AUTOMOTIVE ADVERTISING & MARKETING

Are You Ready for the New Google Guidelines?

Are You Ready for the New Google Guidelines?

JKRAdvertising / Automotive Advertising Advice, Internet Advertising /

April 21, 2015

Is your dealership’s Website ready for the new Google guidelines that are coming just around the corner? If this is the first you’ve heard of it, the answer is probably fairly obvious. In short, Google will soon be releasing a new algorithm that increases exposure for Websites that are customized for smartphones … and as a result, penalize the ones that are not customized.

If you know anything about Internet marketing, you know that companies of all kinds – not just auto dealerships – spend a great deal of money and/or man hours to help ensure that they maintain high rankings in Internet search results.

How do you know if you’re ready? The first dead giveaway that you’re not is simple … if your Website looks exactly the same on a smartphone as it does on a computer monitor, prepare to get dinged by the new algorithm. In addition, the format of videos on your Website will have a direct effect on your Website’s standing. Even the font size you use makes a difference (hint: using a font that is large enough to easily read will help your ranking).

New Google Guidelines Diagnostic Check

But the best way to see if you’re ready for the new Google guidelines is to run a diagnostic check yourself by logging onto this Website provided by Google. If your Website isn’t going to pass the test, it tells you so – and even provides some helpful hints on what to do.

How important is it to get up to speed? There are persistent rumors that Google may go as far as putting special icon badges next to links to Websites that are not mobile-friendly that contain the word “slow.” Nobody wants that for their dealership!

If you have any questions about the new Google guidelines, please give JKR Automotive Advertising a call at (321) 397-0777, and we’ll put you in touch with an Internet expert who can answer your questions and help get your Website in a mobile-friendly state that your customers will love.

JKR Automotive Advertising: We Move Cars.

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Post-Pandemic Dealer Gross Profits are Down – But They Don’t Have to Stay There!
March 13, 2024
It is no secret that dealer gross profits per vehicle are down sharply in the post-COVID automotive world. According to a recent article in Automotive News, gross profits of the six largest publicly traded dealership groups plunged significantly from Q4 2022 to Q4 2023. One of them was actually down 35% per vehicle!

The article explains: High interest rates, more expensive vehicles and a steadier post-pandemic supply chain continue to soften demand and bring it closer to pre-pandemic levels. Still, new-car buying has remained strong overall …

This means that, while sales volume is similar, overall bottom lines are lower for many dealers due to the reduced gross profits. What about your dealership?

Being Realistic
It’s time to turn the page! The time for dealers to simply be order takers for people willing to pay MSRP for a vehicle (and in some cases more) has passed and dealers have to work hard once again to achieve acceptable gross profits.

Selling a high volume of cars doesn’t control gross profits, no matter how much you wish this was the case. Correct processes and menu pricing – and strict adherence to them – do!

What kind of processes?
∙ Slow down the transaction! Your sales staff has to once again sell the customer on the features and benefits of every new and pre-owned vehicle on your lot.

∙ Your salespeople and managers should devalue the customers’ trade-in value (politely, of course) as much as possible. After all, if the customer expects you to lower your price, shouldn’t you be able to do the same on their trade? Remember, you’ll have to fix it up, put your name on it and resell it to someone else with all the tenacity you would a brand-new car. So make sure you buy it right … because the profit is made when you buy it, not when you sell it!

∙ To that end, management should be ready and willing to leave the desk and do thorough walk-arounds on each trade to ensure the best outcome for the dealership.

The Cure for Low Gross Profits
If you are like a lot of dealers these days, you could use some good news. Here it is: while you may not have the capability to achieve profit margins similar to those you enjoyed during the pandemic, they could likely be improved. JKR’s clients enjoy the benefit of attracting not only more customers, but better ones, too!

If meeting and exceeding your sales goals (and increasing gross profits at the same time) sounds great to you, you need to call us. Don’t settle for reduced gross profits when help is out there to get you closer to where you’d like to be.

Want to know how we do it? Reach out to Senior Partner Richard Brauns (407) 701-4233 or Partner/Vice President Jon Albert (407) 718-2494 today.

JKR Automotive Advertising: We Move Cars.

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