FROM DAY ONE, SEARCH OPTICS HAS TAKEN A PERSONAL, BOUTIQUE APPROACH WHEN WORKING WITH ITS DEALER CLIENTS
In the digital age,it’s often all too easy to be seduced by the latest technology. Dealers are bombarded all the time about new tools and strategies when it comes to digital marketing, often to the point that many are left scratching their heads, trying to work out what really works best for them, their staff and their customers. And it often seems that the “human” factor gets lost in the shuffle, when ironically it’s that one-on-one relationship that counts most of all.
At SEARCH OPTICS, the emphasis on “people” within the digital marketing space has been a core focus since day one. Founded in San Diego, California, with offices in Ferndale, Mich. and Toronto, Ont., the company has grown to become a well-respected boutique player in the automotive digital marketing arena, developing solid relationships with its clients, whether OEMs or dealers.
“Dealers are getting a flurry of activity that’s being supported by various vendors, says Graham Line, Vice-President of Business Development at SEARCH OPTICS, “though a lot of those activities are being driven around automated functionality for engaging customers. But the human element — which is often critical for business success — is often missing and that’s where SEARCH OPTICS comes in.”
Line notes that through behaviour patterns in society and the needs and wants of consumers, all point to the importance of creating a personal, intimate one-on-one experience. That’s part of the reason why SEARCH OPTICS has developed a network of clients to whom it tailors digital marketing solutions on an individual basis — an important consideration for dealerships, which tend to define the concept of “local” businesses.
“The spine of SEARCH OPTICS really is measurement,” says Line “we are big believers in what gets measured, gets managed properly.” Line sees great value in UPTRACS, a live digital dashboard that allows dealers to see how their business is actually performing, both within digital and traditional marketing environments.
Built around UPTRACS are a whole menu of digital marketing tools, including SEO, paid search, SEM, local search, plus website hosting and development. There’s also a big push towards helping dealers boost service retention, with new announcements expected over the next several months.
Line says that for dealers, the key to understanding measurement, is assessing where things are today, where they want them to go and implementing a strategy that uses the required tools and techniques to get there.
ONE CUSTOMER AT A TIME
Expanding into Canada almost four years ago, SEARCH OPTICS is a tier-one provider of digital marketing solutions for some major OEMs, including Chrysler and it has developed a solid relationship with Mazda, Toyota, Nissan and Chevrolet dealers across the country. Although growth has been significant, the company continues to stick with an organic approach, working to ensure it can provide the best support and service possible one customer at a time.
It’s often said that size isn’t everything and and while you can’t be all things to all people, focusing on one customer at a time tends to deliver the best results for both parties. “If, as a vendor you had 1000 dealer customers and a 92 per cent customer satisfaction rating, it means that 80 customers don’t like you. We’re concerned if one or more customers are unhappy,” he says.
KEEPING PACE WITH CONSTANTLY CHANGING TECHNOLOGY
As technology evolves and consumer expectations around service continue to increase, SEARCH OPTICS continues to focus on ways to further deepen the relationships it has with dealers to help them maintain and continue to build effective digital strategies — a task that can seem daunting at times, given the frequent changes happening in cyberspace.
Line notes the rollout of Google’s Hummingbird last year being a good example. “As a Google partner, we had good visibility to it out of the gate and were able to course correct to ensure achieving success wasn’t a challenge.” He says that the growing complexity of Google’s search algorithms mean that dealers will have to increasingly rely on companies like SEARCH OPTICS to help manage their digital marketing needs. Line says that’s why it’s more important than ever for dealers to be able to look to their digital marketing partners and know that there’s that level of trust and understanding to get the job done.
“From our perspective, it’s important for our customers to know that we are here, that we’re market leading experts and that we put the time and effort into building real relationships,” says Line. “If you don’t have a relationship with a customer, they’re not going to buy from you, no matter what you’re selling.”
For more information visit: searchoptics.com.
