AutoSuccess May 2016 Success Story

SUCCESS STORY MAY 2016 · NO 5

PAUL SHAMO TAYLOR FORD

NOTHING CHANGES

NOTHING CHANGES

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Success Story Ä CONTINUED FROM THE COVER

So, how do they do it?

Here’s how they did it...

ATMOSPHERE

Employees at Taylor Ford are building careers, not just clocking into a job. They are thought of as family and are considered the dealership’s most important asset.

The current team is assembled of employees and team members from Ray Whitfield Ford — the previous dealership — and new people brought in to evolve and completely change its culture, taking its mission statement, “People serving people with complete customer and employee satisfaction,” to heart. Taylor Ford Dealer Principal Paul Shamo and General Sales

To ensure that the team provides the best service to the customer — and lives up to the “refuse to lose” mindset — the dealership has a rule that it takes three sets of eyes before a deal can be ruled dead.

This means that before a salesperson is allowed to move on and close the book on a lead that isn’t producing, they must be told by three different managers that the deal will not work. This creates an atmosphere where management and sales people work together to brainstorm and come up with different ideas to help the customer and salesperson reach a deal. Salespeople always receive the support of their leaders.

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Fast forward to 2016, this dealership has continued to outpace its competitors, placing in the top 15 of all Ford dealerships in the U.S. every year since 2005. Overall sales for Taylor Ford in the first quarter are up 10 percent. New car sales are up 16 percent and certified pre-owned service is up 8 percent. To add to this incredible start in the first few months of the year, the dealership has earned a place in the Ford Credit Top 100, 100 Club, E-Commerce Elite and Top 100 Internet Sales, and is a Top Volume dealer and Partner in Quality.

One of the many benefits of having such a great team atmosphere is that it also creates a welcoming atmosphere for the customers. The cardinal rule the Taylor Ford team lives by is to “Respect our competition, work smart and stay focused on the things we have control over.” Taylor Ford is proud of its open, airy, non-traditional facility.

The music is modern, the walls provide a historical look at Ford — complete with pictures of plants in the surrounding area — and the dealership offers a lounge where the customers can relax and are made to feel at home.

“Our consistent messaging is one of the keys to our success.

Not only does it allow the customer to embrace our programs but our employees can effectively communicate our offers across all mediums, ultimately making it easier to close a deal.”

Jerry Arrowood General Sales Manager Taylor Ford

17% 14

%

sales

The dealership has consistently increased numbers year after year since 2004. In January 2015, they moved into a new facility and increased their inventory to better serve their customers.

Manager Jerry Arrowood know that continuity is critical for team building, having had a professional relationship themselves for more than 25 years.

service

Taylor Ford was founded in December 2004, a time when many dealerships in Detroit and the surrounding area were downsizing, plants were closing and people were losing their jobs.

Taylor Ford purposefully made the decision not to participate in that recession and, instead, concentrated on remaining positive and forward thinking. Thanks to this “refuse to lose” mindset, Taylor Ford not only survived, but continues to thrive.

FIRST quarter 2016

86%

of business comes from target market

This unique style of selling and leadership — and constantly working as hard or harder to win the customer’s business — creates the atmosphere that retains workers, pleases customers and builds long-term success.

GETTING CREATIVE IN MARKETING

For sustained growth and success, finding a vendor partner aligned with your philosophies — and is the best in their specialty — is key. Our previous direct mail was very successful for a long time, however we felt we needed to “change” to something with a fresher, more targeted and consistent branding/advertising message. By partnering with Team Velocity, and committing to the partnership for the long term, we have been able to achieve calculated growth.

Starting with direct mail and then including digital and email marketing, Google search words and banners, Taylor Ford has found that it’s essential to get the right message to the right customer at the right time. “Our consistent messaging is one of the keys

TAYLOR FORD to our success. Not only does it allow the customer to embrace our programs but our employees can effectively communicate our offers across all mediums, ultimately making it easier to close a deal,” Arrowood said. The most important part of marketing the dealership is to use professional presentations that are consistent throughout all the various marketing platforms, both traditional and digital. A single direct mail campaign just won’t be effective. A dealership’s marketing message needs to focus on different customers’ likes and needs. One customer may prefer an email, for instance, while another may respond to something as simple as a text message.

“Working with Team Velocity, we know we found the correct mix and developed tools to pinpoint what worked best for our customer base,” Shamo said.

Since Taylor Ford started with Team Velocity in 2012, the dealership has been able to

Email

attract the right customers with increasing accuracy. As a result, Taylor Ford’s inmarket active customer database has grown from 1,866 to 4,660 households. That is a 250 percent growth rate from just four years ago, and a bigger pool of customers increases sales, service, retention and overall dealership growth.

Shamo has increased his digital spend significantly in the last few years because he sees it as a tool to bring customers in.

Because of greater accuracy in tracking results, he is not afraid to take risks and will test different areas of their “perfect market” to increase sales. This digital aspect of marketing has proven to be effective, and will only grow in the future. “We are proud to have a strong partner such as Taylor Ford who stays innovative, pushes the envelope and continues to embrace the data-driven strategies our company delivers,” said Justin

Byrd, president of Team Velocity Marketing.

CONTINUED GROWTH

To constantly grow numbers, a dealership must zero in to find what works best for its unique market and customer base. Taylor Ford remains respected, humble and willing to rely on expert vendor partners to consistently move forward. This includes moving to a larger facility, adding inventory and increasing ad spends on targeted audiences.

Taylor Ford thrives in an area where others have not. They treat both their employees and customers like family, and are committed to not only growing, but to growing responsibly, building a sustainable business able to withstand whatever the future has in store.

To learn more about Taylor Ford and the strategies outlined in this article email: successstories@autosuccessonline.com

Point of Sale Hang Tags

Apollo Technology Platform Direct Mail

Mobile Responsive Offer Site

All of Taylor Ford’s targeted marketing is managed from a single platform. This allows them to deliver consistent branding and offers across all of their media channels and monitor the results from all of their campaigns from a single, web-based dashboard.

Success Story

Success Story

TAYLOR FORD

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Working with Team Velocity, we know we found the correct mix and developed tools to pinpoint what worked best for Principal our customer base. Paul Shamo, DealerTaylor Ford

In-Market Active Customers Since Begininning in March of 2012

IN A NUTSHELL Focusing on the 86% of customers in their target market, Taylor Ford has increased sales 17% and increased service by 14% in the first quarter of 2016.

•Identify Target Market — Identify perfect prospects within target market that have the highest statistical probability of buying and/or servicing at your dealership.

•Integrated Marketing — Taylor Ford has found that it’s essential to get the right message to the right customer at the right time. “Our consistent messaging is one of the keys to our success. Not only does it allow the customer to embrace our programs but our employees can effectively communicate our offers across all mediums ultimately making it easier to close a deal” says Jerry Arrowood, General Sales Manager.

•Measurable results — Measure and monitor all results across all mediums and consistent marketing messages. “Working with Team Velocity, we know we found the correct mix and developed tools to pinpoint what worked best for our customer base” says Paul Shamo, Dealer Principal.

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