 |
Featured Product
Imagine listing your vehicles online before even leaving the auction!
With our portable, patented SlingShot smart camera, you can easily and quickly take pictures of a newly acquired vehicle.
Learn more>>
|
|
|
|
Dealer Website
|
Snag More Leads From Your AutoTrader Listings |
|
Written by Donna Kopotic
|
|
Over the past year, we have worked with several of our dealerships to support their request to display monthly pricing on their website for vehicles instead of the traditional full price of the vehicle. This has turned out to be a real differentiator for our dealerships, and we’ve now been able to take that online pricing model a step further, to listings on AutoTrader and Cars.com.
Stop just for a minute and consider how people shop on AutoTrader. Their search is narrowed typically by make, model, and zip code, and by price (lowest to highest). If you use MONTHLY PRICING for your vehicle listings, your customers’ natural tendency to sort and filter puts you at the top of their search on AutoTrader. Your phone rings more often AND this pricing format allows you to have an entirely different conversation with the customer to truly differentiate you from other dealers. Consider that the reality is that most household budgets are framed around monthly payments, such as cell phones, cable TV, monthly utilities, house payments, rent, insurance, credit card payments and purchasing a vehicle.
To a buyer, the perceived difference in a vehicle that costs $23,000 vs., $20,000, vs. $17,000 sounds large and overwhelming. But consider the difference when framed in a different light. Assume 8% financing over 4 years (48 months), look at the monthly payment for these vehicles:
$17,000 $415 per month
$20,000 $488 per month
$23,000 $561 per month
Now, all of the sudden, the difference between a $17,000 vehicle and $23,000 vehicle doesn’t seem as large. In addition, when speaking with the customer, your discussion can focus on other areas the consumer might save money – better gas mileage, better insurance rates, or less depreciation, depending on the specific vehicle. When these monthly savings are calculated into their vehicle monthly pricing, the perceived differences between a $17,000 and $23,000 vehicle can go away entirely.
Our customers describe AutoXloo as flexible, responsive and innovative. With the dramatic changes in our industry in 2009, we think these qualities are crucial for success, both for us and our customers.
Tags: AutoTrader monthly pricing dealership website monthly pricing |
|
Last Updated ( Monday, 01 June 2009 )
|
|
|
The Car Business Has Shifted – Have You? |
|
Written by Donna Kopotic
|
|
80% of people looking to purchase a vehicle being their search online.
The Internet is the most IMPORTANT and most UNDERUTILIZED sales channel available to dealerships.
Our core business philosophy is offering technology that delivers true business value to dealerships at a cost competitive price. This has been a winning formula for us in 2009. As dealerships have been forced to rethink how they will continue to be successful, they are addressing many bottom line realities. And the simple truth is that the dealers that are finding the most success in today’s market are making SMARTER choices online. You’ll notice I did not say they are spending more money online, because many times they are not. They are leveraging cost effective tools like AutoXloo, and online listing sites such as craigslist, oodle, googlebase, VAST, and other FREE listing sites to increase their online exposure. We’re happy to talk to you and discuss how we’re helping our customers:
- MORE leads with LESS Marketing dollars
- MORE FREE listings and LESS paid services
- MORE sales with LESS effort
- MORE Internet marketing and LESS classified ads
- MORE vehicle pictures in LESS time
- MORE vehicle listings for LESS money
- MORE visibility of your dealership and LESS tire kickers
MORE RESULTS FOR LESS COST!
Pretty much sums up what we are all about!
Tags: dealership Internet marketing dealer websites |
|
|
Twists and Turns in the Automotive Market |
|
Written by Donna Kopotic
|
|
2008 was not the year everyone expected. Financial markets imploded, gas prices skyrocketed to $4.00 per gallon, and then dropped precipitously well below $2.00 per gallon. 2009 certainly begins with tons of question marks, with tight credit, consumer spending cutbacks and the retrenching of U.S. car manufacturers.
This is one more indication that promotional opportunities on the Internet for dealerships provide proven value and return on investment that just cannot be replicated in offline media.
As discussed in my blog earlier this year, Jonathan Miller, former CEO of AOL reports that ad spending online lags consumer activity online by a factor of 3 to 1. Said another way, advertisers should triple their online presence to keep up with the rate of consumer’s media consumption online. This is a universal statistic, applying to many industries, and closely mirrors what we see in the car industry.
For dealers who have been able to withstand some of the changing and challenging market conditions, opportunities abound to redefine your business and increase sales. Internet tools are changing on a daily and weekly basis. We encourage all dealers out there to take a fresh look at their Internet strategy and to creatively leverage the Internet tools that make sense for your dealership.
Tags: AutoTrader Internet marketing for dealerships |
|
Last Updated ( Sunday, 11 January 2009 )
|
|
|
|
|
Thursday, 20 November 2008 |
|
The Fatally Flawed Strategy of Ignoring the Internet |
|
Written by Donna Kopotic
|
|
According to a recent JD Power and Associates Report (2007)
- The Internet is the #1 method people use to show for new vehicles, surpassing even visiting dealer lots. Internet usage in looking for a vehicle to buy increased 44% since 2006.
- And don't kid yourself. People are not only looking online - they are buying vehicles online. Between 2005 and 2006, online SALES of vehicles increased 30%. All research done indicates this trend will continue.
AutoXloo's dealer management software was developed for dealers to help solve the many challenges of managing their Internet sales channel and maximizing their profits. AutoXloo's inventory management software includes easy to use Internet tools that allow dealerships to manage their vehicle inventory online and measure what segments of their marketing program are the most effective. Let us show how our tools can help you increase the effectiveness of your Internet sales and marketing program.
Tags: dealership management software online inventory |
|
Last Updated ( Monday, 05 January 2009 )
|
|
|
This Market Will Test Your Mettle - Time to Step Up Your Game |
|
|
|
|
Wednesday, 22 October 2008 |
|
|
Use Quick and Easy Tools from AutoXloo to Enhance eBay Vehicle Listings |
|
Written by Donna Kopotic
|
|
There are dealerships who have eBay auctions and other online vehicle listings down to an art, providing detailed information to buyers so they are comfortable completing the transaction even if they are thousands of miles away.
Tags: Etch-A-Word online vehicle listings Graphical Vehicle Report eBay |
|
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 21 October 2008 )
|
|
|
AutoXloo helps dealers leverage the Internet |
|
Written by Donna Kopotic
|
The Internet breaks the boundaries of a traditional dealership being defined by geography. Ignoring this reality can result in your efforts being marginalized locally. I’m often surprised that dealerships do not put more effort into trying different things online. Recognizing that some things will work, and others won’t, the beauty of the Internet is that it greatly lowers the risk of failure. And even if you try something that doesn’t work, the Internet also lowers the cost of any failure.
And the flip side is, there are many success stories on the Internet. Having easy access to a national or international market, allows dealerships to do things on the Internet which would not be successful locally. There are dealerships who have eBay auctions down to an art, providing detailed information to buyers so they are comfortable completing the transaction even if they are thousands of miles away. Online car listings are easy and ubiquitous, and there are many free sites available to dealerships including craigslist, Google Base, oodle and VAST.
Your dealer website provides a springboard to a whole new world of Internet marketing for car dealers. We invite you to take a look at the different tools that we offer to increase your online presence.
Tags: online car listings Internet car marketing for dealers |
|
Last Updated ( Friday, 19 December 2008 )
|
|
|
|
|
Wednesday, 24 September 2008 |
|
Independent Dealers Leveraging Web Based Dealer Management Software from AutoXloo |
|
Written by Donna Kopotic
|
AutoXloo participated in the FIADA conference in Orlando last week. Certainly, dealerships are adapting as the playing field has changed pretty dramatically this year.
With changes in the U.S. economy, and automotive manufacturers struggling to shift their production and design away from their recent emphasis on SUVs and larger pickup trucks to more fuel efficient vehicles, dealerships are having to change to meet the changing needs of consumers. Certainly the financial situation in the US is affecting everyone – customers, manufacturers and dealerships. Credit is tighter, budgets are tighter, are people are buying fewer cars. Those are just the facts.
But independent dealers are in a unique situation in that they are able to more quickly adapt to the changing economy much more quickly and effectively than franchise dealerships. Independents can fine tune their inventory selections without the constraints of brand that face the franchise dealerships. I came away from the show with much optimism regarding independent dealers and the market opportunities that exist for them if they leverage the changing economical conditions to their advantage. It may mean doing things differently from what they’ve done in the past, but they can make these changes much more easily and quickly than the franchise dealers can. According to NIADA, the average Independent Dealers reported an average vehicle sales price of $8,281 in 2007. This is almost 1/2 the average sales price of $16,000 reported by Franchise Dealers for retail used car sales in 2007. In this tight economy, that statistic speaks volumes about the opportunities available to independent dealers.
We are seeing dealerships leverage our Internet software in interesting ways. Some dealers are finding success in using AutoXloo’s international online vehicle listings to sell their vehicles to individuals in other countries. Others are partnering with other local dealers to leverage an online consigned inventory strategy, while others are opting to use our SlingShot to take digital photos of vehicles for their dealership themselves instead of paying for an outside service.
Tags: AutoXloo SlingShot online vehicle listing |
|
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 25 February 2009 )
|
|
|
|  |
