Digital Dealer
Letters
Our digital dealer expert Todd Smith answers questions from our readers. tsmith@dealeronline.com
Todd,
I am intrigued with your follow-up system regarding Internet leads that are
not closed. We are currently entertaining the idea of having a database manager
(such as ACT!2000) coupled with an email client software such as Eudora to
perform the tasks you mentioned. How do you rate these systems when looking
at an in-house e-mail follow-up campaign?
Thanks in advance for any direction you can give us in this matter.
Respectfully,
Albert Risch ABT / Internet Sales Manager/The Faricy Boys Chrysler Plymouth
Jeep
Colorado Springs, CO
Hi Albert,
First I would like to say thanks for the response. It is great to hear from
dealerships that are trying to become successful online. As for your questions,
I would say the best thing for you to do is to buy Mailking, which is a program
that will allow you to send multiple personalized messages out to your prospects
or customers. The program is $99.00 at www.mailking.com. For full contact
management I use Goldmine 5.0 but ACT is also good, so whatever you are comfortable
with using. Remember that Eudora or Microsoft Outlook will act as a contact
management program if you don't want to spend any additional money. For the
automated system to send out your follow-up e-mails without you having to
get involved, I recommend www.aweber.com. It is affordable at $14.95 per month
and easy to use. Good luck with your program.
Todd Smith
Todd:
I read your article in the Jan. 2000 issue of Dealer with great interest,
however, I tried to log on to tmg-online but was unable to do so. I would
like more information about your manual and what you do if it is possible.
Thanks,
Tom Thoensen,Program Manager, Internet Sales,Lee Johnson Chevrolet, Kirkland, WA
Tom,
Thanks for your response. You can visit our Web site anytime you want at www.tmg-online.com
and read more about our manual Automotive Retailing on the Internet which
is the most comprehensive publication available in the industry to help dealers
get started successfully online. It covers everything from learning proven
techniques to drive Web site traffic to understanding how search engines really
work. If you want to get started and really build a business, Automotive Retailing
on the Internet is a great place to start. Good luck with your Internet program.
Todd Smith
Dear Todd,
I am writing in regards to your January article. I was put in charge of an
Internet marketing project that resembles exactly the essence of your article
(giving your secrets away!!). I would love to hear some input from you because
I haven't spoken to anyone who is involved in this type of marketing. If possible,
would you send me a copy of your letters so I may compare the e-mails that
I have been sending. It would be very useful to have a basis for comparison.
I also would like to know if you sell or could refer me to someone that bulk
e-mail lists.
Sincerely,
Jennifer DeMarzo, Plantation Ford
Hi Jennifer,
If you would like, you could send me your letters and we would be more than
happy to evaluate them for you for free. If you really want to grab hold of
the future we have found a new killer weapon is getting unbelievable response.
HTML-based sales letters instead of plain text based are pulling 200-300%
more response and we feel that this is just the beginning. For lists, I always
recommend that you use your own in-house list, but if you need to go to outside
sources use either postmasterdirect.com or yesmail.com to get started. If
you have any more questions or need any more help feel free to contact me
personally at tsmith@dealeronline.com
Todd Smith
