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I am in dealerships daily working with them on increasing efficiency and improving business in all departments, recently I have had a few experiences with service departments that have made me take a bit of a different view and I wanted to share my thoughts on what I believe the real competition for your store's service drive is...
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 In high school, I was in auto shop before becoming a technician at a dealership, and my heart breaks when I hear of schools ending their shop programs. Recently I stumbled across a Facebook page for a thriving high school auto shop that also has its own race team, I was immediately hooked and their Instagram page has quickly become my fav place to spend time!
Instructor Matt Almaguer took over the program in 2017. The program was established in 2007 with a donation from the retired policemen’s association. From 2007-2017 they focused on building the program and primarily raced an NE1 style front engine dragster in the ANRA series at Famoso Speedway. In 2017, the direction shifted the focus to door cars and several new goals were set for the program. The most important goal is to create a career pathway into the automotive industry. They have partnered with the NHRA Launch Program as a positive step in the right direction. Secondly, they have established local pathways with dealerships in the local area. Lastly, they have initiated contact with major manufacturers to acquire the necessary equipment to be competitive in the NHRA divisional and National events. So far their sponsorship partners include AJPE, AFR Heads, JE Pistons, Wiseco Pistons, Bullet Racing Cams, Comp Cams, Crower Cams, Scat Crankshafts, Manley Performance, Dart Machinery, RCD Engineering, Lucas Oil, Holley Performance, Cometic Gasket, K&R Engineering, Calvert Racing Suspensions, ARP Bolts, M&M Shifters, Lemons Headers, VP Racing Fuels, Manton Pushrods, and Famco Development to name a few. In February of 2020 the program had the distinction of becoming the first high school drag team to compete in an NHRA National event. This was a major milestone for the program as well as other high school programs across the country. The young folks that participate in this program truly are the future of automotive service and if I was back running a dealership I would be sponsoring this program for sure and doing everything I could to make sure these technicians of tomorrow considered my dealership as a future destination! Check out this way cool crew of car peeps on Instgarm @smhs_race_team or their Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/SaintsRacing/  When business owners hear Yelp many of them express negative comments, some might even include the word hate in them however, Yelp is used by millions of consumers and it is an important app for your online presence. Have you checked your company's Yelp profile recently to see what pics show up when your business is searched? Whether you like Yelp as a tool or not you need keep your profile up to date and post pics of your business that will get attention, the alternative is to allow Yelp to highlight pics that have been posted by customers that may not show off your business the way you would like! I can almost guarantee that a few of your employees have the Yelp app on their phone, ask them if they have checked in while at work and maybe posted some pictures they have snapped... It might be fun!
 In just three months this business has had the pictures on their Google My Business profile viewed 1.9 MILLION times! Would you say 604% more views than similar business pages could be considered dominating?? #AskingForAFriend ;)
 Car & Driver recently posted an article about the increasing average age of vehicles on the road today, in California its over 12 years now, however, it is not new or solely a result of the current pandemic. Back in May, I co-hosted a webinar with DealerBuilt - LightYear Dealer Technologies CRO Keith Baker and we discussed how, pre-COVID-19, the fixed ops department was already rising to the forefront of dealership revenue as a result of the increasing length of ownership. The Covid-19 crisis will also add to the age of vehicles for sure as people hold on to them longer trying to navigate thru this situation and dealers need to increase their attention on the Service Drive to retain existing business and attract new customers as well. If you would like to know how your dealerships DMS can do more than store data for your dealership check out the webinar here, https://lnkd.in/gEZyQYb , or give me a call! :)
The Car & Driver post with stats on vehicle age is here, https://lnkd.in/dcC-JMT  It seems like it has been forever that we have all been sharing how important your dealership's Google My Business listing is, however, a new study from Whitespark shows that there are still many dealers not getting the message. Looking at 15,503 Google Business Profiles they found that "hardly any auto dealers are taking advantage of the features in GMB. The results that are the most shocking are that of the dealer listings analyzed:
~63% have NEVER published a single Google Post (WHAT?!) ~88% of dealer listings are not using the Products feature ~32% have not even been claimed ~24% do not have a link to their website ~93% have not added an appointment link ~91% have not added product/service links ~51% have Q&A questions that haven’t been answered ~13% don’t have hours listed" It seems there may be dealer GM's or principals that are still assuming that 'someone' is taking care of their list for them with updated info but it's clear that many dealerships profiles are sadly being ignored and that means potential customers are not seeing them! The full article is an interesting read and can be found here: https://whitespark.ca/blog/auto-dealers-google-listings-are-a-wreck/  Apple throws yet another wrench into marketer's plans as the release a new version of macOS, “Big Sur", which will block Google Analytics among other tracking software. Although only on desktops for now when it does roll out to mobile devices not only marketers but also site owners will lose valuable insights, are you ready to 'fly blind' with your advertising spend?
Read the full post here: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/apple-safari-to-block-google-analytics-from-collecting-data/372775/#close  New car inventories will start to run low and auctions are still closed, dealers need to find units quickly and the new 1 Click Auto Auction app looks like it could be a powerful solution!
"1 Click Auto Auction is an application and fee structure designed to change the way dealers buy and sell cars at auctions. Created by car guys tired of paying exorbitant auction fees, 1 Click enables dealers to buy and sell their vehicles on the application platform within minutes..." How many times have you had this happen to you while at an auction? ~You wait through hundreds of cars you don’t want before the one you are waiting for is called. ~You are late or busy repping vehicles and end up missing the car you came to see? ~You waste several hours waiting for a vehicle, only to be outbid? You pay hundreds of dollars per vehicle bought and sold at auction monthly. There is a better way! 1 Click Auto Actions is an app with one low monthly fee that offers: ~One minute easy to list auctions from the comfort of your home ~Filtering tools that enable searches for the exact vehicles you are looking to find ~Robust valuation tools using pricing guides and vehicle condition reports ~A five-star buyer and seller rating system to keep everyone honest ONE FLAT MONTHLY FEE for buyers & sellers regardless of vehicles bought or sold, more info here: https://1clickautoauction.com/  Had such a great convo with Jason Harris and Peter J. Duffy with Dealer Image Pro about streamlining communication efforts, entering an era of efficiency, and how customers now control the process! If you missed it and want to hear more about the 'new norm' in automotive you can check it out HERE
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 Mike theCarGuy
Hey there, I'm Mike theCarGuy and here are some of my thoughts about cars, the car business and sales! Take a look around, maybe you will learn something or at the very least find your self smiling, and if you do... leave me a comment so I know I at least did something right! Thanks for stoppin by...
Need to reach me? Call or Text: (909) 213-5475 mikethecarguy@outlook.com Mike theCarGuy: 22421 Barton Rd Suite 451 Grand Terrace, CA 92313 Twitter: @MiketheCarGuy1 Instagram: MiketheCarGuy 
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November 2020
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