JULY 3, 2008
A Look Behind the Numbers
“More than one-half of the average marketer’s budget is now spent online,” according to a press release from lead generation company Clash-Media. The firm conducted its “Online Lead Generation (B2C) Report 2008″ in May with E-consultancy.
But the press release may be a misreading of the report. According to respondents, […]

By Scott Roth and Katrina Willis
A triggered email is any message sent to an individual based on the occurrence of an event (or a non-event). Consider one of our favorite examples — the “Birthday Club” email. On your Big Day, you receive an email message from your favorite restaurant offering a 20 percent discount on […]

When you send out direct marketing materials, be they postcards, letters or emails, how personal are they? You’ve certainly abandoned the “Hello Valued Customer” greeting for a first name… but is that where it stops? Are you using past purchase history, geographic information, age and income levels and such to create truly personal messages and […]

It’s been said, “the devil is in the details.” Which means, of course, that the difference between success and failure is often something small and seemingly insignificant. This is absolutely true when considering the effectiveness of your dealership’s marketing. Try experimenting with the following little details and you may realize some huge gains in your […]

From eMarketer, May 27, 2008
An old digital format still has plenty of life left
Compared with today’s virtual worlds, e-mail is solidly Web 1.0—an almost archaic communication channel.Yet e-mail works, and marketers and advertisers keep putting it to new uses. Moreover, consumers—whose opinions are the ones that matter—genuinely like e-mail. Nearly three-quarters of adult e-mail users […]

from drivingsales.com, posted 6/3/08
Now for the weekly check list.  ISMs need to be completelting these items on a weekly basis and reporting to their management on their progress of each of these items.  Following this task list regularly will greatly increase your success: 
Weekly Check List
Date _______
1. __ Visit dealership website. Call toll free and other phone numbers to ensure they’re […]

As our society speeds along ever faster and communication is channeled through one technology or another - all this powered by the internet and instant access to the totality of man’s accumulated knowledge, of course - common courtesies seem to be falling by the way side. So much so, that even a simple “thank you” […]

So you’ve been collecting emails for months or even years now. You’ve got hundreds or maybe even thousands of people who have raised their hands and agreed to listen to what you have to say.
So what are you doing with that list? If you’re just sending them a quarterly newsletter and a Christmas card, you’re […]

It’s one of the most commonly debated issues in e-marketing: Should the emails you send out be text-only or should they be HTML? The argument for text-only goes like this… It feels less like advertising, it’s better at getting around spam filters, the most important emails people get are usually text-only. The argument for HTML […]

From Auto Remarketing
April 08, 2008
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Despite widespread retail declines across the American economy, a recent study projects an upswing in online shopping for 2008. This includes the auto industry, which analysts predict to be among the top three Internet sales categories.
The State of Retailing Online, a Shop.org study conducted by Forrester Research, anticipates that […]

One of the great promises of e-marketing is that it’s trackable. You’ve been told for years that e-marketing would lift the fog of accountability from your marketing mix and show you what worked, when it worked and even why. Well all of that is true (mostly), but most folks aren’t taking the simple steps needed […]