Posted on Tue, Mar 27, 2012 @ 10:24 AM
Microsoft and West Coast Customs know what people fantasize about, how about your dealership?
Today’s car enthusiast get excited about three things; cars, technology, and customization via accessories. Combine all three and you get Project Detroit. Project Detroit is a fantasy 2012 Ford Mustang retro fitted with a 67’ Mustang Fastback body. (One of the most popular Mustangs manufactured) The car is loaded with Microsoft technology like the Xbox 360, Windows Phone and a Viper SmartStart app that can start the car using the phone. It’s not just a Gen yers dream but the body style appeals to an older generation as well!
Why would these companies go through the trouble of creating such an extreme vehicle? Easy, because it plants the seed of possibility and desire in the hearts and minds of the consumer. This leads to a stronger demand in your market place. Now the question is when a customer walks in your dealership wanting remote start, back up assist cameras, iPod related accessories and interior LED lights on their new car, are you prepared to not only ask...but also deliver?
Insignia Group, the leading provider of accessories sales systems and training has helped dealers maximize profits for over 10 years. Supporting 20+ brands and dealerships nationwide, we help our customers establish and grow their Accessories Profit Center. Call 888-579-4458 to learn more or schedule a demo.
Posted on Tue, Mar 20, 2012 @ 08:02 AM
Courtesy of Insignia guest blogger Delia Passi, CEO of WomenCertified Inc., home to the Women’s Choice Award.To learn more about how you can get women to recommend your dealership, email Delia at dpassi@medelia.com.
A popular quote often attributed to George M. Cohan (and others) is “I don't care what the newspapers say about me, as long as they spell my name right.” It’s an interesting perspective but it is definitely not my advice, especially in this information age. What is said about you in the global forum of the Internet is very critical to your success.
A recent study by Cone Trend Tracker (Aug. ’11) found that “80% of consumers have changed their minds about purchasing a recommended product or service based solely on negative information they found online.” This figure is a significant increase from the prior year’s 67%.
It is becoming increasingly easy to find online reviews, comments, complaints (and praise), and blog entries about most products and services, and the companies that deliver them. That is why you need to do all you can to make sure that your happy customers have opportunities and encouragement to praise your great products and services.
Women are even more likely than men to turn to online sources to reaffirm their purchase decisions before they make them. And they’re also quite likely to turn to the web and other sources to offer their opinion of their buying experience after the experience, so make it great.
Your job is to incorporate feedback opportunities into your interactions with your customers, and to make that feedback available to prospective customers. Your website should have be a forum for customers to comment, hopefully positively. (If you get negative feedback then address it immediately. An unhappy customer has many places to complain online other than your website or Facebook page.)
Don’t plant glowing feedback to counter that of unhappy customers. If it is uncovered, the repercussions can be more trouble than the complaint.
Do what you can to let customers both on and offline know that you are doing wonderful things to keep them coming back. That’s the WomenCertified® Way!
Insignia Group, the leading provider of accessories sales systems and training has helped dealers maximize profits for over 10 years. Supporting 20+ brands and dealerships nationwide, we help our customers establish and grow their Accessories Profit Center. Call 888-579-4458 to learn more or schedule a demo.
Posted on Fri, Mar 16, 2012 @ 01:39 PM
Insignia was a proud sponsor of the “Voice of the Female Consumer”, as Women Certified announced their Top Dealerships for outstanding customer experience in USA Today’s March 7, 2012 issue. Many Insignia accessory system customers made the list and we just want to say congratulations!
Darcars Toyota and Jon Lancaster Toyota also received the Women's Choice Award!
Insignia Group, the leading provider of accessories sales systems and training has helped dealers maximize profits for over 10 years. Supporting 20+ brands and dealerships nationwide, we help our customers establish and grow their Accessories Profit Center. Call 888-579-4458 to learn more or schedule a demo.
Posted on Thu, Mar 15, 2012 @ 07:36 AM
Insignia Group Celebrates Pi Day!
Pi, Greek letter (
), is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. Pi Day is celebrated by math enthusiasts around the world on March 14th. Pi = 3.1415926535…
Share a fun fact about Pi in the comments box!
Insignia Group, the leading provider of accessories sales systems and training has helped dealers maximize profits for over 10 years. Supporting 20+ brands and dealerships nationwide, we help our customers establish and grow their Accessories Profit Center. Call 888-579-4458 to learn more or schedule a demo.
Posted on Tue, Mar 13, 2012 @ 12:51 PM
“Here comes another HOT summer, you’ll probably want a remote start like the last customer”
Spare your customer the inconvenience of hopping onto those hot leather seats. A remote start will cool the car down in advance. What a valuable recommendation!
“Winters right around the corner, you’ll probably want a remote start like the last customer”
Spare your customer the inconvenience of freezing their butt off in the winter. A remote start will heat the car up in advance. Wow…this dealership really cares about me!
It’s a simple fact; you don’t need thousands or millions of accessories to make money. What you do need is to be consistent with one or two items on every deal. With the right process, the right items and consistency we’ve seen some of our customers have as much as 90% penetration. One store sold close to $185K in Feb, 75.9% of sales are ONE PRODUCT… Remote starts!
That's not even an item they need to SEE on the car!
Become successful at selling ONE item…then add a couple more
Develop the right process:
We always recommend presenting accessories to the customer during the time period before F & I. Rather than have the customer sit idle and wait, present them with options for their vehicle while they’re in the buying mode. Personalization instills a greater sense ownership.
For more on our proven process call our customer service department at 888-579-4458 ext
Choose the right accessories:
Selling first aid kits on every deal is great. But, truthfully first aid kits don’t bring a lot of money. They do however present value to your customer. The value is safety in case of an emergency. That’s the key, using the best word tracks that create value to the customer.
Here’s an idea… why not present a Safety Accessories package that includes a First Aid Kit and an Emergency Assistance Kit including several safety related items. Safety and Emergency accessories can work in any area. But, depending on your region and the type of customers you serve there may be other items that work really well. If you sell mainly minivans to families try headrest DVD Systems. If your customers are primarily Gen-Yers try IPod interfaces, spoilers, graphics, etc.
Position the options (Word Tracks)
Here is the part where most struggle. When you are presenting accessories you are not simply asking for more money. You are adding value. If you see it that way your customer will too. The two statements at the beginning of this post are great examples AND THEY WORK. In fact, they worked 88% of the time Remote Starts were presented in the client example above.
Insignia Group, the leading provider of accessories sales systems and training has helped dealers maximize profits for over 10 years. Supporting 20+ brands and dealerships nationwide, we help our customers establish and grow their Accessories Profit Center. Call 888-579-4458 to learn more or schedule a demo.
Posted on Fri, Mar 09, 2012 @ 10:03 AM
Young people are excited about accessories and car brands are taking note. Hyundai Motor America recently announced that they will be rolling out about 30 accessories on their models starting with the Veloster. Usually each model only has about 12 to 15 accessories. Cars like the Veloster, and the Hyundai Elantra coupe, have strong appeal to the younger generation who are obsessed personalization via accessories. Hyundai plans to have Veloster body graphics, interior lighting kits, bigger stereos and more. Take note from Hyundai and make sure you have a nice line up of OEM accessories that appeal to the younger generation. Here are ten car accessories that are popular among the younger generation.
1. Body Graphics
2. iPod Adapters and Advanceed Sound Systems
3. Wheel Kits
4. Body Kits
5. GPS/Navigation systems
6. Chrome Accents
7. Exterior and Interior LED Lighting Kits
8. Dashboard Kits
9. Security Systems
10. Custom Upholstery
Insignia Group, the leading provider of accessories sales systems and training has helped dealers maximize profits for over 10 years. Supporting 20+ brands and dealerships nationwide, we help our customers establish and grow their Accessories Profit Center. Call 888-579-4458 to learn more or schedule a demo.
Posted on Thu, Mar 08, 2012 @ 03:52 PM
Courtesy of Insignia’s Guest Blogger: Jason Lancaster President of Spork Marketing, LLC
With the ability to reach almost half of the U.S. population1, YouTube.com offers tremendous opportunities for dealers. By observing a few Internet video best practices, you can promote vehicles, sell accessories, and build a fan base. Here are two examples of auto dealers that promote vehicles and sell accessories with video that we can all learn from.
Auto Styling by Berge Ford
With more than a dozen videos that have 10k+ views, Berge Ford of Mesa, Arizona, boasts solid YouTube stats. Here's their most popular video (40k+ views):
What they've done right:
- Berge Ford used popular keywords “lifted truck,” “2011 F150,” and “6” lift” in their video title, video description, and video tags. YouTube's keyword tool shows that these are all popular search terms.
- Berge shows the truck right away, which increases the likelihood that viewers will stay tuned – if your videos start with promotional advertising, some viewers will skip it and move on.
- Detailed specs appear both in the video and in the video description – accessory enthusiasts generally love to read about specs, so it's very smart to focus on them.
Finally, the fact that Berge's video has achieved success with low production values should prove once and for all that any dealership can make videos that get attention on YouTube.
Big Bad Trucks at Paddock Chevrolet
Paddock Chevrolet of Kenmore, New York, has uploaded almost 1,000 videos to YouTube, and this one has more than 10k views:
What they've done right:
- Paddock Chevrolet placed their name, phone number, web address, and logo on the video, which keeps dealership info in front of the consumer without making the video feel too commercial.
- The video spokesperson worked jokes and personality into the video.
If they've done anything wrong, it's that they didn't spend enough time and energy on the “big bad Chevy,” which is the search term people used to find this video. One of the keys to YouTube is to be as informative and entertaining as possible. If you have to choose between one or the other, choose to be informative – that will build your dealership's credibility and establish you as an authority on accessories.
Questions? Comments? Feel free to leave a link to your video in the comments for a free critique!
Author Jason Lancaster is the President of Spork Marketing, an Internet marketing and consulting company, as well as the editor of ExhaustVideos.com, a website dedicated to exhaust sound clips.
Citation:
1. comScore January 2012 U.S. Online Video Rankings show that 47.3% of the U.S. population watches Internet video.
Insignia Group, the leading provider of accessories sales systems and training has helped dealers maximize profits for over 10 years. Supporting 20+ brands and dealerships nationwide, we help our customers establish and grow their Accessories Profit Center. Call 888-579-4458 to learn more or schedule a demo.