2020 macroeconomic trends to watch: Navigate 2019
2019 was a strong year for the US economy. There was record-low unemployment. Personal savings rates continued to climb. Small business optimism remained high. But 2019 was also full of economic challenges. Costs are rising faster than wages. 59% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. Rumblings of a possible recession have ebbed and flowed this year. So what does this mean for car dealers in 2020?
At this year’s Navigate conference, George Augustaitis—CarGurus Director of Industry Analytics and Economics—shared the four key macroeconomic trends that will shape 2020 and what dealers should do to prepare. In this video, you’ll learn:
Top dealer resources and stories from 2019
It’s hard to believe that the decade is almost over. As we inch closer to 2020, we searched our Dealer Resource Center archive to find our favorite dealer resources, stories, and best practices we published in 2019. We hope to continue sharing interesting stories and valuable best practices like these well into 2020. Thank you for reading! We’re excited to share what’s to come in 2020.
What CCPA means for dealerships: Navigate 2019
Disclaimer: This content is informational only and should not be taken as legal advice in regard to the California Consumer Privacy Act.
Data is at the core of any business, especially in the auto industry. It’s not uncommon for car dealers to collect sensitive customer info at numerous stages of the buying journey, from financing to warranty management. But most are not thinking about data security on a day-to-day basis. Data breaches are an unfortunate way of tech life—2018 was the second most active year for data breaches, with over 5 billion records exposed.
On January 1, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) will go into effect. At this year’s Navigate conference, Spurti Kanekar—Director and Corporate Counsel for CarGurus—presented a deep dive on the CCPA and what it means for car dealers across the U.S. Her talk was a highlight of Navigate and is a must-see for dealers in California and beyond as we sneak closer to 2020.
WardsAuto reports on Millennial car shoppers
Millennials aren’t “just kids” anymore. They have true buying power and are quickly becoming a large percentage of the total car-buyer audience. Millennials are expected to represent 40% of all new-vehicle purchases next year. Ali Chapman, customer insights analyst at CarGurus, recently spoke with WardsAuto about the latest data on Millennial car buyers from our 2019 Buyer Insights Report.
Read the full article on WardsAuto: A Generation That Allegedly Hated Vehicles Now Buys Them Aplenty
Perry Hewitt’s digital marketing strategy tips: Navigate 2019 video
Does this statement ring true for you? Digital marketers are drowning in tactics and struggling to figure out what marketing really is—and isn’t.
Today’s marketing environment is complex, has been disrupted by technology and tools, and is constantly changing. Nodding your head? This session from our 2019 Navigate conference might help you untangle the marketing mess.
4 ways to handle after-hours leads
Your dealership hours might be nine to five, but your customers’ lives are not. More and more are doing their homework—73% of car shoppers research and compare exhaustively—and a lot of it is done online. Shoppers visit 13 auto sites on average. So it’s likely that their first contact with a dealership is after regular working hours.
The worst thing you can do with customer leads is let them sit, so there’s extra pressure on dealers to respond even when the physical shop may be closed. Here are four ways to capture and address those after-hours leads.
Takeaways from Navigate 2019: How to optimize your Google My Business listing
In the early days of the internet, websites were created with the desktop experience in mind. Mobile sites were an afterthought. Today, all websites are developed to be used on any device—desktop, mobile, or tablet—and the best websites are designed to be mobile-first.
Justin Brun and Ben Koller, co-founders of Dynamic Beacon, presented at last month’s Navigate conference on the importance of creating a dealership web experience that’s mobile first. In their presentation, Why Mobile First Design is Mission-Critical to Your Dealership Success, Justin and Ben cover tips and tactics for improving your dealership’s web presence—from optimizing your website for mobile, to mobile email best practices. You can download their entire presentation deck here.
Guy Kawasaki’s lessons for car dealers: Navigate 2019
Last week, marketing leader and author Guy Kawasaki took the stage at CarGurus Navigate to a room packed with dealers and auto industry partners. In his presentation The Art of Enchantment, Guy shared the specific things individuals and businesses can do to change people’s hearts, minds, and actions.
At the end of the presentation, Guy gave direct advice to the dealers in the room—something he admitted he doesn’t often do during large keynote presentations at other events. He explained, where you influence, enchant, and persuade people is at the intersection of “unique” and “valuable.”
Highlights from CarGurus Navigate 2019
And just like that, CarGurus’ first ever Navigate automotive conference has ended! Over the course of two inspiring days, almost 400 dealers, industry partners, and auto experts representing 28 states and four countries, gathered at Boston’s Hynes Convention Center to share ideas and grow their businesses. To everyone who attended this year’s first-ever Navigate conference—thank you, and see you next year!
Your ultimate guide to attending Navigate
We can’t believe CarGurus’ inaugural automotive conference, Navigate, is right around the corner. Soon, dealers from around the world will be here taking it all in: inspiring keynotes and spotlights, highly-actionable takeaways in every breakout session, and a jam-packed Innovation Hall.
Before you pack your bags and head to Boston though, read this guide so you can get the most out of Navigate.