Honda Dealer Pilot Study

C A S E S T U D I E S

Honda Dealer Pilot StudyResults with Search Engine Ad Management

2

Honda Dealer Pilot Study Results...with Search Engine Ad Management

© 2009 The Reynolds and Reynolds Company. All rights reserved. 1075648 8/09

To gain a more thorough understanding of the program’s benefits, Reynolds also examined a comparable Honda dealership (Dealer B), located within the same metro area and conducting a competitive paid search campaign.

Extraordinary Results: Comparing Year-Over-Year

Following the completion of the pilot program, Reynolds compared metrics from the paid search time frame to the same period over the previous year. Dealer A’s Web site realized significant increases in total visitors, unique visitors, and lead submissions while using Reynolds’ Search Engine Ad Management.

In this new age of marketing, effectively managing all lead-generating avenues can be the difference between a success and struggle. Through industry-leading solutions and award-winning support, Reynolds works with dealers to make their business better.

Search Engine Ad Management provides paid search ad management for dealerships on search engines, such as Google™, Yahoo®, and Bing™. As part of the service, your ads and key advertising terms are constructed and managed by Reynolds, so your Web site sees more traffic.

Web Traffic, Leads, and Opportunity

Successfully capturing and converting leads is critical to dealership success. Yet, reaching consumers online requires more than a dynamic company Web site. A fantastic site does little if average Internet users can’t easily find it. When it comes to being found online, search engines like Google and Yahoo are the key. In fact, 79% of car shoppers use search engines to find information, making them an increasingly important part of any dealership’s marketing strategy.*

To assess the performance of its comprehensive search engine marketing service, Search Engine Ad Management, in generating dealership Web traffic and leads, Reynolds initiated a four-month pilot program. Using a Honda dealership (Dealer A) as the pilot subject, Reynolds’ program specifically included:

•Initialadspendoflessthan$500thefirsttwomonths,withanincreasetoslightlylessthan$1,000thefinaltwomonths.

•PayperclickadsplacedonGoogle,Yahoo,andMSNLive.

•PaidsearchcampaignrunningfromNovember1,2008throughFebruary28,2009.

Measuring Performance

In evaluating the results of Dealer A, Reynolds examined three areas:

•Year-over-yearWebsiteperformance.

•Competitiveperformancecomparison.

•Individualmonthlyperformance.

By tracking these different areas, Reynolds took various elements, such as regional differentiators, industry trends, and economic conditions, into consideration when determining perceived value.

Honda Dealer Pilot Study

Results with Search Engine Ad Management

Clear Definitions

Lead submissions are digitally submitted

lead forms that consumers actively

engage in filling out and submitting. The

following categories were not tracked or

calculated in the lead submission figures

displayed in this review:

Phone Calls – While many paid search

management services track and claim all

phone calls as leads in their calculations,

Reynolds feels this is a misleading

practice. Performance can widely vary

from dealer to dealer, region of the

country, and manufacturer. In addition,

many phone calls received by a dealer

are from current clients, vendors, and

other sources.

Maps and Directions – Many paid

search management services track

when prospects click on a dealership’s

directions or map page and calculate it as

a lead.

While Reynolds considers phone calls

and clicks to directions to be positive

actions, and something to measure, they

do not qualify as leads.

*Source:R.L.PolkStudy2008

3

Honda Dealer Pilot Study Results...with Search Engine Ad Management

© 2009 The Reynolds and Reynolds Company. All rights reserved. 1075648 8/09

•DealerBexperienceddecreasesintwoofthethreeperformanceareas,mostnotablyleadsubmissions.

•DealerAcontinuedtoexperiencegrowth,despitetheautomotiveindustry’sdownturn.

It is important to note that during this time frame, total searches conducted for Honda vehicles declined at both the national and regional levels. While overall Honda searches had declined, Dealer A’s Web site saw significant increases in all measured performance areas.

Comparing Dealer-to-Dealer Results

In order to ensure a fair comparison, Reynolds also reviewed Honda Dealer B, a dealership located in the same region and utilizing a competing paid search management service.

The dealers compete in the same market, where their locations do not give either a significant competitive advantage. However, there were some competitive advantages for Dealer B, with regard to their aggressive pricing practices.

Both dealerships conducted similar off-line advertising programs, with the significant differences being that Dealer B emphasized discount pricing and offered price coupons on new vehicles, while Dealer A did not utilize either practice.

Upon observation of the data:

•Intheprioryear,performancenumbersweresimilarbetweenDealerAandDealerB,withtheexceptionbeingDealerBreceivedmoreleads(19.6%).

•Bytheendofthepilotperiod,DealerAhadseensignificantgrowthinallmeasuredperformanceareas.

Dealer A Year-Over-Year Comparison

Total Visits

UniqueVisitors

Total LeadsSubmitted

0 0

3,000

6,000

9,000

12,000

15,000

100

50

11,104

14,441

8,644

11,372

+30.1%

+31.6%

350

300

250

200

150

214

3022008

2009

+41.1%

Total Visits

UniqueVisitors

Total LeadsSubmitted

0 0

3,000

6,000

9,000

12,000

15,000

100

50

8,4788,082

-4.8%-4.8%

350

300

250

200

150

214

230

2008

2009

-10.2%-10.2%

10,31610,962

+6.3%256

Dealer B Year-Over-Year Comparison

Total Visits

UniqueVisitors

Total LeadsSubmitted

0 0

3,000

6,000

9,000

12,000

15,000

100

50

8,082

350

300

250

200

150

230

23.9%

10,962

30214,441

11,372

24.1%

28.9%

Dealer A and Dealer B 2009 Side-By-Side Comparison

Dealer A

Dealer B

4

Honda Dealer Pilot Study Results...with Search Engine Ad Management

© 2009 The Reynolds and Reynolds Company. All rights reserved. 1075648 8/09

These performance improvements occurred with no other changes made to Dealer A’s Web site or business practices. The gains can be attributed to Reynolds’ ability to dial in and perfect ad title, copy, design, and landing page messaging. With persistent efforts throughout the pilot period, Reynolds’ Search Engine Ad Management continually improved performance for Dealer A. Impressions and clicks for the ads placed on Google continued to increase through the final month of the pilot.

Case Review

The results of this pilot indicate that Reynolds’ paid search service, Search Engine Ad Management, delivered significant and superior results compared to another paid search service provider. Throughout the pilot period, Dealer A consistently realized more unique visitors, more interest, and more leads, in spite of the difficult economic conditions and an aggressive competitor pushing low price deals.

With these improvements, Dealer A is better positioned to sell more vehicles, generate more return service customers, and see continued operation and success.

Though both dealerships were using a paid search management service and operated within the same metro area, Dealer A was experiencing considerable success and marked growth using Search Engine Ad Management from Reynolds.

Reynolds’ Search Engine Ad Management was able to deliver significant performance improvements in every category during the pilot time frame, while the competing Honda dealership only saw improved performance in one area.

In reviewing the last month of the pilot period, we see an even greater disparity in performance between Dealer A and Dealer B. Just in the month of February, Dealer A experienced:

•41.8%greaternumberofvisitsthanDealerB.

•53.8%moreuniquevisitsthanDealerB.

•98%higherleadsubmissionsthanDealerB.

Google CampaignsDate Range: 2/2/09 – 2/28/09

Feb 2 to

Feb 8

Feb 9 to

Feb 15

Feb 16 to

Feb 22

Feb 23 to

Feb 28

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

0

40

80

120

160

200

Impressions

Clicks

Overall Gains/Losses Comparison

Total Visits

UniqueVisitors

Total LeadsSubmitted

-500

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500 3,337

646

2,728

-396

Dealer A

Dealer B

100

80

60

40

20

-20

-40

0

88

-26

Dealer A saw performance

improvements of up to 41% with no

other changes made to their Web site

or business practices.