6/27/2006
Geotargeting Pays Off for St. Charles Toyota: An Interview with George Van Syckel
Like most of us, I’ve had my ups and downs buying cars. Recently, I had a wonderful experience at St. Charles Toyota. Along the way, my sales consultant, George Van Syckel, got to telling me about his dealership’s incredible results generating sales online. I decided to interview George–who was recently promoted to oversee St. Charles Toyota’s Internet sales–to learn more about how the Web and geotargeting are changing the car buying experience.
As you will see, George is passionate about his work. Here is a glimpse of a car dealership from behind the scenes.
How has the Web changed your business?
We’ve had our toyota.net Web site for over ten years, but in the last six months or so, activity is off the charts. Internet leads are up around 400% from last year, and a very high percentage turn into sales. More and more, our best leads start on our site.
That’s great. Why do you think your site is doing so well?
Several reasons, I think. Mainly, customers like making first contact with a car dealer over the Internet–it’s less confrontational. That’s good for the dealer, too: we don’t like those awkward, confrontational situations either. And since the customers are doing their homework online, they’re better educated by the time they contact us, which helps everybody keep the dialog positive.
How do you promote toyota.net?
Lots of people find us through Google searches. Also, our site is registered with all the top auto sites–cars.com and Kelly Blue Book, for example. Tons of inquiries come through there.
Have you done any paid geotargeting search?
No, not at this point. Judging from the number of leads, it seems like our visibility is very good.
Do you get leads from the corporate site, toyota.com?
Sure, and some of them are great. But a lot of people who go to the corporate site are window-shopping. Almost all the inquiries that come to our own site are serious buyers.
So you just sit back and write up the orders?
I wish! Actually, a poorly managed site or an unmanaged site does more harm than good. So I make sure we respond to all Web inquiries immediately. Everybody on our sales team has a PDA, and inquiries are forwarded to us from our site via email. No matter what I’m doing, my first priority is to respond.
Is that all?
No. Customers want more than a fast response, they want simplicity. In fact, I would say simplicity is the most important thing. So that’s what we do. With us, what you see is what you get. People respond to that, and we can open up a good dialog over email that usually just gets better when the customer comes in.
I wonder who is doing all this geotargeting search. Do your Web leads come mainly from younger buyers?
Not really. We get all sorts of people.
Are all car dealers using the Web as effectively as you?
All the major ones, I would think, are trying. All car salespeople have been sharpening their computer skills, especially in the last two or three years. Here, we’ve made a lot of changes to our whole sales process to make sure it fits in the framework of our new technology. Some reps are less comfortable than others with email and entering data in a laptop, but there’s really no way around it.
What about future trends? Is Carmax going to take over the world? Their Web site is amazingly robust: it’s like a do-it-yourself car dealership.
I don’t think so. Buying cars will always be a local business. “Geotargeting” started before people had computers, so even on the Web, everything boils down to relationships. People want to buy close to home. They want to buy from people they know and like. Look at our business: it’s growing way faster than the industry as a whole. That’s because we concentrate on building relationships.
It sounds like the Web is just making old ways of doing business work better.
In a big way. Like I said, we used to be just as uncomfortable as buyers at the beginning stages of a sale. There was usually very little trust, if any, and buyers frequently got upset or angry. They assumed they would be getting ripped off before they even came through the door. But now, anybody can get accurate information about cars and pricing online, and that erases a lot of the mistrust. Sites like Edmunds and Kelly Blue Book are accurate, and folks should use them. ConsumerReports.org can be useful, but sometimes they advise consumers to be less than straightforward with the dealer. I don’t think that’s a good idea. If both parties work together on a deal, everyone walks away happy.
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As a satisfied customer, I can attest to the merits of George’s point of view. (Incidentally, I received no compensation or consideration for this interview; I just thought people ought to know how old business models can thrive on new technologies.)
From a marketing standpoint, it’s clear that local Internet search is catching on: that spells big opportunities for local B2C’s that understand geotargeting techniques.
Here are sites recommended by George Van Syckel:
Edmunds is tops for new cars.
Kelly Blue Book is the go-to site for used cars.
Cars.com is a great overall site with a wealth of information.
Thanks, George!
4 Responses to Geotargeting Pays Off for St. Charles Toyota: An Interview with George Van Syckel
Brad, this is a terrific example of great web marketing. Thanks for sharing. I think the big three automakers have a great deal to learn form smart dealers like St. Charles Toyota who “get it”.
Brad
I want to thank you for the interview. I have earned business because of its presence on the web.
warm regards
George Van Syckel
3-21-2008
Great to hear, George!
Brad
It was good to talk to you again. My new contact number is 630-715-8410 and my email is email hidden; JavaScript is required. Thanks for everything.
All the best
George Van Syckel