From the top 25 “must-have” vehicle features to the optimal number of marketplace photos, new report from CarStory provides key insights on market

Key Findings

• Optimal number of images on an online used car marketplace = 9
• 86% of used car shoppers log onto the internet first 
• MP3, iPod, Bluetooth top three features in highest demand
• Vehicles with prices ending in “99” convert the best
• Vehicle condition is most important detail in vehicle description

Austin, Texas – April 1, 2015 – CarStory, the industry’s largest provider of crowdsourced data and analytics on used vehicles, issued a white paper that reveals that 86% of used car shoppers log onto the internet first when deciding what car they want, while only 13% pick up an auto magazine. And, according to the analysis of 326 million searches over a six-month period, consumers are far more interested in ‘make,’ ‘model’ and ‘distance-to-travel’ than ‘price.’’ The white paper, entitled “How to Convert Used-Car Shoppers to Buyers,” highlights some simple steps that auto dealers can take to better engage with online shoppers and is available now for immediate download.

The findings were derived from used car shopper surveys, combined with analysis of search data and used vehicles listings powered by Vast, the industry-leading big data platform for more than 300 automotive marketplaces. Access to this data puts CarStory in a unique position to understand how consumers shop for used vehicles.

“This data gives car dealers a fresh perspective on how to list and sell used vehicles – and helps the industry see inside the consumer’s mind,” said Chad Bockius, Chief Marketing Officer of CarStory. “With just a few simple steps, both independent and franchised used car dealers can drive greater engagement with vehicle listings on their own websites, as well as on auto marketplaces.”

Winning Consumer Clicks

Less is More: The white paper reveals that vehicle listings on online used car marketplaces that feature just nine, key images versus 30 more detailed images resulted in a 71% increase in form submission. This is likely due to the fact that shoppers at marketplace sites are high in the shopping funnel and therefore unwilling to commit the time required to sift through a huge number of images. As shoppers get lower in the shopping funnel, they are interested in seeing far more images of the vehicle they want to purchase. 

Features Matter: The top 25 “must-have” used car features for consumers may surprise dealers, but, according to the study, 26% of consumers shop used to get “more features for the buck.” MP3 support, iPod connectivity and Bluetooth lead the pack of ‘must haves,’ trumping high-performance tires, heated seats, etc.

Tell the Vehicle’s Story

Used-car shoppers spend a tremendous amount of time visiting websites to research, so providing the data they want early in the purchasing funnel can convert more shoppers to buyers. Vehicle condition (81%) and accident history (77%) are most important to consumers, but they also want to know how a vehicle’s price (68%) and mileage (64%) compares to others in the local market. 

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Prices Ending in “99”: It’s true – consumers are drawn to prices that end in “99”. However, research showed that most used car price tags end in “00” or “95,” while those that get clicked on with the most frequency end in the magical “99”. There was a 16% lift in clicks from vehicle search results to the all-important and high-converting Vehicle Detail Pages when prices ended in “99” compared to “00.”

CarStory’s white paper, “How to Convert Used-Car Shoppers Into Buyers,” was presented at Insight15 Customer Loyalty & Retention on March 24, 2015 and is available for download now.

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About CarStory

CarStory is the industry’s largest provider of crowdsourced data and analytics on used vehicle pricing and preferences. CarStory Market Reports synthesize over four million real-time used vehicle listings with crowdsourced data from over eight million searches a week to produce unique insights that help move consumers from online shoppers to on-the-lot buyers. By uncovering facts, features and competitive differentiators that make each vehicle unique in any given market, CarStory offers dealers and consumers the confidence they need to condense the sales process and walk away happy. Learn more at CarStory.com

About Vast

Vast is the premier provider of big data solutions for life’s biggest purchases. Vast’s industry-leading big data platform and applications are currently in use at many of the largest automotive, real estate and travel businesses in the world. Vast serves Global 1,000 companies, including AOL and Southwest Airlines, and powers more than 300 automotive marketplaces. Learn more at Vast.com.

Bieser brings 25+ years of automotive sales experience to the company that invented call tracking; CallSource has tracked over one billion calls since inception

Westlake Village, Calif. – March 31, 2015 - CallSource, the U.S. leader in call management, tracking, and training, today announced its call management volume for its OEM and enterprise group customers has doubled to nearly one million calls per month year over year. This significant growth parallels the increase auto dealers are seeing in incoming phone leads from consumers who are ready to purchase a vehicle. The company also announced that Bill Bieser, an automotive retailing veteran, has joined the team as Vice President Strategic Accounts. Bieser is charged with managing and accelerating the continued growth within these market segments.

CallSource invented call tracking and has tracked more than one billion calls to date. Today, with state-of-the-art call management innovations, the company qualifies incoming leads for dealers, works to improve phone skills and, crucially, helps them recover mishandled calls. According to research^[1], on average, 41% of incoming sales calls are mishandled at the dealership and those calls result in customer defections to another brand a full 50% of the time. CallSource provides dealerships with the tools they need to retain the over $100 million in lost opportunities up for grabs each year as a result of mishandled calls and customer defection to competitors.

“Bill has extensive expertise in the automotive industry, from running dealerships to working with enterprise dealer groups and state associations, which gives him unique insights into the on-the-ground challenges of today’s auto retailing environment,” said Andrew Price, President of CallSource Automotive. “We are pleased to welcome Bill to the team and look forward to working with him as we continue growing our customer base and evolving our product offerings.”

Prior to joining CallSource, Bieser was Director of Compliance – Consumer Practices at Ally Financial and prior to that spent seven years as an executive at Reynolds & Reynolds building relationships with dealers and lender executives and achieving 25% annual growth. In the course of his 25-plus years in the auto industry, Bieser has also had executive roles at Maritz Research, Experian Automotive and R.L. Polk.

“Because every inbound call represents a significant revenue opportunity, handling calls properly is critical for a dealer’s success. I have always been passionate about helping dealers deliver the best possible customer experience and CallSource solutions represent the best-in-class when it comes to handling incoming phone leads,” said Bill Bieser, Vice President Strategic Accounts, CallSource Automotive. “Joining CallSource gives me the opportunity to make a real difference in the way dealerships interact with their customers and prospects.”

About CallSource

For over 25 years, CallSource’s award-winning solutions have helped businesses track, analyze and improve incoming call performance. In addition to tracking over one billion calls since inception, CallSource delivers marketing insight, including cost-per-lead analysis and sales conversion percentages, training and coaching solutions to improve phone skills, and tools that enable businesses to recapture mishandled calls. Based in Westlake Village, Calif., CallSource recently received a patent for its Sales Profit Management (SPM) system, which combines the actionable data of its call analytics, performance analysis, advisory services, and online training/coaching from seasoned sales professionals. CallSource serves multiple industries including automotive, home services,  and healthcare, as well as numerous franchise businesses. Visit callsource.com.

Media Relations: 

Melanie Webber, mWEBB Communications, (949) 307-1723, melanie@mwebbcom.com 

Cassandra Cavanah, mWEBB Communications, (818) 397-4630, cassandra@mwebbcom.com

DMEautomotive’s innovative mobile app, call management program and parts lead generation now available to Alpha Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep and RAM dealers

Daytona Beach, FL – March 31, 2015 – DMEautomotive today announced that it is adding services to its long-standing relationship with the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) MarketCenter, an online marketplace designed for Alpha Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Fiat and RAM dealers. DMEa has been offering services as a MarketCenter supplier for 9 years, through its Wholesale Parts Lead-generation program. Among its industry-leading marketing programs now available through MarketCenter are Driver Connect, the industry-leading, dealer-branded mobile app; and MasterCall, a highly effective inbound and outbound call-management program.

“We are proud to extend our long-standing relationship with FCA MarketCenter to include services that, in light of mobile’s skyrocketing popularity and the influx of incoming calls, are mission-critical to today’s dealerships,” said Mike Walther, CEO of DMEautomotive. “Both Driver Connect and MasterCall are proven to help dealerships reach and retain today’s increasingly disloyal, mobile-hungry service customers. Driver Connect and MasterCall, coupled with our highly successful Wholesale Parts Lead-Generation program, are poised to generate significant marketing advantages for today’s Alpha Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge Fiat, Jeep, and RAM service departments.”

In addition, Alpha Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep and RAM dealers qualify for FCA MarketCenter preferred pricing for the following DMEautomotive programs:

Driver Connect Mobile App

Driver Connect is an award-winning, Tier-3 automotive customer retention mobile app that drives repeat business and promotes customer loyalty. Available for both Android and Apple users, it utilizes the data from the point-of-sale system to promote vehicle services, enhance customer relations, and track vehicle service history. Customers can make appointments, search dealer inventory, receive special offers, coupons, view and ‘tap-to-pay’ their service invoice, all  straight from the app.

Mastercall

MasterCall is a complete set of compliant inbound and outbound customer contact management solutions. Our Customer Interaction Center is 100% automotive and has been handling calls for 15 years. We operate 24/7/365 and provide straightforward, transparent reporting. All calls are recorded. MasterCall offers a flexible, scalable and affordable set of solutions that provides dealers with as much, or as little, service as they need to succeed.

Inbound: The Service and Sales Backstop Program is a powerful customer service tool. We fulfill missed opportunities by answering the phone and interacting with your customers, when the dealership is closed or employees are busy with customer. We are integrated with over 10 service scheduling tools, including wiAdvisor, allowing agents to seamlessly book appointments directly in your system, while simultaneously utilizing the specific criteria for your scheduling philosophies. Best of all, you only pay for what you use!

Outbound: Outbound sales and service calls are proactive and our CIC teams handle these calls with a detailed knowledge of the individual dealer in a professional, conversational manner. Sales calls include: Unsold Follow Up, Lease Renewal, Internet Prospect, Targeted Sales Opportunity, Vehicle Buy Back, Appraise Trade, Lower APR, Lower Payment and CSI calls. Service calls include: First Appointment, Declined Services, Lost Customer, No Show Appointment Follow Up, Recall Notification, Missed Major Service and CSI calls.

Wholesale Parts Lead Generator: The Wholesale Lead Generator program consists of outbound calls on behalf of a dealership to pre-defined independent repair facilities including repair, exhaust, transmission and collision centers. We deliver actionable information including qualified leads, interest in powertrain or specific parts, customer concerns, and relative information about your current clients and prospects. This program is 50% MOPAR One reimbursable.

About DMEautomotive

DMEautomotive (DMEa) is the industry leader in science-based, results-driven automotive marketing, and provides turnkey marketing to the largest and most innovative automotive organizations, from automobile dealerships to many of the largest aftermarket companies in the U.S. DMEa's uniquely panoramic view of the complete automotive sales and service market, combined with its cutting-edge, science-based marketing programs, increases customer yield, conversion and retention.

DMEa does not take marketing performance on faith, and each product and service is measured by a simple, precise scientific approach: Is it true? Prove it. Will it work? Test it. Does it generate results? Show it! Supported by DMEa’s proprietary, cloud-based Red Rocket Technology Platform, the DMEa product suite includes science-based, data driven, multi-channel customer acquisition and retention marketing programs; best-in-class campaign reporting; data management and analytics; auto-focused Customer Interaction Center solutions, and complete on-site mail and email fulfillment services. Headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida, DMEa also has major operations in Jacksonville, Florida.

Media Relations

Melanie Webber, mWEBB Communications, (424) 603-4340, melanie@mwebbcom.com
Crystal Hartwell, mWEBB Communications, (949) 929-4637, crystal@mwebbcom.com

56% would buy more often if the dealership process was not so difficult

New research from DrivingSales identifies how the growing gap between consumer expectations and the current automotive buying process is suppressing car sales volume
 

New York – March 31, 2015 – Automotive sales could grow up to 24% if the retail experience improves, according to key findings released today from a new research initiative from DrivingSales.  The DrivingSales Consumer Experience Study is based on a 16 month-long ethnographic and quantitative research initiative with over 1,300 shopper and buyers and looks at the rational and emotional factors that cause modern automotive shoppers to connect, or disconnect, with automotive dealers in the buying process. 

“Yesterday’s formula for automotive retail success is deterring consumers and suppressing sales volume.  Our research shows the key to sales success today is building trust through an open and transparent customer experience at every stage of their buying process,” said Jared Hamilton, Founder & CEO of DrivingSales. “Our findings are a clarion call for change in how cars are retailed and provide practical guidance to retailers and manufacturers on how to bridge this customer expectation gap and advance the industry.”

The study uncovers profound changes in consumer expectations, driven by their experiences in other retail sectors, that up-end the current conventional wisdom in dealerships on marketing and sales “best practices.”  The study also identifies how the expectation gap between dealers and consumers has grown to such a level that a fundamental change in the consumer experience is required if dealerships expect to remain competitive over the next 5-10 years.

A selection from the hundreds of insights collected include:

• 99 of 100 automotive shoppers begin their purchase journey expecting it to be a “hassle” driven in large part by their experience, and that of friends/family, with retailers seeking to control the buying process to the retailer’s objectives
• Shoppers are exposed to dozens of conflicting influences making them wary and distrustful, driving them to seek what they perceive as objective information from trusted sources – primarily trusted friends and family and independent third party sites
• Shoppers are keeping dealers and sales people at a proverbial arms length until late in the purchase process. When they’re ready to interact, 61% initiate contact by walking into the dealership without prior contact
• This distrust puts the consumer on a hair trigger as they engage with the dealer, 50% will walk out of a dealership if the dealer requires a test drive before providing a price, 43% if personal information is required
• 56% of shoppers said they would buy more often if the dealership process was not so difficult - the impact of this retail aversion was quantified at a potential increase in sales volume of 24%
   

DrivingSales is uniquely qualified to bring this perspective because of its position as the largest online community, education and research business dedicated entirely to automotive retail.  Two thirds of all US dealers leverage DrivingSales’ insights in their operations.  DrivingSales was founded by a third-generation dealer, 36-year-old Jared Hamilton, who has committed his career to helping dealers evolve to survive and thrive through the radical changes wrought by the internet.  This research is offered to the industry so that dealers have the insights to evolve their businesses together with their customers to continue to play the vital role they have for the past 100 years.  

Hamilton will be revealing a summary of the results of this research in his keynote address at the DrivingSales President’s Club event at the New York Grand Hyatt on April 1, 2015.  Additional findings and recommendations from the full research study will be shared with the industry over the coming months.  They will include recommended changes to dealership marketing and sales processes and insights into specific segments of buyers.  Interested parties can keep connected with these findings at drivingsales.com/trust

Some advanced dealers and groups have already seen and acted upon many of the trends uncovered by this research.  As part of this multi-year research initiative, DrivingSales will continue to research evolving automotive retail practices and share results achieved.

About DrivingSales   

DrivingSales provides automotive dealership professionals with actionable insight and solutions to implement strategic change that advance their careers and grow their businesses amidst the disruptions of today's market.  Founded by a third-generation car dealer in 2008, today DrivingSales is utilized by two thirds of franchised dealerships in North America as a resource to improve their business performance. 

DrivingSales operates three business units geared at delivering actionable insight to dealers:  DrivingSales Media, which comprises the DrivingSales.com dealer community, DrivingSales News, Dealer Executive Magazine, and multiple industry conferences. DrivingSales University, the leading provider of automotive retail education content and certification programs, and DrivingSales Data, the industry’s largest cross-channel data analytics platform.

To learn more about the DrivingSales community, news, training or performance analytics visit DrivingSales.com, DrivingSalesNews.com, DrivingSalesUniversity.com and DrivingSalesData.com

DrivingSales Media Relations:
Melanie Webber (melanie@mwebbcom.com), mWEBB Communications, 424.603.4340

                The partnership marks the second customer-wide rollout of the reports by a dealer website provider and grows the CarStory dealer network to more than 3,000 dealerships nationwide.

Austin, Texas – March 23, 2015 – CarStory, the industry’s largest provider of crowdsourced data and analytics on used vehicle pricing and preferences, today announced that Wayne Reaves, a leading provider of independent dealership websites, has integrated CarStory Market Reports into its customizable website platform.  A free merchandising tool and lead source, CarStory Market Reports are available directly on all Wayne Reaves dealership websites.

The partnership is the second in a series of alliances with website providers that make CarStory Market Reports easily available to dealers at no extra cost. CarStory’s dealer network now numbers over 3,000 dealerships nationwide.  

“Keeping consumers engaged once they land on a dealer website is key to converting web browsers into on-the-lot buyers. CarStory Market Reports’ unique market insights speed up consumer purchase decisions and help dealers to sell more cars -- and they are available to dealers absolutely free of charge,” said Chad Bockius, Chief Marketing Officer of CarStory. “We are pleased Wayne Reaves has made CarStory Market reports a standard feature for all the websites they build and maintain.”

CarStory Market Reports deliver customer preference information on vehicles, including analysis of pricing relative to similar models locally, mileage assessments relative to similar vehicles on the market, as well as the vehicle features valued most by other consumers. In addition, the reports analyze the vehicles consumers are comparing online and recommend alternatives that are most likely to convert that shopper. “This is an industry first that enables dealers to keep consumers looking at more vehicles on their own website versus defecting to a competitor’s site,” said Bockius.

“Dealers already rely on Wayne Reaves for the best custom websites, and the addition of CarStory Market Reports will further enhance interactions between our dealers and their customers,” said Jason Reaves, President of Wayne Reaves. “Dealers know that our solutions help them sell more cars, and this is yet another way to ensure they receive the most innovative and productive tools. We are thrilled to offer these insightful reports to our dealers at no additional cost and are very impressed with how quickly we have been able to integrate them into our platform.”

CarStory Market Reports’ insights are generated from a combination of more than four million real-time used vehicle listings and crowdsourced data from over eight million searches a week that help move consumers from online shoppers to on-the-lot buyers. Powered by Vast, the industry-leading big data platform for more than 300 automotive marketplaces, the reports give car buyers the whole “story” of a vehicle – educating them on the features most valued by other consumers and validating pricing with real-time market data. The reports also serve as a powerful customer engagement tool for dealership sales personnel, providing a virtual walk around of every vehicle on the lot. With multiple pre-owned models, makes and years for sale at each dealership, the reports help ensure that each salesperson has the important details on the vehicle he/she is showing, which, in turn, can help them convert.

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About CarStory

CarStory is the industry’s largest provider of crowdsourced data and analytics on used vehicle pricing and preferences. CarStory Market Reports synthesize over four million real-time used vehicle listings with crowdsourced data from over eight million searches a week to produce unique insights that help move consumers from online shoppers to on-the-lot buyers. By uncovering facts, features and competitive differentiators that make each vehicle unique in any given market, CarStory offers dealers and consumers the confidence they need to condense the sales process and walk away happy. Learn more at CarStory.com.

About Vast

Vast is the premier provider of big data solutions for life’s biggest purchases. Vast’s industry-leading big data platform and applications are currently in use at many of the largest automotive, real estate and travel businesses in the world. Vast serves Global 1,000 companies, including AOL and Southwest Airlines, and powers more than 300 automotive marketplaces. Learn more at Vast.com.

About Wayne Reaves

Wayne Reaves is a leading provider of dealer management software, customizable dealer websites, mobile dealer solutions and web-based title pawn software. As the most trusted name in the digital space, dealers rely on Wayne Reaves solutions to sell more cars, save time and increase productivity. No other digital partner provides dealers with the depth and breadth of experience in the dealer industry. Learn more at WayneReaves.com.

CarStory Media Relations:

Melanie Webber, mWEBB Communications, (949) 307-1723

Melanie@mwebbcom.com

Cassandra Cavanah, mWEBB Communications, (818) 397-4630

Cassandra@mwebbcom.com

ALBANY, N.Y. – March 23rd, 2015 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems announced today that DealerPeak, a leading provider of enterprise Customer Relationship Management (CRM), lead management and website solutions to auto retailers, has completed integration with Auto/Mate's Dealership Management System (DMS). Auto dealership groups using both Auto/Mate and DealerPeak will benefit from increased productivity and profits with integrated updates of customer, vehicle, lead and deal information in both systems.

“Multi-store dealer groups have different requirements than single stores, such as consolidated customer databases and reporting capabilities that allow a dealer to identify trends and pinpoint problem areas across the enterprise," said Mike Esposito, President and CEO of Auto/Mate. "Our DMS and DealerPeak's CRM meet all of these requirements for dealer groups using both systems."

Seamless integration with real-time, bi-directional data updates in both the DMS and CRM ensures that all customer files, service history, inventory, deal and lead information is current across the enterprise and can be accessed in one place.

"A fully integrated solution reduces redundancies and human error, while improving process flow and speeding up transactions," said Jock Schowalter, CEO of DealerPeak. "Dealer groups benefit with increased productivity that leads to higher profits."

DealerPeak developed its CRM from the ground up for enterprise dealer groups and their specific needs; including reporting capabilities that go beyond standard analytics to provide dealers with advanced ROI tracking.

Auto/Mate offers low-cost, seamless integration for third-party vendors with its Open/Mate program. Auto/Mate is an advocate of open standards integration as a way to increase competition, lower prices and improve the quality of products offered by all vendors.

Auto/Mate's DMS is an industry-leading solution designed for single and group franchise dealerships, and is proven to increase efficiencies and boost dealer profits. For more information call Auto/Mate at 877-340-2677.

About DealerPeak

DealerPeak was founded in 1999 with the goal of providing Automotive Dealerships better technology solutions at lower costs while providing superior results. DealerPeak is headquartered in Portland, Oregon and has hundreds of dealer clients throughout the United States. DealerPeak solutions include CRM, Websites, Chat, Desking, Digital Marketing, SEO and Transactional Websites that work seamlessly on a unified Web-based platform. This allows our dealers to reduce their number of vendors and drive their cost of doing business down. DealerPeak is also a proud member of the Toyota TDDS Dealer Website Program.

DealerPeak also has a separate division for its Online Negotiation Product called WideStorm. To find out more about On-line negotiation for Automotive Dealers visit WideStorm.com.

About Auto/Mate

Auto/Mate Dealership Systems is a leading provider of dealership management system (DMS) software to retail automotive dealerships. Its Automotive Management Productivity Suite (AMPS) is a user-friendly, feature-rich DMS in use by more than 1,000 auto dealers nationwide. Auto/Mate received the “Highest Rated DMS of 2012" and the "Highest Rated DMS of 2013" awards in the annual Driving Sales Dealer Satisfaction Awards.

Auto/Mate’s employees have more than 850 years of combined experience working in auto dealerships – the foundation of its “Designed By Car People For Car People^TM” slogan. For more information visit our website, follow us on Twitter @AutoMateDMS and subscribe to our blog at http://blog.automate.com

New York, NY— March 23, 2015 –  HookLogic, the global leader in commerce search advertising and premium provider of lead-generating incentive solutions for automotive dealers, today announced that Kia car dealers that use Mobile2Show, a best in class mobile targeting and showrooming solution, can now tap into their 2015 Dealer Advertising Support (DAS) funds. Mobile2Show targets competitive dealership/brands in the mobile environment, both on the dealer’s site as well as other local and regional sites, and drives prospects away from competitors and into the dealership’s showroom.

Kia Motors America (KMA) previously approved two other products from the AutoHook Suite of Solutions: Web2Show, a tool that converts traffic from the dealer’s website into more showroom visitors. Prospects that visit the dealer’s site are invited to choose a free gift, redeemable by visiting their showroom. And Lead2Show, a tool that maximizes the dealers 3^rd party leads using scoring via data partners, such as Polk and Dataium, to immediately identify the highest intent to buy customers.

Kia dealers can now choose from among five AutoHook product packages, all of which are DAS eligible. Packages include AutoHook’s Mobile2Show, Web2Show and Lead2Show products.

Kia is the first manufacturer to set up a reimbursement program for both AutoHook’s monthly technology fee and a pool of redemptions. The AutoHook packages for which Kia is offering to reimburse its dealers range in price from $640 per month to $1,790 per month.

“We have such great relationships with many Kia dealerships across the country. This additional approval of Mobile2Show by Kia Motors America allows us to reach dealers that we may not have otherwise have been able to connect with,” said David Metter, president of automotive for HookLogic “I am excited that our Kia dealerships will have the opportunity to drive conquest buyers into their showroom and validate their sales through our technology.”

Lead2Show intelligently identifies leads that have the highest intent to purchase and then incentivizes those individuals to visit the referring dealership for a test drive. Dealers using Lead2Show have an average Lead to Show rate of more than 30 percent — nearly double the national average. 

Web2Show is an industry-leading tool that intelligently delivers incentives to people who display in-market behavior and meet certain targeting criteria.

Mobile2Show helps dealers to conquest customers away from a competitor’s dealership and into their showroom. Its responsive design enables the display of a call to action on mobile devices or the dealer’s mobile site. Once clicked, the incentive is delivered by email or text message and the customer is promptly connected to the dealership through the e-delivery of driving directions, or via phone.  Mobile2Show also integrates into Apple Passbook and Google Wallet. 

HookLogic’s user interface has over 19,000 franchised dealerships precisely mapped out, making it an easy process for dealers and OEMs to locate and choose specific competitive dealerships to target with Mobile2Show. When a customer at a targeted competitor searches the dealer’s or OEM’s site, a dynamic offer pushes the customer out of the competitor’s dealership and into the Mobile2Show dealership for a test drive.  Once at that dealership, the customer redeems their offer via a simple 30-second process that precisely attributes the showroom visit and sale back to the mobile offer.  Mobile2Show is the first true automotive showrooming solution tied to HookLogic’s award-winning attribution engine, which can directly attribute sales at the dealership, and in most states, from other dealerships as well.

Should the customer fail to visit the dealership’s website while showrooming, HookLogic’s dynamic incentives enable Mobile2Show to target customers browsing on hundreds of other mobile websites and apps powered by Verve Mobile.  Each dealership and OEM can customize the targeting of customers based on geographic region and local Auto Intenders. Mobile2Show can also retarget consumers that showed interest in an earlier mobile visit, enabling dealers to reach the right customer at the right time with the right offer. “Our dealers and OEM partners can protect their own backyard, conquest around competitor’s dealerships, and even retarget opportunities,” said Metter.

To schedule a demonstration any of the AutoHook Suite of Solutions, visit:  http://www6.hooklogic.com/autodemo. And to find out more about Kia Motors America program call: 855-lead-2-show (855-532-3274).

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About HookLogic:

HookLogic, the global leader in commerce search advertising, partners with the world’s leading retailers, online travel agencies, and automotive companies to provide marketers unprecedented access to active category shoppers and a clear view into resulting sales attribution. The company’s high-performance vertical marketing programs accelerate sales for product brands, marketplace sellers, hoteliers, and automotive marketers. Network partners and advertisers including Walmart, Target, Intel, Asda, L’Oreal, Expedia, Priceline, General Motors, and Chrysler use HookLogic to increase sales and monetize site traffic. Backed by Bain Capital Ventures and Intel Capital, HookLogic is headquartered in New York City, with offices in Ann Arbor, Santa Monica, Atlanta, and London, UK.

Iselin, NJ – March 23, 2015 -- Superior Integrated Solutions (SIS), the industry’s leading integration provider for auto dealerships, today announced that Subaru of America has chosen SIS as the exclusive provider of integration services to facilitate data exchange between Subaru dealers and their DMS vendors. SIS is certified or approved to provide integration services for 14 DMS providers, and serves as an integration services provider for multiple OEMS, including Ford and General Motors.

“We chose Superior because we felt they were the one company that could support all DMS providers and provide the level of support, service and security we wanted for our Subaru retailers nationwide,” stated Brian Simmermon, VP & CIO, Subaru of America.

Unlike most other integration service providers, SIS is a leader in and specializes in real-time data integration. Rather than just pulling inventory and other needed data once per day, with Superior, dealers can click on demand and access their data as needed.

Currently, SIS handles over 1.4 Million transactions monthly for Subaru dealers nationwide. The company takes a unique approach to DMS integration in that every interface is customized to the provider and dealer and created using multiple layers of quality assurance. It services more than 11,800 dealerships to date and counts among its clients the industry’s largest publicly-traded and private automotive conglomerates, OEMs and automotive vendors across the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.

“Superiors’ investment in the technology we deploy sets us apart from our competitors. Superior acts solely as a totally secure conduit between its partners and dealership clients and utilizes no internal data storage,” said Phillip Battista, CEO for Superior Integrated Solutions. “Because of this key differentiator, many major issues that plague integration providers simply do not apply to us. One of the first questions asked of a potential integration provider should be ‘Do you warehouse any data?’ Any answer but a definitive ‘no,’ is a good reason to walk away.”

SIS goes to great lengths to ensure data security and stability and provide peace-of-mind to its dealers.  The company has over $1,000,000 invested in state-of-the-art technology residing in its Tier III fully hosted facility. SSAE16 certified compliance, paired with 2N redundancy and a 100 percent uptime guarantee, provide superior security and stability. In fact, SIS is so confident in the security of its solution that it’s backed by a $3,000,000 guarantee in the event of data breech. The company is also bonded up to $5,000,000.

With a long and deeply-rooted history in the automotive retail industry, almost all of SIS team members come from one or more areas of automotive retail, each with a highly specialized skill set. Superior is not owned in whole, or in part, by any DMS company. This creates the ability for Superior to service 14 different DMS vendors with one standard interface, resulting in increased scalability for its OEMS and vendors.

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About Superior Integrated Solutions: (www.superiorintegratedsolutions.com)

Superior Integrated Solutions specializes in the programming and integration of dealer management systems with third-party systems in use at auto dealerships. Superior offers in-house custom development services including F&I, accounting, service and parts, and currently represents 70 percent of the top 20 dealer groups in the nation. SIS offers a combined 50 years of automotive experience and understands a dealership’s business goals and terminology. For more information visit: www.superiorintegratedsolutions.com.
 

CallSource is a Finalist for DrivingSales Most Valuable Insight Award

CallSource will present “Fine Tune Your Fixed Ops Phone Skills: Inbound Call Handling Secrets Revealed,” based on original research, at the DrivingSales Presidents Club in
New York City March 31-April 1, 2015

Westlake Village, Calif. and Salt Lake City, UT - March 19, 2015 - CallSource, the U.S. leader in call tracking, management and training, has been selected as a finalist for the 2015 DrivingSales Most Valuable Insight Award, which was created to foster the spirit of progress and thought leadership in the auto industry. 

Applicants were asked to provide an insight, based on comprehensive original research, which can provide significant value to dealership executives. CallSource was selected as one of four finalists from a competitive field of submissions and will present “Fine Tune Your Fixed Ops Phone Skills: Inbound Call Handling Secrets Revealed” as part of the Most Valuable Insight Competition at the 2015 DrivingSales Presidents Club event, held at the Grand Hyatt in New York City on March 31- April 1, 2015.

“Thanks to the proliferation of smartphones, phone calls are on the rise to all businesses, dealer service departments included,” said Andrew Price, President of CallSource Automotive. “Mobile search is expected to generate 73 billion calls in 2018, up from 30 billion in 2013[1] – capturing and converting these leads is paramount to the Fixed Ops bottom line, and our insight aims to show dealers the best practices for insuring that call handlers set more service appointments and, in turn, generate more revenue.”

In an extensive study of 2,400 actual service department prospect calls, CallSource evaluated them based on over twenty critical call handling standards to establish which behaviors will set service appointments. Specific behaviors and phrases were determined to increase a call handlers’ call-to-appointment ratio. This presentation will reveal both the subtle and not so subtle ways service personnel can increase appointment settings on increased inbound service calls dealerships are receiving.

“This year’s DrivingSales Most Valuable Insight presentations are destined to get our industry talking about key areas for process innovation and improvement.  Each is based on deep research and promises to help our dealer attendees increase profits and build for the future,” said DrivingSales Founder and CEO Jared Hamilton. “Congratulations to CallSource for offering original thinking and an insight so valuable that our dealer panel has selected it to be presented to hundreds of their peers. We look forward to learning more about fine tuning Fixed Ops phone skills in New York in April.”

The DrivingSales Most Valuable Insight finalists were exclusively chosen from online applicants by top decision-makers from innovative dealerships across the US.  The Dealer Panel based their decisions on the following criteria:

• Insight usefulness & applicability to a dealership/group
• Topic relevancy to a Dealer Principal or GM
• Magnitude of results or impact of the insight to a dealership/group
• Insight originality

Each finalist company will have the opportunity to present its insight onstage at the 2015 DrivingSales Presidents Club. The presentation includes a Q&A with a panel of dealer judges who will score each insight.  The finalist company determined to have the Most Valuable Insight will have the opportunity to present findings in more detail at the 2015 DrivingSales Executive Summit in October.

The Most Valuable Insight Competition is part of a high-level line-up at the DrivingSales Presidents Club that includes Sonic Automotive’s CMO Rachel Richards and special guest former leader of Navy Seal Team Six. Visit www.drivingsalespresidentsclub.com for more information and to register for the event.

For more information about the DrivingSales Most Valuable Insight Competition, go to www.drivingsalespresidentsclub.com/competition/.

About CallSource

For over 25 years, CallSource’s award-winning solutions have helped businesses track, analyze and improve incoming call performance. In addition to tracking over one billion calls since inception, CallSource delivers marketing insight, including cost-per-lead analysis and sales conversion percentages, training and coaching solutions to improve phone skills, and tools that enable businesses to recapture mishandled calls. Based in Westlake Village, Calif., CallSource recently received a patent for its Sales Profit Management (SPM) system, which combines the actionable data of its call analytics, performance analysis, advisory services, and online training/coaching from seasoned sales professionals. CallSource serves multiple industries including automotive, home services, media, and healthcare, as well as numerous Franchise businesses. Visit callsource.com.

About The DrivingSales Presidents Club

Held annually on the east coast, The DrivingSales Presidents Club offers dealer principals a place where they can access the right, relevant information to lead their dealerships – profit-building information filtered through those who understand it best: innovative leaders from inside and outside the industry who have built great business strategies; progressive dealerships who are making a difference on the ground, and the forward-thinking general managers and dealership principals who not only know what information matters, but how it matters. The event, which is dealer-designed to cover the topics most relevant to the challenges of dealership leadership today, also emphasizes peer interaction and idea-sharing forums. Discussions and presentations focus on the three foundational assets of successful dealership operations, Capital, Brand and People and the event includes The Most Valuable Insight competition.

CallSource Media Relations: 

Cassandra Cavanah (cassandra@mwebbcom.com), mWEBB Communications, (818) 397-4630

DrivingSales Media Relations:
Melanie Webber (melanie@mwebbcom.com), mWEBB Communications, 424.603.4340
Crystal Hartwell (crystal@mwebbcom.com), mWEBB Communications, 714.987.1016

"Our video platform makes it easy for DealerFire customers to implement a comprehensive video marketing strategy that will increase SEO rankings and convert more website visitors into leads," said Brian Cox, President and CEO of Flick Fusion. "Our automated video production process is scalable, allowing dealers to start with basic inventory videos and then add other strategies over time, such as video emails, mobile videos, test drive showcases and more."

"Our dealers have been asking for a way to integrate video into their marketing efforts and Flick Fusion's automated production process provides an instant and easy way to accomplish that," said Matt Redden, CMO of DealerSocket. "We chose Flick Fusion because they are the only video marketing provider that offers a suite of solutions for every video marketing need."

Flick Fusion's video marketing platform offers auto dealers the following features and benefits:

• Automates Video Production Process. All a dealership does is provide vehicle inventory data and the Flick Fusion platform instantly generates videos with human voiceover and live video. Personnel can customize videos with banners offering current rebate, APR, cash back offers and more.
• Increases Organic SEO Rankings. Flick Fusion videos are produced in SEO-friendly formats with keywords and hyperlinks, then distributed on YouTube and other video sites, greatly increasing search engine rankings.
• Drives Traffic to Dealerships and Increases Lead Conversion Rates. Flick Fusion's large video distribution network drives traffic to dealerships by encouraging consumers to visit the dealer's web site and contact the dealers with calls to action, creating more leads and increasing conversion rates.
• Fulfills Every Video Marketing Need. The Flick Fusion platform is the industry's only solution that fulfills every video marketing need for auto dealers, including inventory videos, video email marketing and general dealership videos such as customer testimonials, service department overviews, sales events and more.
• Viewable on All Mobile Devices. All of Flick Fusion's inventory and dealership videos can be viewed on mobile devices and are easily accessible on dealerships' mobile web sites.
• Platform Agnostic. Flick Fusion videos can be viewed on any operating system, using any browser and every type and brand of mobile device.

DealerSocket's innovative automotive CRM platform is designed to increase revenue from sales and service, improve customer satisfaction index (CSI) and boost the dealership’s gross profit. Since 1999, DealerFire has led the way in providing custom automotive website solutions, supplying dealerships with mobile applications, content marketing, SEO/SEM and now video marketing solutions.

About FlickFusion

Flick Fusion specializes in creating, managing, and distributing dynamic and cost-effective online and mobile video products. Each video is designed to help dealerships reach and engage with customers, delivering rich content that results in increased sales and ROI. Flick Fusion produces video content for more than 3,000 dealerships and more than a dozen reseller partners. For more information, visit www.flickfusion.com.

About DealerSocket

DealerSocket provides dealerships with a single automotive platform containing marketing, sales, service, customer experience, and data mining solutions. More than 185,000 users at over 6,500 auto dealerships throughout the U.S., Canada, and Australia are optimizing their dealership with in-depth statistics to save critical time and money, while increasing sales and staff effectiveness, all powered through DealerSocket. For more information, call 775-473-6622, visit DealerSocket.com, join us on LinkedIn.com/company/dealersocket, follow us on Twitter at @DealerSocketCRM, or like us at Facebook.com/DealerSocketCRM