Three years ago, I thought I had it all figured out. I was 100% sure of my plan. A Ligier dealership was on the way, born from an idea in my head, and just three months later, Ligier Store Doesburg launched—on my birthday! That first month, we were active online only. Then the idea grew into the first Ligier Store in the Netherlands—and immediately the largest. But looking back on those three years: did all the bold plans come true?

Over the past few days, some colleagues from Marktplaats and Autotrack joined me at Autobuzz in Berlin. This was a global conference by and for automotive portals and suppliers. They discussed how to continue offering added value to their customers—especially to advertising car dealerships. AI in Automotive Of course, AI was not missing from the […]

It’s late in the evening as I write this – it’s been three full days with Brian Pasch and our #DCDW events. The events in Antwerp and Almere are attracting more and more visitors, and with that, the pressure these days bring is also increasing. What needs to change? What can be improved? What is already good?

You know what it is? Some things never change. As soon as sales and marketing have to work together, it’s like trying to win two championships at once—but everyone’s playing on their own field. Sales shouts that marketing delivers bad leads; marketing shouts that sales can’t close. And in the meantime, more mud gets slung than opportunities are seized.

Of course, everyone wants to pay less if you’re a dealer or car company, especially on marketing and portals in particular. Actually, that’s strange. In many countries, we see movements emerging where people find it ‘horrible’ that the ‘power’—if you can even call it that—lies with a number of car portals, and that the prices there, like everything else, only keep rising.

Since the beginning of #DCDW, we’ve been highlighting the most abused lead of them all: the phone lead. Often originating from portals like Marktplaats or Autotrack, this lead has the highest conversion rate to appointments and sales. Yet it is mishandled in two major ways.

People sometimes ask me: “Paul, why do you keep inviting Brian Pasch to the #DCDW Event?”
My answer is simple: because every single time, he’s worth it. And this year, perhaps more than ever.

Brian isn’t just coming to the Netherlands and Belgium for the fun — he’s bringing the very latest insights straight from his own Digital Marketing Strategies Conference in the US. What’s discussed there usually takes months to reach Europe. But at #DCDW, you’ll be the first to know.

In Doesburg, at a place where mobility and entrepreneurship come together, we’re building something special: two unique stores at the front — each with its own character and potential — and a strong foundation behind the scenes.

Two stores

On one side, we have the Ligier Store Doesburg, the Experience Center for Ligier Citycars in the Benelux. It’s all about experience, new mobility, and the freedom these vehicles offer to young people. On the other side is the Experience Store Doesburg, currently operating as a sort of Lynk & Co Outlet Center. Here too, we’re constantly exploring what the next step could and should be.

Yesterday was the moment: the announcement of the Used Car of the Year. The winner is the Lynk & Co 01. I’ve known this for a while, as I’ve been on the jury for several years and had a vote in the selection. I was in the room during the Remarketing Event when the winner was announced. A silence fell the moment the name was spoken.

Maybe that wasn’t so surprising. Among the finalists were former winners like the Volvo XC40, the Toyota Yaris and Aygo, and the VW Polo. All models that any dealer would love to sell as a used car—unlike a semi-Swedish, partly Chinese copy of the Volvo XC40 with a slightly larger battery.