LEHI, UTAH - September 13, 2018​ – Podium, the leading customer communication platform for local businesses, has been named to the Forbes 2018 Cloud 100, the definitive list of the top 100 private cloud companies in the world, published by Forbes in collaboration with Bessemer Venture Partners and Salesforce Ventures. This award comes on the heels of Podium being ranked #13 on the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest growing companies for 2018 and being named the 2018 “Best SaaS Product for Small Business/SMBs” by The SaaS Awards.

"The power of the cloud has transformed the way people do business and we are honored to be recognized by Bessemer Venture Partners, Forbes and Salesforce Ventures for our innovative technology solutions that benefit both local businesses and their end-consumers," said Eric Rea, CEO and co-founder of Podium. "We help any businesses with a physical location improve their customer interactions and drive purchase decisions better than anyone, and this award is a testament to the talent and hard work of our team in creating our platform."

As part of the rigorous selection process for the Forbes 2018 Cloud 100, Bessemer Venture Partners received submissions from the top cloud startups. The Forbes Cloud 100 judging panel, including top public cloud company CEOs, reviewed the data to select, score and rank the top 100 cloud companies from all over the world. The evaluation process involved four factors: market leadership (35 percent), estimated valuation (30 percent), operating metrics (20 percent), and people & culture (15 percent).

“For the past three years, the Cloud 100 list has identified the top cloud companies that are reshaping their respective industries,” said Alex Konrad, Forbes editor of The Cloud 100. “I am consistently impressed by the caliber of companies honored on the Cloud 100 list. It is an exciting time to a be a cloud company and founder.”

“All of the twenty-five cloud IPOs and major cloud acquisitions over the past three years have been prior members of the Cloud 100, and we absolutely expect that the dominant public cloud companies of the future will also come from this list,” said Byron Deeter, a top cloud investor and partner at Bessemer Venture Partners. “The 2018 Cloud 100 represents well over $135B in private shareholder value--an astonishing figure that reminds us yet again of the power of the cloud. The way we do business will be dramatically different as a result of these companies and I am honored to celebrate the remarkable accomplishments of the founders and teams behind each company on the 2018 Cloud 100.”

“The business opportunity for cloud companies is tremendous today as capital investment, customer demand and rate of adoption continues to grow,” said Matt Garratt, Managing Partner, Salesforce Ventures. “We’re excited to see the potential of these companies and look forward to seeing what innovative technology they deliver around the world.”

Each year the CEOs of The Cloud 100 and the 20 Rising Stars companies are honored at the exclusive Cloud 100 Celebration hosted by Bessemer Venture Partners, Salesforce Ventures, and Forbes.

The Forbes 2018 Cloud 100 and 20 Rising Stars lists are published online at www.forbes.com/cloud100 and will appear in the September 2018 issue of Forbes magazine.

About Podium

Podium modernizes the way business happens locally with products designed to help businesses be found, chosen, and gain insight into their customers' experience. By conveniently facilitating millions of customer interactions, such as driving customer-generated online reviews and providing improved customer communication tools, Podium serves 150,000+ users across nearly 20,000 local businesses. Headquartered in Lehi, Utah, and founded in 2014, Podium is currently backed by IVP, Accel, Summit Partners, GV (formerly Google Ventures), and Y Combinator. To learn more, visit www.podium.com or contact us at press@podium.com.

Media Contact

Brian Spittler Communications Director, Podium

brian.spittler@podium.com

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We recently sat down with Chris Smith from Curaytor, and the conversation turned to the buyer behaviors that identify purchase intent. Chris mentioned certain "money pages" that the dealership should focus on.

This is a guest blog by Carla Fitzgerald, Chief Marketing Officer of Spireon.

Carla is speaking at DSES in a breakout titled, Next Generation Automotive Customer Lifecycle: How Connectivity is Transforming the Buying Experience for Consumers and Dealers Alike.

Connectivity is a central part of the human experience in 2018. Many of us keep tabs on family and friends through text messages and location sharing apps, as well as follow our favorite celebrities and athletes through Twitter and Instagram. Imagine trying to pick up someone from the airport without first tracking his or her flight status, checking real-time traffic to the airport, and — maybe most importantly — using texts to know exactly when he or she is ready and by which landmark to meet. (Unfortunately, some of us lived through that era, and we’re still traumatized.)

The point is, connectivity is ubiquitous. It’s grown beyond the novelty of arbitrarily knowing where someone is on a map; in business specifically, it enables efficiencies we never before thought possible.

Creating Loyal Customers

In auto sales, customer lifecycle is king. A great buying experience leads into a long service relationship, which leads into the next car purchase, and so on. After years of building trust and solidifying ties, you may have yourself a lifelong customer who is faithful to you and your brand. This is the customer who turns down overtures from your competitors, both in sales and service, because he or she trusts you. This customer spends all of his or her car budget with you.

Sounds good, right? Well, with the latest technology on your side, you can cultivate legions of lifelong customers. The key lies in connectivity.

Connected cars are not new, but their utilization by auto dealers to improve the customer lifecycle is. Connected car technology leads to invaluable data — data that can be analyzed to uncover dealer and consumer blind spots throughout the customer lifecycle. Data analytics can identify factors at the dealership that affect what consumers set out to buy and what they ultimately end up buying. Data analytics can show you how to best manage your inventory to make the greatest impact on sales. And with customer connectivity data as your guide, you can align dealer operations to improve consumer engagement and loyalty.

Giant Data

We hear a lot about the data revolution. It’s a big concept that one might look at as some fairytale giant sleeping in the woods of some far off fantasy land (or Silicon Valley). Well look out folks — that big data giant is awake and approaching all the dealer lots in the land! As he approaches yours, you’ll need the tools to train him to be manageable and articulate, and before you know it, he’ll begin sharing the trends and critical insights to help you turn every customer experience into a golden goose.

Come join me at Innovating on Customer Experience, the mightiest breakout session in all DSES 2018, on Monday, Oct. 22, at 11:15 a.m. I’ll introduce you to how connectivity and vehicle intelligence is transforming the customer lifecycle for the next generation.

Carla Fitzgerald is chief marketing officer at Spireon, provider of Kahu vehicle intelligence built for dealers, and an industry veteran with more than 25 years of experience in mobile and wireless technologies. Outside of work, she enjoys dog walks by the beach, great meals with family, and tracking her son’s vehicle trip history and speed alerts with Kahu.

Latest Features Help Multi-Store Dealers Improve Inventory Management, Facilitate Trades and Increase Visibility to On-Lot and Off-Lot Activity

IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 18, 2018—Spireon, the vehicle intelligence company, is adding several enhancements to its Kahu connected car solution, designed to provide automotive dealer groups with the tools they need to optimize operations, improve sales results and mitigate risk. New features include streamlined portfolio and inventory management, account transfer for seamless dealer trades, mobile views of inventory age, new test drive analytics, and more.

Kahu turns any vehicle into a connected car, empowering dealers to view and manage vehicles from their desktop, tablet or smartphone. Standard lot management features like real-time location tracking, geofencing and battery management streamline operations and improve sales efficiency. Stolen vehicle recovery mitigates risk for dealers and makes Kahu a profitable add-on when sold through to consumers. Dealers can also utilize mileage data from customer vehicles post-sale to better target them for servicing, lease renewals and trade-ins.

New enhancements to Kahu include:

·Centralized Portfolio Management—Multi-store dealer groups can now view inventory, vehicle location, battery health, test drive data and more, for all stores from a single login.

·Simple Inventory Transfers—Dealers can easily transfer Kahu vehicles between stores, seamlessly executing dealer trades.

·Enhanced Mobile Views—Improved user interface and added detail on individual vehicles boost operational and sales efficiency. iPhone users will also gain updated maps with more accurate satellite views to inform walking directions and easily locate vehicles for test drives.

·In-App Inventory Aging—To help dealers move inventory quickly and optimize inventory turnover, the Kahu Dealer app now identifies vehicle age along with trim details so the sales team knows which vehicles to move first.

·New Analytics Dashboard and Reports—Unique insight into test drives, inventory mix, aging and other vehicle data helps dealers optimize inventory and pricing based on consumer interest. The new dashboard provides flexibility to filter by make, model, color, and trim, while automated reporting provides proactive insights without the need to login to the portal each time.

·Dedicated Recovery Hotline—Kahu helps dealer nationwide to recover vehicles with an average recover time of 26 minutes. With a new dedicated recovery hotline, dealers are further protected from losses and downtime due to theft, recovery and reconditioning costs.

·Expanded DMS Integration – Kahu now supports 80 percent of the franchise dealer market through integration with Reynolds & Reynolds and CDK Dealer Management Systems, simplifying the integration of Kahu into dealer operations and streamlining consumer onboarding to Kahu.

In December of 2017, Kahu was named New Product of the Year in the automotive enterprise category of Business Intelligence Group’s 2017 BIG Awards for Business.  In May of this year, Spireon was named IoT Vehicle Telematics Company of the Year in the 2018 Compass Intelligence awards. In addition to award winning technology, Kahu customers also benefit from Spireon's white glove customer service, which has earned the company four awards in the past 15 months, and a recent Net Promoter Score of 71.

“While U.S. auto sales have remained steady in 2018, the market continues to consolidate as dealer groups seek greater efficiencies and new opportunities to grow profits,” said Sunil Marolia, vice president of product management for Spireon. “And although the latest release of Kahu has been enhanced for dealer groups, independent dealers can also benefit from the streamlined operations, increased sales effectiveness, reduced risk, and increased customer loyalty generated by Kahu. Once dealers have the power of Kahu driving their business, they can’t imagine running it any other way.”

To learn more about Kahu, please visit: https://www.spireon.com/kahu.

Kahu is only available through automotive dealerships. Dealers interested in selling Kahu can inquire here: https://www.spireon.com/kahu#becomedealer.

About Spireon

Spireon, Inc. is North America’s leading connected vehicle intelligence company, providing businesses and consumers with powerful insights to track, manage and protect their most valuable mobile assets. The award-winning Spireon NSpire platform supports nearly 4 million active subscribers across the company’s growing suite of products for new and used car dealers, lenders and financial institutions, rental car agencies, commercial and local fleet operators, and consumers. Learn more at www.spireon.com.

"How do I validate my trade number?" is a question we often hear. If you factor in how many deals have trades and how many customers have negative equity, it's easy to understand why this is asked so often.

Jason Volny presents some ways in which you can make sure the customer understands how you came up with the trade number.

This is a guest blog by Mark Tewart, President of Tewart Enterprises.

Mark is speaking at DSES in a breakout titled, Eliminating Time Vampires that Kill Productivity and Profits.

Can you hear it?

“Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock.”

Time stops for no one. Time keeps elapsing and as the clock moves forward, the question for you is, are you moving forward? You cannot add or delete time, but you can decide to invest in your time or simply spend your time. It’s your choice.

The average life expectancy of a male in the US is just shy of 79 years. That is equal to 948 months, 28,835 days or 692,040 hours. Many of those months, days and hours may have passed. Do not take for granted what is left.

Enjoy each hour as a gift. Most of the trials and tribulations you are going through are miniscule in the scheme of things. What you may consider serious may not be so serious. Be passionate and purposeful. Don’t waste your precious time in ways that do not support you, grow you or make you happy. Live life the way you wish rather than for what others wish for you.

Do not be afraid to take risks or endeavor to live the life you desire. After all, when you consider the time and scheme of your life, how much risk is it really and how much time are you wasting without truly living your life. Live without limits and die without asking for a second chance.

Although not every minute, hour or day will be enjoyable, it is simply part of the journey. Stop beating yourself up about what you have not done and concentrate on what you will do.

Those hours spent not invested wisely are gone. Consider your future like a bank account. You must make deposits today to make a withdrawal tomorrow. If you are not happy with where you are, that is okay and it may provide motivation through pain to move you forward.  However, realize that wherever you are, is not only not bad, it is perfect. It is perfect because it is where you should be in this moment as you move toward where you want to go.

Once again, this is a journey and no two people share the same journey. It is worthless to compare your journey to someone else’s. Your journey is your masterpiece and only you can paint it. Not all the strokes will be perfect and it is the imperfection that makes it perfect.

Don’t whine about where you are now. Invest your time with actions to change the journey. Every day that I drop my son Jake off at school I tell him “Think big, live large and you are in charge.” Don’t let anyone define big for you. Just because others can’t see your vision does not mean you have to be blind. Just because others will not allow the thoughts, actions, habits and success that you will allow does not mean they have the right to take all of those things from you.

Living large for you can be enjoying the small things others don’t take the time to enjoy. You decide what large means to you but it surely does not mean you have to limit your definition of large. Being in charge means you choose your thoughts, actions, habits, goals and life. You are not a victim and things do not simply happen to you but because of you. Everything is based upon your choices in your time and how you spend or invest that time.

I vividly remember my father in his last moments of life saying that he had never bought a new car. At the end of good man’s life, he was focusing if even for a fleeting moment, not on what he had done, but on what he had not. It reminds of a song by a band by the name of The Georgia Satellites called, “Another Chance.” The song has a great line, “I don’t want to die asking for another chance!” The clock is ticking.

“Tick-tock, Tick-tock, Tick-tock.”

We take a look at the key components of any effective phone script. It doesn't matter if its a BDC phone script or a Service Advisor phone script. Good scripts contain the same elements.

This is a guest blog by Brent Wees, Director of First Impressions for Nextup. 

Brent is tag-teaming a breakout with Joe Webb at the DrivingSales Executive Summit.

A couple of years ago I uttered the following statement on stage at the DrivingSales Executive Summit “marketers, and the media, like to create problems that they will solve for you…on your budget”.

One of the biggest “problems” we marketers have created lately, in my opinion, is marketing attribution. It came in hot early last year and like all great buzzwords in our industry they’ve garnered the focus of our conversations as far as our marketing strategies go.

This article is not intended to bash marketing attribution whatsoever, I feel the following things should be addressed if we’re focusing on the customer journey:

1. Marketing Attribution: Defined … and Explained?

Let's use the Wikipedia definition just to all get on the same page here (being on that page when it comes to attribution in our industry has sparked many a debate):

"In marketing, attribution is the identification of a set of user actions ("events" or "touchpoints") that contribute in some manner to a desired outcome, and then the assignment of a value to each of these events. Marketing attribution provides a level of understanding of what combination of events in what particular order influence individuals to engage in a desired behavior, typically referred to as a conversion."

Thanks for nothing Wikipedia! Clearly a marketer wrote that. My good friend Dan Moore, president of Vistadash, does a better job. Let’s put it in the context of the car shopper.

“Multi-touch attribution works by showing dealerships the path each individual buyer took on this journey from start to purchase. If I see an online car shopper went to cars.com, then got pulled back in by paid search ranking, then went to carguru.com, and then finally ended up at the dealer…. well, I have a little more insight into what helps sell cars,” Dan said. “That path from first online impression to the dealership is the biggest thing car dealers are looking to understand and puzzle out right now; and multi-touch attribution tracking is how they can do it.”

Where this gets tricky is connectivity, you see all the companies out there that list your inventory, your ads or your paid social posts rarely share their data one another. Heck your CRM only tell you where the lead came in from, not where it may have originated. So, companies and products are popping up to help solve that problem by pulling as much marketing information in as possible and present it in a holistic way that a dealer can digest.

But Dan said something that stands out to me and I consider it a bit of a disconnect, “I have a little more insight into what helps sell cars”. From everything I have read (by folks in our industry) marketing attribution focuses on marketing sources, first touch to last touch in the funnel until they reach the dealership. To me that doesn’t provide any insight on what sells the car. Marketing attribution tells me what messages/product and which channels provide the most INTEREST. While I know, this will be contested by some my peers, prospective customers walking in the doors of your dealership haven’t bought anything… yet.  The customer’s journey is only at the half-way point.

1. So, Marketing Attribution Doesn’t Measure Everything?

No I don’t believe it does if you are of the belief that marketing attribution is covering all the bases of the customer journey from the start of their research through purchase. Let me make my case.

We all know shoppers are spending serious amounts of time doing their research online but did you know many show up at the dealership without ever contacting the dealer through a lead form, phone call, or chat? So, if marketing attribution is based on measuring actions or events, you may only be looking at clicks and ad impressions. That’s not really closing the loop to a sale.

54% of shoppers will show up at the dealership without any contact prior to their arrival. (Google ThinkDealer 2017)

So, attribution reporting can be very important when assessing your advertising dollar investments but are you missing a key ingredient to the overall success of the dealership? Will attribution, like big data distract you from what’s happening on the showroom floor with those shoppers? Will attribution really matter if you’re not tracking 100% of your showroom traffic? How many people really walked in today (walk-ins, appointments, be-backs)? How many manager intros are happening? Are those intros increasing the number of test drives? How many deals got written up? What’s the REAL closing ratio as it pertains to showroom traffic? If we know that more than half of our traffic is just showing up unannounced, what accountability to do we in place to track it to ensure every customer is being greeted by a sales professional, introduced by a manager, given a test drive, received a proposal, and logged properly in the CRM?

Will Brent stop asking questions? (No…don’t be silly)

The way I see it is if you are not looking at what’s happening with shoppers when they arrive at your dealership then everything else is irrelevant. The questions you should be asking need to focus on the sales process, customer experience, and most importantly accountability. We are spending too much time analyzing one cog (marketing spend/performance) in a larger machine. Marketers are creating problems, that they’ll solve for you, on your budget. The most important part of your marketing strategy is the moment they walk through the door of your dealership, not how they got there because, again, they haven’t bought anything…yet. If your customer experience isn’t wired tight, sales process not be championed by management and your sales floor stinks of “every salesperson for themselves” then every dollar spent and every click tracked means nothing. Your burning through money and opportunities.

Work on building the best in-store experience before worrying how the customers arrived online or otherwise. The loop of attribution won't close until your sales floor does.

Needs analysis questions are a key part of the sales process. What are the questions that make up a successful needs analysis so you can set up your deal properly? Jason reviews the "Big Five" questions that you need to answer.

This is a guest blog by Candy Lucey, Senior Director of Marketing Cox Automotive, Dealertrack and Xtime.  

Jason Barrie from Dealertrack and Jim Roche from Xtime are both speaking at the DrivingSales Executive Summit.

The DrivingSales Executive Summit (#DSES) brings together a mixed-bag of thought leaders, innovators, and progressive thinkers within the automotive industry October 21-23, 2018; it’s also the best chance for professionals to truly connect in an educational setting with people who are thinking differently. And if that’s not enough to entice you...we’re throwing out all the stops with one of the biggest parties in the business.

DSES is one of my favorite summits of the year. Dealertrack DMS sponsored the event in 2017, and we’re back again to focus, problem-solve, and learn from our peers. Here’s what I think makes this event unique:

Access—Up Close and Personal—for Decision-Makers

At DSES, you are the decision-maker. And you’re right in the thick of things; meeting other dealers, industry experts, long-term pros, and up-and-coming forward-thinkers. You’ll get to hear from inspiring keynote speakers from all backgrounds, as well as experts who’ll share the very latest trends in dealership growth.

The Innovators’ Cup

When it comes to solving the biggest challenges in the automotive industry, the stakes are high at DSES! This year, five finalists will compete head-to-head for the “The Most Innovative Solution of the Year,” in the Innovation Cup Award Contest. A panel of peer judges will review each finalist’s idea—presented in just five minutes—with a winner announced during an official award ceremony. This is an opportunity for everyone’s wheels to get turning (so to speak) as, each year, the most amazing ideas are presented by creative thinkers who are actively working to solve real issues that impact day-to-day operations.

Less Selling. More Learning.

If there’s one thing that DSES does better than most summits I’ve been to, it’s education, uninhibited. Everyone has an equal chance to soak up as much industry knowledge from their peers as possible and to network with others who are solving big, big topics. And all of this takes place in an intimate setting, where the primary focus is to learn. Attendees can expect to share actual best-practices and to walk away with actionable ideas from people who are taking a new approach to solving problems.

Your Brand, Your Difference, Your Impact.

How important is your dealership’s brand identity to your overall marketing strategy? Are you working to build trust and a true connected retail experience? Have you decided on a clear path for how your company fits into the community? Or, do you simply sell cars down the street? If your marketing plan is to simply be within close-range to the demographic of car buyers you hope to sell to, you’re probably going to lose. It’s no lucky accident that DrivingSales’ founder Jared Hamilton navigated the economic recession by fine-tuning his plan of action and bringing together the community to do the same. Dealerships who thrive have their own master-plan about who they are, where they fit into their local communities, and who they help serve. Do you? Come find out more from other dealerships who are crushing it in their communities.

Breaking Free From Marketing Silos

The DSES event is such a powerful way to level-set your dealership’s marketing strategy if, for nothing else, to break free from the marketing silo trap so many automotive dealerships inevitably fall into. It’s a fairly normal scenario: each branch of your leadership sets out to make a difference, eventually building their own fully independent marketing and business plan. The end result, however, is chaos. What a summit like DSES can bring to your dealership is the ability to formulate a marketing strategy that brings every member of your leadership team together—to focus on the two to three things you do well—and to focus on the complete experience for your customers.

Technology and the Modern Dealership

A quick glance at the agenda reminds us all that new technology, like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, are inching their way into the modern dealership. What I hope this year’s summit will help dealerships discover is the ultra-important need to go back out into the real-world and ask your technology vendors the important questions. Are your services improving the lives of my employees? Are you making the buying process easier, faster, smoother for my customers? What have you done for me lately?  

Can’t. Miss. Sessions.

Spoiler alert: there are some amazing breakout sessions and speakers at DSES. I have a few of my favorites already blocked out, and I’ll let you in on a secret: the Dealertrack DMS sponsored Pool Party Sunday night is going to be truly unbelievable. Keep in mind that last year, there were more than a few popular sessions with standing room only, so plan ahead! I am personally looking forward to hearing Jim Roche talk about turning one-time customers into life-long customers. And, I don’t plan on missing the Iron Cowboy regale us stories from his adventures.

Like last year at DSES, I plan to take notes, share as much as I know, and be ready to learn everything I can about this ever-changing industry. There’s no better way to tackle the challenges we face every day than by coming together and problem-solving with the best minds among us. I hope to see you there!

Candy Lucey is senior director of marketing and brand management for Dealertrack DMS.