All ADM Blog Posts Tagged 'transparency' (19)

People are constantly asked to give their information online.

A contact form here, a subscription there. In today’s internet age, people are getting more cautious about giving out their…

According to a recent article in Automotive News, Motorcars Honda in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, believes that the future of franchise dealership profitability…

Picture this: you’re just ironing out the deal on your brand new car. 

Picking up a pen, you’re ready to sign the dotted line…when you see a few hundred dollars tacked onto the purchase price for a ‘dealer doc fee’. It’s explained to you that it’s a…

At the recent Adobe Summit, executive vice president and general manager, Brad Rencher, advised businesses that if they wish to survive in the future, they have to become “experience…

While there are many different types of service repairs – warranty, recall, etc. –undoubtedly the king of them all, when it comes to profit, is customer pay repair orders.

Of course, getting a customer to pay for that oil change they came in for isn’t difficult at all. However, when that same customer…

Is data your best friend or your worst enemy?

Why do I ask? Well, if you work in a dealership, chances are good that you either review or are responsible for creating reports on a regular basis. For principals and managers, reports reveal important information such as how many units your dealership has…

An associate of mine recently told me an interesting story about their 75-year-old father, who purchased an import, rather than a domestic vehicle, for the first time in over 60 years. This was sometime around 2010.

When it was time to replace his domestic minivan, the first thing my associate’s father did was…

Dealers are in for a wild ride. The next 5+ years will be filled with revenue from recall work; a shortage of technicians; shop capacity that can’t keep up with demand; parts availability issues; and, as a result, irate customers.

Recalls certainly challenge consumers’ patience and dealers can find…

There’s little doubt that the experience provided by auto dealerships in the past has jaded consumers into a stereotype and perception that isn’t necessarily accurate any longer, yet continues to persist. Because of this perception, companies such as Beepi, Carvana and more are creeping into the automotive space…

The automotive internet world in the late '90s and early 2000s was still in its formative development and there was a feeling of discovery and creativity.  We who worked as Internet Managers at that time often took initial pay cuts to do so and faced the uncertainty of a position that…

Last week, AutoPoint headed to the 16^th Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition in Atlantic City, NJ. We were very excited to see many new faces that were able to attend the Digital Dealer Conference for the first time as it visited the Northeast. Sessions were all well attended &…

A recently released white paper based on a collaborative study between Cars.com and GFK, reported that consumers are leaving dealership service in favor of independents due to a…

Most dealerships understand the importance of online reviews, in general, for their stores. Consumers are increasingly turning to the Internet to research dealerships before selecting one. This includes researching not only sales-related reviews, but also service.  Yet, most dealerships focus most of their…

Don't ask for a manager when you want an Internet salesperson or BDC person.…

Dealers are constantly looking for ways to get an edge in the digital age, yet many continue to follow the same sales and advertising practices that they’ve been using for decades.

The problem is that the game has changed…

As many people, companies and dealerships are finding out there are no more secrets on the Internet.  A Digital Air Strike study indicated 69% of consumers said dealership reviews had an impact on which dealers they visited.   Is it time to convey how you really treat your customers?   I invite you to watch this video about how the world is becoming more open.   It's not specifically about auto retailing but you will see the connection.

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So, you don't get social huh? You're not seeing the return the guru promised in his blog post? Don't worry, you're not alone. One of the biggest reasons for social failure is that most businesses use it as a bolt on. That is, they just attach it to whatever it is that they are doing and pray that's enough. I'm here to tell you that it's not. Even if the…

My guts tell me that a client should be doing their own social media content posts. My passion for transparency and honesty tell me that posting social media content for another business is a conflict of interest. After all, the power of social media resides in the ability to be oneself and gain the trust of others.

But, is there room for some outsourcing if it is handled correctly? My short answer is: “yes”. My long answer is: “it's a necessity for…