Turn Up the Leads Turn Up the Sales

Turn Up the Leads, Turn Up the Sales Using the Latest Internet Marketing Strategies To Boost Your Business Presented by Jennie M. Davis, OEM Relationship Manager Agricultural Web Services February 24, 2009

First Things First. . . Setting the Stage

Why Should We Care About What is Happening with Internet Marketing? • Technology is changing the way we do business in every possible way imaginable • Generational change is forcing us to look at new and different ways of conducting business

Generational Change • 50 -year-old – 25 when PC was invented 54% – 40 when Internet available through dialup • 25 -year-old – – Used PC at 10 and Internet at 15 Downloads music for i. Pod Can’t survive without IM Checks local movies on the web

Technological Change • Laptop computers – 40 percent of OTR drivers carry laptops* • Broadband is everywhere – 70 percent of truck stops offer Wi. Fi access* – Air cards bring Internet to moving vehicle *National Association of Truck Stop Operators

What Does All This Mean? OPPORTUNITY!

Turn Your Web Site Into A Revenue-Producing Asset $$$

How Large is the Opportunity? • Understanding the opportunity is the first step • True understanding allows good decisions to be made – Focus of advertising dollars – Resources and time commitment

Searches by Brand Type By OEM Brand By Equipment Type • 3 search engines – Google, Yahoo, MSN • Just one month Bruce Clay, Inc. . , Seo. Toolset. com, February 2009

You Need to Have a Site… • 85 percent of dealers have a site* • But if no one finds it… *Study based on 600 dealers for 14 manufacturers, October 2007

It’s Like a Billboard in the Desert

Search Engines are the Key Others Google Source: Search. Engine. Watch. com

Your Site Needs to Rank • In one month, the average web user runs 41 searches 1 • 62 percent of search engine users click on a site within the first page of results • 90 percent of search engine users click on a site within the first three pages of results 2 1. com. Score Media Metrix, Dec. ‘ 06; 2. i Prospect 2006 Source; 3. e. Marketer, October 2, ‘ 07

How Do You Get Ranked? • Earn rankings – Invest time and effort to make your site line up – as perfectly as possible – with search engine formulas • Pay for listings – Invest dollars to achieve same result

Paid Listings Earned Rankings

Start With Key Words/Phrases • OEM names – Kioti, etc • Equipment types – Tractors, trailers, skid steer, used equipment • Other products – Snow plow, generators, etc. • Your services – Parts, service, rentals • Your location(s) – Virginia, VA, Norfolk

How Do Search Engines Work? • Spiders – Crawl the web 24/7 following links – Read every word on every page of every site – Start over • Evaluation formulas – Scores of points of evaluation – Trade secret – Volatile

Points of Evaluation • Freshness – When was the page last updated? • Page popularity – Number of inbound links to your site • Every page is accessible – Follow links to optimized pages – NOT sent off to portal sites that list your competitors

Paid Listings • Contract for X visitors to your site – On searches for a specific key word • Ad displayed as many times as necessary • Rates vary – 25¢ to $25 per visitor • Rates change based on supply/demand – Just like the stock market

Paid Listing Advantages • Instant result • Turn on/turn off • Geo-targeting – City, state, radius – Eliminate waste – Test market

Earned or Paid? • Either one is effective • Searchers 32 percent more likely to visit when you have BOTH earned ranking and paid listing

How Do I Budget For Online Marketing? • Start conservatively – You can always up the ante once you have tested the market • Monitor • Measure return on investment • Consider making adjustments – New lines – Seasonality

Offline Promotion • • • Advertising Around the dealership Newsletters & coupons Letterhead Business cards Invoices Service & parts receipts Email signatures Rental & loaner vehicles Signage What is missing?

Trends in Internet Marketing

A Relational Approach to Web Site Marketing • Experience Economy • Mystique of Internet – Breaking down of barriers – Common sense prevails • Social Computing – Web 2. 0 – Social networking • Blogs • Interactive sites/instant messaging

Goods and Services Are No Longer Enough!

The Experience Economy A New Economic Era

To Compete All Businesses Must: • • • Focus on individual customers Stage experiences Orchestrate memorable events Engage each one in a personal way Examples: Starbucks, Disney, Seattle Fish Market

How Does This Effect My Business? • No longer enough: – Static Pages – Updates done sporadically or not at all – Sending Customers you have attracted to another entity • OEM • Classified Site • What might that “Experience” be on your web site?

Debunk the “Mystique” of the Internet • • The virtual brick-and-mortar It is mainstream Breaking down barriers Common sense prevails

Creating Relationships on the Internet

Key Elements of A Positive Visitor Experience • • Engage Empower Ease Trust Kreitzberg, C. (2008, August). Six Degrees of Social Computing: Creating Relationships on the Website Magazine. 17 -19.

Engage • • • Keep them on the site Encourage them to explore Make spending time worthwhile “Why has the visitor come to my site? ” Make the value clear Kreitzberg, C. (2008, August). Six Degrees of Social Computing: Creating Relationships on the Website Magazine. 17 -19.

Empower • Understand what the visitor wants • Deliver what they want • Make it obvious what actions need to be taken to get the desired result Kreitzberg, C. (2008, August). Six Degrees of Social Computing: Creating Relationships on the Website Magazine. 17 -19.

Ease • Minimize effort needed to achieve the desired result • Avoid Jargon • Make it easy to reach you • Ensure links work • Ensure visitor knows where links will take them • Do not jump them to new page unless its clear how to get back Kreitzberg, C. (2008, August). Six Degrees of Social Computing: Creating Relationships on the Website Magazine. 17 -19.

Trust • Competence – deliver correct information • Predictability – everything as expected & no unpleasant surprises • Benevolence – people behind the site act in visitors best interest • Honesty - people behind the site deliver accurate and complete information Kreitzberg, C. (2008, August). Six Degrees of Social Computing: Creating Relationships on the Website Magazine. 17 -19.

Putting It All Together

Concrete Concepts For Our Dealerships • Understand market trends and implications for equipment dealerships • Our web sites are extensions of our locations • Consumers require more of us to catch their attention • Once we catch it, we must remain proactive to continue engage our customers • Our web sites can bring the social marketing, interactive trends in our society—to create vital, sustainable business