Elizabeth Stegall, Senior Director of Client Retention at Autotrader, joins host Jade Terreberry to unpack how dealers can close blind spots in their marketing strategy by shifting away from the antiquated model of first and last touch attribution, sharing how new tools like the weighted engagement and multi-touch attribution are helping dealers optimize spend, drive ROI, and better align with how consumers actually shop.
GUEST EXPERT:
Elizabeth Stegall
Senior Director of Client Retention
Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book
Resources Mentioned in Episode:
Cox Automotive commissioned Perficient Whitepaper – 2025 Marketing Measurement
See the full findings on how to improve your marketing strategy
Top Takeaways:
Most dealers only track 3% of the buyer journey: Relying on CRM data alone leaves out 60+ consumer touchpoints, leading to missed opportunities and misinformed decisions.
Weighted engagement reveals what actually drives sales: Top dealers and organizations are using this formula to identify high-, mid-, and low-funnel activity and adjust their strategy in real time.
Marketplace influence is significantly underreported: Data revealed a surprising stats that hit home – Autotrader influenced 55% of sales in a 1.2M transaction dataset, yet most of those interactions never showed up in the CRM.
Lead volume doesn’t equal profitability: Dealers are shifting away from cost-per-lead metrics and focusing on quality engagements that convert.
Start by expanding your data sources: Dealers are warned to stop treating their CRM as a marketing tool and begin integrating third-party dashboards and website analytics if they don’t want to lose marketshare.
Timestamps:
0:00 – 1:06 – Introduction
Jade introduces the episode and welcomes Elizabeth Stegall to discuss the findings from the Cox Automotive white paper.
1:06 – 2:37 – The 3% Visibility Problem
Elizabeth reacts to the stat that most dealers only track 2 out of 62 shopper touchpoints and explains the risks of relying on CRM data alone.
2:37 – 4:07 – What Dealers Miss Without Multi-Touch Attribution
Discussion on how blind spots affect ad strategy and why marketplaces are central to the consumer decision journey.
4:07 – 6:15 – Weighted Engagement vs. Cost Per Lead
Elizabeth explains how top dealers are using weighted engagement to identify what’s working and pivot quickly.
6:15 – 7:20 – Strategic Shifts in Ad Spend
Dealers are beginning to align their spend with marketplace insights and real-time data, moving away from lead volume.
7:20 – 9:07 – Autotrader’s Undervalued Influence
Clairvoy data shows Autotrader influenced 55% of sales, yet most of those interactions weren’t captured in CRM systems.
9:07 – 12:19 – Where to Start: Building a Better Attribution Model
Elizabeth shares practical steps for dealers to begin shifting away from first/last touch and toward a more complete view of the buyer journey.
12:19 – 13:13 – Final Advice
Elizabeth urges dealers to open their minds, examine their own CRM gaps, and start learning how to see the full story.
13:13 – 14:25 – Closing Remarks
Jade wraps up the episode and encourages listeners and viewers to access the full white paper.
