Sales, Marketing & Social Media Today

I write about the three topics that I am most passionate about; Sales, Marketing and Social Media. These topics are covered from my experiences in outside sales and marketing. My objective is to use my expertise to help business and the individual.

Search Engine Marketing Trends from SMX East

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Last week, I covered the Search Marketing Expo in New York City. Search Marketing Expo has is a great event for SEO, SEM, and Digital Marketing professionals. SMX provides attendees with an opportunity to learn actionable techniques in conference sessions and training workshops. Google and Microsoft provided seminars on various SEM topics.

Here is a video of the event.


I enjoyed Moz founder Rand Fishkin’s keynote.

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The key insights of the presentation were:

  1. Organic traffic has reached its peak and will decline.
  2. To keep traffic coming to their sites, Marketers will need to find ways to nudge consumers as Zero click queries continue to grow.
  3. Organizations need to shift their investments in product, content, and brand. Decisions on how to redeploy these resources need to be a company-wide effort. 
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Here is the link to the presentation.

Google in 2020: From Everyone’s Search Engine to Everyone’s Competitor | SparkToro
I’ve written a lot this year about the shifts we’re seeing from Google — moving from search engine to answer to engine…sparktoro.com

At the end of the keynote, I met Rand and received a signed copy of his new book entitled Lost and Found.

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In Google’s Keynote, I learned how businesses can get an edge during the holidays. I also learned of Google’s plan to use Google Images and YouTube for eCommerce. Google is also allowing businesses to use location-based Ads in Google Maps.

The key insights of the presentation were:

1. According to Google most shopping visits start online.

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2.When diners search for a great place to eat the searches are probably happening on a smartphone.

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3.  When people are online in cars, more than half of them are searching for information on a mobile device making localization and targeting important.

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4. . 2/3′s of shoppers say that online video has given them insight and inspiration to make purchases.

5. Shoppers use at least 3 channels or more when shopping.

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6. Brands need to provide an omnichannel channel experience all year, especially during the holidays.

7. Sales are happening online and offline. As a result of this shift, Brands need to serve customers on the channels of their choice.

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Posted 292 weeks ago

Sales, Marketing & Social Media Today

I write about the three topics that I am most passionate about; Sales, Marketing and Social Media. These topics are covered from my experiences in outside sales and marketing. My objective is to use my expertise to help business and the individual.

What I Learned from Working in Field Sales in NYC

Sales has taught me to:

1.To go after what I want in life. Ask for the order if you will.

2. To stand tall in the face of rejection and negativity.

3. To look at rejection as a learning experience instead of a defeat.

4. To understand Customer needs. (Objections vs Stalls). (Buyer Motives)

5. To persist through obstacles and not to quit!

6. To examine and understand how a business operates.

Every person should try selling products at least once in their lives. It is a valuable learning experience.

Before my time as a Marketer, I worked as an Outside Sales Rep in the Dental Industry in Manhattan.

Field Sales/Field Marketing has taught me so much about myself.

What did selling teach you?

Comment and share.

Posted 279 weeks ago

Sales, Marketing & Social Media Today

I write about the three topics that I am most passionate about; Sales, Marketing and Social Media. These topics are covered from my experiences in outside sales and marketing. My objective is to use my expertise to help business and the individual.

Trends in the US Auto Industry: Key Insights from the 2025 Auto Forum New York


I covered Automotive Forum New York, the day before the New York International Auto Show. This event connects Automotive thought leaders with Manufacturers and Dealers. Attendees learned about trends and insights in the Automotive industry, focusing on the dealer side of the business. 

The auto forum started with an economist who analyzed the US Economy as a whole, followed by Thomas King, President, Data & Analytics Division, Chief Product Officer at JD Power, who analyzed the US auto industry, addressing the issue of tariffs and electric vehicle mandates on the automotive industry.

Thomas shared some interesting statistics and analysis.

The State of the Automotive Industry

The US put a 25 percent tariff on vehicles made outside the United States. 

Vehicle exposure for US Retail sales amounts to $62 billion, translating to $4782 on average for every vehicle sold, or 10.6 percent of the price. However, this spread is asymmetric across brands. For example, brands where the tariff makes up 1 to 4 percent of the sales price sell more than brands where the tariff makes up a higher percentage of the sales price. As a result, dealers can not simply pass a 25 percent tariff on to their customers without a significant sales decline.

What can dealers and OEMs do immediately for the long term?

Dealers can focus on pricing incentives, shipping, rationalizing their portfolio, leveraging a global sales footprint to increase prices in other markets, right-sizing local production, optimizing part sourcing to increase US production, and eventually building more plants in the United States. 

Thomas predicts that vehicle prices will increase 5 percent on average $2300, with an annual retail sales pace SAAR decrease of 8 percent or 1.1 million sales.

Industry Regulations & the EV Landscape

In the 2025 Industry Regulations & the EV Landscape panel, there was a conversation about how manufacturers and dealers are impacted by differing incentives, fines, compliance, and manufacturing mandates from the federal and state governments, resulting in a lack of uniformity. This will impact sales and profitability.

Improving the Customer Experience at Auto Dealerships

Anu Roberts, Director of Product Marketing at CDK Global, shared a study highlighting a correlation with shorter purchase time on the customer journey (2 hours or less), improved customer experience, and an increased net promoter score. Anu also shared how dealers are using AI, which included:

  1. AI assistant for lead generation and qualification
  2. AI assistants for providing information to customers 
  3. Scheduling appointments for customers 
  4. Targeting marketing campaigns based on segments
  5. Analyzing customer feedback

She suggests dealers audit their buying process to lower customer friction, testing how long it takes to purchase a car. 

What’s next for OEMs, Dealers, and Manufacturers?

Senator Bernie Moreno, a former car dealer, advised dealers and manufacturers on improving relationships with one another and the US Government in the Golden Age of Retail panel. He suggested working with the Trump administration in a collaborative partnership to manufacture cars people want to buy instead of cars they need to sell because of mandates and regulations. 

It was a great event with many great panels. I learned a lot about the automotive industry. 

I want to thank J.D. Power, NADA, and the New York International Auto Show for having me as their guest. 

Posted 7 weeks ago