Dealers attending the Toronto leg of Kijiji’s DealerTalkx event got an earful from Gary Vaynerchuk, social media guru, author and one of the industry’s most highly-sought after speakers.
Vaynerchuk’s no-holds barred style is delivered at a frenetic — if not slightly manic — pace and he doesn’t spare any sacred cows. Vaynerchuk certainly dropped his share of “F-bombs” as he is wont to do, and used assorted salty language to punctuate his points — and there were many of them for dealers who listened attentively.
If nothing else, Vaynerchuk commands the stage and forces you to think. He challenged dealers to listen to him, or ignore him, adding that it doesn’t matter to him one way or the other.
He’s so confident in his outlook, that Vaynerchuk records his various prognostications and forecasts, so that years later, he can remind himself and others, that he does have a unique window into the future — and that he often is right.
This is not about tradition versus digital — this is about attention…Attention is being fragmented like we’ve never seen it before
Vaynerchuk describes himself as a serial entrepreneur, and is CEO and co-founder of VaynerMedia, a digital agency serving Fortune 500 clients. He is a four-time New York Times best selling author, and widely regarded as an expert in social media and digital media marketing.
He warned dealers that if they don’t recognize the massive tidal wave of change that is coming, and act upon it, they risk being wiped out like many other industries that have been disrupted. “You may believe it, but you don’t act on it. You may believe it, but you don’t spend your money on it,” said Vaynerchuk during his keynote presentation. “Please do not bet against what’s happening.”
He said dealers who ignore the massive shifts in consumer behaviour, the power of online and digital media, and other unstoppable forces of change do so at their great peril. “Whether you think this is awesome or you think this is terrible, we’re living in the most interesting time,” he said. “This is not about tradition versus digital — this is about attention…Attention is being fragmented like we’ve never seen it before.”
To attract the attention of consumers, dealers need to engage with them where they really live, shop and interact which is in digital channels and social media environments. “Before you tell me something, you need my attention,” said Vaynerchuk, adding that creative content is key to grabbing a share of that attention.
It’s also key to have the right approach for social which is: “Give, give, give and then ask. And it’s not take. It’s ask.”
It’s vital for dealers to stay close to their customers and social media allows them to build these relationships. “The person or organization that is closest to the actual customer always wins,” said Vaynerchuk.
Vaynerchuk said dealers need to take a longer-term view of their business and the steps they need to take today to be successful tomorrow. “Every day I could care less about what made me successful yesterday,” said Vaynerchuk.
While Vaynerchuk generated the most buzz, the other keynotes offered valuable insights into the changing world that dealers encounter every day. “We are on the tipping point of a massive change in how transportation will operate in the future, and there will be a massive change to automotive retail as well,” said James Carter, Principal Consultant at Vision Mobility.
Vaynerchuk says dealers need to take a longer-term view of their business and the steps they need to take today to be successful tomorrow
Other keynotes in Toronto included CarGurl Emma Hancock who spoke about, “The Customer of the Future.” She said dealerships need to do a much better job catering the car-buying experience to women. “Women love to shop, but they don’t love shopping for cars,” said Hancock. Hancock suggests dealers need to take steps to make the car-buying experience more pleasant for women shoppers. “They don’t think of it as a dealership — that’s your term — they think of it as store,” she said.
During the closing keynote presentation at DealerTalkx Toronto, SpinCar CEO Devin Daly encouraged dealers to pay more attention to their online showrooms. Dealerships in the U.S. get an average of 475 walk-ins monthly, while their websites get more than 9,000 unique views, 60 per cent of which are from mobile. “We all know we should be spending more time on our online showroom,” said Daly, adding that it often slips through the cracks of the day-to-day business operation.
He offered some practical insights into building a better digital showroom, such as shooting vehicle photography in a consistent format, and using high-res zoom and pan photos. Daly also suggested using interactive tools that put the customer in control of displaying car features.
Organized by Kijiji, Canada’s largest online classifieds site, the theme of DealerTalkx 2017 was “Dealership of the future.” Events were held this year in Montreal, Calgary and Toronto. For event coverage and for year-round insights into digital marketing trends visit www.dealertalk.ca
