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How does your dealership plan to leverage video in online advertising? We are using inventory based video to showcase used vehicles on our website and on third party sites We are posting our existing commercials to online sites We are creating custom videos for the online environment We are not currently using video, but plan to explore it in 2008 We have no plans to use video in our online advertising

So Now You’re an Internet Sales Manager Delivering Online Results Friday, Sept. 14, Noon ET Are you new to the internet sales department? Want to get ahead? Join us for a free webinar where you’ll get tips of the trade from top ISMs and find out what they wish they knew when they started as an ISM. Did you miss Jump Starting New Car Sales? Click here to view recording. Learn more

Source: Cars.com Research – 2007

Running on Automatic When you’re away from your desk helping another customer or the dealership is closed, an email auto responder may be just the ticket to connect with lead-senders in a timely fashion. While this first point of contact can be a powerful first step on the road to a sale, it can also send buyers running to your competition if it’s not used properly. Are your auto responses on track to make a deal? Read more to find out. Learn more

Not Just for Online Shoppers
Expedite Sales with Online Pricing Tools

When customers want to research the price of a vehicle, the internet is often the first place they turn. A wide variety of pricing tools help them understand what they’ll have to pay to drive off your lot in a new set of wheels. While these tools are certainly great for consumers, have you thought about how you can use them to enhance your bottom line? Yes, online pricing tools can actually help you increase profitability and expedite the sales process. Read more to find out how you can put online pricing tools to work for your dealership to set competitive prices, level-set customer expectations and build trust for a faster sale.

Follow the Trail
Vehicle Sales Reports Help Measure Online Advertising Effectiveness, Stock Your Store for Success

What's in a sale? If you work with an automotive shopping site such as Cars.com that tracks the number and type of car-buyer contacts your listings receive until they sell, the answer extends beyond a healthy profit for the store and a solid commission for you. Not only do these reports allow you to identify the source of the sale (e.g., email, phone call, walk-in visit or click to your website), they also ensure you have the cars that car buyers want. Properly utilizing this data, in turn, improves the effectiveness of your online advertising and increases the profit on each vehicle you sell.

How to Sell Cars to YouTube Generation The MySpace/iPod/Text/Blackberry/YouTube generation gets information from a myriad of sources, all originating from the Internet.

Has the Internet outgrown the Internet Department? Ten years ago when a dealer wished to sell cars online it was actually quite a simple model; Assign a salesperson to the job, buy a computer, buy some leads, make some appointments and sell some cars. This model persisted for the next several years at most dealerships and the marketing actions necessary to compete online in your local market were actually manageable within an Internet department. When the first dealer and third party websites came along that allowed dealers to post “live inventory” it changed the dynamic completely.

6.5 Tips to Make E-mail Work at Your Dealership Has the internet really changed the used-car business? Yes and no.