TIED TO TEXAS

DEALERS / RETAIL
ALDERSON AUTO GROUP
TIED TO
TEXAS
Alderson continues its legacy of luxury by
embracing future generations of clients and
incorporating new technology. By Tim O’Connor
FALL 2015
WHEN
DAVID
ALDERSON
started working at his
family’s dealership in 1979, he wasn’t even old
enough to drive. More senior employees had
to back vehicles into the washing area before
Alderson could put his rag to work.
In the 36 years since, Alderson spent time
in the parts and service department, became
the general manager in 1992 and is now the
CEO and third-generation owner of Texas’
Alderson Auto Group – roles that have helped
Alderson fully grasp his family’s business. “A
lot of general managers do not get the benefit
of working through what I feel is the most important part: the service side of the organization,” Alderson says.
INTEGRATING WITH COMMUNITY
Alderson Auto Group has been a staple in
Lubbock, Texas, since 1949. The company
considers itself to be a mid-market dealer and
operates five luxury brand dealerships: Cadillac, BMW, Lexus and two Mercedes Benz
stores, one in Lubbock and one two hours
south in Midland, Texas. With a population
just shy of 240,000, Lubbock is the hub city
for West Texas, and Alderson Auto Group
serves a 150-mile radius around the city. For
some of its brands, such as Lexus and Mercedes, Alderson Auto Group is the only dealership in the region. Like every business in
town, Alderson says key local economic engines fuel his company: agriculture, healthcare/bioscience, advanced technology and
education, which are anchored by Texas Tech
University.
Alderson Auto Group
Owner David Alderson and General Manager Troy Tucker
manage Alderson Auto Group’s five luxury dealerships.
www.motorworldmagazine.com FALL 2015
www.alderson.com
HQ: Lubbock, Texas
Employees: 155
Specialty: Auto dealership
Troy Tucker, general manager:
“We really upped our
game from the
technology standpoint
to make it easier to
communicate with
our customers.”
ALDERSON AUTO GROUP
Texas Tech is an especially important partner for Alderson Auto
Group. The company supplies vehicles to several of the coaches
and relies heavily on advertising at Texas Tech sporting events.
Even the backsides of the key chains Alderson Auto Group gives to
customers feature the Texas Tech Corporate Partner logo. “If we
didn’t have Texas Tech, Lubbock would be a far different city than
it is today,” Alderson says. “We support them, they support us.”
The relationship with Texas Tech is just one way Alderson has
entrenched itself in the Lubbock community. The importance of
local involvement was passed down from Alderson’s grandfather,
W.G. Alderson, a member of the town school board and namesake
of Alderson Elementary School. “For 66 years now, that’s a big part
of what we do out here in west Texas, trying to sponsor as many
organizations as we can,” Alderson says.
Community connections have been a key part of Alderson Auto
Group’s success throughout its existence. Alderson Auto Group
customers are more than just buyers – they’re neighbors. When
Alderson is at community events, he is confident in knowing that if
he bumps into a customer, they are being taken care of by Alderson
Auto Group’s staff. “We want to make sure they can get everything
they need here, from their local dealer,” Alderson explains. The
company has been a part of Lubbock for so long that customer lists
can span three or four generations of the same family. “It’s taking care of these folks that allows them to bring in their sons and
daughters,” Alderson says.
When Alderson hired Troy Tucker as the auto group’s new general manager in 2010, he challenged Tucker to find new ways to
connect to the community. Tucker, who came to Lubbock with
more than 18 years of factory and retail luxury automotive experience, brought a different set of eyes to the operation. He soon
realigned Alderson Auto Group’s marketing strategy to a more
digital approach by shifting the focus from traditional advertising
to the Internet, creating Facebook and Twitter accounts, and updating the website with new features, such as allowing customers
to fill out credit applications online.
Further, Tucker involved key third-party vendors, such as Dealer.com, Autotrader.com and Cars.com and DealerSocket, to better
market Alderson Auto Group vehicles and open the business up to
a wider audience. “We really upped our game from the technology
standpoint to make it easier to communicate with our customers,”
Tucker says.
DEALERS / RETAIL
Alderson Auto Group works to instill a culture of transparency
and accessibility in its employees.
land in other parts of town, perhaps to the southwest where Lubbock’s retail growth has been concentrated in recent years.
However, the auto group wanted to stay on the downtown campus where it has been located since 1949 and invested more than
$10 million in overhauling its existing location. “It’s very import-
INVESTING IN SERVICE
During the past several years, Alderson Auto Group has rebuilt
several of its dealerships to keep pace with the needs of modern
customers. A new Lexus facility opened in 2007, followed by the
new Midland Mercedes Benz in 2011, and new BMW, Cadillac and
Mercedes Benz dealerships in Lubbock in 2014. It would have been
an easy option to construct the replacement dealerships on vacant
FALL 2015 www.motorworldmagazine.com
DEALERS / RETAIL
ALDERSON AUTO GROUP
Alderson Auto Group has been an integral part of the
Lubbock, Texas, community since 1949.
IT’S
IT’S VERY VERY
IMPORTANT THAT WE
ant that we show our longtime commitment to the downtown community,” Tucker says.
Alderson Auto Group is matching its commitment to its community
with its commitment to vehicle manufacturers. The dealership group
strives to work with automakers to ensure each Alderson location represents those brands well.
The company also operates with transparency from the bottom up
to the top down. Tucker is accessible to employees and customers and
works to push Alderson Auto Group as an associate-driven culture.
New technology is further changing the way Alderson Auto Group
interacts with its customers. Improving infrastructure to expand wireless access and increase bandwidth was one of the goals for the new
dealerships so that clients and associates may work using their phones
or tablets anywhere in the buildings. The company transitioned to the
tablet system in June with a new customer relationship management
system, which now enables sales associates to access manufacturer
websites, pull up new and pre-owned inventory, load a trade appraisal
and prepare a client proposal worksheet without ever having to leave
the customer.
SHOW OUR ... COMMITMENT TO
THE DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY
– TROY TUCKER
Alderson Auto Group wants to continue to expand on technology.
Already, customers can set service appointments on www.alderson.
com and the company is preparing to take the service drive experience
into the digital arena in the coming months as well, Tucker explains.
Investing in online services and marketing will continue to be a part
of Alderson Auto Group’s strategy moving forward because access to
information has enabled customers to become more knowledgeable
about vehicles. “They’re coming in because they’re ready to buy,”
Tucker says. “Our presence on the Internet is very important because
we want to be that one place they come after they do their research.”
Published by Phoenix Media Corporation Tel: 312.676.1101 Fax: 312.676.1280
On behalf of Alderson Auto Group © 2015 Phoenix Media Corporation. All rights reserved.