Seven Social Media Trends for Auto Dealers by Nancy Liberman discusses the findings of a survey that included more than 600 auto dealers. The survey objective was to identify the auto dealers' priorities with regards to use of social media in their marketing plans. The article begins by discussing the importance of customer loyalty in the automobile business:"Faced with an ever-competitive landscape, dealers strive to cultivate long-term relationships with customers to drive auto sales and increase service and parts revenue. Dealers have relied upon direct mail and email to keep up communications with customers and prospects, but the emergence of social media has added another avenue for dealers to leverage in order to interface with customers" (Liberman, para. 1).
Following this, seven social media trends for the automobile business are identified. For the most part, they are reasonable assumptions and/or priorities for the dealers to make. However, one of them highlights a critical mistake that dealers often make in their approach to social media marketing:
"#3 Reputation management is important—but dealers want to control customer interactions.
Of most concern to the survey respondents was reputation management. However, almost without exception, they were extremely concerned that an automated solution would not allow them to maintain control of their customer and prospect relationships. They expressed interest in gaining a better understanding of what is being said about them online, but wanted ultimate control over the conversations and relationships with both current and potential customers" (para. 6).
Dealers regard customer loyalty as paramount and they strive to form long-term relationships with customers. But they are, as this survey reveals, not comfortable with the two way communication that social media demands. Dealers need to make themselves transparent. In an online environment, this requires letting go of control over the conversations and relationships with current and potential customers. As David Meerman Scott says in his book, The New Rules of Marketing and PR, companies must embrace the information circulating the web, rather than hiding from it or hampering it (2011).
Scott says social networking is like a cocktail party. "Do you go into a large gathering filled with a few aquaintances and tons of people you do not know and shout, 'BUY MY PRODUCT!'?" (p.39). "Do you go into a cocktail party and ask every single person you meet for a business card before you agree to speak with them?" (p.39). These are perfect depictions of behaviors that attempt to control relationships, and at a cocktail party they would be out of line. However, businesses frequently behave this way on the internet. It doesn't work and it won't promote customer engagement. Furthermore, Scott asks us to consider whether or not we listen more than we speak. To be successful with social media, a business needs to listen, and that can't come from controlling a conversation.
This is a difficult concept for businesses to grasp and many struggle with accepting it. However, going forward into this new age of digital marketing, it is an absolute must. In fact today, reputations of companies that deny customers the opportunity to speak out are severely tarnished.
In Contribution of Public Relations to Organizational Strategy, B. Steyn shares her characterization of communication strategy as part of the strategic fabric of an organization, rather than a means to spread messages about a service, client, or product. I agree with this. Social media provides dealers with the opportunity to detect and manage customer expectations and issues early on. This provides a competitive advantage for the dealer. It allows them to communicate in a way that supports their organizational strategy which includes achieving the long term loyalty from customers. However, maintaining control of the relationships and conversations online will never allow this advantage to materialize. Customers today want and expect immediate attention, immediate feedback, and a lot of information at their fingertips. They are in control. Putting the best foot forward, dealers should accept these customer expectations and provide for them. The reward is the long-term loyalty they seek from customers.
Social media is best utilized when it is a two-way communication channel, carefully implemented with tactics that not only engage customers, but encourage their feedback, participation, and honest conversation. Embracing the two way communication will ensure that the dealers receive the information needed to align with the expectations of those customers.
Read Nancy Liberman's full article here
References
Liberman, N. (Oct. 4, 2012). Seven Social Media Trends for Auto Dealers. Retrieved from http://www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com/profiles/blogs/seven-social-media-trends-for-auto-dealers.
Scott, D. M. (2011). The New Rules of Marketing & PR (3rd
ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Steyn, B. (2007). Contribution of Public Relations to Organizational Strategy Formulation. Retrieved from http://www.prconversations.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/excerpt-excellence-book.pdf.
Outstanding work, Kristin. In addition to your excellent leadership this week, you have produced a thoughtful, substantive, detailed response post with excellent support from quotes, citations and examples. The Liberman survey was especially useful. Well done.
ReplyDeleteMark
Hi Kristin. You did a great job of tying the readings, your blog's subject and Liberman's article together. I must admit, I hate going to car dealerships for the very reason you posted in this blog. I think a lot of people feel the same way but by utilizing social media as a tool to communicate with their customers, dealerships can find new ways to provide their services and build life-time/repeat customers. There was a good point made in the United States Army’s social media handbook; it states “developing a successful social media presence does not happen overnight. It is a detailed process that requires extensive planning and execution and starts with stating the organization’s missions, messages and themes” (2012). While it may take some time, with proper planning and effort dealerships can build their reputations and brand using social media as a communication channel.
ReplyDeleteHi Nia,
DeleteThank you for bringing that information from the United States Army social media handbook to this discussion.
I think many dealers (and this applies to other businesses as well) are unclear about what to do with social media. They have not determined a specific purpose for it. Therefore, they do not set a goal and develop a plan to reach that goal.
I believe that with all the hype generated today about the need to incorporate social media into the marketing plan, businesses jump on the bandwagon haphazardly because they know they should have a social media presence, but they are not sure what to do when they get there. Thus, we see blogs without a focus, Facebook pages pushing sales, and a lack of connection among all of the business's social media sites.
As long as there is a purpose and a clear, consistent message carefully communicated across all media, it is OK that perhaps YouTube focuses on spotlighting the company reputation, while Facebook is designated for education and providing free information, and Twitter encourages customer feedback.
Success lies in a synergistic, consistent plan that maximizes the benefit for the company. One social media site builds on the other and the result is exponential. To sum that up to your point: all of this takes TIME. You are right! And what is interesting about this discussion is that Liberman's article also states, "As one of the dealers surveyed said, “time is the new expense.” Dealers want to use social media effectively, generating positive ROI in the process, but seek a way to do so that enables them to maintain customer relationships without major time investments" (para. 11). That is going to be very difficult to achieve. Not only does it take time and patience for a plan to work, but social media management itself takes time.
References
Liberman, N. (Oct. 4, 2012). Seven Social Media Trends for Auto Dealers. Retrieved from http://www.automotivedigitalmarketing.com/profiles/blogs/seven-social-media-trends-for-auto-dealers.
Hi Kristin,
ReplyDeleteYour topic is a great choice because I think auto dealers face some troubles in regards to public relations due to a few people who ruin their good name. How often do you hear people say something along the lines of "sleazy car salesman?" Most are amazing people but a few characterize the whole industry as unethical.
Like you said in regard to Liberman's article, "reputation management is important—but dealers want to control customer interactions." This is especially important for the auto industry. Negative feedback spreads like wildfire on the internet so auto dealers need to ensure they are engaging their new and potential customers as soon as they enter the car lot. Building relationships are important for a foundation of trust between a salesperson and a customer.
As Steyn explains about communications strategy being part of the strategic fabric of an organization, auto dealers must communicate their value and trustworthiness to the public through social media and other channels.
In a world of instant-gratification through online shopping, car dealers are one of the few businesses left that really cannot offer their product online. You pretty much must go to a dealership. How can auto dealers cope with this and manage a customer relationship when instant gratification is impossible?
James, Thanks so much for your reply. I was hoping you would provide further explanation on your post because I am not sure I am following you. Are you suggesting that auto dealers ought to attempt to control their relationships and conversations online due to the propensity for customers to engage in negative discussions? I do understand dealers' concerns, however, I strongly feel that a transparent approach and allowing customers to speak is the direction the dealers should take. They can communicate their trustworthiness in part by opening the lines of communication up between the customers and themselves.
ReplyDeleteHi Kristin - I meant that auto dealers should engage in constant communication on the internet with their customers to help the positive overshadow the negative stereotypes. Through this constant communication, I agree with you that the dealers should take a transparent approach. However, they must take the conversation in a direction that will create a positive image. For example, regular Facebook posts asking users their favorite features about a particular car, Tweets giving tips on ways to take care of your new car and give a longer life, etc. Rereading my post, I was kind of all over the place - I hope this clarifies it.
DeleteHi James,
ReplyDeleteYes! I do understand what you mean and I am in complete agreement with you. Open, two-way relationships online are tricky to handle, which is why the dealers worry about them. By allowing customers to respond, the dealers are opening themselves up to facing negativity. They can handle that by encouraging engagement in a positive way as you have mentioned, and they should also respond immediately when they do encounter a negative comment.
According to authors Philip Kotler and Kevin Lane Keller, 54-70% of customers who register a complaint will do business with the company again if their complaint is resolved. 95% will do business again if the complaint is resolved quickly. And, those who's complaints are resolved tell 5 people on average about the resolution, while those who are not will tell an average of 11 people (Kotler & Keller, 2012). Therefore, Kotler and Keller assert that the best thing companies can do is make it easy for customers to complain through two-way communication. This can be challenging on public social network sites, but on the other hand, it is an opportunity to show other customers and potential customers how well problems are handled.
References
Kotler, P. & Keller, K.L. (2012). Marketing Management (14th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.