Automotive Marketing for Car Dealers

Which Used Cars Are Trending Demand Exceeds Supply?

Used-vehicle shoppers are feeling pretty sporty this month, judging by Kelley Blue Book’s Hot Used-Car Report.Sports cars and high-performance models led the month-over-month jumps in shopping activity growth so far in May with two particular used vehicles standing out the most.Interest in the 2009 Volkswagen GLI soared a whopping 171.9 percent higher month-over-month. Shopping activity connected to the 2010 Mazda Miata MX-5 increased by a healthy margin, too, rising 43.5 percent.KBB indicated the share of research toward sports cars increased 9.4 percent among total used retail traffic. Research into high-performance models wasn’t far off that pace as interest in those vehicles rose 6.5 percent in April, marking the second consecutive monthly increase.“It is no surprise that performance-oriented vehicles have been increasing in popularity for the past couple of months,” said Arthur Henry, manager of market intelligence and market analyst at KBB.“As the days get longer, people have more daylight time to have fun in their vehicles. We have been seeing more interest for import performance vehicles than domestic models. It appears shoppers are choosing vehicles that are better known for handling than power,” Henry went on to say.The remainder of the Top 10 used models within the Hot Used-Car Report contained a couple other examples of vehicles that can hold their own in terms of sporty styling or performance. The rest of the used vehicles most researched at KBB included:—2010 Infiniti G: up 17.0 percent
—2011 Honda CR-V: up 15.1 percent
—2007 Jeep Wrangler: up 15.1 percent
—2010 Nissan Maxima: up 13.7 percent
—2011 Honda Pilot: up 12.9 percent
—2011 BMW 3 Series: up 10.5 percent
—2010 Nissan Altima: up 9.3 percent
—2010 Honda Civic: up 6.1 percentAnd for dealers who are scratching their heads over why some certain models continue to remain in inventory with summer dead ahead, perhaps the list provided by KBB of vehicles that sustained the largest drops in shopper activity this month might provide some clarity.That list included a mix of both import and domestic units, as follows:—2009 Nissan Altima: down 7.5 percent
—2007 Scion tC: down 13.5 percent
—2009 Honda Fit: down 14.6 percent
—2010 Chevrolet Cobalt: down 16.1 percent
—2009 Hyundai Accent: down 17.5 percent
—2009 Lexus IS: down 18.4 percent
—2009 Chevrolet Equinox: down 24.4 percent
—2009 Saturn Outlook: down 27.5 percent
—2011 Mitsubishi Galant: down 28.0 percent
—2009 Infiniti M: down 30.7 percent
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Are You Ready for Big Changes? How About a Marketing Reboot?

Marketing Reboot? Are You Ready to Change?

Is your business ready to face the technological and sociological changes that are happening right now?To learn why you need to consider rebooting the way you market in this rapidly changing world, I interview Mitch Joel for this episode of the Social Media Marketing podcast.
More About This ShowThe Social Media Marketing podcast is a show from Social Media Examiner.It’s designed to help busy marketers and business owners discover what works with social media marketing.The show format is on-demand talk radio (also known as podcasting).In this episode, I interview Mitch Joel, author of the book Six Pixels of Separation and the podcast with the same name. His newest book is Ctrl Alt Delete: Reboot Your Business. Reboot Your Life. Your Future Depends on It.Mitch shares how technology will change the way we market our businesses in the future.You’ll learn the most important trends and how they will impact your marketing.Share your feedback, read the show notes and get the links mentioned in this episode below!Listen Now

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Here are some of the things you’ll discover in this show:Marketing RebootWhat’s the business world going to look like for our young children, when they enter the workforce?Mitch shares how the iPad has only been around for the last three and a half years, and so for us to even think about what life will be like in a decade is unfathomable.He believes that in current business, with the catalyst of technology, we’ve gone through exponential growth. Mitch says that as human beings we find it difficult to understand this dramatic shift.Since the iPad has come along, it has imploded the PC market.Our children will know nothing but technology. It’s changing the lives of people and the state of business.

Children today are growing up with social media technology. Image source: iStockphoto
Listen to the show to find out why Mitch questions why anyone would download content and keep it on a hard drive.Why we need a rebootIn the preface to Mitch’s new book, Ctrl Alt Delete, he says, ”during this state of purgatory, many businesses will die and many jobs will disappear, but in the same breadth many businesses will thrive, many new businesses will be created, and many new jobs will be invented.”Mitch shares his story of when his agency, Twist Image, first started out in 2000. The idea was to create a modern marketing agency focused on technology and connectivity.You’ll discover what type of people they now hire compared to back then and see how the acceleration has kicked in over the last 5 years.

Twist Image now hires for positions that didn't exist when they first started.
As far as education goes, Mitch feels that we’re not educating young people properly. He believes that we’re not setting up an infrastructure for the world as it exists.As a professional marketer, you’ll need to look at how we connect with things, engage with brands and engage in our lives.Mitch explains what he means by reboot and how marketing professionals are not grasping it. They tend to still hold onto the old ways in which they buy, sell, create and engage with media.You’ll discover why Mitch believes the book is a wake-up call and why it’s not forward-looking.Listen to the show to hear the five movements that have already happened that have shaped business and changed the way we work.How has the seemingly ubiquitous adoption of social media led to the need for businesses and marketers to change?Mitch feels the most important element is the intrinsic connection we now have.For example, when you see two young people shopping in a mall, they aren’t just two good prospects for your store—they’re more like 1,002 prospects. Young people today have about 500 connections on Facebook, where they chat, share and text. They create a connected society that we’ve never had before.

Consider the potential reach of your customers. Image source: iStockphoto
Mitch feels that social media, a platform of connectivity, has been a major factor. The adoption has been so intense that he’s not sure if marketers or even the people who built the platform understand.You’ll hear an example of marketing optimization and how for a nominal amount of money, you could learn so much by testing things on your site every day. He’s amazed that marketers haven’t fully embraced this.You’ll learn the challenges marketers face and what they’re afraid of.Another massive opportunity for marketers is programmatic buying. Mitch explains how we have now moved to a technological platform of real time and what this means for marketers.Listen to the show to find out why the mobile frontier is huge and how it’s a whole other opportunity for people.Do you see us entering another stage that’s going to be on par with the introduction of the world wide web?Mitch believes that we are currently spiking in terms of mobile and touch. He feels that the things you can do with these are going to make the web, ecommerce and social media cumulatively pale in comparison.It’s scary for marketers because when you have just got something figured out, something new comes along.Mitch still sees people now who worry about their website, ecommerce, transactions and social, but these are things that have already happened. We also have to remember that mobile has already happened too.We live in a world right now where we can see a decline in PC sales. There are 1.7 billion-plus connected mobile devices, compared to 600 million PCs.Listen to the show to hear why Mitch believes we’re living in a one-screen world.What marketers need to think about when it comes to utilityMitch talks about how utility is a new area to watch and that we currently live in a world that he calls the narcissistic web.You’ll hear an example of the narcissistic web, when it comes to having an app about your brand. There’s data to show that 25% of branded apps get downloaded and used once, then never again. And there’s other data where it’s upwards of 20% of branded apps that get downloaded and never opened.But you can’t rely on this data because what they are talking about are thesenarcissistic apps. These are apps that suck.We use apps day in and day out that provide utility and are of value to us.You’ll hear Mitch give an example of a Procter and Gamble app called SitorSquat and how because of this he has become a Charmin loyalist.

SitorSquat is a great utility app provided by Charmin.
When Mitch talks about utility, he sees it both as physical and digital. It’s a squishiness of the two.You’ll learn why content is a functional utility and why it’s important to question if we can create with true authenticity.Listen to the show to hear an example of how Lego uses the physical engagement of utility in their stores.In Mitch’s book, he mentions a dinner conversation with Sherry Turkle, author ofAlone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less From Each Other. Mitch shares the story from this discussion about whether technology is making us better. In today’s world, people love their smartphones and their connected devices.Mitch came to realize that we have a saying in our world, “Time to Device.” Basically from when you wake up in the morning, what is your time to device? For most people, the first thing they touch is their phone and it’s the last thing they touch before bed. We really love the connectedness that we have.Listen to the show to find out when Mitch came to realize that there is another side to this.What’s a “perpetual entrepreneur” and why is it important?Mitch explains that the idea of becoming a perpetual entrepreneur was more of a call to arms—just because you did something great, it doesn’t mean you’re entitled to greatness.You’ll discover why Apple employs perpetual entrepreneurs and why there aren’t many companies out there that can ascend to that type of position.

Apple employs perpetual entrepreneurs.
When you look at Blackberry, they had a very good idea when it came to secure, mobile email. The timing of it was perfect and they managed to create an entire market around it. You’ll find out why this didn’t entitle them to the same future as Apple’s.Mitch says that we shouldn’t compare the two. The argument he makes in the book is to think like the perpetual entrepreneur. Always think how your industry is evolving.Listen to the show to find out how the perpetual entrepreneur would think when it comes to the mobile experience.As marketers, how should we market ourselves in this new era?Mitch released his book Six Pixels of Separation in 2009, and he believes there is still a lot of stuff in there that resonates today.As a marketer you need to start thinking about what your plan is now. Remember these things aren’t fads. The web, mobile, social, local and hyperconnectivity aren’t going away. Purgatory is where we’re at. We know this stuff is happening and we’re not doing anything about it.

Marketers need to start a plan. Image source: iStockphoto
Mitch thinks that’s what makes the reboot necessary. You need to go back and look strategically at what your business is and how it can best connect.Listen to the show to hear what Seth Godin once said to Mitch about the secret sauce.Other Show MentionsI wanted to share with you that there are 21,000 people who listen to this podcast, which just blows my mind. I’ve published a podcast every single week for the last 8 months and it’s been super-rewarding.But I know there’s a lot of people out there who are missing out on this podcast. Anybody you know who is a marketer or has a business that could benefit from this podcast? I would love it if you would be willing to help spread the word.You can head over to iTunes, leave a rating, write a review and subscribe or simply click here now to post a tweet.If you want to be part of a future podcast, I would strongly recommend you try out our voicemail hotline.Call in and leave your social media–related questions for us and we may include them in a future show.Key takeaways mentioned in this episode:Connect with Mitch at Six Pixels of Separation—The Blog.Check out Mitch’s books: Ctrl Alt Delete and Six Pixels of Separation.Listen to Six Pixels of Separation—The Podcast.Discover more about Netflix, Spotify and Rdio.Check out Brian Eisenberg and Avinash Kaushik.Take a look at Procter and Gamble‘s app called SitorSquat.Read Mitch’s article: Sleeping With Your Smartphone.Head over to Apple and Blackberry.
Written By Michael Stelzner for SocialMedia Examiner

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Social Media Marketing Metrics That Matter

9 Social Marketing Metrics That Actually Matter
BY SCOTT GERBER3 days ago
Even the most social-savvy business owners can get caught up in the numbers game: counting and recounting likes, followers, fans, retweets, shares. Not to say those numbers don't correlate to how well your business connects with customers online, but 100 shares doesn't necessarily mean 100 sales — and it certainly doesn't measure the potential value of those 100 shares.For example, were any of the 100 fans sharing that post actually influencers? Did the fans in question sign up for your list, or share and forget? Are your likes and follows actually impacting your sales? Many business owners wouldn't know how to start answering those questions.
SEE ALSO: 25 Most-Followed Users on Instagram
To find out which social metrics are really worth monitoring, we asked a panel of successful young entrepreneurs to share which numbers they're tracking right now on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites. Here's what they had to say.1. Facebook EngagementWe came up with a metric that we call "Facebook Engagement Ratio," which is the number of people talking about us, divided by the number of likes. We believe this is a more accurate measure of engagement than just counting likes. And we track it on a weekly basis, compared to our competitors.- Kit Hickey, Ministry of Supply2. Not Just Vanity MetricsEarly on at Contently, we observed our content marketing clients struggle with not only how to measure results, but also knowing what they should track in the first place. So we built a social content analytics tool that tracks three scores: reach, engagement and influence. Each score is a mashup of various metrics. Reach comes from pageviews and social impressions, essentially asking, "Who was exposed to your content?" Engagement is total minutes spent with your content, generated by active time on page and pages per visit: "Who actually consumed your content?" Influence is "Who took an action because of your content?"; i.e., shares and subscribers. This way, we create a funnel for measuring both social and longform content, boiling it down to insights that actually map a brand's goals.- Shane Snow, Contently3. Metrics vs. InfluencersMetrics and thought leaders are two different ends of the spectrum. When you're looking at metrics and data, you're looking at the whole or segments of it. When you're looking at influential thought leaders, you're looking at building relationships with individuals. Keep the two ideas separate — woo your influencers by building real relationships. Then use metrics to see how you're doing with the masses.- Laura Roeder, LKR Social Media4. Virality vs. LikesMeasuring social metrics by "counting likes" on a single Facebook post doesn't work. You must measure by"virality.". A post that gets 17,000 likes (the number of unique people who see your post) may only get 0.1% virality (the percentage of people who create a story from your post, out of the number of unique people who see your post), while another that receives 10,000 likes, but gets 9.97% virality — this is a far better post. To go viral, you must connect with your fans' passion and excite them. This is the toughest challenge of all.- Nicolas Gremion, Free-eBooks.net5. Repeat Engagment
For us, the real social media win is when someone becomes a fan and then stays one over time — someone who consistently shares, likes and tweets our content. What we measure is basically our number of super fans.- Derek Flanzraich, Greatist6. The Stories That Metrics Don't ShowWe measure our social media marketing in stories. How many stories can we tell others as a result of what we did online? Did an influencer retweet one of our tweets this month, which resulted in X amount of sales/followers/traffic? Did our social media monitoring tool discover someone using our products who wasn't even aware that it was our product? Is that same person now a fan of ours? Did he buy more stuff after he rediscovered our brand? Did our social media community teach us something that we didn't know about our own brand this month? All of these questions can bring out a story that shows why social media metrics don't always tell the full story of how you're doing online.- Brett Farmiloe, Markitors7. Conversions are all that matterThere is only one number that matters and that is how many conversions you are getting. Whether you have 100,000 fans or 100, what really matters is how many of those people you can make customers. Business is not a popularity contest, and in many cases having lots of attention and hype can detract from your brand and distract both your customers and team.- Matt Wilson, Under30Media8. Content DistributionRather than measure whether we are reaching the "right" thought leaders, we focus on scaling our social media to reach both small and large influencers alike. Our goal is to build relationships, so we try to spread relevant content that we think will match us with a person's specific interests. It truly is a one-to-one model, extremely time-intensive and difficult to build. When we do achieve that goal, that person is able to trust us as a source of interesting and insightful content, so ideally, he starts spreading the word and the cycle continues.- Patrick Curtis, WallStreetOasis.com9. Unique Relationships With FollowersRelationships rule all when it comes to social influence. Social marketing strategies focused solely on increasing likes or follows don’t say much for a brand as a whole. Instead, brands should be focusing their attention on developing unique one-on-one relationships with every single follower — especially the thought leaders in their sectors.- Heather Huhman, Come RecommendedImage via iStockphoto, zakokor

SCOTT GERBERScott Gerber is the founder ofYoung Entrepreneur Council,an invite-only organization comprised of the world's most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, the YEC recenty launched ...more

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Which Car Companies are Tops in Digital Marketing?

Ford, Jeep, Chevy Top Digital Auto Brands

Written by Mark Walsh

On the digital proving track, Detroit is beating out the competition. Ford, Jeep and Chevrolet were the top three auto brands based on an analysis of their Web site, digital marketing, social media and mobile efforts over the last year.
 
Each of the 42 brands assessed in the "L2 Digital IQ Index: Auto" study was scored against more than 350 qualitative and quantitative data points and assigned a Digital IQ ranking of Genius, Gifted, Average, Challenged or Feeble. Web site marketing is given the most weighting at 35%, and social media, the least at 15%.
 
Only Ford earned a “Genius” rating, with a score of 142. “Strong digital fundamentals combined with a willingness to experiment set the brand apart,” stated the report authored by Scott Galloway, L2 founder, and NYU Stern clinical professor of marketing.
 
In particular, it cited initiatives including Ford’s connected car platform Sync, iPad catalogs for different models, strong customer support and dealer inventory search via its Web site, and a social media hub through its Ford Social site.
 
Jeep was cited for its retargeting efforts to send consumers to a microsite linking to local dealers, and its “Badge of Honor” community for off-road enthusiasts. Chevrolet received high marks for its active presence on YouTube, including competitive ad purchasing on the video site, as well as segmented email marketing across 24 models.
 
Among other auto brands in the “Gifted” category were Toyota, Nissan, BMW, Honda, Cadillac, Chrysler and Mercedes-Benz. Toyota was credited especially for having a strong commitment to mobile with its touchscreen mobile site, “striking” iPad app and Entune suite of mobile apps and data services for in-car use.
 
At the other end of the spectrum, the “Feeble” category was populated by ultra-luxury brands, including Rolls-Royce, Ferrari, Bentley and Lamborghini.
 
What about Tesla Motors, the electric car startup that has seen its stock nearly double in the last two weeks after being rated the best car by Consumer Reports since 2007? It fell into the “Challenged’ bucket, given the lack of a mobile site and low traction on YouTube, among other factors. 
 
Beyond ranking specific brands, the L2 study offered several broader findings about digital efforts in the auto category. For one, search advertising has gone mobile. Automakers are nearly four times more likely to rely on paid search in mobile than on the desktop, reflecting the desire to reach potential buyers while they’re out shopping.

In the mobile realm, companies are also doing better work with smartphones than tablets. Nearly nine out of 10 (86%) auto brands had mobile-optimized sites on smartphones, while almost one in four had missing or broken components on tablet sites. On a third featured touch-and-swipe functionality versus 75% on mobile sites.

Comment on "Ford, Jeep, Chevy Top Digital Auto Brands".

commented on: May 20, 2013 at 5 p.m.

It seems that user generated communities and content were not taken into account of what was measured. A brand spending the most and have the largest voice in my opinion does not show they have the most passionate customers. Many other brands have huge enthusiast-run forums and communities as well. With that said, I do give props to Ford, Chevy and Jeep for putting a large priority on the digital spectrum.
Read more at the source: http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/200545/ford-jeep-chevy-top-digital-auto-brands.html#ixzz2U8remQ4Q

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Peter Martin and Karen Bradley recording video training segments using "Green Screen" background

Online Automotive Marketing Statistics and Best Practices - http://ADMPC.com

Email Marketing State of the Art - How to Maximize Effectiveness!

Mobile Marketing: Speed Essential as 55% of Conversions Occur in First Hour

55% of mobile search conversions happen within an hourWritten by Claire Brinkley for EConsultancy 
When consumers search for things on their mobiles more than half usually intend to buy it, according to new research from Google and Nielsen.The Mobile Search Moments report looks at why and when people use smartphones to search, the actions that result from these searches and how marketers can capitalise on every moment of the process.Participants in the study were asked to log their mobile searches over a two week period in Q4 2012, which resulted in more than 6,000 mobile searches being recorded, and then follow-ups were conducted by Nielsen to see what actions resulted from these searches. There are many interesting findings from the report but perhaps the biggest takeaway is that more than half of the searches that resulted in a conversion - whether this was going into a store, calling a business or making a purchase - happened in just 1 hour, showing that mobile is possibly the most critical channel for search marketers and business owners. The power of mobile searchOf the searches conducted by participants, three out of four triggered actions, which ranged from additional research (36%) to a website visit (25%) to a store visit (17%) to a purchase (17%) to a phone call (7%).And, on average each mobile search triggered at least two of the above actions, although product and shopping searches were more likely to have higher numbers of outcomes. Conversions also happened quickly after a search, with 55% occurring within just one hour of the original search. Ben Chung, Marketing Manager, Mobile Ads at Google, suggests that the reason for this speed could be due to the fact that 45% of mobile searches are conducted to help make a decision, this figure jumping to 66% when the search is conducted in-store.We see this immediacy effect with mobile because not only are people potentially closer in physical proximity to a purchase, but they’re also close to the crucial decision moments. And when people use mobile search to help make a decision, they’re more likely to convert. So it’s important for marketers to be present during these searches, while also creating ads and experiences that are relevant to this immediacy. Quick and easyMany people would assume that mobile searches are done on the go, like on a bus or train when a desktop is not readily available, but it seems the exact opposite is true. Almost 8 out of 10 mobile searches happen at work or home when a desktop could be easily accessed.And according to the report, the reason for this is that consumers find mobile search quick and easy. In fact, 81% said that they were driven to mobile search because of the speed and convenience of it.Remember, context is keyAnother important takeaway from the research is that the types of searches people conduct is strongly tied to their specific context, such as the time of day they are searching and their current location.Shopping searches, for example, were twice as likely to be conducted in-store and the report highlights that this is a key opportunity for marketers to reach someone who is already ready and prepped to take action. 
Claire Brinkley is Econsultancy Australia's news and insight reporter. Follow her on Twitter, Google+ or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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