September 2014 ADM Blog Posts (112)

Anyone that knows me knows that I enjoy writing about our industry and reviewing conferences after I attend them.  Well it has been 2.5 years since I attended my last Digital Dealer conference in Orlando, FL. After 2.5 years…

There are few feelings in the world greater than when you set off on a road trip. If the whole family is heading off then this can be a wonderful chance to enjoy a very special holiday together.

Of course, if you are going to make the most of the freedom of the open road then you will want to plan the road trip perfectly.

Plan the Route

It can be tempting to just start driving and see where you end up. It would certainly be thrilling to watch the unfamiliar…

If one trend frames this decade it’s how mobile technology puts valuable and often quite necessary yet rather common tools at our fingertips. 

It seems there’s very little that cannot be accomplished today by accessing resources and applications at our fingertips on these small electronic devices we call mobile, whether a smartphone,…

New Updates for 2015.5. Volvo Models! 

For the 2015.5. Volvo model year, Volvo has made three important new updates that are definitely worth mentioning. As we all know, Volvo has always been on the leading edge of comfort, convenience and safety and these new updates for the…

Welcome to this week’s edition of Beggs on the Used Car Market, with insight and data from Ricky Beggs and Black Book. What a week it was as Black Book was on the lanes getting the most current market insight and also attending the annual National Auto Auction Association convention, this year in historic Boston. A huge thank you goes out to all the auctions and remarketers that support Black Book as we…

In the world of online matchmaking, women express their inner feelings through their online ads more so than men. In the world of online “car matchmaking”, not so much. An analysis of gender-specific online “car ads” by national car leasing marketplace, Swapalease.com, finds that men are more expressive when it comes to details of the cars they’re trying to pair up with others.



The nationwide online marketplace helps match people wanting out of their car lease with others around…

Mike Martinez’s presentation, “Smartphones and the Purchase Game,” was selected by a panel of auto dealers; joins an agenda that also includes keynotes from digital expert and best-selling author Brian Solis; SEO ‘Wizard’ Rand Fishkin; eMarketer’s lead digital auto analyst, Mike Hudson; Kellogg School of Management marketing professor Florian Zettelmeyer, and online marketing pioneer, Bryan Eisenberg

Daytona Beach, FL – September 30, 2014 –…

New dealership survey from eLEND Solutions underscores pain points for dealers in Sales/F&I process; 80% report their Sales/Finance process takes two hours or longer

Mission Viejo, CA – September 30, 2014 – A new survey of dealerships* from eLEND Solutions underscores what most dealers know already, that the sales and finance process takes much longer than it should:  80% report their process goes on…

Black Book announces the integration of its vehicle valuation data into a number of today’s leading providers of loan origination systems used by auto lenders. Recent integrations include Credex, Compass Technologies and FNI (Financial Network Inc.).



This continued expansion of Black Book data throughout industry loan origination systems allows lending decisions to be made in less time and with lower costs, thus accelerating the approval process. These operational efficiencies,…

Is your car dealership doing everything possible to keep your customers satisfied and happy?  Now, more than ever, your reputation for building relationships and retaining customers may depend on your company’s focus on providing the very best customer service.

How is good customer service defined?  There isn’t a clear cookie-cutter answer to the…

In Baton Rouge, you will find people debating on whether they should go for used Honda cars or the new ones. There are some people who buy old cars and they have nothing to complain about. The old cars prove worth while buying since they have already passed the test for quality considering the electrifying performance that they have shown for ages. Other people will hear nothing about these old and used cars, and they would rather spend a fortune but have a new Honda car.

Trusted…

It's very easy to get caught up in the big picture.

We're always told to look at the big picture. It's usually more easily accessible, particularly for car dealer personnel who have a thousand things they must get done every month. One could even…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ALBANY, N.Y. – September 29th, 2014 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (http://www.automate.com) announced today the integration of its dealership management system (DMS) with MaximTrak Technologies' F&I Suite. Auto dealers using both systems may now benefit from a real-time, bi-directional exchange of information that speeds up the F&I…

The number of car dealers with live chat software on their websites has jumped dramatically in the past couple of years.

According to dealermarketshare.com, about 37% of the 34k dealer websites had code from a chat provider, up…

As social media continues to grow, it’s about time it gets its own line item on your advertising budget. I’m not saying you need to totally replace other advertising means, but just that you need to trim a small portion off and dedicate it to social media.

As an example, I want to share with you a case study of a Valentine’s Day contest we did with…

Journey by car is usually a great experience if you are going on a holiday, especially if you are travelling with your family. It becomes even more enjoyable if you have a kid with you.…

The past two years has seen a decrease in the number of website leads for many dealers. We're getting more visitors and fewer people filling out lead forms. The trend has caused what I've seen as an increase in the number of calls to action on pages, particularly on inventory pages. This is a mistake.

The truth is this: more is not more. It's less when it comes…

Losing a friend stinks; losing a client costs you money; people unliking your Facebook page is both! Historically, people have had a somewhat negative opinion of car dealers in general, and not many of them want to be friends with a dealer on Facebook. However, when you get the chance to build that relationship, that relationship that may one day lead to a sale, so don’t…

A Turbo Fiat 500, who would've thought? 

It's extremely common these days for even the smallest of cars to have Turbo for added performance and well the new Fiat 500 Turbo is a prime example of that. The all-new Fiat 500 Turbo is equipped with a 1.4L 16V MultiAir Turbo Engine producing 135hp and a 150 lb-ft…