What advertising or marketing generates a 1% sold rate? How do you or your marketing agency measure the success of your direct mail marketing? Is it the response rate — or its “sold” rate? Which measurement is more meaningful to you? Strate

There are many elements of the retail automotive business that have become central to the car buying experience. Probably nothing has stood the test of time more than the demonstration drive. It is one reason why over and over again customers still p

Auto dealerships are natural targets for illegal workers. They employ a large number of people at each dealership. Many dealerships experience high employee turnover. High turnover makes it difficult for management to detect when illegal workers are

Today, there are more buyers seeking acquisitions than there are sellers seeking capital. We are in a classic dealership seller’s market. Based on the data and analysis in The Blue Sky Report™, I expect this seller’s market to last through 2014

I do the grocery shopping in my house. It makes my wife happy and also allows me to indulge my curiosity of effective consumer marketing. I find it amazing how successful marketers position their products for retail success through: display, shelf sp

Once upon a time, selling a car seemed simpler and more straightforward: a buyer visited a dealership, a salesperson showed them cars, and the buyer selected their favorite. Then technology came along, changing almost everything about that process. T

With the average age of the dealer body continuing to rise, successor selection is a popular topic. Questions about successor selection are dominating my inbox, responses to articles, and 20 group presentations. Because of the volume of these questio

There are many leads who walk into a dealership, visit an automotive website, or check out dealership social media pages yet the dealership staff are unable to form a lasting connection with them. Perhaps the staff doesn’t have a process to rea

It’s funny how a career in marketing takes you down these specific paths of enlightenment designed to refine you into the talent that you are today. Quite a few years ago as a young marketer and web designer for a software company (before my days i