Blog

There's been phenomenal growth in the auto accessories market! In today's post, we want to take a closer look at this market and some of the factors driving growing trends toward vehicle personalization.

Whether a Notre Dame fan or not, you have to admit the "Play Like A Champion Today" slogan and ritual is inspiring.  The term champion brings to mind admirable qualities. Leadership, devotion, and discipline are all qualities that extend far beyond the athletic field.  When looking to develop a strategic vehicle personalization plan, you'll need to designate your own "champ" to drive success.

OE accessories aren't the only way to build a personalization profit center in your dealership! Your customers have different needs for their new car, and adding accessories is no different. Whether you're customer is interested in keeping cost down, or has needs beyond the OE product offering aftermarket is always a good place to look.

We know the  importance of selling auto accessories and how doing so can dramatically increase dealership profits.  Now that you have decided to start selling accessories, the next logical question is, “Well, which auto accessories should I sell?”

While the possibilities are virtually endless, here are 5 ideas to get you started:

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.