DealerKnows
Where Do I Start?
  • Services
    • Training
    • Consulting
    • Creative Video
    • Performance Monitoring
    • CRM Analysis
    • Professional Speaking
    • Bundles
  • Products
    • TaskTeacher
    • PriceMatrix
    • Dealer Forensics
  • Clients
    • Results
    • Reviews
  • About
    • Joe Webb
    • Bill Playford
    • DK Team
    • Ask the Experts
  • Blog
  • Videos
    • Funny Videos
    • Educational Videos
    • Dealership Videos
    • Conference Videos
    • Make Me A Star
  • Contact Us
  • DealerKnows Summer Camp
  • Services
    • Training
    • Consulting
    • Creative Video
    • Performance Monitoring
    • CRM Analysis
    • Professional Speaking
    • Bundles
  • Products
    • TaskTeacher
    • PriceMatrix
    • Dealer Forensics
  • Clients
    • Results
    • Reviews
  • About
    • Joe Webb
    • Bill Playford
    • DK Team
    • Ask the Experts
  • Blog
  • Videos
    • Funny Videos
    • Educational Videos
    • Dealership Videos
    • Conference Videos
    • Make Me A Star
  • Contact Us
  • DealerKnows Summer Camp
Where Do I Start?

The Media’s Negative Effect on the Car Industry

Share With:

I was thumbing through my Sunday morning Chicago Tribune (yes, I still get the paper – don’t know why as I read it online before ever cracking open the usually-soggy paper) and came across an article about the uptick in automotive sales. It mentioned that a rebound was occurring. I found the article refreshing. No, not because I was enlightened with new information, but that there was ANY positive news about car sales. Media rarely reports any positive messages regarding the car industry. We’ve been submerged in the doom and gloom scenario by the media outlets for months and months.

I am trying to decide (with your help) how much the media’s negative coverage of our industry’s shortcomings are affecting overall sales. If the entire sales volume decline equals 100%, how much of a percentage would you attribute to the media overwhelming the American public with negativity? 30%? 50%?

This bad publicity just makes consumers hold onto their cars a little longer. They are told to push forward another 6 months with their current vehicle, get it fixed, or step down to a pre-owned opposed to a new. Newscast after nightly newscast, the public hears negativity that they, sadly, believe empowers them to negotiate far beyond the boundaries of realism.

Obviously, the reason for this negativity is that it sells newspapers. Let’s face it, the newspaper industry is the only one taking a bigger hit than home and auto sales. Still, as a “member” of the automotive industry, I would just like to hear more about the “uptick” in retail car sales opposed to the CONSTANT CONSTERNATION being heaped upon potential car buyers.

Allow me to also mention that I understand the media is in no way responsible for what we got ourselves into. I must say that automakers and, in some cases, dealers have sat “high on the hog” for quite a while and we were our own undoing. We know what the OEMs mishandled and we know that dealers lost the focus of customer service/retention and lost the desire/ability/need to professionally train their staff when times were good. Now, in a challenging time, dealers have had to rekindle the magic that it often takes to be profitable in automotive retail.

No matter the reason for the initial downturn, the media has played a significant role in how long it has lasted. So I ask again…
What do you think the percentage is?
How much is the media responsible for our ongoing struggles?
Put a number on it.

Here is a blog I published on Automotive Digital Marketing –
https://tinyurl.com/mbhmbm

 

Fox News

Don’t believe everything you hear

 

Joe Webb • July 17, 2009 • Gotta' Share
  • Best Of
  • Most Read
  • Three Questions That Need to Be Answered For 2023: Why Does It Matter Now?
    By Bill Playford
    December 29, 2022
  • 3 Important Questions That Need Answering for 2023
    By Bill Playford
    December 19, 2022
  • improv comedyHow Improv Comedy Builds Companies
    By Joe Webb
    July 2, 2019
  • NYE PartyWhat My Crazy NYE Party Can Teach Us About Marketing in 2019
    By Joe Webb
    January 3, 2019
  • 3 Important Questions That Need Answering for 2023
    By Bill Playford
    December 19, 2022
  • sales managementThe Manager Who Doesn’t: A Guide to Better Sales Management
    By Joe Webb
    June 2, 2016
  • sacred cowCan you Kill a Sacred Cow?
    By Joe Webb
    January 12, 2016
  • The LeftoversWhat Happens When They Disappear?
    By Bill Playford
    August 29, 2015

Categories

  • All About BDCs
  • Ask the Expert
  • Comic Strips
  • Competitive Edge
  • DealerKnows Data
  • DealerKnows Press
  • DealerKnows Testimonials
  • Digital Marketing
  • Digital Marketing Conferences
  • Gotta’ Share
  • Internet Strategy
  • Lead Management and Process
  • Leadership and Sales Management
  • Quotables
  • Sales Training
  • Small Business Consulting
  • Social Media and Reputation Management
  • Technology
  • Vendor Relations
  • Websites and Online Search

Search Posts

Sign Up for DealerKnews

There are craptastic newsletters, then there is DealerKnews. Get all of our posts without having to set up a RSS feed. Start getting a monthly megadose of geniusness. Its like steroids for your brain.

Latest from the Blog

Announcing: 2023 DealerKnows Summer Camp – Most Unique Automotive Event of the Year!by Joe WebbRead blog post

Contact us

We really, really, really want to talk to you.

Get In Touch with Us

Sign Up for DealerKnews

There are craptastic newsletters, then there is DealerKnews. Get all of our posts without having to set up a RSS feed. Start getting a monthly megadose of geniusness. It’s like steroids for your brain.

© 2023 DealerKnows | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use

Powered by Launch Digital Marketing.

2023 DealerKnows Summer Camp

The Only Automotive Conference You’d Ever Regret Missing

Location: Camp Blue Ridge | Clayton, GA

Date: May 23-25, 2023

Register Today!