Category: Features

2014 mid-year report card

September 3, 2014

THE MARKET CONTINUES TO GROW AND MOST BRANDS ARE DOING WELL — BUT NOT ALL At the halfway point of 2014, new auto sales in Canada are 2.8 per cent ahead of where they were at the same time last …

Smooth flow

September 3, 2014

HOW BOTH DEALERS AND OEMS CAN WORK TOGETHER TO DELIVER A CONSISTENT, HIGH QUALITY CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE Take a step back. Think for a minute. When somebody steps foot into your showroom or drives into your service lane, what do you …

Bigger and brighter

September 2, 2014

LEAVENS VOLKSWAGEN’S NEW FACILITY IS A TESTAMENT TO HARD WORK AND CUSTOMER DEDICATION One day, while his parents were on holiday in Europe, a young Ed Leavens decided to trade in the family station wagon for an Austin-Healey sports car. …

Don’t follow the flock

September 2, 2014

LEARNING TO STAND APART FROM THE CROWD OFTEN PUTS YOU IN FRONT OF IT At Canadian auto dealer, we’ve done quite a bit of coverage on the used vehicle market in the last few years, especially as more dealers are …

Connecting your customers

July 16, 2014

WHY INTERNET CONNECTIVITY FOR CUSTOMERS IS NOW A FUNDAMENTAL PART OF THE AUTO RETAILING END-USER EXPERIENCE The wireless landscape is changing. Smart phones and tablets have forever altered the way we interface with the web. The common thread today is …

Finders keepers

July 16, 2014

A LOOK AT SUCCESSFUL STRATEGIES FOR ATTRACTING TOP TALENT TO YOUR DEALERSHIP It’s human nature to try and save a little up front, yet sometimes this can result in us being labeled “penny-wise and pound foolish.” And when it comes …

Bringing them back

July 16, 2014

CANADIAN AUTO DEALER TAKES A LOOK AT SOME SUCCESSFUL RETENTION STRATEGIES TO BOOST BOTH CUSTOMER LOYALTY AND SATISFACTION A silver E 350 4MATIC pulls into the drive through and before the driver even gets out, a service advisor is there …

Complying with CASL

June 25, 2014

CANADA’S TOUGH ANTI-SPAM LEGISLATION IS HERE, ITS REAL AND YOU NEED TO LEARN HOW TO WORK WITH IT There’s a big change happening in Canada. If you’re a business, such as an automotive retailer there’s no question it will affect …

Harness the power

June 25, 2014

HOW NEXT GENERATION DMS SYSTEMS CAN HELP YOU MEET THE DEMANDS OF TOMORROW’S CUSTOMERS Without it, the modern dealership just wouldn’t function. Whether it’s managing accounts, performing payroll functions, tracking customer deals, coordinating appointments, managing leads and prospects, sending follow …

Fully virtual

June 25, 2014

Bill Tanner, our fictional dealer in 2030 has gone and acquired himself a new franchise. It’s all online too, something that’s got him both excited and scared at the same time I did it. Lori lost her mind, of course, …

The female factor

June 18, 2014

WHY WOMEN ARE PLAYING AN INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT ROLE IN AUTO RETAILING, NOT ONLY AS CUSTOMERS BUT AS DEALERSHIP STAFF MEMBERS “It’s a man’s world but it wouldn’t be nothing without a woman.” So wrote Betty Jean Newsome for James Brown’s …