AutoPoint announced that it will debut its newest dealer-service tool, OwnerCare, at the 2015 NADA Convention & Expo in San Francisco later this week.
Designed to increase the number of customer upsells, the tool allows service customers to view a digital report via their mobile device with the status of their vehicle, providing a precise service estimate along with recommended work and explanations why the work should be completed.
Gary Schuler, the corporate director of fixed operations at Dick Hannah Dealerships, one of the program’s pilot locations, believes the tool helps ease the conversation flow between customers and service staff.
“It’s on the cutting edge of where technology is headed,” Schuler said. “Most customers communicate on an electronic device, be it their cell, tablet, or desktop computer. OwnerCare enables us to get through and get their approval almost immediately. It’s simple for the customer to view the recommendations and estimate, to get any needed explanations — view pictures, or whatever they need to be fully educated. It’s a fabulous system and saves an enormous amount of time for my service department. Our customers love it.”
Following a multipoint inspection, a service technician digitally completes an inspection form, which takes note of each point on the vehicle that has passed, failed, or is a cause for concern. An estimate is generated, including the cost of all services and importance explanations for all recommended repairs. A customer can view the report remotely via a unique link, which can be accessed anywhere via their own devices or on-site with technology the dealer chooses to provide.
“Our service advisors are thrilled that they no longer have to waste hours tracking down customers for approval of needed work,” said Rich Holland, AutoPoint managing director. “It is also producing a significant boost in revenue – we’ve seen recommendation close rates increased by 50 percent.”
More information OwnerCare can be found on the AutoPoint website.
Ford announced Wednesday its plans for the further expansion of its SMART Technology program, or SMARTT, that it initially released in early 2014.
One of the first tools introduced into the program was last year’s SMARTT Appointments, which gives customers an online option to schedule service with Ford and Lincoln service centers, selecting the needed services in advance to hasten the write-up process before they’ve even arrived. The program tripled online appointment volumes in its first year.
The program, which leverages the convenience of tablets and a customized dealer management system to simplify the overall service experience, will roll out two additional phases in March of this year.
The SMARTT Mobile Write-Up, or phase two, will allow advisors to use tablets in dealership service lanes to streamline the service experience. SMARTT Inspect, or phase three, gives technicians and parts department personnel access to the tablet-entered info to work with vehicle service history and to help fill service orders.
“This evolution of the SMARTT program represents a glimpse at the Ford and Lincoln service experience of the future,” said Joe Hinrichs, Ford president, The Americas. “Using technology to help us reshape the customer service experience is just one example of how we are driving innovation through every part of our business.”
Frederiek Toney, Ford’s vice president, customer service division, believes his company’s innovations serve a deeper purpose than they may appear at just a surface glance.
“We envision an experience built on trust, transparency and personal treatment, and SMARTT helps us achieve that,” Toney said.
“The new phases of SMARTT are strong examples of how Ford is using technology not for technology’s sake, but to truly make a difference in our customers’ lives,” Toney added.
NCM Associates has announced its plans to reveal its data management tool, LiveAudit, at the upcoming NADA Convention & Expo in San Francisco.
The cloud-based application, which NCM claims is the “first-and-only-of-its-kind data management tool,” works with dealership accounting systems to “ensure accuracy and lessen the chance of fraud and financial mismanagement in every department.”
Paul Faletti Jr., the president and chief executive officer of NCM Associates, believes his company’s newest product will help relieve some of the burden that is shouldered by today’s dealers.
“One of the biggest frustrations any dealership has is the ability to quickly and efficiently get their hands on the data they want, when they want it or make informed decisions and avoid the risks of inaccurate or incomplete data,” Faletti said. “We, in partnership with Intelligent Dealer, are proud to once again lead the data management charge and bring LiveAudit to meet our clients’ needs and alleviate those frustrations.
“With LiveAudit, we’re giving our clients some peace of mind knowing exactly where their hard-earned dollars are going.”
According to the company, the tool will alert dealers of anomalies, collect historical data and provide ways to analyze expenses, including the ability to compare the performance of other dealers of the same brand via the NCM Benchmark database. The tool will also remind dealers of upcoming contract renewals to avoid unintentional extensions of agreements.
To find out more about LiveAudit, visit the company’s website.
DMEautomotive announced the debut of version 3.0 of its Driver Connect mobile app. The biggest highlight of the newest version of the application is its new tap-to-pay functionality, allowing consumers to pay for service via their phone after being alerted that their vehicle is ready for pickup.
Mike Walther, president and chief executive officer of DMEautomotive, believes this function will fill a gap of convenience that customers have desired.
“This takes dealership customer convenience to a new level and, with it, customer retention and satisfaction,” Walther said. “Rather than calling to see if their car is ready and then waiting around in the service bay to pay, customers simply check their smartphone, tap to pay and when they return to the dealership, just grab their keys and go.
“Not only is this great for the customer, but it is great for the dealer, with the potential to save service advisor time and reduce personnel costs,” Walther added. “But, most importantly, it improves the customer experience which should greatly enhance loyalty and CSI.”
Other features of the app include allowing the consumer to view a complete breakdown of services provided, taxes, fees, etc., exactly as they would in-house, as well as email a copy of the receipt to themselves. The customer has the options of calling a service adviser or requesting a shuttle via the app, as well.
In the realm of mobile technology, DMEautomotive’s research has also revealed the following:
- Customers who use a dealer-branded mobile app are 73 percemt more likely to purchase a vehicle.
- Customers who use a dealer-branded mobile app will spend 7 percent more on a vehicle purchase.
- Customers who download a dealer-branded mobile app make 25 percent more dealership service appointments.
- Less than half of consumers are likely to visit a dealership for "bread and butter" core maintenance services within the first two years of ownership. Within seven-plus years, only 13 percent of customers will select dealerships for these services.
- 62 percent of customers surveyed expressed an interest in joining an automotive loyalty program.
To find out more about Driver Connect and its updates, visit the application website.
Pearl Technology Holdings announced this week its plans to unveil what it says are the industry’s first digital automotive hang tags at the 2015 NADA Convention & Exposition in San Francisco.
Named as Ecartag, Pearl patnered with HalyconTech LLC to create exactly what the name portrays: a hang tag for vehicles on the lot that can be updated digitally to not only save the time from replacing them in each car as prices change but to also maintain the compliance responsibility of making sure all advertised prices are correct.
“Hang tags are one of the biggest hassles in a dealership,” said Bruce Thompson, chief executive officer and founder of Pear Technology Holdings. “Every time a price is changed on a vehicle a new hang tag has to be created and installed in the vehicle. It’s costly, time consuming and fraught with errors and compliance issues because the Internet price and lot price don’t match. Ecartag represents a new and efficient way to not only solve the manual pricing issue, but also deliver a whole new suite of tools from floorplan checks to battery monitoring, remote starting and many other applications.”
One of the tag’s greatest strengths lies in its ease of use. Plugged into the vehicle’s onboard diagnostics port, the Ecartag can sync with a dealer’s Internet pricing and updates the pricing on the car within 15 seconds of an Internet price change. The tag is completely plug-and-play and requires no programming. It can be used an indefinite number of times and even has the capability to monitor battery charges, lock/unlock doors, auto-start an engine via smartphone or central port, track test drive activity, and more.
“We spoke to many dealers and listened to their frustrations with the current process that dates back to the 1940s and 1950s,” said Kartik Kakarala, founder and chief executive officer of HalcyonTech. “Partnering with Pearl was exactly what we wanted to do. We’ve worked on various projects with Mr. Thompson since 2002, and love the vision and creative freshness the Pearl team brings to the table.”
Interested parties can find out more or schedule a live demo here or call 888-339-1116.
Dominion Dealer Solutions announced Tuesday its release of its new mobile app for DealActivator, its equity data mining product.
Adding mobile capability to DealActivator completely rejuvenates and enhances the solution’s flexibility, said Alan Andreu, the company’s general manager of equity solutions.
“This allows users to harness the power of DealActivator at key physical locations throughout a dealership,” Andreu said. “Whether it’s assisting a customer in the service drive, meeting walk-ins at the front desk, or touring inventory on the lot, this mobile app places equity and trade information at the dealer’s fingertips. The immediate accessibility of this data allows dealers to respond to customer inquiries faster and drive more revenue on the lot.”
Using the app, entering a customer’s name and phone number or scanning a VIN gives the user instant equity evaluation for the customer, providing a recommended list of replacement vehicles within the dealer inventory. Each match will display a potential new deal structure using current incentives. The tool also allows anyone on the lot to scan a vehicle in inventory to receive a list of previous dealership customers who could purchase an upgraded vehicle with no money down and lower monthly payments.
“In today’s economy, dealers need every advantage they can secure,” Andreu said. “With the DealActivator mobile app, salespeople have immediate knowledge of key information that will better serve their customers. It incorporates just the right amount of critical intelligence to keep things moving forward. By having the right information available in the palm of their hands, dealership representatives can improve the customer’s experience dramatically.”
More information about DealActivator can be found here.
Auto/Mate Dealer Systems announced Monday its newest solution, Rev/Mate, an online service scheduling and menu building solution for dealers.
The program, designed for service departments to assist in gaining customer pay revenue while also facilitating quality customer relations and service experiences, will roll out in the company’s Automotive Productivity Management Suits (AMPS) Fixed Ops/Mate module this year.
“Rev/Mate puts knowledge and power into the hands of the customer, giving them a better experience and allowing them to make informed decisions,” said Mike Esposito, Auto/Mate Dealership Systems’ president and chief executive officer. “In turn, this increases customer retention rates and dealership profitability.”
Allowing customers to schedule appointments whenever they please, the dealer-branded software solution also allows customers to view vehicle history, request specific service advisors and request transportation. The program delivers appointment confirmations and reminders via email and texts while also featuring real-time updates in the service appointment module in AMPS for easy access by service employees.
For more information about Rev/Mate and Auto/Mate’s other services, visit the Auto/Mate website.
It may be time for dealers to spend a little extra time highlighting that satellite radio subscription or push-start ignition, since according to recent research, shoppers are willing to pay more for advanced vehicle technology.
In fact, according to the “2015 AutoTrader.com Car Tech Impact Study,” most than half of vehicle owners are willing to pay over $1,000 for “must-have in-vehicle technology” features on their new rides.
“Consumer electronics are quickly becoming a spectacle in the automotive industry thanks to the development and demand for car technology,” said Michelle Krebs, AutoTrader senior analyst. “It’s important to know that consumers are spending more time and money on car technology and they are particular about what they’re buying.”
The study — conducted on behalf of AutoTrader.com by Harris Poll — fielded responses from 1,033 American vehicle owners.
And many of these consumers already have a tech wish list for their next vehicle. While 45 percent of survey responders wish their current vehicle had onboard WiFi, 19 percent list mobile WiFi as a must-have in their next vehicle purchase.
The technology coveted by responders wasn’t limited to entertainment tools — roughly two out of five survey responders said they wished their current vehicle had a backup camera or sensors.
USB charging ports (33 percent) and wireless device charging (26 percent) were also on vehicle owners’ shopping lists.
“We’re in the information era and shoppers are informed and they are adamant about the features they want,” Krebs said. “From manufacturers, to suppliers and even aftermarket consumer electronics companies, this study shows us that there is still plenty of opportunity in the vehicle electronics market in 2015.”
And though shoppers have made it clear they expect great things from automakers in the way of technology, they are willing to wait.
Of the survey responders, 50 percent said they are willing to wait up to about a year to get all their must-have features in their next vehicle.
Although budgeting for a vehicle purchase is their concern, they might not have to wait too long for technology that breaks boundaries to be available.
For example, to celebrate the new year and its new products, Audi took the Audi A7 concept car on its first long-distance test drive. Oh, and there’s one more thing — the car drove itself.
The vehicle’s autopilot system works up to a speed of 70 miles per hour and allows the vehicle to even change lanes, without any help from the driver.
Journalists and car experts were invited to take part in the test-drive, each driving 100 miles of the journey that took the vehicle from California’s Silicon Valley to Las Vegas.
From self-driving vehicles to the recent announcement from Tesla’s Elon Musk regarding the development of a solid metal snake-like charger that plugs in automatically, it seems automakers are following shoppers' leads when it comes to focusing on advanced technology.
Flick Fusion is now offering an inventory video add-on to its video marketing platform.
VidMagnet uses video search engine optimization techniques designed to drive more traffic from YouTube and other video websites directly to dealer sites.
Here’s how it works: Typically, when a vehicle in an inventory video is bought, the video is taken down. But with VidMagnet, the video will remain on the Internet and when clicked will simply redirect shoppers to current inventory on a dealership website.
Now, shoppers clicking on videos supported by VidMagnet will be redirected, instead of receiving an error message such as, “That link is no longer valid.”
VidMagnet will suggest inventory videos to these shoppers of similar makes and models, based on the shopper’s original search terms.
"Over time, VidMagnet exponentially expands a dealership's presence on the Internet," said Brian Cox, president and chief executive officer of Flick Fusion video marketing. "The more videos a dealership has on YouTube, the more search results they appear in, the more views they get, the more visitors they draw to their website and convert into leads. Video is a proven driver of consumer traffic to dealer websites."
The company says the new tool can increase referrals from YouTube as well as improve a dealership’s organic search engine rankings.
CarLingo — an online service provider geared to help consumers with their vehicle selection, establishing fair price, valuation of their trade-in and determining a monthly payment that fits their budget — recently launched a shopping resource center with information that spans across the five distinct phases of the shopping process.
The center’s information covers:
1. Vehicle selection
2. Vehicle price
3. Trade-in value
4. Monthly payment
5. Dealership selection
“The new CarLingo Resource Center helps consumers address their needs, questions and concerns across all five of these areas,” said CarLingo chief executive officer and founder Steve Greenfield.
“In addition, CarLingo has eBooks available for download for each of these five areas that are a valuable resource and reference for the new car shopper requiring help and guidance through their car shopping and buying process,” Greenfield added.
Consumers can visit the CarLingo Resource Center at www.CarLingo.com/resource-center.
