InsideAuto Podcast

Fourth-generation Automobile Dealer, Liza Borches, is the President and CEO of Carter Myers Automotive (CMA). In 2003 she joined Carter Myers Automotive after six years at American Motor Company. Liza has proven experience in growing an organization exponentially through a people-focused approach.

Offering employee ownership, managing partnerships, and value-based hiring, Carter Myers Automotive has grown from three dealerships to sixteen in the last fifteen years. CMA represents 6 markets and 17 franchises across Virginia. Liza is the first woman to lead CMA. She was named Top 100 Women in Automotive by Automotive News and received the Barbara Cox Woman of the Year Award from Cox Automotive. Liza upholds the core values of CMA by ensuring honesty, integrity, customer service, and community involvement.

Building a people-based company is one of the best business growth strategies a dealership can adopt. Putting people first and making them feel like part of the company is an excellent way to retain the best employees, and this will help a dealership provide better services to its customers.

Liza Borches advises dealerships to understand the people-side of their businesses and not focus solely on making sales. They should focus on helping solve their customers' problems, whether servicing their cars or selling them a new vehicle that will meet their needs. She firmly believes that the automotive industry provides an excellent opportunity to influence people's lives positively.

In this episode of the InsideAuto Podcast, Ilana Shabtay is joined by Liza Borches, the President and CEO of Carter Myers Automotive (CMA), to discuss how the dealership uses a people-based approach to build relationships with its employees and customers. Liza also talks about her recent keynote presentation at the Digital Dealer Conference & Expo, her company's sustainability efforts, and her advice to women leaders working in male-dominated fields.

Lara Keyes is the Digital Editor at Dealer Marketing Magazine. She joined the automotive industry three years ago through the magazine after working in the fashion industry for 10 years. Before joining the team, she studied consumer behavior and retail management and honed her expertise in brand management and growth, specifically when it comes to digital. She is passionate about tracking consumer behavior and how to retain consumers through loyalty.

Lara is the mastermind behind the relaunch of the magazine and the Expert Panel, which has created a big community.

With new trends taking over the automotive industry, it is becoming more important for dealerships to stay up to date with what's going on. Dealerships have to get a better understanding of what their customers want and meet their market's needs in order to grow their businesses. They also have to be willing to improve their business models to provide better products to their customers.

However, according to Lara Keyes, in order for dealerships to succeed with this, they have to ensure that they not only have the right team in place, but also that the entire team is committed to the transformation. This is what will drive growth and lead to more sales and customer satisfaction.

Lara Keyes, the Digital Editor at Dealer Marketing Magazine, is Ilana Shabtay's guest in this episode of the InsideAuto Podcast, where she talks about the latest trends in the automotive industry. She also explains how Dealer Marketing Magazine helps dealerships improve their businesses and how the latest trends will impact the future of the industry.

Matt Tedesco is the National Program Manager for the BMW field team at Shift Digital. With a passion for emerging technologies, digital marketing, and sustainability, his team works with every BMW dealer in the U.S. on best practices for SEM, SEO, video marketing, and more.

Matt has been honing his skills in the automotive industry for the last 15 years, working at Cobalt, Epsilon, and PureCars. He has worked with nearly every OEM and hundreds of dealerships covering most of New England and the Greater New York area. Matt has a Bachelor's in political science and an MBA in Finance. Growing up, he was an All-American soccer player.

Based on the big changes the world has witnessed over the last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, do dealerships know the percentage of car buyers that would be willing to buy an electric car without test driving it first? Can they predict the future of the industry as we move further to the online space?

Digital retailing in the automotive industry is skyrocketing, which presents a big challenge to big and small names alike in the space. How do you overcome the hurdle? In a bid to drive sales, dealerships have to put systems in place that will help bring customers back into dealerships to view and test-drive electric cars.

Matt Tedesco, the National Program Manager for the BMW field team at Shift Digital, is Ilana Shabtay's guest in this week's episode of the InsideAuto Podcast. Together, they discuss the impact of electric cars in the automotive industry. Matt also talks about the biggest challenges the industry will face in the near future, maintaining electric cars, and BMW's latest innovations.

Brian Free is the Senior Director of Digital E-Commerce at AutoNation, the largest and most reputable automotive retailer in the U.S. Brian started his career at AutoNation in the IT department in 1997. Since then, he's been part of the original team that launched autonation.com and handled building out the entire SEM and CRM strategies for the company.

Brian has held many positions within the company and now oversees all of its digital presence, which includes over 400 separate websites as well as all of AutoNation's SEO, social media, and lead generation.

A good marketing strategy for a dealership often involves the right combination of SEO and CRM tactics. This has only been further proven by the pandemic, which made dealerships heavily reliant on e-commerce sales to drive business.

Brian Free and his team at AutoNation have been leveraging a ton of different marketing strategies to drive traffic to their 400+ websites. For instance, they use social media and Google to ensure their reputation is intact so they can keep attracting and closing online sales. Since they monitor their brand so closely, they noticed an increased conversion rate during the COVID-19 pandemic period as more customers choose to buy cars online.

Brian Free, the Senior Director of Digital E-Commerce at AutoNation, is Ilana Shabtay's guest in this episode of the InsideAuto Podcast, where they talk about AutoNation's SEO and digital marketing strategies. Brian explains how he got started at AutoNation, how he optimizes the dealership's websites, and talks about some of the challenges faced by the automotive industry.

Justin Harmon is the Marketing Director for Eide Chrysler based in Bismarck, North Dakota. He oversees the marketing of four stores and works with multiple vendors, holding them accountable for top performance. One of Justin's specialties is leveraging video for monthly offers, community participation, and showcasing the dealership's culture.

Justin was born and raised in North Dakota and enjoys the outdoors. He trains for long-distance endurance sports including Ironman triathlons. He also works part-time as a spin instructor.

The current economic times have made it necessary for dealerships to embrace digital marketing and detail retailing to promote their businesses and products. To do this, marketers have to be creative in their outreach messages for attracting potential customers. They also have to pay attention and listen to their audience if they want to provide the best products and services to them.

For Justin Harmon, effective digital retailing can compare to preparing for a triathlon. You have to prepare well in advance and know what your goal is. You also need to evaluate and measure your performance to become better and achieve greater success.

In this episode of the InsideAuto Podcast, Ilana Shabtay interviews Justin Harmon, the Marketing Director for Eide Chrysler, about his dealership digital retailing strategies during the current COVID-19 pandemic. He also talks about the importance of being a good listener, his video marketing strategies, and his love for Ironman triathlons.

Lissette Gole is the Head of Automotive Retail at Google. She has nearly 20 years of automotive experience, delivering profit-driven solutions for dealers and OEMs.

Before joining the team at Google, she was a Senior Account Manager for Microsoft and the Associate Media Director at Universal McCann. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Wayne State University.

Google is known around the world as the top online research tool for people and businesses alike. As a company, Google regularly comes up with new marketing tools that dealerships can leverage to drive more profits to their businesses.

However, it is important for business owners to know how to use Google's tools to maximize their sales. To effectively leverage all that Google has to offer, you need to discover which metrics matter most to your business and the best strategies for driving customers to your dealerships.

In this episode of the InsideAuto Podcast, co-hosts Aharon Horwitz and Ilana Shabtay interview Lissette Gole, the Head of Automotive Retail at Google, about how dealerships can use Google products to promote their business. Lissette also talks about the Dealers Guidebook 2.0, digital marketing for dealerships, and the Pandemic of Positivity (POP) movement.

Tom Kline is the Founder and Lead Consultant at Better Vantage Point. He has 30 years of experience in the automotive and RV industries and has worked with both public and private dealers to solve problems, keep customers happy, and stay out of court.

Tom is also an Endorsed Expert for Dealer Marketing Magazine, the Recreational Vehicle Dealers Association, the VIADA, and the CIADA.

Although reputation is very important for car dealerships, many tend to ignore this — and in the long run, their businesses are negatively affected. These dealerships fail to establish effective reputation management strategies and don't realize that customer feedback can help a dealership improve its operations. Not only that, but tending to your reputation can also help you provide better products and services to future customers.

According to Tom Kline, the first step is preparing a cohesive policy or procedure document that outlines what needs to be done and can be revised as time goes on. He also encourages dealers to track their reputation on certain websites, following either a monthly or daily schedule of regular check-ins. This should also include responding to customer complaints, avoiding generic responses, and using the information gathered to improve their dealership's operations.

Tom Kline, the Founder and Lead Consultant at Better Vantage Point, joins Ilana Shabtay in this episode of the InsideAuto Podcast to discuss his strategies for handling reputation management in dealerships. Tom explains why problem mitigation is important and talks about the need for compliance management and documenting customer data. Stay tuned!

Mike Colleran is the Senior Vice President, Marketing and Sales, Nissan U.S. He has been working with Nissan for 10 years, joining Nissan USA in June 2020 with demonstrated expertise in delivering results and fixing problems. Before Nissan, he was the Chairman and Corporate Vice President of INFINITI Motor Company Ltd in Hong Kong.

Nissan has been getting you from one place to the next for over 60 years. During that time, they've grown to serve different parts of the world. And with good reason: their dealer network is the leader in customer satisfaction.

In the last year, Nissan has also been busy developing an online purchasing tool called "Nissan at Home," which allows customers to test drive and buy cars from the comfort of their homes. It's all part of their continued work to serve customers better — because isn't that what it's all about?

In this episode of the InsideAuto Podcast, co-hosts Aharon Horwitz and Ilana Shabtay are joined by Mike Colleran, the Senior Vice President and Corporate Officer at Nissan USA, to talk about the car maker's new strategies for serving customers better. Mike also explains how military service has impacted his life and career, how he got to work in the auto industry, and how Nissan provides products for different markets.

Jenielle Holderfield is the Digital Marketing Specialist and Community Outreach Leader for Beaver Toyota and Beaver Chevrolet, where she handles marketing, community outreach, donations, sponsorships, and the dealership's website. She is a proud recipient of the Dealer Inspire Innovation Award from Launch Digital in Chicago and was recently awarded Rotarian of the Quarter. She is also a member of the Orange Park Rotary Sunrise and became certified in Google Analytics in 2016.

Before joining Beaver Toyota, Jenielle was an On-Air Personality with Flagler Broadcasting and a Promotions Director at Renda Broadcasting. She studied Communications, Business Administration, and Advertising at Flagler College

To create a strong identity in the automotive industry, Beaver Toyota engages in different community outreach programs that include volunteering, donating to their local school districts, giving away a car every year, funding school and community projects, honoring teachers, and supporting the homeless and local organizations.

These actions have helped create a strong identity for the brand that sets them apart from other dealerships in the market. Their priorities have not only helped give back to their community, but have also built bonds among their team members.

Jenielle Holderfield, the Digital Marketing Specialist and Community Outreach Leader for Beaver Toyota, is this week's guest on the InsideAuto Podcast with Ilana Shabtay and Aharon Horwitz. Jenielle explains how she manages the marketing and community outreach aspect of the dealership to give Beaver Toyota a strong identity in the industry. She also explains how she measures the dealership's digital success and the tools she uses in her work.

Debbie Waines is the Advertising and Marketing Director at the John Elway Dealership Group. She started working in the automotive industry while in high school as a part-time receptionist and cashier for a car dealership on the weekends and evenings. She has been in the auto space for 36 years.

Debbie is also a transformational life coach. Over the years, she has helped many people realize their own potential and live happier lives.

Ten years ago, Debbie Waines learned about something life-changing: setting SMART goals. She learned of their importance not just in your personal life but also in your career. Since then, she has been leveraging this practice every day in her life, coaching and automotive work included.

Debbie's advice for car dealerships is to set SMART goals that will allow them to build the type of businesses they want. She also advises them to ensure that those goals are time-bound, so that each step in the process has a dedicated start and deadline to achieve them.

In this episode of the InsideAuto Podcast, co-hosts Ilana Shabtay and Aharon Horwitz are joined by Debbie Waines, the Advertising and Marketing Director at the John Elway Dealership Group, to discuss the benefits of setting and achieving SMART goals. Debbie also talks about her entry into the automotive space, her life coaching work, and how she helps people find their "why."