KainAutomotive.com Idea Exchange 2.0

Please join in the exchange of ideas on how to generate better sales and profit results for Internet Operations at Automotive Dealerships

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Latest Activity

Tim Jennings and Andrew Compton are now friends

3 hours ago

Larry Bruce commented on Larry Bruce's blog post 'Ractive Marketing 2.0 - The Application Stack'

Wow Mike thanks for that! I am glad I can help.

8 hours ago

Ryan Skalnek is now a member of KainAutomotive.com Idea Exchange 2.0

Welcome Them!

13 hours ago

Mike Warwick commented on Larry Bruce's blog post 'Ractive Marketing 2.0 - The Application Stack'

Larry - there was a post on here today by some clown who felt the need to make a disparaging remark about used car salesmen. I encourage that person to read your posts and those of many others on this network and come to the determination that the...

yesterday

David Kain replied to Mitchell Brenner's discussion 'Does Autotrader Really Believe We're All Oblivious?'

I would like to see them really step up in their ROI quotient for dealers and drive down the cost per vehicle sold. The bottom line is the bottom line. Hang in there...you are causing change ever so sloooooooowly.

yesterday

Mitchell Brenner replied to Mitchell Brenner's discussion 'Does Autotrader Really Believe We're All Oblivious?'

Thanks David but I have a hard time believing that customers told AT that they'd like the highest prices to show first. If they did do you think AT can give those customers our #? I have been in the middle of too much Autotrader arrogance to belie...

yesterday

David Kain replied to Mitchell Brenner's discussion 'Does Autotrader Really Believe We're All Oblivious?'

Mitchell, I don't think that is their intention but I could be wrong. One thing about AT, whether you like them or not and I am not choosing sides, is they do major consumer research and act on the data to set up the search criteria. It would be ...

yesterday

Mitchell Brenner replied to Mitchell Brenner's discussion 'Does Autotrader Really Believe We're All Oblivious?'

It won't work for us! We price our cars right and based on market with our First Look tool and I'm sure your tool does the same. The customer ends up being the loser and the "Great God Autotrader" reaps in the Wall Street $$$!

yesterday

Matt Watson replied to Mitchell Brenner's discussion 'Does Autotrader Really Believe We're All Oblivious?'

I know some dealers that price their vehicles really high because of it. Price them at like 99,999 so they are first. Supposedly that trick works really well.

yesterday

William Bryant replied to Mitchell Brenner's discussion 'Does Autotrader Really Believe We're All Oblivious?'

"Does Autotrader Really Believe We're All Oblivious?" yes.

yesterday

Mitchell Brenner added a discussion

Does Autotrader Really Believe We're All Oblivious?

Can anyone tell me what a customer, and/or dealership, could possibly gain from Autotrader having Pre-Owned vehicles default from highest price to lowest on a customer search other than increase their page views for their stockholders and future s...

yesterday

Zak updated their profile

yesterday

Brian R Hannan added a video

How Can I Competitively Price My Listings?

In this video, Kathy Kimmel, Cars.com director of training, discusses how to ensure your listings are priced with the market.

yesterday

Zak replied to Ryan Green's discussion 'Who has the best customer survey?'

I took many of the ideas I got from this attached template provided by Autotrader in powerpoint. Hope this helps!

yesterday

Ryan Green replied to Ryan Green's discussion 'Who has the best customer survey?'

Thank you Zak, this looks very well put together and I think I'll be able to use it effectively. I've seen another version very similar to this and that dealer said it worked well for them. Unfortunately I don't have Photoshop and I can't convinc...

yesterday

Zak replied to Ryan Green's discussion 'Who has the best customer survey?'

I'm very proud of this survey I just designed using photoshop. I haven't even started using it yet but I've decided to print it in color for quick and easy visual branding of company logos. It gives the customer the option of circling three websit...

yesterday

William Bryant replied to William Bryant's discussion 'What's Your Biggest Frustration With Social Networking?'

Best of luck with your store! Sounds like SO many stores I hear about.

yesterday

Kathleen Spurrier is now friends with Sandy Pursley and JD Rucker

yesterday

Daniel Shafer replied to Cheryl Rogers's discussion 'Ideas on Internet customers'

I agree with Trace. Today's customer are all about convenience. You mentioned internet customers, are they interested in new or used? Big difference in handling new & used prospects. Our internet used pricing is the "best" price. Out the door pric...

yesterday

Zak replied to William Bryant's discussion 'What's Your Biggest Frustration With Social Networking?'

Yes, I do believe you misunderstood what I was trying to convey in my joke and I agree with you completely. My point was really that Internet and Process Managers need to PRIORITIZE THEIR DEALERSHIP'S NEEDS. If facebook is at the top of your list ...

yesterday

Events

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Ideas/Discussions

Does Autotrader Really Believe We're All Oblivious? 6 Replies

Started by Mitchell Brenner in Lead Sources. Last reply by David Kain 1 day ago.

Who has the best customer survey? 3 Replies

Started by Ryan Green in Best Practices. Last reply by Zak 1 day ago.

CSR's Chart Tutorial 2 Replies

Started by Terry Moore in Best Practices. Last reply by Terry Moore Nov 20.

Is No-haggle pricing the wave of the future? 3 Replies

Started by Zak in General Interest. Last reply by Mark Heyman 1 day ago.

Anyone using CarGiGi? 3 Replies

Started by Ryan Green in Lead Sources. Last reply by Ryan Green Nov 19.

Time to upgrade Web Site 5 Replies

Started by Mark Heyman in Websites. Last reply by Mark Heyman Nov 19.

Upgrading our CRM, LM tool and Web Management 5 Replies

Started by Mark Heyman in Lead Sources. Last reply by Matt Watson 1 day ago.

Best practices for repeat customers and split deals? 10 Replies

Started by Zak in Best Practices. Last reply by Daniel Shafer 1 day ago.

Ideas on Internet customers 18 Replies

Started by Cheryl Rogers in Best Practices. Last reply by Daniel Shafer 1 day ago.

Phone and Internet Lead Ratios 11 Replies

Started by Sue Cavanaugh in General Interest. Last reply by Terry Moore Nov 18.

Cars Direct? 6 Replies

Started by Robert Stockton in Lead Sources. Last reply by Bruce Hartz Nov 17.

ebay Templates 7 Replies

Started by Rick Burleson in Best Practices. Last reply by Larry Bruce Nov 18.

What's on your mind! 7 Replies

Started by Terry Moore in General Interest. Last reply by Daniel Shafer Nov 16.

SEO and Paid Search 10 Replies

Started by Kathleen Spurrier in Search Engines. Last reply by Ryan Gerardi Nov 18.

The creeping contact overkill syndrome

Started by David Smith in General Marketing Nov 12.

We made our CRM choice 7 Replies

Started by Mitchell Brenner in Technology. Last reply by Sean Stapleton Nov 17.

Closing percentages for 3rd Party lead providers. 16 Replies

Started by Patti in Lead Sources. Last reply by Stan Sher Nov 17.

Used Vehicle information sheets for BDC or Internet Phone-ups 10 Replies

Started by Finney in Best Practices. Last reply by David Smith Nov 13.

My Visit To Dealer.Com 11 Replies

Started by Mitchell Brenner in Websites. Last reply by Mitchell Brenner Nov 19.

taking video's 8 Replies

Started by terry click in Best Practices. Last reply by terry click Nov 10.

Videos

How Can I Competitively Price My Listings?

Added by Brian R Hannan
Worlds off shore race2

Added by Chuck Capps
How Can I Find Good Cars for My Inventory?

Added by Brian R Hannan

Webisode 5: Follow Me To Bliss

Added by Scott Empringham
How Can I Effectively Use My BDC?

Added by Brian R Hannan
What I Learned at Digital Dealer 7

Added by Brian R Hannan

Blog Posts

Ractive Marketing 2.0 - The Application Stack

I have continued to get a lot of questions on how a solid foundation for an online marketing build would look. In response to those requests I am submitting this post.

The very best way to conquest new customers and brand your dealership is and will continue to be online leveraging multiple layers of content to match your customer’s world view.

THE MASS MARKET IS DEAD…REPLACED BY A MASS OF NITCHES. You will either connect with them on their terms or continue to get a 3% conversio… Continue

Posted by Larry Bruce on November 16, 2009 at 6:39am — 2 Comments

THINK OUTSIDE THE (BLACK) BOX

It seems to me that, as a community of Internet Retail Car Sales professionals, we devote a lot of discussion to the success or failure of the online software tools and services that we employ. However, very little is said about the success or failure of our dealer websites to successfully merchandize our products and services.

Yikes, was that a dry opening paragraph or what? OK, let me phrase it another way. I want to talk about the first thing prospective customers encounter when they seek to… Continue

Posted by Trace Ordiway on November 15, 2009 at 11:30am

Using Online Tools (and common sense) to Expand Your Pre-Owned Market Area

The only good news about a decline in sales of new cars over the past several months: used cars are fueling the automotive rebound. As consumers trend to buying used instead of new, dealers are filling their lots with pre-owned vehicles to meet the increased demand.

You have the cars. They want them. How do you bring them to you? How can you stand out from your competitors? With marketin… Continue

Posted by JD Rucker on November 9, 2009 at 10:06pm — 14 Comments

5 Take Aways from Digital Dealer 7

1) Keep it simple
It’s easy to come away from a conference like this with information overload and a sense of being overwhelmed and asking yourself where do I start? Keep it simple. This was certainly the underlying message at many of the most recent sessions. Stay focused. Remember to Crawl, Walk, Run (thanks VJ). Stop Chasing Shiny Objects (thank you Mr. Stauning) get the basics under control first. Don’t go it alone. Remember your team mates within your dealership… Continue

Posted by Chris Fousek on November 9, 2009 at 9:31am — 2 Comments

Traditional media still has a place in my budget…WHY??

I must have heard this 100 times at DD7 by many dealers I talked with. I even found myself agreeing…I remember saying sure it does. Today as I was recapping what I was exposed to this year at Digital Dealer I thought about this and it occurred to me…WHY?

What exactly does traditional media do for a dealership? I f… Continue

Posted by Larry Bruce on November 6, 2009 at 12:34am — 1 Comment

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About this Idea Exchange 2.0

Welcome to the Idea Exchange. This Idea Exchange is an outgrowth of our IDEA EXCHANGE 1.0 Platform we started in 2007 and you can be a member of both if you would like. If you are a KainAutomotive.com Client you can also visit our CLIENT TOOLKIT for access to all kinds of excellent best practices and ideas. We set the Exchange up so you can freely trade ideas, help others with their Internet and BDC Operations and express your opinions. I know you'll respect the fact that this forum is not for selling or promotion but for helping. If you have any questions about this site or would like to speak to someone at KainAutomotive please contact us at
1-866-546-3428 or by email david@kainautomotive.com
or visit our website at www.kainautomotive.com

Articles you may find helpful

Use this handy checklist to keep your Internet Operation rolling_3.09.pdf

Block out the negative and bring on the positive.doc

Crawl, walk, run - 3 phases of operational growth

A simple formula for Internet Success

Has the Internet outgrown the Internet Department?

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