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I recently came across an article (below) suggesting that dealerships have beaten the F&I horse to death. When you look at alternate methods to increase profit margins, vehicle personalization ought to be at the top of your list. Just consider the  “make it my own”, “a la carte” world we live in.

According to SEMA, the specialty equipment market is a $30 billion market of which dealerships only capture about 3.9% of.  Using Insignia's proven process, one of our dealership customer exceeded $2.1 million in vehicle accessory sales last year. I know your first thought is “well, how many cars did they sell?” You'll have to take a look at the average number of cars you're dealership is selling to get an idea of what kind of personalization profits you could be raking in.

With the election season at our door steps it’s on everybody’s mind. And, you can’t help but wonder when you see or talk to someone, “Who are you voting for?” We make our own assumptions based on a variety of factors. But, have you ever thought to look at that person’s car? Bumper stickers are one of the most popular election merchandises. I know what you are thinking. What does that have to do with accessories?

When your customer purchases a vehicle from you, they don’t go to the gas station; you’ve already filled it up. They don’t drive to the car wash; you’ve prepped it. They go down the street from you and go shopping for all the cool stuff to dress her up and to make her their own.

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 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!

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.

Insignia has been shouting it from the roof tops for over 10 years. Auto parts stores and Ebay have heard the word, its taken root and produced bountiful profits. And now automakers are recognizing the trend and developing new vehicles with thousands of OEM accessories and customization options for vehicle personalization.

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.

1. Decide which customer(s) you want to learn about by focusing on a specific model. When we do this kind of research, we start by focusing on a specific make and model. If we're working with a Toyota dealer, we'll focus first on Toyota Tundra owners, then Toyota Tacoma owners, then FJ owners, etc. until we've gathered info on every model in the line-up. You may want to be even more specific, focusing instead on 2007 Toyota Tundra owners.

2. Figure out what questions you want to answer. Before we gather any data, we come up with a list of questions we want to try and answer. For example:

• Are dual or single exhaust systems more popular?
• Are trailer hitches more or less popular than bed liners?
• Are mufflers more popular than cat-back systems?

By focusing on some specific questions, we give ourselves a good starting point to gather data.

3. Make a list of all the types of accessories you would consider trying. Finally, before you jump into the data, make a list of the accessories you would consider stocking and/or selling. If your dealership might consider selling after-market air intakes, tonneau covers, and power programmers, put them on your list.

However, don't put a specific type of accessory on your list unless you really have an interest in selling them, as you may need to do quite a bit of research for each item on your list and you don't want to spin your wheels.

4. Visit the Google AdWords Keyword Tool. The AdWords tool is free, but it does require you to have a Google account to log in. Once you're logged in, you can start entering in keywords to research. Start by typing in your make and model followed by your part category, i.e.

• Toyota Tundra exhaust system
• Toyota Tundra air intake
• Toyota Tundra muffler

Once you've got a few keywords typed in (I'd recommend researching 5 at a time), hit the “search” button to start seeing how popular each keyword is relative to the others. I've created the video below to show you how to do this step-by-step.

[youtube video] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBckjuE9Co4

NOTE: Be sure to select the [exact] match type to get the most useful data.

5. How to analyze the data. Google's tool will give you quite a bit of data, but for the purpose of this research, you're really only interested in two things:

• the “additional keyword ideas” - a list of as many as 800 search terms that your customers might be using
• the “local monthly search volume” information, where “local” refers to searches in the United States

Start by reviewing the additional keyword ideas and looking for keywords that describe the part or accessory you're interested in. If you find a keyword idea that basically describes the same thing that you searched for up top, check that keyword's check box.

Next, download the keywords you've checked by clicking the 'download' button and then choosing the 'selected' option in the drop-down menu. Your computer will then download a spreadsheet. You can compile this spreadsheet with any others you download into one master spreadsheet, and then sort the data by the volume to see which accessories your customers are most interested in.

6. Remember, the data needs interpretation. You may find that, after your analysis is complete, there are a lot of searches for specialty performance accessories like superchargers, nitrous oxide systems, massive lift kits, etc. While it may be that consumers are clamoring for these big ticket items, what's more likely is that many of the people searching Google for these types of accessories are essentially “window shopping,” trying to learn about an accessory. Therefore, you'll need to exercise good judgment when reviewing the data you gather.

Courtesy of Insignia’s Guest Blogger: Author Jason Lancaster is an SEO consultant at Spork Marketing as well as the editor of TundraHeadquarters.com, a popular Toyota Tundra enthusiast website.

The vast world of aftermarket can seem like an intimidating experiment for dealers. But, when you are establishing your accessories program that features aftermarket products you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Insignia Group and many of our dealers and partners have years of experience and advice that can get you started on the right path. Insignia Group’s guest blogger Ray McGowan shares a few tips on establishing a successful aftermarket accessories program.

The internet has changed the business of car buying so much. Consumers rely heavily on the information and tools found online to assist them in the buying process. A customer could compare pricing, look up features, trade in an old car and purchase a new one without leaving their home until it’s time to pick up their purchase. Because of this you want to make sure potential buyers can access your site easily anywhere and anytime. Here are four tips to make your dealership site more accessible.

1. Mobilize your website:
According to gomonews.com, car buyers are shopping mobile. 25% of iPhone and Android users plan to buy a car within the next 12 months. 78% of those people say they will use their mobile device to shop for their new car. Catering to smart phone users can help you capture these car buyers online. There are tons of tools out there to help you create a mobile version of your site. Some are free. Creating a mobile version of your site allows prospects to easily access it on their smartphone or PDA.

2. Link to your OEM:
A study done by NADA University revealed that in the month before a vehicle purchase, OEM website visits double to 52%. Most major car brand websites are mobilized. Prospects like to use these sites to check out accessories and options available for their potential purchase. Of those surveyed data shows that the “build your own” vehicle tool is the most used among OEM visitors at 43% and “offers” were the second highest at 39%. Your dealership could easily capture those leads if you are linked to the OEM site. When potential buyers click on the “offers” section it brings up dealerships in their area that have special offers. To increase your appeal to buyers, advertise offers that promote accessories and vehicle customization.

3. Dealership Mobile Apps:
There is indeed an App for everything. And, there is good reason. Apps are the ultimate mobile friendly setup for your loyal returning customers or potential repeat customer. An App for your dealership is a constant direct line of communication to your most loyal customers. Customerdealershipapps.com offers allows you to “put your dealership in your customers pockets”. They do this by offering a web application that your customers can download on their smart phone. The app gives them access to your inventory, parts, services and accessories departments.  This easy accessibility will encourage them to use your fixed operations as well as shop your inventory.

4.    QR Codes:
When these little black and white boxes started popping up on mail, flyers, and billboards everywhere, we thought printers worldwide had gone mad. But what happened was marketers and advertisers got smart. According to a study conducted by Google, 95% of smartphone users use their phones to look up local information. Of those, 61% placed a call, 59% visited in-person, and 44% made a purchase.  Make sure you place QR codes on your marketing materials so that prospects can quickly access your site.

“The will to win is worthless if you do not have the will to prepare.” - Thane Yost

Imagine walking into a department store and there were no clothes on any of the mannequins. The perfume clerk has no samples. The video game department has not one game set up for kids to interact with. The only thing you see are salespeople walking around empty-handed asking, “Can I help you?” It’s absurd, right? People want what they see.  So it’s up to you to show them what you want them to buy. The same thing applies to your dealership. When a prospect walks into your dealership make sure you are prepared with plenty to show and interact with. This gets them excited about purchasing from you. Here are three things a good sales consultant should be armed with to draw their customers in and keep them engaged in the buying process.

Pre-loaded vehicles:

The range of vehicle accessories in the automotive aftermarket industry today is nothing less than staggering.  From the simple embellishments like better floor mats and car covers to complete sparkling chrome makeovers and everything in between, there are gizmos and attachments to make virtually any car or truck carry more things, move a little faster, last a little longer, and look a little better. 

In the shuffle of all these accessories, sometimes we forget who's holding the purse strings of most vehicle purchases in North America:  women.  Females make the purchase decisions in an increasing majority of North American households, and many times they are making the accessory decisions, as well.  Are you effectively marketing your own accessories to women?  Here's a list of five tips you can use to make your automotive accessories more attractive to the female consumer.

1. Avoid the Hard Sell

Women take their time to make a purchase decision – much longer than men, and they're far more likely to do business with a company that gives her the time and space she needs to think over her purchase decision.  Make yourself available, even give her your contact number, patiently and honestly answer her questions, and then give her some breathing room before you ask for the sale.  Chances are good she isn't going to buy on her first visit, but if you make her feel comfortable and avoid pressuring her, when she does decide to buy,  she'll be back.

2. Find Simple Solutions 

Today's woman is a mother, wife, homemaker, professional, and CFO for her family.  She is always on the go, and doesn't always have time for “some assembly required” projects.  When showing her options, choose accessories that are easy to install and utilize.  “Step one, and done” is the ticket for today's female consumer.  If she wants a project, she'll tell you.

3. Go the Distance

In today's world, most women aren't looking to be in a new car every few years.  Her car is her family's home on the road, and she means to get all the value she can from her investment.  Accessories that preserve vehicle longevity will appeal to the thrifty mom looking to take her vehicle well into six digits.

4. Built for Comfort

Remember, the female consumer wears many hats, and logs a lot of miles. Between shuttling kids to school and extracurriculars, driving herself to and from work, running errands, not to mention just taking a trip for fun, she spends a lot of time in the car.  Accessories aiming to make that time more comfortable, convenient, or otherwise more pleasant are the way to go, particularly those that are aimed specifically to females.  Now, we're not talking about the pink steering wheel cover or headlight eyelashes.  Purse holders, back seat entertainment systems, and other such conveniences make her time behind the wheel a little less stressful, and that's what it's all about.

5. Think Green

This may be the most important of all the tips.  When I talk to women across the country about what they want to see in a new car, fuel efficiency and eco-friendliness are almost always the top of the list.  Items that speak to that need will resonate powerfully among women.  Items made with eco-friendly materials, goods that bolster aerodynamics and boost fuel efficiency, and high tech add-ons like GPS systems will be very appealing to women when presented in the context of a greener driving experience.

Courtesy of Insignia's Guest Blogger Jody DeVere, CEO of AskPatty.com Inc.