Brian Benstock - Paragon AutoGroup Uses Web & CRC To Set New Records

By Brian Benstock
December 31, 2005

By setting up a CRC and shifting their marketing strategy, Paragon AutoGroup not only managed to generate more than 214 additional sales a month, theyve set a few new personal best records.

Paragon is ending the year as the *#2 Certified Pre-Owned dealer in the nation and the 11th dealer in new volume (*Top 100 Daily Dealer Ranking Report fromAmerican Honda). Prior to shifting their marketing strategy, they were ranked in the 300s. We adjusted our marketing strategy to target customers on the Internet since nearly 90 percent of our buyers begin their shopping online. More of our customers look to the Web than TV, radio or print when researching their next car purchase and we want to be where the majority of our customers are, said Brian Benstock from Paragon Honda.

The results

Within four months of launching their new marketing system, Paragon not only established a dominant presence on the Web, they also set up a complete Customer Relationship Center in their dealership to handle all the Internet and phone leads the system was generating. As a result they sold an extra 106 vehicles the first month and they increased their closing ratio from seven percent to 25 percent. Today they generate more than 200 additional sales a month and enjoy an average new car front-end gross thats $700 higher than the nearest competitor. Their average Certified Pre-Owned gross is just over $4,000 and customer satisfaction is at an all time high.

How did Paragon do it?

We implemented a simple marketing strategy that leverages the Web and CRM to attract more customers and sell more cars. The new system includes the tools and training needed to launch a full-blown CRC and, after the first month, we increased our traffic to our showroom, phone and Internet department, while reducing our cost per sale, says Benstock.

To accomplish this, Paragon switched Website providers and mastered the art of search engine optimization and email marketing. Brian Benstock explains, We used to use [other providers] but switched to BZ Results. Now, we collect email addresses from our customers by offering them free things that they want. For example, every prospect that calls or visits our dealership is offered a Free Virtual Test Drive on the vehicle theyre interested in. As a result, we get the majority of our customers email addresses whether they call, click, or come into our dealership. Paragon has thousands of email addresses that they use to conduct marketing campaigns. We have hundreds of pre-packaged multi-media Buzzmail campaigns that we can send to customers with a few clicks, says Benstock.

Paragon has learned that email marketing is the future, and theyve made it a big part of their marketing strategy. Today, they have more than 80,000 email addresses they can use to send campaigns for every month of the year, every season, and for any theme. They send inventory reduction, clearance, holiday events, special financing, key for key exchange, and more. Paragon has truly discovered a great way to generate more sales at a lower cost.

Brian Benstock is the general manager at Paragon Honda and Acura.