Kelley Blue Book says the modernized look and feel of its newly redesigned Instant Cash Offer consumer experience and updated Instant Cash Offer Dealer Admin Tool make the trade-in and car-buying process more transparent and efficient for consumers and dealers.
The company says its all-new Instant Cash Offer consumer experience strengthens the tool, which it says has seen a 41% year-over-year increase in the number of offers generated in 2018.
The tool uses KBB’s valuation data, allowing car owners to enter details online and receive a valid cash or trade-in offer from a dealer on their current vehicle. Owners can also locate and identify the Kelley Blue Book Fair Purchase Price for their desired replacement vehicle.
A “modern” vehicle condition assessment is one of the updates to the KBB Instant Cash Offer consumer experience. The company says that assessment uses clear visual examples and removes complicated automotive jargon. That eliminates customer confusion and keeps them engaged throughout the process, according to the company.
KBB says that as a result, the tool provides a more accurate assessment. Also, it results in an improved customer experience because it eliminates on-the-lot friction, the company said.
A new Instant Cash Offer Certificate that highlights next steps is another update. KBB says that brings more consumers to dealer lots to redeem their offer and replace their old vehicles.
The company describes the new Instant Cash Offer consumer experience as “intuitive and mobile-friendly,” stating that it provides the next generation of car shoppers with the online shopping experience they demand.
With the newly enhanced Instant Cash Offer Dealer Admin Tool, dealers can better manage offers, the company said.
With the tool, according to the company, dealers can use the more efficient layout to strategically organize multiple vehicle searches. They can more easily track offer status and next steps, the company added. It said the most important aspect of the tool is that dealers can provide a new side-by-side offer assessment page. That allows dealers to show customers any updates that have taken place with their original offer after their on-site interactive walk-around.
The company said that its new Instant Cash Offer consumer experience is helpful in what it describes as today’s “technology-enhanced market.” To get the information they need to make confident decisions, consumers want a “fast and easy path,” the company said.
With the new Instant Cash Offer consumer experience enhancements, the consumer experience is improved, according to the company. For all parties involved, dealers can create, structure, and negotiate more transparent, efficient deals.
“When it comes to selling or trading in a vehicle, dealers and consumers ultimately want a fast, hassle-free process to reach terms where everyone receives a quality deal,” Kelley Blue Book Dealer Solutions vice president and general manager Colin MacGillivray said in a news release. “The modernized Kelley Blue Book Instant Cash Offer consumer experience and Dealer Admin Tool create a more transparent, streamlined and accessible experience during the complex car-buying process.”
Manheim has launched two new features to its Manheim Express app, one of which will allow dealers to manage offers directly within the Manheim Express app.
Manheim wants the Manheim Express buyer experience to help dealers make fast but confident purchasing decisions, said vice president of offsite solutions Derek Hansen.
“And we continue to up the ante on how we help them achieve that,” Hansen said in a news release. The Manheim Express app launched its buyer experience in January of this year. “Managing offers in the app will give dealers increased flexibility to conduct business wherever is easiest for them, and personalized vehicle recommendations uses the latest AI technology to highlight vehicles that fit their inventory mix.”
Manheim made a $100 million investment committed to its digital marketplace throughout 2019. The buyer experience inside the Manheim Express app was part of that investment.
Boosting the development of new technological tools and services to help dealers reduce waste, turn inventory faster, buy vehicles with greater confidence and boost profitability was the company’s goal.
Fueled by what Manheim describes as dealers’ evolving needs as they increase use of digital wholesale platforms, the buyer experience inside the Manheim Express app will get two more improvements:
— Recommended Vehicles: MLOGIC, a group of Manheim decisioning products, fuels that improvement. Manheim says that with “deeply personalized” vehicle recommendations in Manheim Express, dealers will be able to see up to 50 vehicles that are predicted to fit their specific needs under the new “Recommended” tab.
In describing how that is accomplished, Manheim said M LOGIC’s machine learning uses data across Manheim's digital and physical properties. With that data, the system identifies dealer preferences based on location and vehicle attributes.
Helping buyers find relevant inventory quicker and easier through the Manheim Express app is the ultimate goal of this data-driven AI, Manheim said, and it has recently added a similar feature to the Manheim Market Report valuation tool.
— Manage Offers: Dealers, with in-app access to offer management, can directly manage offers without needing to access a desktop computer. All within the app, dealers will be able to retract offers, make a new offer or accept, submit and reject counteroffers.
Manheim says these additions to the in-app buyer experience are available this month and will improve on the success Manheim Express and its users have already seen. Nearly 60,000 users representing 18,500 dealerships across the country have downloaded Manheim Express since its launch one year ago.
As dealers work on moving into the digital retailing space, they must identify who the consumer is — and understand that customer’s wants and needs.
That, according to Equifax Automotive vice president of strategy and marketing Jennifer Reid, “is something we used to do when the customer walked into the dealership.”
Speaking in a short video message from Equifax Automotive, Reid addressed what the company describes as the future of digital retailing. She started out by saying she wanted to address “a complex problem we’ve heard from many dealers that they’re still trying to solve.
“In fact, in a recent survey, we’ve heard that when it comes to digital retailing, only about 25% of the dealers feel that they have a complete solution,” Reid said.
She moved on to discuss what she said were barriers “that are preventing folks from having a complete solution,” and what some elements are that comprise “a complete solution.”
One of those barriers: Dealers are dealing with more technology, systems and data than ever. Examples of that are dealer management systems, content management systems and websites. That experience, she said, comes with “a lot of fragmentation.”
After identifying the consumer and understanding his or her needs as mentioned earlier, dealers must then offer personalization and capture consumer insight from a value perspective, and then provide recommendations, she said.
“But it doesn’t stop there,” she said.
Although digital retailing works well from an online perspective, dealers must make a connection to the showroom, Reid said.
Many consumers will still want to engage. That can be in the form of a test drive or financial discussion, she said, and “we’ve got to prevent them from having to start the process all over again.”
“So the true solution is going to be looking at a partnership across the technology platforms, the data providers and services providers, to be able to connect those things together,” Reid said.
Providing the value to the consumer and capturing the consent to complete that process can help connect the various pieces of the puzzle, and that can transfer to the dealership to help dealers not start the process all over again, she said.
“We certainly heard through the years nobody wants a full-day process at the dealership,” she said.
She concluded her comments by noting that many great things are “happening in the ecosystem” in the area of digital retailing.
“There’s still a lot of opportunity, and it’s really going to take a partnership of a lot of different companies to come together to really complete that true experience,” she said.
Software company DealerSocket says enhancements such as improved data collection capabilities for its Dealership Management System for independent dealers — or iDMS — “reaffirm the company’s deep commitment to the used-car market.”
At its annual user summit in August, DealerSocket announced what it described as “several key innovations,” and in addition to the iDMS data collection capability enhancements, some of the top improvements included a new integration with an F&I software company and increased process automation.
The company said its iDMS now integrates with Vision Dealer Solutions’ VisionMenu. DealerSocket described VisionMenu as a customizable web-based F&I menu that can electronically rate and contract protections from more than 100 F&I product providers.
F&I trainer Ron Martin created the F&I selling system, which also electronically signs disclosures and product contracts. The system also offers F&I performance reporting.
DealerSocket iDMS general manager Steve Meeker said that with DealerSocket’s new partnership with Vision Dealer Solutions, an F&I manager can easily pull deal data to save time through the API integration between iDMS and VisionMenu.
“As the F&I market evolves to online retailing, presentation styles must be dynamic to create an engaging customer experience,” Meeker said in a news release. “The DealerSocket/VisionMenu partnership enables F&I managers to easily present a customizable menu to sell and eContract F&I products. This integration also opens up new opportunities for dealers to sell more aftermarket products faster and easier than ever before.”
Additional improvements to iDMS separate from that partnership include secure data sharing. With DealerSocket, iDMS users can supply needed data files to third-party software vendors.
A dealer’s ability to deliver standard or custom reports to an FTP server’s IP address or URL location allows them to manage the process without reliance on outside service providers, according to DealerSocket.
The company says it has also improved the user experience when originating retail and wholesale deals within iDMS. That enhancement, according to the company, could produce what it describes as a more efficient deal workflow.
Because iDMS users can now evaluate worksheets side by side, they can identify important information that might lead to better decisions in the area of optimal deal structure, according to DealerSocket.
DealerSocket chief product officer Brad Perry said the new iDMS enhancements could improve the user experience, automate important processes, and provide more new revenue stream-generating opportunities for users.
“These updates show DealerSocket’s commitment to open integration by providing our iDMS customers with greater control and customization,” Perry said.
DealerSocket has also made tracking up to 150 user-defined data fields possible, with some of those fields including bankruptcy filings, repossession dates, date of a condition report, and time of disposition.
With that functionality, according to DealerSocket, iDMS users experience more flexibility in the area of their data collection activities.
With this upgrade, DealerSocket also rolls out enhancements to the bi-directional integration between DealerSocket’s iDMS and service shop management software provider Omnique.
iDMS users, in addition to pushing and receiving vehicle details and service tickets between the two systems, can now automatically post service-related general ledger transactions directly from Omnique to QuickBooks. They can do that through a new Omnique Accounting Link, and according to the company, that saves time and reduces keystroke errors.
A new automotive site that made its national U.S. launch on Tuesday says it offers fleet-like pricing by grouping buyers and lessees around the United States by the brand of car they want and placing them in a national “bucket.”
Through the site, CarBuckets.com, car dealerships nationwide compete for the business of that group, and the dealer with the lowest price wins.
Then, CarBuckets connects each buyer with the winning dealership. Shoppers, all from the comfort of their home, receive a quote online, review the paperwork, and sign the contract.
The company’s national expansion comes as the company fundraises $10 million, which it says widens buyers’ reach. It is also adding a new free home delivery feature that it says brings added shopper convenience.
CarBuckets says that its users are saving an average of 40% more than if they were using another car-buying site or shopping on their own.
The company says that because more sales are at stake, its practice of grouping car buyers together makes dealers willing to further lower their prices for each individual car in the group than if each car buyer approached the dealership on their own.
“After numerous requests from shoppers outside of the current markets we serve, we're excited to enhance the car shopping experience across the U.S. with the national launch of CarBuckets,” the company’s founder and chief executive officer Alexandra Esteve said in a news release.
“By increasing dealer competition to a national scale, CarBuckets users can get the best deal available in the entire country without ever having to step foot in a dealership or get bombarded with phone calls, texts and emails from countless dealers," Esteve continued.
Drip campaigns are automated emails that go out at the time that certain triggers are set off, according to digital marketing company, fishbat. Those triggers could include situations in which someone signs up for a newsletter or remains on a site page for a long time without purchasing. Or, it can even take place after the sale is completed.
In a news release, fishbat discussed how drip marketing campaigns can benefit the automotive industry by nudging prospective buyers to become loyal clients.
The company said that most potential buyers, before they enter a location such as a car dealership, have already started the work of online pre-shopping, and they have conducted their own research to best help them find a product that meets their specific needs.
Sending out relevant targeted emails to those customers who have already considered purchasing a product or service will improve the chance of a sale being made, according to fishbat. Most auto industry customers are already present online before they go to an actual location, so catching them at this specific stage would be the best way to promote a sale effectively, said fishbat, which describes itself as offering digital marketing services such as digital marketing research, planning, brand development, and website and asset creation through social media management and search engine optimization programs.
In all three situations mentioned earlier — someone signing up for a newsletter, someone remaining on a site page for a long time without purchasing, or after the sale is completed — a drip campaign would be signaled to send an automated email to that account. The email would try to persuade the account to go through with its purchase or would even promote an entirely new sale.
fishbat said that style of marketing greatly benefits the automotive industry, with tailored targeted emails having shown to increase online traffic and push sales. Prospective customers looking for a particular style or brand will receive emails tailored to those needs. That, according to fishbat, leads to more interactions with the click-on advertisements in those emails, and it also leads to more completed deals, according to the company.
With drip campaigns, sellers can easily and effectively solidify a transaction that might not have been guaranteed otherwise, fishbat said. The automotive industry puts that technique to great use by producing welcome emails and after-sale check-ins. The industry can even produce sporadic weekly emails to shift a previous customer’s attention to another product.
“Overall, the benefits of drip marketing are seen wholeheartedly within the automotive industry and are being utilized to the fullest extent in order to achieve maximum sales and success,” fishbat said.
Auto industry members will have no trouble finding news about the shortage of automotive service technicians. AutoNation has also taken notice.
The company knows that as vehicle technology advances at a rapid pace, automotive service techs have the opportunity for a strong career path.
With all that in mind, AutoNation announced company plans to recruit and hire more than 500 service technicians to fill positions at its service and collision centers.
“This is a great opportunity for tech school grads, men, women, veterans, those just out of the military and anyone who is willing to invest in the training in order to make a career change,” AutoNation executive vice president of customer care and brand extensions Scott Arnold said in a news release. “We continue to be a leader and the employer of choice with what we can offer.”
With the hiring move, AutoNation is keeping up with an industry-wide trend in the area of working to attract technicians. Auto Remarketing recently reported on a partnership between Hireology and automotive marketing services provider Maritz. The companies announced in April they were working on a project to help dealers identify top job candidates, speed the hiring process and manage onboarding through areas such as training, communications, incentives and recognition.
As another example, an Auto Care Association program with the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence recognizes technicians with the 2019 World Class Technician award, which is an appreciation of technicians who have achieved ASE certification in 22 specialty areas during the 2018 certification test administration.
And in yet another example, Asbury Automotive Group and NADA have created additional programs to boost the dealership workforce.
AutoNation has already made various efforts in attracting technicians. The company says its compensation package is competitive. It also provides free technical training.
Also part of AutoNation’s package to lure service techs: performance incentives. The company also says it offers “a clear career path with ample opportunity for advancement for both part- and fulltime employees.”
The company also offers technicians continuing education opportunities.
In addition, access to state-of-the-art tools and technology, paid vacation, health insurance, maternity leave and signing/referral bonuses, are other benefits AutoNation offers to technicians.
Car shoppers who use the Facebook app now have access to free Carfax reports through a new integration between Carfax and Facebook Marketplace.
The Carfax reports are provided by select dealers on their inventory as a result of the new integration, which Carfax says will mean buyers have more transparency and confidence when they shop for their next used car.
In other Carfax news, a new insurance total loss valuation service is now available through CarfaxForClaims.com, which is the company’s claims-centric web portal.
Regarding the Carfax/Facebook Marketplace integration, A free Carfax Vehicle History Report is visible to users whenever a Facebook Marketplace inventory provider who is also partnered with Carfax posts a dealer’s vehicles. Also, car buyers on Facebook Marketplace can filter search results by details shown in the Carfax Vehicle History Report.
For each listing with Carfax Snapshot, the most important vehicle history features for each listing are viewable for those in the market for a used car. With this feature, users can get quick details on a given vehicle's history, and that is available without the need to access the full Vehicle History Report.
In addition to the ability to include data points such as any reported accidents, damage and damage severity information, Carfax Snapshot can also provide open recall data, the last reported odometer reading and the type of vehicle use. Personal, fleet or rental are examples of type of vehicle use.
Carfax Snapshot can also provide a vehicle's number of owners and reported service history, and in addition, it can provide unique indicators for well-maintained and certified pre-owned vehicles.
Whenever they see Carfax Snapshot in the vehicle listing, car buyers will be able to click and view a full Vehicle History Report.
Regarding the Carfax insurance total loss valuation service, Carfax said total loss adjusters, using Carfax’s VIN-specific History-Based Value, can determine a vehicle’s unique pre-accident value. Carfax says it uses pricing data from millions of used car listings and combines that with unique trim and options, mileage, condition, and location of each vehicle, along with hundreds of additional attributes coming from Carfax’s vehicle history database.
Global insurance executive and consultant Peter LaPlaca said in a news release that the existing practice of valuing a total loss vehicle based on the values of a few comparable vehicles is “fraught with subjectivity.”
“Furthermore, it does not consider the unique history of a vehicle and the impact of that history on the vehicle’s value,” LaPlaca said.
Carfax says it is helping to reduce this subjectivity. The company says it is also helping to increase accuracy in the total loss valuation process. The Carfax Total Loss Valuation report provides the loss vehicle’s value and history, and it includes information on comparable vehicles available for sale in the used car marketplace. The report selects these comparable vehicles from the millions of used cars seen on Carfax Used Car Listings (carfax.com/cars-for-sale). Presented in a side-by-side comparison, each comparable vehicle is based on similar year, make, model, trim, options, location, mileage and vehicle history.
Carfax Banking & Insurance Group general manager David Lackey said that at the time that a consumer experiences a total loss, that consumer wants confidence that the insurance company is making him or her whole. He said the consumer wants to be sure he or she can “realistically purchase a replacement vehicle with their settlement.”
“The Carfax Total Loss Valuation Report presents a fair and trusted vehicle valuation that helps close total loss claims faster for the benefit of both the insurance company and the claimant,” Lackey said.
Volkswagen has hired dealer website and digital retailing company DealerFire to drive a new digital advertising initiative to help Volkswagen dealers increase their U.S. vehicle repair business.
DealerFire, which automotive retail software company DealerSocket acquired in 2015, will offer three packages under the Volkswagen Service and Parts Advertising program. Those packages are eligible for a 50% retail co-op reimbursement. Content development and a mix of social, display, and search advertising will be part of each package. Also included in the package: the ability to promote service offers and specials directly on Facebook.
Using DealerFire, participating Volkswagen dealers will reach and target customers on the Google Display Network who are either searching for repairs or maintenance services, or they will target customers who are most likely in need of service work.
DealerFire general manager Brian Wagner said consumers register more than 200 million Google search queries every month for parts and service. But he said franchise dealers capture just 30% of what consumers spend each year on vehicle repairs.
“Volkswagen is putting its best digital-merchandising foot forward with a comprehensive program and has asked DealerFire’s award-winning software to drive it,” Wagner said in a news release.
Volkswagen’s group-paid search marketing initiative will be administered through the Volkswagen Dealer Digital Program. The automaker created that program to connect its approximately 650 U.S. dealers to what it describes as best-in-class technology and digital marketing providers.
DealerFire, which currently partners with 16 OEMs and supports more than 2,000 dealer websites, is one of the providers Volkswagen selected to assist dealers under the new initiative. The initiative will include three levels of paid advertising, service center profile pages, dealer-integrated coupons, call tracking and recording, and online visibility and reputation management.
The premium version of DealerFire’s three digital advertising packages features a customizable HTML5 ad showcasing service coupons and messaging. Through the three packages, participating Volkswagen dealers will get access to a DealerSocket team member who specializes in Google AdWords-Certified search engine marketing. They will also gain access to all Google ad extensions, customizable reporting and display network designs, conversion tracking, and Top 3 position targeting. All of those features are available in DealerFire’s tools.
“What many dealers may not know is that two out of three visits to their websites are for parts and service,” Wagner said. “And customers who service their vehicles at a dealership are three times more likely to purchase or lease again from that same dealership. DealerFire is offering three comprehensive packages under Volkswagen’s service and parts advertising program, which the automaker made even more compelling by offering 50% co-op on all pay-per-click advertising that is dedicated to fixed ops.”
Car shoppers of today are searching online for a new vehicle at all hours of the day, every day, and customers expect instant responses from dealerships. With Facebook Marketplace, letgo and other social platforms, dealerships have opened new channels to connect with these customers.
But as a result, many dealerships have trouble keeping up with car shoppers’ messaging demands. That is especially the case when they must juggle customer inquiries from multiple platforms.
Because of those trends, car dealer digital marketing platform TapClassifieds is releasing a new AI virtual assistant: CarBo.
Many millennials and Gen Z consumers do not want to talk on the phone anymore, TapClassifieds chief executive officer Jaideep Jain said in a news release.
“They want prompt and accurate responses in a way that is convenient for them, and CarBo helps dealerships drive engagement while improving lead quality,” Jain said.
Dealers who want to advertise their inventory on platforms such as Facebook and letgo often find that logging in to different apps to respond to leads is time-consuming. Another factor is that providing sales staff with a login to a dealer’s Facebook Business account can be risky. ChatHub, TapClassifieds messaging platform, has helped car dealers handle emails, chats and text messages in one platform.
CarBo, integrating with ChatHub, will automatically answer questions about a vehicle. The virtual assistant requests contact information, which the dealership can use to follow up. CarBo helps qualify leads, providing the dealership with the ability to focus on the lowest-funnel car shoppers.
Also, car shoppers can filter through a dealer’s inventory with CarBo. A customer can select the leading factor in his or her search for a new car: price, make, model, or year. CarBo’s automatic filtering of the dealership’s inventory makes it easy for customers to see vehicles that fit their car search parameters, according to the company.
