Final 2015 BMW sales are out, and the company has retained the number one spot for U.S. luxury car sales with 346,023 vehicles sold (not including the Mini brand). BMW had a horrible December with sales down 16.6%, and that almost allowed Lexus and Mercedes-Benz to snatch the crown. Only a few thousand vehicles separated […]
Merry New Year to all! 2015 was an eventful year and I’ve many things to be thankful for this season. The success this past year however took time and attention away from Chrisparente.com. I needed to be focused on serving my clients and building my content marketing firm, StoryTech Consulting LLC. Working with clients almost […]
Recently my 2006 E46 M3 started throwing a code signifying a problem with one of the oxygen sensors in front of the catalytic converter (pre-cat). The S54 engine in the E46 M3 has four oxygen sensors, two in front of the catalytic converter and two behind. Initially I thought this was a chance for a […]
Last week I read an interesting post from Laura Ramos, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research. Laura is Forrester’s point person for B2B marketing, and she was sharing her thoughts on how complicated what she refers to as “contextual marketing” has become for B2B companies. The biggest reason she cites is the proliferation […]
Recently I completed a relatively minor but satisfying DIY on my 2006 BMW E46 M3. This one was a cosmetic repair rather than mechanical. I replaced the C-Pillar trim pieces on both sides, the interior trim between the side rear glass and the rear windshield. It’s a known issue on the E46 model 3-Series BMWs, […]
Living in Alexandria, VA, my wife and I usually head north when going out to dinner, either Old Town or D.C. Recently we headed the other way and drove down to Woodbridge for a quality French experience at Bistro L’Hermitage. Good friends of ours recommended it, and we’re glad they did. The restaurant is an […]
Content marketing means different things to different clients. There are consistent threads in StoryTech Consulting content marketing campaigns — for example, understanding of the target audience, a commitment to top quality content and integration with the client’s sale process are typical elements. But there are a number of different tactics we can employ, based on […]
This Labor Day weekend I devoted some time to my 2002 E39 M5. I changed the oil, the cabin air filters and I gave the car a general checkup. I’m fortunate to have access to a lift, and took advantage of that to inspect the suspension and other areas under the car. Bavarian Auto has […]
Yesterday I donated a small amount to Wikipedia. Like millions of others I use the site frequently as my online encyclopedia and research tool. Periodically I’d be served messages about how Wikipedia depends on donations to remain subscription fee and advertising free. Until yesterday I ignored the requests. I didn’t donate that much, less than […]
My neighbor Martin just bought a new BMW. He did his research, knew exactly what he wanted, and walked away from an initial poor BMW dealership experience. He went with a custom order, and will be having the aftermarket boost the conservative tune of his stock BMW turbocharged engine. How he went about it […]
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, most of my clients are running social media advertising campaigns. Major platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook have limited the effectiveness of organic sharing and promotion, making changes clearly intended to steer companies towards paying for reach and exposure. Typically when money is spent companies want to see reporting that […]
BMW has released sales numbers through June of this year. BMW brand sales (not including Mini) are up 7.1 percent over the first six months of 2014. That’s a healthy increase, but a bit off the 9.8 percent growth BMW accomplished in 2014. BMW and Mercedes are again wheel to wheel in the race to […]