Bridging The Gap: Social Media vs The Automotive Dealer

Earlier this month the New York Times published a piece called The Gap Between Auto Dealers And Social Media. The article focused on Hyundai's attempts to make social media more tangible to its network of dealers and also pointed out how one GM could only trace back one actual sale as a result of social media. There was also a vague reference to some alleged experts who were credited with comparing social media to the yellow pages and then there was the theory that the only effective posts are the ones you pay for.  

For many of us, myself included, who have used and leveraged social media to grow and expand our business this article, as Laura Madison put it on Facebook, "made my head hurt." Family Guy references also took center stage as I'm sure more than one reader had the gears ground.

Digging through the article a little deeper however, it became clear to me that the author Vindu Goel and the Hyundai dealer they interviewed are 100% correct.

#1. There is a gap between automotive and social.

#2. Social Media doesn't sell cars.

So, with that in mind, how does Social Media plug into the modern day dealership and can we finally bridge the gap between social media and the auto dealer? I say YES! 

STEP 1: Hello Joe, what do you know? The first thing we need to do is open up to the idea that you don't know what you don't know. More simply put, "the reason so many people get 'no's' in life is because they lack knowledge and wisdom about how to close and get action that results in an exchange." That's from Grant Cardone in The Closer's Survival Guide. Anytime there is a no, there will be found a lack of knowledge. This not only applies to closing a car deal but to your entire life. No money means a lack of knowledge about money. No weight loss means a lack of knowledge about your body and nutrition. No success in any area means a lack of knowledge and wisdom in the given area. Same thing duly applies to Social Media. If Social Media isn't producing a result, we're lacking some knowledge and wisdom. Best part is that this is good news. Really good news. Once you know you don't know you can do something about it. The greats are always looking for more knowledge and wisdom. You never want to stop learning and discovering. Don't be afraid of growth. 

STEP 2: Let's define the words social and media.

Merrium-Webster's defines SOCIAL as:

• "relating to or involving activities in which people spend time talking to each other or doing enjoyable things with each other
• liking to be with and talk to people
• happy to be with people
• of or relating to people or society in general

MEDIA is then defined as:

• a medium of cultivation, conveyance, or expression; especially

Then it says this...

• The popularity of the word in references to the agencies of mass communication is leading to the formation of a mass noun

So putting it together you have "a cultivation or expression of or relating to people or society in general."

Let's also see if there's a definition for SOCIAL MEDIA...

"forms of electronic communication (as Web sites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (as videos)"

OK, so that's interesting and leads to a question which is 

STEP 3: If Social Media doesn't sell cars, then what's the 7&%#ing point man??? Let's hop in the DeLorean, fire up the Flux Capacitor and pop in on 1955 for a minute. Remember? Before any of this internet and social media stuff existed? If you wanted to sell cars in 1955, how did you do it? Well, you need people to know you're a car salesman first and you also need the community to know that you have place for people to buy cars. Right? So you advertise, market, network, sponsor a little league team and cold call. This will then generate traffic to your business. The people that come to your business will need information (knowledge and wisdom) in order to make a decision. The dealership that survives is able to provide the information, guide the prospect through a process that makes is easy to make the decision. What's changed? I mean really? Technology.  

So, now let's get Back To The Future.... Ask my boss, Grant Cardone what the #1 problem for a sales organization, sales professional and/or company is and he'll tell you obscurity.  

You use social media first and foremost as a method to get you, your company, your products and your service out of obscurity. 

Next social media becomes a way for you to engage with your clients and prospects in a way never before seen... ever.

Bottom line is and as Grant says in Sell Or Be Sold, "you're in the people business, not the 'X' business. Social Media is where the people are. A quick Google search will unleash a barrage of stats proving this. And so Social Media becomes another opportunity for you to get out of obscurity, connect with people, market yourself at a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising, manage your reputation and in doing so, sell yourself and your company.

STEP 4: Recognize that people sell cars, not social media. Social Media is a tool and it is a powerful tool at that, but it will not take an "up" or answer your phone. Social Media is a form of communication. It is a platform you can leverage to get prospects into a funnel and also dominate the thinking of your current prospects and buyers. This is a very steady theme for Grant Cardone and the principle theme for his NY Times Best Seller, If You're Not First You're Last. You want to be first in your buyers mind, you want to dominate their thinking. Ultimately this is about you being the guy or gal Mrs. Jones thinks of when it's time to buy a car. Why did she think of you?

What are the basic steps to any sale? You got to handle the greeting, then we need to do some fact finding and understanding of the buyers needs, we need to select, present and demo a product, present a proposal and ask for the business. Which of these can not be done through a social media platform? Well, if you're thinking, all of them, you're on the right track. Gary Vaynerchuk covers this quite well in Jab,Jab, Jab, Right Hook. Your social "selling" should not be limited to posting ads about the big sale and pictures of new clients. The lack of variety will kill your engagement. 

Businesses can forge a direct connection between their community and their brand when they stop thinking about social media as the backup to the main event."  -Gary Vaynerchuck

There are countless examples from companies who are highly successful with Social Media using these tools to get their message out, communicate with prospects and clients and dominate their sector. Jab, Jab, Jab, or give, give, give. Either way, it works. Follow Grant Cardone on Twitter and Facebook and see how active he is. Take a long hard look at his YouTube page. Do you think he'd do all this if it didn't produce a result? How can you incorporate this into your marketing? If a car dealer did half, or even a third, I promise you, you'd see a huge uptick in digital and showroom traffic. 

Give people information, ask open ended fun questions, post 3rd party data, talk about the local events in the community, post something about your brand being featured in a film, post pictures and videos of new inventory arriving, throw up a link to a local charity campaign you support, post an article about a local hero, show trade-in's being appraised, talk about where to see fireworks on The 4th, post a positive review, post a blog about road trips, interview local business, gas saving tips, real maintenance advice, engage and be part of the community just like in real life. In all the years I sold cars, I never once heard a client say they came in because they saw my dealership on the side of bus, but low and behold there they are keeping the company on your mind.

In the final analysis Social Media doesn't "sell" cars. Here's what it does sell. The unique experience your dealership and your salespeople bring to the party. You and your dealership are the real value add. Stop selling cars and start selling an experience. People can get a car anywhere. Use Social Media to communicate, build and maintain relationships. Social Media is not a two month experiment, it's part of the culture now. The cost of training (any training for that matter) and learning how to effectively sell and market in today's ever evolving world economy is miniscule when compared with the cost of missed opportunity due to obscurity, uncertainty and lack of persistence. 

If you'd like to get a free list of the sales process integrated into social media plus four articles with social media tips and tricks, send an email to [email protected].