1. Barack Obama will change the way we communicate
- When I say ‘we’ I’m really speaking to those of us that aren’t blogging, twittering, and facebooking already. Change.gov represents an opportunity for our government to organize voices and movements utilizing Web 2.0. Should be exciting.
2. Online video will only get bigger
- Consumption of video content online will continue to grow. Advertisers will look to online video as an option that is on par (or better than) traditional TV spots.
3. The automotive industry will rebound in a big way
- 2009 will be a year of mass consolidation in our industry. By decreasing the number of dealerships across the country, strong operators that are able to weather the storm will see their sales and service business increase dramactically.
4. ‘Internet’ sales will represent the majority
- However customers are being classified internally, the Internet will grow to represent the majority of sales and service opportunities received by EVERY dealership. No market will be ‘different’. The entire industry will start to see that their is no difference between an Internet customer and a newspaper ad customer. (I know this might not sound like that far of a stretch for most of you reading this blog, but I think greater adoption throughout the dealer landscape will be evident in 2009).
5. The debate about Global Warming will end
- Our winters are colder, our summers hotter, our storms more powerful and regular than ever. I think the debate about global warming will cease and a greater focus on solutions will occur.
2008 has been a great year for myself and family. My beautiful wife and I moved from Seattle, WA to Burlington, VT to be closer to her family mid-year and the transition has been excellent. I feel fortunate to be able to work with such a great group of individuals everyday @ Dealer.com and to have the opportunities that our products, services, and culture have allowed me to experience. I foresee 2009 to bring even greater successes for my family and Dealer.com! We have so much to be thankful for and I look forward to the future!
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Nice Post Patrick!
I couldn’t agree more. Except that Number 4. “‘Internet’ sales will represent the majority” has already happened.
I left the dealership life months ago. But a lot of people still call me or email to ask what I think about a price or a model or if those are too many miles.
Nobody ever asks me about a car they saw in the paper, or heard about on the radio, or saw on TV. They only ever ask about the ones they saw on the Internet.
I hope you have a great 2009 Patrick.
Positively,
Dave Pavlu
Dave,
I agree that ‘Internet’ sales already represent the majority. My prediction is that when I ask a dealership the question, ‘What percentage of your sales come from the Internet?’, 50%+ will be the answer. This past year, dealerships that I feel get it are already saying 50%, 60%, even as high as 80% of their sales come from a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd party leads. I know I’ll have more conversations like this in 2009…or at least I hope I do.
Great to hear from you and have a great 2008!