When ecarlist begins the integration/training process with many of our larger dealerships, the number one issue we almost always encounter is the clutter of companies that seem to have their hands on so many pieces of the dealerships activities and wallet. One company manages photos, one company manages the website, another might manage feeds and inventory distribution to 3rd party sites, another handles market pricing/analytics, and so it goes…

It’s harder being a dealership today, there are many more details to tackle - so where do you begin? In this post, I want to address the need for a dealership to embrace all aspects of online marketing. Specifically, I want to address online inventory management.

The Dealership should control it’s inventory, where it goes, the quality and content of their ads, and oversee photography – stop “farming out” control.

I think the biggest issue hampering the success of the franchise dealers’ exploits online today is the fact that they don’t know what they are selling. Most franchise dealers have fallen prey to outsourcing almost every step of the listing process. Dealerships are paying anywhere from $17 to well over $20 (per vehicle) to have their vehicles pictured, tagged with a window sticker and sometimes even (more…)