A new medium with an old fashioned approach, moving the physical world to the digital social world

In the good old days people bought cars from their friends at the dealership and their customers told their neighbors and others about their salesman.  When it came time to service their vehicle they remembered where they bought their vehicle.  The salesman kept track of their customers following what was important in their lives in order to develop as close a relationship as possible.  The dealership became a part of the customer’s family and when it came time to buy another vehicle they remembered the experience with their salesman, socializing was the key to success.  In today’s world dealerships need to practice the same no nonsense approach to the digital social world by using a 3 R’s approach of Reasoning, Reaching and Reacting.

Reasoning example - Years ago encyclopedia salesman went door to door trying to convince prospects that education was the only way to a better future.  Salesmen going door to door  wasn’t very effective for publishers so they came up with a social idea to push an advertising and marketing campaign for education – remember or did you hear of the 3 R’s “Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic.” The publishers knew it was a strategic strategy that would pay huge benefits, and guess what they were right.  As the word spread that education was the corner stone of success, encyclopedia sales increased. Dealerships need to accept the realities of their physical world, economic downturns, over stocking of inventory, lack of trained personnel, etc., and develop a social media strategy that will value the end goal (dealership worth), not the means (selling more vehicles) to get there.

Reaching example - More recently the waste disposal industry was faced with mounting costs in their efforts to recycle waste.  Not long ago they were paying customers to bring their newspapers, plastic, etc to be recycled. Now if you never heard of previous 3 R’s, how about the social idea, “Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle”.  The waste disposal industry pared up with the environment movement and came of what is now know as the Green Movement.  This social action grew from people talking to people, socializing with the help of the some well place traditional and digital media grew worldwide. The green movement shifts the cost of the waste removal industry to a profit center where municipalities now were paying them to haul away the recycling. Dealerships need to live their communities, by that I mean striving to connect with your customers and potential customers physical realities and apply global interactions that intertwine your values with theirs.

Reacting example - What if I told you that another movement is now being realized by the automotive industry that will have significant impact on how business is done during this new millennium.  Would it surprise you that the 3 R’s are back, “Retain, Refer, and Recommend”?  These terms should come as no surprise to the seasoned dealership and its personnel but how it can be leveraged with digital social media is new to this industry.  A major difference today is the tremendous social power consumers have and the outstanding opportunity and cost effect reach dealerships have in developing social media strategies.  Dealerships need to accept without fully understanding your customers and potential customers’ views and be prepared to respond in a positive manner within minutes.  Social media monitoring and response in this digital world must be as immediate as possible, failure to do so may mean a lost opportunity to turn something negative into a positive and something positive into something more global.

That social experience and leisurely approach to sales has moved on to a faster pace society where competition and the economy make the past approach impossible. As time becomes a higher priority and technology advances, dealerships need to develop strategies that take full advantage of prospects and customers using digital social media management systems in order to maintain their competitive advantage - today, tomorrow and in the future.  Immediate ROI is important, but reaching out to your market area by Reasoning, Reaching and Reacting will facilitate your listening producing an atmosphere to promote developing a relationship with a different medium, digital social media, and enhance your brand, your dealership and create an even greater overall ROI.