Pub. 5 2015 Issue 4

22 AUTOMOBILE DEALER NEWS ILLINOIS www.illinoisdealers.com Accounting Woodward & Associates, Inc. ............................................ Page 2 CliftonLarsonAllen.............................................................. Page 9 WIPFLi.............................................................................. Page 15 Attorney Julie A. Cardosi, P.C. ......................................................... Page 3 Consulting and Dealership Compliance Automotive Development Group...................................... Page 23 Reynolds & Reynolds....................................................... Page 19 Suntrust.............................................................................. Page 4 Dealer Management Computer Systems AutoSoft ........................................................................... Page 19 Dealer Management Systems Auto/Mate Dealership Systems ......................................... Page 7 Resource Management Group (Portfolio)................... Page 12-13 Polen’s BuyBid Auto Exchange Inc.................................. Page 10 Energy Supplier AEP Energy...................................................................... Page 24 Financial Services Bank of America Merrill Lynch..............................................Page 5 CU Direct............................................................................ Page 7 Insurance Federated Insurance Companies .....................................Page 11 Zurich American Insurance Co. ....................................... Page 15 Catering to Smart Phones People are more likely than ever to have a smart phone. More than 50 percent of those who are in the market for a new car will use their smart phone to help them as they search. Optimize your website for smart phone usage, or potential customers might go somewhere else. Hire someone to do this for you if necessary Traf�ic After your dealership is successfully doing a good job of con- verting website leads, then you need to focus on driving more traffic to it. That means search-engine optimization (SEO). The best SEO you can do is to make sure you have quality content on your website. However, you do also want a focused strategy for SEO that is up-to-date with the latest search-engine algorithms If SEO is working well and you have a strong strategy in place to create good content, then you can move on to paid search or search-engine marketing (SEM). These can also drive more traffic to your website. Be selective when you choose a vendor for SEM. You can spend a lot of money and not see much of a return on investment. The best vendors make it easy for you to see what they are doing and spending so that you can evaluate their results more accurately. Another possible strategy with respect to digital traffic is re- targeting. Ask about it when you are looking for an SEM vendor, and do some online research as well. New-Vehicle Leads You should be careful what company you choose to give you new-vehicle leads, and take an interest at the very beginning in how the system is to be set up. In most cases, the leads for new cars that are most likely to end in a sale are the ones that are near your dealership. Set your radius accordingly. Social Media and Dealership Reputation Many dealerships overlook social media and dealership reputation as an important area of growth. Why does this kind of engagement matter? Studies have shown that satisfying a cus- tomer is not enough to guarantee loyalty for the next purchase, but engagement is. You can turn websites such as Facebook and Twitter into effective tools to help you as you work to engage potential and existing customers. Service and Owner Marketing Think of the point of sale as the same thing as the point of resale. The more you remember this as you work with owners during the lifecycle of their vehicle, the better. Deciding to buy a vehicle, and then paying for it, is one of the largest monetary commitments most people will make. Everyone wants appreciation and respect. Your customers are no different. Always treat your customers well after the sale has been made. That should be the foundation of your service and owner marketing program. Create a well-designed retention strategy, and you will see growth in service and sales.   Selling Cars Online — continued from page 21