Why I Chose to Move to LiftedVehicles.com After 12 Years

 


For over 12 years, I have owned & managed OnlyLiftedTrucksdotcom, an online marketplace where both dealers and private sellers can list their lifted trucks for sale. One of the primary challenges in this sector is the significant competition posed by Lifted Trucks, a well-established player based in Arizona. Previously known as Auto Now, this company operated under the domain liftedtrucksdotcom before being acquired by an investment group. Following the acquisition, they rebranded as Lifted Trucks. Recently, it was announced that they secured a $150 million credit line to expand their business operations.


So, how do you compete with a dominant competitor in the online space? In addition to all the other dealers and local shops that appear in the results for the 'lifted trucks' search term. You don't; instead, you concede their position and then figure out how to dominate the second position as well. I understand that individuals interested in SEO, content, and related topics are reading this. Your domain name is the foundation, and everything else builds upon it. To position your company in the second spot and make a run for the top spot. You first have to understand why they are at the top.


What I'm going to explain is based on lessons I've learned from branding expert David Aaker, whom I've read multiple books by and watched multiple presentations by. Lifted trucks are a subcategory of trucks, a broader category that encompasses various types. If you broke down all the sub-categories of trucks, you'd be well over 200 different sub-categories. The Lifted Trucks domain name, liftedtrucksdotcom, is a product category in itself, and with the dealer changing its name to Lifted Trucks, its dealership name is also a product category. A brilliant move on their part to brand themselves as a product category. Chevy also made a great move by naming one of their trim levels "Custom." Custom is a product category of trucks. To capture all the subcategories, you must go to the top-level term that encompasses everything. In my case, the term is vehicles. If you Google the term "lifted vehicles", the results show websites with the term "lifted trucks", as Google recognizes trucks as a subcategory of vehicles.


I'm intentionally publishing this article before launching my website; it will go live within the next couple of weeks. I will follow up with a new article in six months to provide an update. Please review your online business strategy to determine if you can reposition your company to enhance its visibility. Do not be afraid to abandon your current path for one that improves your opportunities. The best product doesn't always win, nor does the best price, but the best-known brand always wins! Consider your potential customers' perspective. If I don't know you exist, I can't do business with you!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Your Inventory is Just Stationary Objects

 Your vehicle inventory consists of stationary objects waiting for a buyer to move them.  As a dealer, you spend X amount on advertising your dealership and inventory.  You spend X amount having your vehicles listed on large third-party vehicle marketplace sites that suggest other dealers' vehicles to their audience, potentially flipping a buyer from your unit to another dealer. Hoping for a buyer to land on one of your vehicles is an expensive marketing strategy. As a Lifted Truck Dealer Coalition member, once you have upfitted a vehicle with our package, it becomes very active virtually, and we put it in front of potential buyers.  You stock our Bear Lifted Trucks, and we'll get you the buyers! Benefits of Being a Lifted Truck Coalition Dealer ▪Lower cost to stock new lifted trucks. You already have the chassis ▪Additional revenue streams for your dealership ▪Identify your dealership as a lifted truck dealer ▪Additional upfit opportunities for walk-ins, such as "I ...
Read more

Bombshell Omission Regarding FOX Factory CEO Mike Dennison's Q4 2023 Earnings Call

Image
 I do not own FOX Factory stock. FOX Factory Holding Corp. held its Q4 Earnings call on February 22, 2024, at 4:30 PM. I am focusing on FOX CEO Mike Dennison's two comments during that call. “And then in AAG, again, fantastic growth over the last couple of years with the upfit business. I mean, it was 40% for two years back-to-back. And so that growth is fantastic in the upfit business. But this year, definitely slower just because we’re not getting the right chassis. We’re not getting enough chassis. And then you have dealer floor plan financing just really inhibiting dealers from taking more risk and putting the product on their lot. And so that’s having a pretty significant influence on us, and quite frankly from a margin standpoint as well.” The upfit growth was an anomaly driven by dealers' inventory situation post-COVID. If you recall, dealers could not keep trucks on their lots, so they contacted upfitters and snatched up any available chassis they had. The consume...
Read more

Warning: The Great Stall is Happening with FOX Truck Upfit Business!

Image
 I do not own FOX Stock. As predicted, the great stall is upon FOX's truck upfit business.  With the anemic stock numbers of new 2024 trucks upfitted by FOX on dealer lots, it's not looking good.  I've warned of the stall and the dealer revolving door stopping.  This is the same scenario that led to both SCA Performance and Rocky Ridge Trucks selling out, with SCA hiring a company to find a buyer to acquire them in 2018.  When you know your revenue is down and don't see it turning around, your company's value decreases with the numbers.  The problem this time, and why FOX is in real trouble with their upfit business, is because of these companies' overhead.  FOX could be doing the current production volume out of one facility.  FOX is offering to pay the dealer's floorplan cost to stock the upfitted truck in the dealer's inventory.  This reeks of desperation on FOX's part and should send red flags up to investors.  The one thing that val...
Read more