Sometimes it feels like “change” is the only constant in marketing. It’s why it’s so important for dealerships to have continuity when assessing their overall marketing performance, and the effects of any changes they enact. And to ensure that continuity, a dealership needs take ownership of all of their various data sources.
What do we mean by “data sources”? We’re talking about Google Analytics, Google My Business, Search Master, Webmaster Tools, Google Adwords, Google Tag Manager and any other tools that collect data about your dealership. And by “owning” we mean who has access to it, and visibility of it.
Chances are, you’d be surprised to learn just how many dealerships are ignorant to who has ownership of their various data sources. What about you? Do you know who owns your current Google Analytics account? How about your GMB? Not sure? This could mean big problems for your dealership.
Let’s say your website vendor has a falling out with your OEM; will you lose access to your old data? What if you switch PPC providers; are you starting over from scratch every single time? Do you have historical access to your Google search performance? Do vendors with whom you’ve terminated your business relationship still have access to your data? As I said, “big problems”.
So, here are some things you can do to make sure you have ownership of your properties in house.
1. Own The Logins To All Your Data Sources
Maintain a dedicated file which contains all your dealership’s logins, and control access to that file’s contents, auditing (and if needed updating) them regularly to ensure no-one has access that shouldn’t. Plus, if you make a change in service providers, you can send that information over to them and BOOM…you may already be saving some serious money. Why? Because that service provider won’t be charging you while they perform fact finding and rebuild historical data, which can take MONTHS.
2. Use Google Analytics to Increase Visibility
Owning your data isn’t just about controlling access to it, it’s about having full visibility of it. This is why any provider who places a tool on your website should be reporting events into YOUR Google Analytics – as opposed to some third party, or proprietary dashboard. By allowing providers to sidestep your GA you’re – at best – leaving yourself wide-open to bad data, and – at worst – increasing your dealership’s chances of being seriously taken advantage of. So, don’t do it. Make sure that everything is reported in your Google Analytics.
These two steps ALONE could save you thousands, if not tens-of-thousands of dollars, while protecting your data integrity and streamlining any change in service providers. It’s a win / win.
So – own that data.
After all, IT’S YOURS.