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The basic Law of Reciprocity states: To give and take mutually.

I have thought about this a lot over the last few months. We use this concept very effectively in conversion optimization by giving white papers, special offers etc. on landing pages.

The idea is if the person gives something, you then give something of value in exchange. But think about it… you asked for the value FIRST. The visitor had to give you their name in order to get your value.

Isn’t that backward? Shouldn’t you give the value first then ask for the mutual value back?

Amazingly enough, this backward give and take works well; but recent events have made me start to wonder HOW WELL?

Earlier this year we launched ShowroomMagnet, our incentive based behavioral targeting engine for websites. We knew it would work well for conversion because these kind of popovers have always had a positive impact on conversion.  In addition, we’re making and offer and a single clear call to action (something too many websites lack).Not to mention we tested it, as we do EVERYTHING.

BUT there was a surprising side effect.  A few of our dealers started using this in a way we didn’t expect.

It started with Andy Wright at Lehigh Valley Honda, who by far was selling more cars from the program than most of the dealers.  I asked Andy, “What are you doing?” and the answer was so simple it was a little bit scary.

As customers came to the showroom with their gift card validation in hand (or smart phone as the case may be) Lehigh Valley Honda sales people would take them right to the desk and validate their gift card INSTANTLY. They would put it right on the customer’s  smart phone before they even took a test drive!

LeHigh “kept the promise” the website made. And they made it instant – as soon as the customer walked in the door.

There was no hook. There was no caveat.  They had promised a gift for visiting, the customer visited…so the dealership handed over the gift card. 

Here is the surprising part…

I thought when we started this we would see closing rates in the 30% to 40% range and that would be great!

Lehigh Valley Honda’s closing rate…. 68% over the last six months!

Bottom Line – WHEN YOU MAKE A PROMISE… KEEP IT! You’ll be amazed at the number of customers that will reciprocate… it goes back to The Law of Reciprocity.

Too often in our business we think we have to trick people… hook them into doing what we want them to do when really all they want us to do is keep the promise that we made.

Simple right?

So simple it’s a little bit scary!

Tim James and I are doing a case study on this at Digital Dealer 13 in Las Vegas on Thursday October 25th in the Antigua Room hope to see many of you there 

A great video from Robert Cialdini on the Law of Reciprocity

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Timmy D. James joins OnlineDrive & ShowroomMagnet as Vice President of Sales

Houston, TX – October 18, 2012 –  OnlineDrive, the first company to focus specifically on inbound marketing and the conversion of consumer auto leads, as well as the owner of ShowroomMagnet, is pleased to announce Timmy D. James has joined the OnlineDrive team as the vice president of Sales.

James comes to OnlineDrive with more than 20 years of sales experience and a proven track record of driving multi-million dollar growth for companies. In his new role, James will be responsible for the overall sales strategy and business development of OnlineDrive and ShowroomMagnet, including attracting new business, securing customer loyalty, and forging strong relationships with external business partners. In addition, his skills as an accomplished mentor and coach will help the sales team recruit, build, and retain top-performing sales professionals.

“We are honored to have Tim on the team. He brings a solid track record and his unmatched level of sales organization and performance will take OnlineDrive to the next level,” said Larry Bruce, OnlineDrive President and CEO.

Previous to his position with OnlineDrive, James served as the Director of Sales at HomeNet Automotive, where he developed and implemented the Direct to Dealer sales and marketing strategy. The campaign exceeded company growth targets, exploding with 9900% revenue growth from 2006 through 2010.

“After seeing some of the forward-thinking marketing and targeting solutions that have come from OnlineDrive, I have no doubt we can grow the market substantially this next year,”said James. “I’m excited to be a part of the management team for a company poised for such tremendous growth.”

In addition to his executive work, James is a sought-after industry speaker and has penned several expert articles in automotive trade publications.

To find out more about ShowroomMagnet, visit OnlineDrive at the Digital Dealer 13 Convention and Exposition, booth #125.  

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About OnlineDrive:

OnlineDrive is the first company to focus specifically on inbound marketing and the conversion of consumer auto leads. Founded by 30 year industry veteran Larry Bruce, former Vice President of Managed Marketing Solutions for Reynolds and Reynolds and founder of AIMdata, later sold to Reynolds and Reynolds to become Naked Lime, the aim is to help dealerships not only build traffic, but also cultivate their own first party leads and turn them into showroom visits. In addition to ShowroomMagnet, OnlineDrive also owns MicrositesbyU, the auto industry’s only landing page management platform.

Media Contacts: 

Laurie Halter

Charisma! Communications

Ph (503) 245-3140

Laurie@charismacommunications.com

“Why”?

 This is the single most difficult concept for most marketers in automotive to understand.  “Why” is the reason AutoTrader and Cars.com run millions of dollars in ads on TV, then put only a fraction of that budget into real content that consumers go online to find “the expensive kind of marketing” as noted by Seth Godin in his book “All Marketers Are Liars” renamed “All Markerters Are Storytellers.”

“Why” is also the reason GM is failing at Facebook. They’re not asking “why” people even want to come to their social sites. They’re posting from within a bubble. “Why” is the reason people debate on Twitter whether they should use Adwords PPC or Facebook.  I absolutely love debates like these because they force people to think about “WHY” they believe what they believe… and “Why” is a much more important question than “WHAT”. Ask the Merovingian, he knows.

Facebook or Adwords is not a choice; it’s a question of message and intent…the “WHY”of it all.

What Ford and Scott Monty knows, that GM doesn’t, is that people don’t go to Facebook to find Ford or to find out “What’s going on at Ford”? The truth is, they don’t care!

People go on Facebook to keep up with friends and family and to discover things that are important to them, in other words, the “WHY” of what makes them visit a page. Ford and Scott Monty’s team do a terrific job of producing content with that intent, the “Why” of it all, in mind.

People go on Google and other search engines to find things, that is their intent, their “WHY” and smart marketers buy keywords and write ads with that intent in mind. It’s a “WHY” question NOT a “WHAT” question…

It shouldn’t be “WHAT” are your goals from the platform?

But…

WHY are they there?

And more importantly, how can your message fit the visitor’s “why”?

The Merovingian would be proud!

I hope this post has helped you think more about why than what. I will be discussing “WHY” and bringing a lot of data on this subject in my Digital Dealer Session on Oct. 24^th In Las Vegas In the Jamaica Room hope to see you there. 

New product combines the best of remarketing with the best of behavioral targeting and show marketing to help drive return site visitors to dealership showrooms

Houston, TX – September 19, 2012 –  OnlineDrive, the first company to focus specifically on inbound marketing and the conversion of consumer auto leads, as well as the owner of ShowroomMagnet, an incentive-based show marketing solution, has taken retail automotive marketing one huge step forward with its announced introduction of RemarketingMagnet, a product designed to drive returning web site visitors to a dealership’s physical showroom.

“RemarketingMagnet takes remarketing to the next level,” said Larry Bruce, OnlineDrive President and CEO.  “We have seen dramatic increases in lead conversion by remarketing with our approach.  Combining remarketing with behavioral targeting and incentive-based marketing is virtually a game changer in marketing to frequent site visitors.”

ShowroomMagnet, OnlineDrive’s popular remarketing solution, tracks user behavior on a website. Using the product’s patented rules-based Behavioral Targeting Engine, dynamic remarketing offers are automatically created. These targeted offers can be presented to each customer in real-time as they surf the web, as well as combined with ShowroomMagnet’s electronic gift card program.

“Here’s basically how it works,” said Bruce. “An online shopper visits a website, say, Edmunds.com or AutoTrader.com, looks for a Toyota Tundra’s for more than two minutes, and then leaves the site without converting into a lead. RemarketingMagnet would target that site visitor with remarketing banner ads as the visitor continues to surf the web, enticing the visitor to return to the automotive site and sign up for a special Toyota Tundra-related offer to test drive.”

As added incentive, the site would offer the visitor a choice of electronic gift card offers, redeemable at a local store. Best of all, it’s instantaneous and they can get their gift card electronically right on the spot.

“One of the biggest reasons our sale ratio exceeds 70% with ShowroomMagnet is because we can deliver the gift card instantly. It takes all of the trust barriers down when you deliver on the promise that you made,” confirmed Andy Wright, VP at Vinart Auto Group inEmmaus,Pennsylvania.

OnlineDrive is scheduled to finish its RemarketingMagnet beta test program onOctober 1, 2012. The product will debut, along with several other new products and technologies, at the 13th Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition, October 23-25, Mirage Hotel and Casino,Las Vegas,Nevada.

“Our Sales Consultants can’t wait to bring this product to market,” said Tim James, OnlineDrive National VP of Sales. “This truly is a remarkable combination technology. There’s no way we could have done it if we hadn’t built all of it ourselves.”

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About OnlineDrive:

OnlineDrive is the first company to focus specifically on inbound marketing and the conversion of consumer auto leads. Founded by 30 year industry veteran Larry Bruce, former Vice President of Managed Marketing Solutions for Reynolds and Reynolds and founder of AIMdata, later sold to Reynolds and Reynolds to become Naked Lime, the aim is to help dealerships not only build traffic, but also cultivate their own first party leads and turn them into showroom visits. In addition to ShowroomMagnet, OnlineDrive also owns MicrositesbyU, the auto industry’s only landing page management platform.

Media Contacts:

Laurie Halter

Charisma! Communications

Ph (503) 245-3140

Laurie@charismacommunications.com

Business leaders Geoff Holmes and Bob Morgado join OnlineDrive’s Advisory Board

Houston, TX– August 22, 2012 –

OnlineDrive, the automotive industry’s first inbound marketing platform, is pleased to announce the closing of its first round of funding and the additions of Geoff Holmes and Bob Morgado to its advisory board.

Mr. Holmes brings extensive expertise in the financial management and operation of technology-based companies, with executive-level experience ranging from emerging start-up companies to major corporate enterprises. He is the former chairman and CEO of Time Warner Interactive, where he was responsible for developing emerging technologies into successful new products and services for the commercial market.

Holmes joins the board of OnlineDrive in an advisory role and as a major stock holder in the company.

“I am very excited to be a part of this technology. Behavioral marketing and targeting, combined with web analytics, is just coming into its own and to be one of the first to introduce this technology to the automotive industry is a real thrill,” said Holmes.

Holmes is joined on the board by Bob Morgado.  Morgado is Chairman of Maroley Media Group, a media and entertainment investment company and serves as an independent director of Activision Blizzard (ATVI), a 14 billion dollar enterprise and leading software game company.  Prior to these endeavors Morgado served as Chief Executive Officer of the Warner Music Group, Inc.  He also joins OnlineDrive in an advisory role and as a major stock holder in the company.

“This is a fantastic product and a great opportunity.  I am happy to be a part of it,” said Morgado. “I am looking forward to the future of marketing for the automotive industry; it will be an exciting time with this type of technology now available.”

Larry Bruce, OnlineDrive’s President and CEO, added “I can’t be more thrilled to have Geoff and Bob with us on this latest venture; their experience, knowledge and contacts will be an invaluable asset to OnlineDrive. This will certainly be an exciting year for the company.”

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About OnlineDrive:

OnlineDrive is the first company to focus specifically on inbound marketing and the conversion of consumer auto leads. Founded by 30 year industry veteran Larry Bruce, the aim is to help dealerships not only build traffic, but also cultivate their own first party leads and turn them into showroom visits. In addition to ShowroomMagnet, OnlineDrive also owns MicrositesbyU, the auto industry’s only landing page management platform.

Media Contacts: 

Laurie Halter

Charisma! Communications

Ph (503) 245-3140

Laurie@charismacommunications.com

Houston, TX– April 25, 2012 – OnlineDrive, the automotive industry’s first lead provider to focus on inbound marketing and conversion, introduces ShowroomMagnet, an incentive-based lead generator that gives OnlineDrive clients the extra boost needed to move an online lead to the showroom floor.

Using Showroom Magnet, dealerships are able to deliver gift card incentives to online leads in exchange for a visit to the showroom. Automated reminder emails and online web marketing continue to encourage the lead to visit the showroom until they act on the incentive and redeem the gift certificate.

ZMOT its everywhere seems like these days. With Google as the general session at Digital Dealer this year I thought I would talk about how we see the execution of ZMOT for dealers. Below are the slides from my presentation. I think these numbers will add up to a pattern if you look at the slides closely.

• There is not ONE ZMOT in Automotive there are TWO
• People spend as much time consuming online media as they do off
• Targeting is getting better & faster online, you can now target display like you target adwords
• Offline marketing is just pushing consumers online so you have to be in both and understand where you are pushing them
• It doesn’t matter how good you are at adwords or display, if your ad sucks you won’t get the click no matter how relevant you think your message is to the keyword
• It doesn’t matter how good you are with your adwords or display and even your ad if your landing doesn’t match what you promised you won’t get the conversion
• Remarketing is valuable if you use it right, if you just send the consumer back to the same page they didn’t like before it’s NOT
• IT TAKES A COORDINATED STRATEGY ONLINE AND OFF TO WIN, NOT JUST AN INTEGRATED OR BUNDLED ONE

At the end of the day, I still see a lot of “Marketing Partners” who have a product, widget or new shiny object to sell not a coordinated service offering to help the dealer sell & service more cars.

Last Digital Dealer we explored the data behind SEO & PPC and where your efforts get the most bang for the buck.

At Digital Dealer 12 in Orlado April 3-5 will will explore the data behind ZMOT and how to execute it in your store to increase lead volume and most importantly Show Rate in the dealerhips.

Click Here to attend my Digital Dealer 12 Session “Marketing By The Numbers” Executing ZMOT in your dealeship

Here are the slides from DD11 SEO VS PPC “The Epic Battle”

 That kills a General Manager it’s what he doesn’t know!

 Those words spoken to me by one of the smartest dealers I ever worked for, Jay Marks, have stayed with me since 1996.   Same principal applies in every position of the dealership but particularly in marketing.

 Let’s face it Marketing is quickly becoming a dealership position. It’s a complicated dance between traditional and  digital, the dealership and its partners. What is most alarming to me is the lack of basic information dealerships and  their marketing partners have about the dealerships market and customers behavior. It’s always amazing to me that  so many dealerships can operate even profitably and know very little about their market or their customer behavior. Even  more alarming is the “Marketing Partners” they are using know less than the dealership, “They are not at the store!”.

Post one of ten posts I will be making leading up to Digital Dealer 12.

If you are one of the best dealers in the country you are using 10% of your Secret Weapon…what is it?

DATA!

Your DMS is full of it, but that’s just the tip of the ice burg. Your OEM has 10 years of your dealerships customers you need to get it. Polk has data you can use, there are 1000’s of people that hit your website every month who leave trails of billions of bits of behavioral data, your call tracking provider has data you can use I could go on but you get the point…

OR DO YOU?