Digital Dealer - January 2020 - 22

E XC LU S I V E I N T E RV I E W

management team who are all invested in
preparing their successors and my transition to dealer. They've been very helpful in
coaching me to take on new challenges and
responsibilities. Their insight and feedback
are invaluable, and they add a layer of stability to our dealership.
The three key members of our executive
team, Scott Collore, Bobby Johnson, and Sam
Pilato, have been here for 10, 10, and 23 years
respectively, which provides a serious level of
stability at the top. And my father isn't going
anywhere right away. He's here and is available to me at any time. We talk daily.

actually many different businesses under one
roof. It's both fun and challenging to strategize about these different businesses and how
to maximize their return.

DEALER MAGAZINE: In what ways
has Dimmitt Chevrolet embraced digital
marketing?
LIZ: We're all-in on digital marketing. It's
where we spend the most time and the bulk of
our advertising money. Digital is where we tell
the Dimmitt Chevy brand story and how we
recruit new employees and communicate with
customers. We are very invested in digital mar-

" The best advice I've received is

that we're not in the car business,
we're in the people business. "
DEALER MAGAZINE: What's the best
advice you received about the car business?
LIZ: The best advice I've received is that
we're not in the car business, we're in the
people business. This rings true every day. We
have a staff of 130 and our customers come
from the community around us. When all is
said and done, it's really all about those human relationships. And that's what we spend
the most time investing in, talking about, and
improving upon.

DEALER MAGAZINE: What appeals,
excites or surprises you most about
retail automotive?
LIZ: What surprises me most is the low
margin or sometimes no margin on new
vehicle sales. I don't think the public really
understands this part of the equation.
What excites me most is the need to be creative and innovative and think differently. I'm
talking especially about digital tools and how
we use them. We also have to explore new
profit opportunities. A typical dealership is

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keting and find ourselves constantly having to
learn and innovate to say on top of trends.
This is especially true with social media,
which is mission-critical for Dimmitt Chevrolet. We're a family store and are proud of
our family-friendly atmosphere. Social media
is the best way for us to communicate our
culture and to stay connected to our customers. When you think about it, social media is a
great way to communicate back and forth. We
get instant feedback. We get to share pictures
and stories. And our stories can evolve and
react. Social media is a powerful tool for us to
distinguish ourselves, especially via Facebook
and Instagram.
When it comes to digital marketing, we
try anything and everything. We also create
videos to post on social media and YouTube.

DEALER MAGAZINE: Do you use an
outside source for filming the videos or
is the work done in-house?
LIZ: We make our videos in-house to keep
them cost-effective, timely, and authentic.
They feature our employees, which is useful

January 2020

http://www.digitaldealer.com

Digital Dealer - January 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - January 2020