BargainNews.com Boosts Lead Conversion by 77%

Today ContactAtOnce! issued a press release “ContactAtOnce! Customer BargainNews.com Boosts Automotive Website Yield”.

Dan Rindos, VP of BargainNews.com, deserves tremendous credit for the stellar job he has done integrating ContactAtOnce! with the BargainNews website and business processes. Dan “get’s it”.

BargainNews is a regional classified publisher located in CT with coverage across the tri-state region including CT, NJ, and metro-NYC. They have a strong brand based on 30 years of having their print publication in almost every convenience store and newsstand rack in the area. Under Dan’s direction they’ve translated that brand and print legacy into online success.

BargainNews deployed ContactAtOnce! over six months ago. They’ve bundled the service into their premium advertising package for auto dealers. During the six months they have documented a 77% increase in the number of contacts they’ve delivered to their participating dealer advertisers. A real success story!

Dan and team have done a great job of promoting the new features, both to their dealers and to their site visitors, and deserve a tremendous amount of credit. We’re honored to have played a role in BargainNews’ achievements.

Direct Marketing Mirror Image

If you understand direct marketing and you want to better understand ContactAtOnce!, read on...

Direct marketers are accustomed to proactively planning, researching, analyzing, targeting, and eventually executing a program or campaign. The marketer does the work up front. The consumer simply responds.

Now, it isn’t the case that internet marketing and direct marketing are polar opposites. But as regards certain product and service categories (e.g. autos, apartments, real estate, legal services, etc.), I would argue that they are mirror images of each other. In other words, with Internet marketing the roles are reversed.

With Internet marketing, the consumer does the planning, researching, analyzing, and executing. The merchant simply responds, strives to schedules in-store/office appointments, and works hard to convert prospects in customers.


For example - think about the last time you shopped for a new or pre-owned car. Was your shopping and ultimate purchase more influenced by direct marketers, or Internet marketers? I rest my case.

So where does ContactAtOnce! fit in? For Internet marketers, the keys to success are a) making sure consumers can find your business via the Internet and b) maximizing the likelihood that a consumer who has found you contacts you. Google helps with a). ContactAtOnce! helps with b).

Note: This post was inspired by an article on clickz written by Brian Wool.

DealerRefresh Plug

I generally have not been plugging other blogs, but today I ran across one that I think many of the readers of this blog will find interesting – particularly those in the automotive industry. It is called DealerRefresh and the author is Jeff Kershner, Internet Sales Manager for Mercedes of Hagerstown. Jeff is a seemingly a walking, talking, blogging example of best practices for automotive internet marketing.

Someday I’d like to meet him, and soon I hope to introduce him to ContactAtOnce!...maybe some day you’ll read about ContactAtOnce! in his blog. But in the meantime, there’s a ton of great content on his site that I highly recommend for those of you in the auto industry.

Speed = More Sales

Last week, I read an interesting Auto Remarketing article by Richard Greene. It describes a recently published study concerning the retail auto sales process. The conclusion?

“The speed with which a dealership responds to a potential buyer’s request for vehicle information plays a critical role in a customer’s initial perception of a dealership and whether a shopper may purchase the vehicle from that dealership or from a competitor.”

As Guy Kawaski (one of my fvorites) might say: “You have a firm grasp of the obvious.”

When we named this company “ContactAtOnce!” it was based on the observation that shoppers desire an immediate response – whether they are shopping for an auto, an apartment, or any other “big ticket” product or service. This is particularly true for the Internet generation of shoppers.

And now there’s another study to confirm it…