AdAgencyOnline.Net

Philip Zelinger, the President of Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. and the host of an automotive advertising resource / networking portal — AdAgencyOnline.Net, will be speaking to an audience of Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep dealers at the 6th Annual Chrysler Southeast & Southwest Business Center Service & Parts Business Conference.  The conference is being held at the Disney Resorts Contemporary Hotel in Orlando Florida from September 22nd – 24th, 2010.

The session being presented by Philip is titled Social Media And Fixed Operations; What Was – Is And Will Be.  The importance of fixed operations to generate profits to compensate for reduced new and pre-owned vehicle sales has become self evident as dealers struggle to cover expenses in a consolidating auto industry.  The focus of Philip’s session will be to advise auto dealers how to increase their absorption rate from fixed operations — the percentage of total dealership expenses that are covered by profits generated from service and parts — using social media to leverage their automotive advertising dollars. 

Automotive advertising agencies have learned to integrate service and parts messages in their conventional and digital marketing plans. However, according to Philip Zelinger, “The cost of using social media as an automotive advertising channel must consider the labor associated with the effort.  New automotive advertising applications have been introduced to the market that leverage the resources of auto dealers by increasing the efficiencies of their staff combined with the viral nature of pushing their messages through various social networking communities. People are still part of the process, however, technology has improved the R.O.I. for every automotive advertising dollar at a time when reduced automotive advertising budgets demand it.”

In addition to Philip hosting a session on social media his automotive advertising agency — Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. — will be displaying their products and services in a special section set aside for the attending auto dealers to learn about some of the new technologies and applications being developed to promote service and parts using social media and other internet based digital marketing methods.  The Chrysler Business Center explained the value for vendors planning to exhibit at the conference in material that they posted on their website promoting the event. “The Southeast and Southwest Business Conference Expo continues to grow every year. Many of our attendees have said the best part of the Conference is the Vendor Expo “It’s like shopping at a Dealership Candy Store, every product or service imaginable is there”. Our Dealers have challenges ahead growing their business and it won’t be possible without your Products and Services. We are planning to have over 300 Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep Dealerships in attendance from 12 States.” Read the rest of this entry »

Automotive advertising agencies frustrated by reduced sales volume and profit margins have been forced to focus on fixed operations vs. vehicle sales to earn their fees.  Philip Zelinger, the President of Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. and the host AdAgencyOnline.Net, has advised his national network of independent automotive advertising agencies to help their auto dealer clients improve their absorption rate from fixed operations if they expect to survive in today’s struggling economy and consolidating auto industry. 

An auto dealer’s absorption rate reflects the percentage of dealership expenses that are paid from profits earned in parts and service.  According to Philip Zelinger, “As expenses rise and sales decline the need to maintain an absorption rate in excess of 85% to 90% has become a necessity vs. a goal.  Automotive advertising agencies who limit their marketing messages to sell cars will soon be looking for work as their auto dealer clients are forced to close their doors.”

Automotive advertising decision makers will be given some practical steps to help their auto dealer clients sell service and parts on the blog talk radio station — WAAOL, All Automotive Advertising News All The Time – that is featured on AdAgencyOnline.Net.  The Lunch With Phil Discussing Automotive Advertising blog talk radio show scheduled for this Wednesday, September 01st, 2010 will be dedicated to improving profits from fixed operations.  Several automotive advertising vendor solutions focused on integrating selling processes between new and pre-owned vehicles sales and fixed operations will be reviewed by Philip as he shares best practices with his online audience.

Philip will also be discussing his plans to host a session at the 6th Annual Chrysler Southeast & Southwest BC S&P Business Conference that is being held at the Walt Disney World Contemporary Resort September 22nd – 24th, 2010.  The SEBC – SWBC service and parts business conference anticipates an audience of over 300 Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep Dealerships from 12 states.  Attendance by vendors, auto dealer senior managers and guest speakers like Philip Zelinger promise to make this year’s conference the most productive ever for auto dealers anxious to increase their R.O.I. from their service and parts departments.

Philip will be hosting a session titled Social Media And Fixed Operations; What Was – Is And Will Be.  According to Philip, “My session is designed to reassure service and parts managers that they are not alone.  Automotive advertising agencies have always integrated service and parts messages into their automotive advertising campaigns.  However, the goal of previous advertising was to sell vehicles with service taking a supporting role.  The importance of fixed operations and their responsibility to carry the water for the dealership with increased absorption rates has forced automotive advertising agencies to rethink their priorities.  Conventional wisdom confirms that service sells cars but that message has taken on a new meaning when applied to the increased role of the Internet and social media.  The market is a conversation that exists before, during and most importantly after the sale.  The dialogue is more often focused on the servicing of the vehicle than the initial sales transaction.  I plan on sharing best practices in the use of social networking communities like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and similar online networks of friends to make sure that the attending Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep Dealers learn how to join in on the conversation from the inside out vs. from the outside in.  In addition to teaching the dealers how to participate in social networking communities without alienating their new online friends, I will be introducing several cutting edge technologies and automotive advertising applications that provide efficiencies to leverage the limited resources in staff and budget of today’s profit challenged auto dealers to take advantage of the viral nature of social media.” Read the rest of this entry »

AdAgencyOnline.net is an automotive advertising resource / networking portal supported by the affiliated automotive advertising agencies of Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. to share best practices.  Philip Zelinger, the President of Ad Agency Online, formed a network of networkers within their online social networking community known as the –Auto Industry Insiders — which includes Brian Pasch, the CEO and founder of PCG Digital marketing, as a valued contributor.  Brian recently announced a ground breaking automotive S.E.O. study that is being promoted by AdAgencyOnline.Net with the full support and confidence of Philip Zelinger.

Car dealers are invited to participate in the largest group study for Automotive Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  The study will educate and mentor 100 car dealers who are interested in applying Automotive SEO strategies at their automotive dealership.  Results of the four month study will be published and presented at the 2011 NADA Conference in San Francisco.

Internet sales and marketing professionals who are currently working at car dealerships and want to master powerful SEO tools and strategies to improve the search visibility of their website are invited to participate in this unique Automotive SEO Study. 

The Automotive SEO Study will be limited to 100 automotive dealers*. Registration ends on August 30, 2010. There is no cost to participate however members should budget approximately $100 for domain purchases, blog hosting and/or fees paid to third party marketing sites, directories and related sites as needed.

Study members will be trained and coached on how to use content publishing, link building, social media, video, PDF brochures, and automotive networks to improve their Google Page One results for popular consumer search phrases.   Members in the study will be required to dedicate 3-4 hours a week to complete the tasks required to deliver measurable results for their dealership.

The 100 dealers will have access to winning digital marketing strategies, training videos, marketing outlines, tutorials, and websites managed by PCG Digital Marketing that will enhance the results of their work. In return, members in the study will share the results of their work and be included in a whitepaper being prepared by PCG Digital Marketing.

“The Automotive SEO Study will be the first of its kind”, according to Brian Pasch, CEO of PCG Digital Marketing.  

Term of Study

The study will run from September 1, 2010 to January 1, 2011. In those four months, members in the study will document their work and record data on a number of search marketing factors which will include website link counts, Google ranking for specific keywords, unique visitor traffic, lead submissions, and changes in their Google Page One Management (GPOM) results.

The results will be published and presented at the 2011 NADA Convention in San Francisco. Monthly updates during the four month study, as well as the final results, will be shared online.

Automotive SEO Study Requirements

 The requirements to participate in the study are:

1. Participants must be an employee of a car dealership, proof will be required.
2. Participants must have written permission to write about the dealership online; blogs, press releases, social media, etc.
3. Participants must have an email address from an active dealership domain.
4. Members in the study will be required to dedicate 4 hours a week to complete the tasks required for success.
5. Participants must be willing to share the results of their work via Webmaster Tools and Google Analytics data and allow the data to be summarized* in the final study whitepaper.

No confidential data or specific dealership website results will be published in the whitepaper or made public without written permission from participant.

Register For Study

Dealers interested in participating should register online at www.automotiveseostudy.com.  Inquiries can be sent to:  info@automotiveseostudy.com.  PCG Digital Marketing retains the right to decline dealer participation in the Automotive SEO Study based on conflicts of interest with current clients.

About PCG Digital Marketing

PCG Digital Marketing (www.pcgdigitalmarketing.com)  is a full service digital marketing agency that serves the Automotive Industry.  PCG is nationally recognized as a leader in Automotive Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and automotive digital marketing. 

Brian Pasch, CEO and founder of PCG Digital Marketing is an active blogger, writer and speaker at automotive conferences, 20 Groups and digital marketing forums.  PCG Digital Marketing is also the sponsor of the 2010 ASMA awards which recognizes the best automotive websites platforms based on their search marketing effectiveness.  (www.asmaawards.org).

About Philip Zelinger and AdAgencyOnline.net

Philip Zelinger is the President of Ad Agency Online, L.L.C., (AAOL), and the founder of  AdAgencyOnline.Net.  He invested 25 years as a General Manager and Dealer Principal followed by his last ten years in the automotive advertising industry learning from the teams that he built so he can now presume to teach on forums like AdAgencyOnline.Net.  His role as a “Dealer Coach” is enhanced by his hosting a nationally recognized auto industry social networking portal and blog talk radio station – WAAOL, All Automotive Advertising News All The Time.  As the author of two books on the auto industry, including “How To Sell A Car – a Career Guide to The Automobile Industry,” he is a recognized authority on market trends and developing technologies with the responsibility of selecting key vendors and applications for his dealer clients as well as forming strategic partnerships for his vendor clients to leverage their shared resources to help them bring their products and services to market.

AAOL is a national network of independent affiliated automotive advertising agencies linked by an online communication / distribution system developed by Philip Zelinger.  The proprietary operating system that powers AAOL was designed to reduce fixed and semi-variable expenses for full service automotive advertising agencies.  The developing technologies that enhanced the performance of the independent automotive advertising agencies linked by AAOL has served as the role model for the solutions suggested on AdAgencyOnline.Net and represented by AAOL to their affiliated automotive advertising agencies when serving their auto dealer clients.

Ad Agency Online L.L.C is focused on discovering and representing new automotive advertising vendors not yet recognized by the mainstream automotive advertising industry. Some of the automotive advertising vendors represented by AAOL include ronsmap, SiSTeR Technologies Video CarLot, TeleTextSolutions, DealerMouth, GetAutoAppraise.com, Argistics – AutoTransaXion, DealMaker.Com, CityTwist.Com, Bulldog Marketing Technologies, Kihon Media, CarFolks.Com, Ai Dealer and Laser Stream Video; with more being added weekly.

For more information on Philip Zelinger, Ad Agency Online, L.L.C., Brian Pasch, PCG Digital Marketing and their Automotive SEO STudy or any of the vendors on AdAgencyOnline.Net contact Philip at http://AdAgencyOnline.Net.  Automotive advertising vendors, automotive advertising agencies and auto dealers that would like to be considered as a “preferred automotive advertising vendor” on AdAgencyOnline.Net and/or to hire/join Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. to represent them can contact Philip Zelinger at pzads@bellsouth.net, or call him at 888-796-2228.  To quote Philip Zelinger, “Help is only a click away!  After all, what are friends for!”  ###

To train — or not to train — is not the question according to automotive advertising agencies who understand the importance of investing in the people part of the sales and service process by providing training before, during and after the sale.  Training has often been considered as an afterthought by auto dealers who have enjoyed the luxury of having more customers than cars with a never ending supply of salespeople and service writers who earned a higher than average income for their efforts.  Today’s consolidating auto industry has changed the math for auto dealers who now have to deal with shrinking sales volumes, reduced profit margins and the resulting loss of a ready willing and able sales and service staff whose incomes have been reduced along with dealer profits. 

Automotive advertising agencies have always been tied to their auto dealer clients bottom line — whether they knew it or not — and today’s automotive advertising agencies are realizing that their areas of responsibility do not stop at the front door of the auto dealership.  Automotive advertising plans geared for the Internet using digital marketing platforms coupled with internal sales and service processes powered by integrated technologies provide efficiencies that allow auto dealerships to operate with reduced budgets and support staff in sales and service. 

Unfortunately, many auto dealers and automotive advertising agencies have been operating with the false sense of security that the people aren’t as important as the technology and/or the processes that they have applied to replace them.   That is as untrue today as it was yesterday. People still like to do business with people that they like and human nature has survived on the world wide web.  The real solution for auto dealers forced to operate with fewer sales people and service writers is to train them in the use of the new technology, however, not at the expense of training them in understanding human nature and proven old school best practices to sell a car.

New technologies and automotive advertising applications include training solutions that offer efficiencies similar to other sales and service processes that have been applied to reduce expenses for auto dealers.   However, even the best training system can’t teach someone to be a nice person and/or to place their customer’s interests ahead of their own.  These applications must be coupled with people skills that are best hired vs. taught and they start before the sale or even the hiring of the sales person or service writer ever begins.  Read the rest of this entry »

Philip Zelinger, the President of Ad Agency Online, L.L.C. and host of the automotive advertising resource / networking portal — http://AdAgencyOnline.net — reflected on the future of the retail auto industry and automotive advertising on his blog talk radio show Lunch With Phil Discussing Automotive Advertising.  Philip focused on market conditions beyond the control of auto dealers and the automotive advertising agencies that serve them. “The downsizing and consolidation of the retail auto industry in response to a shrinking economy was compounded by government intervention in the manufacturing and business sector in ways that could not have been imagined.  The changes in the market and the economy were beyond the control of independent auto dealers and the interventional role of government could not have been foreseen.  The impact on the retail auto industry has been profound with many auto dealers closing their doors; some voluntarily and others by government and/or factory dictate.  The ripple effect of these closings on automotive advertising agencies and the fear of even more government regulations that impose restrictions on lenders coupled with excessive taxes and fees on small business — such as those associated with the new health care system — have already contributed to the malaise in the retail auto and automotive advertising industry beyond what could have been anticipated by normal market corrections.  Further government intervention in the free marketplace with pending legislation like Card Check that threatens to unionize independent retail auto dealerships by eliminating the right of workers for a private vote on the decision to unionize a dealership, and artificial taxes on utilities and fuel costs imposed by legislation like Cap And Trade that creates a government controlled taxing authority on carbon emissions, threaten to decimate our economy with a direct impact on projected retail auto sales and the automotive advertising industry.” Read the rest of this entry »