as the goal of the game is catching Pokémon, it’s easy to understand why dropping a lure (which lasts 30 minutes) would attract nearby players. For $1 per half-hour, a dealership could pretty much leverage lures to the tune of $20 per day (given a 10-hour business day) and get a fair share of explorers. [EDIT: A fellow automotive colleague and self-professed Pokémon Go addict informed me that lures can only be used at already established Pokéstops. I do know that there are businesses that have been designated as such so this strategy would only work if your dealership were already a Pokéstop apparently. The overall intent of the article is discuss the marketing opportunity soon to be available as described later in this article.]

There are also things called Pokéstops and gyms which naturally attract players but Niantic (the game’s creator) decides where these Pokéstops are located. Of course, the concentration of Pokémon or the ability to train them (level them up) make these popular places for players. While actual user numbers haven’t been released, I’ve seen articles that report that daily use of Pokémon Go is extremely close to surpassing the daily use of Twitter. That is huge.

Well, it looks like (unsurprisingly) that Pokémon Go is going to make it very easy for dealerships (or any business) to leverage their game to drive foot traffic to their location. Of course, a company that’s pulling in $1,000,000 (yes million) per day just through in-app purchases decided to commercialize by extending business sponsorship opportunities. It’s reportedly always been in their plans but, due to the super-fast popularity (including a 50% increase in Nintendo share price), those plans have been expedited. Soon, businesses (read: dealerships) will be able to pay to be a “sponsored location” which would (hypothetically) make the business an uber-popular place to visit for Pokémon Go players.

Seeing as the game’s developer, Niantic, is a spin-off owned by Google and the game engine itself uses Google Maps for the GPS function within the game (i.e. finding Pokémon) it’s no surprise that the revenue trigger (i.e. what needs to happen for revenue to be produced) has been altered from the traditional cost-per-click to one of cost-per-VISIT. Yup, you read that right.

Now, knowing that you’d be charged based on how many Pokémon Go players show up at your dealership, the question now becomes… Is that something you’d want to pay for? Are these people worth having around, running around your lot searching for these cartoon characters while staring at computer screens?

I was told of at least one dealer group that’s already running a promotion leveraging Pokémon Go by running a contest in which players explore the lot and, when they find a Pokémon, screenshotting the Pokémon at the dealership then sharing it to social media including Instagram and naming the dealership. This is a new promotion (just like the game) so I don’t know how it’ll work out for them but I wish them well.

In my opinion, whether a dealership should become a “sponsored location” will depend on several things – the dealership’s demographic and whether they want people running around looking for Pokémon rather than buying a car (I mean, even people really there to buy a car are staring at their phone showrooming you so you probably wouldn’t know the difference between the two unless one of them is 10 years old). The opposite side of that argument is that a busy lot snowballs and attracts other buyers. I mean, we do use inflatable gorillas and wavy tube men, right? Now you can have Pokémon hunters attracting others and forgo the gorilla. (I wonder if the gorillas and wavy tube men qualify for unemployment or food stamps.)

All of that being said, we don’t yet know what the “cost-per-visit” will be but my guess is that it will be determined just like any other Google advertising – based on bids. Get into an auto mall and that might get expensive. It could offer the kids something to do while the parents are shopping or you could see the parents hunting Pokémon WITH their kids. If you subscribe to the “happy, sense of community, getting out and meeting people” philosophy, it could be a way to make a name for yourself (or become a more popular destination) within your community. Of course, being a sponsored location probably won’t end when you lock the doors. There could easily be people jumping your blocker cars to explore your closed dealership just to hunt Pokémon. I may know of someone that might possibly have broken into a miniature golf course just to catch a Pokémon… but that’s just a story I was told so I totally have plausible deniability… besides I would plead the fifth anyways.

So what do you think? I’d love to hear from dealers and/or vendors on their thoughts as to whether this sponsored location option about to come around through Niantic, Nintendo, and Google via Pokémon Go is one that a dealership should consider.

Do I believe that it will make the dealership a popular place to visit? Yes. Do I think that it would increase foot traffic? Yes.

The real question is whether it is foot traffic that a dealership would want.

Jim Radogna: Avoiding the Eye of Mordor in Social Media

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eye-of-sauron-lord-of-the-rings-return-of-the-kingJust like in the blockbuster series “The Lord of the Rings”, the Eye of Mordor is always open. Until now, its focus has been on larger battles and more interesting things. Then a Hobbit found a golden ring and slipped it on his finger. And the Eye started paying attention to this little being that had avoided the Eye’s gaze… until now.

The intersection of advertising, marketing, and compliance is not easy to navigate. It seems as if each week, rulings are being rendered from one of the myriad of regulatory bodies making it more difficult for dealers to know what they should – and should not – be doing in regards to social media in order to stay compliant. In an effort to bring clarity to an increasingly confusing and misunderstood topic, I sat down with Jim Radogna, the president of Dealer Compliance Consultants, to get some answers.

 

Arnold Tijerina: I believe dealers aren’t vigilant enough ensuring that social media performed on behalf of the dealership meets the same compliance rules and standards that all of their other advertising requires. It’s sort of like an afterthought to them. What are your thoughts?

Jim Radogna: Very true. First, many dealers aren’t aware that advertising regulations apply to social media every bit as much as traditional media. Advertising regulations don’t go away despite the fact that social media tends to be a low-key, casual type of communication. In fact, The FTC recently updated its document Dot Com Disclosures: Information About Online Advertising. The primary focus of the publication, which was first issued in 2000, is to inform advertisers that consumer protection laws and the requirement to provide clear and conspicuous disclosures applies to the online world in addition to the offline world.

So in a nutshell, if inventory is posted or prices/payments are quoted on social media it’s likely that the posts will be deemed to be advertisements and will be subject to state and federal disclosure and truth in advertising regulations. Lack of space is no excuse either. Even if you’re advertising on Twitter and are limited to 140 characters, you must include a clear link to any necessary disclosures.

Next, even if the dealer is aware of these facts, it’s likely that dealership employees and/or vendors posting to social media do not have the same level of awareness.

AT: I’ve interacted with some dealers who operate under strict compliance conformity across all advertising – including social media – and others that don’t feel the need to adhere to the same rules when it comes to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. It certainly wouldn’t seem to be unreasonable to assume that most dealers know compliance rules for their advertising. Why do you think they view social media differently?

JR: Until recently, virtually all enforcement actions for non-compliant advertising have been focused on traditional media, so this is a brand new area. In my experience, most dealers have a limited understanding of what constitutes “advertising” in the eyes of the powers that be. When dealers place an ad in the local newspaper, on the radio or TV, it’s pretty evident to them that they’re advertising and that they need to be diligent in following state and local compliance guidelines. But they don’t tend to think of social media as formal “advertising” because their intention isn’t to advertise their products and services on the social networks as much as to engage with customers, brand themselves and showcase their inventory. It really is an innocent mistake in many instances. The problem is that any time they mention prices, payments, interest rates, or the availability of financing etc. – anywhere – certain disclosure requirements are triggered.

So, a dealer or ad agency that is diligent about being compliant in their advertising may have their attorneys or a compliance consultant, like myself, review every one of their ads, mailers, TV commercials, and radio spots before publication, but not even think about having their social media posts reviewed because they simply don’t realize that these are considered “advertising”.

Another area where dealers are vulnerable on social media is transfer from traditional media. Here are a few examples: The dealer may have a full page print ad in their local paper that is fully compliant, but when they post a reduced-size pdf of the ad on Facebook, all of a sudden the fully-legible and compliant disclosure on the bottom of the newspaper ad is now unreadable. Instead of being 10-point type, it’s now 4-point type because of the size reduction. Another example is the TV commercial that’s posted on YouTube and shared on the social networks. Again, the disclosure on the bottom of the screen may be easily readable on TV but becomes indecipherable on a computer or mobile device.

AT: A recent FTC ruling regarding personal bias disclosure across all social media platforms seems to have lead some dealers into believing that simply adding a notation that the content is an “Ad” or “Sponsored” – whether in the ad or with the use of hashtags such as #ad and/or #sponsored – is enough to be compliant. To my knowledge, while the FTC ruling is certainly applicable when it comes to employees sharing dealership offers and specials on their personal social networks, it doesn’t negate obligation by the dealer to add necessary disclaimers. Do you agree? 

JR: Absolutely. Dealers may face liability if employees use social media to promote their employer’s services or products without disclosing the employment relationship. The FTC requires the disclosure of all “material connections.” These connections can be any relationship that could affect the credibility a consumer gives to statements, such as an employment or business relationship. So if employees, friends, family or vendors post on a dealer’s behalf, they should clearly disclose any relationship they have with the company. It’s all about transparency and full disclosure.

AT: As social media use by dealers grow, what are the most important things that dealers should be aware of in regards to how they use social media? 

JR: There are a number of legal considerations that every company should be aware of when establishing their social media policies and procedures, such as social media use in employment decisions; posting of online reviews, testimonials and endorsements; ‘fake’ and paid-for reviews; advertising on social media; potential overtime claims; harassment, discrimination and defamation claims; copyright and privacy issues.

AT: Should dealers be concerned by how their employee’s use social media and, if so, how do you recommend that dealerships protect themselves and/or decrease liability in this regard?

JR: It’s important for dealers to craft a social media policy that’s both practical and legally defensible. They can protect themselves by insisting that participants in their social media programs comply with the law and training them how to do it. The FTC specifically says these steps may limit potential liability and will be considered in any prosecution. According to FTC guidelines, “The Commission agrees that the establishment of appropriate procedures would warrant consideration in its decision as to whether law enforcement action would be an appropriate use of agency resources. The Commission is not aware of any instance in which an enforcement action was brought against a company for the actions of a single ‘rogue’ employee who violated established company policy that adequately covered the conduct in question.”

AT: The FTC has been increasing the attention it is paying to business and social media and has recently been vocal about their intentions to enforce compliance regardless of where the advertisement resides specifically mentioning social media. How do you believe this increased action and attention by the FTC will affect dealers in the future in regards to social media? 

JR: What’s become abundantly clear through recent federal and state advertising enforcement actions against dealers is that regulators are trolling through the digital world to find dealer violations. For instance, the FTC has cited many ads recently from websites and YouTube. It stands to reason that social networks are their next logical target. Let’s face it, it’s far easier for regulators to perform digital searches for violations than to read countless newspaper ads or listen to radio commercials.

My suggestion is to train every employee and every vendor that posts to the dealer’s social networks or may post on the dealer’s behalf on their own networks. Next, constantly audit all posts, either internally or by utilizing a qualified professional, to ensure compliance. Dealers are ultimately responsible the actions of their employees and any vendors they hire.

AT: Thank you, Jim. I appreciate your taking the time to help bring more clarity about this topic to dealers.

 

 

jim
About Jim Radogna

Before founding Dealer Compliance Consultants, Jim Radogna developed a strong background in dealership operations, having spent over 15 years in dealership management. His experience includes working in diversified roles including sales manager, F&I director, general manager, and training director. In addition, he served as compliance officer for a large auto group, where he developed and integrated a comprehensive compliance program. Being well-versed in all aspects of dealership operations, Jim and his team have used their knowledge and industry experience to develop unique, no-nonsense compliance and reputation management solutions for automobile dealerships of all sizes. These programs are designed to not only protect dealerships from liability but also greatly enhance the company’s reputation, increase profitability through consistent processes, and increase customer satisfaction and retention.

Jim is a sought-after speaker and frequent contributor to several automotive industry publications including Dealer Magazine, WardsAuto, Auto Dealer Monthly, DrivingSales Dealership Innovation Guide, AutoSuccess, and F&I Magazine.

Forget SEO, Naked Women Will Increase VDP Views

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In the middle of July, a small dealer in Oregon started to get a lot of attention. I’m fairly certain their website visitors spiked and at least one VDP started to get massive traffic. You see, somehow a 2001 Mercedes-Benz got transformed into a picture of a naked woman. Yes, you heard that right. Word started spreading amongst the automotive circles on social media AND, more importantly, to the public through a very popular automotive blog, Jalopnik. We (being my friends in the automotive community) found it quite amusing. The author of Jalopnik reports that he called the dealership and the faux pas was blamed on… wait for it… a computer virus. This “naked woman” VDP was appearing all across the Internet – the dealer’s website, Cars.com, and Auto.com being amongst them. I bet that dealer got more phone calls, leads and VDP views on this 2001 Mercedes than any vehicle it has ever had in its history.

cars_vdp_2

 

The problem didn’t stay there, however. Once I verified this on their website and Cars.com, I started researching to see exactly how widespread this was. That vehicle (and picture) was everywhere. Not only that but once I SAW the picture, I couldn’t UNSEE it. Yes, the remarketing magic kicked in. All of a sudden, I had a naked woman stalking me on the Internet.

 

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Anyone who knows the path of data distribution in the car industry knows that this didn’t originate with Cars.com. If you don’t know, this is basically the flow:

Dealer/3rd Party Photo Service -> Data Distribution Company -> 3rd Party websites

Having worked at HomeNet for a while, I got fairly familiar with this process. Some dealers would argue that “data distribution company” should be replaced with “website provider” but, for the most part, website providers don’t actually do the data distribution. In most cases, they subcontract out the service to companies like HomeNet. As a dealer, you may or may not be aware of this as your website provider may include data distribution in their service. I cannot count the times that I called dealers whose data feed we already had to try and sell them services and they had no clue that we (HomeNet) were distributing their data already.

How could something like this happen? Well, there are several possibilities so let’s get started.

  1. Computer virus/Hacked – I don’t buy this one. This would have to be a pretty intricate virus with the ability to identify a picture of a naked woman, log into the dealer’s account with their data company, choose a vehicle and upload the picture into the system. When I looked at their website, it was only this single VDP that had the explicit picture. If it were a computer virus, chances are more than likely that it would have replaced EVERY picture for all of the vehicles. Not just one. Viruses are malicious. They want to do damage. The same rationale goes for a hacker. Replacing one picture isn’t going to make some guy so happy he spits out his Twinkie while Mountain Dew flies out of his nose. (I know, total stereotype. It was simply an effort to be amusing.)
  2. Dealer Accident – This is certainly a possibility. In the past, dealers have been notoriously vocal about how difficult and time-consuming it was to take and upload pictures. This motivated the industry into creating software that made it easier. It’s possible that whomever was in charge of uploading pictures at the dealership happened to have this naked girl on their desktop or in the folder with the vehicle pictures and it accidentally got uploaded. Knowing the mechanics of retrieving pictures from a camera, then manually selecting the pictures that go each which vehicle while uploading them makes this scenario also unlikely. There was only a single picture for this vehicle so you can’t say that it was mixed in with 30+ other pictures of the same vehicle.
  3. Third Party Photo Service – This, again, is pretty unlikely. Photo services depend on their clients for revenue. For the most part, they also use technology that makes taking pictures and attributing them to vehicles pretty efficient. Scan a Vin. Take a bunch of pictures. Repeat. Upload. It’s pretty automatic. Seeing as this explicit photo wasn’t a picture of a picture, the likelihood that it was already on the camera is slim-to-none. The exception here would be smaller photo services that don’t use this sort of technology. In those cases, you would refer back to possibility #2 above.
  4. Cars.com – Forget about it. Do you really think Cars.com has the time to upload photos for dealers? They simply take a feed that originated as a combination of a DMS vehicle record and corresponding pictures and a listing is created automatically. Obviously there isn’t a censor watching on their end. They probably don’t feel the need for one. It’s certainly not scalable for them to view the millions of inventory pictures they get daily from dealers across the country.
  5. On Purpose – This is the most likely scenario. Someone was either disgruntled or wanted a little laugh. Based on the results of widespread distribution though, this had to happen at or before the data distribution link in the chain of events for it to get disseminated as much as it was. Unless the dealer used a small photo service that they just cancelled, the likelihood that it was a vendor is small. People have to pay the rent, you know. The simplest solution is that someone at the dealership, that had the log-in to upload a picture, is the culprit. As they say, the simplest answer is usually the correct one. Maybe they were upset. Maybe it was a prank. We’ll probably never know.

Dealers are way too lax with their vital services and log-ins. Most CRMs have unique log-ins as they need to track activity and tie it to specific employees. The same is true with MOST log-ins to a DMS. Exceptions exist, however. There are many instances of shared or single passwords being used by dealers to access services. How about social media accounts? Imagine that showing up on your Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, etc. A lot worse can happen to a dealer than the scenario in this article.

Vendors aren’t immune to this either. Read the comments on that Jalopnik article. Cars.com got some unwanted publicity as well. Consumers don’t know the mechanics involved. They simply blamed Cars.com and had a good laugh. That picture/VDP was on their (and other) websites for HOURS. I reached out to them via Twitter. While they wouldn’t get specific with me (although I’m sure they know exactly where they got the feed from) they did deny responsibility tweeting that the image “originated from a 3rd party site.”

 

Screen Shot 2014-07-31 at 4.55.00 PM

 

The point of this article isn’t to cast blame. I’m certainly not Sherlock Holmes. I’m simply using common sense. As dealers, your website and VDPs are your virtual dealership. Unless you would place a naked girl in the middle of your lot to bring in traffic, you probably don’t want this happening to you. (Although it would probably work better than a giant inflatable gorilla or wavy tube guy. Just saying.) You should treat all of your services as if you were in the military. Log-ins and passwords (especially administrator-level ones) should be shared on a “need to know” basis. In every possible case, there should be levels of access for individual users. This way, you can control who can access what, what they can do once there, and, if something goes wrong, hold someone accountable.

Dealers also need to know, and control, exactly where their inventory is going. Most dealers get sold on the fact that there inventory will be on a gazillion websites and their eyes light up like a child seeing his or her presents under the tree on Christmas morning. Dealers should know not only whom THEY are sending their inventory to but also to whom THOSE people may be sending it to as well.

While this was an amusing venture that didn’t last a terribly long time, it’s a perfect example of Murphy’s Law – “If anything can go wrong, it will.”

Data security is something that’s becoming more prominent in the eyes of consumers. If someone can upload a naked picture of a woman and get that on hundreds of websites in a minute, imagine what someone who REALLY wants to get revenge or create havoc can do with your DMS database, social media accounts, CRM, customer information (including socials, DOBs, etc)…and guess who would be responsible…

You.

 

How the Mormon Church Turned the “Book of Mormon” Into Roses: A Lesson In Marketing

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mormon_rose“…there is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” – Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

In 1890, Oscar Wilde wrote this quote in his classic book “The Picture of Dorian Gray”. The character, Lord Henry, says this to a painter when the painter expresses his desire not to show a painting. While this certainly wasn’t the beginning, one could say that this quote perfectly expresses the desire of most businesses and is just as true today as it was 124 years ago.

The goal of any business is simple: to be talked about. This includes all areas of public interaction including advertising, promotion, publicity, public relations, social media and reputation management. A story that illustrates a few of these involves the circus and an elephant.

“If the circus is coming to town and you paint a sign saying “Circus Coming to the Fairground this Saturday,” that’s advertising. If you put a sign on the back of an elephant and walk it into town, that’s promotion. If the elephant walks through the mayor’s flower bed, that’s publicity… and if you get the mayor to laugh about it, that’s public relations.”

To bring that story current, you could add:

As people start talking about the elephant trampling the rose garden, that’s social media. And, by apologizing and repairing the flowerbed of the mayor, that’s reputation management.

No matter which area illustrated above you are discussing, the goal is to get people talking about you. Sometimes, what they are saying is unflattering. In these cases, you have two choices, to address the issue or to embrace it. Most experts in publicity, public relations, social media and reputation management would advise that you address the problem in one way or another. Sometimes that involves telling your side of the story publicly. Sometimes it involves making the issue right for your customer. And sometimes it involves embracing it and finding opportunities.

When the creators of South Park released their uber-popular musical, “The Book of Mormon”, the Mormon Church had several options. They could raise a big fuss about it that probably would have assisted the musical itself in achieving more buzz and publicity. Instead, initially, they chose to essentially ignore it. In a great article by an Episcopal priest, she described how the Mormon Church, when confronted with the popularity the show had achieved, made the decision to use the show as a means of proselytizing. Missionaries began handing out books and pamphlets in front of the theaters. The Church itself began advertising in the actual playbills. And what they found was that theatre-goers were interested in learning more. Certainly the musical itself mocks their religion but they believe that it doesn’t matter which path a person takes to embrace their beliefs.

The Mormon Church realized that this musical attracted people that were more than likely not Mormon and didn’t understand their religion. Rather than sitting by idly and being the butt of this musical “joke”, they saw this as an opportunity to educate theater-goers and spread their message. And it worked. According to the article “street contacting” is one of the “traditional ways for missionaries to reach potential converts.” This practice is challenging and they might only give out a few copies of their Scriptures each day. When a couple of missionaries chose to hand out Scriptures in front of a theatre showing the musical, however, they gave out an entire box of books in under an hour.

Just as in Oscar Wilde’s famous quote, the Church discovered that having people talking about you is better than not having them talk about you.

In their story, after the elephant tramples the mayor’s rose garden, rather than trying to explain to everyone why the elephant was bad, they shared the beauty of rose gardens.

And more people stopped to smell the roses.

Google+ Ditches Zagat Ratings, Returns to Consumer Friendly 5-Star Ratings

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Google can’t seem to make up their minds. That being said, they sneakily introduced a change that I believe most businesses (and consumers) will welcome.

In May of 2012, Google implemented their Zagat rating system which was confusing for both businesses and consumers. The 30-point system just didn’t make sense to most people including, most importantly, consumers.

As you can see by visiting any Google+ local page, they have reverted back to the 5-star rating system. Ultimately, this makes more sense as not only is it easier for the business to understand why their rating is what it is but a consumer intuitively understands what the number “means” in relation to reviews left by other customers.

The biggest thing is that it seems to have been rolled out completely in that the rating now exists inside and outside Google maps and whether you are logged into Google or not and you don’t need to have an upgraded listing as a business owner.

For the score to show, your business must have at least 5 reviews, however.

It isn’t quite updated everywhere yet. It’s still showing the Zagat score in the old version of Google Maps and in Google+ Local search results but I anticipate that this will all be conformed in due time.

I, personally, welcome this about face and think it’s good for both businesses and consumers.

What are your thoughts?

[Note: Thanks to 3GEngagement for the tip!]

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