Mobile transparency
Ready or not, your customers expect to be treated differently We can all get caught up in the hype of a new trend or technology. Auto dealers are not immune to this reality. The fear that someone else has adopted …
Category: Opinion
Let’s make this a special year
I love the start of the year. After spending the past few weeks working through the many deadlines that come with winding down the past year and clearing my desk, it’s time to start looking towards the coming year. It …
Not what it seems
The view of Canada as a current beacon for fiscal responsibility perhaps doesn’t reveal the whole truth Now that we’re into election season (which, unfortunately, kicks off as much as a year before we actually get to vote), there will …
Bring back the magic
Auto dealers have a powerful source of untapped power at their disposal that can fire imaginations, excite desires and trigger emotional reactions. Putting it simply, cars and trucks are cool. People are passionate about them, and many have a particular …
How much longer?
I have used this space on several occasions to offer insights into the recent evolution of consumer debt dynamics in the Canadian automotive retail market. Though the details varied, the theme did not: consumers have piled on more debt in …
Go with the flow
RELAXED CUSTOMERS ARE HAPPY CUSTOMERS. ASK APPLE. Not surprisingly, given my job, I spend a lot of time inside car dealerships. When I’m not talking with the dealership teams, I spend a lot of my time watching customers. The service …
Upping a tough act to follow
Working closely with Canadian Automobile Dealers Association (CADA) staff, some of our team at Canadian auto dealer magazine are putting in the hours that go into planning the upcoming CADA Summit. Universus Media (publishers of Canadian auto dealer) leaders Todd …
An evening in Fredericton
I had the great pleasure of dining recently with John Clark and his wife Pam last night. John, as some of you will know, is the Dealer Principal at J. Clark & Son Ltd., a GM store in Fredericton that …
You are being watched
YOUR DEALERSHIP’S REPUTATION IS ALWAYS AT RISK I’m not really one of those guys. You know, one of those guys that sees the sign on the side of a truck that says, “If you don’t like my driving, call this …
Anti-tax sentiment goes mainstream
GOVERNMENTS ARE INCREASINGLY WALKING A TIGHTROPE IN FACING THE ECONOMIC CHALLENGES AHEAD WHILE AT THE SAME TIME APPEALING TO VOTERS After the recent Ontario election campaign, in which the Liberals surprisingly returned with a strengthened majority mandate despite the burdens …
Middle income distraction?
THE PLIGHT OF MEDIAN INCOME EARNERS IS A HOT POLITICAL BUTTON, BUT BY EMPHASIZING IT ARE WE IGNORING BIGGER ECONOMIC ISSUES THAT WILL LIKELY IMPACT ALL CANADIANS? Much of the political rhetoric this year has been devoted to the struggles …
Budgeting concerns
LESS SCRUTINY ON GOVERNMENT TABLED LEGISLATION COULD HAVE SERIOUS LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES SAYS MICHAEL HATCH Unless you happen to be a Minister of Finance, it’s hard to get excited about government budgets. With so many layers of government active all around …
