CONGRATULATIONS eCRM Dealers of the Year – January 2006
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By Patrick Luck
January 2006
The benchmark for consideration for winning this year’s award is results as measured by volume of Internet sales and by how well the dealers use the Internet and CRM to promote all of their profit centers: new, used, F&I, service, parts, etc.
Our goal was to seek out the dealers who are the best at using this marketing medium to generate huge increases in profit for their dealerships while also improving CSI and loyalty.
We considered the number of rooftops, the size of the dealerships or dealer groups, their markets, the brands they carry and their Internet profits as a percentage of their total profits. In researching the contenders, we learned a lot about what determines a dealer’s success with using the Web to generate increased sales and service profits. In this article we outline some of the commonalities and some effective best practices that have propelled the winners to the forefront of Web marketing and CRM, enabling them to sell 100 to 800 extra units every month.
CONGRATULATIONS eCRM Dealers of the Year
HerbChambers.com
RedMcCombs.com
DaveSmithMotors.com
HouseofCourtesy.com
ParagonCars.com
CDodge.com
Sheehy.com
DickHannah.com
Schomp.com
Tasca.com
CRM Vision and Strategy:
For the award winners, the vision began with a desire to attract more customers for less cost compared with mass advertising. These dealers are leading the way in a marketing revolution initiated by customers who are using the Web to shop for vehicles rather than the paper, TV or radio. Smart dealers are shifting some of their advertising to market where customers are shopping, and the returns are much higher and easier to measure. Some common denominators of the winning dealers’ strategy and vision are: technology, marketing, process, people, pricing and measurement.
Great Web sites:
Appearance is subjective, and when it comes to design, what appeals to one person can repel another, which is why we selected our Top eCRM Dealers based on results. This is why we define the Greatest Web sites as those that generate measurable results. Dealers tell us that a Web site will get results if it is simple, easy to use, quick to load and has highly engaging content that can work fast even on a low-speed connection. Great Web sites offer cool features like inventory, online auctions, virtual test drives, online credit applications, online trade appraisals, online parts and accessories and more. Great Web sites do much more than post information online, they compel the customers to pick up the phone, submit a lead or drive straight to your showroom.
Marketing:
How can you drive traffic to your Web site and dealership? In today’s super competitive market, it’s not as simple as building a great Web site and selling a ton of cars; you need to let your customers know how to find you. The dealers profiled have some great methods for increasing traffic without having to spend more money on advertising. These ideas include e-mail marketing, search engine marketing, banners and more.
Process:
Converting leads into sales. Keys to successful process include e-mail and phone response, setting appointments and following up before and after the sale. People: Our top eCRM Dealers share how to fi nd and keep the right people who are passionate about what they do and ways to combat the auto industry’s biggest challenge – turnover.
Pricing:
To increase profits pricing is critical to a dealership’s success and profitability. Some dealers sell a lot of cars online but they don’t make money because their pricing strategy is focused on selling price rather than building value and asking for a fair profit. Measurement: Tracking your performance results. Top dealers agree: The best part about internet marketing and CRM is that everything is measurable.
Case Studies:
In this issue we profile the winners to show how they use the Web and CRM to improve profits.
Starting a Revolution
www.HerbChambers.com Changes the Way New England Buys Cars pick out and buy a car.
Herb Chambers is New England’s largest automotive dealer. It is the eCRM Dealer of the Year and it has been named Dealer of the Year by Ward’s. With all this success under its belt, it’s well on its way to accomplishing its mission of changing the way the world buys cars. Like many dealers, Herb Chambers noticed that more and more customers were using the Internet to start the shopping process when it was time to get their next vehicle. However, unlike many other dealers, Herb Chambers not only noticed the trend, it set up the most successful regional buying service in the world. This new buying service, www.herbchambers.com, is revolutionizing the way people buy cars.With 80 percent of today’s customers shopping online, Herb Chambers found that customers were using the Internet because they were looking for a faster, easier and friendlier way to inquire about and even purchase a vehicle online. So, that’s what Herb Chambers works to deliver; a fast, easy, friendly way to give the customers what they need to
Herb Chambers set up a regional buying service to make it easier for its customers to buy a car online. The new state-of-the-art Web site won a Golden Web Award.
Once they found the right technology and training provider, www.HerbChambers.com began to leverage its 25 dealerships and virtually unlimited pre-owned inventory to give customers everything they’re looking for with just a couple clicks. Once they’ve selected the make and model they’re interested in, they can take a virtual test drive, run product comparisons, get a price and payment, check for specials, download coupons, learn about the retailers’ three-day money back guarantee and 30-day exchange policy, sign up for eVIP membership and even book a service appointment or schedule parts. Herb Chambers’ new system includes more than just a custom Web site, it’s a complete marketing system with prospect management capabilities and a suite of multi-media Buzzmails. As a result, the system drives more foot, phone and Internet traffic and automates e-mail activity so the team has more time to use the phone and sell cars. Herb Chambers has a dedicated team of specialists who are trained to make their customers’ online shopping experience a pure pleasure. The customer-friendly process gives the customers all the information they need to make an informed decision. As a result, www.HerbChambers.com has sold thousands of vehicles a year to make it one of the top eCRM Dealers of the Year and the largest retailer in New England.
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Most customers use the Internet at some point in the buying process.
• Customers turn to the Web in search of a way to make the process easier.
• Herb Chambers created a new regional buying service for its customers.
• Herb Chambers sold thousands of vehicles online last year.
• Herb Chambers was named a 2005 eCRM Dealer of the Year.
• HerbChambers.com sells 600-700 extra cars a month.
Red McCombs sells 500 additional cars in a month!
Dealership Increases sales by using the Web and CRM to improve its business
Not long ago Red McCombs was selling about 40 vehicles a month on the Internet, and today it is selling an additional 500 vehicles a month. In this article, it identifies the top mistakes dealers make with the Web and CRM that cost time and money.
“We were selling approximately 40 vehicles a month on the Internet, and today we are selling an additional 500 vehicles a month.” Rad Weaver – Red McCombs
The top mistakes dealers make with the web and CRM:
1. Dealers don’t generate enough leads from their own Web sites so they have to buy most of their leads.
2. Dealers fail to attract prospects to their Web sites. Web sites without traffic don’t sell cars.
3. Most dealers don’t appear on top of all search engines and they don’t conduct ongoing e-mail campaigns.
4. Many dealers’ Web sites don’t generate leads because they convert a small percent of visitors into leads.
5. Most dealers don’t have the automated tools to update their sites so they waste a lot of time playing with their tools rather than selling cars.
6. Dealers assume they only need a Web site and CRM tool so they don’t have all the tools and training they need to succeed.
7. Some dealers hire the wrong people, and they usually get the wrong results. They don’t have the right number of people for the volume of leads.
8. Many dealers don’t have a clearly defined process that is proven to work.
9. Most dealers don’t get the training they need to succeed and avoid costly mistakes.
10. Some dealers fail to automate follow up, which hurts closing ratio and sales.
11. Some dealers don’t have a pricing philosophy so their Internet department sells price rather than value, and their gross profit suffers.
12. Many dealers and managers don’t measure the department’s results and metrics so they don’t know how to improve the business. Most dealers think they will get results with only a great Web site, and that’s not true. However, a great Web site is a critical component. Rad Weaver explains: “Initially we had Web sites built by our DMS provider and the manufacturer but they hardly produced any sales. So we hired another company, BZResults, who provided us with Web sites, search engine marketing, custom multi-media e-mail campaigns, a CRM tool that automates follow-up and the training to tie everything together. The system helps us market the site, update the site, generate leads and even automatically respond and follow up with the leads before and after the prospect buys a car. We’ve learned that it takes more than a Web site and a CRM tool to sell 500 extra cars a month online.”
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Since implementing its new Web site and CRM tool, Red McCombs is selling an additional 500 cars a month.
• With 80 percent of today’s buyers shopping online, they adjusted their advertising to reach them.
• Red McCombs has increased gross profit from $60k a month to more than $750k per month while increasing CSI and customer loyalty.
• Red McCombs increased its closing ratio from 3 percent to 19 percent by automating much of its follow-up.
• Red McCombs uses e-mail marketing campaigns and search engine placement to increase sales and lower costs.
• The cost per sale at RedMcCombs.com is below $200 per vehicle sold.
Dave Smith Motors
Dave Smith Motors Increases Sales and Profit
Dave Smith Motors sells 400 Internet- lead vehicles a month with technology created in-house – and sells about $600,000 a month in accessories – from a single-point, multi-line dealership in a county of just 14,000 people. But for Ken Smith, president of this Kellogg ID dealership, size doesn’t matter. His aggressiveness and creative mind has helped the dealership he took over from his father grow to a $250 million business.
“We designed our own fully customized Internet and CRM interface system that helps manage the whole Internet marketing and sales process.” -Ken Smith
Dave Smith Motors’ system also has a CRM tool to help track leads. It requires site visitors to provide extensive information before they can submit the request, which helps get better- quality leads. Lead Rocket time and date stamps the leads, and then turns them over to the Internet team manager who distributes them among the 25 dedicated Internet sales associates. Overflow leads go to the other sales associates in the main showroom. In the showroom, there is a computer on every sales person’s desk and more than 200 computers in the store.
The system is very simple: Customers e-mail leads, and the dedicated Internet sales associates e-mail them back. In real-time, sales associates can check results right on their computers – no more running to the sales manager’s office to look at the big board. Monthly sales contests are also available for viewing through Lead Rocket, so associates and management can track on a per-hour basis where everyone is at any given time. Ken Smith gives an example, “This way we all know where we’re headed and what we have to do to meet contest objectives. The system also reminds associates of call-back times, and it can be set up so reminders pop up on the computer screen or call the associate’s cell phone or pager. So if John Doe calls and says, ‘Call me tomorrow at 2:30 and I’ll buy that truck,’ Lead Rocket pages the associate and reminds him, ‘It’s 2:15 and you said you’d call John Doe back at 2:30, so make the call and get the sale.’” The system also helps track CSI. All sales associates must maintain a minimum of 95 percent customer satisfaction score. Should they fall behind, they’re put on a 90-day probation. Expecting high scores means taking care of the customer. As an intranet system, Lead Rocket lets anyone within the dealership send electronic messages throughout the store. The system features in-house classified ads, lists all accessory prices and phone numbers for all employees.
When the company first got started with the Internet and CRM, its approach was to sell at price lower than MSRP-plus, so it started its own pricing system. The companies had about 10 computer programmers at one time punching numbers to automate pricing to give customers an immediate, automated price. They decided that they wanted to be ahead of the competition– ahead of the market technologically as long as they could. Ken says, “When the Internet came about around 1992 we decided we wanted to be the dealer in the Internet field. Shortly after we got started, we got into a dispute with the dealers in Montana and Washington that tried to boycott our dealership. We won that dispute. These dealers were afraid of the Internet and they thought we would dominate the market. At the time we started, we weren’t doing much Internet business, though, and we weren’t sure where it would take us. But we did know that if we could be first into it and could keep updating our Internet sites and keep on progressing with it, we might succeed. That’s why we developed our own system, because at that time there weren’t any lead-generating/follow- up systems available on the market. I then put in a full-out press on developing a Web site and then started developing our Lead Rocket. Today it’s a completely different system than what we’d originally developed.”
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Dave Smith Motors developed its own technology to help sell more than 100 extra cars a month.
• Their Web site helps them sell more than $600,000 a month in accessories
• Their system includes a CRM tool to capture information and stay in contact with the customer
• Their Web site and marketing strategy help draw customers from as far away as Alaska, California and Colorado
• Dave Smith Motors has used the Internet and CRM to help grow its operation to a $250 million business
• The dealership has a team of dedicated internet sales associates to handle all inbound leads
Paragon Honda/Acura Sells 214 Extra Cars Online
ParagonCars.com Helps Dealership Reach No. 1 in New Car Volume
Paragon Honda has generated more than 214 additional sales a month by changing its marketing and sales strategy. “We adjusted our marketing strategy to target customers on the Internet since nearly 90 period of our buyers begin their shopping online. More of our customers look to the Web than TV, radio or print when researching their next car purchase, and we want to be where the majority of our customers are,” Brian Benstock from Paragon Honda said.
“Every prospect who calls or visits our dealership is offered a ‘free virtual test drive’ on the vehicle they’re interested in. As a result, we get the majority of our customers’ e-mail addresses whether they call, click, or come into our dealership.”- Brian Benstock, Paragon Honda and Acura
The Results
Within four months of launching its new marketing system, Paragon not only established a dominant presence on the Web, it also set up a complete customer relationship center in the dealership to handle all of the Internet and phone leads the system was generating. As a result, it sold an extra 106 vehicles the first month the system was up and running and it increased the closing ratio from 7 percent up to 25 percent. Today, the system generates more than 200 additional sales a month.
How did Paragon do it?
Brian Benstock explains: “We were only selling 20 cars a month online so we upgraded our Web site but our sales didn’t increase. Then we realized we needed more than just a Web site, so we hired a digital marketing company, which gave us a new site and the tools and training to market it, manage the leads and implement a successful strategy. As a result, we increased our traffic to our showroom, phone and Internet department while reducing our cost per sale, and today we’re selling almost 200 extra cars a month.”
“Now, we collect e-mail addresses from our customers by offering them free things that they want. For example, every prospect who calls or visits our dealership is offered a ‘free virtual test drive’ on the vehicle they’re interested in. As a result, we get the majority of our customers’ e-mail addresses whether they call, click or come into our dealership.” Paragon has thousands of e-mail addresses that it uses to conduct marketing campaigns. “We have hundreds of pre-packaged multi-media Buzzmail campaigns that we can send to customers with a few clicks” Benstock said. “E-mail marketing is the future, and we’ve made it a big part of our marketing strategy. Today, we have more than 80,000 e-mail addresses which we can use to send campaigns for every month of the year, every season and any theme. We send inventory reduction, clearance, holiday events, special financing, key for key exchange and more. It’s a great way to generate more sales without extra cost.”
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Paragon Honda used its new digital marketing strategy to increase sales by 214 units in one month.
• Since launching the new system, Paragon’s closing ratio went from 7 percent to 25 percent and it became the most profitable dealer.
• Paragon sends all its prospects and customers multimedia virtual test drives via e-mail.
• Paragon uses bulk multi-media e-mail campaigns to drive more traffic without additional advertising costs.
• Creative marketing online and offline has created more showroom, phone and Internet traffi c while lowering the overall marketing budget.
• Paragon’s BDC handles all Internet and phone leads. The BDC is staffed with phone specialists whose only job is to get appointments.
Sheehy Sells 414 Cars a Month Online
Sheehy.com Increases Leads over 300 percent in 60 Days
Sheehy sold an additional 414 cars in one month online. “We shifted some of our marketing budget to focus on targeting the Internet.” said Roy Reutter from Sheehy. “Customers are changing where and how they shop, so we are changing where we market. Initially we relied heavily on third party providers for our leads, and after a short time, we realized that the leads with the highest closing ratio and lowest cost came from our own Web site. We’ve since set up our own regional buying service, and we’re generating more traffic and leads for our people to turn into appointments and sales. We’ve increased our numbers by more than 600 percent and the Web has become our primary source of phone traffic.”
“We appear in the first two Google results for free when customers type in “Washington DC Ford”. Our competitors have to buy sponsored links where they pay to get a worse position than our two free positions.” – Roy Reuetter
The Idea
Once the Sheehy team realized it needed more than a Web site and a few third party lead providers, it worked to build a complete strategy to market its Web site, update the Web site, staff its team, implement a process, establish pricing and more. That was two years ago, and since then it has increased its numbers by more than 600 percent and dropped its cost per sale to about $130 per car.
The Technology
Roy Reutter says: “We were using our DMS provider for our Internet and CRM strategy but they were not getting results because that is not their specialty. After hiring a specialist in digital marketing and CRM, our numbers skyrocketed because they not only built our Web site but they also did all the online marketing including our search engine placement and multimedia email campaigns.” Sheehy increased leads from 400 to 1,350 in the fi rst two months and have continued to improve results. Today they are generating more than 2,400 leads a month from their Web site alone they’re selling more than 400 cars a month online.
The Web site
Roy Reutter has found there are five keys to a great automotive Web site.
They are:
1. Simple and easy to use
2. Content that the customer wants
3. High-impact, engaging multi-media that is fast to load even on a low-speed connection
4. Automatic updating
5. Designed to create more Internet, phone and showroom traffic
The Marketing
Roy Reutter has said, “If you can’t generate traffic there’s no point in having a Web site.” According to him, the Sheehy Auto Stores have been able to generate more traffic at a lower cost per sale by using search engine optimization in conjunction with multi-media Buzzmail campaigns. As a result, customers are landing on www.Sheehy.com rather than at the competitors’ sites. “When customers go online to search for dealers in our area they find us, and as a result we have increased our traffic and sales dramatically.”
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Sheehy sold 414 cars online by shifting some of its advertising.
• After launching the new Web site, Sheehy went from 400 to 1,350 leads in only 60 days, and today it generates more than 2,400 leads per month.
• The closing ratio for the leads from Sheehy.com is three to four times higher, and the cost per sale is about $130 per car.
• Sheehy.com is designed to drive phone and showroom traffi c, and the Web site is now it’s No. 1 source of phone leads.
• Sheehy increased leads by 350 percent after switching from its DMS provider to a digital marketing company to build and market its site.
• Sheehy’s Web site vendor positions it on search engines and helps market the Web site online and through multimedia e-mail campaigns.
Dick Hannah
Becomes No. 1 Pre-Owned eCRM Dealer by Selling 384 Extra Cars in one Month
Dick Hannah, in Portland, Or., became the biggest pre-owned Internet dealer in the U.S. by rethinking its marketing strategy and recognizing that there is a lot of money to be made in special finance online.
“Special finance is huge on the Internet. With DickSaysYes.com, we sold an additional 180 sub prime units in one month alone.” Joe Orr, Dick Hannah
They’ve since learned to use the Internet to tap into the special finance and pre-owned profi t opportunities, and today, they’re selling hundreds of extra vehicles per month. Joe Orr from the Dick Hannah organization shares how they implemented a new marketing strategy and regional buying service to become the No. 1 pre-owned Internet dealer in the world.
The Right Marketing, People and Strategy
We re-evaluated our advertising budget and realized we were spending more money than ever before on mass marketing without a sufficient return on investment. An increase in television and radio stations today makes it harder to reach a large audience. The cost of print advertising has gone up, and print ads are positioned alongside competitors’ ads which focus on price – driving down the average gross profit. We were spending more to get less, and it was tough to measure our return. It became clear there had to be a better way, and Internet was the obvious choice for targeted marketing. The first thing we did was get the right people in place to run our BDC and establish a strategy for building business. Next, we focused on finding the right Web site and CRM provider.
The Right Technology
Orr is quick to point out that you need more than a great Web site and CRM tool; you need to build a complete strategy for marketing, get the right people in place, implement a process and establish a pricing philosophy. He also adds: “While the right Web site won’t solve all your problems, you won’t get far without it. We had a pretty good templated site that was recommended by our manufacturer site but we were not getting incremental business. After we switched to our current provider we increased sales by 180 cars because they not only built us a better site, they also provided all the marketing tools and training.” One great feature of the new site is a virtual special fi nance department called www.Dick- SaysYes.com which provides three easy ways for the customer to get further into the process and continually prompts them to fi ll out an application online.
Joe explains, “The key to building a Web site capable of generating sub prime leads is to provide information the customer is looking for and a way to contact the dealership. For example, DickSaysYes.com includes a ‘How it Works’ button that provides FAQs, Six Steps to Reestablish Credit, Fast Bankruptcy Approvals and other areas that speak to what’s important to the sub prime audience.” Joe’s team has learned that to set yourself apart, you need to make it interactive, clean and user friendly. Visit www.DickSaysYes.com and you can even click on a link to view TV commercials that promote the Web site and target the sub prime market.
THE BOTTOM LINE
• DickHannah.com became the No. 1 Pre-Owned eCRM Dealer in the world and the USA’s Approval Site of the Year.
• DickHannah.com generates Internet leads, phone traffic and showroom traffic resulting in 384 incremental sales.
• The leads from DickHannah.com have a higher closing ratio and lower cost per sale.
• Dick Hannah dominates the market with its own regional buying service and sub-prime approval center at DickSaysYes.com.
• Dick Hannah hired one vendor to set up its emarketing system, Web sites, CRM tools and training.
• Dick Hannah uses e-mail marketing because it’s cheap advertising with a high rate of return.
Schomp Automotive
Sells 100 Extra Cars in one Month
Respect. That’s the key word at Schomp Automotive. Respecting the customer starts with selling according to the needs of the customer and saying goodbye to outdated one size- fits-all high-pressure sales techniques.
“Our Web site is integral to our success; we sold over 1,000 vehicles online in 2004, and over 100 a month this year.” -Lisa Schomp
“Our approach to sales is two-pronged,” Lisa Schomp says. “We pay equal attention to providing a superb Web site where customers can research and fi nd exactly what they need and to our state-of-the-art BDC that ensures our telephone customers’ needs are met promptly and efficiently.”
Benefits of the BDC Implementing the BDC has increased sales, for the most part, because it greatly enhances follow-up by Schomp’s sales staff. Customers are no longer slipping through the cracks. Lisa Schomp explains, “We provide prompt responses with real answers and a genuine interest in the customer’s needs. The focus is to set an appointment, and this is a true team effort.”
The Web site, the Marketing Strategy and the Technology
“Our Web site is integral to our success; we sold over 1,000 vehicles online in 2004, and we are selling a lot more this year. Our Web site provider built us a fantastic site, and they provide search engine placement, e-mail campaigns, our CRM tool and the training we need to implement everything. We use a suite of powerful multimedia Buzzmails to selectively target our clientele with highly interactive campaigns. We have had a 10 percent return on e-mail promotions. The way we look at it is if we broadcast 400 e-mails for free and make two sales from five minutes of typing, that medium cannot be beat. Our customers seldom opt out since we do not overwhelm them, and we provide them with the information.” Schomp has implemented other new and innovative marketing techniques to bring in new customers. They have done very little advertising over the last dozen years, and today, they rely on a small presence in newspaper and radio with their Web site and e-mail providing the bulk of the coverage they have. Lisa Schomp says, “We believe in independence from third party lead generators and auto brokers. We post our inventories on a couple of services like Cars.com and Auto- Trader, but we rely mainly on our own Web site and treating our customers the way we would like to be treated. By using our own site to pull in leads and treating customers fairly when they walk in the door, we’ve increased our site leads ten-fold.”
About the future of the industry, Lisa Schomp says, “Know that change is inevitable, and don’t be afraid of it! Five years ago we had no idea that digital marketing would account for so many new customers and sales. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need
it.”
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Schomp Automotive consists of a Chevrolet, Honda, BMW and Mini franchises
• www.Schomp.com helped sell more than 1,000 vehicles online last year and sells more than 100 cars a month today
• Schomp’s Web site generates 700 new Internet leads per month
• Schomp’s digital marketing has accelerated sales from 730 vehicles sold to 1,001 and gaining
• Schomp has implemented e-mail promotions that sell more cars without any extra expense
• Schomp’s sales have increased because they have the right people using its digital marketing system
Christopher’s Dodge World: 138 Extra Sales in one Month
CDodge.com Increases sales and profit by using the Web and CRM to change the way America buys cars
Christopher’s Dodge World has become one of the largest dealerships in the country by working to constantly improve how it sells and serves its customers. It is quickly becoming known for how it is revolutionizing the way cars are bought and sold in America.
“After we switched to BZResults.com we increased our sales from 20 to 138 cars a month.” -Chad Sterling, Internet director
Like many dealers, Christopher’s Dodge World noticed that more and more customers were using the Internet to start their shopping experience. Not only did it notice the trend, Christopher’s Dodge World rose to the challenge the Internet represents and are now leading the way to success with their own online buying service.
“Our goal is to make it quicker, easier and less expensive for customers to get their next vehicle. We feel that by putting the customers’ needs first, saving them time and giving them what they want we will sell more cars, increase gross and boost customer satisfaction. And you know what, it’s working” said Cliff Hall, general manager. In the year since building its online buying service, www.CDodge.com has enabled it to increase sales volume from 20-30 vehicles per month to 138 sales last month. Customers who in the past may have used brokers (who would then sell the leads to the dealership) now know that they can go directly to the CDodge.com buying service. Chad Sterling, Internet director at Christopher’s Dodge World says, “Customers love it because they can build any car they want or view virtually unlimited new and pre-owned inventory with just a couple clicks. They can also take a virtual test drive with 360 degree tours, view product comparisons, get financing, view performance vehicles, check for specials, download coupons, learn about the pre-owned certification process and the one-hour vehicle purchase and even book a service appointment or schedule parts.”
As a result www.CDodge.com has become the most successful online Dodge dealer in the world. Chad attributes the success to the following: Dealer and management support, a great marketing strategy, the right Web site and CRM tools, tight processes and a great team. “We’ve signed with outside training to make sure that our team is skilled and able to execute the process 100 percent.”
The Right Technology:
We began with some pretty nice templated Web sites but our customers wanted more and after hitting a plateau, we realized we needed more. Although we had a great Web site we did not get great results, and we quickly learned we needed more than a Web site. We hired a company called BZresults.com to custom build our online buying service, and they gave us all the tools and training we needed to promote, manage and measure all our customer activity. We experienced massive growth instantly. After one year we increased our online sales from an average of 20 vehicles a month to 138 vehicles last month. The reason for the increase was partly due to a better Web site that generated more leads but most of the increase was due to the digital marketing tools we now use. These include search engine marketing, e-mail marketing, online ads, CRM tools, automated follow-up and reports.
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Christopher’s Dodge World created a new online buying service and became the No. 1 Dodge eCRM Dealer in the nation.
• Christopher’s Dodge World sold 138 extra cars in one month from its online buying service.
• CDodge.com promotes all profit centers at the dealership.
• At CDodge.com you can build and compare vehicles, take virtual test drives, get fi nanced, evaluate a trade in, schedule appointments, buy parts , etc.
• Christopher’s Dodge is delivering on its mission to better serve the customer.
• Their technology vendor provides search engine marketing, online ads, Web and CRM tools, automated follow-up, reports and in-store training.
Courtesy Chevrolet
Becomes No. 1 BDC in U.S. by Selling 384 Extra Cars in One Month
Courtesy Chevrolet’s Business Development Center has learned to leverage the marketing power of the Internet and as a result, it sold an additional 384 vehicles out of its BDC in one month alone. The cornerstone of Courtesy’s BDC is its digital marketing system that allows it to generate incremental sales out of its BDC and drives more than half of the phone traffic to the dealership. The BDC staff has learned to use the Web as an incredible marketing medium, and as a result its using the system to increase sales, F&I and service and parts business for a lot less money than traditional advertising. As a result, “Our cost per sale ranges from $125 to $200, which is a lot less than traditional advertising” said Scott Gruwell of Courtesy.
“We increased our BDC sales from 40 to 384 cars a month. The key to our strategy was our Web site, CRM system and our Internet marketing.”- Scott Gruwell, Courtesy Chevrolet
The system includes a high-end custom Web site and a prospecting/CRM tool that automates most of the BDC’s contact activity. Gruwell explains, “Our new Web site increased our leads by more than 400 percent but it was only one part of our new system. The system also includes the marketing tools to create traffic and the CRM tool to manage our Internet, phone and show room opportunities so we can turn leads into sales. After the first month we sold 40 units, then 75, then 150, 200 and last month we sold 380.”
When asked to name the single most important factor in launching a successful BDC, Scott Gruwell, tells us, “You need to fi nd and train the right people and give them the tools they need to do their job.” Scott has found that the right people for the BDC are those with excellent phone skills and a passion for customer satisfaction. He tells us that the right tools will automate much of the follow-up process and provide the reports to manage and measure results. He says, for example, “automation enables our team to focus their energy on the phone and they’re setting more appointments as a result.” Scott will be the first to admit that installing a successful BDC is not a simple task, but when the BDC helps take the gross profit from $84k per month to $582k per month, it’s an effort that’s worth the investment.
“We conduct monthly multi-media e-mail campaigns that result in 25-50 sales a month.” -Scott Gruwell
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Courtesy Chevrolet’s BDC helped sell 384 extra cars and generate $582k in one month
• Courtesy Chevrolet fi nished the year as the No. 2 Chevy dealer in the country
• Courtesy Chevrolet was named one of the Top 10 eCRM Dealers of the Year
• Courtesy’s Web site and BDC took them from 40 sales to 384 sales after a two-year period.
• Courtesy Chevrolet’s Web site provider setup their BDC and provides their training
• Their cost per sale ranges from $125-$200 since installing their new system
Tasca Auto Group
Tasca Increases Profits and Reduces Turnover
In today’s market, dealers are either thriving in a growth mode, or struggling to stay afloat. Whether you’re successfully adding franchises to your dealer group or tightening your belt in an effort to remain competitive, nothing will make or break a dealership’s success quite like people.
“We signed up with BZResults.com to implement our new digital marketing and training strategy. As a result our turnover has decreased and sales and profit have increased.” Bob Tasca III
Tasca Automotive has grown from a small, family owned single-point store to a multifranchise auto group operating out of four locations. It has grown substantially while maintaining CSI scores that are among the highest in the nation and customer loyalty above 83 percent. Throughout the growth process, Tasca has naturally needed to add people. What’s unique is that the Tasca leadership team believes that their most important asset is their people, and as Bob Tasca III likes to say, “We owe it to our customers and ourselves to invest in the development of our team.”
But how do you move beyond the typical new hire training? Tasca hired an outside training company to improve its strategy for recruiting, hiring and training its people. Bob Tasca III says, “We’ve been able to manage growth, increase profi ts and reduce turnover. We use a recruiting, hiring and training system to ensure we hire the right people for the job, baptize them in the Tasca way of doing business and give them the tools and skills they need to get off to a strong start. We build on that foundation with weekly in-house sessions and monthly training meetings with our consultant.” Here’s an outline their 120 day New Hire Orientation:
Part 1 –
Welcome to the Tasca Family: Overview of the dealership’s history, vision, mission and principles.
Part 2 –
Welcome to the Dealership: Introduce new hire to each department and clarify his or her role within the entire ownership experience.
Part 3 –
Dealership Tour: Working tour of every department.
Part 4 –
Department Internship: Work briefly in each department to better understand customer experience and interdepartmental communication.
Part 5 –
Job Training: Detailed training regarding job-specifi c activities, processes and procedures.
Part 6 –
Mentorship: Every new team member is assigned to a mentor who is responsible for guiding him or her through the first 120 days.
Part 7 –
Certification: The new team member meets with manager to verify proficiency with each job skill as defined in the certification book.
According to Tasca, “Employee satisfaction drives customer satisfaction and loyalty. Therefore, the goal of orientation is to see that every one of our graduates is excited about their career, confi dent with the skills and process needed to get results and eager to continue with their personal and professional development. Now that everyone is on the same page and our processes are generating great results, I could not imagine not spending the time and money to train our people properly.”
Below is a summary of some of Tasca University’s training modules:
Sales process
Management and coaching
Phones strategy and process
Internet strategy and process
Customer relationship center
Sold and unsold follow up
Service contact and follow up
Lease and retail renewals
THE BOTTOM LINE
• Tasca increased sales, profits and CSI by using the Web, CRM and training to improve the customer experience at its dealership.
• Tasca hired a company to create and implement a complete strategy to recruit, hire and train its people in all areas of their business.
• Tasca’s world class Customer Relationship Center generates an additional 80 sales a month.
• Tasca won Automotive News “Best Web site” award and has been named among the top eCRM Dealers of the year two years in a row.
• Tasca’s customer loyalty rating is above 63 percent and their CSI is among the nation’s highest.
• Tasca Automotive invests in training its people because it’s found that employee satisfaction drives customer satisfaction.
Patrick Luck is the editor and publisher of AutoSuccess Magazine. He can be contacted at 866.239.3698, or by e-mail at pluck01@autosuccess.biz.
