Pub. 16 2017-2018 Issue 1

N E W J E R S E Y C O A L I T I O N O F A U T O M O T I V E R E T A I L E R S I S S U E N O . 2 , 2 0 1 7 18 new jersey auto retailer • How does Cost-Per-Click (CPC), Click-Thru Rate (CTR), or Impression Share relate to selling more cars? • How is it that website visitors can increase by 25% in a month yet total vehicle sales stay the same? • Is a high Bounce Rate good or bad? Dealers are looking at monthly reports with metrics like these and shaking their heads, wondering if they are investing their marketing dollars wisely. Managers who run all other as- pects of their dealership efficiently are hoping they’re making the correct decisions from this data. But goodManagers can’t simply hope that this phase of their business is running well, they need to look at the numbers and KNOW if there is a problem. So why is it so hard for managers to know if their online marketing is working? The truth of the matter is dealership managers only have quantity metrics to inspect their marketing investments. To lead in a digital age, managers need a balance of quantity and quality metrics. Every other business unit in the dealership is run by quantity and quality metrics. A second reason is that dealers are throwing away valuable marketing data each day that should be captured in Google Analytics. Man- agers were never educated on the importance of having an independent third-party tool like Google Analytics to inspect the work of their marketing partners. The vendor community is also complicit. Until now, vendors have not come together to properly record conversion and engagement data into Google Analytics. Let me give you an example of the need for balanced metrics. Your Fixed Operations Di- rector may be increasing your average dollars per repair order but if your CSI scores are tank- ing, this could be a very costly management strategy. The gross dollars are the quantity metric and the CSI score gives an indication of the quality of service processes and support staff. The Future: Measuring Engagement In the United States, the average outcomes from a Google AdWords campaign are as follows: 1% will convert by submitting a form lead and 3% will convert by calling the dealership. If a dealership’s website has a chat function, anoth- er 0.5% will chat or SMS the dealership. What are the other 95% of your paid advertising clicks doing? D ealers are frustrated with their lack of ability to fully inspect the effectiveness of their online marketing investments. The current metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPI) provided on monthly marketing reports have little actionable data for dealership executives. I’ve heard from many managers that they don’t have the “digital levers” to help them increase sales, like they once had. If you have any doubts about this thesis, please answer these questions: Measuring Engagement and Conversions Is the Future of Automotive Marketing Analytics BY BRIAN PASCH