Let us face the facts: Having a Website is now as commonplace as having a fax machine - everyone has one. The savvy dealer uses Internet marketing to showcase his or her inventory and services in front of an engaged and prequalified audience at the exact moment they are making buying decisions. The online audience proactively asks to see your information and pays attention.

Unlike other forms of advertising, Internet marketing is nearly 100 percent trackable. You not only know what you are getting from your efforts, but you can evaluate and adjust to improve your result. Unfortunately, there are trends that make this space an increasingly difficult place for a dealership to succeed.

1. The number of people going online to research car buying and service options is growing every day, which drives up the cost to reach them.
2. The number of your competitors jumping onto the Internet marketing bandwagon is growing, making it more crowded, and more expensive to compete.
3. Someone is doing Internet marketing better than you, generating a better profit ROI that is reinvested into future Internet marketing efforts.
4. Someone is collecting better data from their Internet marketing efforts, gaining a more knowledge to use in the future.

The good news is that dealers can address these trends by recognizing the value and power of their own customer data. A strong Internet Lead Mannagement (ILM) tool best captures data. The real benefit comes when that ILM tool works hand in hand with a strong customer relationship management (CRM) solution, to close a significantly higher number of Internet leads. Do not underestimate the ILM that is seamlessly integrated with your CRM. Futhermore, that CRM can be used to market to those leads in the future.

It is both art and science

The bottom line is that Internet marketing is maturing. There is a science to understanding what turns a site visitor into a hot lead and there is an art to designing an appealing Website. Don't be satisfied by saying, "We have a Website." Do not confuse having a Website with having a true Internet marketing plan. Dynamic Internet marketing built on customer data is here to stay, and will only grow in importance year after year. Dive deep and you will quickly benefit from the powerful tools available to you.

Bryan D. Anderson is the founder and general manager of Autobase, Inc. He can be reached at bryan@autobase.net or call 888-396-5911.