Blog

In the first two posts of our three-part series, we discussed best practices around SEO and PPC Advertising.  In today's final installment, we'll take a look at email marketing and social media.

It’s that time again. We’ve started thinking about our resolutions for the upcoming year and the challenge is about to  begin. Maybe they’re personal, or perhaps professional.  Regardless of your role in the company it is important to always set career related goals. To start the year off with some fun and perhaps a little help, the Insignia team pooled some ideas on a list of 2013 New Year’s Resolutions for dealerships. I know what you're thinking-people are not very good at keeping their New Year’s resolutions. Four in five Americans fail to attain their New Year’s resolution, with a third giving up before the end of January. Well we just didn’t offer resolutions. We also left some tips on how to keep them obtainable.

Perhaps no single innovation has affected American culture more than the fast food concept. Not only are fast food restaurants present in every state, and virtually every city in the country, (both large and small), the fast food model of quick and convenient has become ingrained in the American psyche.

There are two ways to scale your online auto accessories business: reaching new customers, and retaining old ones. Find the sweet spot between these strategies, and you'll create a positive feedback loop that puts you on a continuous path toward success. In this post, we’ll take a closer look at SEO.

Recently I was talking with the owner of a dealer group about personalizaation. We talked about his team's desire to sell vehicle personalization across his 17 dealerships.  I talk with so many dealership owners that simply have a tough time motivating their team to sell BEYOND the vehicle. Many--maybe too many--accept this as “the way it is.”

This particular dealer principal's comment was simple: “We all like cars, and we all like the toys and accessories that go on cars. That’s why it’s such a fun business. If you can’t close your people on that, maybe you’re in the wrong business.”

When Carl Moyer of Karl Chevrolet decided to take on the tire store across the street, he and his team planned for success. But, they could have never predicted they would have made GM history by being the first dealership to sell $ 1 million dollars worth of tires in one year. Their success continued in the following years as they increased their tire sales from $1 million in 2009 to $3 million in 2011.  Not only does Karl Chevrolet present their customers with tire options, but they also offer tire and wheel accessories.  The dealership displays about 50 ready-to-sell accessorized vehicles and uses Insignia’s accessories system for selling accessories. 

Selling automotive parts and accessories on Facebook is a lot easier than you may think.

There are several tools and resources that can allow you to transform your company's Facebook page into an online selling machine. Here are a couple of resources that you’ll want to consider.

If you are in a dealership that has an accessories profit center, you already understand the revenue potential. Consumers are constantly looking for ways to personalize everything from electronics like iPads to automobiles. As a result, aftermarket is a billion dollar industry that continues to grow.
New products are popping up everywhere. It’s exciting for the dealership because it means more revenue opportunities. It can also be overwhelming to know how to present them. Here are the 5 most popular aftermarket accessories and word tracks to help you sell!

The accessories market is huge, and growing continually. We've discussed how the auto accessories market has now exceeds $30 billion and is continues to grow.  Not only are customers ready to spend money, they are evidently willing to spend a lot.  If a dealership can capture even a fraction of a percent of that $30 billion market it will dramatically improve dealership profits.US Auto dealers sold nearly 1.45 million cars and trucks in March of 2013, making it the best monthly sales total in 6 years.  While that's good news, the reality is profit margins are still razor thin. There are a couple of lessons that we can draw here:

Apple stores are one of the most successful retail stores in the world. According to The Mac Observer, one of their largest growing product segments is accessories. iPad owners average spending $150+ on accessories. Technology experts believe that if others want to compete, they'll have to partner with an accessories maker.