With the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau intensifying its regulatory aim at the auto finance industry, Recovery Database Network (RDN) is launching a new technology product called VendorVision, which aims to help lenders efficiently and transparently manage third-party vendor compliance.
RDN highlighted VendorVision is a secure, Web-based compliance management platform. Organizations can define their compliance standards, manage documentation, deploy training materials, track the performance of contractors and agents and assign tasks within the system to assure compliance.
Because it’s Web-based, RDN indicated all documents are stored securely yet accessible online with a clear audit trail and detailed reporting capabilities. And, unique to VendorVision, it is integrated with RDN.
Should a vendor fall out of compliance with the lender’s requirements, repossession assignment volume can automatically be restricted or halted until the issue is remediated.
“We understand that CFPB regulations place a huge burden on our lender-clients. It’s an industry-wide concern,” RDN president Zach Hallowell said. “VendorVision takes the weight off. The user-friendly interface automates and simplifies the management of tasks associated with the repossession process.”
Hallowell also pointed out that VendorVision product is a resource for contractors and agents, too. After creating a vendor profile, an agent can receive and update remediation task status online.
Because the process is transparent and automated, lenders and vendors know they are aligned — and in compliance.
“Lenders have been pushing for this product,” said ADESA chief executive officer and president Stéphane St-Hilaire. “One of our top customers chose to work with RDN to create this interface because our skilled programmers know the industry and the process. It’s another example of RDN providing technology solutions for our industry partners.”
It’s hard to keep track of all online sales leads — and it is especially hard to discern which shoppers are ready to buy.
AutoLoop has launched a new tool it says alerts sales personnel when ready-to-buy prospects are generated from dealership Web traffic, in real-time.
The company’s Essentials product now includes what it’s calling Instant Online Leads.
“As more and more people turn to the Internet for car shopping, dealers need the ability to engage them immediately,” said Matt Rodeghero, AutoLoop’s chief product officer. “They are a dealership’s most viable customers because they’ve already expressed interest in a specific vehicle online. If sales reps aren’t alerted to inquiries in real-time, however, they can’t follow up … and the sale may be lost.”
Here’s how it works:
Shoppers interested in a vehicle have access to a customized form that allows them to request follow-up through the dealership website.
When a customer submits one of these forms, the Instant Online Leads feature immediately notifies a specific salesperson via phone and email.
Dealerships can prioritize their contact lists, as well, determining which sales rep is alerted to an online lead first.
If that person is unavailable, the system automatically contacts the next one on the list, the company explained.
“The Instant Online Leads feature makes Essentials even more efficient, putting your best sales personnel in touch with your best prospects at the most crucial moment,” said Rodeghero. “It’s one more way we help you turn browsers into buyers.”
Gubagoo has announced its new phone-lead generating platform. Integrated into the company’s communications platforms, TalkSmart uses the customer’s communications from dealership websites to give them a call if they wish to speak to a live person.
The Gubagoo agents — available at all hours of the day — can speak with customers, if they choose to speak with a live person over the phone, and have access to the vehicles they were researching on the site. The agents can discuss various details with the customer and can tell them more about dealer inventory and incentives with the end goal of scheduling a sales or service appointment.
Brad Title, Gubagoo’s chief executive officer, emphasized the technology’s ability to use the new ways of conducting sales to leverage the older, tried and true methods.
“In the rush to make websites function at their best, it is important that dealers don’t forget about the oldest kind of chat — the good old-fashioned phone call,” Title said. “TalkSmart is designed to help transform a dealership website from a ‘dead-zone’ into a conversation-packed, lead-generating arena.”
More information about TalkSmart can be found through Gubagoo’s website.
Dealership intelligence platform provider String Automotive highlighted that the latest enhancement to its dealer positioning system (DPS) now integrates rich demographic and psychographic information drawn from Experian Automotive’s Auto Market DNA database.
String Automotive explained the dealer positioning system now can empower dealers to get a full picture of what is happening in their market at a ZIP code level. The platform can overlay numerous data sets — including Web statistics, demand and registration data — with a dealer’s own sales and inventory data to help dealers make decisions on what areas to target, which models to market and how to spend marketing dollars more effectively.
Furthermore, dealers can see the most common profiles of buyers in each ZIP code surrounding their stores, going beyond demographic data like average income and life stage to include psychographic information such as advertising receptivity, channel preference and key values.
Managers can also drill down by model to see whether people who purchase a particular vehicle tend to be “Age of Aquarius” boomers or “Urban Edge” singles; what mediums they tend to consume (such as newspaper, television or radio); whether they prefer to be approached via direct mail, email or phone; and what messages resonate most with them.
“For years, automotive dealers have had insight into what types of vehicles are being sold in their areas and some basic demographic information about the buyers. However, they’ve never been presented with actionable insights regarding the mindset and values of today’s car buying customer,” said John Gray, president of Experian Automotive.
“We’ve designed our Auto Market DNA to help fill this void by delivering unique insight into what drives and motivates car shoppers. By teaming with String Automotive, we’re able to provide their customers with a better understanding of their local markets to help them gain a competitive marketing advantage,” Gray continued.
Gray pointed out that Auto Market DNA employs a powerful research database that combines Experian’s vehicle registration data with demographic and behavioral consumer data from its ConsumerView platform. This compelling combination can enable users to not only better understand which vehicles are being purchased, but also obtain deeper insight into why customers are purchasing them.
“Access to this level of knowledge and insight into car buyers in each local market has never been available to the average dealer,” said Ken Kolodziej, String Automotive’s founder and chief executive officer.
“We’re excited to work with dealers and their advertising agencies as they translate Experian Automotive’s rich data into campaigns and offers that really resonate with individual consumers,” Kolodziej added.
Kolodziej also mentioned the Dealer Positioning System can help dealers discover which ZIP codes near their dealership represent the most opportunity to gain market share or conquest against cross-shopped makes. With the introduction of Experian Automotive data into the application, dealers and their agencies can develop highly tactical plans to attack those ZIP codes.
For example, BMW buyers in one area may prefer newspaper advertising and care deeply about a dealership’s history and reputation for service, while shoppers just a few towns over might favor Internet or TV advertising and be more receptive to financing offers and celebrity endorsements.
Ashton Brown, digital marketing director of Heritage Volkswagen of South Atlanta described what having that information can do to help a store move more metal.
"In a saturated market where it takes more than a good product to bring consumers into the dealership, combined with strict consumer protection laws in place, there is no room for error in allocating our marketing dollars,” Brown said.
“The new Experian data gives us measurements of which advertising messages and mediums can be used within a specific market, or even ZIP code, to harness the attention of potential buyers,” Brown continued.
“It also gives dealers real tangible data to review with their ad agency as to why or why not specific media buys may or may not work. We are no longer in a 'let's hope this works' era of automotive marketing,” Brown went on to say.
Kolodziej will be speaking at the 17th Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition next Wednesday in Las Vegas. The session that begins at 8:30 a.m. and is titled, “Be a Data-Driven Dealer” will focus on how to make decisions with your head not your gut, using data as the driving force.
In one of two announcements coming from DealerSocket on Friday, RevenueRadar — which is powered by DealerSocket — now is officially certified and a featured partner for General Motors' new Equity-Mining Initiative.
Officials highlighted that GM announced to its entire field organization and all 4,300 franchised dealers about the opportunity to use powerful equity-mining tools like DealerSocket's RevenueRadar. GM dealers are given incentive bonuses for those who participate in their Equity-Mining Initiative by Dec. 31.
“DealerSocket is excited to expand our partnership with General Motors through the Dealer Technology Assistance Program (DTAP) and their new Equity-Mining Initiative,” said Matt Redden who oversees sales and marketing at DealerSocket.
“We look forward to improving dealerships' ability to uncover opportunities hiding within their DMS and increase their customer loyalty with our robust automated revenue-generating solution,” Redden continued.
RevenueRadar, a stand-alone equity-mining solution, can give dealerships a new way to discover and handle new leads.
Once RevenueRadar is turned on, it immediately starts discovering “hot, new” opportunities for sales and service departments to pursue. DealerSocket insisted many dealerships saw more than 30 additional deals per month when using RevenueRadar, a solution that can identify opportunities such as equity, service history, and lower payment.
“This allows dealerships to discover, browse, and communicate directly to customers that have a certain year, make, or model,” officials said. “RevenueRadar continues to consistently demonstrate why dealerships have seen 73 percent close rate on RevenueRadar appointments set.”
To learn more about DealerSocket's RevenueRadar or General Motors DTAP partnership with DealerSocket, visit http://dealersocket.com/gmequitymining or call (877) 740-5880.
DealerSocket, Century Interactive Finish Service Setter Integration
In other company news, DealerSocket recently completed an enhanced integration with Century Interactive to include Service Setter, a move officials explained is meant to increase efficiency and profits within dealership service departments.
The companies explained Service Setter is a comprehensive dashboard that can put all of a service department’s call tracking needs into one easy, accessible place.
With Service Setter, service departments can track and record all of their inbound and outbound calls. All of those calls are then immediately filtered, categorized, evaluated and scored.
Within this dashboard, service managers have access to service performance reports, which display marketing efforts are delivering the best service leads and highlight the performance the service staff.
Officials said the need for such a platform has become apparent after National Automobile Dealers Association revealed that service departments are responsible for 60 percent of net profits at dealerships.
“It’s essentially a dealership’s gold mine,” they said.
“Service Setter empowers service departments to step up and value the phone,” they continued. “It does this by delivering the most important service opportunities to the right person at the right time. This way, managers and staff can step in and salvage the opportunity calls that need more attention.”
The companies went on to highlight that one of the most valuable features of Service Setter is that it can provide individual phone skills feedback and coaching to the staff members who need it most.
“With proper guidance service staff are able to convert the calls they’re receiving, ultimately booking more appointments at no additional marketing expense,” officials said.
Along with giving an update on how many dealers are using its mobile apps, Manheim highlighted the benefits from the investment in its new Enhanced Vehicle Imaging Suite, which is aimed at helping customers who have struggled to find vehicle condition reports with consistent imaging quality.
Manheim introduced the Enhanced Vehicle Imaging Suite to customers in May, and now the capability is at 20 of Manheim’s North American locations as part of Manheim’s InSight Electronic Condition Report.
“We are pleased that the feedback has been very positive,” said Bonnie Hensler, vice president of product development for Manheim. “Through customer research, we found that getting condition reports with great vehicle images remained an ongoing point of frustration.
“So coming up with a solution to help our customers has been gratifying. Customers told us that having access to images that clearly and quickly assess what is wrong or special about a vehicle would give them greater confidence when buying and selling, and we have delivered,” Hensler continued.
The operating locations that have the new imaging product include:
—Manheim Atlanta
—Manheim Baltimore-Washington
—Manheim Denver
—Manheim Fredericksburg
—Manheim Houston
—Manheim Kansas City
—Manheim Milwaukee
—Manheim Minneapolis
—Manheim Nashville
—Manheim Nevada
—Manheim New Jersey
—Manheim Ohio
—Manheim Orlando
—Manheim Pennsylvania
—Manheim Phoenix
—Manheim Riverside
—Manheim San Diego
—Manheim San Francisco Bay
—Manheim Seattle
—Manheim Statesville.
The Enhanced Vehicle Imaging Suite can provide the highest resolution images available, delivering showroom quality that can help sell vehicles online quickly.
Officials highlighted the improved package, offered with Manheim InSight Condition Reports, can provide customers up to 18 vehicle images, “heat map” graphics that can help buyers quickly assess vehicle condition and a dedicated photo staff with the goal of ensuring consistent image quality and standards across all Manheim locations.
Manheim indicated dealer feedback has been extremely positive.
Reed Brklacich of BARCO Rent-A-Truck, based in Salt Lake City, consigns all his vehicles at 10 Manheim locations around North America.
“I sell all my trucks at Manheim,” Brklacich said. “I like the new enhancements, and how the pictures portray my vehicles.” Brklacich reports higher sales and steadier prices since adopting the Enhanced Vehicle Imaging Suite over the past several weeks.
From a buyers’ standpoint, Brett Broghammer of Integrity AutoSource of Vadnais, Minn., has been very pleased by the Enhanced Vehicle Imaging Suite.
“The new InSight ECR pictures Manheim is using for the Toyota lease return sales are a huge improvement,” Broghammer said. “They really help to make my buying decision on these cars quicker and easier.”
Michael Zins of Maplewood (Minn.) Toyota said the zoom tool has been helpful to review damage to a vehicle, while Nick Nyhus Family Sales of Perham, Minn., shared that the imaging product has helped him buy effectively and exclusively online and via Simulcast.
Dealers Step Up Usage Of Mobile Apps To Conduct Business
As consumers increasingly rely on mobile applications to transact business, so do nearly 50 percent of wholesale dealers, according to Manheim.
During the past year, Manheim’s dealer customers used their mobile devices not only to find and buy inventory, but also to track and monitor the entire post-purchase process. To date, dealers have listed more than 50,000 vehicles using the company’s mobile listing tool and received more than 100,000 vehicle notifications via their mobile devices.
“When we first launched our mobile application, adoption by dealers was slow,” said Rumon Lasker, Manheim’s director of product management. “What we are finding now is that nearly 50 percent of dealers are accessing our mobile applications at a much faster pace. We believe this is due to the all-in-one mobile experience that only Manheim offers.”
Unlike other mobile applications, Manheim explained its all-in-one experience can gives dealers fast and easy access to find, buy, sell and manage all their vehicle transactions:
• Find vehicles using PowerSearch
• Buy vehicles using Simulcast
• Sell vehicles via the myMobileListing tool
• Manage the entire process using myPurchases
“I use the Manheim app daily, it is absolutely the best tool for my business,” said Brian Harmon, dealer principal at RV and Boat Liquidators.
“I continuously run my trades on the mobile app and search run lists all over the U.S. looking for specialty items on Manheim.com,” Harmon continued. “I’ve been in the wholesale, retail car and motorhome business for 27 years and it’s the best tool of my trade.”
In addition, using an iPad, iPhone or Android device, dealers can tap into the Manheim app to research MMR values and purchase vehicles that are listed on OVE.com or sold through Simulcast.
After their purchase, they can use the app to finance vehicles and order transportation. Sellers can also list vehicles in the Manheim marketplace and disclose vehicle condition information using the Manheim app.
“Whether it’s creating a seller disclosure, listing a vehicle, conducting searches or managing auction check-out, dealers tell us that our digital tools are easy to use and save them time,” Lasker said.
LotLinx, developers of platform aimed at connecting more than 6.5 million consumers who are searching vehicle inventory online every month directly to the dealership websites where that inventory resides, appointed a new vice president of product management on Tuesday.
Taking on this role is former Dealix executive Dave Shefferman.
LotLinx highlighted that Shefferman has nearly two decades of experience in the high tech and automotive industries, including with Dealix, where he re-built UsedCars.com from a small classified site to a leading industry portal for used-vehicle shopping.
In his new role, Shefferman will support LotLinx’s growth by leading product development and data strategy efforts for the LotLinx Deeplinking platform, the first ever VIN-specific inventory advertising technology that can directly links shoppers from search engines and automotive research sites to the vehicle display pages (VDPs) on dealerships’ websites.
LotLinx noted Shefferman has an impressive track record of designing and implementing proven technology enhancements. As director of product management for Dealix, he led the re-launch of UsedCars.com and tripled used car lead volume and revenue in the first month alone.
Shefferman began his career in digital marketing as the marketing manager for E-LOAN, where he led the development of end-to-end reporting and analytics systems. He honed his online skills as product manager for CafePress.com, where he built the user-flow for the company’s create and buy service.
Most recently, Shefferman served as director of product management, data operations and development for Trulia.com, designing systems and patented processes to manage real estate listing data quality and integrity.
In addition, executive highlighted Shefferman is a prolific and successful entrepreneur. He founded OneBrick.org, a nonprofit organization focused on getting people involved in community service, and co-founded ManageMyScore, an online service that helped people understand how their financial actions would impact their credit scores. Most recently, he founded WineSavage.com, an online wine club focused on artisan, handcrafted wines.
“LotLinx is a proven technology platform that streamlines the car buying process and delivers higher conversion rates at a fraction of the cost of other marketing channels,” Shefferman said. “I think the product is phenomenal, and I’m excited to be working with a fast-growth company and a team of industry veterans who are committed to delivering the best online experience possible.”
LotLinx chief executive officer Dean Evans added, “Dave’s deep product expertise and strong entrepreneurial spirit are incredible assets for LotLinx.
“As we continue to experience strong growth, his skills will be instrumental in helping us continue to provide a positive and efficient online experience for dealerships and consumers,” Evans went on to say.
Custom dealership mobile app platform provider Dealerbaby integrated with Auto/Mate’s dealership management system on Tuesday.
Officials highlighted that users of Auto/Mate’s Open/Mate third-party integration system can now experience the benefits of a native mobile app without the high costs associated with custom mobile app development.
Dealerbaby co-founder Padraic Doyle insisted dealerships can increase customer retention, profits and leads and become a leader of the mobile dealership community.
“Our partnership with Auto/Mate gives us the ability to create a powerful user experience by letting the customer interact with the dealership on the device they use the most — their smartphone,” Doyle said. “The key is the two-way communication with the DMS, which is made possible with Open/Mate.”
To help improve the mobile experience for dealerships and their customers, Dealerbaby integrated the following features in its platform with Auto/Mate’s DMS:
— Service appointment scheduling: Dealership apps on the Dealerbaby platform can display service schedules, available service appointments and offer users the ability to schedule various services all within the dealership’s mobile app.
— Inventory listings: The Dealerbaby mobile app platform can display inventory updates in real-time as the inventory is updated in Auto/Mate’s DMS.
Auto/Mate president and chief executive officer Mike Esposito emphasized the company’s DMS is a full-featured, user-friendly solution that is scalable for any size dealership or dealer group. Esposito pointed out the system comes with the best customer support in the industry and is available in both Web-based and in-house server solutions.
“More car shoppers are using smartphones and tablets to shop for cars, and mobile apps are easier to use than browsing a mobile website,” Esposito said. “DMS integration ensures that all inventory and service data is displayed to customers in real time, reflecting all updates in your dealer’s DMS.”
AutoLoop said this week that it has integrated its two equity mining tools, Quote and XRM. The latter — which AutoLoop acquired along with the CRM tool’s parent company (CAR Research) in June — is now useable with access to Quote from the program, according to Steve Anderson, the chief executive officer of AutoLoop.
“Dealerships who use XRM are now able to access equity customers from Quote within the XRM program,” Anderson said. “Since Quote now feeds data directly to XRM, dealers can manage sales quotes and benefit from equity mining without switching back and forth between the two programs. And because of this direct integration, dealerships can now build custom workflows to ensure proper process is followed by their sales team.”
Anderson believes AutoLoop is on the cutting edge by integrating the two technologies, giving dealers a tool that helps them save time.
“No other company has a product that integrates with XRM like our Quote product does,” Anderson said. “We are making dealers’ jobs easier by streamlining their software solutions. Being able to seamlessly access Quote data from within XRM is invaluable.”
For more information on Quote & XRM, visit their site here.
Flick Fusion announced this week its video marketing platform for dealers, offering what it contends is the first of such platforms to automate the video production process, including inventory videos, video emails and other various dealer-related videos.
Brian Cox, the president and chief executive officer of Flick Fusion, says his company offers to dealers the digital platform for their inventory that they need to maximize sales.
“Many dealers want to incorporate video into their marketing plan, but don’t have the resources or expertise to create dynamic videos for all their marketing needs,” Cox said. “Our platform offers a simple, cost-effective method for creating a video marketing strategy proven to attract more web site visitors and convert them into leads.”
Flick Fusion utilizes the power of Google by avoiding Flash and publishing videos in “SEO-friendly” formats and uploads them to YouTube, increasing exposure to a wider market.
“Flash videos can’t be indexed by Google and therefore they don’t boost SEO rankings,” Cox said. “Additionally, many third-party sites don’t accept Flash so dealers can’t benefit from video syndication, which also boosts rankings.”
In addition to the video format, the program also utilizes VidMail, which allows dealer employees to customize videos for individual lead inquiries, which can be custom-made on request with video greetings, vehicle walkarounds and other related dealership videos.
For more information about Flick Fusion, visit their site here.
