Podium recently announced the appointment of Matt Murray as senior vice president of strategic accounts as well as new partnerships with DealerSocket and DealerVault.
Podium’s latest integration with DealerSocket and DealerVault automates dealers' common interactions, such as collecting reviews and sending text messages.
The new partnerships will allow dealers using DealerSocket and DealerVault to integrate Podium technology with their existing dealer management systems, according to the company.
“With the addition of these partners Podium now covers nearly every franchise dealer in the country," said Murray in an email interview with Auto Remarketing.
Prior to his current role, Murray most recently served as vice president of strategic growth and retail solutions at Cox Automotive, Dealertrack Technologies and Dealer.com. As senior vice president of strategic accounts, Murray has been tasked with overseeing Podium’s cross-vertical strategic account strategy.
He said both DealerSocket and DealerVault customers have reported substantial increases in total reviews captured since the integration.
“Podium’s integration points automate a significant portion of the reviews process for dealerships, alleviating the burden from employees, and ultimately optimizing their local SEO strategy,” Murray explained. “We are helping to ensure that they will get found, get chosen, and receive valuable insights from both new and existing customers."
According to Podium, its recent growth within the automotive sector follows a $32 million Series A funding round from investors such as Accel, Summit Partners, GV (formerly Google Ventures), and Y Combinator.
“We're delighted to now support a broad network of solutions providers in the automotive space, giving a significant number of dealerships a better way to interact with their customers throughout the entire customer journey, and foster valuable, long-lasting relationships,” Podium chief executive officer and co-founder Eric Rea said in a news release announcing the new partnerships.
Pearl Technology Holdings announced Thursday that it has enhanced its on-demand automotive retail platform ShowroomXpress, also known as SRX, with the release of a dynamic website widget that can calculate and present six different payments to car buyers in seconds.
The new SRX website widget functions within the SRP and VDP levels of dealers’ websites and provides deal transparency for consumers buying any vehicle in a dealer’s inventory. The widget’s calculation engine is powered by a robust desking tool designed to integrate with all U.S. auto lenders, according to Pearl.
Payment for both purchase and lease transactions can be calculated with built in dealer finance mark-up.
“We believe our new dynamic widget will help dealers usher in a new era of auto retailing,” Pearl chief executive officer and founder Bruce Thompson said in a news release.
“With a few lines of code, a dealer can immediately empower his website with real payments, allowing a customer to desk their own transaction and pick their ideal payment and protection package. The transaction terms can be saved and sent to dealership CRM tools, so it’s a seamless process to pick up the consumer record and finalize the transaction,” he explained.
Calculations performed by SRX include the customer’s trade-in value, sales tax, doc fees, F&I packages and OEM incentives.
The addition of the widget to Pearl’s SRX platform creates a more pleasing retail environment for walk-in customers because it allows sales teams to quickly share real payments on every unit in inventory within seconds, the company said.
“We believe consumers are looking for a much more transparent and efficient car buying process and therefore created a tool that is easily installed on a website. It also has CRM integrations and very little training is necessary,” Thompson added. “Our dynamic widget is much more advanced than anything we see in the industry today.”
A small group of franchised dealerships piloted the new SRX widget in the spring.
The average dealer’s website analytics reported more than 4000 performed personalized payment calculations per month on their website using the SRX widget during the pilot period, according to Pearl.
For more information about the SRX widget or to sign up for a demonstration, visit pearlsolutions.com/srx.
Advertising online video provider Vidillion recently announced its partnership with AutoDealerNetwork.TV to provide dealership customers visiting sales and service waiting rooms with up-to-the-minute news, entertainment and targeted and programmatic ad-serving from Vidillion.
Vidillion allows dealers to both feature their own commercials and block any commercials of their competitors.
The new service’s private live TV network to dealerships includes news, sports, travel, lifestyle, business and weather content from the portfolio of networks provided by Turner, a Time Warner company.
“The AutoDealerNetwork.TV product gives dealerships the ability to feature their commercials- whether that means dealership or auto brand specific spots- while blocking competitor's commercials,” Vidillion president and chief executive officer Tom Engdahl said in a news release. “We feel that is a big deal and really brings a level of targeting into a space that can certainly benefit from local spots hyper-tailored for each market.”
More than 50 northern and southeastern U.S. dealerships took part in the initial launch of the content and monetization network in May.
This year, an additional 3,000 plus dealerships throughout the U.S. are expected to launch the service, according to Vidillion.
“A single AutoDealerNetwork.TV set top box and one TV will display approximately 7,000 to 10,000 commercials each month regarding your products and services,” said Dirk Newsome, operations manager at AutoDealerNetwork.TV.
“If multiple boxes are installed in a property, the revenue opportunities and ability to reach customers in a meaningful way with special offers and direct dealership storytelling are exponential,” he said.
Dealerships can install an AutoDealerNetwork.TV set top box for use with existing TVs.
"This service has unlimited uses and can be applied in auto sales & service businesses, but also in healthcare, spa services and any environment where there is a waiting room," added Engdahl.
Car Keys Express has entered the retail market with the introduction of Car Keys Express NOW!, an in-store version of their mobile key replacement system.
The new automotive key replacement solution is compact and packaged into a customer-facing, retail-friendly cabinet that minimizes retailers’ investment in tools, training and inventory, according to the company.
“Car Keys Express NOW! takes the compact system that grew Car Keys Express into a nationwide success and translates it for retail use,” the company said in a news release announcing the launch.
The customer-facing cabinet features marketing graphics to attract consumers and a tablet-based application guide for key prices and availability.
The Car Keys Express NOW! system will be available in multiple configurations that are based on how many vehicles retailers want to cover.
Car Keys’ standard option is the Universal Car Remote, a stand-alone consumer product that covers up to 67 million vehicles and requires no tools.
Retailers already offering key cutting services can supplement their existing catalog to cover additional vehicles, according to the company.
"It's an easy sell," said Kirk Stewart, Car Keys Express NOW! marketing manager. "It creates a new revenue stream for a minimal investment."
After a customer selects their car's year, make and model, a store employee assists with cutting and programming keys.
Car Keys provides a training program that aims to have employees cutting keys within hours, the company said.
"Car Keys Express NOW! gives retailers the opportunity to make great margins, incremental sales and increase store traffic by offering consumers an easy and affordable option to dealership key replacement," added Stewart. "For the first time in 30 years, real automotive key replacement is coming back to retail."
Dallas-based startup Fastlane has launched a new e-commerce platform that gives automotive dealerships the ability to customize their online check-out processes.
The new platform is designed to facilitate an easy and efficient online car buying process that both showcases dealers’ available inventory and allows customers to acquire financing, service contracts and insurance following a purchase decision, according to the company.
“Fastlane has taken online car-buying to the next level by letting dealers customize their online check-out flow,” Fastlane sales vice president David Luce said in a news release.
“Other car-buying platforms have a cookie cutter check-out flow that cannot be changed. Fastlane recognizes that dealers in one market, such as New York, may sell cars differently from dealers in other markets, such as Georgia or California. Fastlane offers dealers a way to personalize the online car buying experience to meet their customers’ needs, while adding value to the overall purchase experience,” he said.
By bringing separate elements of the purchasing process under one umbrella in a one-stop online checkout, Fastlane said the platform helps dealers move product more quickly and efficiently.
“Fastlane’s greatest strength is that it transforms the buying experience into an easy, efficient process while making it possible for dealer staff to spend less time on paperwork and data entry, and more time engaging with their customers,” explained Brandon Hall, Fastlane chief executive officer.
He said “our technology gives dealers a way to offer an unparalleled customer experience. Dealers can then concentrate on earning more business by offering unique service-based incentives and advice, meanwhile turning customers into evangelists for their dealership. These 'e-dealers' are the ones who will continue experiencing the most success.”
Additionally, Fastlane also offers in-dealership checkout systems, such as a mobile purchase order system and a self-service kiosk for customers to browse inventory, submit trade-in information and apply for financing.
For more information about Fastlane's e-commerce platform, visit fastlane.car.
LotLinx recently announced a new partnership to fully link VistaDash's marketing metrics platform to LotLinx TURN, which provides dealers with metrics on targeted shoppers, total spend, sold VINS, conversions and engagements on vehicle detail pages.
To help dealers make marketing decisions that improve their ROI and digital ad spend, LotLinx customers now have access to VistaDash metrics via their TURN dashboard, the company said.
The newly integrated VistaDash platform is the result of research by PCG's Brian Pasch. LotLinx said he designed the platform to both provide dealers with unbiased marketing metrics and yield helpful insights related to different business goals.
"VistaDash is the brainchild of Pasch, whose book "Swimming with the Digital Sharks" has been hailed by the auto industry for its research on digital advertising inefficiencies and dealers' inability to obtain actionable marketing metrics," LotLinx said in a news release.
The platform's metrics inspect ad traffic quality and allow dealership managers to easily examine and identify strategies for increasing their return on ad spend, according to the company.
"With VistaDash, it's our mission to help dealers finally understand their data," added Pasch.
He said "through this partnership with LotLinx TURN, our products are working side-by-side to provide our clients with strategy, transparency and actionable data to help them succeed—and that is invaluable in today's digital age."
Additionally, LotLinx said it was the primary sponsor for PCG's seven-city Automotive Engagement Conference held earlier this year where the companies showed dealers its latest online strategies for connecting with shoppers.
LotLinx and PCG will be at the upcoming Digital Dealer 23 Conference and Expo from September 18-20 in Las Vegas.
The companies plan to educate dealers about avoiding "digital sharks" and utilizing data-driven solutions, according to LotLinx.
Element Fleet Management recently introduced Connected Data, a new service for fleet performance insights that streams vehicle data from both OnStar and other connected car systems in non-GM vehicles.
Connected Data gives fleet managers the ability to tailor analytics to meet common reporting and regulatory needs, according to Element.
The new service offers dealers a selection of different data feeds they can use to optimize their fleets. Users can explore odometer reporting, vehicle diagnostics and driver behavior data.
Access to data feeds is available via Xcelerate, customized reports and Element strategic fleet consultants.
“Today’s fleets are in a unique position to harness the power of connected vehicles across an increasingly connected digital fleet workflow, one that integrates data from drivers, suppliers and the vehicle itself,” Element Fleet Management North America products and services senior vice president Michele Cunningham said. “Connected Data delivers just the subset of vehicle and driver data that customers need, making it easier to gain insights and take action in areas like optimal replacement, preventive maintenance, and assessing and mitigating driver risk and more.”
Connected Data is currently available in three packages: Odometer, Fleet and Safety.
The Odometer package provides mileage reporting compliance data and vehicle utilization insight. Fleet includes the offerings of the Odometer package, along with integrated location and diagnostics data.
The Safety packed is fitted with Fleet package data, in addition to driving pattern information used to identify high-risk drivers, help improve safety and reduce accident expense. The data covers hard braking, fast acceleration and speeding.
For additional information about Connected Data's offerings, visit elementfleet.com/fleet-services/car-light-duty/vehicle-fleet-connected-data.
Auto/Mate Dealership Systems recently unveiled a new texting engine built into its dealership management system designed to help dealers quickly communicate with customers.
Sales and service departments can use the new texting engine for a variety of customer experience related functions, according to Auto/Mate.
"Auto/Mate’s Texting is simpler and far less expensive than most tools currently available in the market," Mike Esposito, Auto/Mate president and chief executive officer said in a news release. "Texting allows dealers to meet customer expectations, have a written record of messages sent and received and improves customer perception of their brand."
The company said its texting engine is designed to be as easy to use as messaging applications on smartphones.
The texting engine also allows users to manage "do not text" records, create message templates and send welcome messages, according to the company.
Dealership personnel receive alerts from the DMS when texts from customers arrive.
"The increased opt-in rates and use of messaging allows dealership personnel to communicate with a higher percentage of their customer base on a regular basis, which is critical for establishing and maintaining relationships," Esposito explained.
Additionally, the texting engine can be used by dealerships to follow up with leads and set and confirm appointments.
Texts can be sent to customers from Auto/Mate's CRM.
"Texting is practical in service because it creates a written record of customer approvals and communications that can be used to identify issues within the dealership, retrieve details of discussions, monitor advisors and resolve customer conflicts," Esposito said.
Dealership personnel can use messaging to send service reminders, appointment reminders, service recommendation approvals, vehicle status updates and notifications that a vehicle is ready for pick up.
"We have reached a point where dealerships must embrace and use texting, or they risk being perceived as behind the times," Esposito added. "Our Texting engine makes it easy and affordable for dealerships to implement texting, delivering a better customer experience in both sales and service."
Auto Remarketing confirmed multiple online reports from Atlanta-area media outlets that Cox Automotive is reducing its global workforce by nearly 1,000 employees, but the company said it does not “anticipate any additional large-scale reductions.”
The reports first surfaced late on Friday afternoon, and Cox Automotive corporate spokesperson Lou Laste replied to a Monday morning inquiry that the company would cut its staff by approximately 950 team members, which is about 3 percent of Cox Automotive’s total workforce.
“These changes, while difficult, will help us fuel more innovation, drive more growth and deliver the elegant, connected experience we’ve promised to our clients and the industry,” Laste said in the message. “We do not take these decisions about job impacts lightly and will remain true to our values, treating everyone with dignity, fairness and respect throughout this process.
“We are committed to moving quickly to build a stronger and more agile organization that gives us the best chance to succeed well into the future,” he continued.
As was the case in reports published by the Atlanta Journal Constitution — part of Cox Media — as well as the Atlanta Business Chronicle, Cox Automotive did not specify which segments of its businesses will endure reductions. Cox Automotive’s global presence includes:
—Alliance Inspection Management (AIM)
—AutoSt
—Autotrader
—BitAuto
—Cars Guide
—CentralDispatch
—Dealer-Auction.com
—Dealer.com
—Dealertrack
—DealShield
—HomeNet Automotive
—Incadea
—Jingzhengu
—Kelley Blue Book
—Mahindra First Choice
—Manheim
—Modix
—Motors.co.uk
—NextGear Capital
—Ready Logistics
—RMS Automotive
—vAuto
—VinSolutions
—xtime
“We have been very thoughtful and strategic in identifying the roles across all departments that need to be reduced along while making sure we have the capabilities to best serve our clients for the future,” Laste said.
“At this time, we do not anticipate any additional large-scale reductions. That said, our business and the market continue to evolve, and therefore we are never able to guarantee that a role will not change or be eliminated in the future,” he went on to say.
A new online review monitoring service, LotRep.com, designed to help dealers accurately monitor and track online consumer reviews in real-time via multiple platforms, launched Thursday.
The site’s software allows dealerships to efficiently and effectively manage online reviews, according to the company.
"Online reviews have changed the way business is done in this day and age. We know how crucial these reviews can be to auto dealers and their customers, but up until this point, monitoring them all has been nearly impossible," LotRep.com founder Brian Lack said in a news release announcing the launch. "We want to make it easier."
LotRep’s slate of features include:
- An all-in-one dashboard focusing on a review feed
- The ability to track and monitor various online review sites such as Cars.com, Yelp, Edmunds, Dealer Rater, SureCritic, The Yellow Pages, Facebook and Google
- An analysis of online reviews via statistics and reporting
- A "Review Requester" that allows dealership representatives to solicit reviews from buyers via sms or email
- A "trending list" on the main dashboard featuring rotating keywords and phrases trending on any monitored online reviews
- A mobile app designed including the most commonly used tools
- The ability to request reviews from customers
"By integrating LotRep.com into a regular customer service strategy at the dealership, auto retailers will be able to embrace online reviews as a key component to a strategic and effective business tool instead of a dreaded enemy," added Lack.
Access to LotRep.com is currently available free, at no cost for 30 days. For more information, interested dealers can visit, LotRep.com.
