Harlene Doane - It’s been said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and Steven Sodikoff, dealer principal of Steven Toyota Scion in Harrisonburg, Va., believes it applies to his inventory. Recently, Sodikoff invested heavily in his dealership’s online presence in a rather unusual way. He took an empty service facility and transformed it into a high-tech photography studio.
Harlene Doane - Stephens, Inc. published a report on F&I income earnings per vehicle retailed for the top public automotive groups based on fourth-quarter 2008 data. The data is below.
Harlene Doane - Dealers are still in cost-cutting mode, and advertising and marketing budgets have taken the brunt of cuts over the last several months. Across the board, the amount of advertising and marketing dollars spent by dealers is down by 24 percent, which is equivalent to a $10,000 to $15,000 decrease in spending per month.
Harlene Doane - First came what is known as Web 1.0, which was basic Web design that included a number of static pages that basically pushed information out to online shoppers.
The difference between a $1,000 gross profit and a $2,500 gross profit on a special finance deal is the amount of work that goes into the deal... ...None of that is easy, especially in today’s market.
Harlene Doane - Technology is giving today’s buyer the same information dealers have, creating what some people say is an efficient market. This efficient market is causing dealers to change the way they inventory and market their used vehicles. For years, dealers have been working towards a 60-day turn policy, some even had a 30-day policy for used vehicles, but in today’s inventory market, those policies might be outdated ...
Harlene Doane - Knowing the basics of how many visitors your site has, the number of page views and the amount of time spent on the site is fairly easy these days, but it is possible to learn so much more. There are several products on the market, many of which are entirely free, that allow you to view your site and marketing efforts from several different perspectives ...
Harlene Doane - Often, it’s the service department that keeps the dealership doors open during down sales cycles, but this is only achieved when the dealership drives ...
Harlene Doane - As consumers shy away from purchasing new and pre-owned vehicles during this difficult economic cycle, customer relationship management efforts should be solidly focused on service opportunities. From any 100 customers who purchased a vehicle, from a retail dealer, data base management system information indicates about 30 of those customers are ...
We’ve all heard the statement before. You have to walk the talk. It’s not enough to say you will do something; you have to do it. It’s time for dealers to manage their inventory better. Dealers are talking about inventory management in record numbers, but ...
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