Consumers Have Changed The Game.

Consumers Have Changed The Game Popular social sites like Facebook, Twitter and Myspace have allowed consumers to change the game in the automotive industry. Dealers across the country are scrambling to set up social sites that potentially connect them to their customers. I have begun to notice a trend that automotive dealers have placed their focus on selling and not connecting. Dealers are traveling in the right direction, yet they are all on the long wrong to success. Consumers actually like the ideal that they have the ability to connect with their local car dealer on Facebook, yet dealers have failed to establish a real relationship with their buyers.  We as dealers have a tradition of trying to recreate the wheel, social networking became popular long before the automotive industry decided to jump on the band wagon. Pushing the needle to increase sales is the long road to success for dealers; we have failed to recognize the processes and procedures that these social sites have already implemented to reach their success today. Consumers Have Changed The Rules, and local car dealers have not yet decided to play the buyers game. It appears that dealers and manufacturers have come up with their own game plan to change the face of Social networking, implementing annotated methods that in the past have made the auto industry successful. Whenever there is a Paradigm Shift, everything changes...including the rules and dealer's have refused to operate under the new rules. The way I see it, and keep in mind this is just one man's opinion "Dealers Who Don't Do It, Won't Get It Consumers spend more time on social sites Right Now than they do anywhere else on the web, yet we are not speaking their language on these sites!  In order to capture and maintain friends or fans, as they are called on Facebook, content, connections and links must be fresh and appeal to your fans.  Most of these sites give you a breakdown of your visitors; the analytics of your pages along with demographics, what else would you need to manage the behavior of your fans?  Automation and technology can be good, yet without the human element, it will be a longgggg time before Car Dealers will see a measurable ROI for any type of investment made through social media.  Consumers are yearning for Online Negotiations, Online Trade Appraisals, and Online Real-Time Communications....these services are being offered across the board, yet we have only taken a small road to achieve this goal.  "One place to do all you need to do, before you buy".... is what one guy told me in a recent online poll I launched. We in the automotive industry operate a lot like Big Businesses in other industries, We Out Source!!  We have learned to depend on outside services to speak to our guest, after we were the ones to establish the relationship, spent the two-three hours selling them a vehicle. Think about this, would you allow someone else to come into your marriage, to help keep it together, after you have established the relationship? lol!!  Well that is exactly what car dealers do, strangers talk to our customers, do the follow-up calls, email our friends and family................. The Rules have Changed, why not us?  There is a lot more to this Automotive Social Networking thing than we want to recognize! Additional questions, comments Thomas Ieracitano Thomas@Ieracitano.com www.DigitalCarGuy.com (229) 251-2462