Digital Dealer - March 2019 - 6

Road Trip to DD26 | April 9-11, 2019 | Orlando

Ask the Experts
Q

Michael L.
Champagne

VP of Sales & Mkt.
Advanta-STAR
Automotive Research

A We all know you have to use unique,
relevant content to drive traffic to index. However, since the OEMs use virtually the same
information to promote their products on their
respective dealers' websites, the information is
relevant, but it's not unique. No one stands out
because everyone's website is the same.
You need something to distinguish yourself
from your competition, and data driven marketing using detailed competitive comparison
information is one way to do that. Relevant
keywords can be tied to specific categories, such
as safety and performance, and should generate
more organic traffic.
Updating becomes much easier, as you can
change the focus each week and therefore, keep
the search rank you've worked so hard to earn.
Q

Toni Anne
Fardette

President & COO,
The Billion Dollar
Girl, Inc.

How can competitive comparison data
optimize for better SEO?

Service BDC: Why is this always a
second thought?

A As someone who worked in sales BDC as
an agent, then a manager, then a director for a
23-rooftop auto group, I have often wondered
why the service BDC was always an afterthought even though the profitability is typically
significantly more than that of a sales BDC.
A service BDC should be a group of highly
skilled people who handle incoming service calls,
as well as make outbound prospecting calls. The
main goals should be to provide the highest level
of customer service, while generating additional
sales and service business for the dealership.
The more tangible goals should be to increase
the percentage of customer names, numbers
and appointments kept, increase CSI, and
increase profit through additional labor hours
generated.
Q

Can you expand on how dealerships can
effectively operate a service BDC?

A There are only a few types of service
callers. The one we seem to see the most of is
the inbound call where the customer is ready to
schedule an appointment.

MARCH 2019

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

Can this approach be used for conquest
marketing?

A Certainly. The best approach is to create
unique, relevant statements focusing on the
areas where your product out-performs your
competition. Detailing the features and benefits
of your product vs. your competition will provide
plenty of keywords that can be used effectively
with your pay-per-click ads. By creating better
ad copy, you should see better click through
rates. For example, if you want to highlight your
product's safety record using third-party sources,
those results can be easily found when targeted
ad text is integrated on your page. Most information like this appears in graphs or charts, but
detailing the information will give Google plenty
of words to search through and enhance your
domain dominance.
Learn more from Advanta-STAR by visiting
Booth 118 in the Digital Dealer 26 Expo Hall!
But where we can be better and more prepared
is on those callers shopping for repair costs or a
quick diagnosis. On calls like these, roughly only
30% of names and numbers are obtained by the
service employee, and only about 20% result in
scheduled appointments for the service department. In a sales BDC, we would never dream of
not tracking metrics like this, but in the service
department, it is unfortunately usually the norm.
You should have a process for the following
scenarios/calls:
 Transferring calls and putting clients on hold
 Handling challenging or upset customers
 Maximizing the experience of inbound
service appointment call
 Dealing with loaner car or rental requests
 Recommended maintenance calls
 Answering technical or price questions
 Manufacturer Recalls
Not only do you want to provide phone training
and word tracks for these scenarios, but you
should have CRM processes for these situations
built out as well.
Fixed ops keep the doors open in most dealerships, so let's stop making it an afterthought and
start making it a priority.

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Digital Dealer - March 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Dealer - March 2019