We’re excited to spotlight Jenkins Auto Group, an automotive group with 30 rooftops spanning Florida and a portfolio that includes 17 brands across 23 dealerships, collision centers, heavy equipment, and more. At the heart of their digital transformation is Michael Moushon, Marketing & Technology Director, who brings nearly two decades of experience across top dealer groups to his role. Michael’s leadership stands out for its strategic, data-driven approach and commitment to evaluating technology with a sharp focus on performance and scalability.
Tell us a little about Jenkins Auto Group, your career in automotive, and your role at the dealership.
“I’m the Marketing and Technology Director for Jenkins Auto Group. We have 30 rooftops, all in Florida, stretching from Venice in South Florida all the way up to the Jacksonville, Gainesville area. We have 17 brands in addition to collision centers, used car outlets, Bobcat heavy equipment, golf carts, and classic cars. I’ve been in automotive since 2009. I originally started with Bernardi Auto Group in the Boston area. Worked for Asbury for many years, and then AutoNation, as well as Universal Hyundai, Nissan in Orlando, before coming to Jenkins in 2021. So I’ve been with the group now for about four years this September. As a Marketing and Technology Director, I essentially handle everything for all things digital, which includes marketing, any data, technology integration, AI, websites, etc. But I also double as the corporate internet director for the group. In our department, we handle a lot of in-house creative graphic design, videography, etc.”
How do you evaluate new technology partners or products for your group? What makes you choose one?
“I’m interested in things that are usually from outside automotive. Those products and services typically interest me because they’re a little outside of the box and not something that many of our other competitors or other folks in our business are looking at, doing, or using. Typically, I measure everything based on a cost per hard conversion and the cost per sale basis. I look at case studies. I look at other people in the industry that I trust and know, who look at things similarly to me.
Support is really important for us, because anytime we try something new, we try a store or two and then roll it out to the rest of the group if it’s successful. I do a lot of beta testing and product development with a lot of companies to help improve their products, whether that’s Urban Science, Capital One, iHeart, NBC Universal, or Constellation. We’re a very decentralized group, so my role is primarily to vet a provider a store wants or recommend a few safe options to pick from. Ownership of digital assets is key. We typically won’t do business with companies that don’t allow us to retain ownership.”
How has your experience with TradePending been? What has your team’s support looked like?
“Support has been strong and responsive. We’ve seen improvements over time as the partnership has matured. There’s a better understanding of how we prefer our tools to be configured, especially when it comes to trade tool installation.
We’ve received helpful enterprise-level reporting that allows us to quickly identify usage gaps across our rooftops. For some of our product rollouts, like the dealer specials pages, we’ve seen excellent collaboration, including creative strategies to drive traffic to those pages. The team has also provided use cases to help us maximize integration with our marketing channels, like Google Business Profiles and social media.”
Do you track performance and KPIs related to video usage?
“Utilization is something I pay a lot of attention to. If we’re paying for it, I want the stores to use it. I really zero in on custom videos instead of general evergreen content.
Group-wide, we’ve created “Why Buy” and “Post Lead Submission” videos that have been added to our shared libraries. That’s been helpful. I track watch rates for custom videos versus generic ones, and I look at delivery methods, text vs. email vs. both, and how that affects metrics.”
Have you seen any impact or success with Value Watch?
I do have a couple of stores that did not previously have TradePending and used another tool, but they liked the idea of Value Watch and signed up for the tool to use it in their service drives. We created QR-coded hang tags that link directly to the trade tool, UTM tagged as service to sales campaigns. I don’t know if they’d have done that without Value Watch prompting that idea.”
How do you decide which stores get which TradePending tools?
“I’m very familiar with all your products. The ones I typically stand by are the trade tool, Video for Sales, Value Watch, and Service Offers (formerly Fixed Ops Digital). But we’re decentralized. My job is to vet and recommend. Stores have the autonomy to choose providers, sometimes based on OEM programs or personal relationships.”
What was the onboarding process like for your teams?
“Utilization emails for Video for Sales are great. Those keep the product/value in front of us and help avoid that moment where a GM or someone else at the store may forget what a tool is or why we’re paying for it.
The install process has come a long way. The team understands our less is more approach now. Service Offers was rolled out really well, with great communication at both the group and store levels. That was the most impressive onboarding we’ve had. Value Watch was also handled smoothly.”
What excites you most about the future for your dealership group?
“My personal goals might not align perfectly with how we’re structured, but ideally, I’d love to see every store in the group using the same platforms: Video for Sales, Value Watch, Service Offers, and the trade tool. Because of our decentralized setup, that’s not guaranteed. But if OEMs add you to their programs or stores start seeing friction with current providers, I think we’ll see more consistency across the group.”
Thanks again to Michael and the entire Jenkins Auto Group team.