Tag Archives: consumer bankruptcy data

Using BK Data to Sell Cars – Case Studies

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A local dealership has been using our Lead Program for over 20-years.

Our Bankruptcy Leads help them sell an average of 15 additional cars a month.

They spent less than $60K (including postage) and generated over $360,000 in profit last year using our Bankruptcy Program.

We just completed a test program with another local dealership. We mailed 1,526 letters to people recently discharged out of bankruptcy. That generated 11 calls from 8 prospect which resulted in 3 cars purchased. That’s a 37.5% close rate! Cost per closed deal, including postage was only $522.

Our Special Finance Lead Program Works!

 

The USPS Holiday Heist

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U.S. Postal Service Announces Proposed Temporary Rate Adjustments for 2021 Peak Holiday Season

WASHINGTON – The United States Postal Service filed notice the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) regarding a temporary price adjustment for key package products for the 2021 peak holiday season. This temporary rate adjustment , which was approved by the Board of  Governors Aug. 5, will affect prices on commercial and retail domestic competitive parcels – Priority Mail Express (PME), Priority Mail (PM), First-Class Package Service (FCPS), Parcel Select, USPS Retail Ground, and Parcel Return Service. International products would be unaffected. Pending final approval by the PRC, the temporary rates will go into effect on Oct. 3, 2021, and remain in place until Dec. 26, 2021.

The planned price changes include:

Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, Parcel Select Ground and USPS Retail Ground:
• $0.75 increase for PM and PME Flat Rate Boxes and Envelopes.
• $0.25 increase for Zones 1-4, 0-10 lbs.
• $0.75 increase for Zones 5-9, 0-10 lbs.
• $1.50 increase for Zones 1-4, 11-20 lbs.
• $3.00 increase for Zones 5-9, 11-20lbs.
• $2.50 increase for Zones 1-4, 21-70 lbs.
• $5.00 increase for Zones 5-9, 21-70 lbs.

A full list of commercial and retail pricing can be found on the Postal Service’s Postal Explorer website https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm

Gathering Data on Your Customers & Prospects is Changing

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In the past, dealerships haven’t considered using their customer data as a source for advertising. That data was primarily used for sales follow-up calls or service inquiries.

That’s because third-party cookies (small pieces of text sent to your browser that remembers information about websites you visit on the internet) are becoming extinct. Privacy regulations and laws are driving digital giants to stop the use of them. Apple’s latest update allows users to opt out of ad tracking, Firefox and Safari have already stopped storing cookies, and Google will phase them out of Chrome by 2023.

The loss of cookies will make it more difficult to target people who previously visited dealership’s websites making digital ads less personalized.

The good news is that dealerships have a treasure of data of their own. Customers’ emails, addresses, phone numbers, details of their automobiles and more. This data is collected through CRM systems and dealership websites. It’s known as first-party data.

Social media companies can continue to track their user activity within their own platforms which helps to build an audience and allow for retargeting through advertising directly through the platform such as Facebook or Instagram. Social media is facing extreme challenges with the newly introduced privacy options as Apple user opt out of ad tracking, social platforms lose their ability to identify their user locations.

With the recent change in size regulation for First-Class postcards (from 6 X 4.25 to 6 X 9), dealers are beginning to revisit direct mail.

Data compilers can help to “fill in” missing data from dealers first-party data through a reverse append. You provide us with your data, name/address/city/state/zip and we can append phone numbers, email addresses, and run the data through cleansing software that will update records based on the National Change of Address Database, standardize the address information, and check the addresses for accuracy.

To learn more about reverse appends contact us today.

Q1 Car Sales Up 8%

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Consumers snapped up new autos at pre-pandemic rates in the first quarter of 2021 by more than 8%.

The gain was powered by higher demand in anticipation of a return to offices and everyday travel as vaccination rates exceeded one-quarter of the population. Also, fear of lower supplies of cars because of chip shortages has left consumers scrambling for any car that they can get, which means accepting less-than-optimal colors, features and even swapping to a different model entirely if needed.

The projected sales acceleration is part of a trend that began soon after factories reopened last summer and has persisted in the months since then. This year’s gains come from retail buyers, whose purchases soared 20% compared with a year ago — a period that largely predated the onset of shelter-in-place orders. Retail deliveries are forecast to have reached 3.16 million vehicles in the quarter, the second-highest total ever.

BK Reform

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On January 7th, Senator Elizabeth Warren unveiled a plan to reform the consumer bankruptcy system. The plan provides for one chapter that everyone files, combined with a menu of options to respond to each individual’s particular needs. It also undoes some of the amendments that came with the 2005 bankruptcy law, including the means test. The bankruptcy means test determines who can file for debt forgiveness through Chapter 7 bankruptcy. It considers income, expenses and family size to determine whether one has enough disposable income to repay debts. In doing so, it sets new rules for the discharge of student loan debt, modification of home mortgages, and keeping cars.

The plan also tackles bad behavior that some big banks and corporations currently engage in once people file, like trying to collect already discharged debt and requires additional data collection including debtors’ age, gender, and race.

Used Car Interest Rates

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During the start of COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, banks and credit unions began to tighten lending standards, while carmakers increased incentives for prime borrowers.

As traditional institutions such as banks and credit unions, became more selective about who they would loan money to, individuals with lower credit scores used finance companies or buy-here-pay-here car lots for used cars.

Prime borrowers with FICO scores of 661 to 779, paid an average interest rate of 6.05% in the second quarter on used cars.  That’s down 49 basis points from a year earlier. Subprime borrowers, individuals with FICO scores 500 to 600, paid 17.78%, up 42 basis points from a year earlier.

As a result, bank and credit union market shares for used cars dropped sharply during the spring.

Used Car Prices on the Rise

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On average, used car prices rose year over year by 2.4% from 2016 through 2019. Then the came the Corona Virus.  U.S. factories shut down less than a week after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic on March 11, and slowly began reopening in June. As supplies of new cars fell, buyers were pushed into the used car market.

Based on Kelley Blue Book and CarMax numbers, the average cost of a used car today is $22,000. That’s up 17% from 2016. The growing crowd of used car buyers drove up prices.

As manufacturing plants continue to open and replete the inventory of new cars, this trend should begin to retract. But one thing we have learned in the year of 2020 – nothing is normal or as expected.