Dealership Mobile App Engagement: What's Actually Changed in Customer Retention
Forty-three percent of dealership customers never open the mobile app their dealer sent them. Not even once. That number hasn't budged in three years. And if y...
Building an SOP for Trade-In Overallowance Discipline
Most dealerships don't actually have an SOP for trade-in overallowance decisions — they have a guy who approves them, and when that guy leaves, nobody knows wha...
Anniversary Outreach in 2024: What's Changed and What Hasn't
Most dealerships are still running anniversary outreach the exact same way they did in 2015, and it shows in their CSI scores. That's not a hot take meant to s...
The Welcome Call After the Sale: What's Changed and What Hasn't
You're sitting at your desk Monday morning, coffee in hand, scrolling through the weekend's delivery reports. Three fresh customers took home their vehicles Sat...
Myth #1: Texting Customers Is a New Thing That Nobody Wants
Text-based service check-ins work better than phone calls, and anyone who tells you otherwise isn't looking at their CSI scores. That's not a controversial tak...
Why Referral Programs Still Matter (Maybe More Than Ever)
You're sitting in your service director's office on a Tuesday morning, and she tells you she's got a technician who's willing to bring in his cousin. The cousin...
Family Dealership Succession: What's Actually Changed Since You Started
Picture this: it's Saturday morning, and the dealer principal is reviewing numbers in the office before the lot opens. The business has been in the family for 3...
Dealer 20-Group Participation: What's Changed and What Hasn't
What's the one thing every dealer principal says they want more of, but almost nobody gets? Honest peer feedback about what actually works in their stores right...
Acquiring an Existing Dealership: What's Changed and What Hasn't
The Dealership Acquisition Playbook: What's Different Now In 1954, when the Interstate Highway System was just getting paved and suburbs were exploding, buying...
Dealership Expansion Site Selection: What's Actually Changed in 40 Years
Back in 1985, when Dealership Magazine ran its first franchise location study, the checklist was straightforward: population within 15 miles, household income a...
Building a Vehicle Presentation SOP That Controls the First Pencil
How many times this month has a customer walked into your showroom, locked eyes with the perfect truck, and your salesperson showed them the infotainment system...
Executive Recruiting for Dealer Groups: What's Changed and What Hasn't
The Dealership Talent Crisis: A 40-Year Pattern That Still Governs Who Gets Hired In 1984, the National Automobile Dealers Association published a survey showi...