The following article is very enlightening. I do not gamble but would be willing to bet on the fact that 95% of all these stores had one thing in common:
A weak to nonexistent Internet, or E-Commerce department.
Natural traffic you will get in your dealership simply because of where you are and what products you sell.
Owner Body Traffic exists because of the customer service and quality of work you have given to your owners.
Created Traffic is what you spend your ad dollars on (where people like me come into the picture for)
Capitalized Traffic is the number of people you are able to sell a new or used vehicle to that have begun their search either through the internet and the phone.
The dealership business model has changed forever. Customers are smarter and now better shoppers than ever. But if you aren’t thinking about the future, learn a lesson from the dealerships mentioned in this article.
WHAT IS NEXT???
Now is not the time to be behind the eight ball when it comes to handling internet business, or you don’t stand a chance of succeeding in tomorrow’s world. Tomorrow will be more complicated than today so you better be ready.
Read the article here:
Bad Times Chop Dealership Count
http://www.autonews.com/article/20090413/ANA06/904130347/1078
Cartoon courtesy of: http://www.aslinternet.com/support/dealer/article2.php
Posted
John Paul Strong
John Paul Strong combines his two decades of automotive marketing experience with a team of more than 150 professionals as owner and CEO of Strong Automotive.