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Dealer.com today announced new details concerning their technology showcase at the upcoming Automotive Marketing Boot Camp.  Dealer.com will go in-depth with attendees on the subject of Google Analytics for dealers on Sunday, April 17^th and Automotive Social Media Strategies on Monday, April 18^th.

“Expect to be challenged, expect to be engaged and expect to take something back to your dealership for immediate implementation,” said Alex Snyder, Director of Product Research at Dealer.com.

Representing Dealer.com for their technology showcase presentation will be automotive marketing specialists Darren Haygood, Dave Winslow, Ben Gilbert, Joe Mescher and Alex Snyder.

The Dealer.com marketing team will work one-on-one with attendees and offer their different perspectives and expert opinions on the topics that matter most to attendees.

Google Analytics and Social Media for Car Dealers

Dave Winslow, the Intelligence Chief at Dealer.com, will lead Sunday’s discussion about Google Analytics for auto dealers.  Dave has been active in the online marketing industry for over a decade specializing in the areas of online business consulting, search marketing, testing and optimization, and web analytics.

Joe Mescher, Digital Marketing Director with Dealer.com, will lead Monday’s showcase about Automotive Social Media strategies.  Joe is also an adjunct Professor of Internet Marketing at Champlain College in Burlington, VT. His focus at Dealer.com is on developing effective search and social media strategies for dealers and dealer groups across the US.

Click here to register for the Boot Camp

During both days, the Dealer.com marketing team will be diving-in to the dealership process, website design, search marketing, and where it all fits in the consumer buying funnel.  Darren Haygood, Ben Gilbert, and Alex Snyder will be helping dealers navigate these critical pieces in each dealer’s business strategy.

Attendees are encouraged to bring any of the following:

• Website statistics for review
• Process plans from CRM or ILM
• PPC performance reports
• Month-end statistics
• Any questions

This year’s second annual Automotive Marketing Boot Camp is being held at the Hilton Orlando, April 16-18.  Dealers can still register for the Boot Camp online or call Renee McGowan at 732.450.8200 ext 5.

One of the hottest topics in automotive digital marketing is undoubtedly social media.  At this year’s Automotive Marketing Boot Camp in Orlando, dealer professionals will learn how to engage social media fans and leverage blogging and social media tools to attract more business and convert more leads.  A diverse range of social media marketing experts are slated to speak at the Boot Camp which takes place April 16-18^th at the Hilton Orlando.

Social media is revolutionizing the way dealerships conduct business online and is forever changing the way dealer professionals interact with current and potential customers.  The roster of social media experts speaking at the Marketing Boot Camp will unravel the mystery behind social media success and reveal the biggest mistakes dealers make when incorporating social media into their digital marketing plan.

Social Media Marketers

Featured social media speakers like Tim Martell of WikiMotive will share game changing strategies for dealers to develop a compelling and financially advantageous Facebook presence. At the conclusion of Tim’s workshop, many attendees will have a completed and customized Facebook fan page for their dealership.

SOCIALDEALER, a comprehensive social media management technology company for auto dealers will also be networking with boot camp attendees as a sponsor and will be on-hand to speak with dealers that want to learn how to effectively manage their social media networks growth, performance and effectiveness.

Click here to register for the 2011 Boot Camp April 16-18.

Additional boot camp speakers focusing on Social Media Marketing include JD Rucker, Director of New Media at TK Carsites, and Paul Potratz, COO of Potratz Advertising, a full service automotive advertising agency that specializes in digital marketing strategies for auto dealers.

The Boot Camp includes hands-on training in many of the most significant automotive marketing topics including CRM systems, BDC structure and workflow, Google AdWords, blogging, lead management processes, video optimization and more, in the form of panel discussions, workshops, round-tables and presentations.  An absolute must for GMs, Internet Managers and Dealer Principals, the 2011 Automotive Marketing Boot Camp will empower dealers to strategize and execute for digital marketing success in 2011 and beyond.

See the full list of Boot Camp presenters online.

I was copied on an email from our Internet Reputation Management (IRM) manager to one of our clients today. The email struck me how helpful a consistent monthly reputation management program can be for car dealers.

By contacting a dealership’s customers as a third party, my staff has the ability to be an agent for building customer satisfaction and also to “hear” and document what their customers are saying.

Take a moment to read an excerpt of an email that Jessica wrote to one of our clients after her calls from the previous night:

On another note there was one customer that seems to be a loyal customer to you (purchased 3 cars from you) but mentioned a few things to me that could cause him not to write a totally positive review at this time – I did not send him details on how to post as a result. Here are the details of his comments:

I spoke to a gentleman named David, who was with Jennifer _______ during her purchasing experience – Jennifer is the name on the customer list you provided to me. First, David mentioned that he felt as though the Sales Manager over-estimated things during the process, even after they were already finishing up the contract.

Second, they are still waiting for a new key remote for the vehicle because the original key remote doesn’t seem to work all the time – he mentioned 8 out of 10 times it doesn’t work. After a couple weeks now, they still never got the other key and the one time they went in to get the service done they were told that they didn’t have the key. David dealt with John, the service manager – red team, that day.

David did not seem extremely angry, just concerned as to why this hasn’t been taken care of yet. I felt as though he would not be able to give you the high rating we are looking for in this IRM campaign, at this time. However, if things get settled with David please let me know because a 3-time customer is always a great candidate to write a review.

Intercepting Negative Reviews

The beauty of a monthly IRM process, that we provide for car dealers, is that in addition to getting customers to post positive reviews on websites like Google Maps, InsiderPages, DealerRater, Yelp and CitySearch our clients get feedback, if there are problems.

This customer felt comfortable to share their frustration with an independent agency because we made them feel that their opinion was important. We asked them about their experience and they told us their concerns. This issue most likely would never have been escalated to the General Manager of the dealership. Worst, this could have resulted in a negative review being posted or the dealership losing the confidence and business of a loyal customer.

Now the dealership can respond and resolve the concerns of a multiple purchase customer.

IRM Must Be Part of Your 2010 Internet Marketing Budget

I bring this up because in 2010 the power of the consumer will continue to dominate automotive digital marketing articles and strategies. Car dealers should be implementing an IRM strategy that utilizes defensive and offensive reputation management strategies. Social media strategies and IRM strategies have to be tied together in the coming year if not already.

Ignore this part of your 2010 Internet Marketing strategy and any disgruntled customer will go online and light your dealership on fire! If you have not invested in a good IRM strategy, those negative posts will be all that consumers see and you will be missing valuable sales.

Google Maps is one of the most powerful sources for dealership phone calls. How many positive reviews are showing on your Google Map listing? Negative?

That’s your PUBLIC billboard and that’s not the  one that people are seeing.

If you don’t like what you see, get the help from an IRM professional and don’t forget to clean up your internal processes at the same time.

Happy New Year and I’ll see you at Boot Camp in February!

Brian Pasch, CEO
Pasch Consulting Group
www.dealer-seo.com
http://twitter.com/automotiveseo