CarStory, a provider of search and inventory data and analytics on used vehicles, announced recently that Hyundai Motor America will now use CarStory Market Reports to showcase the certified pre-owned inventory listed on its website at hyundaicertified.com.
“At Hyundai, we’re always looking for ways to better convert online CPO shoppers into sales and CarStory’s independent reports do just that,” said Hyundai’s senior manager of certified pre-owned Jose Froehlich in a news release.
CarStory Market Reports are viewed by more than 15 million consumers each month, and more than 6,500 dealers have adopted it, according to CarStory chief marketing officer Chad Bockius.
“CarStory Market Reports give Hyundai consumers real-time, relevant CPO information right on the VDP. This means less shopping time for consumers, and a faster sales process for the dealer because online shoppers become in-store buyers more quickly,” Bockius said.
“Hyundai dealers should experience immediate benefits from the integration of CarStory Market Reports resulting from an increase in VDP engagement. Hyundai is giving dealers a tool that has been shown to increase lead conversions from the VDP by more than 60 percent," he continued.
The service evaluates customer preference data to offer information car shoppers are seeking in a way that helps the manufacturers highlight the perks of its CPO vehicles such as warranty details, inspection points and roadside assistance.
To help with making purchasing decisions, it will also show customers side-by-side comparisons of non-CPO versus CPO vehicles.
“The transparency of the reports resonates with today’s online shoppers who have come to expect deep, accurate data when looking at any product online,” CarStory said.
Hyundai Capital America said in a recent announcement that it reduced mailing and call center costs, cut transactional costs, and enhanced processes to save time and resources after ChannelNet revamped its dealer access portal.
“We consider the reinvention of our dealer portal one of 2016’s most significant accomplishments,” HCA senior vice president and division head for dealer services Tim Devine said in a news release.
The cross-channel, integrated platform launched in November.
“A sleeker, smarter dealer portal, it is designed to give the best user experience possible. As a result, daily usage is up 52 percent, and mobile usage is up 95 percent,” said Devine.
HCA is the first to use the portal. The secure cloud solution has over 10,000 registered users at the auto finance company.
The portal is mobile friendly as well as designed to be personalized and role-based.
At HCA registered users range from dealership general managers, business development managers, sales staff, office administrators and OEM field sales staff.
The portal also applies customer-centric principles to the dealer staff experience.
“It is very exciting for us to work with a corporate team that understands the importance of being customer centric. In this case, the dealer staff are the customers,” said ChannelNet chief executive and founder Paula Tompkins.
“Sales people walking the lot with a prospective car buyer can use their smartphones to look up critical sales information on the spot. For example, they can instantly tell consumers what incentives are available on a specific vehicle.”
She said, “The portal is now a one-stop shop for everything the dealership’s staff needs from the captive finance company and other third-party vendors.”
In a move said to be a "big win for our GM dealers," VinSolutions said Tuesday in a news release it has broadened its presence as Dealer Technology Assistance Program Certified provider. The division of Cox Automotive is adding equity mining tools, TargetPro and TargetPro+, which have been greenlit for the iMR Turnkey Vendor Program.
TargetPro is certified and eligible for reimbursement through iMR with GM Match.
"This is a big win for our GM dealers," said James Maynard, vice president of product for Cox Automotive sales and F&I.
"We've pursued this status ever since we launched TargetPro, and we're excited that our GM dealers will now be able to benefit from a data and equity mining tool that is natively embedded with their CRM and aligned with their overall Sales and Marketing workflows."
TargetPro and TargetPro+ are add-ons to VinSolutions' Connect CRM designed deliver dealerships customer data.
TargetPro allows dealers to find prospects in their database and section off customers according to ownership factors such as equity, APR and lease terms.
Trade-in lead application provider eAutoAppraise announced on Tuesday its platform has integrated with Dealer eProcess websites and vehicle details pages, following a partnership between the two this month.
“Our alliance will allow dealers to rest assured their customers are receiving fair and accurate evaluations on their trade-in vehicles with no disconnects in functionality, communication, or reporting between vendors,” said, eAutoAppraise managing partner Barry Brodsky in a news release. “We know this integration will lead to a better overall digital shopping experience that will translate effortlessly into the showroom.”
The platform generates incremental leads with a closing ratio of 25 percent to 30 percent, according to the company.
eAutoAppraise provides dealers with consumer data and interactive reporting.
Additionally, the platform allows online shoppers to search inventory, value their trade, and get pre-approved to purchase a vehicle from any device.
It’s both a trade-in or “sell us your vehicle application” in addition to an inventory and payment-prescreening tool designed for mobile users.
With the application, users can also upload walk-around videos or photos of their trade-in.
"eAutoAppraise is the best-performing trade-in lead generator in the market and it perfectly aligns with our vision of celebrating a vehicle’s delivery versus the start of the buying process," said Joe Gillespie, owner and managing partner of Dealer eProcess.
“This partnership is a no-brainer and their mobile-first capabilities have proven to be truly effective with today’s shoppers.”
Pearl Technology Holdings announced on Monday it has partnered with Experian to now provide its OEM and dealer partners expiring consumer auto lease data through the company's VehicleXchange marketing platform.
“Our OEM partners can actually use Experian data to formulate their monthly model lease incentives by region or market,” said Pearl chief executive officer and founder Bruce Thompson in a press release. “Understanding the current lease terms and contact info for off lease consumers in a market is a big-time game-changer.”
According to Experian, there will be approximately 3 million expiring leases in the U.S. in the next 12 months.
And obtaining expiring lease data from Experian enables OEM or dealers utilizing VehicleXchange to identify and extend an offer of credit to qualifying customers with expiring leases.
“Expiring lease data is gold for any OEM or dealer wanting to increase sales and gain market share,” said Thompson.
“Imagine being able to market to every customer with three to six lease payments remaining in a given market. Our clients can spend much less money and be significantly more successful because it’s a surgical approach to reaching the consumers we absolutely know are “in-market” for a new vehicle.”
Using the VehicleXchange platform dealers and OEMs can now target based on remaining payments or credit tier by providing an Experian prescreened firm offer of credit.
“This allows them to strategically target and formulate pull-forward lease and payment offers. The filtering engine also allows a manufacturer or dealer to determine maximum pull-forward exposure per unit, while at the same time targeting only consumers with current payments within a certain range,” said Pearl.
On Thursday, Carfax announced that Sears Auto Center has joined the company's myCarfax Service Shop program, which connects service shop coustomers nationwide to the services offered on myCarfax.com for free.
“Through our partnership with Carfax and the myCarfax Service Shop program, we are able to provide our customers with unrivaled information to help them keep their vehicles safe and well-maintained while maximizing potential resale value," Sears Auto Center president Brian Kaner said in a news release.
After Sears Auto Center customers are enrolled in the program they will recive email and mobile reminders from myCarfax.com concering oil changes, tire rotations and other services to direct them back to Sears Auto Center.
Sears Auto Center technicians are also able to make service recommendations using myCarfax Service Shop tools such as Carfax Service History Check. And any maintenance work done at Sears Auto Center is included on Carfax Reports as well.
“We are excited to work with Sears Auto Center in delivering more value to their stores and customers,” said Carfax general manager Vern Poyner.
“Sears Auto Center is one of the nation’s premier auto service locations and shares our commitment to helping people take better care of their vehicles. Those who do often see them last longer, perform better and get more money for them.”
More than 43,000 service shops, including Sears Auto Centers across the country, are currently part of the free myCarfax Service Shop program.
Sears Auto Center recently introduced its DieHard 360º Vehicle Assessment which includes a Carfax Vehicle History Report.
On Wednesday, PERQ announced it has integrated its FATWIN platform with AutoHook’s incentive solutions and sales match attribution data.
PERQ said this new partnership increases website conversion for dealer clients.
“We’re thrilled to integrate our FATWIN platform with AutoHook’s powerful incentive engine,” said PERQ co-founder and president Andy Medley in a news release.
“The integration helps us supercharge FATWIN’s already interactive and engaging experience while providing solid lead attribution through AutoHook’s showroom and sales match data — and, most importantly, driving more leads and showroom visitors to our dealer clients.”
The partnership is designed to streamline actionable automotive data and reporting which facilitates lead attribution.
AutoHook’s test drive incentives are now available on the FATWIN platform, at no cost to dealer clients.
This update enhances the conversation between consumers and dealers. In-market buyers are influenced to interact with dealerships through test-drive incentives and customizable offers, according to PERQ.
“PERQ has an impressive reputation among the dealers we were already working with, and we recognize they are creating great conversion tools for dealers and their websites,” said David Metter, president of AutoHook.
“We look forward to a successful partnership and driving unprecedented results for our combined clients.”
Two pieces of the Cox Automotive portfolio — VinSolution and Dealertrack — are continuing to blend their resources together to help store managers.
VinSolutions announced the availability of Rates & Residuals, a new upgrade to its Connect Desking tool that integrates Dealertrack’s comprehensive finance company data to help with more accurate, efficient and profitable deal making.
With the Rates & Residuals enhancement, the companies said dealerships now have the ability to structure deals for new and pre-owned vehicles by accessing incentives, rates and programs of both their captive and non-captive finance compies, all within VinSolutions.
VinSolutions' Rates & Residuals portal, powered by Dealertrack, can return the top retail and/or lease programs based on consumer credit scores. Access to the portal can allowsdealership personnel to quickly compare, select and build multiple deal structures in VinSolutions’ desking product and optimize front- and back-end profits.
Furthermore, the desking solution can offer the opportunity to improve the customer experience with a more streamlined desking process that benefits both customers and dealers.
“At Cox Automotive, we’re always looking for ways to help dealers succeed with their customers. This new desking capability is something we're pleased to offer and is the first of many exciting improvements in desking and deal management that will be coming in 2017,” said James Maynard, vice president of product for VinSolutions.
“Rates & Residuals combines accurate lender data from Dealertrack and deep customer insights from our Connect CRM to help make desking — a critical step in the sales process — more accurate and more profitable than ever,” Maynard added.
To date, several dealerships have participated in a pilot program for Rates & Residuals, with the upgrade being made more widely available this year.
“Accuracy is paramount to our business model," said David Greenly, e-commerce director at Dorschel Automotive Group, a pilot location for the new desking add-on. “The integration of Dealertrack data within VinSolutions is an immense advantage for us as we strive to be more efficient.”
Dealers interested in more information on the Rates & Residuals add-on to Connect Desking can visit VinSolutions at booth No. 1523 during the 2017 NADA Convention & Expo that runs from Jan. 26-29 in New Orleans.
On Thursday, NCM Associates and The Rawls Group, a provider of long-term strategic and succession planning, announced the launch of the NCM-Rawls Dealer Executive Program, their new leadership development educational program for current and future dealers.
“Rapid changes in our industry, such as autonomous cars, ride-sharing companies and the electrification of vehicles, mean we need to adopt new approaches to training and leadership to help our clients succeed,” NCM president and chief executive officer Paul Faletti Jr. said in a news release.
“This new program does just that, leveraging the retail automotive expertise at NCM and The Rawls Group’s succession planning knowledge to ensure current and incoming dealer principals have the tools and skills needed to lead their dealerships into the future," Faletti continued.
At the start of the program students will take an assessment that identifies their natural leadership style.
“This tool then serves as the cornerstone for faculty and students to develop deeper insight using each student’s natural communication style to build rapport and engage, foster buy-in, and lead those around them,” NCM Associates said..
Once students get a grasp of their leadership style, the curriculum of the program will shift to dealership sustainability training through interactive discussions and coaching around issues dealers and successors commonly encounter, according to the company.
“Our experience confirms that manufacturers are implementing more stringent requirements regarding the attitude, knowledge, and experience of successor dealers,” Rawls Group chief executive officer Loyd Rawls siad.
“As succession planners dedicated to the totality of issues impacting continued prosperity of a dealership, we have been actively involved in all nuances influencing successor development and preparation," Rawls added.
automotiveMastermind, a company that implements cloud-based technology, announced on Thursday that Toyota is the ninth brand to join its platform as a partner.
Toyota dealerships throughout the country will now have access to the company’s predictive analytics and marketing automation software that provides sales teams with key insights and valuable information on its top prospects.
“This opens up a new opportunity for us to communicate with millions of existing Toyota customers to improve sales and retention for their brand,” said automotiveMastermind vice president of sales and marketing Andrew Gillman in a press release. “Our behavior prediction technology shows dealers what customers they should be contacting and marketing to in order to increase sales in the fastest, most efficient way.
“We have seen our dealer partners experience significant increases in sales as well as growth in customer retention immediately upon implementing our technology.”
automotiveMastermind analyses DMS data along with more than 1,000 data points from external sources to generate information that is delivered directly to sales team’s desktops.
The company is also currently working with Acura, Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Honda, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and MINI.
“Toyota is always on the cutting edge of technology and innovation; designing and building vehicles that consistently exceed expectations. The reveal of the redesigned subcompact crossover SUV, the CH-R, is one example; with Toyota’s focus on a growing and competitive vehicle class, our technology can help dealers identify the rapidly changing consumer behavior toward crossover SUVs,” said automotiveMastermind co-chief executive officer and founder Marco Schnabl.
“We have experienced tremendous success with Toyota’s sister brand, Lexus, just one month after a successful pilot program, we secured about 20 percent of all Lexus dealerships. We are looking forward to providing the Toyota sales teams with relevant insights about their customers, helping transform their existing sales process and ultimately closing more sales.”
