Three general news stories I posted on the site this week point to the changing nature of retail automotive. First, Cox Automotive transformed one of its auction sites into a fleet serving center. Cox sees fleet maintenance as an important future income stream. The same will be true for dealerships, in my opinion.
Second, new light vehicle sales July growth is seen as being basically flat.
Third, the publics’ new car sales in the second quarter were flat; used car sales were the revenue drivers.
Dealers are already finding ways to adapt to these changes, but perhaps too slowly in some cases.
On to this week’s issue! All dealerships use a dealer management system, and that DMS holds huge amounts of customer information. What if the provider of that DMS didn’t practice good cyber-security habits? Our first piece this week is from the attorneys at Arent Fox, and it discusses the penalty DMS provider DealerBuilt faced when its system was compromised. The tips for protecting DMS information are just as valid at the dealership information level and should be read by all.
Digital marketing seems to add new channels on an ongoing basis, and some dealerships may feel a bit overwhelmed. Don’t give in to that feeling, however, because doing digital marketing right makes a huge difference to your bottom line. This week, DHG Dealerships discusses some common digital marketing pitfalls. Knowledge is power! Read and avoid these.
And of course we have Transaction News.
Enjoy!
