Digital Advertising Basics
Tips to improve your social media presence Many years ago, when my grandmother came to the US for the first time, she was awestruck by the windy city. She was a businesswoman well-traveled within her country, but nothing compared to Chicago. I remember once seeing her sitting in front of the microwave in the kitchen. She was trying to figure out how to turn on the "tv". At the time, we had very old equipment which meant that both the TV and the microwave had turn dials and they were both boxy. One of my dad's friends, a baby boomer, wondered how he could keep a copy of the...
OTC adds Fiat Chrysler Training
A new automotive training program offered at the OTC Mid Florida Campus. On September 12, 2018, the Orange Technical College announced the launch of the Fiat Chrysler training program. OTC partnered with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and the National Coalit on of Certification Centers (NC3) to become an authorized “MOPAR CAP LOCAL” training school. With this partnership, OTC will be training and certifying Automotive Service Technology students with FCA technician credentials. Once students complete the program, they will be able to find employment at FCA dealers with higher skill levels. The program will provide the industry with a trained and ready workforce to bring into their dealerships....
Business Toolbox – Marketing
Marketing Tools Here are some tools that will help your dealership marketing staff manage social media, increase SEO traffic, manage the store's online reputation, and check how long it takes your site to load. Managing Social Media HootSuite- The free account allows one user to manage 3 social profiles, schedule 30 posts in advance and generate leads through social contests. You get some basic analytics to track follower growth and content statistics. You can also integrate two RSS feeds. Buffer- With Buffer, a user can manage 3 accounts and 10 posts per profile on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, and Instagram for free. You can add a browser extension as well...
Export Tariffs in Automotive- The Latest
Export Tariffs Impact on the Automotive Industry On June 19, 2018, NADA’s president Peter Welch testified before the Department of Commerce and Defense about how new tariffs or quotas on imported automobiles and automobile parts would adversely impact consumers and dealers. Welch used the finding of a new study by the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) to evidence the burden on the automotive industry and consumers as a whole. According to the CAR study, the “automotive demand will fall by between 493,600 to 2 million vehicles.” Lower demand means decreased employment “ranging from over 82,000 to nearly 750,000 jobs (lost) and a $6.4 billion to $62.2 billion...
Business Toolbox – Legal
Free Dealer Tools Here are some tools that will help your dealership staff check recalls, read about voluntary protection products, find federal and state legal information, and learn about keeping your website ADA compliant. Recall Search, Voluntary Products, and ASE Free Auto Recall Search is a free Vehicle Recall Search Service, VIN-based search tool Check To Protect a program of the National Safety Council that allows vehicle recall searches Voluntary Products- a public website about the value of voluntary protection products such as GAP insurance and extended warranties. ASE- Since 1972, the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence promotes excellence in vehicle repair, service and parts distribution. Federal Legal Information and Tools Safe...
Car Fix OTA- No Tech Required
Recalls fixed Over-The-Air (OTA) Recently, Tesla’s Model 3 was a Consumer Report’s bust when the organization did not recommend the purchase of this vehicle. Consumer Reports expressed concern regarding the car’s braking distance. A few days later, Consumer Reports amended their recommendation. Tesla sent an over-the-air or OTA fix to the antilock braking system which corrected the problem. It is this fix that is triggering conversations about fixing cars OTA without a technician standing over the vehicle. OTA or remote computer repairs are nothing new. Microsoft sends updates to our computers to patch holes and fix bugs. Apple and Android keep our phones going with system updates. If we...
Thirty Minutes to Sell a Car?
Sell at the Speed of the Market Can you sell a car in under an hour? If a customer comes in ready to buy, how long does it take to sell the car? If they know what they want, the car is in your lot, and they are pre-approved, can you sell a car in 30 minutes? At this time, you may be asking yourself about my mental state. How can she even suggest that we can sell a car that fast? I have bought my share of cars and I am aware of the process. The sales process is lengthy, and it requires the involvement...
Trump Tariffs
Export Tariffs and Automotive In March, President Trump announced 25% steel and 10% aluminum tariffs but postponed implementation for a few months. Immediately, our trade partners around the world began talking about retaliation. Canada, the biggest exporter of steel to the United States, announced that it would seek to put tariffs on the almost $13 billion U.S. exports. Our other trade partners in Europe and China have also spoken about reprisal. Today, many Europeans companies manufacture auto parts in the southeast states including Alabama, South Carolina, and Tennessee. The manufacturing facilities provide a boost to local economies. Their parts are placed in cars for American consumers and in cars exported...
ADA (American with Disabilities Act) Compliant Website
Tools to Help Your Site be ADA Compliant Is your website ADA compliant? Earlier this year, federal regulation took effect that requires “public accommodation” websites or business websites serving consumers to be ADA compliant. The guidelines help Americans with disabilities easily navigate the web. The World Wide Web Consortium (WWWC) created the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) to help businesses and those serving consumers understand the requirements. There are 61 guidelines that ensure your website is compliant. For example, visual accommodations require having a certain contrast ratio for the text and the site should scale up to 200% without distortion. Nonvisual accommodations include the ability to navigate the site using...
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