Micro Sites Are Powerful
Thursday, July 17th, 2008An Associate of mine, Alvin Newton, wrote a great little article about Micro Sites that I wanted to dove tail off of.
Micro sites are a powerful marketing tool. It allows a dealer to have a ‘Niche” market so to speak. For example, Kenn Patton, of Phil Long Hyundai of Chapel Hills has done an excellent job with his Military Auto Connection Web Site. Furthermore, Freeway and Longmont Ford have combined their efforts to do an excellent job in marketing http://itsmycarnow.com/
Their placement of ads on KOA radio and KHOW radio on the radio live feed link have had a great impact.
Wrapped Around the Axle:
Some dealers are very guarded of the price of a Micro Site. The elements of a Micro Site are simple. It’s the branding message, links to inventory, and a dynamic Credit Application. Of course, you can get into greater detail like Kenn Patton did for your specific program. Over the years I have utilized one page Micro Sites with only a contact form on them and achieved great results; however, I do recommend more detail that that. The cost of a Micro Site is pennies compared to a Newspaper ad, any old school advertisement, or even a full blown web site. For example, if you want to do it in-house, Godaddy.com will run you anywhere from $3.99 a month to $10.39 a month.
Great web companies like Dealer.com and TK Carsites will work with you to develop and market these, or their version of a Micro Site. There is a great way blending multiple URL’s……web site addresses into one site.
Yes, it is true, as Alvin Newton points out that, “It sometimes takes up to 3-8 months before you will see substantial SEO results with your Micro Sites.”
However, you can make up time and effort with an effective snail mail campaign, radio spots, bill board placement and most importantly a SEM (Paid Search Campaign, AKA, Pay Per Click)
Moreover, as Alvin Newton points out, “The first place you should go is to your ISM, CRM data base and send out email blast to all of your prospects,
owners, service customers, and orphan owners. Let them know about your new Micro Sites, and make sure you have links in your email template to the Micro Sites. Ask them to send this email to a friend or family member who might be interested in a new car. In your previous emails your links more than likely pointed back to your main site. Consumers
like to see fresh, new looks that will perk their interest once again.” If you utilize One Command, On Station, or CIMA Systems this would also be an excellent way of marketing your Micro Site.
DOES THIS TAKE AWAY FROM YOUR MAIN DEALER SITE? NO!
I have clients that are initially concerned that this micro site branding will take away from your main site. Actually, it compliments it. Essentially, Micro Sites act as another door for your customers to walk through.
Alvin Newton created MPGSaveGas.com for his current dealership, “We get on average 4-5 leads a week from that Micro Site via email leads. I just recently sent out an email blast about the high gas prices, and let the prospects and owners know that we are giving lots for their trades and blow-out pricing on our new 30 plus MPG HWY vehicles. The email went out to over 5,000 people in our data base. We have received many new revived inquiries and sold a Malibu Hybrid and Cobalt from this one blast that took 20 minutes of my time. Was it worth it? Absolutely! Two new car deals, new revived prospects and all by using what I have in my digital marketing inventory. Don’t wait for your Micro Sites to work for you, use your Micro Sites to drive the results to you with creative, no extra cost tactics.” Alvin is a great example of really thinking out of the box and presenting a “new angle” to your customer.
As the saying goes in boxing, “It is all about them, “Angle’s”, that you present to your opponent. It is a strategy of defense and offense. How can you best put yourself into a position of not getting hit and at the same time be able to knock the stuffing out of your opponent? Well, a Micro Site is that “new and or different angle” that you as a dealer can present. It is a laser approach to fine tuning your web presence to a specific web audience. Over the years, I have made thousands of Micro Sites to reach a vast array of audiences. One was to market the city of Trinidad, CO. This site focused purely on the Historic Preservation Foundation and it reached a special philanthropic audience. Now, we did this as part of a sponsorship with a car dealer. In essence, we hit multiple customers with a residual effect on linking back to our inventory. Whether if it was for a specific military purchase program, special finance site, our goal is to garner more leads and attract more phone calls off of our sites. Yesterday, my lawyer showed me his new site. I took him through the SEO fundamentals and made him change his site so his phone number was dominate on his site and that it had the “run of site”, meaning it was displayed in good order every where a potential client surfed through his pages. For the most part, people are more apt to pick up that phone and call then to generate a lead. I know I do.
What’s import is the Mixology in dealers repertoire of e-Marketing strategies. This campaign science of having the major sites, mixed with Micro Sites, e-mail campaigns, banner placements, SEM, SEO, etc… presents the dealer at the most advantageous ANGLE to make the knockout punch!
The Internet marketing business is a highly dynamic environment, with new technologies continually emerging and new players entering the game almost monthly. But just like your business, one thing has remained constant: the value of the relationship. Maintaining a client relationship is much easier and less expensive than creating one. So it stands to reason that those relationships are considered among an Internet marketer’s most valuable commodities, even more valuable than technological expertise. On the other hand, even though these relationships are so valuable, the desire to continually boost the bottom line among service providers creates the temptation to reduce the costs that come with servicing clients. Full service or empty promises? As you search for an Internet marketing provider, you’re going to hear a lot of promises about customer service. Because as the rising level of competition forces prices to fall, this is one of the big areas where providers can truly differentiate themselves. But before you make any commitments or fall for any sales pitches, there are a few questions you should be asking. Questions you should be asking. 1. Who will own my relationship? Many providers will expend considerable time and effort getting you to commit to a long-term contract, but they aren’t set up to keep those relationships going. So the maintenance of your account is outsourced to a third party, which also has a bottom line to maintain. Do you think you’re going to continue to get the same level of attention you were promised? 2. Who’s answering my phone call? In an effort to boost profitability, providers do everything they can to cut costs, and call centers are no exception. It’s far less expensive to have your call routed to a call center in India or the Philippines, where entire industries have been created around the outsourcing of phone-based tech support and customer service. Unfortunately, with little control over the quality of service, the experience can sometimes be lacking. 3. Where’s the human touch? Some providers figure that once they shut down for the night, you should too. But when you want to make some changes to your site or it’s crashed at 11:30pm, do you really want to be talking to a machine and leaving a voicemail message? Having access to 24/7 tech support and even "live" online chat capabilities should be a must. 4. Who’s in charge here? While you’re being sold on the benefits of entering into a relationship with a provider, you may spend a lot of time speaking to an experienced sales rep. But once you sign a contract, that smooth-talking rep mysteriously disappears, very often replaced by a harried account manager trying to juggle the demands of dozens of accounts. It’s a matter of simple math — the more accounts a rep has, the less attention each one gets. Before signing a contract, find out how many accounts your account rep is going to be handling. That’s a good indication of the kind of customer service you can expect. 5. Which "specialist" do I call? Your potential new provider is promising to create a site for you, help you with search engine optimization, and lots of other things designed to boost lead generation. But with so many "specialists," who do you call if you have a question about something? The importance of having a single points of contact — someone you can call to answer ALL of your questions — cannot be overstated. 6. Am I really talking to experts? Some companies claim to offer all kinds of expertise and experience. But look beyond the surface — does your account rep really understand both the technology and your business model? 7. Can my provider fit me? In this business, one size definitely does not fit all. Make sure you’re working with a provider whose services are scalable enough to create the perfect fit no matter what size your business. Get the service you deserve. Servicing the customer always sounds good, but when the rubber meets the road, it’s the most important part of any business relationship. Before you sign a contract with any Internet marketing provider, make sure you ask all the tough questions. Otherwise, you may be in for some rough sledding. About the author - Gilbert Chavez - a.k.a. CarZeus One of the original automotive Internet pioneers, Gilbert A. Chavez, a.k.a. CarZeus, grew up in the automotive industry. Chavez has been recognized as one of the leading experts in retailing automobiles. He is a true innovator and renowned for his success in team building. Once called the Vince Lombardi of car guys, Gilbert has been chosen as one of Dealix Corporation’s Top 25 Marketers, and has had an ongoing advice column in the Dealix Newsletter called "Ask Gilbert." Gilbert has also written numerous articles for a variety of other publications. A true Car Guy, Gilbert has worked in all departments and in a variety of capacities in dealerships. He consults single point to multi-car franchises on how to improve their e-initiatives.