November/December 2011
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What's New at FordDirect
Wishing you the best this Holiday Season
As we approach this joyous and happy Holiday season, everyone here at FordDirect would like to thank you for all you have done to help us help you have another successful year. FordDirect is your company – a joint venture between Ford Motor Company and its franchised Dealers to create a comprehensive Web presence for Dealers and provide digital marketing services to help Dealers sell more cars and trucks. So we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all your hard work and continued support, and wish you the best this Holiday Season and a very Happy New Year.
Quick Response (QR) codes come to Ford & Lincoln window stickers
The newly updated 11"X14" window stickers for 2012 model year vehicles will also feature a Quick Response code on the bottom right of the label for Ford Motor Company vehicles. The code can be read by a smartphone with a QR scanner application. When scanned, the code will be sent to a mobile website created by FordDirect. The site shows VIN specific information, color correct photos of the interior and exterior of the vehicle, as well as current incentives. Customers can also search similar Dealer inventory, request a quote, contact the Dealer directly via phone number or share their find with a friend.
Say hello to DealerConnection Elite and say goodbye to expensive 3rd party websites
Developed by the Ford National Dealer Council, the FordDirect Dealer Advisory Board and pilot Dealers, FordDirect's new DealerConnection Elite website solutions are designed to bring you:
- A Premium Dealer Website
- A Premium Mobile Website
- More Leads (our industry leading Elite pilot dealer conversion rates average 16-20%)
- The Best Search Engine Optimization (every page is 100% index with award-winning functionality such as dynamic deep-linking, the friendliest URL strings, title tags and more)
- Custom Dealer Branding
- Video & Banner Libraries
- Incentive Integration
- Email & Call Tracking
- Automated Specials
- Social Media Toolbar
- Reporting Dashboard
- 24/7 Dealer Technical Support
FordDirect announces three new promotions
Congratulations are in order for Meri Glade, Ryan Soffa and Fadi Aoude. Because of their hard work, all three have received promotions within the FordDirect family this month.
Meri Glade has been appointed Chief Compliance Officer and General Counsel for FordDirect. In her new role, Meri will oversee all legal affairs of the organization and provide counsel to the executive management team and the Board of Directors. "Meri Glade brings considerable legal experience and expertise to her new role," said Stacey Coopes, CEO of FordDirect. "Meri's expertise will empower FordDirect to continue to grow and meet our goal of helping Ford and Lincoln Dealers sell more vehicles."
Ryan Soffa has been appointed senior vice president of product development and Fadi Aoude has been appointed senior vice president of technology for FordDirect.
Together Ryan and Fadi lead the development of products for Ford and Lincoln Dealers such as DealerConnection and DealerConnection Product Customization Service. Ryan leads the product team that develops Dealer solutions while Fadi is responsible for all technology at FordDirect to ensure FordDirect products have the best technology infrastructure. "Fadi and Ryan's efforts have been instrumental in the deployment of high-quality products to help Ford and Lincoln Dealers sell more vehicles," said Stacey Coopes, CEO of FordDirect. FordDirect products and technology infrastructure have helped Ford Dealers sell more than 275,000 new vehicles from FordDirect Internet referrals in 2010. FordDirect Internet referrals represent 22 percent of Ford Motor Company retail sales.
Dealer Spotlight
Search Engine Optimization or Search Engine Marketing…which do you feel is more important or where do you focus your efforts?
We focus on Search Engine Optimization. We like to be towards the top of the page when someone is doing a search. We pay a company that does our website. We've seen tremendous growth in this area because that's all that people are concerned with, the first thing they see. So that's were we focus our time and money and we feel we get a pretty nice return on it.
We use Search Engine Optimization. It helps keep our website more prominent on the page. So we work a lot on making sure that we have the right keywords so that our site comes up toward the top in a customer's search.
I'd say that we focus on both. There are a lot of different tools that are available at your disposal to achieve the same purpose, but no one tool can accomplish everything. That's why we use a variety of things. I think that it's important to grow your results organically. I think that marketing allows you to capture the people that you aren't able to get the attention of through traditional means.
We use both. The majority of our efforts however, I'd say are with Search Engine Optimization which directs the customer back to our FordDirect website and/or our own Villa Ford dealership website. The reason being that once the customer is on your website they are more likely to stay on your site if it is giving the customer what they are looking for. It's a double-edged sword for the most part. By directing and spending the money with Search Engine Marketing – we do it with FordDirect and handle it internally in the store – once you get that customer captured and on your site they are less likely to go to another site to gather more information because they are imbedded in your site and your market. The idea is to capture your customers in your market so that they are not being pulled into another market, such as a store in another county or another city. Once you get the customers on your site they are more likely to return to your site. And we track that internally in our dealership where we see the customer, whether it's for parts or for service or for their new vehicle purchase. So you've got to spend your money to get them to your site.
The main key for stores to gather information is the regional digital meetings that FordDirect holds annually or every six months. They will tell you what they are doing over the next year and you can mirror what they are doing so that you can capture the customers that are in your immediate backyard. This way they're doing it nationally and you can do it on the local level to capture customers.
The main key for stores to gather information is the regional digital meetings that FordDirect holds annually or every six months. They will tell you what they are doing over the next year and you can mirror what they are doing so that you can capture the customers that are in your immediate backyard. This way they're doing it nationally and you can do it on the local level to capture customers.
Comment on Success
Jarrett-Gordon Ford Lincoln, Winter Haven, F
Brian Everhart, Internet Sales Manager at Jarrett-Gordon Ford in Winter Haven, FL
Brian Everhart,
Internet Sales Manager
estimates that 30 to 35 percent of their sales can be attributed to the Internet. "These days practically every customer in some way, shape or fashion is an Internet customer," said Brian. “The vast majority of our customers, even if they walk on the lot or call in have been on the Internet, have looked at research information, maybe have been on our website, have looked at prices on our site, and by the time we actually get to talk to somebody they've already been involved on the Internet and are much more informed than they used to be."
Brian said his philosophy is to, "Give the customer what they are asking for the first time you talk with them. Your first contact with them, based on what they have asked of you is very important. If you give them what they are asking for up front and don't make them try to find it, they are much more likely to give you a second look. They begin to realize that you are someone they can actually use to find information. So make yourself a resource for the customer, be upfront and honest, and don't try to hide pricing or dealer fees. They want upfront pricing and details."
That's why Brian said, "If a lead requests a price and I can identify exactly what the customer is looking for, the configuration they want, the color they want, I most definitely will price it for them."
Brian said, "I've been in Internet sales for six years. I have a lot of expertise in
computers and sales," so the Internet was a natural fit. When leads come in, he said, "We use the Ford system with SalesPoint. Leads are given first to the sales manager who goes through and double checks everything and then hands it off to one of four different sales reps to follow up with a direct email and phone calls. We will hand leads off to other individuals if an Internet salesperson isn't available."
"We have four lead providers, FordDirect, our own website, AutoTrader and Cars.com," said Brian. "We use Call Tracking primarily to track leads on AutoTrader and Cars.com. All of the calls that come in from those two vendors are tracked because the vast majority of what they provide are incoming phone calls more so than emails. We also have a credit app link on our site. We get applications every week where customers submit the application to find out where they are. So we call them back and find out what they're trying to accomplish."
Brian Everhart,
Internet Sales Manager
Brian said his philosophy is to, "Give the customer what they are asking for the first time you talk with them. Your first contact with them, based on what they have asked of you is very important. If you give them what they are asking for up front and don't make them try to find it, they are much more likely to give you a second look. They begin to realize that you are someone they can actually use to find information. So make yourself a resource for the customer, be upfront and honest, and don't try to hide pricing or dealer fees. They want upfront pricing and details."
That's why Brian said, "If a lead requests a price and I can identify exactly what the customer is looking for, the configuration they want, the color they want, I most definitely will price it for them."
Brian said, "I've been in Internet sales for six years. I have a lot of expertise in
"We have four lead providers, FordDirect, our own website, AutoTrader and Cars.com," said Brian. "We use Call Tracking primarily to track leads on AutoTrader and Cars.com. All of the calls that come in from those two vendors are tracked because the vast majority of what they provide are incoming phone calls more so than emails. We also have a credit app link on our site. We get applications every week where customers submit the application to find out where they are. So we call them back and find out what they're trying to accomplish."
Industry Update
Auto Dealers trying to make their ad dollars work harder
WardsAuto.com reports that Dealers are getting more resourceful with their ad budgets. In 2010, franchised Dealers spent $654 to advertise each new unit sold, the highest amount in any year since the National Automobile Dealers Association started tracking that data in 1972, says Paul Taylor, the trade organization’s chief economist. But in first-quarter 2011, dealers shelled out just $604 per vehicle. You can read more on the ways Dealers are trying to make their ad dollars work harder by reading the article at http://wardsdealer.com/latest/auto_dealers_ad_110919/
Auto ads have strong following on mobile phones
According to the Millennial Media Mobile Automotive Study, with comScore, Smartphones enable mobile users to engage with rich automotive content on their
web- and app-enabled devices. According to the study, mobile users who access auto content tend to be younger, affluent males, 18 to 34, $75,000+ and $100,000+; although females still represent a significant proportion of the mobile auto intender audience. According to the survey, the frequency with which this audience accesses mobile automotive content is incredibly high. More on the survey can be read at http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/159241/
web- and app-enabled devices. According to the study, mobile users who access auto content tend to be younger, affluent males, 18 to 34, $75,000+ and $100,000+; although females still represent a significant proportion of the mobile auto intender audience. According to the survey, the frequency with which this audience accesses mobile automotive content is incredibly high. More on the survey can be read at http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/159241/
Online ad revenue up
According to a report released by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers in September, U.S. online advertising revenue grew by 23% year-over-year to $14.9 billion in the first half of 2011. Search marketing contributed $5.5 billion of the period’s overall revenue, followed by display/banner ads at $3.4 billion, digital video at $891 million, rich media at $763 million and sponsorships at $467 million.
Public perception of auto industry improves
According to results of a new Harris Poll by Harris Interactive, on how the public perceives various industries, there has been a huge improvement in the number of people who think the auto industry is doing a good job of satisfying customers. Since 2009, the last time the poll was taken, the auto industry showed a 36 point improvement from plus six to plus 42.
Ryan's Blog...
Making the most of dealer websites and advertising
Ryan reports dealerships are spending more of their advertising budgets online than in newspapers. As a result, he says a dealership’s website needs to differentiate itself from other Dealer sites. Read his blog comments on how this can be accomplished at http://dealer-communications.com/sales-management/making-the-most-of-dealer-websites-and-advertising/
