Digital Dealer - July 2018 - 40

R e p u t a t ion & Loyalty ( Continued from pg. 39)

THE EASIEST, CHEAPEST FORM OF INSTANT
COMMUNICATION WITH EVERY MEMBER OF YOUR
TEAM IS AN EMAIL FROM A LIST SERVE."
adelphia merchant in the
late 1800 gained notoriety
for his quote: "I know half of
my advertising is wasted .I
just don't know which half."
In today's digital dazzle
I'm afraid more than 50%
is wasted a good deal of
the time, but there are
automobile dealers who are
improving the odds through
AA (Analysis and Adjustment). Some years ago a
Florida dealership chain
opened up a new location
and asked how much they
should spend on the grand
opening. I told them they
shouldn't spend one dime
during the first month.
Given their incredible high
traffic volume location, excellent signage and general
reputation (UMP) of the
dealerships brand name, I
suggested the dealership
should open the doors
with no advertising for 30
days and determine the
baseline. I reminded them
that location and signage
often show up as a considerable influence on internal
research. I suggested they
then follow with a gradual
soft opening build of media
and track every weekend
for the incremental increases on specific models
from the baseline. We did
exactly that with amazing
success. Six months after
actually opening the doors
we held a grand opening.
By that time we knew exactly where to put our money for the biggest bang.
I'm against long-term
contracts, big upfronts and
40

J U LY 2 0 1 8

DON'T' BE AFRAID TO
TRY SOMETHING NEW!"
excessive commitments
without substantial guarantees and reasonable optouts. Everything changes
today. Everything! No one
knew the kind of numbers
the Roseanne reincarnation
would draw. No one knows
what the same show will
draw in numbers next season. Sporting venues are
unpredictable. The change
of a personality or host can
dramatically effect advertising return. Betting on any
long-term value of media,
traditional or digital, makes
about as much sense as
betting on the price of gold
or fed interest rates.
That's why the BIG #5

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

says pay attention to the
BIG #4: Ongoing research.
One of the best tools for
this is the constant Analysis
of media habits reports.
But as important as the
analysis is, courage to
make adjustments should
be equally weighted. I'm
not suggesting you change
course on a dime, but
that you watch the trends
carefully. Station A and
program Z may have been
a big funnel feeder when
trucks were hot. But maybe
the current increased used
CUV activity suggests
Station B and program
W. Frequently, I find that
dealerships using internal

advertising departments
tend to weight loyalty and
tenure to media more than
outside, objective analysis.
Conversely, multi-layered
commitments with digital
providers can often mask
necessary changes in delivery methods.
The BIG 5A Innovation!
Okay, one more BIGGY!
Don't' be afraid to try
something new! Right now
a number of entrepreneurs
are nipping at the revenue
heels of franchised dealers with used car delivery,
consignment, warranties,
flexible payments, on-line
processing, etc. There is
not ONE thing that these
well-funded start-ups can
do that you as a franchised
dealer cannot do. In fact,
with your experience,
connections, established
brand and location you are
probably in the best position to compete with all the
challenges that come your
way. If you are open-minded, listen to employees and
customers, do the research
and explore innovative
ideas that will keep you on
top of the game.
Have a great summer...
great selling...and an even
better bottom line!
JIM BOLDEBOOK is Founder
of CBC Automotive Marketing,
an advertising/marketing agency
working with some of America's
most successful dealerships. He
has been in the broadcasting,
advertising and marketing ﬁelds
for almost 50 years. EMAIL:
jim@cbcads.com
http://www.DIGITALDEALER.COM
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - July 2018
