AS December 2010 SuccessStory

Success Story New Honda Dealer Surpasses over 1,030 Dealers Reaching #9 in the Country in Only 12 Months Hamilton Honda opened its doors in May 2009 and never looked back.

Within 12 months Hamilton landed a coveted spot among the Nation’s top 10 Honda retailers.

Founded by automotive executive Mike Saporito, a 24-year veteran of the automotive industry, and Jessie Armstead, a 5-time Pro-Bowl linebacker, Hamilton Honda is one of the fastest growing Honda dealerships on the East Coast.

From the ground up Saporito and Armstead built a phenomenal 65,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facil-

ity on 12 acres complete with all the bells and whistles, including an internet café that offers breakfast, lunch and free refreshments, as well as, a mini-museum with an exclusive Jessie Armstead collection highlighting his 11-year NFL career.

Saporito and Armstead attribute Hamilton Honda’s extraordinary growth to a comprehensive strategy that includes their active community involvement, a discounted volume pricing approach which gives consumers guaranteed low prices, free oil changes, loaner cars and car washes for life, and their virtual deal-

ership, www.HamiltonHonda.net, that makes it easy for consumers to shop, buy and service their vehicles online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Hamilton has become an important member of central New Jersey’s local business community, employing more than 100 individuals and generating more than $90 million in sales revenue in its first year selling over 4,600 new and used cars and servicing over 27,000.

Hamilton Honda combines traditional advertising with digital marketing, targeted email and direct

Success Story mail, publicity, social media marketing, reputation management, niche marketing, point of sale merchandising and a complete retention program to keep customers loyal to service and sales. “We have a consistent message throughout all of our marketing and our team has one focus – exceeding our customers’ expectations,” said Saporito. “We are passionate about customer satisfaction and our team does whatever it takes to make our customers happy.”

One key part of Hamilton’s strategy was the execution of a smart targeted marketing strategy. “We identified Honda customers who had the highest statistical probability of purchasing and/or servicing a vehicle with Hamilton and we sent targeted email and mail with attractive offers and Hamilton’s advantage of free car washes, oil changes and loaner cars,” said Budd Blackburn, owner of www.TeamVelocityMarketing.com,

the targeted marketing company Hamilton uses.

One of the campaigns Hamilton promoted was the “2010 Hamilton Honda Vehicle BuyBack Program.”

The program targeted Honda owners who were in equity and had a high probability of being in the market for a new vehicle. “The BuyBack Program offered customers additional trade-in value to “buy-back” their Honda and provided additional incentives toward the purchase of a new Honda,” said Sean Wolfington, owner of www.Tier10Marketing.com, Hamilton Honda’s marketing company.

“Hamilton also included service offers for the customers who may not want to get a new vehicle but needed a major service.” Like all of Hamilton’s integrated marketing campaigns all the materials had a consistent message, look and feel (see materials on the next page).

In a Nutshell • Hamilton Honda generated more than $90 million in sales revenue in its first year, selling over 4,600 new and used cars and servicing over 27,000.

• Hamilton Honda experienced a 600% increase in service ROs written on combination sales and service marketing initiative.

• Hamilton Honda uses www.Tier10Marketing.com and www.TeamVelocityMarketing.com to implement targeted marketing campaigns that attract, sell and service in-market consumers.

• Hamilton Honda’s call monitoring program, www.CallRevu.com, sends alerts to their management team whenever a customer is mishandled so they can save a deal and a customer for life.

“The program was a great success and brought in a lot of quality, low mileage, single owner, late model Honda’s that are not easy to find and can be very expensive at auction,” said Saporito.

Another successful marketing initiative created by Hamilton is a unique Teacher Appreciation Purchase Program, where teachers received special pricing and service from Hamilton. “We like to get involved in the community and help in any way we can,” said Saporito. Hamilton has created several other specialty vehicle purchase programs including one specifically for the military for active, reserve and Guard Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps military at Joint Base McGuireDix-Lakehurst. All military personnel and their families are eligible for special pricing and service through Hamilton Honda.

Success Story

Happy Honda Days Integrated Campaign

BuyBack Upgrade Program

Success Story To ensure every customer gets 5 star service Hamilton hired a company to monitor every inbound call and to alert management whenever a customer is mishandled or has a customer service issue that cannot be resolved. The management team also reviews daily, weekly and monthly call monitoring reports to improve their processes and the customer experience for the growing number of customers that prefer to call before coming into the dealership. “We use the reports to track our advertising sources, employees, processes and to make sure we exceed our customers expectations,” said Saporito. “Hamilton’s managers respond immediately to alerts and do a great job responding to their customers’ needs,” said Chip King of www.CallRevu.com, the company Hamilton uses for call monitoring. “Whenever there is an issue with a customer our managers get and respond to the alert within

minutes by calling and resolving the customers concerns. Many customers are pleasantly surprised that a manager contacted them so quickly and addressed their issue,” said Saporito.

It was not sheer luck that Hamilton Honda surpassed over 1,030 Honda dealers to reach the #9 spot in the country in only 12 months.

They implemented a comprehensive marketing strategy that promotes all their profit centers, New, Used, Service, and F&I. Their marketing strategy is targeted to in-market consumers and their message, look and feel is consistent across all mediums: TV, radio, print, direct mail, web site, digital marketing, publicity, retention and even the point of sale merchandising. In addition to Hamilton’s integrated marketing strategy to attract ready-to-buy consumers they deliver a world class custom-

er experience that has earned them high customer satisfaction and will certainly translate into loyalty down the road. “We want to make sure that every customer’s expectations are not only met, but exceeded,” said Saporito.

If year one is any indication, there is no doubt that Hamilton Honda will have many more successful years in the future.

Over 600% Increase in Repair Orders Written