Dual personality?
When it comes to trade agreements, David Adams says it appears that Canada is trying to adopt two different approaches at the same time For decades, the concept of “trade” in Canada meant relations with the U.S. (or in more …
Category: Columns
Sale-Leasebacks a growing trend
With dealer consolidation in Canada at fever pitch and the topic of succession being a focal point, sale and leaseback arrangements are finding their way into the Canadian dealership landscape You might be asking yourself that in a world where …
Sundry shortfall
Protecting the environment has become a major issue over the last several years and so have the related fines for not complying. Recovering the cost of shop supplies from a customer is an interesting subject that appears to have a …
Be informed, be ahead
Owning an auto dealership today is big business. With ever-increasing competition, manufacturer retailing demands, data management, the Internet, an informed consumer and attracting and retaining the right team, the business is now extremely complex. Add to that the pressures of …
Realistic or pipe dream?
For the past couple of decades we’ve been promised that fuel-cell powered vehicles were just around the corner. We were also promised that once they made it to market, they would revolutionize the very concept of the automobile. That …
Sharing brings Success
In the modern, ultra competitive auto retail marketplace, what distinguishes one dealership from another is its relationship with its customers, and how the responsibility of that relationship and the processes that make it possible are aligned between the staff at …
All about the details
Anyone who has completed a construction or renovation project knows firsthand that the last five per cent of it is usually the most difficult. In fact, we often see the final five per cent not completed for many years, if …
More than information
Some months ago, I wrote about an informal survey of dealerships in North York, Ont. and how many were just not geared up to greet and engage the digital customer’s attention. Recently, I did some more mystery shopping at retail …
Creating engagement
Probably the most common question I get from dealers is “How do I get more leads?” Leads are the lifeblood of automotive retail and when I hear dealers requesting more, I know we can help. With well over 80 per …
Time to cut the cord?
A cord cutter is one of 7.6 million households in the U.S. that has chosen to sever relationships with cable and satellite TV services in favor of online offerings. This is the new normal. Traditional media is seeing a decline …
Taking charge
While we’ve seen the availability of battery electric vehicles in Canada jump from five models in 2011 to 17 by the end of this year, the reality is much of that increase has been driven by the need for automakers …
The power of a “people” perspective
FROM DAY ONE, SEARCH OPTICS HAS TAKEN A PERSONAL, BOUTIQUE APPROACH WHEN WORKING WITH ITS DEALER CLIENTS In the digital age,it’s often all too easy to be seduced by the latest technology. Dealers are bombarded all the time about new …
