Archive for category Auto Industry
Reduced Sales in the Auto Industry Requires New Responsibilities For Automotive Advertising Agencies
Posted by admin in Auto Industry on December 3, 2011
The role of the automotive advertising agency in today’s consolidating auto industry must change to accommodate the needs of the auto dealers that they serve. Reduced sales volume and profits have forced auto dealers to reduce their automotive advertising budgets and sales staff. As a direct result, automotive advertising agencies are being challenged to deliver more for less and reduced budgets and floor traffic suggest that they must increase their areas of responsibility to justify their agency fees or risk losing accounts. More importantly, they must learn the auto industry from the auto dealer’s perspective if they expect to be able to contribute in any meaningful manner.
Assuming that we all work our pay plans to maximize our own ROI in our chosen careers in the automotive advertising industry, I thought I would share some best practices regarding an auto dealership’s Internet sales processes with my fellow automotive advertising professionals to help them better serve their auto dealer clients. Not all of the situations I discuss will apply to every auto dealership so take note of ones that do and save the others for future reference in case they surface in some other form. I will cover common issues that are part of human nature. After all, the key to success in the car business is in the people – not in the franchise or facility – so most problems start and finish with people.
The Internet Department — From The Dealer’s Perspective
As a former new car dealer and current consultant on dealer operations and marketing I am constantly amazed by the disconnect between dealers and their key personnel. I liken the miscommunication of their common goals — to sell more cars/service and make more money — to that of a long marriage. Courting equates to the interview and the first few months are like an extended honeymoon. Once the excitement wears off it is a lot of work to remember why you got married in the first place; but worth the effort! Read the rest of this entry »
The Auto Industry Seeks Tech-Savvy, Innovative Individuals
Posted by admin in Auto Industry on November 3, 2011
The car industry has made a resolution to move to much more energy efficient cars over the near future. This has created an incredible opportunity for students thinking of pursuing an education ranging anywhere from research and engineering to the technical aspect of the STEM applications.
When the need for fresh blood in the technological facets of the industry was so great, the industry itself has stepped up to create its share of researchers and technicians. These are through scholarships and grants that are all supplemental to the standard federal, state and university plans one can apply for, and they can go a long way towards paying one’s tuition.
Probably the biggest player when it comes to engineers and technicians is the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). This professional society has teamed up with a number of major car manufacturers to offer about six different types of scholarships to future car designers and mechanics of the world.
A central scholarship is the Engineering Scholarship Grants. It provides a renewable $1,500 a year to promising STEM students participating in a four-year program in engineering and related automotive degrees. To qualify, an applicant needs a 3.75 minimum grade point average as well as financial records. Another key plan is the TMC/SAE Donald D. Dawson Technical Scholarship. As the title states, this program is for technicians and is also open to two-year degrees. A student should also look at the SAE for his or her upperclassman and post-graduate programs. Read the rest of this entry »
Product Lifecycle Management Solution to Auto Industry Challenges
Posted by admin in Auto Industry on October 25, 2011
The global economy has been turbulent for the last couple of years but the automotive industry, in particular, has been encountering the most challenging environment. Market dynamics are changing rapidly, thus forcing the auto makers to change their business strategies and to implement them successfully in order to stay competitive. Auto parts makers are further squeezed as they need to satisfy more diverse product requirements with low room for errors in a relatively much shorter time span. As radical technological trends are inevitable, harnessing this opportunity will enable companies with innovative products to gain market share.
The following key trends have been shaping the auto industry:
Auto-crisis: The latest crisis led to excess inventory and massive debt accrual for a number of big automakers in the US and Europe. At the same time, strong growth and a healthy economic outlook in BRIC nations has helped their local companies make headway into local as well as international markets. The financial landscape is forcing the big auto companies in the US, Europe and Japan to rapidly shift their strategy and to innovate faster in order to compete with the Asian auto and auto part makers.
Globalization: The opening of the international trade boundaries has helped companies expand into new growing markets such as Asia; however, it adds to the complexity of satisfying different types of local customer requirements making auto development complexity increase manifold.
Alternately, globalization is also increasing the threat of serious competition from Asian OEMs that are buying the anemic divisions of western OEMs thereby leapfrogging into gaining intellectual capital that can be easily exploited in conjunction with their cheap labor. Read the rest of this entry »