OUR LOTVANTAGE BLOG

Never Underestimate the Exposure Power of Social Media

Posted by Jim Jabaay Mar 5, 2015 11:02:53 AM

In the automotive, powersports and marine industries, social media has experienced a rocky existence. On one hand, the promise of massive exposure has been intriguing and spawned entire companies to focus strictly on social media. On the other hand, the return on investment has been a challenge to demonstrate, let alone believe in through proper KPI measurement standards.

Which is it? Is social media good or is it simply too hard to demonstrate a return on investment? In many ways, the answer to both questions is yes, which is why we're so pleased about the performance of our own social media product.

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Why Filling the Sidebar is Imperative on Craigslist

Posted by lotvantage Feb 19, 2015 11:18:10 PM

Data is everything online. Consumers love more information. They will spend a great deal of time researching a computer or getting more information about an appliance they're considering. In the automotive industry, the love of data is even more pronounced.

Why, then, do most dealers leave some of the most important information off of their inventory listings? On some of the third-party sites, the reason is easy to see. They simply won't take in as much information as the dealership wants to give or that the consumer wants to see. They are often limited to the basics - photo, price, miles, VIN, phone number. Sometimes, these listings don't even allow for a map to the dealership.

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Topics: Blog, Featured

Why Consolidated Dashboards are Essential for Dealers

Posted by lotvantage Feb 4, 2015 5:08:19 PM

Time. It always seems like we never have enough. In fact, some recognize that it's actually more important when it comes to managing sales and marketing processes to help drive sales.

Between the OEMs, vendors, data providers, and analytics companies, most dealerships are given access to at least a half-dozen dashboards. Who has time to log into them all? Even if we did have time, it can be a data overload. How does all of that data translate into something useful where we could either look at the big picture or just components of the data gathered?

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Topics: Blog, Featured

Descriptive Ads Perform Best on Craigslist and eBay Motors

Posted by lotvantage Dec 18, 2014 4:49:13 PM

In the past, we've discussed the importance of pictures in your online inventory listings. That hasn't changed, but it's important that we make sure we don't take away from the other important component of your listings: the descriptions.

A picture might say a thousand words, but the details you can put into the descriptions of your vehicles have a big impact on your ability to move those units. Sites like Craigslist and eBay Motors offer plenty of room to be as descriptive as you want, so use that space to its fullest potential.

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Topics: Blog, Featured

If Your Inventory is Everywhere, It Won't Be Missed

Posted by Jim Jabaay Dec 5, 2014 1:31:09 PM

There are two primary strategies when it comes to car dealer inventory marketing. The first has been around for a while. The wide approach says that dealers should be putting their inventory out there in multiple venues. The second is relatively new, where dealers are pulling away from third party sites and focusing on bringing people to their own websites.

Each strategy has legs, but it's in the tried-and-true strategy of putting your inventory on the websites that people visit rather than relying on people to visit your own site that we have seen the best results. There's a difference between buying leads from third-party vendors and putting your inventory on third-party websites that must be understood for dealers to make the right decision.

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Topics: Blog

You can Buy Anything on Craigslist, Even a Pirate Ship

Posted by jturner Dec 4, 2014 5:22:00 PM

 

We are very big fans of Craigslist. It not only acts as the most cost-effective venue through which car, boat, and RV dealers can sell their inventory, but you can also find just about anything else on the site. Case-in-point: this pirate ship for sale.

It may be a replica, but that's a good thing. Shower, refrigerators, queen sized bed, a bar... this ship is designed to be lived in by a family of four. In fact, the Craigslist ad says that the owners raised their two children in the boat.

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