I just recently visited South Florida on business to meet with two automotive groups and educate them about using GOSO.  After a long day on the road discussing customer acquisition and retention strategies, I went up to visit my mother in West Palm Beach, FL.  To my surprise, the first thing she asked me to do was to help her buy a new car.  The first thing I asked her was, why don’t you trade your existing car in for a new one at the same dealership? (she was leasing a small luxury SUV)  She said that the dealership was rude and they said she was going to have to purchase two new tires before she returned the car on her 3 year lease.  All I could think about was how the dealership lost a sale over two tires and how easy it would have been to get her into the dealership to buy a new car.   The sale was lost and there was nothing I could do.

So we researched some new cars online and she decided that she thought that some of the new sporty wagons had more room than the small SUV’s.  After checking out a couple of different models, she made up her mind and we headed out to the dealership.  I try my hardest to be unbias in these situations since dealerships are my clients and I want to see them do well but they were so unorganized.  We waited at least 30 minutes before my mom impatiently said, let’s leave.  I told her that we had to give them the benefit of the doubt and to please be patient.

Somebody finally came over and helped out my mom.  Her credit score is just under 800, she wanted to put down $10k and finance the rest – basically A+ buyer.  She didn’t negotiate the price at all, she just didn’t want to deal with the old dealership and said, “as long as you return my old car to the other dealership and I don’t have to deal with them, I’ll be happy.”  It made me so disappointed to think that all my mom wanted was good customer service and nothing else from her old dealership.

As it turns out, we told the dealership to prepare all the paperwork and said we would pick up the car the next day.  When I got home that night, I checked out DealerRater.com, Yelp.com and a few other review websites and her new dealership had several negative reviews.  When I returned to the dealership the next day, I asked to speak with the sales manager.  I explained to him what I did and told him I wasn’t going to sell him anything, since this was his day to sell my mom.  (I know I could have used the opportunity to turn around and sell him GOSO, but I was more interested to see whether he would take my advice.)

In our conversation, I told him how excited my mom was about her new car.  I also showed him all the negative reviews about his dealership.  I explained that it was imperative to capitalize on my mom’s positive experience and make sure that she shared it online as well as with her friends.  I left it with him to initiate this free advice and in return I would show my mom how to post positive reviews online if he followed up with his promise.

Regretfully, there was no follow up.  I couldn’t believe it.  I emailed him and told him that he should use this positive experience to his advantage and he never responded.  My mom plays bridge with a pretty affluent group, he could have easily sold all her bridge friends a new car, but now he won’t.

The Harvard Business Review recently stated that “because companies can now interact directly with customers, they must radically reorganize to put
cultivating relationships ahead of building brands.”  No doubt.  “Companies have powerful technologies for understanding and interacting with customers, yet most still depend on mass media marketing to drive impersonal transactions.  To compete, companies must shift from pushing individual products to building long-term customer relationships.”

These two dealerships need to change their focus on short-term acquisition to a longer thought out acquisition and retention strategy.  The same study also said that dealership’s should “shift the focus from product profitability to customer profitability, as measured by metrics such as customer lifetime value and customer equity.”  I couldn’t agree anymore.

In the end, my mom is very happy to be driving her new car and sadly to say, two dealerships lost an opportunity to capitalize on her joy.

It was interesting reading Chris Brogan’s post about talking about yourself. It came at a time when I have been criticized for “teaching too much”. Apparently some people think giving advice is somehow patronizing and condescending (or maybe both, I am not quite sure).

These thoughts combined to make me seriously consider how we decide what to talk about, how to tune that over time, and how to guage the success of that.

One of the diagrams I often use in my talks is this one featured below:

It is the simplest approach and the one that works best in most situations.

Now there will always be exceptions to this rule. I am sure the vast majority of successful bloggers and social media folks do not conciously seek out the opinions and preferences of their audience before writing. We do however soon learn what our community reacts to and it is a rare writer who goes against what works on purpose.

This does not mean that we should pander. Even though I have been blasted for doing “too much how-to” there is no way I am going to stop. Why should I? Yes, I have received some strident feedback, but the feedback I received was one person’s diatribe and not the opinion shared by most of my readers across the many blogs that I write for.

We tend to listen to the loudest voices but a vocal minority can scupper what we set out to acheive. One complaint does not a trend make!

Here is my basic strategy:

• Work out through conversation and research what your community most wants and needs, what their common challenges are, what they most want to achieve.
• Help people towards those goals and encourage feedback.
• Listen to the feedback you get and judge it based on repetition, sincerity and sanity.
• Observe and record your metrics.
• Look out for trigger events (eg. subscriptions going up or down, traffic spikes, comment ratios, etc).
• Tweak and tune.

As Chris says in the linked article, there are a lot of sites out there that are useless and boring because they are self referential. On the other hand, many of us flock to self-referential celebrities because their autobiographical stories give us a taste of an aspirational lifestyle. And yet, I wouldn’t really want to read a book review written by Paris Hilton. What works for one or the other will not necessarily work for you, but it does not make it wrong just a bad fit.

Bottom line: Your peers, gurus or outspoken critics are not the people who should be telling you what to write about, and you should not try to cater to them over your community as a whole. You will never please everyone, focus on your target audience and reaching your goals. Do not be distracted from your priorities.

Craigslist is a very popular platform for posting automotive classifieds. The simple reason is that it works. Many dealerships have found relative success on their local Craigslist pages.

The problem is Craigslist wants to make sure that their classifieds are not overrun with marketers and spam. Craigslist readers are also looking for that. So the free-for-all posting glory days of the past are being slowed.

How is Craigslist fighting back?

They have been pretty clear from the onset that Posting Agents are a no, no. So be cautious of any third party company that is in the business of posting on Craigslist. Ask them how they get around the Terms of Use.

Craigslist is pretty clear in their TOU that posting agents are not allowed.

Craigslist defines a posting agent as…

…a third-party agent, service, or intermediary that offers to post Content to the Service on behalf of others. To moderate demands on craigslist’s resources, you may not use a Posting Agent to post Content to the Service without express permission or license from craigslist.  Correspondingly, Posting Agents are not permitted to post Content on behalf of others, to cause Content to be so posted, or otherwise access the Service to facilitate posting Content on behalf of others, except with express permission or license from craigslist.

The TOU lays out the ramifications of using a posting agent:

If you are a Posting Agent that uses the Service in violation of the TOU, in addition to any liquidated damages under clause (d), you agree to pay craigslist one hundred dollars ($100) for each and every Item you post in violation of the TOU. A Posting Agent will also be deemed an agent of the party engaging the Posting Agent to access the Service (the “Principal”), and the Principal (by engaging the Posting Agent in violation of the TOU) agrees to pay craigslist an additional one hundred dollars ($100) for each Item posted by the Posting Agent on behalf of the Principal in violation of the TOU.

In plain English Craigslist is saying that for every ad posted by an agent they will get $200. $100 from the Posting Agent and $100 from the Principal, which is the dealership.

The liability for the ad is placed on both parties. There really is no way to get around it. GOSO has reached out to Craigslist’s legal department to discuss the issue but they’ve declined to talk with us.

It’s important that auto dealers protect themselves. There are many third party companies out there that provide their services as a posting agent but in all actuality all they are doing is opening up your dealership to a lawsuit from Craigslist.

The only thing keeping the practice active is that Craigslist has yet to go after all of the posting agents. Craigslist has filed many lawsuits and more will come.

This is just one of the problems you will encounter.

What else are they doing?

Ghosting has become popular with the classified giant. Essentially once you post your ad no one will be able to see it but you. The idea is that you THINK you posted but you didn’t.

To avoid this make sure your add is as unique as possible.  Don’t use the same keywords or the same titles. Make each ad stand on its own. Many dealers have turned to use multiple email accounts, multiple IP addresses and even multiple phone numbers, just to avoid showing up on Craigslist’s radar.

Competition flags you, a lot. This one is a little tougher to solve. Unfortunately, no one can force a competitor to play fair because, well, all’s fair in business it seems these days. However, the way they flag you is most often with the use of software designed to search keywords or even an IP address. The solution is to again make sure that your ads are as unique as possible.

Another way to avoid flagging and to fly under the radar is to limit your posts. This is also a good way to protect yourself from Craigslist. Auto shoppers can see right through the ads and if there are a million ads from your dealership you might scare them away altogether. So if you’re dealership limits the number of posts to around five quality ads a day you might find more success and less heartache.

What are some other practices you’ve found that have helped your sales on Craigslist or some problems you’ve encountered? If you are a posting agent, explain to us how you get around the terms of service.  This is the burning question right now.

When a brand is appearing in conversations, what should you do?

1. Listen, observe?
2. Get involved?
3. Do nothing?

What about when you are associated with the brand, but do not own or manage it?

I imagine there are a lot of Toyota dealerships mulling over this question right now. From what I have seen using Twitter search, most are selecting choices #1 and #3.

You might ask why I care. Well, my wife’s car is a Toyota. She has only owned it a couple of months. We haven’t had any communication, online or off, since we bought it other than to fill in a satisfaction survey.

We are not concerned. This isn’t a case of buyers remorse or even a complaint.

It does, however, show the real benefit of keeping in contact with your customers and prospective customers.

If we are not getting the news and information that we want and need then we are going to listen to people who have nothing of value to share but who are going to share it anyway. Twitter, Facebook etc are full of conversation about Toyotas, just not much that is helpful.

Toyota has been getting the word out using a variety of tactics including search and display ads, inviting Digg users to a Q&A with executives and Facebook, Twitter and YouTube text and video updates. If I was a dealer I would be sharing all this good stuff, plus making sure every one of my customers and prospects was

• Aware of the facts
• Aware of the myths and false info
• Aware there are people listening and ready to answer questions

You could just turn a tricky situation into one where you are seen as a real, caring customer advocate …

You know the phrase “What you measure you get more of”?

What if what you are measuring … is wrong?

Do you want more “wrong” in your business?

I was talking to someone on the phone just now and he asked me what I was working on. One of the things I mentioned was this blog. He thought it was cool that auto dealers were getting into social media and he immediately asked me who I knew with tons of followers.

Let me make it clear, he didn’t ask who the thought leaders were, or who the superstars were (if there are such things in this market), but went straight to the numbers.

The wrong numbers.

Fact is, it doesn’t matter if an auto dealer has a gajillionteen followers. You don’t want to be an Ashton Kutcher, Oprah, or the like. By measuring, focusing and chasing a follower count you would actually at best distract yourself from your real business, or at worst actually damage it.

Even in my consulting it is not big numbers that matter, even though there is a “social proof” benefit (“90 billion twitter friends can’t be wrong people!”) – it’s all about having the right people in your orbit.

If I want to sell more cars, I would rather have ten followers who are in the market for an Aston Martin, than a million who ride bikes, right?

So before you measure, make sure you are measuring the right things …

Social media is our conduit to the global conversation. For businesses, the inclusion of a social media strategy into a company’s marketing strategy is essential but setting up a company Facebook Fan Page or getting Twitter followers can be daunting in the beginning, especially if your company doesn’t already possess a strong online brand.

So how do you get your name out there? How do you get other people to follow what you’re saying and join in the conversation? How do you get people in the door?

There isn’t a simple solution but there is an often-overlooked weapon in every business’ arsenal: your employees. Hopefully your employees have friends. If they don’t, well, that’s a whole other blog.

There are many companies that don’t allow their employees to have personal social media accounts. The obvious benefit for the company is the protection of their online brand. I give credit to these businesses for understanding the importance of what is being said about them online, however, that same company is damaging it’s image with it’s employees by limiting an employee’s action outside of the office.

An employee is your ambassador to the world. They represent you beyond the walls of your business. The main concern for a business should not be what your employees are saying but why they say what they say. Deciding the outlet for their frustration is not the best way to manage their opinions.

If your employee is unhappy and they aren’t able to tweet about it, you can be sure they are talking about it to everyone they know. Which is just as detrimental to your business.

Your company’s social media strategy is a great way to include your employees. Inclusion is a great way to build employer/employee relationships:

• Simply ask your employees for help building your networks. If an employee feels needed they will respond positively.
• Build a team through competition. Encourage employees to complete a task, whether it be refer a hundred fans or participate in a weight loss competition within the office. Showcase the winners on your networks.
• Offer rewards for referrals. If an employee brings in a new customer, reward them. Give gift certificates, cash bonuses, or anything else that will encourage referrals.

If you follow these simple ideas you’ll be able to show the world and your employees their value to your business’ success. Consumers are more likely to respond to companies with happy employees.

What are some other ways of including employees?

I was reading a comment thread over on another site where a Facebook fan page for a local auto dealer was being reviewed.

In my view the article was quite balanced, mostly favorable, and the author seemed open to a dialog about how the fan page could improve from the starting point that had been reviewed. All good, all friendly, and all constructive. Great.

Then a troll wades into the comments with the usual stuff:

• They should have this feature.
• Why is there only this, that and the other?
• Waste of money when the company could have used such and such software for only $xx
• The technology is wrong, instead of using this technology should have used this other competing technology.
• Competitor1 and Competitor2 have a better product because of these features.

I am sure you have experienced a similar loud mouth complainer making a big noise about something they feel both entitled to talk about, and expert enough to have all the answers.

Social media, being social, gives everyone a voice, even if they do not really have anything constructive to say. They can drown out the valid advice and your customers needs if you are not careful.

The problem is, while there may be free speech laws in your geography that protect the trolls right to have the opinion, this person is NOT entitled to sway your decision-making!

While there may be an obvious bias-motive behind attacking the Facebook page and agency behind it, there is also an obvious frame of reference at conflict with what the end user actually wants. These trolls do NOT speak for your dealership customer, and that is who you are aiming to please.

Is the troll in the market for the cars you sell and service? No?

Does the troll have your customers best interests in mind? No?

Then ignore them.

The people who you need to be listening to are the people who are in your target market. What do they want to see? How do they want to be treated?

You need to focus your energies on meeting and exceeding their expectations.

Trolls can talk all day about features they think are cool or necessary, but it is a customer-focus that will win you fans, not flashy gimicks and wizz-bang features that they do not need.

There are a lot of loud mouths in social media so forget about matching anyone’s expectations but your customer’s

The number of automotive dealers on Facebook is growing daily. Dealer Fan Pages are efficient locations to post information like industry news, service specials, customer questions, and tips. The most important use of Facebook Fan Pages and other social media sites is that they allow you to connect with your customers.

It also a great way for you to correct something that will affect your online image and brand.

A car dealer recently posted a promotion to their Facebook fan page for a free car detail, wash, and a limited edition chrome license plate cover.

By the time the car owner made it to the car wash it had closed. So the car owner drove there and was unable to receive any of the benefits of the promotion. So his first venue to lodge a complaint was Facebook. So he made his case.

The last thing anyone wants is a unaddressed negative comment plaguing their Facebook Fan Page.This dealership handled the problem very well. This may not seem like a big deal but it is. Dealers should address everything that comes up. Good or bad. Especially the bad.

How to address complaints:

It’s important to know that this isn’t like a normal customer service conversation. This is something that everyone will see.

1. Address the issue head on. Ask for a way to contact them. “…would you like us to contact you…”
2. Once you’ve made contact, tell the customer how you plan to make it up to them.
3. Make it up to them. A lot of promises are made by customer service departments in multiple industries and a lot of these promises are not followed up on. Do what you promise.
4. Follow up with the customer a week after the make-good was carried out to insure the customer’s satisfaction.

How does this benefit the dealer?

1. The most important benefit is the dealership rescued a relationship with a fan of the automobile they sell.
2. The dealer has provided an example for everyone to see of their commitment to customer satisfaction.
3. The dealer didn’t delete the comment. As an administrator you have that ability. Deleting would make it worse, plus they’ve shown everyone that they may not be perfect but if they do make a mistake, they will correct it.

So in rare occasion that you have a complaint, remember to address it and address it quickly. You’re online reputation is on the line.

Allan Mulally, CEO of Ford

Ford and Microsoft introduced Sync, the in-car communication system, in 2008. Yesterday at the Consumers Electronic Show in Las Vegas, Ford’s CEO Allan Mulally announced an updated version with a long list of new features for the successful Ford feature.

On top of increased voice recognition capabilities, Internet radio, maps and personal settings is a Twitter feature.

The feature reads Twitter messages to the driver and Mulally said that eventually the voice recognition technology in the Sync will allow drivers to dictate their responses and even their own Twitter updates.

Concerns are being raised about the danger of increased distractions for drivers. Doug VanDagens, Ford’s Global Director of Connected Services responded by saying that driver’s already read their Twitter feeds but because Sync reads the messages, drivers will be able to keep their hands on the wheel.

Ford has been very successful with their ability to recognize the influence of social media in today’s culture. They’ve created successful social media campaigns like Fusion 41 and the Fiesta Movement.

The updated Sync will be included in 2010 Ford models.

One of the things that my Realtor clients and friends are great at with social media is “claiming territory“. What do I mean by that?

Well anyone in the real estate business will likely have a geographic area that they cover, care about, network, are expert in, and sell to. I expect most auto dealers would be the same (ignoring national internet sales for now).

When you look for a new home or business property, location is very important. If you want to test drive a car, or look at the inventory available, geography is also a factor. There are not many people willing to travel a thousand miles to check out a standard family car, though I might be persuaded if we were talking about a Tesla or Bugatti Veyron. Maybe.

Regional and local business can be crucial to your short term profit and long term profitability. By selecting a geographical area you get the double benefit of making your marketing budget go further and also becoming the trusted dealer for your locality. While in most cases people associate the internet, and especially social media, with international, there are many benefits to be had on a local level too.

If you search in Google using some search terms then do the same search while adding a city or county, you see the results change quite dramatically. Local results also influence the standard results, especially the paid results. Facebook advertising has some very granular targeting, check out the screen shot here.

You do not have to rely on advertising to target a locality though, you can do it through content too. Blog about the location and include regional Flickr photographs. Create videos that talk about the area and local prominent people.
Join in events and networking meetings, promote them in upcoming/linkedin/Facebook, then write them up in your blog and your Twitter/Facebook accounts.

Another tip you can get from your Realtor friends is they often connect with local businesses and trade communities, and help them connect to each other. By being a connector you get access to more local people and gossip than if you stand on the outside.

Bottom line is social media is not just useful at great distances, it also helps you connect better with people on your doorstep!

Do you have any examples of social media used at a local level? Please do share in the comments …