The music industry lost a great artist when the Beastie Boys’ Adam Yauch succumbed to cancer last month. Growing up, the group was one of my early favorites and, unlike many rap acts from the mid 80’s, they actually evolved their music over the years to stay edgy. They stayed ahead of the curve. Dealers can learn a great deal about staying progressive by being a Beastie Boy.
Recognize first that your primary market area is not just your backyard. It isn’t the twenty miles around your store, despite what the third-party lead providers say. Your business is Intergalactic. It is far-reaching and widespread. You must be doing everything to focus your search advertisements locally and down-funnel, but marketing your brand globally. You must be your own Paul Revere. You must storm around your area and alert those nearby of your presence, but you must be shouting your brand. your people, your value proposition, your history, and your voice with digital assets.
How else can you have a pervasive influence? Start by embracing the power of online word of mouth. You need to Pass the Mic to your loyal customers and realize that it cannot just be your owner singing your praises, but those that actually frequent your dealership. As Google continues to grow their focus on Google Places/Google Plus Pages and the reviews they generate, your consumers will be driven either to or from your store. Consider this The New Style of compelling customers to choose you over your competition.
Now here is something that affects DealerKnows personally. I find it shocking that a dealership manager or employee can be shown something that is proven to make them more money and yet they will do everything in their power to Sabotage the new agenda. They actually turn down the opportunity to make more money because it either isn’t their idea or they simply don’t want to look wrong as it opposes their personal misguided beliefs. You need to Check Your Head and make sure that your management team is not trying to undo the forward movement that you are trying to instill in your dealership. Training is a Sure Shot to guarantee your team has the Skills to Pay the Bills, and it shouldn’t challenged and led to Instant Death. If you are paying for Internet sales training, make sure your entire team is embracing it.
So What’cha Want? You want to grow your online presence and Internet sales, correct? Then you have to Make Some Noise to brand your dealership far and wide, get your Body Movin’, Fight for Your Right to garner Google Reviews, not let any Tough Guy manager get in the way of promoting new digital tactics, and you have to do it Right Right Now Now. In the meantime, RIP Adam Yauch and do what it takes to Be a Beastie Boy.
