The marketing world has been changing at a blistering pace. There are privacy updates that have reduced targeting and audience capabilities, the deprecation of the cookie, new advertising entrants, changes to current platforms, and so much more that you have to contend with in order to market effectively. Things will only become more complex just as the customer journey has these past few years (expedited by COVID-19).In this KPI Cafe, DrivenIQ's CEO Albert Thompson provides a full view of wh...
The past few years have heralded major changes in automotive retail: direct-to-consumer models and new entrants, EVs, supply constraints, GA4, and, of course, a pandemic, are a few of the myriad things to navigate. It's important to take a moment to reflect on the good that has come out of it, including both what good has already happened and what good lies on the horizon.In this KPI Cafe, Automotive State of the Union's (ASOTU) Paul J. Daly and Kyle Mountsier dive into these changes -- past,...
Risks -- some big and some small -- are quite a common life occurrence. They come in the form of dating, employment, entrepreneurship, hobbies/activities, and so much more. Sometimes a risk pays off, and sometimes is doesn't. That's often the allure of a risk: the potential it has. We, however, don't want to blindly take risks as our chances of failure increase. It takes deliberation: we want it to be a measured risk.Dane Saville, Co-Founder of and Brand Manager for Reunion Marketing, takes u...
Amazon offers a prime opportunity for advertisers in automotive retail to reach a multitude of local consumers who can help satisfy all profit centers of a dealership, as well as help dealers with inventory acquisition. This platform, including its Amazon Garage, and all of its network partners create a powerful programmatic channel that offers audiences and targeting to address consumers in the Awareness, Consideration, and Conversion stages of the path to purchase.Vasilios Lambos, CMO for C...
The Business Development Center (BDC) continues to be a point of conversation for automotive retail. It turns out that there are more options, more nuance, and more best practices to consider and implement based on a dealer's individual needs because, after all, one size does not fit all. To help us dive more into this topic, we have Wendy Reeves, Founder of BDC Angels, to walk us through a high-level perspective on the BDC, then a quick pivot into many more of the details.If you've never uti...
For today's episode, we continue our foray into artificial intelligence (AI) with Konect.ai's Colby Joyner. In this Part 2, we go beyond setting the context of AI and into setting actual expectations, including its parameters, capabilities, limitations, integrations, and final tips for dealers considering this technology.We hope you enjoy as Colby navigates us through specific, real-world applications of AI and the obstacles he's encountered in his new role at Konect.ai. There will be no "Wha...
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has quickly emerged as a primary subject in automotive retail over the past few years. For this KPI Cafe, we take our first sojourn into discussing AI with Colby Joyner, Vice President of Sales at Konect.ai. Throughout the episode, which has been divided into two parts, has Part 1 setting the context of what AI does, what it doesn't, and how to tell the difference between a true, transparent partner and those "other guys."As expected, Colby lays out myriad insight...
In this KPI Cafe, we return to the conversation of Google Marketing Live with Colin Carrasquillo, Digital Marketing Manager for the Nielsen Automotive Group. In this second part, Dane and Colin continue their dive into different elements, strategies, and updates shared during the most recent GML event -- plus some other relevant thoughts. Here's what you can expect:Conversation and ContextDeprecation of the Cookie First-Party DataInsightsAudience SegmentsPerformance Max CampaignsEase of ...
In this KPI Cafe, Colin Carrasquillo, Digital Marketing Manger for Nielsen Auto Group, dives into some of the latest Google innovations with host Dane Saville. This discussion come on the heels of the 2022 Google Marketing Live event from Tuesday, May 25th. While the GML event helps guide the conversation, Dane and Colin discuss current usage of tools and products referred to during the event, as well as hits on a few more general topics based on what was presented.You'll hear perspectives an...
In this KPI Cafe, Ken Mauldin, Corporate Fixed Operations Director for Purdy Group USA, offers up insights about the small change that he and his team made that created big results for the dealership: more trade-ins from the service department. He explains the balance of data analysis and observation that lead to a verbiage change in one of the questions consumers were asked to answer that now generates a reliable and consistent source of used inventory. The question, however, is ...
In this KPI Cafe, host Dane Saville uses his conversations with Reunion Marketing's Social Media Department to bring insights and actionable tips that will help your dealership maximize the potency of your Facebook ads. With the Apple iOS 14.5 privacy update, you're losing 70%+ of your data on shoppers by sending them from Facebook to your website. You need a strategy that will feed your decision-making with precise data that you can analyze granularly with confidence. The path forward t...
In this KPI Cafe, Kaylee Felio, Sales & Marketing Manager for PartsEdge, dives into a topic that we've not previously broached before: the Parts Department. When the pandemic shut down sales, your fixed operations holistically became a profit center that finally began receiving it's much-deserved attention. As a result, there was more investment in marketing, tools, and staff; however, as with all things, there's still room for improvement.Kaylee helps us understand where some of the bigg...
In this episode of the KPI Cafe, Dr. Scott Garlock, the Executive Director of the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, shares his insights and passion for the only true American art form. Whether you're an avid jazz listener or have never really witnessed the beauty of this form of musical improvisation, there is plenty to glean: the history of jazz, introducing yourself to jazz through fusion and funk, the way players meet creatively while playing, and much more.You'll also get to learn more about the ...
In this episode of the KPI Cafe, host Dane Saville dives into a solo act to highlight five -- of the many -- core tenets of effective copywriting. These were hand-selected based on a look across websites, paid search copy, social media copy, and more; all five need a little extra attention because they are still pervasive in automotive digital marketing; however, these can apply and are beneficial to any small business seeking to improve their messages with extra nuance. Whether you're a Deal...
In this KPI Cafe, Greg Davison, an automotive leader for the past 15 years, offers up insights about leveraging his history to create a new schedule at the dealership. This episode covers the schedule he created, the impact on his team, the impact on his recruitment, how the scheduling works, and much more! If you need to hear a first-hand experience at how a change like this can greatly improve the morale of your people and benefit the dealership's retention and operation, Greg makes a very ...
Paid search in automotive retail seems to have always been a point of contention. We often discuss wasted budgets, targeting issues, and reporting, which compels agencies and internal teams to continually try new products, lean into automations, and find nuances to optimizations.In this KPI Cafe, we invite Sarah Ciociola, PCG Digital's Media Director, to offer up a high-level look at their new approach to paid search, which tasks you to take on a fresh look at your Google Analytics Views, Goo...
Brian Ortega, Creative Director of Valley Hi Toyota, joins the KPI Cafe to jam about the creative process -- from conception to execution, including production tips -- in generating fun content for the dealership. Whether you're a Marketing Director who's not sure where to start in generating more creative messaging or a Dealer Principal who's hesitant because of perceived costs, this episode will provide plenty of value across the spectrum of objections, challenges, and uncertainties. From f...
In this episode of the KPI Cafe, our guest is Brian Kramer, General Manager of Germain Toyota of Naples. He's been a vocal thought leader in automotive retail on how to break the status quo and embrace methodologies that champion consumer expectations and shopping behaviors, as well as apply the best of what disruptors like Carvana are doing -- that many dealerships are not. You'll hear perspective on sourcing vehicles, digital retailing, reducing friction, and much more.By the end of the epi...
Are you a digital marketing coordinator being elevated to management?Perhaps you're a digital marketing manager/director moving from a single-point store to your first dealership group?Or maybe you're a seasoned digital marketing manager/director coming from a different industry?Regardless of the answer, you're taking on a role with unique challenges and myriad tasks that require the right tools, the right balance of time management, the right vendor partners, and the support of your leadersh...
To round out this batch of KPI Cafe episodes, host Dane Saville takes a dive into building a tribe, using his own experience as Reunion's Brand Manager to provide a personal (and vulnerable) perspective on what this process feels like. From content creation and content reaction to authenticity to sweat equity, Dane gives a full view of building a tribe, including the doubts and reservations he still has about his own work on the KPI Cafe.Here's what to expect:Defining the Tribe (1:27)Sports/M...