Category Archives: Trunk Space

**The views and opinions made on this blog are that of Rob Fontano and based on his own knowledge of the automobile retail and marketing industry. These opinions are in no way that of or a reflection on his employer or any affiliated company.

Why an e-Newsletter is More Effective than a Dealership Blog

One very powerful alternative to a traditional blog is an e-Newsletter. An e-Newsletter that is web based and published on it’s own unique and dealer relevant URL can provide an incredible platform for a dealership to not only create and publish good relevant content, but with a deliverability component that will far surpass most dealership blog readerships. Such an e-Newsletter that is published consistently on a monthly basis with relevant dealer and OEM content will have a very positive impact on your dealerships SEO strategy. Your e-Newsletter is also a great source of referring deep linking in-bound traffic to your website through engaging articles and compelling specials. Continue reading

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Why Your Dealership’s Email Templates May Be Obsolete

Are your dealerships email templates obsolete? It is highly likely that the vast majority of emails that your dealership is sending to customers and prospective clients are being opened on a mobile device. Reports show that mobile email clients are set to surpass desktop and webmail client usage by the end of 2012. Continue reading

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Where Were You When The Times~Picayune Went Digital?

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting a place where I have always wanted to go, New Orleans, Louisiana. Even though my reason for visiting was primarily business, I had high hopes that I would be able to enjoy a taste of the local food and culture. I was not disappointed in either. While I was there something very exciting happened that seemed to be lost on the rest of the country. Continue reading

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Dealer Website Meta Data – Paying Attention to what’s Behind the Curtain

So you’ve got your site designed the way you want it, your specials pages are all utilized and kept up to date,yet your traffic isn’t what it should be and your conversions are low. This is probably due to consumers not readily finding the information they were looking for. This could mean that even though you purchased your [man-behind-the-curtain_meta data blog post digital daily rob fontano] dealer’s site from a reputable and even preferred provider, your sites meta data may not be set up correctly and therefore your site may not be optimized to reach its full potential. Another indication of this would be a bounce rate higher than 30%. Continue reading

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The Digital Dealer pt. 2 – The Transparency Fallacy; It’s Not About Price!

If the goal of automotive retail is to not only embrace eCommerce, but behave like eCommerce then we must first understand that continuing to plug technology into an old and established sales culture will be the slowest road possible to achieving this. By hanging on to a traditional dealership sales culture for dear life, we will continue to force the consumer to operate in the dealers world as opposed to the world they know. One of abundant information and never ending engagement and sharing of ideas and experiences. Our industry can no longer afford to convince itself that their are two different types of customers, the internet savvy and the other kind. Continue reading

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The Digital Dealer pt. 1 – “First Things First”

The “Holy Grail” of automotive retail should be to grow beyond the “Internet Department” or “BDC” and become what we’ll call here a “Digital Dealership”. Our industry has been implementing these departments since the late nineties and still is up to now. These departments evolved out of necessity to capture a consumers interests via the internet in a more efficient manner than they had been doing up until then. Continue reading

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Closing the Appointment – One Step Closer to a Sale

Setting the appointment is the ultimate goal of every internet sales department or BDC. Ensuring that the appointment shows is the tricky part. Here are some proven word tracts and techniques that will improve your teams set to show rate. Continue reading

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Engage Your Customers with Video – VSEO Techniques and Strategies

Video is the most powerful way to engage your customers and prospects online. In this article Rob Fontano shows you how to techniques and strategies for an effective VSEO game plan. Companies like Car-Mercial can help dealers who don’t have the time or man power to make the most of video. Continue reading

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Car Dealers; Get Up Off Your Data and Get in the Game!

Why then are so many car dealers still so slow to capitalize on their greatest asset? There are literally millions of dollars hidden beneath the floorboards of every car dealership in the country. The customer data that has been amassed in your CRM and DMS reveals every one of your customers’ buying cycles, budgets, and tastes. When it is properly harvested, this information amounts to an automotive marketing bumper crop. Continue reading

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Conference Conundrum – They’re not just for decision makers anymore

Dealers have the opportunity several times a year to expose their best and brightest to the auto industries’ best and brightest. I was fortunate to have spent most of my automotive career with a very forward thinking dealer. One who understood that without exposure to information outside of the store, the gene pool would get pretty shallow. Continue reading

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