Word of mouth  is the holy grail of reaching potential customers – car buyers are no different.  Someone who just bought a car at your dealership recommends to a friend buying a car what a great experience they had at your dealership, and BAM!, they’re walking through your doors instead of the dealership down the street.

Until fairly recently, harnessing the power of word of mouth advertising has been virtually impossible.  Now, thanks to social media, the possibilities are becoming a bit more tangible.  If your dealership is not already engaging potential customers through social media online, these 10 data points will certainly set you straight.

10. 93% of consumers do research online before buying a car.

Whether your dealership and inventory is online or not, almost 100% of your potential customers are on the web searching for information, reviews and recommendations!

9. 67% of consumers say that recommendations and information from people online influences their purchasing decisions.

More than 2/3’s of consumers make their purchasing decision based on peer reviews and recommendations!  As long as you are transparent about your affiliations and are tactful with your approach, your recommendations could be just as influential as the next guy, maybe even more based on your unique expertise.

8. 56% of consumers feel a stronger connection with a brand if they are able to interact with the company through social media.

The days of large, faceless corporations are long gone! Individuals want to be heard and they want to connect on a one-on-one basis. Instead of blasting your advertising message through an air horn, cater your dealership’s voice by listening to your customers’ needs and use social media to allow for two-way communication.

7. 57% of consumers feel better served by a company when they can interact with them through social media.

When a consumer feels better served, that’s when they recommend you to their friends at the next cocktail party, write rave reviews on their blogs and recommend you online.  We are in the Recommendation Age.  Interact = Get recommended.

6. 33% of consumers visit blogs, communities or social networks to research products before buying.

Conversational media plays a significant role in car buying process and before the consumer even knows what car they want to buy, they are out there reading reviews, comparing specs and test-driving cars.  Shouldn’t you use your unique position to help them with basic questions and build a relationship? It’s time to engage!

5. Nearly 13% of new vehicle buyers commented on someone’s blog or forum (J.D. Power & Associates)

Not only are consumers searching for information, they are engaging and providing their own views of the presented information. By interacting with your customers and offering free help, you will build awareness for your brand online as they do their research.

4. 57% of consumers say they would likely take action based on information they received from an online brand representative.

You and your dealership are a brand. If you don’t represent yourself someone else will.  People are Googling you and your dealership, and your reputation is being built on those results.  Put your online reputation in your hands by joining the conversation.

3. 67% of consumers say they are likely to pass the information they received from an online brand representative along to others.

If you are willing to help out your potential customers, they will help you out.  It’s word of mouth hard at work for you

2. 45% of consumers say they pass along information they find on social media websites, compared to only 36% who pass information they received from company or news sites.

Why rely on customers coming to you?  People hang out on social media sites and word of mouth happens more often as a result of information found on social media sites.  Find, listen and engage.

1. According to eMarketer’s recent report, by 2013 an estimated 52% of all Internet users will be regular social network visitors. (Up from 41% in 2007)

Social media is not a fad and as technology improves, the number of people that will connect on a one-on-one basis will only continue to grow. Make your presence known in the conversation today and let the ripple effect help you grow through personal connections.

Most of the data above was provided by: http://www.sherpastore.com/socialmediabmg09.html – the above information doesn’t even scratch the surface of the invaluable information contained in this report – which I highly recommend!

Our automotive community, while in its early stages, is one great place to engage potential car buyers.  Sometimes establishing yourself as an authority voice while a community is still in its infancy can be a great benefit to your style of communicating.  Successful communities are shaped around their ambassadors, and ours will be no different.

Stay tuned for our list of the best places to engage with consumers online today….

Are the above stats enough to make you engage today?  What are your hesitations? What has been your experience communicating with car buyers if you are already engaged?

You know we all do it. Sure, we try to patronize the local grocer, but sometimes Wal-Mart is cheaper or more convenient. If you want the cheapest gallon of milk, a quick quart of oil or even a reasonably priced LCD TV, Wal-Mart has everything you need. In the next few years though, you may be able to head down to Wal-Mart, CostCo or your basic “big box” store to buy your next car. Right now, if you want to buy a car in Mexico, that’s where people go. Well, maybe not any car,but at least one particular brand, GS Motors.

Wal-Mart, CostoCo, Sam’s and similar stores are known for their ultra efficient supply chain management. They are able to ship things more efficiently than smaller stores and thus, are able to sell them cheaper. Analysts and car makers who make ultra-cheap cars (the Chinese) will be able to utilize these amazing supply chains to market to a huge number of people (people visit Wal-Mart over 130 million times per week).

However, these big box stores will have the same problems with these cars as they do with many of their toys. Quality. In the same way Korean cars like Kia and Hyundai had very sketchy beginnings in the US, the likes of Chery and BYD will have a tough time selling to Americans who have a higher expectation of quality. Their price will no doubt fund future generations of Chinese cars that are sure to have better quality and more mainstream design.

What does this mean for dealers today? It means that a bad economy might be the least of your worries. A combination of a falling dollar (with all the “stimulus” money Washington will print out of this air) and resultant lower purchasing power of our next generation will push buyers to look for alternatives to Hondas and Toyotas. The Chinese car makers will make an absolute killing with the favorable exchange rates and domestic brands will suffer without cheaper, better built cars.

So, how will dealers “deal” with everything going against them? In this writer’s humble opinion, tax brakes are the only hope we have. Right now, the corporate tax rate in the US is the highest in the world. Makes it pretty tough to compete when you’re cars have a 35% (plus state and local taxes) premium over that of your competitors. It makes sense to most economists that killing this tax rate will allow for car companies to sell cars cheaper and hire more people to make these cars. The government will in turn make money through the income tax revenue of those employees, thus recovering the money “lost” through lowing tax income. Cheaper cars means its easier to export them to foreign nations which, again, leads to more cars sold and more revenue for the Government. So the question is this: are we going to keep killing our manufacturers and dealers by keeping the corporate tax rate high (and in turn, allowing unemployment to stay high), thus empowering China and their economy or will we lower our tax rates so our companies can compete with the rest of the world and we can take the fight overseas? The current administration and congress seem to think they can will the economy through distribution of funds into “creating” wealth. Unfortunately, the more you fight economics, the more you will suffer. And by you, I mean the American people.

Inspiration: GasGoo

For those of you who find the regular SMART FourTwo either too mundane or not fuel efficient enough, I present the following. Not only does the car keep the same Euro chic image of the regular SMART FourTwo, but you also get the added benefit of a lithium-ion battery. With the electric SMART you also get a 0-60 of 7.1 seconds, top speed of 80MPH and a range of over 140 miles on single charge. The charge time is approximately 6-8 hours and you should get a duty cycle of around 1500 charges on the battery.

Want to know more about it? Discuss it with us on the EasyAutoSales forums and we’ll give you all the juicy information: Hybrid Technologies LiV “Dash” (SMART FourTwo)

With all the clips and pictures around the web I’ve saved up in my bookmarks folder, I’ve decided that it’s time to get some of these onto the EasyAutoSales blog and hopefully entertain some of the audience more than some of my posts (which have been for the most part, serious due to the current state of the auto industry and economy as a whole). It’s called “EasyRides” and I hope everyone enjoys it!

As such, I’m starting out with a concept drawing of a Buick Lucern:

Buick has been known as a pretty stodgy brand in recent history. However, with recent effots via Tiger Woods spokesmanship (recently stopped due to cost) and designs that are more 21st century AD than 21st century BC. The above is a decent rendition of a modern “pimped out” Buick. It’s no 2010 Buick LaCross, but it’s forwards movement!

Tell me what you think about Buick in the forums: EasyRides – Buick Concept

What’s so compelling about the GMC name that keeps The General building Canyons, Sierras, Envoys, Yukons and the rest of the line? Would GM lose sales to Ford or Dodge if they killed the GMC line or is it something more? Is GMC the rugged workers brand? Is it something more? How does GMC fit into the rest of GM’s line?

I think the end question is: would GM kill a brand with their name right there in the title? I believe only if GM were at the end of their rope would they go so far as to kill a brand like GMC. Pontiac and Saturn have already been talked about being on the chopping block. Cadillac is growing and successful. Chevrolet is the largest domestic producer, so GM wouldn’t kill either of them anytime soon either. With all the brands in the GM portfolio, I would put GMC 3rd in line to be dropped. What do you think?

As long as the US Government keeps giving GM money, it’s something that they aren’t going to have to worry about. GM is going to keep doing what they have been doing because there’s no reason to change. All we can hope is that some people inside GM with foresight will begin to streamline their operations (keep the GMC models, just brand them as Chevys). Perhaps this will extend to other parts of their business, like branding and marketing. GM still has a stodgy image compared to Ford, and streamlining the manufacturing while expanding their media presence can only help their image and their business. Take some risks General! Show us what you’ve got!

Tell me what you think by discussing in the forums: GMC – Is It Brand Loyalty?