On the last episode of Auto Marketing Now, host Brian Pasch, founder of PCG Companies and auto marketing expert, discussed the importance of merging customer data platforms (CDP), customer relationship management (CRM) and digital retailing tools. In this edition, Pasch pauses his discussion of CDPs to deliver some important updates on Google Analytics, soon to be in its fourth iteration (GA4), and the work of the Automotive Standards Council (ASC) to create a unified specification for GA4 across all online platforms.
The single purpose of the ASC is to ensure that dealers are ready for the arrival of GA4 this July. The reason such efforts are needed is that this new version of Google Analytics effectively replaces its outdated predecessor, meaning retailers will need to be prepared to adopt new standards of data collection, campaign tracking and other aspects of internet marketing.
Unified standards have more benefits than simple data analytics, however. Pasch notes that the ASC’s work with Cox Automotive to produce a more accessible version of XTime, one of the most widely-used tools for dealership service scheduling, has yielded a test version capable of showing retailers every step a customer takes in the scheduling process. The changes to the platform were as simple as adopting the standardized naming conventions recommended by the ASC.
The ASC has also created educational resources for dealers to understand the new configuration options in the GA4 update, which you can find on their website. The council is also participating in the Digital Marketing Strategies Conference on May 21-23, 2023 in Austin, Texas. Attendees will have access to a one-day workshop discussing the nuances of the upcoming Google Analytics revisions.
The ASC will also post a template from Looker Studio, formerly Google Data Studio, a reporting platform for GA4 developed by Colleen Harris, principal product manager of business intelligence and reporting strategy at Ansira and a member of the Automotive Standards Council. Dealers can use this to gain a better understanding of how their data will look once the new version of Google Analytics drops this summer.
