Why isn’t Baseball enough?

Once upon a time ago a dealer in Smalltown, USA would sponsor a few of the local baseball teams and go to an occasional Rotary club meeting. These small acts of kindness and community involvement reaped great rewards for Mr. Dealer in his town.
Fast forward to today. That same dealer goes to baseball park and sees dealer stickers from over 150 miles away in the parking lot. Worse than that he might even see the coach of his sponsored team sporting another dealer’s tag. What the…..
I read an article in Automotive news that said AutoNation would begin listing customer’s comments about their purchase and experience at their dealership on their website. They also said they will begin listing their competitor’s vehicles on their site.
I don’t know why customers would drive over a 100 miles away to buy a car from medium size dealer. I have seen data that suggests that customers are now willing to drive further for what they perceive is a better value / experience.
Customers are now seeking unique experiences. If the guy down the street or next town over does one seemingly small thing to make them feel special, (ie.automated text to remind them of a scheduled service), they will reward them with their business.
Not only that, customer’s are just like we are, they seek to do business with people they have a connection with and some common ground. This could be established in the past on the showroom over a cup of coffee. It is more likely happening over the internet at places like Facebook and Twitter today.
Social media in today’s business is being practiced in alot of cases on the opposite ends of the spectrum. Some business’s will ignore it all together. They do this at a great risk to their future. Others are trying to use the mass appeal of the internet to replace the human aspect. As with most things the truth lies somewhere in the middle, here is that truth:
Social media should be used to enhance the human reach and touch of your business.
Course of action

1. Start a Facebook account.
2. Start a Twitter account.
3. Start a Blog.
4. Start connecting with everyone in your community.
5. Print your site addresses on your cards and everywhere else.

Don’t know what to talk about or share on Twitter or in your blog, be yourself!  Need some more social sharing ideas, contact me!
Mac@macjacksononline.com
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Tags: Automotive, Business, Marketing, Sales, Social Media

Category: Uncategorized