Sarandipity Blog
Sara Callahan, the driving creative force behind Carter West PR shares some of her insights here on the Sarandipity Blog. We all know serendipity means making exciting discoveries by accident and Sara believes these discoveries can be enlightening, entertaining and sometimes very informative. Please enjoy these items and feel free to leave your comments on our contact us page.
The Fine Art of Getting Attention at Conferences
I am so excited at the prospect of attending NADA in person this year and look forward to seeing you all in Vegas in March! Conference season is upon us and each business is competing with hundreds of others for attention. A strategy is needed, or your business simply...
Content Doesn’t Have to Be Scary!
In today's busy world, when it comes to creating content, it can seem like an insurmountable task. I understand this, believe me! For those who aren’t writers, or don’t have the time to write, it can be daunting. Great content comes in several forms. However, many...
How to Write a Press Release journalists will ACTUALLY use
1. Don’t bury the story - BE SUCCINCT. Remember in high school/college English courses when your teachers wanted elegant prose? This is NOT that time. Make sure your news is described within the first few lines. The Who, What, Where, When, and Why. 2. Find the angle -...
How to Repurpose and Bring New Life to your Content
Great content does not have to be a one-and-done game. We don't always have the time to create new content and that is when it pays to look through your old content and freshen it up a bit. Are you out of ideas, or do you lack the time to create content one week?...
Negative Reviews Can be Sales Gold!
Pre-COVID I was looking through online reviews to find a fun new place to eat. I came across one place that had a horrible review. However, in reading the review, it struck me that the customer was just mean and there was no way to please them. I then read the reply...
The Duality of Conferences
It has been an interesting year, but one that has forced us to be more creative with our resources. One such creativity is virtual conferences, some of which have been better than others. But I am certainly looking forward to the return of live conferences, which...
Content Marketing Is Not a One and Done Game
There is one common problem most companies run into when they start a content marketing strategy. Frequently, executives have unreal expectations and expect to go from zero to hero in a matter of days. They want an immediate return-on-investment – such as leads,...
Are You Training Customers to Blackmail You for Service?
If you hold a management position in the retail automotive industry, you’ve probably had a customer attempt to leverage something to get what they want. Whether it was an unreasonable request, or simply a last-ditch effort to get a perceived wrong made right, many of...
How to Make Goals Actionable Versus Theoretical
Setting and achieving goals for the year can be tough. Some excel at this, but it is easy to fall into the pitfalls that sometimes get in your way. Here are a few tips I have learned over the years that can help. a) Set a few overall goals for the year. b) The biggest...
3 Content Marketing Strategies for Right Now
In recent months business owners have had to adapt to a global pandemic, economic shutdowns, employee layoffs, peaceful protests and riots, and operational efficiency changes to help deal with all the above. So, you may think it’s understandable if you’ve been...
Are You Connecting with your Customers?
According to an interesting study by Forrester Research, many businesses fail to communicate in a way that enhances and solidifies the business-customer relationship. The same can be said for some dealerships. The study found that the most critical way to earn repeat...
If People Buy From People They Like, How Do You Get Them to Like You?
It’s a well-known fact that people buy from people (or companies) they like. There are certainly many different ways to get customers to like your dealership, from providing a great customer experience to being active in your local community. However, consumers are...
How Being “Lazy” Can Be Productive
There you are, working on your to-do list, trying to create content for your dealership. You sit there and contemplate what you can write that will be relevant and interesting to your customers. But no ideas come to you. The more you think about it, the more...
Why Use a Hundred Words When One Will Do?
I actually wanted to flip the title of this blog to “why use one word when a hundred will do?” People tend to use FAR too many words these days in PR and marketing material – they simply don’t know how to keep it short and relevant. And, in my experience, most...
Is Content Marketing a Necessity or a Nuisance?
In a recent blog, I wrote about how content marketing is more of a long-term play. In addition, to attract an audience, it is vital to offer more than purely sales content and “buy now!” messages. Consumers are constantly bombarded with these salesy messages....
I Do My Best Poof Reading After I Hit Send
We’ve all seen it happen. In fact, chances are really good that you’ve done it yourself -- posted that Facebook status update, sent that text message, or that e-mail and then – oops, you notice those typos or grammatical errors…after it’s too late to...
Does Community Involvement Sell More Cars?
I recently read an interesting article in Forbes about cause-based marketing which states that 55 percent of consumers would switch brands and/or pay more for a product or service to a company that demonstrates solid social values that the consumer also cares about....
Are you Deaf, Dumb & Blind to your Customers on Social Media?
Every successful business needs customer feedback to gauge how they are doing. Customer loyalty, experience and retention can’t be modified without hearing what your customers think. Dealerships rely on such things as manufacturer surveys and online reviews to get an...
Is a “Little Bit Better” than your Competition Really a Great Customer Experience?
There is plenty of buzz nowadays in the automotive industry about the customer experience. Everything from improving the in-showroom experience, to the finance experience, online experience and the service experience; mostly by using technology and the proper training...
Don’t Go Breaking your Customer’s Heart!
When it comes to earning business, the customer experience has become a key differentiator. These days, sales and service customers tend to choose convenience and experience over pricing. In fact, dealers that consistently provide an excellent customer experience,...
Are there too Many Chefs in Your Content Kitchen?
One of the best ways to get your name out to your audience is through a consistent regimen of relevant educational content of interest to your audience. This helps position key people in your dealership or organization as industry thought leaders and gains indirect...