Category: Features

Rethinking retail

April 28, 2014

TESLA MOTORS IS LOOKING TO CONTROL THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE BY PURSUING A CORPORATE APPROACH TO AUTO SALES Dealerships have been displaying cars in shopping malls for years. Sometimes it might be to highlight a new image builder for showroom traffic, …

On target

AUTO DEALER APP BY PULSE IS HELPING BOTH DEALERS AND THEIR CUSTOMERS BUILD STRONGER RELATIONSHIPS WHILE CHANGING THE WAY BUSINESS IS DONE It’s amazing how fast things progress. Five years ago not many of us knew what an app was. …

Solid Investment

BECOMING A RHINO LININGS APPLICATOR IS PROVING A GOOD STRATEGY FOR MANY DEALERS IN CANADA North Americans like trucks. They consistently buy them in huge numbers and particularly for Detroit automakers and their dealers, pickups are a huge source of …

No going back

March 20, 2014

BIDDING FAREWELL TO HIS “TRADITIONAL” STORE FOR THE LAST TIME, OUR FICTIONAL DEALER IN 2030, BILL TANNER, IS HIT WITH A TINGE OF A SADNESS AND PERHAPS LONELINESS. NEVERTHELESS, IT’S WHAT LIES AHEAD THAT’S IMPORTANT AND THERE’S WORK TO BE …

Hockey drive

March 20, 2014

FOR MANY DEALERS, HELPING KIDS PLAY CANADA’S GAME PROVIDES A WHOLE HOST OF BENEFITS In the Great White North, minor hockey and automotive retailing go together like Crosby and Malkin. Minor hockey engages all ages, encouraging hometown pride, good sportsmanship …

Best of both worlds

March 20, 2014

TRILLIUM FORD LINCOLN COMBINES SUBURBAN SOPHISTICATION WITH THAT SMALL TOWN, PERSONAL SHOPPING EXPERIENCE In 1975, Jack Vant Spyker started selling and servicing Ford, Mercury and Lincoln vehicles. Back in the days when gigantic land yachts like LTDs, Marquis, Montegos and …

Moving target

March 20, 2014

MANY DEALERS ARE STILL STRUGGLING TO PROPERLY HANDLE ONLINE LEADS. TO MAKE MATTERS MORE INTERESTING, CHANGING CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IS ALSO HAVING A MAJOR IMPACT ON THE PROCESS Would you ignore eight out of every ten customers that came into your …

Changing core

EVOLVING CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS ARE RESULTING IN NEW LEVELS OF SOPHISTICATION AND INTEGRATION WHEN IT COMES TO DEALERSHIP OPERATIONS SYSTEMS It’s the essence of what a dealership is, yet, like everything else, the dealer management system as we know it is …

Taking control (Part 2)

January 14, 2014

IN OUR SECOND AND FINAL INSTALLMENT OF THIS SPECIAL SERIES, STEVE SOUTHIN TALKS MORE ABOUT SUCCESSFUL STRATEGIES FOR UPGRADE SALES AND THE BENEFITS THEY CAN OFFER (Read Part One of this special series.) The best practice behind a successful upgrade …

Planning for the unexpected

January 13, 2014

HOW TO ENSURE YOUR DEALERSHIP SURVIVES AND THRIVES IN THE EVENT OF DISASTER During the small hours on Wednesday July 11, 2012 a fire broke out at Gus Brown Buick GMC in Whitby, Ont. Because the dealership was closed at …

Clearer picture

January 13, 2014

WITH CONSUMERS SHOWING UP BETTER INFORMED THAN EVER IN DEALERSHIP SHOWROOMS, TRANSPARENCY AT ALL LEVELS HAS BECOME AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF DOING BUSINESS As Internet usage has proliferated in the last decade, today’s dealership customers are more informed than ever …

Digital minds

January 13, 2014

SOME OF THE AUTO INDUSTRY’S BEST AND BRIGHTEST SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS ON DIGITAL AUTOMOTIVE RETAILING We all know that digital is the future in our business. Dealers need to be online, actively engaging users and serving their customers — from …