ISM
05-15-2010, 02:10 PM
Online Reputation Management requires a complete culture and mindset change at the dealership. It can be time and resource consuming, but the results are worth it! Implemented the right way, it will significantly increase incoming calls, boost employee morale, have people in the dealership looking for reasons to go above and beyond what customers expect and ultimately lead to improved CSI in sales, service and body shops.
Customer reviews are the #1 source for driving traffic in all of Social Media
If you’re looking to surprise your spouse with a trip to Jamaica how would you select the hotel?
When you're visiting someplace you've never been, would you trust a hotel based on what its website says about itself, or what a friend tells you or shows you with digital pictures or video clips?
If you wanted a special meal, would you trust a restaurant ad over what people who ate there say on a user-review site such as Yelp.com (http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=&ns=1&find_loc=#cflt=car_dealers)?
Social media has very clearly accelerated a process that has been going on for some time, whether dealers see the value or not and whether they like it or not. Reputation management must be a process; get everyone’s email address & ask everyone for a review. Then send them an email with a direct link to the review site your dealership needs help with.
Do a Google search and click on reviews for your dealership; see what your customers are saying about you. You'll quickly see which review sites need your attention. Some review sites are better known than others and where you're located will certainly influence that. One very well-known site not mentioned below is Yelp.com, where you should consider setting up an account (https://biz.yelp.com/signup/).
Dick Hanna Honda (http://www.dickhannahhonda.com/) implemented a Reputation Management process (http://www.dealerinternetups.com/entry.php?13-Dealer-Reputation-Management) in 2009 and the results speak for themselves. This dealer went from:
17 reviews with a 2.7 out of 5-star rating in 2009 to > 1000 reviews with 4.9 out of 5-star rating
As of the 8th Digital Dealer Conference in Orlando Dick Hanna Honda sported the following reviews:
343 reviews on portland.citysearch.com (http://portland.citysearch.com/profile/10902985/vancouver_wa/dick_hannah_honda.html)
222 reviews on dealerrater.com (http://www.dealerrater.com/dealer/Dick-Hannah-Honda-review-22280/)
230 reviews on citysearch.com (http://portland.citysearch.com/profile/10902985/vancouver_wa/dick_hannah_honda.html)
131 reviews on superpages.com (http://www.superpages.com/bp/Vancouver-WA/Dick-Hannah-Honda-L0120669800.htm?C=dick+hanna+honda&L=vancouver%2C+wa&lbp=1&TR=3&bidType=FFCLIK&PGID=yp422.8081.1274019935725.19330832221)
111 reviews on insiderpages.com (http://www.insiderpages.com/b/9841745094/dick-hannah-honda-vancouver)
Does it pay off? Review-sites generated 5 phone ups in 2008 and 150 review-site generated phone ups in 2009. Want more proof this program works? Take a look at more Dick Hanna Honda customer reviews (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=portland+honda+dealer&fb=1&gl=us&hq=honda+dealer&hnear=portland&view=text&ei=4sHuS9SFEoP7lwfx6520CA&sa=X&oi=local_group&ct=more-results&resnum=1&ved=0CCsQtQMwAA) and please reply if you can point to a different dealership with a better managed reputation management program.
Customer reviews are the #1 source for driving traffic in all of Social Media
If you’re looking to surprise your spouse with a trip to Jamaica how would you select the hotel?
When you're visiting someplace you've never been, would you trust a hotel based on what its website says about itself, or what a friend tells you or shows you with digital pictures or video clips?
If you wanted a special meal, would you trust a restaurant ad over what people who ate there say on a user-review site such as Yelp.com (http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=&ns=1&find_loc=#cflt=car_dealers)?
Social media has very clearly accelerated a process that has been going on for some time, whether dealers see the value or not and whether they like it or not. Reputation management must be a process; get everyone’s email address & ask everyone for a review. Then send them an email with a direct link to the review site your dealership needs help with.
Do a Google search and click on reviews for your dealership; see what your customers are saying about you. You'll quickly see which review sites need your attention. Some review sites are better known than others and where you're located will certainly influence that. One very well-known site not mentioned below is Yelp.com, where you should consider setting up an account (https://biz.yelp.com/signup/).
Dick Hanna Honda (http://www.dickhannahhonda.com/) implemented a Reputation Management process (http://www.dealerinternetups.com/entry.php?13-Dealer-Reputation-Management) in 2009 and the results speak for themselves. This dealer went from:
17 reviews with a 2.7 out of 5-star rating in 2009 to > 1000 reviews with 4.9 out of 5-star rating
As of the 8th Digital Dealer Conference in Orlando Dick Hanna Honda sported the following reviews:
343 reviews on portland.citysearch.com (http://portland.citysearch.com/profile/10902985/vancouver_wa/dick_hannah_honda.html)
222 reviews on dealerrater.com (http://www.dealerrater.com/dealer/Dick-Hannah-Honda-review-22280/)
230 reviews on citysearch.com (http://portland.citysearch.com/profile/10902985/vancouver_wa/dick_hannah_honda.html)
131 reviews on superpages.com (http://www.superpages.com/bp/Vancouver-WA/Dick-Hannah-Honda-L0120669800.htm?C=dick+hanna+honda&L=vancouver%2C+wa&lbp=1&TR=3&bidType=FFCLIK&PGID=yp422.8081.1274019935725.19330832221)
111 reviews on insiderpages.com (http://www.insiderpages.com/b/9841745094/dick-hannah-honda-vancouver)
Does it pay off? Review-sites generated 5 phone ups in 2008 and 150 review-site generated phone ups in 2009. Want more proof this program works? Take a look at more Dick Hanna Honda customer reviews (http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=portland+honda+dealer&fb=1&gl=us&hq=honda+dealer&hnear=portland&view=text&ei=4sHuS9SFEoP7lwfx6520CA&sa=X&oi=local_group&ct=more-results&resnum=1&ved=0CCsQtQMwAA) and please reply if you can point to a different dealership with a better managed reputation management program.