A father and son walked onto a car lot and started looking around. As the salesperson approached, the son, 14- or 15-years old, was clearly directing his father towards a particular new vehicle. They met the salesperson in front of a Chevy Cruze and told her that they wanted to take it for a test drive. As car deals go, this one was a pretty easy one. The negotiations were tough – they were informed buyers who paid well under MSRP after discounts and rebates on a 2013 with 2014 models rolling out – but otherwise it was pretty quick. They knew what they wanted and didn’t need much convincing that it was the…

The use of social media to report events has become a normal occurrence. Any time anything happens that is newsworthy, many turn first to social media, plugging in Twitter hashtags and searching the Facebook news feeds for information. As disorganized and young as the industry is, it has been influential in getting the word out during times of crisis. There’s a caveat. It simply isn’t as correct as traditional news sources. The space allotted for reporting, both professional- and citizen-based, isn’t enough to paint a full picture at times. There are also those who intentionally mislead through…

The internet gives everyone a voice, and that’s a beautiful thing. However, the things people say online can actually have a bigger impact than they think. When an unhappy customer goes online and leaves a bad review of a business, other customers take it to heart and the company looses business– maybe just a little at first, but when companies start to develop a bad reputation online, it can spread and grow in the blink of an eye. Luckily there are ways that businesses can help prevent that.   Creating a good online presence Everyone wants to have a strong online presence, especially businesses….

There are plenty of articles, blog posts, videos, and testimonials out there demonstrating that businesses are having tremendous success using Facebook and other social media sites to communicate successfully with their customers. Those aren’t the stories that you ever hear about, though. Instead, many are terrified of a major Facebook misstep such as what recently happened to Applebee’s. Those are the stories that are told, the ones that gurus discuss and warn about in blog posts to keep pageviews going to their websites. Just as the real world news has always had an attitude of, “if it bleeds,…

Americans crave football and appreciate a positive customer service experience. They pay, on average, about $100 a year for sports programming. Seventy-three percent of U.S. males and 55 percent of females watch football. How do they get their football fix? Sixty percent watch NFL football on television sets, and eight percent catch games on their computers. Twenty-seven percent of Americans watch between six and ten hours of football per week during the NFL season. The cable industry is thriving—it raked in 97.6 billion in revenue last year alone. So, how do consumers feel about the customer…

Next to computers, tablets, and smartphones, our cars are often the most technologically-challenging item that we deal with on a daily basis. Every model year brings out new gadgets and gizmos that are designed to enhance, adapt, and often-times engage with other technologies that we carry with us. Tablets are used as owners’ manuals. MP3 players have become our stereos. Speakers and mics interact with our phones for hands-free driving. These are the common examples. Today’s cars can do so much more. The advertising on the OEM level often focuses on technology. Why do so few dealers do the same?…

Location is essential when it comes to marketing, but most think it is their business location that matters the most, which is some-what true, but so does the location of customers. Targeting potential buyers based on where they are located is called, Geo-marketing and it is beneficial by appealing to people with products found in their area. The graphic below shows the different ways companies can use Geo-marketing to better their online sales and why it is important. This infographic from Kiss Metrics comes to us via Chevy Seattle and explores “Geo-Marketing and Why it Matters”. Click…

As a smart consumer, you’re probably aware that you’re being “managed,” but what you might not realize is what big business this management has become. The Customer Relationship Management (CRM) process has evolved to become so intelligent, that your local florist remembers your anniversary before you do, and we could all do with a little help in that department, couldn’t we? Here’s a breakdown of how businesses keep tabs on you and why it is in your best interest.   What is CRM? CRM involves the use of software and apps to organize business processes involving the customer and to track…

Verizon has had its share of foibles over the last few months over how their customers interact with their cellular plans. On June 28th, they debut their “Share Everything” plans which will allow up to 10 devices within a family to pull from a common pool of data coverage while enjoying unlimited minutes and messages. “Customers asked, and today Verizon Wireless delivered an industry first,” said Tami Erwin, VP and CMO for Verizon Wireless. “Share Everything Plans are the new standard for wireless service. They are simple; customers no longer have to think about their voice and message…

There was a time when an unhappy customer was an unhappy customer. Best practices said to deal with their concerns, empathize, try to fix it, and if you couldn’t move on. Today, the last step has changed thanks to social media. Customers are empowered to be able to voice their concerns to a much wider audience than ever before. The old saying was that an unhappy customer will tell 10 people. Today, they can tell 10 thousand with the click of a few buttons. At the very least, they can tell their friends, family, and co-workers by simply posting their disgust on Facebook. The game has changed. This infographic…