Your Website, Online Ads & Leads Are Talking… Are You Listening?
- DealersEdge
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
In the Hierarchy of General Manager Skills - Digital Marketing Is No Longer Just Nice to Know
"When a GM shrugs off digital marketing, it’s like a pilot ignoring the cockpit’s altitude indicator… impressive confidence, right until the crash."
Today’s dealership is a high-tech cockpit, and digital marketing is the control panel. Website traffic, lead conversions, online ad spend ROI, online reviews, SEO rankings…these are your warning lights, your altitude meters, your navigation system.
Yet some General Managers still treat digital strategy like a side hustle instead of a central and necessary skill. That mindset might have worked in 2005. It doesn’t fly in 2025.
Digital can no longer be just something that somebody else in the dealership does… it’s the backbone of sales, service, and customer retention. If you're the boss and not analyzing the signals, you're flying blind. Worse, you're risking your margins, your team’s effectiveness, and your brand reputation in a market that’s more online than ever before.
A GM doesn’t need to be a coder or a Google Ads wizard. But they must understand what to track, what questions to ask, and how digital drives today’s customer journey.
Confidence is great. But when it replaces competence in digital marketing, it's not bold leadership… it's managerial malpractice.
Time to stop winging it. Eyes on the control panel. You’re not just steering a dealership — you’re piloting a digital machine.
Where can a dealership GM educate him or herself to guide the digital marketing program successfully?
Here’s a good place to start- The Senior Manager’s Guide to Digital Marketing for Today’s Auto Dealership from DealersEdge.
Check out the Table of Contents:
What Every Dealership GM Needs to Know About:
Manager’s Role in Digital Marketing Efforts
Managing 3rd Party Lead Generators
Organic Lead Generation- Digital Content Marketing
Organic Lead Generation- Social Media Marketing
Organic Lead Generation- Email Marketing
Search Engine Optimization for Senior Management
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) for Senior Management
Geofencing
Maximizing Your Google Business Profile
Dealership High Performance Website
Connecting Your Online and Showroom Personas
Artificial Intelligence Enhanced Digital Marketing
Marketing Expense Control and R.O.I.
Multi-Source Attribution Analysis for Improved Digital Marketing ROI
… all in easy-to-understand Non-GeekSpeak! Over 200 pages of basic but necessary intel for successfully competing in today’s retail automotive marketplace!
In today's highly competitive automotive market, understanding and leveraging digital marketing is no longer optional—it's essential for senior dealership management to compete and win.
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