Blog

Behind your configurator is a Renaissance man

Posted by Whitney Williams on Sep 6, 2018 1:02:40 PM

It was the 1970s in a suburban neighborhood in Shelby, North Carolina. Preschool paleontologist hopeful, James Brooks, was pouring over his newest dinosaur book from the local library when his highly detailed young mind zeroed in on it. National Geographic had clearly, unapologetically illustrated a dinosaur’s hand in the improper position and with too many fingers.

James couldn’t stand for it.

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Topics: Presentation Tools, Process Training, Marketing, Dealership, Vehicle Personalization, staff, Insignia Group, creative, graphics, configurator, online catalog

The social media beast is hungry

Posted by Whitney Williams on May 10, 2018 11:00:00 AM

Just a few years ago, you could resist the social media temptress. No, it wasn’t popular, but you could pull it off. Swim upstream a bit. Dabble, but resist diving right in. No more. The social media beast is hungry and it eats a full time salaried position at your dealership for breakfast.

Society as a whole has embraced  the culture of social media and the ease of access to search, shop, and even sell from an online platform. Your grandmother has been on Facebook for two years and is ready to move on to Instagram. Your customer is no exception--and you’ll lose business if you don’t believe it.

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Topics: Sales Best Practices, Marketing, Dealership, Vehicle Personalization, Showroom, sales team, Millenials, Educate, customers, eCommerce, Best Practice

#DiplomatChallenge - LLumar

Posted by David Stringer on May 4, 2018 11:00:00 AM

The team at Insignia lives for selling accessories - it's in our veins. From our VPEs sharing their years of experience, to our best practices giving dealers the latest industry tips, to our blog showcasing successful dealerships, we are the leaders in Vehicle Personalization. 

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Topics: Accessory News, Marketing, Vehicle Personalization, accessories, Volkswagen, LLumar, Educate, #DiplomatChallenge

3 Rules to Jump Start Your Accessory Sales

Posted by Trey Bodwin on Mar 16, 2018 2:00:00 PM

Getting started with accessory sales can be overwhelming. You want to capitalize on the profits Vehicle Personalization offers, but you don’t know where to start.  We’ve got good news--there’s one simple technique that will tackle your major focuses and gain big results from all departments: the rule of three. Stocking accessories in threes reaps three major benefits. 

As a general manager or dealer principle, you’re all about increasing gross profit for your dealership while keeping laser focus on great CSI. Today’s customers are happy when they get what they want, and quickly. With Vehicle Personalization, your dealership can deliver on both demands with the rule of three.

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Topics: Sales Best Practices, Increase Profits, Marketing, Dealership, Vehicle Personalization, accessories, Showroom, staff, sales team, sales, accessories installations, customers

Why your showroom needs Rudolph's nose

Posted by Whitney Williams on Dec 7, 2017 1:00:00 PM

It’s that time of the year--all the dealerships are doing all the Christmas things. Commercials for huge winter savings bombard the senses as the shiny 2018 model twinkles behind a fresh coat of wax. Perfectly placed trees and lights line your showroom entrance. General managers dream of sugar plums and end of year profit margins. What does the Christmas spirit mean for your vehicle personalization center? This is a season of going all out- from inflatable Santas on the roof to credit card debt (you can do better, America). It’s time to get a little crazy.

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Topics: Increase Profits, Marketing, Dealership, Vehicle Personalization, accessories, sales, seasonal, holiday

3 spooky myths that keep dealers out of the accessory game

Posted by Whitney Williams on Oct 31, 2017 1:30:00 PM

Are you easily spooked? As we consult with dealerships nationwide, common threads emerge from management staff trapped in a fear.  They know vehicle personalization is profitable and bordering on unavoidable--after all, if your customer can’t get it from you, they’ll get it somewhere else.

Unfortunately, misconceptions often hold dealers in place. We’ve debunked the most common objections to vehicle personalization in the showroom. Here are three fears that keep dealerships frozen in place. We encourage you to step into the light.

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Topics: Customer Retention, Presentation Tools, Increase Profits, Marketing, Customer Success, Dealership, Vehicle Personalization, accessories, Showroom, staff

Vehicle personalization goes steady with eCommerce

Posted by Whitney Williams on Sep 12, 2017 2:34:13 PM

Insignia is passionate about vehicle personalization. We believe in offering personalization in the showroom at the point of sale, when your customer is excited about their new purchase and eager to make it their own. We also believe in fully servicing every customer that interacts with your dealership in-person or online. In the quest to offer a total solution to dealerships in the accessory game, we set out to cover new territory.

Consulting with dealerships nationwide, we often hear dealers ask about moving beyond the in-store presentation to an eCommerce parts store. In an effort to meet the full scope of dealer’s needs, Insignia linked arms with RevolutionParts to expand the accessories force field together.

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Topics: Accessories System, Presentation Tools, Increase Profits, Marketing, Dealership, accessories, millennials, eCommerce, RevolutionParts, kiosk

OnTrack 1.0 is Here;Toyota Dealers Upgraded First

Posted by Whitney Williams on Aug 1, 2017 3:28:05 PM

Insignia customers, you are about to be upgraded.

Insignia's OnTrack 1.0 will release on August 7 and you’re going to love what you see. A sleek, modern new interface that’s easier to navigate because you deserve it. We’re proud to introduce OnTrack to our Toyota dealers who number close to 20% of TMS stores. This is our first step towards a complete revamping of the system to more closely align with your showroom process.

You read that right--when our customers give us feedback on what isn’t working in real-life accessory presentations, what would make vehicle personalization sales that much better, and what this system looks like in a perfect world, we listen.

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Topics: Accessories System, Presentation Tools, Accessory News, Increase Profits, Marketing, Toyota, accessories, Showroom, sales, Millenials

There's no one-size-fits all, but you can start here

Posted by Insignia Group on Jun 2, 2017 1:30:00 PM

Any dealership can slap together an accessory program, hand out a brochure, and dangle a carrot in front of their sale staff. More than likely, you can sell a few things with this approach. There’s no doubt, after all, that people are buying accessories: simply offering the product will produce a few bucks.

Dealerships that are building million-dollar personalization profit centers in the showroom know that vehicle personalization is an art form and requires careful attention to detail. Success in selling accessories takes a carefully constructed process, which varies by things like brand and store size, to name a few. As more and more dealerships across the nation tap into the multi-billion-dollar industry of automotive accessories, the necessity of shepherding in the process climbs in demand.

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Topics: Accessories System, Improve CSI, Accessory News, Increase Profits, Process Training, Marketing, Dealership, sales

Using Pinterest to sell automotive accessories

Posted by Insignia Group on Jun 17, 2014 8:30:00 AM

Pinterest represents a great way to share photographs and collections of interesting objects online. Bookmarked pins and collections can be assembled through the social network, which can also be used as an app on iPads and iPhones. Many businesses use this platform as a way to allow customers to do some virtual window shopping. It’s also used as a way to spread ideas about how their products can be used by the buyer, and it’s a free form of advertising.

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Topics: Customer Retention, Improve CSI, Marketing