Apparently bad websites are a truly international phenomenon. Google “Bad Websites” and the image at the left is the very first image you’ll find.

So let’s start by defining, “bad”. A bad website is a brochure, it speaks AT the visitor without engaging them. It’s design is outdated and it doesn’t balance functionality, usability and aesthetics in any meaningful way.

I look at a lot of auto dealer websites. There are a handful of dealerships out there who have inspirational websites. Websites that even manage to get most things right. What astounds me is the number of websites that are just complete and utter crap. Read more

I just finished reading “Influence” by Robert Cialdini. Really, a very interesting book. It explores the way others are able to influence our decision-making to their point of view.

I’ve heard it said that sales is easy, you just have to convince someone that what you are selling is worth more to them than that big stack of money they are holding. Simple, right? One way you do that is through exerting influence. According to Cialdini’s research (as well as a number of other cited studies), there are six basic types of influence:

1. Reciprocity
2. Consistency
3. Social Proof
4. Liking
5. Authority
6. Scarcity

Read more

Google’s new e-book on the Z-MOT or Zero Moment of Truth doesn’t really tell us anything we didn’t already know, but it does clarify a few points. Based on a Proctor and Gamble study conducted some years ago, the basic idea is that there are three stages to making a buying decision. Stimulus (generally advertising, word-of-mouth, etc.); the First Moment of Truth when the buyer is standing in the aisle at the store and choosing which product to take home; and the Second Moment of Truth, where the buyer gets the product home and discovers that it either meets their expectations or not.

Now we have the ZMOT, or zero moment of truth. It all still starts with the stimulus, but before the first moment of truth; before they ever set foot in a store or on your lot, your customers are taking to the web in record numbers. Seeing the advice of friends on Facebook, reading your reviews online, looking over your inventory. This part of the process can take days, or even weeks depending on the kind of decision being made. When purchasing a car, the biggest single purchase that many of our customers make, it can take months.

As I look over the framework of my marketing budget for 2012, I’m keenly aware that our focus tends to be too much on stimulus alone. Stimulus, stimulus, stimulus… but to what end… to do what? For us, the answer to that question is going to be centered on digital media. On driving people to our website, our reviews, our online profile with the BBB, and anywhere else I can create a positive impression of our company.

We need to focus our marketing dollars on those things which produce the best results. To me that is defined as cost per lead and cost per sale. Simply put, if internet leads are producing 20% of my sales, then web and internet marketing should be getting 20% of my marketing budget. I plan to focus the my budget on enhancing the ZMOT.

Social media marketing and online reputation management will be the cornerstones of that. I’ll be discussing those in greater depth in the future. PPC (pay-per-click) will be the least of my budget. We’ve seen PPC costs rise and effectiveness drop consistently over the last year or so.