Are you making the most of VIDEO at your dealership?

Replies to This ADM Discussion

Permalink Reply by Wendell Dossett on March 26, 2009 at 6:37pm

Hey me too
I am really excited about video and mobile. I think you are right Chris and Shaun that it's going to get real interesting. Im worried that the dealerships are having a hard time now keeping up with what we have at this time, then we add on what is up and coming. Maybe simplicity will make the product more understandable and justifiable.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Hanson on March 26, 2009 at 7:07pm

I think its really just going through the normal resistance on doing something new. Do I really need to do this? Will this really generate more business for me? NONE of the dealers I am working with after they have been trained and continuing to work with them every month throughout the month is having a hard time taking their own pictures and now doing video.

That being said, like anything a dealer signs up for, they have to understand and believe that it will generate more traffic. Once that happens, the rest is continued training and leadership.

Just like training on follow up. Give them the steps and the templates and off they go but if that's all they are given, it usually fails.

The reason I think this is because a company like where Shaun works is no labor at all. Just sign up, they do the rest. Well, you do have to pay them their monthly fee. So if that's all they have to do then it comes down to: will I sell more cars?? Once they are at that point, then its a whole new world with new options. Maybe I do that, maybe I do it myself but one things for sure - I need to do this!

Just like a CRM/ILM. Once they get to that point, lots of options but I need to do it. Which also brings up your point Wendell. Is it simple to use because if its not, they won't use it. Or is that really the problem. Well, the harder it is the less chance they will use it. But it still comes down to training and leadership. From what I have seen at dealerships is that it is not properly explained to the staff why and what it will do and then enforced from the TOP down. From the TOP down.

If its not and we have all seen this happen, they won't use it, they will switch from one to the next and each one "just doesn't work". "It's too hard". "Its too much".

Top down.

They are soo many salespeople that are just waiting for some real training, real guidance and real direction. If they get that, then they are ALL in. It took me awhile before I would admit that that or this salesperson failed because of one reason: me. Lack of leadership, lack of training. I didn't give them what they, well, all of us need.

That being said, yes, some just are not going to make it. But they are not all "just looking", "not buying today".

They need guys just like you Wendell, just like Shaun. That's what they need. Once that is done, the work, the techno, the new gadget and the work that it will take is just another thing.

Sorry for rambling on and on.....and on.....

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Permalink Reply by Wendell Dossett on March 26, 2009 at 7:43pm

Hey, I like your rambling
Yes, I can see the all your points. It does take a very targeted training approach to get this down along with the buy in. I did see this first hand in my previous business machine tools years ago (15+). I would take a hands on machinist and transform them into a computer machinist. Not an easy task, the buy in was there, they already bought it, but continual training was needed to produce the expected result. Which was millions of an inch quality, or no pay. They had motive, to get it right. And, no job if they didn't eventually get it. The management hoped that they would really get it (the 10 on top of their heads). They had invested much money into their development, lots of time and a strong relationship. But that, in this business, is what I really see as a hurdle. Many managers don't give their own people that feeling of, I know you can do it. They probably don't know what they need to do, or at least a good idea of it. That relationship with your own people is rarely found in the business now. What we are saying we need to do is all right. We must train and we must use the best technology we can get our hands on. I really feel also that it's a great time, like you said Chris, to get that buy in at the Top. We need a management core that believes that this is the time to invest in people who want to work, but they won' t see this result unless they work hard too. When management does the things that doesn't support the hard work, we can never get where we need to be. When there is ridicule, and that this is a phase, or as managers we are going to use the computer to play, the whole thing shuts down. Top down you are right, right on!

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Permalink Reply by Jim Barisano on April 4, 2009 at 11:43am

Chris,
Nice work. I'd like to also suggest that professional, independent third party videos be employed on dealer websites to help consumers move more quickly down the purchase funnel. WheelsTV is the unquestioned leader in this field, providing our video test drives and quick vehicle profiles to dealers and web portals. While the dealer's specific inventory videos are extremely helpful once the consumer has moved to purchasing a specific make and model, WheelsTV's videos get the consumer there while staying on the dealer site. We provide key specs and of course the excitement of seeing the car in action...not sitting on a lot or spinning in a white room. As a newcomer to ADM I hope that this plug for WheelsTVNetwork.com is OK. I feel that it is my duty to help dealers maximize the utility of our videos to move more metal...Because they work! That is why Reynolds and Reynolds, Cobalt and Chrome all offer WheelsTV to their many clients.

The automobile has become a commodity and while pic to vid of dealer inventory can be important, establishing a relationship with a consumer who is beginning the sometimes months long shopping process is critical. We make their research easy and entertaining, creating a bond between the provider of the videos and the consumer that can lead to a longstanding business relationship.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Hanson on April 4, 2009 at 12:11pm

Thanks for your comments Jim. Yes, this is certainly another way of making the most of video!

I am not familiar with your videos but I have used many manufacture videos for the same purpose. I don't think one is more critical than the other (beginning stage videos or later stage stage videos) but serve the same purpose: Whatever stage the consumer is at, what are you doing to engage them? To be unique? Because people love to watch video but most dealers don't have them, this is certainly an edge.

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Permalink Reply by Jason Mickelson on December 14, 2009 at 5:02pm

Chris, I do love what you are saying here. I have recently played with adding video to autotrader. I feel that they could make this easier, but who am I in the grand scheme of things. Youtube couldn't be easier and I find that to be fun to add to. I wish Autotrader would take a hint or at least accept a youtube url.

Also, I wish people would quit hijacking your thread with shameless plugs about their software that does an animated slide show. I agree that there is no comparison and I think that the whole industry will move toward what you are doing.

My only other wish is that I could clone 15 more of me and not pay them. I would do a lot of things differently.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Hanson on December 14, 2009 at 5:13pm

Thanks for the comments Jason. I agree with you on making it easier! But I think the real issue is that fact that we need ALL inventory systems to allow an easy way to upload vids in their system and then the dealer in turn can feed the vids along with the pics to any and all sites that will except them. That is what I think would make everyone life easier.

Boy do I know what you mean, guys like you don't have enough time in the day! Companies have to set up and make it happen. Is video important? Yes! Will dealers use it? Yes! Then lets go!

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Permalink Reply by Amanda J. Champion on January 26, 2010 at 9:41am

I love the ideas - also another thing to consider is doing walk arounds and posting them on your OWN website explaining the general safety features of your vehicles or explaining other items like what your Certified Warranty is - we already use the Inventory Walk Around on our website through our web provider and our customers LOVE this as well as the additional videos we have added - people are tired of reading...VIDEO is where it is at!

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Permalink Reply by Chris Hanson on January 26, 2010 at 9:47am

Great ideas. I used to send a video that showed the basics of their new GPS, stow in go seats, DVD player, etc. They loved it and would watch it several times.

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Permalink Reply by Ed Personius on January 20, 2010 at 5:06pm

Shaun,

We like to think our products and services are part of that "cool stuff coming down the pike". We specialize in putting video messaging right on the dealer's window, with our Window Video Systems. It allows for more powerful and dynamic customer messaging right at the point of purchase. For example, we did a "video walk through" which Toyota had already produced, and put it on the window directly above the new 4-Runner. It instantly brings the product to life, in depth, for the customer as they are standing there looking at the vehicle, which draws them in and makes them much more open to the sales dialogue.

Our systems allow dealers to "go large" with video at their facility, including this 8-foot rear projection screen in the service drive of a client of ours.

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Permalink Reply by Josh Hixon on December 7, 2009 at 4:08pm

Torrey, all you need is a camera, someone that CAN walk and chew gum at the same time, and a YouTube account. I have been doing these videos for a few months now and it's all about your strategy. Basically all of my videos have the same rotation, I start at the passenger side from a front 3/4 view, then make my way around the back, inside and to the driverside front... They only reason I will swtich that up is if there is something "undesirable" with one side or the other.

I haven't used Chris's program but it looks like a great one. I am manually uploading the vehicles, then throwing a link onto each car in Dealerpeak. Then every other week I go through and type SOLD into the description.

It works but it's time consuming.

These glorified slideshows that I see all over the internet just annoy me. I can't believe that these dealerships are paying someone to use the pictures THEY took and the description THEY wrote and turn it into a slideshow with a robot talking... RIDICULOUS

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Permalink Reply by Jeff Boudier on August 17, 2009 at 2:46pm

What a fantastic thread!

There has been a lot of talk about automation and I would like to submit something for consideration, that could hopefully drastically improve the time it takes to produce and upload video. Please let me know your thoughts I would love to get some feedback. If the subject is of enough interest I'll start a new discussion about it.

As it has been mentioned many times over in the thread, the most time-consuming part of video listings or walk-arounds is the time it takes to edit, process, generate, upload.

Stupeflix is a set of tools that fully automate the video creation process.

The Stupeflix API receives XML video definition files that fully describe the video based on the specific car data, and your complete specifications, including:
- videos (intro or endtro presenting the dealership, real walk-around of the car),
- text (displayed as subtitles, overlays, or spoken via text-to-speech),
- pictures (of course, with pan, zoom, ken burns at will),
- voice or music files
- transition effects, backgrounds etc...
Which makes it the most powerful, affordable and scalable solution to transform a data feed into a video listings collection, using a unique video template. Upload to YouTube is also automatic through the API.

The API can also be used to let shoppers, members create their own used car video listings. See for instance this real estate video listing tool created powered by our API: http://www.videotour.com/

A web editor is also available (http://www.stupeflix.com/editor/) and embeddable (http://travelscrapbook.net/s-pix.php) would you want to create videos one by one, or have your users create/members create their own.

Shaun I would love to learn more about SiSTeR Technologies. Please ping me when you have a chance!

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