The marketing world has been changing at a blistering pace. There are privacy updates that have reduced targeting and audience capabilities, the deprecation of the cookie, new advertising entrants, changes to current platforms, and so much more that you have to contend with in order to market effectively. Things will only become more complex just as the customer journey has these past few years (expedited by COVID-19).In this KPI Cafe, DrivenIQ's CEO Albert Thompson provides a full view of what customers are doing, better ways to market to them, and more context around the value and source of data. You'll have food for thought on how to future-proof your marketing efforts powered by reliable information that you own. In addition to the primary interview, Charisma! Communication's Laurie Halter is back to dive into "What's Going on in Auto?".If you have any thoughts or questions, please reach out to host Dane Saville at [email protected] to join the conversation.As always, please subscribe to the KPI Cafe on your favorite podcast platform!Here's what you can expect from today's episode:Opening CommentsWhat's Going on in Auto? w/ Laurie HalterIntroducing DrivenIQ's Albert ThompsonAlbert's Automotive Origin StoryWhat Today's Buyer Journey Looks LikeCOVID TransitionsRinse and Repeat ActionsResearch IntendersHow Can We Market Better to Today's Buyer?Top-of-Mind: The JourneyData Protection"My Data"Outreach vs. In-reachCustom Audiences"Digital Up"Insights on Customer and Contextual JourneyHyper-SegmentationPeople-BasedLoyaltyThe Starting Point for DealersHow to Find a Reliable Data PartnerAssetRightsLast Insights or Tips for Future-Proofing MarketingTo Learn More About Albert and DrivenIQ Previewing Next Week's EpisodeLooking for an award-winning digital marketing agency partner? At Reunion Marketing, we offer boutique-style services in SEO, SEM, and Social Media that have origins from our founder's work at a 33-store automotive group's marketing department. Reach out to our host Dane Saville at [email protected] to set up a demo today.

The past few years have heralded major changes in automotive retail: direct-to-consumer models and new entrants, EVs, supply constraints, GA4, and, of course, a pandemic, are a few of the myriad things to navigate. It's important to take a moment to reflect on the good that has come out of it, including both what good has already happened and what good lies on the horizon.In this KPI Cafe, Automotive State of the Union's (ASOTU) Paul J. Daly and Kyle Mountsier dive into these changes -- past, present, and future -- to get you excited about how adaptable automotive retail is and how much more incredible it can be if it meets the moment.In addition to the primary interview, host Dane Saville also dives into "What's Going on in Auto?".If you have any thoughts or questions, please reach out to host Dane Saville at [email protected] to join the conversation.As always, please subscribe to the KPI Cafe on your favorite podcast platform!Here's what you can expect from today's episode:Opening of the ShowUsed Car Marketing E-Book Offer (Located Here)Some Conversation and ContextWhat's Going in Auto? w/ Yours TrulyIntroducing Paul Daly and Kyle MountsierWhat Exciting Changes in Automotive Retail Has Paul Seen?Coming TogetherSolutionsWhat Excites Kyle Most About Automotive's Future?Energy and EnthusiasmPop CultureCustomer / Employee ExperienceHow Will Dealers Meet the Moment?Mass ConsolidationDealership Experience / Random Pronunciation ChallengeXvetriausL-A5-10-Year PrognosticationExperientialAudi Center ExampleInteractivityService ExperiencePatrick Abad's StoryASOTU CONWhat, Why, WhenASOTU's Focus on ValuePreview Next Week's EpisodeLooking for an award-winning digital marketing agency partner? At Reunion Marketing, we offer boutique-style services in SEO, SEM, and Social Media that have origins from our founder's work at a 33-store automotive group's marketing department. Reach out to our host Dane Saville at [email protected] to set up a demo today.

Risks -- some big and some small -- are quite a common life occurrence. They come in the form of dating, employment, entrepreneurship, hobbies/activities, and so much more. Sometimes a risk pays off, and sometimes is doesn't. That's often the allure of a risk: the potential it has. We, however, don't want to blindly take risks as our chances of failure increase. It takes deliberation: we want it to be a measured risk.Dane Saville, Co-Founder of and Brand Manager for Reunion Marketing, takes us through the notion of a measured risk and uses both actual company stories and personal anecdotes to demonstrate the benefits that a measured risk can yield. In addition to the primary interview, we also have Friendemic's Hannah Lifson to discuss "What's Going on in Auto?".If you have any thoughts or questions, please reach out to host Dane Saville at [email protected] to join the conversation.As always, please subscribe to the KPI Cafe on your favorite podcast platform!Here's what you can expect from today's episode:Used Car Marketing E-Book Offer (Located Here)What's Going on in Auto? w/ Hannah LifsonContext and ConversationBelief, Changes, HappinessThe Measured RiskDefining RiskParlaying into Measured RiskTypes of Measured RisksComfortable Being UncomfortableExamples of Companies That Took RisksApple, Microsoft, Whole Foods, Charmin, Google, FedExRevisiting Personal Risk: Happiness and TrustBroken Trust?Risk and TrustSharing a Personal Story of Measured RisksVoluntary Resignation from DoD ContractorUnemployment33-Store Automotive GroupAdvertising AgencyStarted Reunion w/ OthersShifting Roles: Another Story of Measured RiskContent Director to Brand ManagerSpeakingKPI CafeNetwork of FriendsAnother Benefit of Measured RisksPreviewing Next Week's EpisodeLooking for an award-winning digital marketing agency partner? At Reunion Marketing, we offer boutique-style services in SEO, SEM, and Social Media that have origins from our founder's work at a 33-store automotive group's marketing department. Reach out to our host Dane Saville at [email protected] to set up a demo today.

Amazon offers a prime opportunity for advertisers in automotive retail to reach a multitude of local consumers who can help satisfy all profit centers of a dealership, as well as help dealers with inventory acquisition. This platform, including its Amazon Garage, and all of its network partners create a powerful programmatic channel that offers audiences and targeting to address consumers in the Awareness, Consideration, and Conversion stages of the path to purchase.Vasilios Lambos, CMO for Cognition Digital, navigates us through how your dealership's advertising strategy can leverage Amazon: from audience and targeting layering to streaming audio ads to aligning with customer intent, and much more. In addition to the primary interview, we also have Reunion Marketing's own Emily Usher on to discuss "What's Going on in Auto?"If you have any thoughts or questions, please reach out to host Dane Saville at [email protected] to join the conversation!As always, please subscribe to the KPI Cafe on your favorite podcast platform!Here's what you can expect from today's episode:Opening Comments and ContextWhat's Going on in Auto w/ Emily UsherIntroducing Vasilios and His Origin StoryVasilios' Origin StoryThe Why of AmazonThe 101 of Amazon GarageParts/AccessoriesYear-Make-Model UploadAvailability for AdvertisersAmazon DSP: 1st-Party DataCan Amazon Hit All Dealer Profit Centers?At the Start: Impression Delivery for Variable OpsFlexibility in CriteriaVehicle AcquisitionAmazon Audiences and TargetingAmazon-owned 1st PartyCombine/SegmentLifestyle ExampleLayeringAmazon Goals and ObjectivesAll Available Upper-Funnel MetricsOffline AttributionNo Attribution Window LimitationDoes Amazon Offer a Full-Funnel Opportunity?Awareness-Consideration-ConversionThink of Who an Amazon Customer IsConsumer Intent / Business Objective AlignmentInventory Feed DetailsVariablesA Dive into Streaming Audio AdsLogged UserDevice OwnershipFull-Funnel AttributionFinal Tips About Amazon AdvertisingConnecting with Cognition DigitalPreviewing Next Week's Episode

The Business Development Center (BDC) continues to be a point of conversation for automotive retail. It turns out that there are more options, more nuance, and more best practices to consider and implement based on a dealer's individual needs because, after all, one size does not fit all. To help us dive more into this topic, we have Wendy Reeves, Founder of BDC Angels, to walk us through a high-level perspective on the BDC, then a quick pivot into many more of the details.If you've never utilized a BDC or felt a BDC just won't work for you, Wendy creates a compelling case on how this can be a vital component to your dealership's processes and customer experience. If you have any thoughts or questions, please reach out to host Dane Saville at [email protected] to join the conversation!And, of course, we have good friend Dave Foy coming to share "What's Going on in Auto?"Here's what you can expect from today's episode:Opening the ShowWhat's Going on in Auto? w/ Dave FoyWendy's Origin StoryTips to Help Ensure the BDC is SuccessfulDedicated Onsite ManagerClose TrioRelevanceVarious Types of BDCOne-Size-Doesn't-Fit-AllDetermining Your BDC TypeOnsiteOutsourceCentralizedOffshoreFinal Tips from WendyContacting Wendy

For today's episode, we continue our foray into artificial intelligence (AI) with Konect.ai's Colby Joyner. In this Part 2, we go beyond setting the context of AI and into setting actual expectations, including its parameters, capabilities, limitations, integrations, and final tips for dealers considering this technology.We hope you enjoy as Colby navigates us through specific, real-world applications of AI and the obstacles he's encountered in his new role at Konect.ai. There will be no "What's Going on in Auto?" segment today, but we highly encourage you to check out George Nenni's insights in Part 1 if you missed them. Here's what you can expect from today's episode:How AI Can Pivot to Send Customer to Real SalespersonSpecific ParametersNotification ProcessAI as Part of the Dealership WorkflowFuture: OutboundNow: In the BeginningTask Reduction / StreamliningEventual OmnichannelHow is the Industry Reacting to AI in Customer Journey?HesitancyUtilizing Dealers and Data to EnhanceFinal Tips/Insights for Considering AIIntegrity of Intended InformationHow to Learn about Konect.ai and Connect with ColbyPreviewing Next Week's EpisodeIf you like what you heard, please remember to subscribe to the KPI Cafe on your favorite podcast platform!

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has quickly emerged as a primary subject in automotive retail over the past few years. For this KPI Cafe, we take our first sojourn into discussing AI with Colby Joyner, Vice President of Sales at Konect.ai. Throughout the episode, which has been divided into two parts, has Part 1 setting the context of what AI does, what it doesn't, and how to tell the difference between a true, transparent partner and those "other guys."As expected, Colby lays out myriad insights for dealers and vendors to make informed decisions regarding this emerging technology. If you have any thoughts or questions, please reach out to host Dane Saville at [email protected] to join the conversation!And, of course, we have long-time friend George Nenni coming on to share "What's Going on in Auto?".Here's what you can expect from today's episode: What's Going on in Auto? w/ George NenniColby Joyner's Automotive Origin StorySetting the Context for Today's Episode210,000-Foot Perspective on AI Integration w/ Automotive RetailBasic IntroductionCustomer Journey ComfortabilityFollow-up / EnhancementBalance Between Feeling and FoolingSticking to the GistNatural LanguageStore IdentityAccepting LimitationsWhat Does AI Engagement w/ Customers Look Like?Qualifying QuestionsGood ExperienceKeep Customers EngagedPivot to Real SalespersonConcluding ThoughtsIf you like what you heard, please remember to subscribe to the KPI Cafe on your favorite podcast platform!

In this KPI Cafe, we return to the conversation of Google Marketing Live with Colin Carrasquillo, Digital Marketing Manager for the Nielsen Automotive Group. In this second part, Dane and Colin continue their dive into different elements, strategies, and updates shared during the most recent GML event -- plus some other relevant thoughts. Here's what you can expect:Conversation and ContextDeprecation of the Cookie First-Party DataInsightsAudience SegmentsPerformance Max CampaignsEase of useAutomation w/ Human OversightData to MineInfo. from WebsiteRelevanceDealership Digital Side DoorGoogle EAT ThoughtAutomationClosing ThoughtsIf you like what you hear, be sure to subscribe to the KPI Cafe on your favorite podcast platform.

In this KPI Cafe, Colin Carrasquillo, Digital Marketing Manger for Nielsen Auto Group, dives into some of the latest Google innovations with host Dane Saville. This discussion come on the heels of the 2022 Google Marketing Live event from Tuesday, May 25th. While the GML event helps guide the conversation, Dane and Colin discuss current usage of tools and products referred to during the event, as well as hits on a few more general topics based on what was presented.You'll hear perspectives and alignment on topics that are — and will be — impacting your dealership's digital marketing from both a dealer and a vendor in automotive retail across a variety of hot topics in a speed-round discussion that is now divided into two parts.Add your voice to the discussion by reaching out to host Dane Saville at [email protected] to have him share your feedback on the next KPI Cafe, which will feature Part II of the interview with Colin.Here's what you can expect:Conversation and Context for Today's EpisodeWhat's Going on in Auto? w/ Wendy ReevesCatching Up with Colin CarrasquilloContext on the Nielsen Automotive GroupFormat of Today's ShowGoogle Vehicle Listing AdsLove-HatePre-Owned100% CoverageExposureVariance on MetricsGA4Events/Actions for AdsDifferent Paths to PurchaseUsing DataAnalysesVideoTying to Visual Mode at GoogleTangible NeedGoogle Asset LibraryQuality?Facebook Brand AwarenessClosing Thoughts and Preview of Next Week

In this KPI Cafe, Ken Mauldin, Corporate Fixed Operations Director for Purdy Group USA,  offers up insights about the small change that he and his team made that created big results for the dealership: more trade-ins from the service department.  He explains the balance of data analysis and observation that lead to a verbiage change in one of the questions consumers were asked to answer that now generates a reliable and consistent source of used inventory. The question, however, is just a cog in an entire framework and process that makes it all work.Here's what you can expect:Opening Comments and ContextWhat's Going on in Auto? w/ Dave SpannhakeDisclaimer About Audio!Kicking Off the Interview w/ Ken MauldinKen's Origin Story Details and Trends to Watch in Fixed Ops Reports3 Primary TrendsReversed FocusTime and ExpectationsThe Change to Get more Trades"Inspect What You Expect"Brainstorm from ObservationThe Process10% Goal: 15% RealityKiosk ProcessConciergeIt's All About TimeUniformityOther Impacts of Using Service for Trade-InsFamiliaritySales-Service SynergyClosing Tips for Fixed Ops DirectorsListen! If you like what you've heard today, please be sure to subscribe to the KPI Cafe!