Reputation ManagementReviews

Reputation Management
Tracking Online Reputation: You're Still Counting The Wrong Thing

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There is no denying that generating new reviews, week in and week out, is a critical component to a dealer’s business process, but a common misconception is that review count then, should be an important number to monitor. Well, it is and it isn’t. Review count should be tracked, but only to measure one thing: does my review solicitation process work? However, the volume of reviews is not a measure of customer satisfaction at all, and more importantly, it does not tell you how your online reviews are impacting your business. For that, we need to look at your average ratings, and we need to look at these average ratings in a manner that most businesses out there are ignoring: by recency and relativity. Scores vs review volume Let’s start with the recency factor and for that, we need to back up and discuss why we track scores vs review volume. When businesses started paying attention to reviews, volume was more important. A business might have 50 to 100 reviews on Google and their competition had 5 or 10 reviews. Having a larger volume of lent credibility. That is a much less common scenario today. Also, review volume has grown substantially across the board, where instead of dealers having hundreds of reviews they now have thousands. This is why your average rating is so important. No prospective buyer will read all 827 of your reviews to see what your customer service is like, the average rating tells the story. Focusing on continued review growth also has become less important because the credibility from 827 reviews vs 881 reviews is likely the same in the consumer's eye. A “lot of reviews” is still a lot of reviews in either scenario. So once you have a good volume of reviews (across all review sites), the focus should be on improving your average rating. The metric to track for this is the average rating of your recent reviews. Many dealers focus on their lifetime average, but once you get a lot of reviews, that lifetime average changes slowly, and so lifetime score doesn’t tell you how effective you are at currently improving your score. It also tells you very little about the current state of your customer experience. A good number to track would be a rolling 90-day average score of your reviews. This tracks how the customer experience is trending now, so you can find problems sooner rather than later, but also tracks how your current reputation management efforts are impacting your lifetime score, either increasing it or decreasing it. Your 90-day score is an actionable number you can use to make decisions. Relativity and reputation The other metric to track with reviews is even more important. I referred to it earlier as relativity, because reputation is a very relative concept. A dealer checks his Google score and sees a 4.2 average rating and might be happy that this meets their “goal”. The reality though is that looking at just that 4.2 number tells this dealership almost nothing about how their reputation is doing and the impact that scores are having on your business. If all the other dealerships in their market average between 4.5 – 4.8 on Google, your score is the worst in your market and almost certainly costing you sales. However, if all other dealers range between 3.5-3.8, then your 4.2 is by far the best and you are sure to be stealing business from the competition. So when we talk relativity in the review score, we mean tracking your score against the competition. That is what car buyers are looking at and if that is an important metric for them, it has to be important to you. Car buyers are more likely to decide on the model(s) they want to purchase first and then decide where they are going to purchase as the following step. Competitive review scores then are the metric they use to aid in that decision. There are vendors/tools out there that can provide you a competitive analysis of your review scores, but an easy way to track this on your own is with Google maps.  How does your dealership stack up? To see how you stack up, first go to Google maps and search your city. Then after it displays your city, click on “Nearby”. Once you do this, the city disappears from the top search box so you can enter the second part of your search. Enter your brand and “dealers”. (ie Toyota Dealers) and click the search button. Now Google displays all those brand dealers in your market along with their review count and score. See how you stack up. If you do not have any competition of your own brand in your market, use “auto dealers” instead and see how you compare to all of the choices a consumer has. Now that you see how your score relates to the competition, this should be your number 1 goal…increase your average scores so you are #1 in your market. That will make you the first dealership to visit or buy from for many shoppers. By tracking both recency and relativity of your review scores, you will ensure that reviews are helping to drive success for the dealership.
Sheehy Auto Stores Raises $300,000 to Benefit the American Heart Association Through the 21st Annual Sheehy 8000

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Fairfax, VA — July 26, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Sheehy Auto Stores has raised a record donation of $300,000 to benefit the American Heart Association as part of the company's annual Sheehy 8000, a community-wide effort that ran May 11–July 5, raising funds and awareness for the charity. Throughout the 55-day campaign, the Sheehy Auto Stores dealerships collectively sold 8,029 new and used vehicles to achieve its sales goal. This was all while holding heart-healthy community events and other dealership activities for employees that included trivia games, CPR demonstrations, heart-healthy cooking and food demonstrations. "Overall, we were very pleased by the response in each of our communities to our big sales push while fund-raising for a great cause," said Vince Sheehy, president of Sheehy Auto Stores. "We are very proud to support the American Heart Association and all they do to educate our community and help prevent the risks of heart disease and stroke." Sheehy's support of the American Heart Association extends beyond the Sheehy 8000. For the past several years, the company has been a sponsor and active partner at the National Walking Day event held on the first Wednesday in April at Springfield Town Center, to promote walking and a heart-healthy lifestyle. "We are so grateful for the commitment and generosity of the Sheehy team and customers in helping to build healthier communities throughout Sheehy's regions," said Roxana Hoveyda, Vice President of Marketing at the American Heart Association. "With more than a million dollars donated in five years through the Sheehy 8000, the impact on our mission has been considerable." Last year's Sheehy 8000 campaign raised $285,000 for the charity. Throughout its 50-year history, Sheehy's fundraising efforts have raised more than $40 million for community and non-profit organizations. The mission of the American Heart Association is to build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. About Sheehy Auto Stores, Inc. Sheehy Auto Stores is the 32nd largest dealer group in the country and serves customers in the Richmond, Baltimore, Annapolis, and Washington, D.C. metropolitan areas. A family-owned business since it was founded as one Ford store in 1966 in Marlow Heights, Maryland, the company has grown to more than $1.5 billion in sales with more than 40,000 new and used vehicles sold each year. The company is recognized as a leader in customer satisfaction, retention and community involvement. For more information visit www.sheehy.com . Media Contact Hillary Reynolds, (954) 815-1186 SOURCE Sheehy Auto Stores
American Guardian Announces Trip Giveaway and Charity Pop-A-Shot Contest at NADA Show 2018

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Warrenville, IL — March 19, 2018 – American Guardian Warranty Services, Inc. (AGWS) , part of the American Guardian Group of Companies and leading F&I products and services provider, will be exhibiting in the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center at the upcoming NADA Show, March 23-25, at booth #513N. Conference attendees who visit the AGWS booth can step onto the court and take a shot to win basketball themed prizes. Dealers and agents will have an opportunity to shoot for a chance to win a Grand Prize Trip for two to San Antonio and tickets to “The Big Game” on Monday, April 2, 2018. In addition to the booth giveaways, AGWS will also feature a charity Pop-A-Shot[miscellaneous type="superscript"]®[/miscellaneous] contest for St. Jude Children’s Hospital, in which attendees can test their basketball skills. For each player who makes six straight baskets in a row, AGWS will donate $100 to St. Jude Children’s Hospital. The charity Pop-A-Shot contest follows AGWS’ recent Pars for a Purpose fundraiser, which raised $280,000 for St. Jude Children’s Hospital in February 2018. “American Guardian partners with dealers and agents to provide outstanding coverage, value, and service to its customers. NADA 2018 will be our most impressive showing yet, given our new offerings, expanded product line-up, and innovations in the industry,” said Jon A. Anderson, President and COO of American Guardian. “We look forward to seeing our partners and customers, and establishing new business relationships at this year’s show.” The executive team, sales, and ownership will be in attendance at the AGWS booth (#513N) throughout the three-day expo, as well as the company’s Friday and Saturday night parties where they will be available to discuss any of the company’s services and offerings. Extended service contracts, appearance protection, warranty protection, and tire & wheel coverage are just some of the products that American Guardian offers. The company also provides reinsurance services, capital advance programs, and e-Contracting for products to help dealers become more profitable and productive. AGWS was founded 20 years ago on the principles of being a highly service-focused and value-driven vehicle service contract provider; specializing in the automotive, RV, powersports, marine, and commercial trucking markets across the United States. About American Guardian Warranty Services, Inc. (AGWS) Headquartered just outside of Chicago, Illinois, AGWS is an innovative provider of administration services for dealers and marketers offering vehicle service contracts, limited warranties, and a variety of environmental and aftermarket products across the United States. Since its inception in 1998, the goals of AGWS are to offer superior claim processing, exceptional customer service, and unmatched profitability options. AGWS is part of the American Guardian Group of Companies and enjoys an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. Products are insured by A-Rated (Excellent) carriers. For more information, visit www.agwsinc.com or the AGWS University at www.agwsu.com . Media Contact North 6th Agency, Inc. (for American Guardian), 416-270-6034 ext. 2001 ,  agws@n6a.com