Automakers 'bullish' as January volume forges strong early pace

Winners and Losers*

% change in sales among major brands from January 2011

	Winners	Jan.				Losers	Jan.
1	Chrysler Division	81%			1	Suzuki	-41%
2	Mazda	68%			2	Cadillac	-29%
3	Volkswagen division	48%			3	Buick	-23%
4	Ram	42%			4	Mitsubishi	-18%
5	Land Rover	41%			5	GMC	-10%

U.S. auto sales jumped 11 percent in January, led by huge gains at Chrysler Group and Volkswagen of America.

Automakers sold 913,284 light vehicles for the month, the best January since 2008. The seasonally adjusted annual selling rate was 14.2 million, which matches the cash-for-clunkers selling rate of August 2009.

Toyota Division General Manager Bob Carter said January had "a very healthy" sales pace.

"It's significant to see 913,000 in January when much of the country typically is in a deep freeze," he said. "We're bullish with where the industry is going."

Most major companies gain
Among the highlights:

-- All major players posted sales gains except General Motors, which fell 6 percent from a strong January 2011 that had been buoyed by strong incentives.

-- All four GM brands lost ground: Chevrolet was down 1 percent, GMC lost 10 percent, Buick 23 percent and Cadillac 29 percent.

-- Chrysler Group volume jumped 44 percent to 101,149 units. The growth was led by Chrysler brand, up 81 percent.

-- Hyundai-Kia Automotive gained 20 percent overall: Kia rose 28 percent and Hyundai 15 percent.

-- Nissan North America sales increased 10 percent, just under the industry average overall. But after being passed by Hyundai-Kia for the No. 6 U.S. sales position, Nissan's 79,313 light-vehicle sales gave it a 1,102-unit lead over its South Korean rival to start the year.

-- American Honda gained 9 percent in January, in its first year-over-year increase since April and a sign that its restocking efforts since the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan and flooding later in the year in Thailand are working.

-- Toyota Motor Sales, which also had been slammed by the natural disasters last year, boosted sales 8 percent to 124,540 units. Toyota brand rose 9 percent, offsetting a 5 percent decline at Lexus.

-- Ford Motor Co. increased sales 7 percent in January, with Ford division up 8 percent and Lincoln down 8 percent.

Mazda, Subaru sales rise
-- Among the smaller players, Volkswagen Group sales soared 40 percent to 36,681 units, led by a 48 percent increase for the VW brand and 20 percent higher sales at Audi.

-- Mazda posted an even bigger gain, up 68 percent to 23,996 vehicles.

-- Subaru volume rose 21 percent, its second month of growth after a seven-month stretch of declines as it struggled to restock U.S. dealer lots after the natural disasters of last year.

-- Daimler AG gained 23 percent, with 23 percent growth at Mercedes-Benz and 39 percent at Smart.

-- BMW group sales rose 6 percent overall, with a 21 percent increase at Mini pumping up a more modest 3 percent gain at BMW brand.

-- Other European premium brands posted increases: 31 percent for Jaguar Land Rover, 6 percent for Porsche and 4 percent for Volvo.

-- Only two small Japanese automakers posted sales declines in January. Mitsubishi's volume fell 18 percent while Suzuki tumbled 41 percent to 1,505 units.

Jesse Snyder - Automotive News

Super Bowl: Food Sellers Look to Run Up the Score

Catching up to Thanksgiving, the Fourth of July and Memorial Day, Super Bowl Sunday has become yet another day when Americans take a break from the call for healthy eating.

According to a survey by the Retail Advertising and Marketing Association (RAMA), 71.3 percent of respondents plan to buy food and beverages for game day, dwarfing the spending planned on team apparel or accessories (8.6 percent), decorations (6.4 percent), and furniture or a new entertainment center (2.4 percent).

Overall, the average game-watcher expects to shell out $63.87 on related merchandise, apparel and snacks for the Giants/Patriots match-up, up from $59.33 last year. Total Super Bowl spending is expected to reach $11.0 billion.

The Super Bowl party is the main event.

• Of those planning to watch the game, nearly 63.6 million (27.1 percent) are planning to attend a party, up from last year's 61.2 million, according to the RAMA survey. Another 35.9 million (15.3 percent) plan to throw a party, also up from the 34.9 million who said they would host a party in 2011.
• Supervalu's third-annual Snack Down survey found that the majority of respondents readily acknowledge that few, if any, snacks they eat during games would be considered healthy or good for them. Favorite snacks were dips and spreads (32 percent), followed by chicken wings (23 percent), and pizza and salty snacks (tied at 14 percent).
• According to a survey from the National Restaurant Association, 48 million people will order takeout or delivery on game day with another 12 million heading to a restaurant or bar to watch the game. In its survey, 69 percent of respondents described salsa, dips or spreads as "must-haves"; 63 percent indicated chicken wings; 61 percent, pizza; 50 percent, desserts; and 49 percent, subs/sandwiches.
• Forty-two percent said healthful food items are a "must" on their game-day table.
• The National Chicken Council stated that 1.25 billion chicken wings -- or about 100 million pounds of meat -- will be eaten on game day.

As supermarket circulars on Sunday touted "Game Day Savings," other articles are coming out detailing how to best prepare and save money for the game day party.

On street.com, Kristin Colella urged making finger foods at home and encouraging guests to bring beverages. On lifegoesstrong.com, Leah Ingram advised preparing everything in advance, using a slow cooker, buying disposable plates and bowls, and setting the menu around supermarket sales.

Writing for phillyblurbs.com, Eddie Gribbin added limiting invites, preparing hot-foods before kickoff, and setting up an extra television. Wrote Mr. Gribbin, "For any party, it's all about preparation."

(Source: Retail Wire, 01/30/12)

Persistence Pays Off

Stop assuming customers won't take your call, agree to an appointment or do business with you. Too many reps simply give up because they don't hear back from prospects right away. They throw proposal after proposal out the door and then lose interest in following up because they get distracted chasing the next opportunity.

Please understand that I'm not giving you license to become a pest, but I am encouraging you to become more persistent. Quit making decisions for your prospects and move forward with a relentless "go for no" attitude.

Sure, you'll face a little more rejection, but that helps clean out your funnel and forces you to focus on the right opportunities. I know it hurts to lose, but you can't lose what you don't have. And you just might be surprised how many times you'll hear a "yes" if you're willing to stay engaged.

Getting on the all-important page 1 of a shopper's search. Here's how to get there -- and stay there

Rick Buffkin is sold on the power of Google to help him sell vehicles.

The four-store Beaman Automotive Group in Nashville sells about 100 vehicles a month from Internet leads in part because online shoppers looking for Toyota, Ford, Chrysler or Buick models can't miss Beaman stores on Google.

Google, the world's dominant search engine, uses a complex and constantly changing set of rules to channel shoppers to dealerships. Dealerships that master the rules win sales.

For instance, Buffkin, Beaman's Internet marketing director, uses low-cost product videos and fresh content on Beaman's own Web sites. The videos and content help Beaman appear high on Google's crucial first page of a search.

"People turn to Google for everything -- they're taking over," said Buffkin, 36.

Beaman Automotive, headed by dealer principal Lee Beaman, sells about 750 new and used vehicles a month at its Toyota-Scion, Ford, Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram and Buick-GMC stores.

Google is top-of-mind for dealers across the country as they look to shift marketing dollars from traditional media, such as TV, radio and print, to the Internet.

Tony Rhoades, Internet executive director for the seven-franchise Gunn Automotive Group in San Antonio, said: "Google is the dominant player on the Internet, and you have to do everything you can to position yourself on page 1."

Will Perry, director of business intelligence for Dataium Inc., said Google has led the way as car shopping habits have shifted to the Internet over the past decade.

Dataium tracks car-buying habits on more than 5,000 dealership and factory Web sites nationally.

Shopping starts online

The statistics are convincing. More than 90 percent of car buyers today start their research on the Internet, said Brice Englert, marketing manager at Dominion Dealer Solutions, which works with dealership clients on Internet marketing.

They make an average of 18 stops on the Internet along the way, said Brian Pasch, CEO of consulting firm PCG Digital Marketing.

Those online shoppers will make stopovers to comparison shop on sites such as AutoTrader.com, Cars.com and shopautoweek.com; get pricing information at places such as TrueCar.com and Edmunds; and use search engines to navigate the process quickly.

During the process, three of four Internet car shoppers will visit Google at least once, and in most cases multiple times, Dataium's Perry said. Two of every three shoppers who visit a dealership Web site come there directly from Google, he said.

Sean Wolfington, owner of Tier10Marketing.com, an automotive and entertainment marketing company that sells its services to auto dealerships, said, "Google is where people turn at the top of sales funnel, and at the bottom when they are getting ready to buy."

So, said Kevin Frye, e-commerce director for the 11-store Jeff Wyler Automotive Family in Cincinnati, it's critical for dealers to have a strong presence on Google. "It's a matter of fishing where the fish are," he said.

Why Google rules

• 90% of vehicle buyers start their shopping online.
• 65% of visitors to dealership Web sites come directly from a Google search.
• Google is the primary influence in 25% of dealership Web site traffic and 3% of sales leads.
Source: Dataium Inc.

Crucial first page

There are two ways for dealerships to get listed on the crucial first page of a Google search:

1. Buy their way on with advertising, a process known as search engine marketing.
Those paid search results are bought through a pay-per-click auction, in which dealers, the automakers and sometimes third-party Internet lead generators will pay 50 cents to $3.50 every time a Google visitor clicks on the ad to be taken to a dealership Web site. Those ads tend to appear along the top of a Google page in a shaded box and often along the right side of the page.

2. Get Google to list the dealership and videos for free by getting Google to believe the store's Web site is the most relevant to consumers in that market. That's known as an organic search. That means a site with a lot of fresh content and the ability to hold viewers' attention.

Beaman Automotive is definitely in the organic-search camp, Buffkin said. Though Beaman buys no advertising on Google, Beaman's Web site and videos routinely place atop the first page of searches involving dealerships in the Nashville area.

For example, a Google search last week using the words "2012 Toyota Camry Nashville" listed Beaman Toyota in the top two so-called organic positions on the first Google page just below three shaded pay-per-click listings on the page.

Beaman Ford, during the third week of January, won the top five organic positions when the following search phrase was used: "2012 Ford Focus SE Nashville."

Buffkin said Beaman has an aggressive strategy to get top Google listings -- a process known as search engine optimization.

It's working: Of about 50,000 visits to Beaman Automotive's Web sites a month, about 65 percent come there directly after a Google search, Buffkin said. Of those visits, about 1,200 people a month will fill out a lead form asking online to be contacted for more information or to make an appointment, he said.

Understanding Google

Buffkin said staying relevant on Google is part art and part science, with an emphasis on hard work. Google uses secret formulas, called algorithms, to determine which businesses get top play on consumer searches.
And Google frequently changes the way it weighs its criteria. For instance, videos on YouTube tend to score well with Google. YouTube is owned by Google.

That makes Google a moving target. But Buffkin said a couple of tactics are key. The first is to keep Beaman's Web site full of fresh content, including chat, videos and blogs that contain key words or phrases sure to catch Google's attention such as the city, brand, dealership name and even the nearby I-40 freeway.
Buffkin said Google puts a premium on dealership Web sites that keep visitors for long durations. The average visitor to a Beaman Web site spends 10.4 minutes on the site. The group's bounce rate -- the rate at which a visitor comes to the dealership Web site but drills no further into it -- is less than 30 percent vs. an industry average of 60 percent.

"You have to make your site sticky," Buffkin said. "In Google's eyes, content is king."

Videos help

Buffkin also is a big believer in the power of online videos. Of the top five organic positions that Beaman held in the search of "2012 Ford Focus SE Nashville," three were videos that the dealership's Web manager, Dealer.com, shot so Beaman could put them up on YouTube.

Another plus for Google placement are consumer reviews, said Matt Haiken, dealer principal and general manager of Prestige Volvo in East Hanover, N.J., outside New York. Reviews are part of the criteria Google uses for ranking dealership sites.

About nine months ago Google annoyed dealers by saying it would no longer allow reviews not gathered on Google to be shown on Google Places, the maplike business directory that shows up on Google search pages.

Overnight, Prestige Volvo lost 400 consumer reviews garnered on other sites such as Dealerrater.com and Yelp, Haiken said. But rather than sulk, Prestige began rebuilding its review base by identifying all customers with a Gmail account and encouraging them to submit a review. Gmail is a Google product.

Prestige is back up to 48 reviews on its Google Places page, with nearly a top five-star overall rating, Haiken said.

Google is critical to Prestige, since the dealership switched all its marketing dollars five years ago to digital media from traditional media, Haiken said. Prestige is one of the top-selling Volvo dealers in the nation, selling 757 new and 270 used vehicles in 2011.

Haiken said he consistently buys ads on Google to expand his reach. He said he spends about 10 percent of his digital marketing budget on Google. Prestige Volvo's total monthly digital marketing budget exceeds $10,000.

Fighting for business in crowded suburban New York makes ad buying a necessity, Haiken said.
He said: "Face it. If every customer is online these days, then every customer is an Internet customer."

Mastering Google

Tips to keep a dealership on the crucial first page of a Google search
• Use Google's free analytics tool to bid on the most-searched phrases in your market.
• Shoot high-quality video and put it up on YouTube (a Google property) and other sites.
• Make it easy for sales and service customers to write a store review on Google.
• Use videos, chat and blogs on your Web sites to keep visitors longer.

David Barkholz - Automotive News

Report by Nation's Largest Furniture Seller Lists Top 10 Trends of 2012

Sectionals and storage beds lead a list of the top 10 furniture trends of 2012, according to Ashley Furniture HomeStores.

The retail division of Ashley Furniture, the nation's largest furniture retailer, said the popularity of certain items relates to the Americans' changing lifestyles.

"Decisions about how and where to live have never been more critical," said Kris Woodcock, vice president of merchandising. "With older consumers wanting to stay put as long as possible, graduating children returning home after college and adult children inviting their parents to live with them, our houses are requiring smarter choices, better use of space and more long-term planning rather than resale considerations."

Here are Ashley's top 10:

1. Sectionals. Thanks to family rooms, more entertaining at home, and fashion-forward, younger shoppers, sectionals are going to be big. Durable, high performance fabrics and leathers make sectionals appealing in 2012, along with versatile pieces, such as a chaise ottoman that can flip to either end.

2. Storage beds. They're not just for kids' rooms anymore. Bedroom furniture pieces with storage are entering master bedroom suites in a big way, with sleek designs inspired by elegant platform beds. For 2012, many of them will include enough storage to reduce the need for both a chest and dresser, or add much-needed extra storage for shoes, off-season clothing, linens and more.

3. Better mattresses. Ever since hotels began replacing their mattresses with more heavenly versions, consumers have been upgrading their own homes with better mattresses and pillows. For 2012, look for a move away from plush pillow-tops to streamlined, flatter beds.

4. Console seating. Once a luxury product in need of a designated home theater room, theater seating today is going anywhere there's a big-screen TV. And the console loveseat is the rising star. Perfect for small spaces and budgets, it's as fully loaded as home theater sofas and sectionals, including cup holders, storage console, plush arms, headrest and chaise-style ottomans, multiple comfort positions and power.

5. TV consoles. Flat-screen TVs are cheaper, bigger and better, and are making their way into every room in the house. In 2012, the vast majority of those TVs will be housed in or on furniture rather than hung on the wall. Look for better-designed, better-quality TV stands (that look like real furniture), along with clever places to store components -- and taller, multi-purpose versions that double as a drawer chest.

6. Servers. The growing trend to hosting buffets rather than sit-down dinners explains the growing popularity of servers and sideboards. Easy access to cords for warming trays and blenders, less fancy china to display (younger consumers are opting out of rarely used dinnerware) and smaller homes all add to their popularity. For 2012, look for servers with as many drawers as doors, integrated power bars or moisture-resistant tops.

7. Writing desks. Laptop computers and wireless networks are changing our concept of a home office. A single "official" work area is being joined, or replaced, by multiple workstations that can go anywhere. For 2012, it's all about compact workstations, with a simple table in a bedroom, hallway or behind the sofa. Look for warmer styles that blend with other furniture pieces.

8. Bigger coffee tables. Many people opt to eat dinner on the sofa rather than at the kitchen table, explaining the trend to bigger and better coffee tables. Harking back to the 1960s conversation pit, a larger coffee table is a magnet for gathering. For 2012, look for pop-up coffee tables for eating or working in front of the TV, storage drawers or shelves and deeper sizes scaled for sectionals.

9. Gathering tables. The kitchen may be the emotional and physical center of the home, but it's the eating area that's becoming the hub -- especially when it's designed to be a comfortable, live-in gathering place. Higher-height gathering tables or pub tables are the perfect choice, able to house a crowd, double as a workstation or extra cooking surface, or act as space divider between the kitchen and living room (with enough height to see over the sofa to the TV). For 2012, look for unique, transitional styles that bridge more stylish kitchens and less formal living areas.

10. Accent furniture. Stand-alone accent furniture will add storage, flexibility, and plenty of character in 2012 -- satiating our appetite for something fresh, new or daring when budgets don't allow a full room makeover. Accent chairs, small tables, ottomans, shelves, drawer chests and screens will bring designer-style décor home, with a range of exotic or antiqued finishes, reclaimed woods or hand-painted pieces that look acquired from an antique store or exotic trip.
(Source: Furniture Today, 01/23/12)

The Four "P's" of Persuasion

Manipulation or Persuasion?

Manipulation is getting prospects or customers to do something for your benefit. Persuasion is getting them to do something for your mutual benefit.

What's the difference? Manipulation is bad. It's done to serve your own interests without any regard to what you're doing for the prospect or customer.

Persuasion is good because it's done for the best interests of you and the prospect or customer. Here are some tips that may increase your persuasive powers:

Persisting. Persuaders realize that 80% of sales are made on the fifth call or later. They recognize that one of their most persuasive abilities is the refusal to give up. They understand that more than 75% of salespeople quit after calling on a prospect three times. Persuaders are in the elite 20% of the sales force that close 80% of the sales.

Personalizing. Persuaders recognize that a prospect wants to know one thing: "What's in it for me?" They add persuasion by personalizing every part of their presentation to meet prospects' own personal needs and wants.

Proving. Facts and testimonials are very persuasive. Persuaders recognize that third-party endorsements go a long way to building credibility. They're prepared to prove every claim they make with hard data, test results and performance records.

Positive. The best persuaders are positive about themselves, the company they represent, the products or services they're selling, and the prospects they're attempting to persuade. Enthusiasm is contagious. They persuade with power because they get customers and prospects feeling the same way.

Today's Youth a Tough Sell for Automakers

Automakers have a problem. The kids of America do not want cars.

At least not as much as they used to.

According to research conducted by General Motors Co., 30 percent of them got their driver's license when they turned 16.

For their parents, a car represented freedom -- the ability to escape from parents and go where they wanted without anyone looking over their shoulder.

Today, young people find that freedom online. GM says more than half of those surveyed said they would actually rather meet up with their friends in cyberspace than face to face.

"There's simply new and better and, frankly, more efficient alternatives to communication and getting that freedom that they used to rely on the auto industry to provide," said John McFarland, senior manager for global marketing at Chevrolet, one of GM's divisions.

Just ask Christopher Elkins, a 22-year-old engineering student at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He has a 2002 Ford Focus. But now that he has a place of his own, going out is less important than it used to be.

Last year, Elkins drove his car to school every day. But he decided it was too much of a hassle. So, this year, he takes the bus. Elkins said he uses his car only about once a week to get groceries.

"I would prefer to bike or walk, especially in Ann Arbor," he said.

But automakers cannot write off a whole generation. According to GM, there are 80 million millennials -- a group it defines as 18- to 24-year-olds -- in the United States. And they already wield a trillion dollars in spending power. Unfortunately for Detroit, they are spending little of that money on cars.

Ever since Toyota Motor Corp. launched its youth-oriented Scion brand in 2002, automakers have been trying to convince kids that cars in general -- and their cars in particular -- are cool. Scion has had some success. The median age of a Scion buyer is 29, the lowest in the industry, according to Toyota. "We don't really think that any brands today are doing it right," McFarland said. "We don't think anyone quite 'gets' this group."

And that includes Chevy.

Talking about life
But McFarland and his team are trying to change that. They started by changing the way they did market research. Instead of getting a group of kids together in a room and asking them to describe their ideal car, GM's designers sat down with them and talked about life -- what they wanted out of it and how they live theirs. GM found that what they really value is their friends and doing things with them. When they did start talking about cars, the designers discovered that, instead of the sporty compacts and cute hatchbacks they thought kids wanted, what they really desire is "a car to do things with."

In other words, they want basic transportation, not performance.

They also found out that these younger consumers are more realistic than they imagined. Sure, their dream car is still a Lamborghini, but what they really want is a car that can take their friends places. They want it to look cool, but they really do not care how fast it is.

So GM began work on a series of Chevy concepts that it hopes will finally strike the right chord with the youth of America -- or at least a significant number of them.

Chevy recently unveiled two of them at the North American International Auto Show, and more are in the works. One is a mini-muscle car; the other looks like a baby exotic. Both are powered by modest motors that promise more fuel economy than speed.

They are "more poseur than doer," said Clay Dean, director of advanced design at GM, who said the company this year will show them and other concepts to young people at auto shows all over the country.

Other automakers also are trying a new approach to attracting younger car buyers. Chrysler Group LLC put some of its youngest designers in charge of the Dodge Dart program in an effort to channel the zeitgeist of Generation Y, according to Ralph Gilles, head of design at the Auburn Hills, Mich. automaker.

"I want you drawing the car you would drive," Gilles told them.

Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said they got it right, adding that the Dart will be "key" to bringing millennials into Dodge showrooms.

"I think the car has all the requisites to get it done," he said, adding that technology is a big attraction for younger car buyers, which is why there is so much of it in the Dart. "There's no car that's this evolved."

'Smartphone on wheels'
Dodge's focus on technology makes sense, at least according to the results of a recent survey by Deloitte and Michigan State University's Broad College of Business. They talked to 1,500 consumers of all ages in the United States, as well as 250 Gen Y consumers in China and 300 Gen Y consumers in Western Europe, and found most 19- to 31-year-olds want "a smartphone on wheels."

Tasnim Rahman, 19, said that while fuel economy and looks are important to her, what the University of Michigan student really wants in a car is "a lot of modern technology because we need it today. We are very tech savvy, so we need a car that's tech savvy, too."

Nearly 60 percent of the young people surveyed by Deloitte said in-dash technology is the most important part of a vehicle's interior, while 73 percent said they wanted touch-screen interfaces. Most also want to be able to use smartphone applications.

Fortunately for Dodge, the new Dart offers all of that. So do many of Ford Motor Co.'s new small cars.

Moray Callum, Ford's director of design for the Americas, says his research has revealed the same thing as GM's.

"Having a car is not the same priority anymore for young people," he said. "Adults are worried about texting being a disturbance while driving. A lot of kids think that driving is a disturbance to texting."

Ford, too, has concluded that image is more important than performance to younger customers.

"They're all about the arrival," Callum said, adding that this is why Ford has focused so much on styling in cars like the Fiesta. "They still think the car says something about them."

(Source: The Detroit News, 01/16/12)