Blog

Car dealers have an increasingly challenging task ahead of them as they have to continue to evaluate the latest digital advertising platforms, services, and related technology.

It is not uncommon for dealer principals to say that they are “sticking to what worked in the past because they have no patience and specific strategy as they sort through the claims of automotive advertising partners.

Automotive Inventory Syndication & Marketing

PCG has created a whitepaper that will be released today at the Automotive Marketing Boot Camp in Orlando and it will be available for download at http://www.automotive-advertising.net.

The whitepaper is entitled “Evaluating Automotive Inventory Advertising Services” and its focus is on inventory syndication and advertising solutions.  Since many car dealers use platforms such as Autotrader.com, Cars.com, UsedCars.com, EveryCarListed.com, and Craigslist this is an important discussion on how to evaluate success with third party advertising strategies.

The whitepaper will be a living document.  It will be revised periodically to include new entrants into the inventory advertising and syndication business.  It will also be revised from data and commentary provided by the automotive community.

Consider the initial release on April 16, 2011 a starting point for many viewpoints and related discussions on dealer inventory advertising platforms and third party leads.

The goal of this whitepaper is to publish datasets and strategies to compare and contrast automotive advertising platforms. This information contained in this report will provide dealers with new ideas on how to evaluate their advertising and syndication choices.  As this document grows we will also include case study data from dealers who offer to share their results.

Dealer Centricity Scores Introduced

In addition to providing data on pricing models and lead quality we will also take a look at the way in which cars are displayed on the Internet.  We will introduce Dealer Centricity Scores (DCS) as a measure of how many ads (potential brand leaks) are displayed on Vehicle Detail Pages (VDP).

We will also introduce one method of evaluating the ROI of popular inventory syndication platforms using a Cost Per Vehicle Detail Page Views formula created by Dennis Galbraith.  This approach is one way that Dennis suggests that a dealer can evaluate the benefits of upgrading from a basic advertising package to a premium package.

So if you would like to download the whitepaper, it will be available after 5:30 pm today.  After you have time to read the document, add your comments and suggestions how this whitepaper can be enhanced.

Sharing Your Data For Future Updates

If you would like to share data from your dealership to be added to future versions of the whitepaper, send me an email to:  brian@pcgdigitalmarketing.com.  We would love to get actual dealer data from ALL platforms listed in the whitepaper.

PCG Digital Marketing announced today three new digital marketing services specifically designed for savvy automotive retailers that seek to leverage social media, consumer review portals, search marketing and paid advertising strategies to expand their brand(s) online.

The three monthly marketing packages offer a comprehensive approach to digital marketing for car dealers.  PCG Digital Marketing’s proven strategies in Search Engine Optimization, content marketing, Internet Reputation Management, social media and now inventory advertising raise the bar for the automotive industry.

The core PCG monthly Digital Marketing Package offers dealers a powerful combination of off-site and on-site marketing and search engine optimization strategies which include customized microsite development, a complete Google compliance review of their current site, online Press Release distribution, blogging, content development, social media management and more.  Their core monthly digital marketing package is priced at $1,195 per month.

In addition to PCG’s core Digital Marketing Package, dealers can now enhance their digital marketing strategies with three new packages:

• Internet Reputation Management  (IRM) – $595/month
• Google Adwords Management (GAM) – $400/month
• Automotive Advertising Network (AAN) – $995/month *

Monitoring Car Dealer Reputation Scores

According to Brian Pasch, CEO, “Internet Reputation Management will be one of the key metrics for success in 2010 and beyond.  Mobile phone apps that reward consumers for on-site reviews make a clear case why dealers in 2010 need a reputation management policy and strategy.”

The PCG’s Internet Reputation Management (IRM) package, priced at $595 a month, includes customized reputation management policies and procedures for dealers, design of a Reputation Management Portal (RMP) and full reporting that monitors each month the dealer’s online reputation scores.

PCG’s IRM team also assists dealers with contacting customers to participate in online review websites.  The assistance provided by PCG and the creation of a Reputation Management Portal (RMP) simplifies the process of engaging customers to post online reviews.

Innovations in Car Inventory Advertising

The Automotive Advertising Network (AAN) consists of a network of car inventory advertising websites that target national, regional and local search phrases that consumers use to research new and used cars.  The AAN features hundreds of regional websites containing automotive buying news, tips, resources which also advertise local dealer inventory.  (http://www.automotiveadvertisingnetwork.com)

In addition to the AAN’s network of regional and local websites, dealers can leverage and advertise their cars using CarPort App„¢, a software application that allows cars dealers to post their cars on social media websites and popular blogs like WordPress.  With CarPort App„¢ car dealers can leverage the search engine power of blogs to write about the cars they sell and include sample inventory inside the blog post.

CarPort also allows dealers to create a custom tab on their Facebook Fan Page which displays cars that are in stock and ready for sale.

The AAN package is currently being offered at a Founding Member price of $995 per month. The AAN provides unlimited leads at one low monthly price.

Dealer professionals who would like to learn more about the enhanced monthly marketing packages can contact PCG Digital Marketing at 732-450-8200.

PCG Digital Marketing was recently recognized by DrivingSales.com, the leading Automotive Social Media website as a Top Rated SEO Vendor.