Strategic Automotive Marketing

Press Release:

2013-04-25T10:04:00.000-07:00

For Information Contact: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Libby Norris

Tel. (502) 425-3660 EXT. 4590

Email: info@strategicmarketing.com

www.StrategicMarketing.com

STRATEGIC MARKETING SERVICES, LLC

NAMED ONE OF THE TOP 20

BEST PLACES TO WORK IN KENTUCKY

Strategic Marketing Services, LLC, a multi-channel direct marketing company headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky was named one of the "Top 20 Best Places to Work in Kentucky" by The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce on April 16th. Serving clients in the automotive industry for almost 20 years, "we create strategic partnerships by providing results-oriented, innovative products delivered with excellence, superior quality, service and results. We accomplish our mission by dedicating ourselves to our energetic culture which promotes trust, teamwork, loyalty, advancement, as well as an environment that supports family and encourages fun," said Todd M. Strause, CEO.

According to The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, "The selection process is based on a an assessment of the company's employee policies and procedures; and the results of an internal employee survey, administered by Best Companies Group." www.bestplacestoworkky.com

In addition to this prestigious award, Strategic Marketing has been named the "Best Automotive Direct Marketing Company" by Auto Dealer Monthly, voted on by automotive dealers, for the past eight years. Established in 1995, the company provides franchise and independent automotive dealers across the United States, with results-oriented direct marketing and lead generation programs.

"We are honored and humbled to be chosen as one of the 'Best Places to Work in Kentucky' based on surveys from our employees. We recognize that in order to give our clients the best possible products, services, and results, we must build and sustain a strong foundation within. Our employees are the foundation that serves as the catalyst for our success!" Todd M. Strause.

For more information on Strategic Marketing Services, LLC, visit us at www.strategicmarketing.com.

Company News: Best Places to Work in KY

2013-04-17T08:26:00.000-07:00

Strategic Marketing Ranks 16th

After a year long process that included assessments, feedback reports and surveys, we here at Strategic Marketing are excited to announce that we have been ranked the 16th Best Place to Work in Kentucky in the Small/Medium Category!

We would like to congratulate all of the other 32 contenders in our category, as well as the contenders and top winners in the Large Company category. It was an honor to be able to celebrate with all the companies named Best Places to Work in Kentucky.

To see the full rankings and top winners of the 2013 Best Places to Work in Kentucky, follow either of these websites:

http://bestplacestoworkinky.com/UserFiles/File/2013%20BPWK%20Press%20release-winners_MEDIA_April.pdf

http://www.kychamber.com/news/2013/01/28/73-companies-make-best-places-work-kentucky-list

Svoboda Capital Partners Announces Investment in Strategic Marketing, Inc.

2013-02-07T08:08:00.000-08:00

Capital to Support Growth of Leading, Direct Marketing Firm

Chicago, IL – December 18, 2012 – A fund affiliated with Svoboda Capital Partners LLC (“SC”) has made an equity investment in Strategic Marketing, Inc. (“Strategic” or the “Company”). SC partnered with Strategic’s Founder & CEO, Todd Strause, who will continue to own a significant interest in the Company. BMO Harris Bank, N.A. provided senior debt and Merion Investment Partners provided subordinated debt to complete the transaction.

Founded in 1995 and located in Louisville, Kentucky, Strategic is a technology-driven, direct marketing lead generation firm that provides multi-channel marketing campaigns for automotive dealerships in the United States. Strategic’s innovative products and customer centric approach have resulted in significant growth over the past 17 years.

“Strategic is the market leader in a niche category and SC is excited to partner with Todd and his talented management team to leverage our collective direct marketing experience to expand the Company’s service offering and geographic footprint,” said Rick Harpster, Principal at Svoboda Capital Partners. Todd Strause stated, “We chose SC based on their experience in the space and enthusiasm for our business and we are excited to work together to achieve our growth objectives and take our company to the next level.”

For more information, please visit: www.strategicmarketing.com

About Svoboda Capital Partners LLC

Svoboda Capital Partners LLC is a Chicago-based private equity firm with over $300 million of capital under management. Founded in 1998, SC identifies, invests in and helps build excellent businesses in its targeted business niches: business services, value-added distribution, and consumer products.

For more information, please visit: www.svoco.com

About Merion Investment Partners

Merion Investment Partners is a lower middle-market mezzanine capital fund licensed as a Small Business Investment Company (“SBIC”). With over $200 million under management, Merion invests mezzanine debt and equity in companies to support organic growth, acquisitions, buyouts and generational transfers of ownership. Merion provides junior capital to private equity led buyouts as well as to entrepreneurs for growth capital and acquisitions. Preferred industries include healthcare, technology-enabled business services, information technology, and specialty manufacturing.

For more information, please visit: www.merionpartners.com

Media Contact:

Rick Harpster

Svoboda Capital Partners, LLC

(312) 267-8759

rjh@svoco.com

One North Franklin Street, Suite 1500, Chicago, IL 60606

Telephone: 312.267.8750 Fax: 312.267.6025

STRATEGIC MARKETING, INC. VOTED 2012 “BEST AUTOMOTIVE DIRECT MARKETING COMPANY” BY AUTO DEALERS

2012-05-01T06:32:00.000-07:00

For Information Contact FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Todd M. Strause

Tel. (502) 425-3660 EXT. 5323

Email: info@strategicmarketing.com

www.StrategicMarketing.com

STRATEGIC MARKETING, INC. VOTED 2012 “BEST AUTOMOTIVE DIRECT MARKETING COMPANY” BY AUTO DEALERS

Louisville, KY

Strategic Marketing, Inc. is excited to announce that Auto Dealer Monthly recently released the results of their annual Dealers’ Choice Awards and for the eighth straight year they have been voted Best Automotive Direct Marketing Company.

Overall, 48 awards were given out to 40 different companies, all chosen by dealers and dealership personnel in 21 unique categories of products and services. Ratings were gathered on the performance of the product and service, as well as the customer support and service provided, and the overall value compared to cost to the dealership.

Strategic Marketing, Inc. is based in Louisville, Ky and was formed in 1995 to provide innovative direct marketing and lead generation solutions to automotive dealers across the United States. For additional information about Strategic Marketing, Inc., please contact Libby Norris at (502) 410-4590, or write to: info@StrategicMarketing.com. You can also visit our website at: www.StrategicMarketing.com.

“We think creating strong relationships with our clients is a key to growing our business. Our goal is to treat each client as a business partner. Working side-by-side with the best dealer groups in the country is very rewarding,” said Todd M. Strause, President of Strategic Marketing. “We are very excited about the momentum we are seeing in the automotive industry because we know the next few years are going to provide great opportunities.”

Auto Dealer Monthly is the day-to-day resource for automotive dealerships of all sizes. It is known for offering business solutions to dealers by providing information necessary to make wise decisions regarding products, services or process changes in daily operations. Auto Dealer Monthly is also the publisher of Auto Dealer Monthly magazine and Special Finance Insider magazine and the creator of AutoDealerPeople.com.

# # #

If you would like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Todd M. Strause, please call Libby Norris at (502) 410-4590 or e-mail Libby at LNorris@strategicmarketing.com

Biggest Mistake of Direct Mail Campaigns

2012-01-06T08:32:00.001-08:00

What you may not know is that you must touch your customer at least 7 - 10 times before they will buy from you. So when you are sending out direct mail pieces you must acknowledge this and incorporate this repetition in your overall process.

The biggest mistake most mailers make is doing a "one and done" mailing. Meaning that they submit one mailing and then complain that direct mail does not work. But if you only send out one mailing, how can you accurately evaluate your results? You can't.

We typically recommend using a tight 45 - 60 day repetition cycle. This method can be used at any stage of your sales process. Some people use it before they even have a sales prospect. I personally used this after we had a prospect in our sales funnel. An example of this would be that you performed a painting estimate for a potential client. Your first letter could be a thank you for entrusting us with your detailed painting proposal. Then your second letter would be to follow up if you had any outstanding questions on your proposal, we would gladly be of assistance to you. Then your third letter could be, here's what other Customer's like yourself have to say about our business. Then a fourth letter would be, we are currently painting in your development at ** location. The main point to keep in mind is relevance of your letter and keeping your company in the fore front of their minds. You want to move your customer from general interest, through question and answer, to placing an actual contract or start of a job. You want to keep them motivated throughout the process and take them to the closing of your deal.

So remember in your next mailing, you need a purpose and follow up is critical to make any direct mail campaign successful.

Another consideration in making your direct mail a success is reminding Customers of services that you provide and what corresponding benefits these services offer your customer, the end user. For an example, the oldest most cliché comment that is used is, "We are family owned and operated". What does this mean to a Customer? You need to spell it out and provide the corresponding benefit or relevance of your customer / client. Family owned, does it mean that you are insured? Does it mean that you take pride in your work? Be specific on why a customer should choose you over 4 other companies down the street from you.

It is imperative that you find a way to differentiate yourself from your competitors. In these tough economic times, every edge really can ensure your success or failure.

Study: Fifty percent of consumers prefer direct mail to email

2012-01-05T08:37:00.000-08:00

Fifty percent of U.S. consumers prefer direct mail to email, according to a study released by marketing services firm Epsilon on Dec. 1. The study also found that one-quarter of all U.S. consumers said they found direct mail to be “more trustworthy” than email.

Of the 2,226 U.S. consumers surveyed for the third Consumer Channel Preference Study, 60% said they enjoy checking their physical mailboxes, highlighting what the study refers to as an “emotional connection” to postal mail.

Over-reliance on email messaging may actually hurt marketers, according to the study, which found the perception that reading email is faster than reading postal mail declined among U.S. email account holders from 47% in 2010 to 45% this year.

Warren Storey, VP of product marketing and insight at ICOM, a division of Epsilon Targeting, said the findings are not all that unexpected when “you know the data and consumer trends.”
“It's just ‘surprising' because everything you hear in the media is basically counter to what the consumers are actually telling us, which is that direct mail is still the preferred channel,” Storey said.

While Groupon and LinkedIn, for example, are grabbing high-profile media attention by generating “giant” initial public offerings, “direct mail is one of those mediums that is always quietly there in the background doing a great job,” Storey said. The most ideal way to reach consumers, according to the report, is to use a combination of media to build consumer trust, including media that some marketers might consider to be “old school,” like direct mail, TV and newspapers, said Storey.

“There is definitely a growing trend that email inboxes are getting more and more full,” Storey said.

“Over the last three years, we've seen an increase of the percentage of consumers saying, yeah, they like getting email, but they get far too many. In the U.S., 75% of consumers say they get more email than they can read.”

Ultimately, the overarching theme of the study, according to Storey, is that marketers should think twice before they disregard direct mail.

“It's not sexy. It's not terribly innovative,” he said. “But it works.”

Article Found @ : http://www.dmnews.com/study-fifty-percent-of-consumers-prefer-direct-mail-to-email/article/217968/

Study’s Indirect Finding: Direct Mail Welcome

2011-10-27T07:58:00.000-07:00

In an effort to build long-term, profitable customers relationships, companies often engage in multichannel as campaigns, complete with personalized messages set to existing customers through various channels as part of their marketing strategy. However, what if such a strategy drives customers away from future purchases, rather than closer to the company? Is there a level at which additional communication leads to diminishing, or even negative return?

A recent academic study examined the ideal volume, mix, and alignment of telephone, e-mail and direct mail communications between a large auto dealership with a high-volume
service department and its customers.

Select Findings:
The researchers found that there is an ideal level of communication volume that varies across channels and, after that level is exceeded, there is an adverse effect and customers are turned off. This negative response can be exacerbated by the use of multiple channels that are not in line with customer preferences. In addition to these key findings, the study had an indirect finding and a noted eye-opener for its authors.

The researchers were surprised to find that direct mail was such an effective communication method in the overall marketing mix for this auto dealership. The dealership’s customers were accepting of more than twice as much direct mail, compared to phone calls and e-mails, before their spending levels started to decrease.

The ideal levels of communication to spark customer interest in auto services, new products and locations, promotions and sales, were three telephone calls, three to four e-mails and nine to ten direct mailings. The researchers hypothesize that customers view the mail received in their homes as less intrusive than telephone calls or e-mail, for these messages can be viewed at the customers’ own convenience.

In addition to the study highlighted that multichannel communications must be carefully managed on multiple dimensions to avoid generating negative reactions and potentially driving customers away from, rather than closer to a company – a complementary finding shows, as have other studies, such as the USPS House Diary Study, that contrary to the image that direct mail is “junk mail” and is tossed without consideration, households pay attention to the advertising
they receive.

Source: Enough is Enough! The Fine Line in Executing Multichannel Relational Communication,
Andrea Godfrey, Kathleen Seiders & Glenn B. Voss, Journal of Marketing
Volume 75 (July 2011), 94 – 109.

*Please note that we are not representing these as our original toughts. The above article is one in which we wanted to share because of its valuable informaiton.

2011-10-25T12:48:00.000-07:00

Business First recognizes Louisville’s 50 fastest-growing firms

Business First by Ed Green, Staff Writer

Date: Monday, August 29, 2011, 3:03pm EDT - Last Modified: Saturday, September 10, 2011, 4:30pm EDT

View photo gallery (51 photos)

Related News

Business First has announced the companies that will be recognized this year as part of the Fast 50 awards program, which will be held in October.

The annual Fast 50 Awards Luncheon recognizes the 50 fastest-growing independent and privately held companies in the Louisville area, based on three-year revenue growth.

The ranking of firms will be announced during the Oct. 27 luncheon and in a Fast 50 special publication in the Oct. 28 print edition of Business First.

Last year’s event drew more than 500 attendees. The top five companies last year, in order, were: PetFirst Healthcare LLC, Charah Inc. , LeapFrog Interactive Inc. , Specialty Earth Sciences LLC and Street Moda .com. (A full listing of the 2010 Fast 50 winners is available here.)

Our Thoughts on U.S. Postal Service Changes

2011-09-23T14:09:00.000-07:00

Our Thoughts on U.S. Postal Service Changes

At Strategic Marketing, we are devoted to automotive direct mail marketing. We partner with our dealerships to provide a strong multi-module mail program. We know our mailing campaigns are successful and we have years of statistics to prove it.

We know that direct mail is a viable part of dealership’s advertising budgets. It produces immediate results and can give any dealer an added boost during a calendar month. It truly is one of the best ways to get the consumers attention and produce immediate ROI for the dealer. Direct mail can be the difference between a good month and a great month.

So when we heard of the possibility of the US Postal Service cutting Saturday deliveries and closing some distribution centers, we become concerned. Below are our thoughts on the situation.

The postal service should view themselves as a business. They need to understand where they are not profitable and make adjustments to those areas which are creating the heaviest burden. Cutting daily delivery services, which produce revenue, will not increase profit.

If the postal service cuts their basic service of in-home delivery on Saturday, they are allowing revenue to be pulled away. They also lose their reputation as a reliable source to deliver communications and information. Billing companies, advertising agencies and others will start to look to other avenues to deliver their information. This in turn means even less mail and continued decreases in revenue.

Instead of cutting Saturday service, the internal processes, labor agreements, and pensions should all be reviewed. The postal service needs to operate like a business in the free market. As with the car manufacturers, the market changed and changes were needed to get back to profitability. The manufacturers had to review labor agreements, pensions, and produce products that appealed to the American people. They changed how they did business. Our argument is more about being accountable for one’s own expenses and actions. As of recent, the post office has shut down non-performing or un-needed branches. That was a necessary move, but they should avoid cutting services which produce their basic revenue.

Those are just our opinions, what are yours? Do you think that that postal service changes will affect you and how you communicate through mail.

We know one thing for sure, we are confident that any changes that they make will not affect our mailing campaigns. We will continue to produce quality direct mail campaigns and be a strategic partner with our dealers to produce successful direct mail pieces.

To find out more about how we can help you, contact us.

The Lehman time bomb 3 years after crash, pipe for used cars slams shut

2011-09-23T14:06:00.000-07:00

Jesse Snyder
and Arlena Sawyers
Automotive News -- September 12, 2011 - 12:01 am ET

9 comments

Thought Leadership

F&I Tip of the Month: Integrity

Keeping lease cars

At Mercedes-Benz of South Orlando in Orlando, dealer Dorian Boyland says owners are buying 30 percent of their Mercedes vehicles at the end of leases -- a higher percentage than in the past.

Boyland said he keeps most trade-ins and lease returns for his used lot, but he must also buy at auctions to stock his certified used-vehicle program.

"You cannot live on your lease returns ... to be in the certified pre-owned business, says Boyland, owner of the 13-store Boyland Auto Group. "There is not enough off-lease inventory to do that."

Factories once subsidized low-cost lease deals mainly to boost new-vehicle volume. Now they are setting leasing strategies with an eye on eventually feeding dealers and the automakers' own certified used-vehicle programs, said Eric Lyman, director of residual value solutions for ALG, which forecasts future used-vehicle prices and supplies.

"Leasing can be a sales channel for used-vehicle stock that a manufacturer controls," he said.

That has increased significance since automakers ceded control of rental-car returns. Back when automakers, especially the Detroit 3, sold hundreds of thousands of "program cars" to rental companies and bought them back at a loss, dealers got lots of same-make used cars. Today rental fleets buy fewer vehicles, keep them longer and take the risk of reselling them. So automakers can't funnel them to their dealers.

Shaun Bugbee, vice president of sales and marketing for BMW Group Financial Services, said a strong supply of late-model used vehicles for BMW dealers is key to setting a leasing strategy.

"It's extremely important that our dealers have a good supply of used vehicles," he said.

Limited availability is forcing dealers to sell older, high-mileage vehicles. Publicly held Penske Automotive Group is among dealership groups now selling vehicles that they used to sell at wholesale.

For example, penskecars.com recently listed a 1995 Nissan Pathfinder with 197,292 miles for $1,588 and a 2003 Ford Taurus with 164,945 miles for $2,988.

NADA Guide says used-vehicle supplies will fall 5 percent this year and another 4 percent in 2012. ALG says supplies will hit rock bottom in 2012 and 2013 and won't return to 2008 levels until 2017.

Counting only 3-year-old used, kbb.com sees the bottom 12 to 18 months out.

"We won't bottom out until late 2013," said Greg Russell, national risk manager for Toyota Financial Services, counting up to 5-year-old vehicles. "It may be a decade until we return to the supply of used vehicles we once had."

Less auction action

Jim Hallett: Hard to predict

With dealers keeping almost every used vehicle traded-in, auctions are being hit hard. And dealers also are more willing to buy used vehicles online and outside of the traditional auction channel.

Auction operators are consolidating sites and buying competitors. In June, privately held Manheim, the nation's largest auto auction company, closed half a dozen auctions. It now has 73 North American auction sites.

In August, Jim Hallett, CEO of KAR Auction Services Inc., parent company of No. 2 auction house ADESA Inc., said forecasting future conditions is difficult. ADESA recently agreed to buy online auction competitor Openlane Inc.

In the second quarter, ADESA's vehicle volume fell 14 percent. Nationally, auction volume fell 11 percent in the second quarter, the National Auto Auction Association said.

Larry Dixon of NADA Guide said: "We're very bullish on the used-car market," although he doesn't see prices continuing to rise.

"On the flip side, we don't expect prices to drop off dramatically either," he said.

ALG's Lyman forecasts prices for used vehicles will peak in January and then slowly ease.

"As a recovery starts, the first buyers to come back are focused on used cars, the rational, safe buy," he said. "But as the recovery gets stronger, buyers shift their attention to new cars."

Projected residuals on 3-year-old off-lease vehicles at mainstream brands are 48 percent of retail value so far this year, up from 45 percent in the first eight months of 2008, Lyman said.

But the residual forecasts set by ALG and others are not high enough to suit some carmakers. Eric Ibara, director of residual value consulting at Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com, expects captive finance companies to increase their projected residual values on leased vehicles, thus cutting the payments for consumers.

Essentially, automakers would be betting that those cars will be worth more three years from now than kbb.com thinks they will.

Said Ibara: "As long as they reserve for the difference between their enhanced residual and the more realistic residual, they should be OK."

New Direct Mail Event Marketing Case Study for Don Jackson Auto Group!

2011-04-04T05:27:00.000-07:00

Strategic Marketing, Inc. has released another Direct Mail Marketing Case Study. Please visit the following link to view the study: http://www.strategicmarketing.com/About/CaseStudies/DonJacksonAutoGroup.aspx.

New Direct Mail Marketing Case Study- Sam Swope Honda World

2011-03-29T13:02:00.000-07:00

Strategic Marketing, Inc. has just release their first case study for Sam Swope Honda World! Please click here : http://www.strategicmarketing.com/About/CaseStudies/SamSwopeHondaWorld.aspx to view it!

Strategic Marketing, Inc. announces launch of brand new website!

2011-03-10T07:47:00.000-08:00

Strategic Marketing, Inc. is pleased to announce the launch of our brand new website! In addition to a new, fresh appearance, Strategic Marketing, Inc. has added many new pages, such as Case Studies, Data Cleansing and Extraction, and much more!

You’ll find it easier to access content and browse through our programs such as Event Direct Mail Marketing and Subprime Direct Mail Marketing. We have also created Facebook and Twitter accounts so you can stay up to date on the latest happenings at Strategic Marketing, Inc.

Be sure to log on today to check out our newest direct mail program, “Keeping Up With the Joneses”!

Strategic Marketing, Inc.’s official website is located at www.StrategicMarketing.com. The website was designed and is maintained by Strategic Marketing, Inc. If you have any questions or comments, please contact us here.

Andy Rooney discusses mail and the United States Postal Service on 60 minutes

2010-02-02T10:57:00.001-08:00

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5362293n&tag=contentMain;contentBody

Strategic Marketing, Inc. Named Diamond Award Winner in the 2009 Dealers’ Choice Awards

2010-02-02T10:55:00.000-08:00

Strategic Marketing, Inc. is proud to announce it has been named the recipient of 2 Diamond Awards in the Best Direct Marketing Company category and the Best Sub-Prime Lead Generation category of the Auto Dealer Monthly 2009 Dealers’ Choice Awards.

“It takes outstanding products and services, support and value to earn one of these awards,” said Harlene Doane, editor of Auto Dealer Monthly. “Strategic Marketing, Inc. should be very proud to be recognized by the dealers they serve in this manner.

“We are extremely proud and honored to receive such outstanding awards, especially in this difficult automotive climate. We worked really hard this last year with developing outstanding products and this is testament to our staff,” said Todd Strause, President of Strategic Marketing, Inc.

The Award Process

This is the fifth year Auto Dealer Monthly has recognized the most highly regarded vendors, suppliers and finance companies in the retail automotive industry, as voted on by dealers and dealership personnel. The survey provided dealers and their employees the ability to offer their collective selection of the top providers to the retail auto industry.

Overall, 55 awards were given out to 45 companies, all chosen by dealers and dealership personnel. In 20 distinctive categories of products and services, nearly 15,000 votes were cast. Ratings were gathered on the performance of the product or service, as well as the customer support and service provided, and the overall value compared to cost to the dealership. The complete list of winners, as well as any provider or finance company that rated higher than the group average score in any category can be found at www.AutoDealerMonthly.com/2009DCA_winners.pdf. The entire feature on the 2009 Dealers’ Choice Awards is in the April 2009 issue of Auto Dealer Monthly magazine, which can be found here: http://autodealermonthly.epubxpress.com/?site=3.

About

Strategic Marketing, Inc. is based in Louisville, Ky and was formed in 1995 to provide innovative direct marketing and lead generation programs to franchise and independent automotive dealers across the United States. For additional information about Strategic Marketing, Inc., please contact Todd Strause at 1-800-799-8633, or write to: info@StrategicMarketing. com. You can also visit our website at: www.StrategicMarketing.com.

About Auto Dealer Monthly, LLC

Auto Dealer Monthly is the day-to-day resource for automotive dealerships of all sizes. It is know for offering business solutions to dealers by providing information necessary to make wise decisions regarding products, services or process changes in daily operations. Auto Dealer Monthly is also the publisher of Auto Dealer Monthly magazine and Special Finance Insider magazine and the creator of AutoDealerPeople.com.

Strategic Marketing, Inc. develops new platform to purchase sub-prime Internet Leads at a wholesale level!

2008-06-05T10:54:00.000-07:00

Strategic Marketing, Inc. of Louisville, KY announced today that it has developed a new system for automotive dealers to purchase and acquire sub-prime automotive leads. This system gives automotive dealers the power to determine the price they want to pay for sub-prime internet leads and to place orders with no minimums.

Since it’s inception in 1995, Strategic Marketing, Inc. has developed a fully integrated set of award-winning programs and services which have pushed their dealer clients to the leading edge of the industry, enabling them to sell more vehicles than their competition and reach new levels of success.

Todd M. Strause, President and CEO, said “It’s an exciting time for our clients!” “They have asked for a new way of purchasing automotive sub-prime internet leads, so we listened and developed a tool called “AuctionLink powered by Leadflow” to give them the control they want to have in this space. There are no minimum orders, there are no minimum prices, and they control where they purchase leads.” “The exciting part is the dealers determine their purchase price based on market research we provide them, which can save them thousands of dollars a month!”

“We pride ourselves on providing our dealers with the best available technology for all aspects of their business,” said Todd M. Strause, “we do that by developing in-house technology which challenges the existing protocol in the industry.”

Strategic Marketing, Inc. is based in Louisville, KY and was formed in 1995 to provide innovative direct marketing and lead generation programs to franchise and independent automotive dealers across the United States.

Payless Car Sales Partners with Strategic Marketing, Inc. for Leads

2008-05-01T10:51:00.000-07:00

Payless Car Sales, Inc. announced today that it has partnered with Strategic Marketing, Inc. of Louisville, KY for the development and implementation of its new business development center (BDC) and used car marketing and lead generation programs.

Since it’s inception in 1995, Strategic Marketing, Inc. has developed a fully integrated set of award winning programs and services which have pushed their dealer clients to the leading edge of the industry, enabling them to out sell their competition and reach new levels of success. Todd Strause, President and CEO, said “It’s an exciting partnership and we look forward to providing some great ideas and programs to Payless Car Sales Dealer Base.

“We pride ourselves on providing our dealers with the best available technology for all aspects of their business,” said Mike Harley, Payless president and COO, “we do that by partnering with companies like Strategic Marketing, who have the drive, ability and vision to stay ahead of the pack. We believe our new partnership with Strategic Marketing will help our dealers sell more vehicles, and that,” added Harley, “is what the Payless brand is all about.”

The Payless Car Sales Franchise System is designed to help qualified independent used car dealers sell more cars. Though affiliation with its nationally recognized and trusted brand, Payless provides “preferred vendor” relationships with floor plan providers, retail lenders, F&I product and other industry suppliers; unique access to off rental inventories; on-going consulting from a professional staff and a strongly optimized, highly visible and nationwide lead generating website.

Payless Car Sales, Inc. was initially formulated to provide a sales platform for disposing of rental vehicles for its sister company Payless Car Rental. It became a separate entity in February 2002 and has now grown to over 50 locations in 16 states and Puerto Rico. To see their inventory of quality, pre-owned vehicles nearest you, visit: www.PaylessCarSales.com.

Independent Used Vehicle Dealers seeking to grow their sales should contact: James Formanek, VP Sales at 813-380-4999, or write to: JFormanek@PaylessCarSales.com. For additional information about the Payless Car Sales franchise opportunity please take a moment to visit: www.PaylessFranchise.com.

Strategic Marketing, Inc. is based in Louisville, Ky and was formed in 1995 to provide innovative direct marketing and lead generation programs to franchise and independent automotive dealers across the United States. For additional information about Strategic Marketing, Inc, please contact John Lesch at 800-799-8633, or write to: john@strategicmarketing.com. You can also visit our website at: www.strategicmarketing.com .