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Car dealers who want to implement an effective Internet Reputation Management (IRM) process at their dealership should plan on attending Brian Pasch’s seminar at the 8^th Digital Dealer Conference in Orlando.  The conference runs from April 20^th through the 22^nd and will attract the top dealers in the country who are passionate about digital marketing.

Brian will educate dealers on how to create an effective reputation management strategy that empowers the dealership’s customers to share their positive experiences online.  With Google consolidating consumer’s reviews on Google Maps, car dealers can no longer ignore what consumers are saying online.

More importantly, if dealers are not proactively asking their satisfied customer to post their reviews online, the only comments that most dealers will see will be critical.   Brian’s research has shown that as positive reviews increase, so do calls and leads from a Google Maps listing.

Brian will walk attendees through the processes and procedures to establish a strong IRM program as well as leveraging new IRM ideas that include Reputation Management portals (RMP).

For additional information on the seminar schedule and how to register for the 8^th Digital Dealer Conference, visit:  http://www.digitaldealerconference.com

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….