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	<title>Hedges &#38; Company Aftermarket Marketing and Market Research Blog</title>
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	<link>http://hedgescompany.com/blog</link>
	<description>Automotive aftermarket market research and marketing blog</description>
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		<title>6 Reasons Why Manufacturers Should Advertise on Google or Bing With Paid Search Ads</title>
		<link>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2013/05/6-reasons-manufacturers-should-advertise-online/</link>
		<comments>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2013/05/6-reasons-manufacturers-should-advertise-online/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 May 2013 03:00:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>hedgesandcompany</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Automotive Marketing Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[#semashow]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[auto aftermarket industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[auto parts industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive aftermarket]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive aftermarket industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive digital marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[google adwords]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[selling online]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEMA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEMA Show]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO PPC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[strategy]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://hedgescompany.com/blog/?p=2979</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you&#8217;re an automotive specialty equipment manufacturer you might not have seriously considered online advertising before. Here are 6 important reasons to start a digital marketing campaign right now. Paid search, or pay per click (PPC) advertising, is a great way to reach consumers on the Internet when they&#8217;re making buying decisions. Today more than 4 out of 5 automotive consumers turn to search engines first when deciding what to buy. Reason #1: Take control of your brand. If you&#8217;re an aftermarket manufacturer, you probably &#8216;Googled&#8217; your brand name before. Chances are you found dozens or hundreds of listings for retailers selling your products. That&#8217;s not necessarily a bad thing. But think about it: if you&#8217;re not advertising online then what nearly every shopper learns is completely out of your control. If a shopper is looking for your products, they may be learning about your competitors first! Promoting your own brand is smart. It&#8217;s simple: your ads appear when someone searches for your brand name. It&#8217;s a great offensive and defensive move at the same time. If you are primarily concerned with branding, it&#8217;s very powerful when you can have your ads appear anytime a consumer is on Google or Bing, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2013/05/6-reasons-manufacturers-should-advertise-online/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>What You Should Know About Google&#8217;s Quality Score (or, How to Save 50% on AdWords)</title>
		<link>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2013/04/what-you-should-know-google-adwords-quality-score/</link>
		<comments>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2013/04/what-you-should-know-google-adwords-quality-score/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 28 Apr 2013 03:03:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>hedgesandcompany</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Auto Industry News Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Automotive Marketing Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[auto aftermarket industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[auto parts industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive aftermarket]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive aftermarket industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive digital marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[click through rates]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[google adwords]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[online marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[selling online]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO PPC]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://hedgescompany.com/blog/?p=2923</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If you&#8217;re a Google AdWords advertiser selling car, truck, ATV or motorcycle parts and accessories, you may already know the importance of your Quality Score. You might not know how it affects your bid or how to improve it, so as an automotive aftermarket digital marketing agency we thought this would be helpful. (Why you should improve it and reduce bid costs is at the bottom of this article.) Quality Score factors Our diagram at the left shows the factors that determine your Google AdWords Quality Score for keywords. Your QS can run from 1 (bad) to 10 (good). The most important factor is click-through rate (CTR) including how many times your keyword produced clicks on your ad and how often your display URL was clicked. Next is keyword relevance, or how well your keyword matches what a shopper is searching for. Lower in importance is how relevant your keyword is to your ad, the quality of your landing page, your account&#8217;s historic performance, your targeted geography and other relevancy factors. Here are a couple of ways to think about how to improve Quality Score. Let&#8217;s say you sell ATV accessories so you have an ad for &#8220;ATV accessories.&#8221; Since [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2013/04/what-you-should-know-google-adwords-quality-score/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Auto Parts Customer Behavior in Google Analytics (or, Where the Heck Do My Customers Come From??)</title>
		<link>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2013/04/automotive-parts-customers-google-analytics/</link>
		<comments>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2013/04/automotive-parts-customers-google-analytics/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 26 Apr 2013 18:34:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>hedgesandcompany</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Auto Industry News Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Automotive Market Research Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Automotive Marketing Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[auto aftermarket industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive aftermarket]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive aftermarket industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive digital marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive market research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[consumer email]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[email marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[google adwords]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[retail sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[selling online]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO PPC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social media]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://hedgescompany.com/blog/?p=2858</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[You can improve your search engine optimization (SEO) and Google AdWords paid search results by understanding how automotive parts and accessory customers originally find your website, and how they return to make a purchase. You can discover a lot of information hidden in the Multi-Channel Funnels reporting section of Google Analytics (menu shown at left) so as an automotive aftermarket digital marketing agency we thought we&#8217;d pass this along in our blog. As Google puts it, &#8220;&#8230;these days, the customer journey has grown more complex.&#8221; Amen. Customers can come to your site from many marketing channels: social media, email, paid search ads including Google Product Listing Ads (PLAs), organic results and referral traffic. Or, customers simply come directly to your site. The key is understanding how all these marketing channels/conversion paths influence auto parts shopper visits and how shoppers ultimately turn into your customer. The reality is, about half of specialty equipment customers buy on the first visit. That means half of your customers are buying as many as 30 days or more after their first visit, and they&#8217;re buying after visiting a second, third or even 50th time. Fortunately Google has data to help you understand how these customers [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2013/04/automotive-parts-customers-google-analytics/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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		<title>Google Reveals Automotive Repair &amp; Maintenance Shopping Secrets</title>
		<link>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2013/04/google-reveals-auto-maintenance-shopping-secrets/</link>
		<comments>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2013/04/google-reveals-auto-maintenance-shopping-secrets/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:36:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>hedgesandcompany</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Auto Industry News Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Automotive Marketing Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[auto aftermarket industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive aftermarket]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive aftermarket industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive digital marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive market research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[google adwords]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[market trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[online marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEO PPC]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://hedgescompany.com/blog/?p=2838</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Here are some interesting stats on consumers searching for vehicle maintenance and repair services, for both Do It Yourself (DIY) and Do It For Me (DIFM) vehicle owners. It&#8217;s the subject of a report released by the folks over at Google Think Insights and shows the importance of automotive Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and paid search. As an automotive aftermarket digital marketing agency we enjoy data like this. DIFM consumers were responsible for 77% of the aftermarket&#8217;s sales volume in 2012 (excluding tires). That&#8217;s only down slightly from a decade ago, when it was 78%. It&#8217;s projected to get back to around 78% by 2015 (Google shows it at 80%, we&#8217;re assuming they&#8217;re rounding up from 78%). Google reveals that repair and maintenance search is outpacing search for vehicles, suggesting that consumers needing vehicle maintenance are increasingly using Google to find a local repair shop. Google also reports 73% of consumers are &#8220;definitely&#8221; or &#8220;most likely&#8221; to return to their most recent service provider, underscoring the need for repair businesses to be found and bring in new customers likely to be bring in repeat business. Also of interest, searches for repair services from smartphones increased 74% in the past year. [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2013/04/google-reveals-auto-maintenance-shopping-secrets/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Increase Relevance (and Sales!) with Email Segmentation</title>
		<link>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2013/01/increase-relevance-email-segmentation/</link>
		<comments>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2013/01/increase-relevance-email-segmentation/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 23 Jan 2013 22:11:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Auto Industry News Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Automotive Marketing Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[auto aftermarket industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive aftermarket]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business to business email]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[click through rates]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[consumer email]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[database marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[email marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[email subject lines]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[online marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[selling online]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[strategy]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://hedgescompany.com/blog/?p=2738</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We&#8217;re all bombarded with thousands of marketing messages throughout the day, and people run avoidance measures in an effort to escape many of these messages. One of the most popular platforms to reach consumers is through email marketing, yet countless marketing messages go ignored and unread. So how do you keep consumers interested and engaged in your emails? One word: segmentation. Email segmentation lets you cut through the clutter by staying relevant and providing material you know your audience is interested in. You send email with one type of content to a group of customers, based on their interest, and an email with another type of content to another group of customers, and so on. This also reduces your email unsubscribe rate. You can begin segmenting your audience by sending a general email to your entire list, with different topics and links embedded. Keep track of who clicks what links. From there you can group clickers by what topics they followed. Send specific emails to the different groups headlining with the stories and offers that will interest them the most. This is how to segment your audience by interest. Another way to implement email segmentation is by geography. For example, [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2013/01/increase-relevance-email-segmentation/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>November 2012: Monthly Vehicle Sales vs Consumer Confidence</title>
		<link>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/12/november-2012-monthly-vehicle-sales-vs-consumer-confidence/</link>
		<comments>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/12/november-2012-monthly-vehicle-sales-vs-consumer-confidence/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 14 Dec 2012 17:48:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Auto Industry News Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Automotive Market Research Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[auto aftermarket industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive aftermarket]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive aftermarket industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive market research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[industry trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[market research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recession]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vehicle registration statistics]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://hedgescompany.com/blog/?p=2703</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[After a somewhat slow October, the auto industry saw an increase in light vehicle sales for November 2012. October brought somewhat sluggish auto sales, yielding a Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) of 14.23M, November came in strong with 1.14 million units sold, raising the SAAR to 15.48M. Experts are observing that the sales are partly driven by the devastation left behind by Hurricane Sandy. Edmunds.com noted that about 30,000 sales of automobiles were lost or deferred in October due to the superstorm. Also, between 200,000 and 250,000 vehicles were damaged or destroyed by Sandy, which fuels a demand for replacement vehicles. Monthly light vehicle sales have continued to rise through November 2012, driving up the SAAR to 15.5 million units. This is a number the industry hasn&#8217;t attained since the beginning of the Great Recession in February 2008, soon after that the number saw a steady decline. There are many variables that affect auto sales. Cash for clunkers played an important role in the revival of vehicle sales during Summer of 2009. Other influences include incentives, pricing and the aging of the fleet of registered vehicles. Now we have seen how much natural disasters can affect the sale of vehicles. [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/12/november-2012-monthly-vehicle-sales-vs-consumer-confidence/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>September Slowdown for Auto Parts Retail Sales</title>
		<link>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/11/september-slowdown-auto-parts-retail-sales/</link>
		<comments>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/11/september-slowdown-auto-parts-retail-sales/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:47:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>hedgesandcompany</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Auto Industry News Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Automotive Market Research Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[auto aftermarket industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[auto parts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[auto parts industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive aftermarket]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive aftermarket industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[industry trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[market trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recession]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[retail sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sales]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://hedgescompany.com/blog/?p=2688</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Retail sales through auto parts stores were down again compared to one year ago. September sales were down 4% from September 2011, following a 1% decline in August. Auto parts retail sales for the first half of 2012 posted better than a 5% increase from 2011, aided in part by unseasonably warm weather in January and February; the second half of this year tells a different story, however. The third quarter ended with about a 1% decrease from the third quarter of 2011. Total October retail sales as reported by the government were down 0.3% from September, a sign that consumers cut back on spending. Auto sales dropped 1.5%, but many economists are optimistic that this is a temporary trend. Certainly some of October&#8217;s retail slowdown can be attributed to Hurricane Sandy. States in the Northeast account for about a quarter of the nation&#8217;s retail business due to the dense population. That doesn&#8217;t help explain the September decline in auto parts retail sales, however. We said at the beginning of October and again a month ago that despite the soft June and August, our forecast for the year was a 3% to 4% increase over 2011, but we need to [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/11/september-slowdown-auto-parts-retail-sales/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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		<title>Trend 1: Why New Car Auto Sales Are Rising</title>
		<link>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/10/why-saar-auto-sales-are-rising/</link>
		<comments>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/10/why-saar-auto-sales-are-rising/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 29 Oct 2012 04:20:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>hedgesandcompany</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Auto Industry News Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Automotive Market Research Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Automotive Marketing Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[#semashow]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AAIA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[auto parts industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive aftermarket]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive aftermarket industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive market research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[industry trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[market trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recession]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vehicle registration statistics]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://hedgescompany.com/blog/?p=2565</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Today we&#8217;re going to wrap up our &#8220;66 Trends in 66 Days&#8221; series with Trend 1: reasons for the continuing increase in automobile and light truck sales in the face of a weak economy. The auto industry tracks monthly unit sales as a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) figure, which has been steadily rising since the summer of 2009. Monthly auto sales in September 2012 hit 14.9 million units, the highest level in over four years. And it could have been even higher because September was soft for fleet sales, meaning the September surge was primarily based on consumer demand (which in itself is a good economic sign, and a reason total September retail sales reported by the government were up 1.1%, exceeding forecasts). In the chart at the left you can see SAAR by month with the Great Recession indicated in light blue, from December 2007 to June 2008. Many variables &#8220;drive&#8221; auto sales (pun intended). One notable spike in the SAAR chart at the left was Cash for Clunkers in the summer of 2009. Other obvious things are incentives and pricing. One factor contributing to automobile sales is the need to replace older cars; the average age of [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/10/why-saar-auto-sales-are-rising/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Trend 2: Purchase Frequency by Vehicle Owned</title>
		<link>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/10/purchase-frequency-by-vehicle/</link>
		<comments>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/10/purchase-frequency-by-vehicle/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 28 Oct 2012 09:00:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Auto Industry News Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Automotive Market Research Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[#semashow]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[auto aftermarket industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[auto parts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive aftermarket]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive aftermarket industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive market research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[industry trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[market research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[market trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEMA Show]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://hedgescompany.com/blog/?p=2434</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Have you ever wondered how often enthusiasts tend to buy parts and accessories? We surveyed more than 2,500 enthusiasts to find out how often they make a purchase and arranged the information by what type of vehicle they bought for. We surveyed enthusiasts and asked the question, &#8220;How often do you buy parts or accessories for your vehicle?&#8221; We also asked what vehicle they purchased parts for in order to better understand any trends within certain segments. We found that, on average, 50% of all different types of vehicle owners buy once a month or more. Owners of street rod/custom vehicles tend to buy the most often, with 58% making a purchase once a month or more. Seventy-eight percent of all vehicle owner segments buy within 2 to 3 months, leaving only 22% of enthusiasts who buy parts every six months or more. How often do your favorite customers buy parts from you? Check back in tomorrow to see our last trend! Trend 1: Why Auto Sales are On The Rise #SEMAShow #AAPEX2012 #66trends]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/10/purchase-frequency-by-vehicle/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Trend 3: Bringing the Web to Your Vehicle</title>
		<link>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/10/bringing-the-web-to-your-vehicle/</link>
		<comments>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/10/bringing-the-web-to-your-vehicle/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 27 Oct 2012 09:00:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Auto Industry News Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[#semashow]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[auto aftermarket industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive aftermarket industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[industry trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[market trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEMA Show]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://hedgescompany.com/blog/?p=2499</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A popular trend with car manufacturers over recent years has been the integration of the web into the modern vehicle. Recently, manufacturers have been adopting platforms that rely on the driver&#8217;s mobile phone for connectivity. This trend is now changing as more manufacturers focus on a more direct way to connect vehicles to the web. At a discussion about the web-connected vehicle at the SF MusicTech Summit event held in October 2012, GM&#8217;s Chief Infotainment Officer, Philip Abram predicted that in 5 years, &#8220;software will define the experience in the car.&#8221; The main obstacle that manufacturers are facing is coming up with a way to make sure that apps don&#8217;t distract the driver and lead to crashes. To combat this problem, and possibly future liability suits, Ford has been working on a research project called &#8220;Open XC&#8221; that, among other things, would provide information about the car&#8217;s RPM speed, parking brake status, and vehicle speed. An algorithm would recognize the car is in motion and would enforce certain behavior on any apps installed on the car. More information on this topic will be discussed by the group called &#8220;Web and Automotive,&#8221; which is a part of the W3C (World Wide [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/10/bringing-the-web-to-your-vehicle/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Trend 4: Enthusiasts: Time Between Decision and Actual Purchase</title>
		<link>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/10/enthusiasts-time-between-decision-and-actual-purchase/</link>
		<comments>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/10/enthusiasts-time-between-decision-and-actual-purchase/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 26 Oct 2012 09:00:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Auto Industry News Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Automotive Market Research Articles]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[#semashow]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[auto aftermarket industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[auto parts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive aftermarket]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive market research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[industry trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[market trends]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[retail sales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SEMA Show]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://hedgescompany.com/blog/?p=2503</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Today, we are going to look at some of our own research to better understand how long it takes an enthusiast to actually purchase a product after they have made the decision to buy. As a part of our own syndicated Hedges &#38; Company research, we sought to find out how long it took enthusiasts to make the actual purchase after deciding to buy. We surveyed more than 2,500 enthusiasts, and asked them what the average length of time was from when they decide to buy a part or accessory to when they actually buy. The data shows that, once they&#8217;ve made up their minds to buy, enthusiasts tend to act quickly. Sixty-seven percent of enthusiasts tend to make the purchase within a week. Of all the choices, enthusiasts chose 1 to 6 days as their average waiting time most often at 38%. Ninety-one percent of enthusiasts make their purchase within a month. Check our blog tomorrow for a look at trend 3: Bringing the web to your vehicle. #SEMAshow #66trends #AAPEX2012]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Trend 5: The Top 5 Most Sold Vehicles of 2012</title>
		<link>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/10/the-top-5-most-sold-vehicles-of-2012/</link>
		<comments>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/10/the-top-5-most-sold-vehicles-of-2012/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Oct 2012 09:00:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Auto Industry News Articles]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[automotive aftermarket]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive aftermarket industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[vehicle registration statistics]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://hedgescompany.com/blog/?p=2452</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The automotive industry has been on the path to recovery with vehicle sales up from last year&#8217;s numbers and holding strong. A variety of different makes and models of trucks are leading the pack in sales; here is a look at the stats of the top 5. The top 5 most sold vehicles as of September, 2012 are: 1). Ford F-Series &#8211; Ford&#8217;s popular truck series is the top selling vehicle so far with 463,733 units sold as of September 2012. At this time last year, Ford had sold 416,388 F-Series trucks, marking a rise of 11% in 2012. 2). Toyota Camry &#8211; With 314,788 Camrys sold, this is currently the highest-selling car of 2012. At this time last year, 229,521 Camrys had been sold, marking a 37% rise in sales of Toyota&#8217;s most popular model. 3). Chevy Silverado &#8211; Chevrolet&#8217;s well-known truck, the Silverado, is the 3rd-highest selling vehicle so far in 2012 with 298,200 units sold.  In September of 2011, 296,436 units had been sold, giving less than a 1% increase in the number of models sold in 2012. 4). Honda Accord &#8211; Honda has sold 247,847 of their popular Accord model so far in 2012. Sales of [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Trend 6: Vehicles at the 2012 SEMA Show</title>
		<link>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/10/vehicles-at-2012-sema-show/</link>
		<comments>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/10/vehicles-at-2012-sema-show/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 24 Oct 2012 09:00:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Auto Industry News Articles]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[auto aftermarket industry]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://hedgescompany.com/blog/?p=2394</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The SEMA Show draws all kinds of different entities of the automotive sector, and with them they bring the best products, parts, facts and research they have. Perhaps the largest attractions at the show, however, are the custom vehicles. Here is a look at what some of the most talked about vehicles that will be at this year&#8217;s show. Ford plans to unveil at least 20 vehicles at the SEMA show. Of the vehicles to be shown, the showcase will feature various Focus and Fusion models built by various motorsports groups such as Bojix Design, Tanner Foust Racing, and more. Chrysler will be debuting 24 Mopar-modified vehicles to mark the 75th anniversary of Mopar parts and accessories. Of the 24, the SRT Viper and the Jeep Wrangler Sand Trooper will be the most likely to turn heads. The bright yellow SRT Viper with a black interior has a carbon-fiber-and-aluminum engine cover over the 10-cylinder 8.4L engine. The monstrous Jeep Wrangler Sand Trooper wears 42-inch Super Swamper Bogger tires and keeps a 5.7-liter Hemi V8 engine under the hood. Chevrolet has been relatively quiet about what they plan to showcase at the SEMA Show. Recently, though, they have announced that they [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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		<title>Trend 7: 3 Things Aftermarket Retail Stores Need to Stay Ahead of the Curve</title>
		<link>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/10/aftermarket-retail-stores-staying-ahead-of-the-curve/</link>
		<comments>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/10/aftermarket-retail-stores-staying-ahead-of-the-curve/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Oct 2012 09:00:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Auto Industry News Articles]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[auto parts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[auto parts industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive aftermarket]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[automotive aftermarket industry]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[company growth]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[retail sales]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://hedgescompany.com/blog/?p=2019</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There&#8217;s a lot of competition in the automotive aftermarket—retail stores have to compete with online prices and specialty parts catalogs, and the seemingly endless selection that both provide. So what advantages do retail stores have that can keep them ahead of the competition? 1). Customer service: When customers enter an automotive parts store, they aren&#8217;t just looking for a part, many need help. Parts stores have an advantage over non-retail entities in the fact that their employees can actively provide help in a personal environment. Employees are able to explain benefits of certain products, ask open-ended questions about the problem to ensure that they are looking for the right part and explain the installation of new parts. In short, the retail store&#8217;s ability to provide quality help to its customers is a large advantage. 2). Knowledgeable employees: This goes hand-in-hand with customer service, but is more about strategic planning. Customers expect to get good advice from retail employees, so stores should make sure they are able to provide it consistently. Retail stores should be sure that their employees are not only product-knowledgeable, but that they also know their way around a car. Of course, not everyone can be an expert, [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Trend 8: Vehicle Segment Trends by Region</title>
		<link>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/10/vehicle-style-trends-by-region/</link>
		<comments>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/10/vehicle-style-trends-by-region/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Oct 2012 09:00:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Auto Industry News Articles]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://hedgescompany.com/blog/?p=2331</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Jumpstart Automotive Group released a report on online car shopping trends by U.S. region showing the top vehicle segments as well as the top shopping consideration. The company analyzed behaviors of automotive website users in 2012 &#8220;to draw connections between specific U.S. territories and the most popularly researched vehicles and top car shopping considerations among consumers within those territories.&#8221; The study found that: People in the Northwest region of the U.S. tend to prefer hybrids and consider price as a priority. Consumers in the Southwest prefer compact cars and focus on the features of a car when considering a purchase. People living in the North Central region look for sedans and SUVs and weigh both price and features evenly when looking to buy. People in the South Central region tend to shop for trucks and focus on price as their priority. Consumers in the Northeast prefer luxury vehicles and focus on features when shopping. People in the Southeast look for luxury vehicles as well, and weigh price and features evenly when shopping. Jumpstart also found that California had the largest concentration of used car shoppers, followed by Texas. We hope this insight gives you a better understanding of automotive shoppers and consumers. [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Trend 9: 3 Things You Didn&#8217;t Know About 2007-2013 Jeep Wrangler Owners</title>
		<link>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/10/3-things-you-didnt-know-about-2007-2013-jeep-wrangler-owners/</link>
		<comments>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/10/3-things-you-didnt-know-about-2007-2013-jeep-wrangler-owners/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 21 Oct 2012 09:00:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Auto Industry News Articles]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://hedgescompany.com/blog/?p=2385</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The countdown has brought us to only nine trends left, so here it is: Market Research Trend 9: 3 Things You Didn&#8217;t Know About 2007-2013 Jeep Wrangler Owners. The 2007-2013 Jeep Wrangler, designated the &#8220;JK,&#8221; received a facelift from its previous &#8220;TJ&#8221; version. The &#8220;JK&#8221; is a larger model in terms of both wheelbase and width, and is available in a new 4-door model as well as the traditional 2-door model. The &#8220;JK&#8221; is available in a convertible soft top as well as a 3-piece hardtop, and the doors are removable as with previous models. Here are a few things you probably didn&#8217;t know about Jeep JK owners: 1). People between the age of 41 and 49 make up a strong ownership of 2007-2013 Wranglers at 30%. 2). The average household income of a 2007-2013 Jeep Wrangler owner is $78,989; for comparison, the average U.S. household income is around $51,000. 3). 72% of 2007-2013 Jeep Wrangler owners are male and 28% are female. Check back in tomorrow for Trend 8: Vehicle Segment Trends by Region. #66trends #SEMAshow #AAPEX2012]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Trend 10: Engine Block Buyers: Amount Spent Annually on Parts and Accessories</title>
		<link>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/10/engine-block-buyers-amount-spent-annually-on-parts-and-accessories/</link>
		<comments>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/10/engine-block-buyers-amount-spent-annually-on-parts-and-accessories/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 20 Oct 2012 09:00:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Auto Industry News Articles]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[consumer opinion research]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://hedgescompany.com/blog/?p=2245</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Have you ever wondered exactly how much the automotive enthusiast spends on parts &#38; accessories throughout the year? We surveyed enthusiasts who had recently bought or shopped for engine blocks to find out how much money they spend on an annual basis. Enthusiasts were given the following choices in regards to how much money they spend annually on parts &#38; accessories: less than $500 $500 to $1,000 $1,001 to $2,500 $2,501 to $5,000 $5,001 to $7,500 $7,501 to $10,000 $10,000 and up Enthusiasts revealed that the top two ranges in which their annual spending fell into were $1,001 to $2,500 and $2,501 to $5,000. These two ranges, when added together, make up exactly 50% of the survey responses. We also asked enthusiasts to provide their annual household income and found that the majority of enthusiasts have an income of either $50,000 to $75,000 or $75,000 and up. We hope this helps you to better understand enthusiasts and their shopping habits. Check back in tomorrow for Trend 9: 3 Things Aftermarket Retail Stores Need to Stay Ahead of the Curve]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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		<title>Trend 11: How Enthusiasts Decide Where to Buy</title>
		<link>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/10/how-enthusiasts-decide-where-to-buy/</link>
		<comments>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/10/how-enthusiasts-decide-where-to-buy/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 19 Oct 2012 09:00:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Auto Industry News Articles]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://hedgescompany.com/blog/?p=1993</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Welcome back to our blog, today we&#8217;ll take a look at how enthusiasts decide where to buy their engine components. We surveyed thousands of automotive enthusiasts about their shopping habits to find out things like where they go to find information, what magazines they read and websites they visit, how much they spend on parts annually, etc. Today, we&#8217;ll give you a look at our findings of what enthusiasts considered most important when deciding where to buy. The choices enthusiasts were given were: product knowledge, return policy, business reputation, ability to install, bought from them before, lowest price, product availability, and customer service. The 3 most important factors for deciding where to buy are: Bought from them before. Enthusiasts tend to return to parts suppliers whom they have bought from before, provided they had good experiences with the business. If the enthusiast&#8217;s trusted provider doesn&#8217;t have the part in stock, however, don&#8217;t expect them to wait around. The enthusiast will move on, as product availability is very important to them. So, if the enthusiast is forced to choose another business to buy from due to lack of availability, a recent bad experience or some other factor, what helps them decide [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Trend 12: 2 Things to Know About How Consumers Perceive Price</title>
		<link>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/10/2-things-to-know-about-how-consumers-perceive-price/</link>
		<comments>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/10/2-things-to-know-about-how-consumers-perceive-price/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 18 Oct 2012 09:00:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Admin</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://hedgescompany.com/blog/?p=1273</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Welcome back to our countdown of 66 trends in 66 days! Today we&#8217;ll give you a look at how consumers perceive prices when shopping. How you present a price greatly affects if a consumer perceives the product as &#8220;expensive&#8221; or &#8220;cheap.&#8221; Research shows that typeface, size of the price or dollar symbol and other characteristics have an effect on of price impression and consumer buying behavior. How you present the price can also influence whether consumers will believe it to be &#8220;too high&#8221; or &#8220;fair.&#8221; 1). How far apart you space a &#8220;regular&#8221; price and a &#8220;sale&#8221; price can have an effect on how consumers perceive the difference between the two prices. When spacing two prices, the greater the horizontal distance between an original price and a discount price, the greater the perceived difference between the two prices. This effect works only on the horizontal axis, by the way. 2). When the size of the number matches its type size, people process the numbers more quickly and intuitively (see example at left). In other words, big numbers are depicted large and small numbers depicted small in the mind, so by depicting original prices larger and the lower sale prices smaller, you [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Trend 13: 3 Things You Didn&#8217;t Know about 1994-2004 Mustang Owners</title>
		<link>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/10/3-things-you-didnt-know-about-1994-2004-mustang-owners/</link>
		<comments>http://hedgescompany.com/blog/2012/10/3-things-you-didnt-know-about-1994-2004-mustang-owners/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 17 Oct 2012 09:00:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Admin</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://hedgescompany.com/blog/?p=2099</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The fourth generation Ford Mustang, also known as &#8220;SN-95,&#8221; included styling from previous Mustangs and came with a 3.8 liter overhead valve V6 engine or a 4.6 liter single overhead camshaft V8. This generation included three alternate models: the 2001 Bullitt, the 2003 and 2004 Mach 1, and the 2003 and 2004 Cobra. Here are three things to know about fourth generation Mustang owners: 1). 53% of 1994-2004 Mustang owners are homeowners. 2). The average household income of a 1994-2004 Ford Mustang owner is $61,741; for comparison, the average US household income is around $51,000. 3). 62% of 1994-2004 Ford Mustang owners are male and 38% are female. If you need a mailing list to reach 1994-2004 Mustang owners including DIY enthusiasts, give us a call, that mailing list is available. Check back in tomorrow for Trend 12: How enthusiast customers perceive price. #SEMAshow #AAPEX2012 #66trends]]></description>
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