News

AUTOMOTIVE ADVERTISING & MARKETING

Sarah Pendleton

JKR Hires Three New Billing Coordinators

With significant growth comes significant new employment opportunities, and we are pleased to announce the hiring of three new Billing Coordinators! On the heels of JKR’s best year ever in 2014 – and our best first quarter ever in 2015 – we’ll be announcing the hiring of quite a few new employees in the coming […]

Are You Ready for the New Google Guidelines?

Are You Ready for the New Google Guidelines?

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 […]

Why Frequency is Important

Why Frequency is Important in Automotive Advertising

Do you know why frequency is important in automotive advertising? On the surface, this may sound like a simple question … and to some degree, it is. But the fact is, you can’t just run an advertisement a time or two and expect record numbers of people to come and beat down the doors at […]

Social Media 101

Social Media 101 for Auto Dealers

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that social media isn’t going anywhere, so today we offer Social Media 101 for auto dealers. For a car dealer, the social media arena has created new and interesting opportunities … along with new and not-so-interesting potential issues. While it has created the opportunity to communicate with […]

«‹ 78 79 80 81 ›»

Press Categories

Recent Posts

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.

Read more