Flick Fusion, which offers a video hosting, marketing and distribution platform to automotive and other inventory-based industries, has added 18 new customers to its network of value-added resellers, or VARs, in the past two and a half months of COVID-19 social distancing implementation.
The company said it has done that as demand for video marketing and video communications services “skyrocketed” during that time.
Flick Fusion has added those new customers to its network of VARs, which has collectively added more than 1,000 new automotive dealerships as customers who are now using Flick Fusion’s video marketing platform.
Flick Fusion chief operating officer Tim James said the past couple months have been tough on the automotive industry.
“Dealerships are having to do a better job at merchandising their inventory and find a whole new way to communicate with consumers,” James said in a news release.
James continued, “Many dealers are incorporating virtual test drives and personalized video communications into their marketing strategies.”
Video marketing for auto dealerships has evolved to much more than simply posting inventory videos on vehicle details pages. Flick Fusion says a strong video marketing strategy uses video to communicate with customers at every stage of the car-buying process.
Picture-in-picture videos and custom voiceover on virtual walkaround videos are some of the video strategies dealerships are experimenting with to help them stand out in a slow market.
Dealers are also using integrated video calling apps to conduct live-streaming video conversations with customers.
Flick Fusion says mobile apps and multiple layers of CRM integration are some of the various unique and customizable features that dealerships gain from its video marketing platform.
Dealers can also receive real-time notifications whenever a consumer watches one of their videos. That occurs no matter which touchpoint that video is being viewed on, such as Autotrader, Cars.com, KBB or Facebook.
With real-time notifications, dealerships gain instant feedback on personal video messages and video campaign performance. In some cases the notifications can be matched to a customer profile in the CRM. That, according to Flick Fusion, allows salespeople to quickly identify and reach out to their lead, or the person to whom they send the video message. And that takes place while that person is still actively watching inventory videos on their website or third-party marketplaces.
Outsell founder and chief executive officer Mike Wethington says that as markets begin to reopen, customers will seek special offers and online options.
“Dealerships who are adept at engaging their customers with relevant AI-driven messages will have an edge in capturing the business that’s still out there, along with the pent up demand,” Wethington said in a news release.
Outsell, which offers a virtual customer engagement platform for the automotive industry, has launched new packages that use artificial intelligence and automation to help increase auto dealers’ sales and service revenue at reduced contract costs, including promotion of online channels.
The packages, Wethington said, help dealers “consolidate virtual customer engagement on a single, cost-efficient platform that covers the entire individual lifecycle of each and every consumer, is fully automated with on-demand capabilities and is truly driven by artificial intelligence.”
Working continuously in the background, Outsell provides automated, personalized, virtual customer engagement 24 hours per day. The company says that with its virtual customer engagement platform, dealers can create lasting relationships with sales and service customers by using consistent, relevant, AI-driven communications to keep in front of them.
The company describes the platform as “an extension of a dealer’s marketing team.” It can work on autopilot and help customize and control communications that target specific consumers.
Outsell says it helps dealers by pinpointing active in-market shoppers and providing a scored list that identifies opportunities before customers buy elsewhere.
Outsell’s new packages include:
— Standard: The standard package helps a dealer get started with automated virtual customer engagement. It includes tools and templates for individualized email and direct mail, and it also features in-market buyer detection.
— Essentials: This package adds “social” as another channel for engagement. Outsell said that provides “a true omnichannel experience.” It also brings additional targeted campaigns for direct mail and email.
— Enhanced: The Enhanced package adds sales and service conquest capabilities and enhancements across all channels and various additional campaigns.
Results for Outsell’s packaged solutions are guaranteed, and they are tied to a dealer’s linked sales and repair orders.
Outsell says it conducted a multi-year study with RXA and Experian showing that AI-driven consumer lifecycle marketing leads to a 23% increase in repeat sales, a 31% increase in service visits and a $427 increase in individual customer value.
“This is a time when technology can provide dealers with an enormous edge,” Wethington said. “And Outsell’s new packages make this technology accessible to many more dealers across the United States.”
Digital retailing platform Prodigy is offering a one-to-one concierge shopping service for online car buyers that it says provides online car shoppers the same hands-on experience they get on the showroom floor.
Prodigy says the service, called Virtual Showroom, brings that experience to shoppers with the convenience of an Amazon-like checkout process from their homes.
Virtual Showroom is assisted by live chat and video integrated into Prodigy's Digital Retail platform in conjunction with chat-based sales tools.
With the feature, online shoppers can find what they are looking for, and a dealer representative can answer their questions directly.
Virtual Showroom is available to all Prodigy customers using the Complete Digital Retailing platform or Prodigy’s Online Digital Retailing platform.
Prodigy is offering the add-on free of charge for 90 days.
That, according to the company, is “a small measure to help dealers during unprecedented economic times.”
Prodigy said that with Virtual Showroom, dealership staff can engage customers personally and walk them through the buying process. Staff can switch vehicles, update deal details, change pricing, obtain manager approvals, and collect deposits. And those staff members can do that while live chatting or video chatting with customers.
The company said that allows customers to receive a convenient buying experience from their local dealership and not worry about leaving their home.
A demo of Virtual Showroom is available.
Auto/Mate says its addition of a remote signing feature to its eDEAL Signature Capture digital contracting tool can help its current eDEAL customers overcome adverse sales conditions and close more deals during state-by-state enforcement of COVID-19 shelter-in-place mandates.
Auto/Mate, a business unit of DealerSocket, is offering the feature to its current eDEAL customers as a free trial.
The company noted that when a car buyer agrees to purchase a vehicle over the phone, the dealership representative sends the F&I documents via email. To open the electronic documents and begin the signing process, the customer clicks on the emailed link.
In a process that Auto/Mate says is similar to home buyers’ use of DocuSign for real estate documents, the customer signs once and then taps to apply his or her signature or initials where indicated.
The dealer rep can stay on the phone during the signing to guide the customer through the process. Once the final documents are complete, they turn into a ZIP file and are emailed to the customer.
Auto/Mate says that with eDEAL Signature Capture, F&I managers can capture signatures, store electronically signed documents, and email digital deal jackets to customers.
eDEAL Signature Capture can be used on any mobile tablet. It resides in Sales & Finance, which is Auto/Mate’s one-stop-shop for creating and closing deals.
Right in the DMS, all forms are stored as digital PDFs. According to Auto/Mate, that eliminates the need for physical file storage and third-party scanning.
Auto/Mate president Mike Esposito said the company over the past few years has seen the importance of embracing digital retailing.
“And given the present circumstances, this type of technology has now become more important than ever,” Esposito said in a news release.
Esposito continued, “We challenged our developers to quickly step up to the plate and provide a solution to a serious problem impacting dealers, and they exceeded all expectations.”
Consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic are turning to technology for what used to be in-person, consultative interactions, says Dealer.com.
Because of that, Dealer.com has launched two new digital retailing capabilities that it says can help dealers more easily communicate with shoppers during the car-buying process.
Global conversational services provider LivePerson is powering those new capabilities, called Video Chat and CoBrowse, and Dealer.com says they will create a more engaging environment for dealers to boost their omnichannel and online capabilities, which can in turn help increase sales.
Dealer.com, a Cox Automotive brand, said navigating a deal online can be intimidating, and the company sourced a recent Cox Automotive COVID-19 Consumer Impact Study showing that because of coronavirus concerns, 37% of six-month intenders are less likely to visit a dealership in-person.
Car shoppers might not be able to physically visit a dealership during the current environment, so Dealer.com is launching features that it says can provide a real-time look and feel to car buying for customers. That means they can sit virtually with an associate and conduct the entire process online.
Video Chat and CoBrowse, through the integration with LivePerson, can create a more engaging environment for online shoppers with eased navigation and more interactive features. Those include:
— Video Chat: Consumers can chat with dealers over video, initiated from the Digital Retailing application via LivePerson’s conversational platform.
— CoBrowse: Shoppers can share their screens with dealers while shopping, which means dealers can guide consumers through the deal creation process as if they were sitting with the consumer at the store.
With those enhancements, customers can now communicate with a dealer associate as they would in person, working through the buying process online and viewing payments, terms and vehicle details.
"The pandemic has shown us business challenges, but also presented new opportunities for us to better service our clients,” Dealer.com vice president and general manager Wayne Pastore said in a news release.
Pastore said the company believes a strong connection between the digital and in-store retail experience means a more satisfying shopper experience, and that leads to improved close rates.
“The top priority with our suite of retailing and digital products is to assist dealers in delivering a shopping experience that makes shoppers feel comfortable, informed and excited to buy a car,” Pastore said.
“We’re excited to provide the innovative technologies that give shoppers great experiences and help them make informed decisions, even in these uncertain times,” said Tom Karrat, senior vice president global commercial sales, solutions and success at LivePerson.
Karrat continued, “Working with Dealer.com, we’re proud to enable low-contact experiences that are frictionless and safe for both employees and customers.”
Digital transformation company Dealer-FX has launched a new offering that it says eases the processes of appointment scheduling and service check-in for vehicle owners and simplifies appointment management and customer communication for dealerships.
The offering is called Experience, and Dealer-FX said it is designed for the "new normal" of social distancing.
To help alleviate some of the financial burdens COVID-19 has had on dealers, Dealer-FX is offering Experience at no charge for the first three months.
Dealer-FX said the Experience’s products work collaboratively to modernize the appointment experience at every touchpoint.
With Experience, customers can schedule appointments, and dealerships can manage appointment availability and transportation options at a glance.
Also, with contactless check-in, customers can use their mobile device to complete their service check-in. That includes the option to select additional services and provide a digital signature for approval.
In addition, Experience designed text, email and call outreach to keep customers coming back for service.
That, according to the company, helps dealers build long-term retention and grow fixed-operations revenue.
The company said Experience integrates with DMS providers for consistent customer and vehicle information. Reporting and analytics provide insight into short and long-term trends affecting dealerships’ retention and profitability.
Running on the Dealer-FX ONE Platform, Experience allows dealerships to upgrade the product with tools to automate their service operations’ end-to-end workflow.
Dealers can also receive expert services for marketing and business development center training to complement Experience. The company designed those services to help boost growth, retention and efficiency for dealers’ business development center and service lane operations.
Dealers can schedule a demonstration to learn more about Experience.
"We're very excited to launch Experience,” Dealer-FX chief executive officer Bill Lucchini said in a news release.
Lucchini continued, “This solution provides the essential tools every dealership needs to truly deliver an exceptional service experience. Consumer expectations have changed and will remain changed, long after COVID-19. Experience gives dealerships the tools they need now to acclimate to this new reality.”
Video walkarounds, at-home test drives and driveway delivery are some of the contactless buying options of the new Virtual Shopping communication system from Carsforsale.com.
The company said it is unveiling the new system to ensure car shoppers’ and auto dealers’ safety and ensure seamless and safe buying connections in the wake of COVID-19.
Carsforsale.com chief executive officer Sean Coffman said consumers and auto dealers are “facing new, unique challenges.”
“And this system allows both parties to safely navigate every step of the car buying process in new, contactless ways,” Coffman said in a news release.
Coffman continued, “It's a great step forward in highlighting the incredible efforts of auto dealers and supporting safe shopping for all.”
The company will visibly highlight contactless shopping options on Carsforsale.com inventory listings and on nearly 20,000 Cars For Sale-powered dealer websites. The company said it is doing that to celebrate supportive measures auto dealers are taking to prioritize safety and serve their customers’ needs.
Shoppers will be able to find the following virtual shopping and buying badges:
— Virtual appointments, which allows shoppers to schedule digital sales meetings with dealerships for answering questions such as those about the virtual buying process, discussing inventory, and learning financing options.
— Video walkarounds, in which shoppers can request live video walkarounds with dealerships to view and inspect vehicles in real-time.
— At home test drive, which makes driving before buying still possible because of dealers willing to drop a vehicle off at a shopper’s residence so the shopper can experience a safe, no-commitment test drive and inspection.
— Driveway delivery, which involves delivery of a newly purchased, freshly cleaned vehicle directly to the shopper's driveway. The company says that is a safe service that many local dealers offer.
— Virtual financing, which highlights the availability of online loan applications for contactless financing.
— Online paperwork, which notes dealerships that can complete sales paperwork digitally. That ensures a quick and contactless sale, the company said.
Carsforsale.com says that even as new challenges arise, it seeks to make car buying easier. It said it is supporting and facilitating “seamless connections” with the Virtual Shopping feature.
“At a time when we're all being asked to stay apart, we’re working diligently to provide the tools and resources needed to ensure dealers and car buyers can stay connected, safely,” Carsforsale.com said.
The company added that the need for a new vehicle is real for many people.
Carsforsale.com has seen nearly 14.5 million shoppers across its platforms so far in April, and because that number is climbing quickly, that means demand is still strong.
“With so many active shoppers in market, we have the responsibility to use our platforms to drive awareness of the safe, contactless and convenient buying options available today,” the company said.
With a new video conferencing service from Gubagoo — a digital retailing and messaging provider for auto dealerships — dealers will be able to use any messaging platform to start face-to-face meetings with their customers.
The new service is called Virtual Meetings, and Gubagoo said because of recent changes in the automotive retail environment, the importance of doing business online has increased for dealers.
Gubagoo's Virtual Retailing, which allows dealers to sell vehicles online, and Gubagoo’s ChatSmart, which coordinates conversations with customers on dealers’ websites, have reported record use over the past six weeks.
Gubagoo sought to continue supporting dealers with the technology they need right now, and the company developed Virtual Meetings to allow video conversations to support the buying process.
Those conversations take place whether dealers are using chat or are engaged in a full digital retailing experience with Gubagoo's Virtual Retailing.
Gubagoo says that with Virtual Meetings, dealers can provide an in-person experience without the need for customers to be in-store. That can help dealers and customers achieve their goal of finding the right vehicle, together.
The company said the feature helps dealers navigating “high friction deal steps” such as warranties and desking in a remote environment. In that environment, e-mail and phone are often insufficient, according to Gubagoo.
The feature also helps build rapport and connect with customers face to face.
That further humanizes the online, digital experience, the company said.
“We’re very excited to offer video conferencing technology within our messaging and Virtual Retailing tools,” Gubagoo chief executive officer Brad Title said in a news release.
Title continued, “This is retail with social distancing. It’s a game changer.”
Gubagoo said dealers have been quickly adopting technology — such as digital retailing tools like Gubagoo's Virtual Retailing product — that helps them adapt to the sudden changes in retail environments nationwide. Virtual Meetings will help them “never miss an opportunity to show, tell or sell their inventory,” the company said.
“We find that when we jump in and chat with our guests online, the rapport we build helps us increase our chances of selling them a vehicle,” said Rick Campbell of Vann York Auto Group. “Gubagoo's Virtual Meetings will take this to a whole new level.”
Dealers can create a virtual meeting in Gubagoo's dealer communication tool, GLive. Upon creation of the virtual meeting, dealers can invite customers by URL in any other text-based channel, such as e-mail or Facebook Messenger.
Gubagoo is also offering a collection of COVID-19 resources and offerings.
North Carolina dealer Leith Cars says its new service provides customers with flexible vehicle purchase options, from home or any other convenient location for them.
The company describes the service, “Leith Direct,” as “the safe, easy way to buy a car online.”
With Leith Direct, customers can quickly go through each step and decide what financing, payment, trade value and additional vehicle options work best for them. To further shorten the delivery time, customers can request a delivery or generate a “fast pass.”
Although customers using Leith Direct can get their next car with the click of a button, they can also continue to shop for their next car in the traditional way.
"All used cars are market priced with no hassle pricing, so no back and forth," Leith chief operating officer Danny Williams said in a news release.
With 39 franchise locations throughout the state, LeithCars.com is one of the largest automotive groups in North Carolina.
“We have thousands of hand-picked, local used vehicles on LeithCars.com, and if you change your mind in three days and within 300 miles, just bring it back,” Williams said.
With Flick Fusion’s new live-streaming video communications application, dealership personnel can connect with vehicle shoppers and current customers, regardless of which operating platform the callers are on.
The application is called StreaMe, and Flick Fusion is offering auto dealerships a free, no-obligation 60-day trial for a limited time. The company said it is offering the application at a time when car shoppers aren’t visiting dealership showrooms.
Dealers using StreaMe can embed a click-to-call button anywhere on their website, including vehicle details pages.
Any member of a dealership’s team who is logged into the StreaMe app via a round-robin connection can answer the call.
The application then instantly can connect the customer to the team member in a one-way, live-streaming video call.
That allows the dealership employee to be seen and heard, while the customer can be heard but not seen.
If desired, the caller can remain anonymous. But the customer can also engage in a two-way video call.
StreaMe can also be integrated into Flick Fusion’s video email and video texting platform, called VidMail.
When video emails or video texts are sent to customers, the customer can click on the StreaMe button to initiate a live video call that is only directed to the salesperson who sent the video email or text.
“The StreaMe app makes it easy for salespeople to do real-time, virtual vehicle walkarounds,” Flick Fusion chief operating officer Tim James said in a news release.
James continued, “For car shoppers, StreaMe mimics the experience of standing right there with the salesperson on the lot, looking at the car.”
James added that use of live-streaming video communications has increased greatly since the COVID-19 stay at home recommendations. That means more consumers are getting comfortable with live-streaming video as a form of daily communication, James said.
Flick Fusion also said VidMail is a strong tool for the service department.
The company said VidMail eases service advisors’ task of videoing a multi-point inspection and sending it to the customer with recommended repairs.
If the customer is still hesitant, he or she can initiate the integrated StreaMe live video call to talk to the mechanic and see the needed repairs first-hand.
“There is no better way to increase recommended services acceptance rates while building a higher level of customer trust than ever before,” Flick Fusion said.
The company describes StreaMe as a multi-platform application that can be used on mobile and desktop devices.
StreaMe enables cross-platform “one-click” video calls with no customer-facing apps or log-in requirements. The shopper, lead, or customer simply clicks the Video Call button to use StreaMe, and that is the case regardless of which device they are using.
Because all StreaMe communications can be captured and stored, Flick Fusion said that eliminates any “he said, she said” scenarios. That also provides sales and training managers with access to every video call exchange.
A short demo of StreaMe is available.
