Volume 6 • Issue 8

SusanGivens

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If your dealership has a Web site, but it is not generating results—not building value and increasing revenue in all the profit centers within your dealership—it’s probably time to look for a professional online marketing firm to customize a digital marketing strategy that’s right for you. If you’re like most dealers who are searching for a marketing partner, the choices can be overwhelming. At the 2008 NADA Convention, held in San Francisco last month, I was astonished at the 700 exhibiting companies showcasing the latest industry products and services. In our ongoing commitment at AutoSuccess to assist dealerships by providing innovative, solution-based resolutions to help them increase sales, profits and customer satisfaction, I have many opportunities to engage with not only hundreds of dealers from across the country, but with many digital marketing vendors as well, all who are striving to successfully leverage the power of the Internet and capitalize on effective digital marketing initiatives to drive results for car dealers. Top-performing dealers have successfully partnered with digital marketing firms, harnessing their knowledge, experience and resources to achieve continued success. Dealers who have implemented advanced digital marketing platforms are generating substantial returns on their investments and are promoting all profit centers—New, Used, F&I, Parts and Service—for less cost than traditional advertising media.

It may not be important to be the best marketer; but it is important to hire one of the best. When selecting a marketing firm, keep in mind that you are establishing what should be a long-term business relationship, and these are always built on trust. When

looking for a partner to aid your dealership in increasing leads, sales, profits and customer loyalty, you probably will look for a firm with advanced technology capabilities in order to use the Internet to grow your business. In the highly competitive online automotive industry, I have discovered that it takes more than just technology to drive business to your dealership—It takes automotive marketing savvy. One such marketing firm that is currently helping dealerships across the United States and Canada find, sell and keep more customers profitably is BZ Results, an ADP Company.

A recent acquisition by ADP has placed BZ Results in a new class with the ability to reach dealers worldwide. I visited with Daymond Decker, product marketing and development manager at BZ Results, to gain some insight into the BZ processes and offerings that top-performing dealers are using to increase traffic and generate more revenue into all departments of their dealership. “The goal of BZ Results Digital Marketing System is three-fold: to aid dealerships by creating more quality traffic while reducing costs; to increase sales by increasing closing percentages, average gross profits and CSI;

and to drive loyalty and frequency to sales and service departments,” Decker said. He shared the following key elements of the BZ strategy.

The Solution at a GlanceBZ Results realizes that buying a vehicle is an emotional experience, and they have designed their digital marketing strategy around this truth. The BZ system WOWs the customer by giving them more than just information and static text. Instead, they engage their customers by giving them a unique purchase experience through high-impact digital marketing tools like animation, 3D, Flash, video, eNewsletter and Live Chat to capture prospects. In short, the BZ solution builds value in the people, the product and the process, driving revenue to all profit centers within the dealership.

I found that one of BZ Results’ core secrets is a comprehensive five-phase process to help dealers achieve their goals and complete their mission: 1. Define, 2. Design, 3. Develop, 4. Deliver, and 5. Measure and Improve.

Comprehensive and Complete SolutionSo what makes BZ Results unique? I have found that BZ offers one of the most comprehensive and complete digital marketing systems available on the market. Capitalizing on the power of the Internet to market dealerships, their staffs and their products, BZ offers the following arsenal of digital marketing solutions:

BZ Custom Web SitesThe BZ Virtual Dealership promotes all of your dealership’s profit centers on the Web 24 hours a day, seven days a week—New, Used, F&I, Service and Parts. BZ’s Virtual

PROMOTING ALL PROFIT CENTERS WITH RESULTS. PERIOD.

Dealership builds value in your dealership, people and products. Skilled programmers can take your site beyond the templates offered with custom designs, splash pages, animation, audio/video extras and more. BZ’s award-winning sites feature high-end graphics, animation and 2D and 3D graphics, and many other interactive features like online credit apps that create an incredibly positive experience for the automotive customer and a positive result for the dealer. Each site comes with a Content Management system which facilitates edits to your Web site with an easy-to-use tool than anyone can use to create and edit specials, dealership information, inventory information and more. A handy BZ Lost Customer Coupon System captures customers’ contact information by offering them a printable discount coupon.

Bonjour! Hola! To accommodate their rapidly growing number of clients spanning North America, BZ Web sites are now offered in English, Spanish and French.

Bobby Tasca III of Tasca Auto Group shares in the excitement of the BZ Web site design. “Our Virtual Dealership is designed around our mission to serve our customers, and in so doing, it generates massive amounts of Internet leads and phone traffic,” said Tasca III, “Our customers rave about our Web site because they can research, build and compare cars, view new or pre-owned vehicles, buy parts, schedule service appointments and more.”

As a result, Tasca currently sells 100 online units per month, and customer surveys conducted by the dealership show that up to 80 percent of their customers say that the Tasca.com Virtual Dealership influenced their buying decision.

BZ Virtual SalespersonDelight your online shoppers with the BZ Virtual Salesperson, a video tour guide that leads your customers through the Web site (available in English, Spanish and French). Many dealers have opted for tour guides presented by celebrity hosts like Ali Landry.

BZ Online InventoryI am sure your dealership takes great care in assuring that the inventory on your lot is the best it can be. Your online inventory is just as important. BZ has an entire suite that includes solutions to help you manage your online inventory efficiently and professionally. The BZ Virtual Inventory module promotes every model available and never tells your customers you do not have a vehicle in stock. This module moves each customer through the steps of the sale including scheduling a test drive, applying for credit, getting a trade evaluation and more. BZ Buzzlot Inventory Manager module enables the posting and display of your actual inventory in your Virtual Dealership. This module automatically extracts inventory data from your DMS and allows customers to submit multiple inquiries for specific vehicles. BZ

Buzzlot module features a VIN decoder, 15,000+ stock image library, and a Web-based management tool to edit information from any location. BZ Automated Specials Updater module automatically updates your specials and aging inventory to be displayed within your Virtual Dealership. The BZ Automated Notification System will notify customers of any new vehicles that are a close match for what they want, and with the BZ Inventory Leak Stopper module, you can capture customer’s e-mails when they leave your pre-owned inventory search without submitting a lead. BZ Credit OnlineToday’s customers are demanding and enjoy conveniences like being able to apply for credit online from the privacy of their own homes. Dealerships can increase their finance lead conversion with Credit Online, a step-based finance application plug-in with dealer-controlled pre-approval rules based on real-time receipt of the Consumer Credit Report. A Virtual Presenter guides customers through the process of completing an online application from the convenience of their home, utilizing a secure environment for sensitive customer data. A customer account saves the finance application for review, edit, or withdrawal. This module allows your prospects to get instant online approvals.

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FScan view the live inventory that matches with the vehicle they built.

BZ Auction ManagereBay is the world’s most popular online auction site, and BZ Auction Manager provides your dealership with all the tools needed to sell your new and used slow-moving inventory on eBay. BZ Auction Manager not only puts your new and pre-owned products up for sale, it does so with advanced technologies that strengthen your presence while simplifying the process.Add sales appeal with audio, video and slide shows. Save time with automated inventory and photo integration with your data provider. Take control by scheduling

or saving auctions for later listing. Keep track of bids and bidder activity. Create and manage a professional Web presence and maximize your auctioning ability with this robust technology.

BZ Virtual Sales ManagerThe BZ Virtual Sales Manager is a module that helps salespeople and managers solve the most common challenges on the showroom floor that hurt sales, profits and customer satisfaction. The BZ Virtual Sales Manager has multimedia presentations that build value in all areas of your dealership. These presentations are made available for your showroom customers via kiosks or plasma screens strategically displayed in your sales, finance, service or parts departments.

BZ Multimedia BuzzMailsand E-mail MarketingBZ offers the most comprehensive collection of media-enriched mini-commercials called BuzzMails. Use these traffic generating promotions campaigns for monthly, seasonal and sales events. A custom suite of animated BuzzMails include “Why Buy,” “Why Service,” “Certified Pre-Owned,” and many more BuzzMails that automatically respond to all lead types. The BuzzMail library has a full suite of promotional BuzzMails for every holiday and virtually any sales event you can imagine, such as an SUV Sales Event or Key for Key Sales Event, etc.

Drive business into your Service Department with animated Sold Follow-up, Service

Marketing and Aftermarket BuzzMails. Paragon Honda in New York has had great success with BuzzMails, and e-mail marketing has been a critical component to their success. Their BDC has had incredible results from targeted bulk e-mail marketing, generating up to 40 extra units sold from a single campaign without spending any extra money on advertising. “We recently sent out an e-mail promotion to 80,000 addresses in our database. It took our Internet Manager 25 minutes to create and the cost was zero dollars,” said Vice President Brian Benstock. “Other dealerships probably spend up to $10,000 to send out 15,000 pieces. We sent out 80,000 BuzzMails and it took no time, no additional money and it generated outstanding results.”

BZ WebCrawler E-mail AppendBZ WebCrawler enables you to seamlessly migrate your valuable offline customers online. By matching an e-mail address to your customer within your DMS or CRM database, you ignite new possibilities for more intimate, more profitable relationships. The solution includes over 70 million e-mail addresses, all of which are 100 percent opt-in. Since BZ WebCrawler only compiles those sources with opt-in permission, you can immediately start an online dialog with your customers. Decker reports that you can expect match rates between 10 to 20 percent on average. BZ WebCrawler has emerged as an industry leader in managing, understanding and setting standards for privacy within the e-mail channel.

BZ Search OptimizationSEO is a fundamental element of every Web site designed by BZ Results with the goal of advancing the Web site by improving the position of its organic search results for a wide variety of relevant keywords. BZ Search Engine Optimization submits your optimized site to a large number of search engines to make your site more attractive

“We sent out 80,000 BuzzMails and it took no time, no additional money and it generated outstanding results.” - Brian Benstock, Paragon Honda

to search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN. Your search engine listings will increase traffic to your Virtual Dealership, showroom, phone and fixed operations by jumpstarting your campaign with immediate placement for key phrases on top-tier search engines. BZ boasts that your dealership will receive the absolute latest SEO strategy in the automotive industry, extensive reporting and constant improvement in both your Web site performance and search engine ranking. BZ Results’ success comes from using cutting-edge optimization techniques and sophisticated performance monitoring with frequent adjustments for maximum optimization. The results aid your dealership in striving for leadership within your geographic region.

Search Engine CertifiedYou can trust that all BZ Search Engine professionals are Google AdWords certified and highly trained to utilize the most powerful techniques and technologies for driving targeted traffic to a Web site. These experts have passed a demanding exam, as well as proven their proficiency by managing Google AdWords campaigns for clients for a minimum of three months. Qualified Google AdWords professionals can effectively design and manage the most efficient solution for their clients.

BZ Search MarketingBZ pioneered the technology of Search Marketing in the automotive industry, and BZ professionals possess a vast working knowledge of the automotive industry and have a strong level of experience in contending online for competitive automotive search terms within different markets. Their basic knowledge of trends, along with cutting-edge technological advances, drive the most successful online automotive marketing initiatives. Benefits include keyword phrase research — using sophisticated analysis tools — BZ will develop the ideal set of code editing to promote your site, first page placements among the major search engines, optimal keyword selection for your market, and detailed ranking reports displaying your results among engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN.

BZ Digital Advertising CreativeThe BZ Digital Advertising solution is a soup-to-nuts implementation of everything dealers need to perform like a pro on the Internet to attract and engage more leads than ever thought possible. The solution includes: the creation of high-end, media-enriched graphic or video banner ads and micro sites that highlight key “in market” consumer buying behaviors to capture very

targeted consumers; search engine marketing to deliver high-quality leads directly to your Web site; Pay-Per-Click advertising to reach a broader audience searching for vehicles using specific key words, providing the best results at the lowest cost; and your own personal digital advertising consultant — someone who has years of experience in this discipline — who will plan, execute and measure the results on a monthly basis for you.

BZ Online Advertising NetworkThe power behind the BZ Digital Advertising solution is its premier Advertising Network, which includes hundreds of popular Web sites, provides maximum exposure for your dealership, generates high lead conversion rates, and guarantees premium placement on the sites your shoppers visit most frequently. These sites are geographically and demographically targeted to your dealership and include online local newspapers and other popular sites where the customers in your area are visiting like ESPN, Martha Stewart, and Car & Driver.

BZ Micro Sites and Landing PagesBZ design teams capitalize on the selling opportunities the Web affords by developing

vehicle-specific, keyword-rich micro sites and landing pages to successfully drive more targeted traffic through to the main dealer Web site. As a companion to digital marketing initiatives, BZ’s top quality micro sites and landing pages are optimized for search engines and take on a presence beyond your initial marketing campaign. Professionally designed creative builds brand, respect and trust, resulting in higher-quality conversions.

Omniture AnalyticsDealerships are unique and, in many cases, require customized reporting. BZ offers Omniture Site Catalyst—an enterprise-class reporting system that is the most robust Web analytics solution on the market. Standard reports include metrics on unique visitors, leads generated, and conversion rate. BZ can also respond to your dealership’s specific needs with highly customized reports. Omniture Site Catalyst is used to track search marketing stats, impressions, clicks and CTR, leads and conversion rate, ROI, visitor profiles, referring domains, popular pages and click paths, and annual trend reporting.

“With BZ Buy Online, consumers have the option to complete the transaction online, or visit the dealership for closing and delivery.” – Daymond Decker, BZ Results

BuzzTrak CRM and VirtualBDC ManagerBuzzTrak is a complete customer relationship management and prospecting tool that helps dealerships manage and measure all of their Internet, phone and showroom customers. The Virtual Business Development Center Manager creates daily business plans, generates letters, schedules activities, and provides practical reports to help measure your productivity. The Virtual BDC Manager creates more quality traffic and sales by automating your e-mail contacts, follow-up, correspondence and reporting. The best part about BuzzTrak is the automation that does the work of five to 10 full-time employees, thus freeing your staff to make better use of their time interacting with customers and selling more cars.

BZ AdTrackerWith unique nationwide toll-free 800 numbers, BZ AdTracker will track marketing mediums to enable you to monitor which are giving you the greatest results. The system will automatically e-mail you a report that lets you know where your marketing money should be spent to maximize your return. BZ AdTracker will not only track your ads, but it will also track your people and the process they use to handle your valuable customer calls to ensure they are being handled properly. The best part is that you can listen in on any call at any time to make sure your customers receive the experience you want them to. BZ AdTracker maximizes the effectiveness of your marketing spend by capturing more phone opportunities than ever before. If there is a missed call, BZ AdTracker will automatically forward the phone number so you will not miss any opportunities.

BZ Virtual Phone ManagerThe BZ Virtual Phone Manager automates thousands of calls for every aspect of your business, doing the work of 10 to 20 full-time telemarketers without the overhead. These automated phone campaigns are used for sold follow-up, service reminders and

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more. Messages are automatically left on your customers’ voicemails on your behalf, and you can use “ventriloquist” technology to have all of the calls made in your voice.

The ultimate goal of the BZ Virtual Phone Manager is to automatically execute thousands of daily calls to keep in contact with your customers, build relationships, set appointments, create quality appointments and to sell and service more vehicles profitably for less cost.

Virtual Marketing Representative (VMR)How would you like a personal consultant to manage all of your digital marketing initiatives? BZ Results’ VMRs are not only trained marketing professionals; they also know your business. They will work with you to review your customer demographics and buying patterns, identify and evaluate tactics you have executed in the past and pull together a plan that makes sense for your market. From campaign identification all the way through execution and measurement, whether the campaign is sent through direct mail, e-mail, mobile marketing or Internet-focused, the VRM team has the tools, training and marketing savvy to deliver high-quality marketing and advertising solutions that will deliver results back to you. VMR activities include: market segmentation and prospect targeting, differentiation and positioning, marketing plan development and execution, and measurement and metrics reporting.

Outsourced Sales and Marketing SolutionsCapitalize on key sales and marketing opportunities with high-impact direct mail letters, voice and cost-effective e-mail campaigns with CustomerTouch services. BZ’s

new outsourced sales and marketing solutions can plan, execute and report on your customer communications with fully managed and executed customer communications services that generate a steady stream of revenue, delighting your existing customers and creating extraordinary customer value.

CustomerTouch services utilize four powerful communication methods — direct mail, e-mail, voice and mobile marketing to reach your targeted customers. See maximum results from integrated and effective customer communications.

Outsourced Direct Mail MarketingDirect mail is one of many channels BZ has available to deliver revenue-generating campaigns to your target audience. Whether you want to drive business into the sales, service or F&I office, BZ can produce professional campaigns in a multitude of print formats including small and jumbo postcards, bi-fold or tri-fold brochures, or self-mailers. The campaigns are produced, printed and mailed for you, and monthly ROI reports are provided so you know what is working and what’s not.

Outsourced Direct E-mail MarketingIf you prefer to reduce the cost of your marketing campaigns – or just want to reach your target audience directly through e-mail, BZ can do that for you. Again, as with the direct mail campaigns, BZ produces the piece and sends it out for you, and reports back to you with the results at the end of the month.

Outsourced Direct Voicemail MarketingThe CustomerTouch program also has automated and live voice capabilities for service reminders and service/sales surveys.

“We have tons of contacts from our Live Chat button — service, parts and sales leads — probably about 500 to 600 clicks a month.” – Roy Reutter, Sheehy Automotive

BZ will plan and execute the campaigns for you, and report on the results at the end of the month. With the call “loopback” feature, your customers will be directly connected to your dealership if they have any follow-up questions or actions based on an automated call they have received from your dealership.

Outsourced Mobile MarketingIt is projected that by the end of this year, 43 percent of US marketers will be using the mobile channel as a direct line of marketing communication with their target audience. That’s amazing, and it’s no surprise that BZ is announcing the addition of a brand new customer communication channel – Mobile Marketing. This technology:• produces higher response rates than even

e-mail campaigns• encourages the audience to take action• facilitates an immediate granular

response information• reaches customers, anywhere they are• complements other media - TV, radio and

print• provides high speed to market

Outsourced eNewsletterMy personal favorite in the BZ arsenal is the eNewsletter. The BZ eNewsletter solution is a fully managed monthly interactive eNewsletter product that is polished and professional, complete with banner and graphics customized to reflect your brand identity, increasing customer awareness and loyalty by enhancing the brand and image of your dealership. There is absolutely no work on your part. BZ will write the articles,

produce the newsletter and send it to your list of clients and prospects, and even provide you with monthly reports on what articles your customers liked best, open rates, and click-through activity. The information is used to continually improve newsletter effectiveness.

Vice President Bobby Tasca III reports that Tasca Automotive Group, located in Rhode Island, recently launched their first eNewsletter to over 12,000 customers with a remarkable 27.2 percent total opening rate within the first 24 hours. Roy Reutter, with Sheehy Auto Store, reports that their customers receive a digital newsletter that can be measured, tracking every single person who reads it, what they read, and how much time they spend on the articles. “New or used vehicle sales are our main objective, but our biggest benefit has been in the parts and service revenue that is generated as a result,” said Reutter.

Outsourced Live ChatEvery day, you make sure visitors to your dealership have a great customer experience. Why not take the same care with your online visitors? With BZ Live Chat solution, your customers get the same experience as when they visit your dealership. BZ takes time to learn your dealership’s brands, personality, inventory and methods before their trained agents engage your customers. The new Live Chat service is available for any type of dealer Web site to professionally handle inquiries about inventory, vehicle price and service requests, turning them into “ups” and service appointments within minutes of opening a dialog.

Many dealers are starting to warm up to the idea of using chat or instant messaging on their Web sites to communicate with their prospects, gathering vital information without requiring them to submit completed forms. “Chat is a product that gets us extra contact with customers. We look at it as a lead-generation tool — another way to capture leads off our Web site. It’s sort of like an add-on feature — like air conditioning on a car,” Reutter said. “We have tons of contacts from our Live Chat button — service, parts and sales leads — probably about 500 to 600 clicks a month.”

BZ Training and ConsultingThe BZ Digital Marketing Training Workshop includes the BZ Strategy Boot Camp and the BZ Internet Sales Training Workshop. BZ Strategy Boot Camp is a two-day off-site event that will prepare you with a custom business plan and strategic blueprint for implementing a successful digital marketing strategy within your dealership. The BZ Internet Sales Training Workshop gives your people the knowledge and skills needed to get the results you want to receive.

Ongoing evaluation and consultation by experienced automotive professionals is available with a performance-enhancing workshop that begins with a detailed assessment and ends with the creation of an action plan for improvement, including Mystery Shop and Site Analysis.

ConclusionIn addition to the many offerings outlined above, Decker is excited to report that BZ Results continues to develop fresh and exhilarating products to help dealers sell and service customers more profitably. BZ Results’ award-winning and result-oriented products and solutions provide dealers across North America with practical marketing tools and strategies to help them promote all areas of their dealership while achieving measurable results. Period.