Internet Plays Vital Role For Auto Dealers
February 13, 2010
Auto dealers say the Internet has provided them with the highest return on investment (ROI) over the last five years, according to a new survey from Autobytel.
The majority (96%) of dealers predict the Internet will play a larger role in their marketing in the next five years. Internet leads continue to play a critical role, with 93 percent of dealers reporting that new and used third-party leads are an important part of their marketing mix. One hundred percent of deal respondents reported their Internet strategies helped them through these challenging times, with the majority (79.5%) reporting the Internet has been their highest ROI. In contrast, traditional media (TV, newspapers and radio) only ranked first for 7.5 percent, 6.5 percent, and 2.5 percent of dealers respectively. Dealers said being able to reach customers beyond their immediate market is a key advantage of the Internet, as well as the fact it is more cost-efficient and targeted medium than traditional media like TV & radio. Ninety-three percent of dealers have increased their Internet marketing budgets in the last five years, with more than half (56%) boosting their Internet budgets by 50 percent or more. Third-party leads continue to provide benefit to dealers for the following reasons, according to 93% of those surveyed:
Reaching Your Audience Via Internet Marketing
October 16, 2009
Blogging, social networking and email newsletters all have one thing in common, they fall under the umbrella of Internet marketing.
(Coverage of the BlogWorld conference continues at WebProNews Videos. Keep an eye on WebProNews for more notes and videos from the event this week.)
In the session "Internet Marketing for Smart People," the panel discussed the various ways to reach an audience online.
Chris Brogan
Brian Clark, founder of Copyblogger, said, "there's always things and people you can learn marketing from."
Chris Brogan, President of New Marketing Labs, said, "email marketing is far from dead."
Darren Rowse, founder of ProBlogger, started email marketing for his dad with the intention he thought RSS would kill email. His email marketing has been successful and now they forcefully push it. Email allows them to connect and engage with customers.
Darren Rowse
Clark said email is a different environment than a feed reader. It builds trust and it takes a lot for people to hand over their email address.
When it comes to blogging, Rowse said the more you can get your readers to interact with each other, the more you as the blogger become the match-maker. You can build relationships with your readers. It's important to allow them to interact and connect. Give them as many opportunities as you can to do this.
Brogan said community is a privilege, not a right. It's a whole lot easier to market when you don't have to. Smaller blogs that have great content are sometimes more effective than mega blogs.
When it comes to the recent FTC guidelines for bloggers, Rowse said he had been expecting rules for a long time and there is no reason why endorsement rules would not apply to bloggers. The FTC rules validate bloggers as media.
WebProNews Video reporter Abby Johnson contributed to this report.
The Latest Rumors About Razorfish
August 8, 2009
Microsoft’s interactive agency Razorfish is the subject of some varying rumors as of late. The one common thread in all of these reports is that Microsoft is shopping the company. That much we know for sure. Where they end up is the subject of much speculation.
In the Internet marketing press it depends on who you listen to and / or trust that will help you make your very own prediction. Publicis ending up with Razorfish has been favored by the folks at paidContent and they were willing to pay handsomely for the company although not quite the $800 million that it was supposed to merit. That may not be the case any longer. WPP is in the game as well but that is another that falls under the category of “to be determined”
Although three sources told paidContent that WPP had a cordial meeting with Microsoft execs about what it would it take to move Razorfish out of the Redmond software company’s orbit, a deal appears to be in doubt.
Several executives speculated it was a matter of demonstrating who wants Razorfish more, and so far, Publicis has gone to greater lengths to show its desire. For one thing, Publicis executives have indicated that they would be willing to pay upwards of $700 million to acquire Razorfish, while WPP has balked at paying more than $600 million.
Other sources including Business Insider have stated that Publicis’ interest is on the retreat (that was on August 4th). On the 6th both Reuters and The Wall Street Journal reported that the deal was likely to happen. Since none of the companies seem to be actually saying anything rather than this being a case of “he said, she said” between companies it’s one of “we said, they said” amongst various industry insiders.
If it were to happen, the deal is said to be slated for September but who the heck knows. Right now, it seems like there is much ado about nothing since Microsoft is supposedly talking to others as well. Comparatively this must seem like a vacation for Microsoft staffers following the Yahoo “Boatloads of Fun” event. Whether this is all a negotiation ploy or not matters most to Razorfish employees who are probably wondering what the future holds for them. Let’s face it, they’re the ones that will feel any impact the quickest and just how much impact will be felt depends greatly on who eventually walks away with the company.
Dirty Trick #6: THE “TESTIMONIAL” TACTIC
July 17, 2009
Word of mouth is a very powerful thing. Thus we come to this dirty little trick. Using a positive reinforcer like a testimonial can make the difference between getting a sale or just getting a “tire-kicker”. After reading what a few other happy customers have to say, others will be more inclined to think more positively about your product.
But, how do you get such testimonials? You ASK for them! A good way to get testimonials is to do a “pre release” of your product and offer a free copy of it for those that will give you a good testimonial in return. That’s how many salesman do it. However, this can also have a negative draw back, especially in certain internet marketing circles.
On the same token though, how many of your customers do you think are actual internet marketers who know about this sly tactic? Well, it depends on what you’re selling, but if you’re selling a recipe ebook, then the fact that you got your testimonials by offering a free copy of your ebook won’t matter to your potential customers.
All they care about is getting a product that has good recipes in it. They don’t care if Mr. Johnny Big-Shot Marketer knows how you got those words of praise. Besides that, you can always ask your customers how they liked the product to get “genuine” testimonials. I say “genuine” because some people believe that testimonials received from a “freebie” are skewed somehow to shed positive light on your product. If you have a good product, then whether you are getting the testimonials from a free copy receiver, or a paying customer won’t make any difference. They’ll be the same. . .POSITIVE!
