Thomas Ieracitano says Thank you for Visiting My Blog

How to Keep Children Safer During Summertime Travel

thomas@ieracitano.com (ieracitano) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 18:50:07 GMT

How to Keep Children Safer During Summertime Travel

Learn More

Know the Rules...Traveling Outside Of/To the United States

Know the Rules...When Your Child Is Flying Unaccompanied

Know the Rules...When Your Child Is Traveling Unaccompanied by Bus or Train

As families take to the highways and airways this summer, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) wants to remind parents and guardians about some tips to help make the traveling experience more enjoyable and minimize some of the potential risks.

Whether traveling solo or with family, parents and guardians need to talk with children about safety before boarding a plane, train, or bus this summer season. Crowds are greater this time of year and children may easily become separated from their parents and guardians. If that should happen, parents and guardians need a plan and children should be taught what to do.

And remember: child safety is a year-round priority. Parents and guardians need to look out for kids and keep communication lines open 365 days a year!

If your child is flying or riding a train or bus this summer, NCMEC urges parents and guardians to remember the following travel safety tips:

When you make reservations for your child, specify whether your child will be traveling alone.
Whenever possible, book a non-stop flight or direct route. Avoid booking the last flight of the day.
Plan to visit the airport, train or bus terminal prior to departure. Let your child know what to expect, so the experience will not be so intimidating.
In case of delay or cancellation, remain at the station or gate until the train, plane or bus departs.
Make sure children travel with proper identification and parents or guardian contact information.
Always have a back-up plan for the person or people meeting the plane at the destination, in case they are delayed.
Encourage children not to become too friendly with other passengers or to reveal any personal information.

Remind them that the flight attendant is the adult to go to if they are uncomfortable or need assistance.

Safety Tips adapted from Know the Rules...When Your Child is Flying Unaccompanied, and Know the Rules...When Your Child is Traveling unaccompanied by Bus or Train. Copyright Â© respectively 2000 and 2000 National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC). All rights reserved.

CopyrightÂ© 2010 National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.. All rights reserved.

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
Charles B. Wang International Children's Building
699 Prince Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-3175
703-224-2150 | 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) | www.missingkids.com

email service provided by http://123BrandMe.com

How to Keep Children Safer During Summertime Travel

thomas@ieracitano.com (ieracitano) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 18:50:07 GMT

How to Keep Children Safer During Summertime Travel

If your child is flying or riding a train or bus this summer, NCMEC urges parents and guardians to remember the following travel safety tips:

When you make reservations for your child, specify whether your child will be traveling alone.
Whenever possible, book a non-stop flight or direct route. Avoid booking the last flight of the day.
Plan to visit the airport, train or bus terminal prior to departure. Let your child know what to expect, so the experience will not be so intimidating.
In case of delay or cancellation, remain at the station or gate until the train, plane or bus departs.
Make sure children travel with proper identification and parents or guardian contact information.
Always have a back-up plan for the person or people meeting the plane at the destination, in case they are delayed.
Encourage children not to become too friendly with other passengers or to reveal any personal information.

Remind them that the flight attendant is the adult to go to if they are uncomfortable or need assistance.

email service provided by http://123BrandMe.com

How to Keep Children Safer During Summertime Travel

thomas@ieracitano.com (ieracitano) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 18:50:07 GMT

How to Keep Children Safer During Summertime Travel

If your child is flying or riding a train or bus this summer, NCMEC urges parents and guardians to remember the following travel safety tips:

When you make reservations for your child, specify whether your child will be traveling alone.
Whenever possible, book a non-stop flight or direct route. Avoid booking the last flight of the day.
Plan to visit the airport, train or bus terminal prior to departure. Let your child know what to expect, so the experience will not be so intimidating.
In case of delay or cancellation, remain at the station or gate until the train, plane or bus departs.
Make sure children travel with proper identification and parents or guardian contact information.
Always have a back-up plan for the person or people meeting the plane at the destination, in case they are delayed.
Encourage children not to become too friendly with other passengers or to reveal any personal information.

Remind them that the flight attendant is the adult to go to if they are uncomfortable or need assistance.

email service provided by http://123BrandMe.com

How to Keep Children Safer During Summertime Travel

thomas@ieracitano.com (ieracitano) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 18:50:07 GMT

How to Keep Children Safer During Summertime Travel

If your child is flying or riding a train or bus this summer, NCMEC urges parents and guardians to remember the following travel safety tips:

When you make reservations for your child, specify whether your child will be traveling alone.
Whenever possible, book a non-stop flight or direct route. Avoid booking the last flight of the day.
Plan to visit the airport, train or bus terminal prior to departure. Let your child know what to expect, so the experience will not be so intimidating.
In case of delay or cancellation, remain at the station or gate until the train, plane or bus departs.
Make sure children travel with proper identification and parents or guardian contact information.
Always have a back-up plan for the person or people meeting the plane at the destination, in case they are delayed.
Encourage children not to become too friendly with other passengers or to reveal any personal information.

Remind them that the flight attendant is the adult to go to if they are uncomfortable or need assistance.

email service provided by http://123BrandMe.com

I know... it's a fad...

thomas@ieracitano.com (ieracitano) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 09:00:00 GMT

Tom Callahan, Ford Lincoln Mercury Digital Team

I know... it's a fad... who would want a car dealer on their Facebook or Twitter?? Why would we spend money on something I cannot manage or measure? Social... bocial... loco...

I have two words for the people I meet that have a "step back" attitude when it comes to Facebook...

Wake Up!

I have been working at dealerships since 1978, and the top salesperson who never took any ups was the social champion of the store IN 1978! In fact, you know the guy - because there was one at every store I worked. He had a social network that kept feeding him referrals day after day and anyone that ever got a car or truck from him never forgot him because HE WOULDN'T LET THEM. The funny part was that he did it without twitter, facebook, ning, linkedin or bebo, he did it the "old fashion way."

He was the guy who took a box full of Christmas cards to the business office and the owner bought the stamps. He was the guy who always sent a "Thank You" card for buying from him and I even saw him send a card to people for coming in and taking a test drive after leaving to â€œthink about it.â€ He was the guy who did birthday cards to his clients with a hand-written note saying, "Call anytime if I can help and have a great day."

You know the guy, he was gone every first Tuesday of the month for a noon lunch with the local Rotary Club and was a proud member of the Chamber of Commerce. Man, he was a social butterfly and he knew a lot of people.

But more importantly, A LOT of people knew they could trust him with their referral. He was the first guy the owner called into his office when it was time to order more inventory, because he knew what the customer was thinking.

If there is one common mistake I see in stores today when it comes to our social opportunities, it's the person we put in charge. I see an Internet manager or Internet salesperson working leads and trying to sell and they should be left alone. The social networks today need a social butterfly that can take the sites and work them. It's all about connecting and reconnecting with people. It's about keeping Ford and all its great news today in front of a lot of people for a very low cost per thousand. Making time for social and having the right person involved at your store is so simple but we make it so difficult.

We should all take a moment to remember how the great social champions of the past did it year after year without a DSL connection. He did not go to the Rotary Club, the Optimist Club or the Kiwanis to sell a car. He went there to be social, meet other people in his market, and get to know them outside of work. He did not drop off the full page ad from Saturday, he went there to help the group raise $$$ for their cause... their mission. He got so busy working with so many people that he had to hire his own assistant to help him sell cars along with all the other projects.

So please wake up and take a look at your social set up today. Ask yourself if the format is to meet more people or sell more cars, because chances are you got it backwards. Find a social butterfly and simply ask them to take the plunge into the world of social networks. You can have a presence in your community but you have to make it to all the meetings. You can't show up and not get involved.

One of the great social champions I worked with in the past always told me: "If selling cars was easy... everyone would do it." Then he said with a grin: "They didnâ€™t buy my cars, they bought me!"

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano
Thomas@Ieracitano.com
www..DigitalCarGuy.com
(229) 251-2462

P.S. Are you 'Advertising' or 'Marketing' ?

Ask me the Difference?

I know... it's a fad...

thomas@ieracitano.com (ieracitano) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 09:00:00 GMT

I have two words for the people I meet that have a "step back" attitude when it comes to Facebook...

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano
Thomas@Ieracitano.com
www..DigitalCarGuy.com
(229) 251-2462

P.S. Are you 'Advertising' or 'Marketing' ?

Ask me the Difference?

I know... it's a fad...

thomas@ieracitano.com (ieracitano) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 09:00:00 GMT

I have two words for the people I meet that have a "step back" attitude when it comes to Facebook...

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano
Thomas@Ieracitano.com
www..DigitalCarGuy.com
(229) 251-2462

P.S. Are you 'Advertising' or 'Marketing' ?

Ask me the Difference?

I know... it's a fad...

thomas@ieracitano.com (ieracitano) — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 09:00:00 GMT

I have two words for the people I meet that have a "step back" attitude when it comes to Facebook...

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano
Thomas@Ieracitano.com
www..DigitalCarGuy.com
(229) 251-2462

P.S. Are you 'Advertising' or 'Marketing' ?

Ask me the Difference?

Monitor Your Competition With Free Online Tools

thomas@ieracitano.com (ieracitano) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 18:58:17 GMT

Monitor Your Competition With Free Online Tools

June 29, 2010 in Management, Tips & Advice by marijana

In today's competitive business environment, no company should remain ignorant of their competitors and how they operate and market their business. Obtaining information on the businesses you compete with allows you to always be a step ahead of them. You will be able to determine their strengths and weaknesses and use this knowledge to your advantage.

Monitoring your competition is essential for developing business strategies which will allow you to achieve the competitive edge, and fortunately, there are many online tools available to do competitor espionage through some simple and most importantly, legal techniques.

There are tools that you can use to learn about, for example, traffic volume of your competitor's website, details about their domain, mentions on social media sites, or receive alerts when they are mentioned in the press. Although this information may seem trivial to some, every little detail on your competition counts as it allows you to compare your performance with theirs. Many of these tools are available for free, so you'll only have to invest some time.

Here are some of the best free tools available online for tracking and monitoring your competition:

Yahoo! Site Explorer - Site Explorer allows you to explore all the web pages indexed by Yahoo! Search. View the most popular pages from any site including your competitors, dive into a comprehensive site map, and find pages that link to that site or any page.

Compete Search Analytics -Enter a site or a category to receive a list of keywords that refer traffic to it, or enter a keyword to get a list of sites it refers traffic to.

Statbrain - Using different sources, Statbrain's algorithm estimates how many visitors a website attracts based on offsite factors such as backlinks, Alexa Rank etc. Statbrain does not have access to log files or any counter information. The number of visits that Statbrain estimates gives you an idea of the number of visits that a website has, so you can compare your results with those of your competitors.

FeedCompare - If you use Feedburner to track your RSS subscribers you can compare the size of your feed to your competitors.

Xinu Returns - This is a great tool that gives statistics on website SEO, so you can learn how well your competitors' sites are doing in major search engines such as Google and Yahoo, social bookmarking sites, backlinks, etc. You can use this information to create strategy to outperform your competitors.

Google Trends For Websites - Google Trends for Websites gives you insights into the traffic and geographic visitation patterns of your website. You can compare your data with up to four of your competitors' websites and view related sites and top searches for each one.

Websitegrader -You can use this tool to measure the marketing effectiveness of your website. When grading a website, this tool looks at parameters such as website traffic, SEO, social popularity, website performance, and so forth. Websitegrader has a feature that allows you to compare your site with other websites, and see how you perform compared to the competition.

Google Alerts - You can use Google Alerts to set up searches for your compatitors company name and receive email notification on the latest mentions in Google search results. You can set up to 1,000 alerts per account, which allows you to monitor all your keywords and competitors.

SocialMention - SocialMention allows you to easily track and measure what people are saying about your competitors and your company across different social media sites and blogs in real-time. It will tell you how many times a keyword you enter was mentioned and you can subscribe to recieve a free daily email alerts of your company or your competitors.

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano
Thomas@Ieracitano.com
www.DigitalCarGuy.com
(229) 251-2462

P.S. Are you 'Advertising' or 'Marketing' ?

Ask me the Difference?

Monitor Your Competition With Free Online Tools

thomas@ieracitano.com (ieracitano) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 18:58:17 GMT

Monitor Your Competition With Free Online Tools

June 29, 2010 in Management, Tips & Advice by marijana

Here are some of the best free tools available online for tracking and monitoring your competition:

Compete Search Analytics -Enter a site or a category to receive a list of keywords that refer traffic to it, or enter a keyword to get a list of sites it refers traffic to.

FeedCompare - If you use Feedburner to track your RSS subscribers you can compare the size of your feed to your competitors.

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano
Thomas@Ieracitano.com
www.DigitalCarGuy.com
(229) 251-2462

P.S. Are you 'Advertising' or 'Marketing' ?

Ask me the Difference?

Monitor Your Competition With Free Online Tools

thomas@ieracitano.com (ieracitano) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 18:58:17 GMT

Monitor Your Competition With Free Online Tools

June 29, 2010 in Management, Tips & Advice by marijana

Here are some of the best free tools available online for tracking and monitoring your competition:

Compete Search Analytics -Enter a site or a category to receive a list of keywords that refer traffic to it, or enter a keyword to get a list of sites it refers traffic to.

FeedCompare - If you use Feedburner to track your RSS subscribers you can compare the size of your feed to your competitors.

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano
Thomas@Ieracitano.com
www.DigitalCarGuy.com
(229) 251-2462

P.S. Are you 'Advertising' or 'Marketing' ?

Ask me the Difference?

Monitor Your Competition With Free Online Tools

thomas@ieracitano.com (ieracitano) — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 18:58:17 GMT

Monitor Your Competition With Free Online Tools

June 29, 2010 in Management, Tips & Advice by marijana

Here are some of the best free tools available online for tracking and monitoring your competition:

Compete Search Analytics -Enter a site or a category to receive a list of keywords that refer traffic to it, or enter a keyword to get a list of sites it refers traffic to.

FeedCompare - If you use Feedburner to track your RSS subscribers you can compare the size of your feed to your competitors.

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano
Thomas@Ieracitano.com
www.DigitalCarGuy.com
(229) 251-2462

P.S. Are you 'Advertising' or 'Marketing' ?

Ask me the Difference?

10 Blogs to Boost Your Social Network Savvy

thomas@ieracitano.com (ieracitano) — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 14:33:21 GMT

10 Blogs to Boost Your Social Network Savvy Here's a roster of experts who regularly offer tips and observations about networking to greatest effect. Kristin Burnham

Sunday, July 04, 2010 09:09 AM PDT

Keeping tabs on the evolving world of social media isn't easy. Facebook, as we've seen, has endured several privacy fiascos and consequent criticisms. LinkedIn has made impressive progress in making the site more social by rolling out important updates to its site. Meanwhile, Twitter continues to struggle with simply handling its increasing traffic.

To better understand the changing landscape -- and to discover how it can help you and your business -- you need expert help. I've compiled a list of my 10 favorite blogs (in no particular order) from practitioners, experts and thinkers. Follow these blogs for the latest news, tips, insights and case studies that will keep you at the top of your social media game.

Chris Brogan
What you'll find: Chris Brogan, president of New Marketing Labs shares video book reviews, thoughts on and tips for maximizing the value of social media, and puts into greater context what the news means for you.
Sample posts: "LinkedIn Recommendation Tips;" "Beyond Project Management;" "Automate the Easy Stuff."

All Facebook
What you'll find: coverage of new Facebook applications, general news and analysis about the future of Facebook. The blog also features statistics on the top Facebook Apps and Pages.
Sample posts: "Facebook Driving More Users to Make Facebook.com Their Homepage;" "Facebook's New Permissions Dialogue Goes Live on All Applications;" "Facebook Clarifies Policy on Site Scrapers as Robots.Txt Gets Updated."

Carol Rozwell
What you'll find: Carol Rozwell, Gartner VP and a member of Gartner's Social Software and Collaboration team, writes on the dynamics of collaborating in social networks and communities, and innovation. Expect advice and practical use-cases.
Sample posts: "Social Networking Redo: Fixing a Broken Implementation Program;" "Social Media Stumbles-E-Business Redux;" "Social Media Panelists Share Experiences at PCC."

SmartBlog on Social Media
What you'll find: SmartBlog picks the most relevant social media news on the Web, summarizes it and links to the original source if you want to read the article in full. Check in here for poll analysis, news, tips and case studies.
Sample posts: "How LEGO Supports Their Growing Network of Fans;" "Getting a Handle on Twitter Followers;" "Gov 2.0: How to Engage Your Hispanic Fans."

Stowe Boyd
What you'll find: Stowe Boyd, director at 301works.org and president at Microsyntax.org focuses on social tools and their impact on media, business and society. Boyd recently moved his blog; for all old entries, go here.
Sample posts: "ACLU Fact Checks Facebook's Response to Open Letter;" "Twitter Taps Into Facebook and LinkedIn Networks;" "Sliderocket: The Last Stage of Jettisoning Desktop Office Apps."

Social Media B2B
What you'll find: News and discussions on social media's impact on B2B companies and social media adoption within B2B companies.
Sample posts: "Unclutter You B2B Social Media Sources;" "B2B Case Study: Supply Chain Firm Drives Traffic With Online Community;" "Social Media Monitoring and Developing B2B Thought Leadership."

Socialnomics-Social Media Blog
What you'll find: Socialnomics covers the latest trends in social media, focusing on news and what it means for users and businesses. It's known for its irreverent viewpoints of a popular topic. This blog complement's Erik Qualman's book of the same title.
Sample posts: "Steve Jobs=Social Media King;" "What BP Should Be Doing With Social Media;" "Facebook Statistics & History in Picture Form."

Andrew McAfee's Blog
What you'll find: McAfee, a principal research scientist at MIT's Center for Digital Business, coined the phrase "Enterprise 2..0." He writes on the ways that IT affects businesses.
Sample posts: "Why Some Geeks Hate the iPad So Much;" "In the Age of the Smart Machine, What Are WE Good For?;" "Memes to Watch Out For."

SocialMedia.Biz
What you'll find: advice on social media strategy, news, trends, tools and resources.
Sample posts: "Everything You Need to Know About SEO;" "Mark Zuckerberg Makes the Big Time;" "Successful Techniques for Building Your Industry Voice With Social Media."

Scobleizer
What you'll find: Robert Scoble, managing director at Rackspace, is best known for his views on the social media landscape. You'll find video interviews with upstarts, product reviews and analysis on the latest and greatest in the Web 2.0 world.
Sample posts: "Meet the team that knows who is REALLY influential on Twitter (Klout);" " First look video: Toshiba "touch" netbook prototype shows how Japanese might fight back against iPad (oh, and a cool laptop, too);" " Two location companies that are more important than Foursquare, MyTown, Loopt, Gowalla, or Whrrl."

Staff Writer Kristin Burnham covers consumer Web and social technologies for CIO..com. She writes frequently on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google. You can follow her on Twitter: @kmburnham.

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano
Thomas@Ieracitano.com
www.DigitalCarGuy.com
(229) 251-2462

P.S. Are you 'Advertising' or 'Marketing' ?

Ask me the Difference?

10 Blogs to Boost Your Social Network Savvy

thomas@ieracitano.com (ieracitano) — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 14:33:21 GMT

10 Blogs to Boost Your Social Network Savvy Here's a roster of experts who regularly offer tips and observations about networking to greatest effect. Kristin Burnham

Sunday, July 04, 2010 09:09 AM PDT

Staff Writer Kristin Burnham covers consumer Web and social technologies for CIO..com. She writes frequently on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google. You can follow her on Twitter: @kmburnham.

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano
Thomas@Ieracitano.com
www.DigitalCarGuy.com
(229) 251-2462

P.S. Are you 'Advertising' or 'Marketing' ?

Ask me the Difference?

10 Blogs to Boost Your Social Network Savvy

thomas@ieracitano.com (ieracitano) — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 14:33:21 GMT

10 Blogs to Boost Your Social Network Savvy Here's a roster of experts who regularly offer tips and observations about networking to greatest effect. Kristin Burnham

Sunday, July 04, 2010 09:09 AM PDT

Staff Writer Kristin Burnham covers consumer Web and social technologies for CIO..com. She writes frequently on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google. You can follow her on Twitter: @kmburnham.

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano
Thomas@Ieracitano.com
www.DigitalCarGuy.com
(229) 251-2462

P.S. Are you 'Advertising' or 'Marketing' ?

Ask me the Difference?

10 Blogs to Boost Your Social Network Savvy

thomas@ieracitano.com (ieracitano) — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 14:33:21 GMT

10 Blogs to Boost Your Social Network Savvy Here's a roster of experts who regularly offer tips and observations about networking to greatest effect. Kristin Burnham

Sunday, July 04, 2010 09:09 AM PDT

Staff Writer Kristin Burnham covers consumer Web and social technologies for CIO..com. She writes frequently on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google. You can follow her on Twitter: @kmburnham.

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano
Thomas@Ieracitano.com
www.DigitalCarGuy.com
(229) 251-2462

P.S. Are you 'Advertising' or 'Marketing' ?

Ask me the Difference?

How to Read a Vehicle History Report

thomas@ieracitano.com (ieracitano) — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 15:16:55 GMT

How to Read a Vehicle History Report Source: CARFAX

Older cars do not die, they just get resold. If you are buying a used car,
whether from a dealer or someone who put an ad in the paper,
you will want to know as much about it as you can.
Even without anyone trying to deceive you, the vehicle may have problems you can not see
from a simple visual inspection or even a short test drive.

A vehicle history report prepared by a third party is one way to help figure out what you are getting.
Combining information from US and Canadian Motor Vehicle Departments as well as police reports
and other sources, a vehicle history report can give you a comprehensive overview of where the cars been.

Here are some things to look for or look out for when you get a report on a vehicle.
None of these things is necessarily a reason not to buy a car, but you should not make a decision
without asking about anything you see on a vehicle history:

* Many owners. The more driveways a cars been in, the less likely its been lovingly cared for all its life.
Not everyone is as assiduous about car care as you are. Rental cars and former taxis, for example,
will often have undergone a lot of abuse, although they tend to be quite inexpensive.

* Location, location, location, Some parts of the country are more car-friendly than others.
Winter storms (with their accompanying salted roads) can be rough on cars, as obviously can floods,
excessive heat or even sea air. Cars that have been where these are common may have hidden damage.

* Name and description. Be sure the car in the report is the same as the car you are looking at.
Carefully reviewing the vehicle description is one way to avoid various types of vehicle fraud,
like VIN cloning. A cloned vehicle involves using a vehicle identification number (VIN) from a legally owned,
non-stolen vehicle to mask the identity of a similar make/model stolen vehicle.
CARFAX Vehicle History Reports include detailed descriptions of the vehicle, so you can make sure the car you
are reading about is the same as the one you are looking at.

* Suspicious markings. Keep an eye out for records of body work that might indicate a prior unreported
incident or even air bag fraud.

To obtain a Vehicle History Report, visit CARFAX, preferred VHR provider for AutoTrader..com.

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano
Thomas@Ieracitano.com
www.DigitalCarGuy.com
(229) 251-2462

P.S. Are you 'Advertising' or 'Marketing' ?

Ask me the Difference?

How to Read a Vehicle History Report

thomas@ieracitano.com (ieracitano) — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 15:16:55 GMT

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano
Thomas@Ieracitano.com
www.DigitalCarGuy.com
(229) 251-2462

P.S. Are you 'Advertising' or 'Marketing' ?

Ask me the Difference?

Departmentalize Your Service Department

thomas@ieracitano.com (ieracitano) — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 20:55:09 GMT

Departmentalize Your Service Department

Your service department is one of the busiest departments in your dealership. Service deals with more customers than any other department on a daily, monthly and annual basis. The service department also sees more potential customers than any other department. These are potential customers who could purchase additional services and parts, detailing, accessories, body shop repairs, rental vehicles, and even a new or used vehicle.

Maximizing the service department's profitability is very important for many reasons. New vehicle sales are in need of severe reconditioning, used vehicle prices are higher than ever with vehicles in short supply, subprime financing is in need of a new paint job, warranty labor and parts sales are gradually decreasing and customers are retaining ownership of their vehicles longer because of upside-down positions and the lack of financing. What a mess!

Not really! Now is the time to restructure your service department to maximize sales and profits. How do you do this? Well, you have to throw out what you are doing now. It will not work very well with where the auto repair industry is heading.

First, you need to get into your car with your service and parts manager and drive around town past all of your competition. Not just new car dealers, but all of those independent service facilities, tire stores, oil change shops, Wal-Marts, parts stores, brake, exhaust and transmission repair shops, air conditioning specialists, detailing shops, etc. Now, consider how long each of your competitors have been in business and how many employees they have. When you drive by, look at their doors or windows and write down the hours they are open for business. Count how many stalls they have. Look at how many of their stalls have vehicles in them.

Now go back to your dealership and go to work. No, I don't mean go back to your normal jobs. You don't have time for that. You had better sit down together and review how your competitors are eating your lunch and gradually and silently stealing your service and parts business.

How are they doing this? Very, very easily. They have structured their businesses to succeed based on providing simple, efficient and reasonably priced services to their customers. Compare that to your service and parts department. Yours is fairly outdated for the most part. Ask yourself how many stalls you have devoted to just tires, just oil changes, just brakes, just detailing, just transmissions, etc. Are you really focused on selling this type of repair?

You will need to separate your service department into departments to achieve success and higher sales and profits. You will need a new-vehicle area if you are a franchise dealer. You will need a reconditioning department to be able to repair used vehicles for a reasonable price. Next, you should have a detail department to clean and spit-shine those customer cars. Oh, don't forget your tire, brake and alignment department.

You will have to also mystery shop your competition. This is how you find out all the things you are doing wrong in your service department-like what kind of signage you will need, how to up-sell, how to price your maintenance work, how to advertise to draw new customers to your dealership and what hours you need to stay open to make it convenient for your customers to visit your store instead of the shop down the street. Get the hint?

Retraining yourself, service advisors, technicians, parts counter salespeople and the rest of your dealership will be the toughest thing to accomplish. People don't like change. It will take three to four months of constant attention to your new structure before it is accepted and running smoothly. If your current personnel can't adjust to the new structure, then steal-I mean, hire-the people you need from your competitors. That mystery shopping tour you took through town? Make good use of it and try to attract the best employees of each type of business to work for you. Your training costs will be less because they are already trained and have impressed you. They have a different mentality and are more focused because they have to be where they work now.

Oh, I forgot to mention that new position in your multi-department service and parts department-sales. In the past you have expected your customers to just waltz in the door and provide the sales you need. Now, you have to rely on your staff to provide service sales. Put together a constant and complete advertising program similar to that of the competitor you are trying to run out of business. Monitor all their ads to make sure they don't get the jump on you. Also, don't just have this new salesperson sit in the store behind a counter waiting on customers who walk through the door. Market your new department as a shopping center for all a vehicle's needs.

This new salesperson, preferably the best waitress or waiter you ever encountered in a restaurant, should go out into the community on a regular basis marketing your new departments and their services to all your non-competitor businesses in town. Why someone from the restaurant business? Why not? They normally work crummy hours compared to a car dealership. They can make more money working for you. You don't have to train them in up-selling, customer service and follow-up. They already know how to do this, or they wouldn't be the best where they are at now. They should have no trouble keeping busy just putting the word out in a focused method to everyone in town.

Provide a menu of items so potential customers know what you do and how competitive your store is. Offer a first-time visit coupon they can't resist. Visit all the businesses so the word is out you can take care of all of their needs in a one-stop shopping center and you have changed the way you do business. Keep visiting those businesses until they get the hint you can take care of them. It will shock them at first you are even there, outside of your comfort zone, which is behind the counter.

Your parts department will need to stock the appropriate type of parts to supply all your new departments. This means offering alternatives to your OEM parts for brakes, oil filters, oil, tires, etc., so you are competitive with everyone else in town and are able to offer different levels of service based on the customer's needs and wants. Your internal department will praise you for this.

You will need to change and adapt or die a slow death as all that increasing maintenance work customers need disappears along with any warranty repair work. Remember, you may think you are already there, but you're not if new shops are opening in town and existing shops are still doing great. If your service department sales haven't grown each and every year, you are doing something wrong. Call me let's get back on track.

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano
Thomas@Ieracitano.com
www.DigitalCarGuy.com
(229) 251-2462

P.S. Are you 'Advertising' or 'Marketing' ?

Ask me the Difference?

Sync your files online -Free 2gb

thomas@ieracitano.com (ieracitano) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 13:35:54 GMT

Sync your files online and across computers with @Dropbox. 2GB account is free!

http://db.tt/aX3n5o

Thank you,
Thomas Ieracitano
Thomas@Ieracitano.com
www.DigitalCarGuy.com
(229) 251-2462

P.S. Are you 'Advertising' or 'Marketing' ?

Ask me the Difference?