One of my favorite dealer clients once said to me, “All I get is ‘What,’ stuff all day; I’d like to see some ‘Why’!”  He went on to explain that he only gets reports of what is wrong: expenses are high, we’re out of cash, we’re los

The question I’m asked most often is “What advertising mediums should I use, and what percentage of my total ad spend should they be?” Unfortunately, there is no easy ‘one size fits all’ answer. We’ve had more media additions, deletions a

In a recent article in Reader’s Digest, the readers were advised to contact the Internet manager at a dealership to get a good deal. I was pleased to see the recommendation since I’ve been a long time proponent of this as a management position an

After speaking with a group of dealers on the benefits of incorporating social media into the marketing mix, one dealer posed this question: “From your perspective, what role does a web site play in advertising?” My response? “Your website is y

As I wrote last month, we all something we’re good at. Perhaps by now, you’ve figured out after all these years I’m not a very good writer (blame the editor) but I’m pretty good at taking the questions I hear most from dealers and helping the

My first GSM told me that customers would tell me how to sell them – I just had to listen.  I’ve carried that belief with me throughout my career and continue to find that customers – both sold and unsold – are the absolute best source of in

In October, I unveiled an updated ACES (Automotive Continuum of E-commerce Success) chart at the well-attended 9th Digital Dealer Conference in Las Vegas. With the 2011 edition of this popular chart, we asked dealers to focus on thirty core activitie

It is no secret that customers are using the Internet to broadcast their buying experiences, and in doing so, directing customers toward or away from your dealership, many times without you knowing. More and more prospective customers are using feedb

It is stating the obvious to assert that core systems such as your Digital Response Management (DRM) system, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, dealer web sites, inventory management system, vehicle locator system and dealer management sy