Digital Dealer - December 2017 - 28

C O V E R S TO RY

Continued from pg. 27

THE OVERALL PHILOSOPHY I HAVE IS THAT
CUSTOMER SERVICE IS FIRST AND FOREMOST
WHAT WE DELIVER. THE CUSTOMER-FIRST SPIRIT
HERE IS REALLY STRONG."
amazing that the two sites became
available at the same time. One
site was a vacant lot that we have
already filled with new-car inventory. The other site we purchased
has a building on it, which we'll be
using as a place for used-car sales
and display area, a larger dedicated
internet sales area, and additional
office space.

WHAT IS YOUR
MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHY?

I keep it pretty simple. I like to
tell my team whenever starting
a project that I like to organize,
deputize and supervise. It's worked
for me my whole life, in business
and with my family. You have to
organize what you have to get done.
You have to put someone in charge.
And then you have to supervise to
make sure that it's happening.

WHAT DO YOU LOOK
FOR WHEN HIRING NEW
EMPLOYEES?

Basically, I like people who will
take ownership of their work, think
creatively, and are problem solvers.

WHAT STEPS DOES
BOWMAN CHEVROLET TAKE
TO ENSURE A POSITIVE
EXPERIENCE?

It starts with understanding that
with a customer you're welcoming
them to your home, when they
come through our doors, or now,
more often, through email leads or
phone leads. The overall philosophy
I have is that customer service is
first and foremost what we deliver.
The customer-first spirit here is
really strong.
I treat the employees as if the
dealership is their home. We provide snacks and activities throughout the year. We have team-building events. We have lunches that
we put on for the summer holi-

DECEMBER 2017

days-Memorial, the Fourth, Labor
Day. We just did a Michigan-MSU
tailgate party for our employees.
These activities take place in the
showroom, so any customers who
happen to be onsite are asked to
join in, too. But it's really for our
employees and we have a lot of fun.
It's a long day, so you want to make
sure people are feeling good about
being here. I think that passes
through to the customer.
We have a dedicated Customer
Care team. They are available seven
days a week. We're online with our
customers or on the phone with
them. Customers can contact us
any time for help, if they need it.
They can ask product questions,
make appointments and so on. We
have a great support team behind
our front-facing team. I think that's
important these days, especially
when what we have to do to sell
a car becomes more and more
detailed.

WHAT IS YOUR MARKETING
STRATEGY?

I went digital as a higher percent
of my marketing strategy a long
time ago, pretty early on. I could
see that people were going to come
through their computer as a way
to start the sales conversation. We
have one of the highest internet-closing ratios in the region, if
not in the country. We're at about
35.5% for an internet-closing ratio.
We went after that strong, early
on. It's communication, at the end
of the day. For marketing, it's the
same thing: digital. We used to be
in the Detroit News and the Free
Press for print but now our ads are
in smaller, more localized papers,
such as the Clarkston News. We do
digital for everything else.
WHICH THIRD-PARTY

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

VENDORS, IF ANY, ASSIST
IN THESE MARKETING EFFORTS?

We have a great public relations-advertising company in Near
Perfect Media. We receive internet
leads through General Motors.
We also have a digital footprint
through Facebook. We do Instagram, Twitter, Linked In.

HOW EFFECTIVE HAVE
YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA
EFFORTS BEEN?

I'd say very effective. Facebook
is probably where we receive the
most engagement. We have about
3,700 Likes. It's important to me
that we connect with people who
really do want to engage with the
dealership. We try to keep our
content useful to our customers.
We definitely post pricing and
products and event information,
but we try to have a good mix of
valuable content. I think people
tire of getting sales pitches. I know
in my life, it's kind of hard to cut
through all the noise coming at
me through my phone and emails.
That's why we try to deliver
content that's meaningful to our
customers.

IF YOU COULD KEEP ONLY
ONE TECHNOLOGY TOOL,
WHICH TOOL WOULD THAT
BE AND WHY?

It's kind of a love-hate relationship, but I would keep my
smartphone. Some days I want to
be like the girl in The Devil Wears
Prada where she throws her cell
phone into the fountain. I guess
you just have to learn to manage
it. I would have to say my smartphone is my personal favorite tech
tool. Now for the dealership, I'd
probably say our most essential
piece of technology would be our

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - December 2017