NEWTON, Mass. -

A “real-time battle plan” for dealers to boost sales and efficiency is the goal of the newest version of String Automotive’s Dealer Positioning System, announced Monday.

String Automotive, an online marketing and analytics firm for auto dealers, says its DPS update allows dealers to check up to three months' worth of new- and used-vehicle sales on an interactive map within a specific radius of their dealership.

With those numbers comes access to registration data provided by IHS Automotive, beyond that disclosed by the OEM, plus cross-shopping data provided by Dataium.

The data is organized by zip code, to show exactly what percentage of new cars of each make were purchased at a dealership, along with the percentage of used-car sales put on the board.

 

“Our mission is to put the power of world-class data analytics and insights in the hands of every dealer,” said Ken Kolodziej, String Automotive founder and chief executive officer.

“For too long, dealers have been settling for ‘best guesses’ when planning their advertising and marketing strategy, and now String is arming them with an objective, real-time battle plan that they can use to sell more cars, more efficiently,” he said.

Company officials said part of the power of the DPS lies in its ability to juxtapose multiple, relevant data sets in a visual fashion.

For example, overlaying web traffic with sales, market share, demographic and cross-shopping data allows dealers to hone in on the best zip codes to conquest, and shows them the best methods to do so, maximizing marketing dollars.

Another enhancement to the DPS is the ability for dealers to look at their lead funnel not only by visitors, but by value per traffic source, the company reported, focusing not on impressions or page views, but on metrics that indicate the effectiveness of the traffic or leads driven by those sources.

String also now offers the ability to integrate CRM data into the DPS, for added detail.

Live demonstrations of the DPS will be held at the NADA Convention in New Orleans this weekend.