New Marketvision Reports - Purchase Timeframe

Purchase Timeframe

The kiosk asks the customers as they come in when they are in the market to buy. This is a multiple choice question. We find that when a machine does the "asking" the answers are often more honest than if a sales person asks. Dealerships use this information in different ways, depending on their sales process. A large complaint with using gifts on a mailer is that it brings in all "prize seekers" now that we have a way to track this we are looking forward to being able to improve these stats as we identify what products are bringing in more buyers. In the meantime this report helps you realize who is a customer now and who could be a customer in the future.


The second part of this question is prompted if the customer says they are in the market at all. It will then ask "Are you looking for a new or used vehicle?" This data is also then reported and can be used when working with each individual customer, to create additional targeted mailing lists and to determine which of your messages are driving which kind of buyers.

As always if you'd like to talk further about these new Marketvision developments, or the new ROI tools in the hopper please give me a call or shoot us an email!

New Marketvision Reports - Service Analysis

Service Analysis

The second new report on the Marketvision kiosk is a survey asking about Service.  It asks "Where do you currently service your vehicle?" and provides the multiple choice answers below.  We will soon be removing the "other" field as an option because it appears the other choices would cover all our bases.  This does a couple of things for you - it provides a quick snapshot of your market to see where the service customers are going, allows you to collect emails from all of these people so you can email service offers out in the future, and finally you will be able to build specific mailing lists from this data for future marketing.

New Marketvision Reports - Media Measurement

We recently rolled out Marketvision 2.0, now that all of our clients have switched to using the new format I wanted to highlight a few of the new reports you can view online. For those that don't know you can log on 24/7 and see stats in real time on the website. In one quick snapshot you can see all the walk in traffic, all the phone calls and any internet leads received  throughout the sale up until the point you log on.

First up - Media Measurement

Marketvision now tracks all the different forms of marketing that is bringing traffic in the showroom.  We phrase the question so that customers can select more than one option - "Which of our marketing messages have you seen or heard?"  By beginning to take a look at what pieces of your marketing are actually being seen/heard & remembered you're able to allocate your budget to the hardest hitting areas, or take a look at new approaches for the channels customers aren't remembering.  Here's a sample from a recent event.

Marketvision 2.0

The new generation of Marketvision is here!  This technology continues to grow - and it's helping our clients be smarter about their marketing.

So what's new?

• Different templates. - you can choose between 3 different templates for the kiosk with more coming quickly.  We consult to find out which set of questions best fit the data you are trying to capture for your dealership.
• Increased online reporting. - you can still log in and see all the data from the sale in real time but now you can see when people visiting your dealership say they are in the market to buy, where they get their vehicles serviced and what marketing messages in addition to direct mail are being noticed.
• Easily upload data into your DMS or CRM.  No double entry, scan the barcode on the mailer and it captures name & address - it then prompts the customer for their trade - in, phone number & email. 

Want to see more?  Email us today for a sample sale report!

Introducing: the Roll Fold Mailer

Happy Hump Day!!

Exciting news this Wednesday from Tri - Auto, a week or so ago we came out with a brand new product, I believe it's brand new to the direct mail game in general, but who can be sure? :)

I wanted to wait until I heard from a few clients before posting on this product, but the reviews are in and everyone loves it, our first round of them are going to press this week so I'll be sure to update when we have the Marketvision results on how it's performing.

We took the best parts of all of our best pieces to come up with this one, here's what we're seeing work right now:

-High Quality Paper Stock. I used to be a believer that it was the message that counted, not what it was printed on. Wrong. For example, we just looked at one specific product that we commonly print in three different paper types, here are the results:

• High Gloss, heavy stock (100# gloss) - 1.41% response
• 70# Gloss (standard gloss paper for most companies) - 1.0% response
• 75# Matte (high bulk) - .77% response
• These are the averages of all our sales compiled using Marketvision data from the past 6 mos.

-The Right Message. I'm not going to give away all our secrets easily on my blog, but we've been able to pinpoint what messages are driving traffic, and what ones are selling cars. Sometimes they are the same, sometimes not.

-Slapping a key on it. It doubles response. Still doing better than a credit card. 'Nuff said.

-Self Mailer vs. Envelope. The self mailer is winning all the time now. Not just any self mailer will do though - toss your 11x17 tri - fold self mailer right out the window.

So we added up all these things that we actually know to be true. As you know we aren't guessing or relying on registration cards from dealers anymore, or even a human being greeter at the door counting people. We have real, online, in real time data that is collected from 95% of our promotions now.

If you want to see the Roll Fold Mailer - email me. We have three different versions - one that is prize focused, one that is event focused, and one that is image focused. Yesterday we designed a tax one and they'll be more after that. You want to see this one.

The Current State of Automotive Direct Mail

We just released our Marketvision stats from the last year, along with updated numbers from the past three months. I just wanted to share some of the data as you plan for your Fall mail campaigns. Top Performers (and this one has recently changed so take note regular clients!)

• 9.5x14 postcard with key- avg response: 2.12%, highest response: 7.72%
• 11x17 half fold with key- avg response: 1.67%, highest response: 8.39%
• 8 page magazine-avg response 2.11%, highest response: 2.94%

Slipping Performers

• 11x17 tri fold-avg response: .52%
• 8.5x11 in 9x12 envelope-avg response: .59%

Other items to note

• 100# high gloss paper out performs any other stock on event mailers 3 to 1
• Personal websites or PURLS are producing buyers-50% say they are in the market to buy in the next 90 days, 89% are in the market to buy in the next year

New products to watch

• Personalized Credit Card Mailers
• Jumbo Dealership Newsletters
• Text Messaging
• Saturation Email Campaigns
• Special Finance Mailers-the new generation

Hope this helps regardless of your mail vendor. The ability to help us and dealers see what's working and what not is only half the power of Marketvision-the other half is realized when we analyze data from your individual sales and put it to work for you as well.

MarketVision

I reference Marketvision quite a bit but it's been a while since I blogged on it. Here's some quick info-for those of you who haven't experienced this technology yet.

What is it?

Marketvision is a computer kiosk that comes with every mailer we provide. It's delivered a few days before your sale in a black crate, then picked up a couple of days after your sale. Setting it up is as easy as: 1. take it out of the crate, 2. put it on top of the crate, 3. plug it in & turn it on.

What does it do?

Quite a bit actually.

On the front end it:

*Tells customers what they won (replaces the prize banner) *Collects customer data (phone, email, trade in, etc)

*Helps manage traffic *Provides a final closing tool with a voucher with additional trade in money

*Gives salespeople an easy way to collect email addresses

On the back end it:

*Links in real time to our website-you can log in 24 hours a day to view up to date data

*Provides reports on zip code response, lead contact lists, leads by salesperson, and an easy format of all leads to export to your CRM.

*Shows you exactly the response rate you received off the mailer and/or other advertising

*Allows you to capture not only ROI but missed opportunities

Why should I use it?

All the reasons above are many of the reasons our dealers choose Tri Auto. The largest gain we see from clients using Marketvision is our zip code analysis. After 3-4 sales with the technology Katy is able to perform an in depth look at what areas are performing best, we can then narrow in on those zip codes eliminating the ones that don't do well. This has allowed us to double response for the same (or less) budget with several of our clients.

Current clients-why do you use MarketVision? What should other dealers know about this program?

R.I.P. 11x17 tri folds

I wore black today in honor of our old friend, the 11x17 self mailer, tri-fold.

People, I'm just going to be blunt--this thing is DEAD.

This is more of a public service announcement than advice to our current clients as most of them have known this for quite some time.
Here's the deal-we have this very cool, fresh technology that tracks all the traffic at mail sales. Over 90% of our sales have this tracking tool now so we know exactly how much traffic is walking through the doors off of different mailers.
.49% of people that receive an 11x17 tri fold (with a scratch off and a prizes, etc) will show up
2% will show up for a jumbo postcard with a key - that's an average not a "best sale" or the average of the good sales
So you have to do almost ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND 11x17 tri folds to get the same traffic you would off of 20,000 jumbo key mailers.
Don't skimp and think you are getting more because you are getting a higher quantity--with times as they are I know you all need to be spending as wisely as possible. The data speaks for itself

How to use MarketVision Part 3-Improving Future Events

How to use MarketVision Part 3-Improving Future Events

Early this year I did a post on how to use MarketVision to lower your cost & increase response, this is the way MarketVision can best impact your ROI and the total value of your mailers. Below is a Cliff's Notes version of a few things to make sure you take a look at before your next event. 1. Log on to the Tri-Auto website to access your total MarketVision report from your last sale or sales. 2. Take a look at how your traffic was spread out. Were you slammed the first 2 days and it slowed down later, or vice versa? We suggest certain things when it comes to mail drops, but every market is different. On the next sale we could look at dropping a little differently to get more even traffic throughout. 3. Check out how much traffic each salesperson handled. There tend to be a lot of variations on this part of the report. Dig in a little on closing ratio & days worked. This is a great opportunity to give positive recognition to those that took full advantage of the traffic and coach those that did not. 4. Take a look at your zip codes. Katy will put together a full Zip Code Analysis for you after a couple of sales, but just get familiar for what areas did well and which did not. This can help tremendously on increasing response for the next sale. 5. Add the lead list to your CRM. If you need help converting it to a specific file just let us know. 6. Reference your vehicles sold to the lead list from MarketVision to determine your true ROI on the sale. 7. Take the time for a 15-20 minute conversation with me to go over what you found and let's discuss ways to make your next event even more successful!

How to use MarketVision Part 2-Increasing Closing Ratio

How to Use MarketVision Part 2-Increasing Closing Ratio

A lot of dealers have started to shy away from the events with a gift for coming in recently. However, with times like they are, consumers need more incentive now than ever to take action. This post will discuss ways using MarketVision can help increase closing ratio and turn some of those "gift getters" into buyers.

Salesperson Interaction

1. The MarketVision kiosk has replaced the prize banner! This will avoid the common occurrence of people coming in and checking what they've won without ever talking to anyone.

2. To use the MarketVision kiosk every customer must be accompanied by a salesperson. This is ensured by the kiosk requesting a salesperson ID before allowing anyone to scan.

3. Salespeople must use this initial interaction to the fullest extent! Use the time in line for the kiosk or filling out the information to get to know the customer. This is the perfect time for quality bonding and rapport.

4. Don't rush the customers! If there is a line for the kiosk that is okay! People are used to standing in lines for everything from groceries to ATM's this is YOUR time to get to know them.

5. The last question the kiosk will ask is what vehicle they are currently driving--you now know a potential trade-in. When the customer receives their voucher from the kiosk it will offer them an additional $250-$750 for their trade (depending on the year). GET EXCITED for them! "Wow, this is the first time I've seen a $500 voucher, that could really help out with getting you a newer car for a similar or cheaper payment than you have now! Let's take a look at your current situation and see if we could help."

6. After the kiosk interaction you can request them to fill out any additional info you might want on a registration form (soc # for credit reasons for example).

7. Give them their prize and THANK THEM for coming in. They may not be in the market right now, but if they know there are friendly, helpful salespeople at their dealership they are more likely to start the next car search with you.

Follow Up

1. Log on at the close of business every night and print out lead reports from the day by salesperson. These reports will have all the contact information entered in the kiosk.

2. Pass them out the next morning before the sale begins to the respective salesperson.

3. Set the expectation that these people need to be called or emailed sometime during the day during any downtime. Many dealers call to "check on their experience at the store" or have a quick 2-3 question survey to ask. Be sure to double check there is no way you could help them with finding a new vehicle.

4. After the sale every person who registered on the kiosk will be receiving a First Class follow up letter with a Buy-Back message. Be on the look out for these. If they've been in twice in two weeks, odds are they are an excellent prospect.

5. Continue to follow up. Add these lead lists to your CRM and get them on your email campaigns and future database mailers.

Evaluation

1. All sales people have strengths and weaknesses. During or after the sale take a moment to see what each person's individual closing ratio was. Some sales team members may need a little extra coaching on how to handle this type of traffic.

2. Consider having your best closer do a training session before the next sale on how he or she handles traffic.

3. Apply any "best practices" to the actual process across the board. MarketVision helps ensure everyone follows the same process so every customer gets the best experience they can at your dealership.

How to Use MarketVisionPart 1-Data & Reporting

With the new release of our entire business philosophy coming at you quickly, I realized there are several basics I have failed to cover in the Diva blog. The next few posts are going to be focused on those of you that know or want to know us over at Tri-Auto and how to use some of the tools we provide. I LOVE talking to dealers & their sales people about how to most effectively take advantage of these things and am happy to join your pre-sale sales meeting via conference call to discuss them as well.

How to Use MarketVision-Part 1 Data & Reporting

This is going to be a level 200 course on MarketVision, if you don't know the basics, please check out the quick video here to see what it is and how it works. Getting started: 1. Go to http://www.triauto.com/ and click "client Login" in the upper right 2. Click "new account"and fill in the quick info 3. Call me or Katy and let us know you've done this and we'll set you up with your online account. The account allows you to access all MarketVision data from your current sale and all other sales from the past. It also gives you access to "sign" paperwork online in the future Prepping the sales team: 1. Make sure to stress the importance of getting as much info as possible from the ups as they come in. These are going to be future lead lists, you need emails & phone numbers to follow up! BONUS TIP: Many dealers spiff their salespeople or have a contest for who can collect the most emails or phone numbers! 2. Double check that each sales person has their own key tag that allows them to scan in before each person they talk to. This is how we track which salesperson talked to which person. 3. The only way people can find out what they've won is by using the MarketVision kiosk, this should insure that every person scans in their mailer & inputs their info. Throughout the sale: 1. Log in, at the very least, every morning and check your reports. 2. From your log in page you can see, how much traffic you've had, how many people each salesperson has talked to, the number of incoming phone calls from the mailer, and how each zip code is performing. 3. Print off each salesperson's lead list in the morning and pass them out. During any downtime it would be a great opportunity to call every person they spoke to and thank them for coming in and answer any other questions they might have. 4. This would also be a good time to take a quick gauge on the closing ratio of each salesperson-if they talked to 23 people and didn't sell a car it might be a great time for a quick sales training session. At the close of the sale: 1. Figure your ROI, check the number of cars you sold against the MarketVision list--I imagine no other form of marketing can you help you find out exactly what you gained from it so quickly. 2. Figure your closing ratio--and talk to your team about ways to improve. 3. Print out entire lead list-either by sales rep or the master list--continue to follow up! (more on this later) 4. Have a wrap up sales meeting, share the data with your staff and give kudos to those that registered a lot of ups, had the highest closing ratio, got the most contact info, etc. 5. Take a hard look at the zip code report. After 3 MarketVision sales we'll do a formal analysis for you with recommendations, but even after 1 sale you'll see a clear line between which zips worked well, and which didn't. Most of the data is figured for you-but if you'd like help on looking at your ROI or closing ratio I'm happy to assist with both. So many dealers love the practical application of the kiosk throughout the sale, but a lot are missing out on all the great tools on the back end.

Reveal the Deal Mailer

I don't do this often, but I'm just too excited not to today. I have to brag on my company for just one post!!

Yesterday we had our big, monthly meeting and a new product was rolled out. I had seen a quick proof of it and had even seen the paper size and the new stickers it uses, but once I saw it all put together I was completely blown away!

Here is the neatest part about this mailer. We know it will work. I know that sounds cocky, and yes I just "knocked on wood" but here's something we can do that no one else can-no one. We can say we know exactly how a certain piece works, thanks to MarketVision. Every thing about this mailer from the color, to the placement of hooks, the personal website, and the size is the best of the best. We've taken everything that we have actual data saying it works and put it on to one hell of a mailer.

After using our MarketVision kiosks for a year we now have enough info to start making our company better for you--and once you use it a couple times we can do the same for your company (see my previous blog this month on using MarketVision to increase results and lower your costs).

That's it--I promise I won't do it again for a long time. Give me a call if you want to actually see the literally BIGGEST mailer possible-with brand new stickers instead of scratch offs. You'll like it.

I'll leave you with this--a quote I just got via email from a client sending this piece out at the end of the month:

"Outstanding! I'm really looking forward to this mailing. Everyone is pretty impressed with Godzilla."

-Mark, OH

Ford Dealer

Using MarketVision to lower your costs & increase response

It's been a while since I've specifically blogged about MarketVision, and I suppose for the past few months I've been sitting back to see what real gains dealers were experiencing by using it with their direct mail campaigns. After several really great conversations this week I decided it's time to at least talk about how some dealers are lowering their costs and increasing their response using this technology. I've been working with a Cincinnati area dealer for several years. They are a large, domestic dealer and have typically blasted their market with 100,000 pieces for several months in a row. The first few sales were always very good, and then results would start to dwindle and they'd take a break for a while. These sales were successful for them and they were always pretty happy until it was time for a break again. Three months ago it was time for them to start doing mail again. This was the first time they used the MarketVision kiosk with their mailer (http://www.marketvisionauto.com/). Three months later they have 3 sales worth of data.

So how does MarketVision help me lower advertising costs & increase results?

I know - sounds like an infomercial - but here's the deal:

1. Gather data-start using MarketVision on all your mailers. It's cheap and includes free follow-up letters to everyone who comes in.
2. After several sales do some analytics on the information. This is something I can certainly help with.
3. Eliminate zip codes you've been mailing to that just don't perform (Savings!)!
4. Make a list of zip codes that do perform.
5. Make a list of some areas that could hold opportunities. New markets you've never or rarely hit, your competitors market, new carrier routes, etc.
6. Divide your high performing zip codes into equal parts. For instance-3 parts so you can hit your entire list once per quarter, 4 parts so you can hit it all every month, etc.
7. Here's the fun part-this list will not contain the zips that don't perform so you will send out less mail, but you'll be concentrating on the people that are likely to respond so your response will go up. You're also being careful to spread out who you are hitting so the results don't dwindle as you have to move farther away from your store. Sprinkle in a few of those areas you'd like to try each sale, and you can start determining NEW MARKETS to add to your "responders" list.

I'll even do your first MarketVision analysis for you-free! Give me a call if you want to talk about the data we've already collected, or if you want to start measuring what your mail is doing for you in 2009.

So excited about MarketVision!

I'm so excited today that I just had to share! I'm not sure how many have you have heard about MarketVision, either from me or your friends in the industry. BUT, it's doing much more than I ever expected. The quick story on MarketVision is...it's a technology Tri-Auto Enterprises has developed over the past two years. A kiosk is shipped to the dealership a few days before the sale starts. It's a touch screen computer terminal. Instead of the ups checking a prize banner to see what they've won they scan a bar code on their mailer at the kiosk. It captures their name, address, phone number and email address along with trade in information. Then a receipt is printed for them telling them not only what prize they won, but also offering them an extra amount on their trade in. MarketVision then compiles the data for you! There are real time reports that show how many ups have come in, plot them on a map, tell you what salesperson worked with them and also shows you the percentage of return from each zip code. Finally we know what zips are worth hitting, and what aren't! This "real time" feature just went live last week. It was especially exciting for me as one of my event teams had a sale going in Lancaster, Ohio that was really kicking butt. It became addicting as I logged on every 30 seconds to see how many ups they had that day. By the end of the week they had 909 people in off of 30,000 mailers! It was so exciting to be able to see the success as it happened. In addition to that, all 909 of those people will receive an additional, First Class, follow up letter the week after the sale inviting them back in. They're free to the dealer as a part of the MarketVision program. Finally, there is something new in the direct mail marketplace! Tri-Auto offers this program along with many of the mail houses and event teams that partner with us. Ask your direct mail consultant if it's something they offer--if you like being able to track your ROI, the success of your sales people, and what areas are truly your market--I have a feeling you'll geek out like I have been too! If you're curious, here's a quick video showing how it works: http://triauto.com/marketvision.php And, here's the daily up totals from that sale I mentioned: Daily Analysis Date # of Ups 9-13-2008 246 9-12-2008 197 9-11-2008 248 9-10-2008 168 9-9-2008 41 9-8-2008 9 Total Ups: 909