I’ve been spending time thinking of new ways to assist car dealers brand themselves on the Internet and to promote their excellence in sales and service online. If 85% of all new car purchases start online, then dealers need to get their message in the path of consumers shopping online.  Nothing could be better than strong peer reviews!

Many articles on the Internet have discussed Automotive Internet Reputation Management and the importance of checking what consumers are writing about you on the Internet.  Still many dealers fail to read even what is posted or rolled-up on Google Maps.  Automotive Reputation Management must be a standard operating procedures for car dealers in 2010.

Hare Chevrolet RMP

I would like to offer some new twists on this discuss with the concept of a Reputation Management Portal (RMP).  In the example shown above, we have taken a simple WordPress website and consolidated links to popular review websites.   Each icon is linked to the specific review page for our client Hare Chevrolet. 

Here is an overview of the Reputation Management Portal (RMP):

1. The site is created on a great branding URL, like www.iloveharechevy.com
2. The dealer can print up postcards and give them to happy customers marketing this catchy URL.
3. The single URL can be easily promoted offline and also by email.
4. The review website icons that you show and the order that they appear can be changed.
5. You can add your streaming Dealerrater reviews as a tab, as shown on this site.
6. You can add your Facebook Fan Page stream as a tab, as shown on this site.
7. You can add your YouTube video channel of testimonials, if they exist.
8. You can add your Twitter stream as a sidebar widget.
9. You can add a quote form for consumers who stumble upon you site and want a car.
10. You can add popular links in the sidebar to drive traffic to your main website.
11. You can add blog posts to the site to highlight written testimonials that arrive via email or postal mail.

If  Hare Chevrolet prints up postcards that promote this website www.iloveharechevy.com, you can bet that their service advisors will be able to identify happy customers to hand the card as ask for their assistance.  That’s dozens of postcards in people’s hands each day. 

You can bet that your sales managers know who the customers that are very excited about their purchase experience.  Instead of just handing out a card for one review website, why not create your own Reputation Management Portal postcard and drive reviews where they are needed most.

The great thing about the RMP being a WordPress website, is that anyone can add or change icons to promote higher review counts on new websites.  Once this is set in place, you don’t need a programmer to get involved.  

This will allow you to direct review traffic to different websites throughout the year to have a wider branding influence since there are about 10 review websites that should be included in a comprehensive IRM strategy.

If you like this idea, and would like a RMP constructed for your dealership, its very easy and simple to manage.  I have a few other ideas to help dealers in 2010 increase their brand visibility online.

We’ll have some “killer” strategies revealed at the Automotive Marketing Boot Camp  in Orlando the day before the official start of NADA Convention.  If you are going to NADA, fly in on the 11th and register for an intense day of social media and digital marketing education.

I hope to see you there….

Brian Pasch, CEO of the Pasch Consulting Group (PCG), says a surge of interest by car dealers in Digital Marketing Services bodes well for digital marketing firms in 2010. Based on data collected in a recent study underwritten by PCG, Pasch predicts the Automotive industry will experience a swift and significant increase in advertising dollars allocated towards Digital Marketing strategies. 

During the last month of 2009, calls to the Pasch Consulting Group researching Automotive Internet Marketing strategies was at an all time high.  According to Brian Pasch, over 50 car dealer store locations contracted with his company in the past 30 days looking for assistance with social media, automotive SEO, blogging, press releases, microsites and pay-per-click marketing.

Among the dealerships welcomed by Pasch Consulting are Checkered Flag Auto Group in Virginia Beach, Miller Automotive Group of California, a division of Group 1 Automotive, Jerry Durant Auto Group of Texas, the Rairdon Automotive Group in Washington and Park Avenue Motors in New Jersey.

Furthermore, a recent study commissioned by the Pasch Consulting Group revealed that over 50% of US auto dealers have less than 20% of their total ad spending allocated towards Internet Marketing.   According to Pasch, car dealers could shift 20-30% of their non-digital marketing to online digital services by the end of the year.

Based on this study and dealers’ rising interests in online marketing, Pasch predicts that 2010 will see one of the largest budget shifts towards the Internet.  “We predict that over the next two years, tens of millions of dollars will be pumped into digital marketing strategies and social media marketing by car dealers.” says Pasch.  “Dealers want to be in front of the growing number of consumers researching cars online before making a purchasing decision.  Getting their brand in front of consumers using social media tools and platforms like Facebook is also a hot topic for car dealers.”

To meet this growing demand for online marketing strategies and advice on digital spending, the Pasch Consulting Group is co-sponsoring an Automotive Marketing Boot Camp.  The one-day hands-on skills based training will include classes in social media, search engine optimization, video marketing, pay-per-click marketing and microsites.

The Boot Camp is schedule for February 12, 2010 and is one day prior to the official start of the 2010 NADA Convention in Orlando Florida.  Automotive professionals looking to enhance their 2010 digital marketing strategies are encourage to fly into Orlando a day early and attend the Boot Camp.  The event will be held at the Rosen Centre Hotel adjacent to the Convention hall.

Boot Camp classes will be lead by the industry’s leading experts in all categories, including Brian Pasch, JD Rucker, Eric Mayhew, Paul Rushing and Tim Jennings.  Pasch is also taking appointments from dealer professionals who want to meet with him to discuss digital marketing strategy development for 2010. 

Complete information on the Automotive Marketing Boot Camp can be found online at: http://www.automotivemarketingbootcamp.com