Auto Dealer Podcasts

What factors do you consider when looking to adopt an OEM program for your dealership? What do you like or dislike about the program you currently use? What improvements would you like to see in the program? When the team at RevolutionParts, Inc. carried out a survey to learn what dealerships wanted to see in the OEM programs they use, they found three key things at the top of their minds. What are they? Better support and communication from the manufacturers, a focus on e-commerce sales, and better employee training. In this episode of the InsideAuto Podcast, Ilana Shabtay interviews Ibrahim Mesbah , the Co-founder and CEO of RevolutionParts, Inc., to talk about OEM programs and accessing data in the automotive industry. They discuss the need for OEM programs to provide dealer support, how the cost can affect their use, and how to create better customer experiences through the programs. Stay tuned.

What’s the first step towards becoming an engineer? Whether you’re becoming an electrical, mechanical, or automotive engineer, the answer is typically going to school. According to Jamie Brewer, your path to engineering starts much earlier than that. Engineers start their journey as curious kids dismantling and reassembling the things laying around their parent's house. This is driven by their natural curiosity and desire for constant learning, which Jamie says is essential for success in the engineering profession. Jamie Brewer, the Vehicle Chief Engineer of Future Electric Vehicles at General Motors, is Aharon Horwitz's guest in this episode of the InsideAuto Podcast , where they talk about all things engineering and the production of General Motors’ Cadillac LYRIQ. They also discuss the things you need to consider while engineering an electric car, what it takes to become a vehicle chief engineer, and what the Cadillac LYRIQ means for the Cadillac brand.

As the economy continues to recover and more people take their cars out to go to work, spend time with family, or go on road trips, the number of cars driving into dealerships for servicing has skyrocketed. What does this mean? Simple: if dealerships take advantage of this increased demand, they stand a big chance of increasing their revenue. With growing video consumption among many consumers, it is important that dealerships deliver engaging video content to share with their audience. According to Russell Hill, the Managing Partner at FixedOPS Marketing, dealerships should use video to share news, educate their audience, and talk about their products. In this episode of the InsideAuto Podcast , Ilana Shabtay is joined by Russell Hill, a Managing Partner at FixedOPS Marketing, to find out how Russell leverages video marketing to help dealerships drive more traffic to their website. They discuss how fixed ops services were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, servicing electric vehicles (EVs), and how to optimize your website for conversions.

For car buyers to continue driving and enjoying the use of their cars for a long time, regular maintenance, servicing, and repairs are very important. Many dealerships offer these services to their customers but the strategies they use to market them aren’t always effective. Most dealerships face common fixed ops challenges, including too few technicians for the job and complicated service schedulers, which leads to loss of business opportunities. Not only the-challenges-dealerships-face-with-their-fixed-ops-strategies that, but most customers do not take their cars for regular maintenance. So, what’s the solution? Brad Paschal advises dealerships to invest in educating their customers to get more of them coming in. In this episode of the InsideAuto Podcast, Ilana Shabtay is joined by Brad Paschal, the Regional Sales Director - South at Fixed Ops Digital, to discuss some of the challenges dealerships face with their fixed ops strategies. Brad talks about common problems he sees in many dealerships and shares his thoughts on the use of Google My Business for marketing. Stay tuned.

Advancements in technology have brought about many changes in the way businesses communicate with their existing and potential customers. There are now many options to choose from, and according to Pete Petersen, dealerships should be lined up and ready to offer a variety of communication channels to their customers — based on their preferences. Customers like communicating with businesses in a simple, natural way. Some prefer receiving calls, others prefer text messages, while still others prefer emails. This means that it’s important for dealerships to focus on what makes a great conversation with their customers — particularly, what platforms will make this possible. In this episode of the InsideAuto Podcast, Aharon Horwitz interviews Pete Petersen, the CEO and Managing Partner of Dealers United, about the strategies dealerships can use to communicate better with their customers. Pete explains how Dealers United helps dealerships solve their business challenges and talks about using video, referrals, and influencers to drive car sales.