ALBANY, N.Y. – May 5th, 2014 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems announced today that results from its Spring survey reveal that more than half of auto dealers have customer loyalty or rewards programs in their dealerships, and another 20 percent have plans to implement one soon or are "thinking about it." Additionally the dealers weighed in on what they believe are the top factors that contribute towards building a loyal customer base.

"The vast majority (85%) of auto dealers believe that providing good customer service is the key to customer loyalty, but in my opinion the survey results reveal a lack of understanding as to how that excellence in customer service is achieved," said Mike Esposito, President and CEO of Auto/Mate.

Esposito cites that customer service training can only go so far, and that focusing on creating a great place to work and keeping employees happy is the most important factor in creating a loyal customer base. "Employees are the front-line of your brand; they are responsible for all customer transactions. Employees have to love your company before they love your customers," he said. Yet, just over a third of survey respondents chose "Ensuring that our employees are happy and enjoy their jobs" as a top contributing factor for customer loyalty.

Auto/Mate's spring survey was conducted in March and April and received more than 120 responses, the majority of which came from dealership principals and managers. The survey asked the following two customer loyalty related questions:

1) Do you have a customer loyalty or rewards program for your customers?

Yes - 54%

No - 26%

Thinking About It - 14%

We plan to implement very soon - 5%

2) What three factors do you believe contribute the most towards building customer loyalty?

Ensuring our employees give good customer service - 85%

Offer service discounts & coupons competitive with local repair shops - 55%

Keeping website content updated & useful - 38%

Ensuring that our employees are happy & enjoy their jobs - 36%

Good reputation management program - 30%

Marketing/salespeople outreach - 26%

Customer loyalty/points program - 22%

Offer the lowest price - 17%

Good social media program - 11%

Customer loyalty isn't very important - 0%

According to a 2013 Forrester Research report, 70 percent of executives said that customer retention was the number one goal for their customer loyalty programs. The study also found that while nearly half of customers do enroll in loyalty programs that are offered, just over a third of those customers redeem rewards, which means that only 16 percent of all customers take advantage of such programs. The research also suggests that the key to customer loyalty is the ability to keep customers engaged.

Auto/Mate has one of the highest customer retention rates in the retail automotive industry and has enjoyed an average 20% growth rate for the last five years. Auto/Mate won the "Highest Rated" Driving Sales Dealer Satisfaction Award in the DMS category for both 2012 and 2013. Esposito attributes Auto/Mate's success to its employees and has studied and implemented the principles of what makes a great place to work.  As a result, Auto/Mate has been voted a "Best Place to Work" four years running by the Albany Business Review, and has also received a "Top Workplace" award from The Times Union and WorkplaceDynamics for three consecutive years.

Esposito is available to present a seminar titled "A Better Way to Customer Loyalty: Focus on Employees First, Customers Second," to state auto dealer associations and to 20 Groups. To book Esposito at your event, please inquire at media@automate.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 and follow us on Twitter @AutoMateDMS

Downers Grove, Ill. (April 30,2014) – Dealer e-Process, the leading website solutions provider to the automotive industry, announced that General Motors has approved the company as an iMR (inMarketRetail) match eligible turnkey vendor for Digital AMMP products for digital marketing. All GM dealers who are a part of this program can now use iMR funds for Dealer e-Process’ Digital AMMP products in order to improve the effectiveness of their dealership’s online marketing strategy.

“We are excited for the opportunity to work with General Motors and the iMR program. We understand that GM dealers have few choices when it comes to using co-op funds for their digital marketing efforts, but at the same same need to penetrate the market differently than their competitor. Our product, Digital AMMP finally makes this possible for GM dealers.” said Dave Page, co-owner of Dealer e-Process.

Digital AMMP marketing solutions are presently in use in dealerships across North America. Participating Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, and GMC dealers can use match funds for the following marketing solutions – Inventory Based Ads, Custom Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Display Advertising, Mobile Geo-Fencing, and Advanced Dashboard Reporting. All products will send users to the dealership’s Cobalt site to meet GM guidelines. 

Dealer e-Process can power Inventory Based Ads for GM affiliated dealers by collecting the data about current cars on the lot and then generate compelling ads for the right customers on Google. Custom search campaigns can also help GM dealers by advertising foundation based terms such as locations to capture high-funnel shoppers. Display Advertising and Mobile Geo-Fencing offer GM dealers the chance to implement a successful branding campaign on any device in a cost-effective way.

GM dealers can also take advantage of Advanced Dashboard Reporting, the one-stop-shop for all of the information dealers need relating to the success of their online marketing strategy. Dealer e-Process offers a fully transparent solution by also proving dealers with direct access into their Google AdWords and Google Analytics accounts.

GM affiliated dealers taking part in the iMR program and seeking to add Digital AMMP marketing solutions should visit http://www.digitalammp.com to request more information.

###

About Dealer e-Process
Headquartered in Downers Grove, IL, just west of Chicago, Dealer e-Process builds innovative websites and integrated online marketing tools that engage consumers and producers. They are committed to creating more opportunity and conversion for auto dealers than any website provider in the industry. For more information on Dealer e-Process, call 877-551-2555.

Leading dealer management system (DMS) provider Autosoft, Inc. (http://www.autosoftyoudrive.com) announced today that Carfolks, an integrated marketing and employee retention solution, has become a partner in Autosoft’s third party integration program, FLEX Connect.

The Carfolks solution helps build trust and loyalty with customers and prospects, while, improving employee satisfaction and retention at the same time. With the Carfolks online community network, dealers are able to build, protect, and enhance their online reputation, and engage shoppers who are looking for the best dealerships in their neighborhood. By creating individual profiles for each employee within the dealership, customers can post comments publicly to recognize and share positive sales and service experiences by specific employee.

These engagement tools generate positive organic word-of-mouth advertising to bring consumers into the dealership, and create a mechanism to recognize and retain good employees. The Carfolks program piggy backs on existing advertising placements, so the dealership sees no increase in their traditional marketing budget, and helps the dealer manage operational expenses by reducing employee turnover.

“The partnership will provide Autosoft customers with tools to raise their online visibility, strengthen brand loyalty, and reduce expenses for training and hiring of employees,” said Christopher Morris, Senior Vice President of Business Development for Autosoft. “We are pleased to have Carfolks as a partner in our FLEX Connect data access program, Morris continued, “To kick off our partnership, Carfolks is offering a special introductory offer for Autosoft customers, so that they can try the solution free for a limited trial period.”

Jeff Sprague, Executive Vice President of Carfolks and a former dealer principal of Chrysler, Nissan and GM franchises in New England, said, “The good news is that while most folks in the auto industry do a great job of working with their customers, auto shoppers commonly focus on the negative comments. We make it simple for happy customers to share their experience in about 30 seconds, and these validated reviews are posted instantly on the Carfolks.com website to enhance transparency.”

“We understand that having the control to make the choices that best fit the needs of their dealership is important to our customers,” continued Christopher Morris. “We developed our FLEX Connect program on that foundation, and with the flexibility to select cost-effective, secure integrations from a broad menu of market-leading providers, such as Carfolks.”

About Autosoft, Inc. 
Autosoft, Inc. is a market leading dealer management systems provider for automotive dealers. Celebrating twenty-five years in the industry, Autosoft has a customer base of more 2,000 dealerships and 30,000 plus users in the U.S. and Canada. Autosoft is committed to delivering industry leading customer service and support that result in higher efficiency and profitability for dealerships.

For more information about Autosoft; call 844-888-8200, email; sales(at)autosoft-asi(dot)com, or visit the web site at;http://www.autosoftyoudrive.com.

About Carfolks.com 
Carfolks, based in Lakewood, Ohio, is the only automotive retailer and sales professional community providing transparency and customer reviews unfiltered by auto dealers. Like Facebook, Carfolks provides a free individual page for every automotive sales person in the United States and Canada to build their professional brand and to help differentiate auto dealers from their competitors. All new vehicle dealers are listed in the Carfolks directory and consumers can visit Carfolks to post comments about their dealership experience.

For more information, call Mark R. Dubis at 216-712-6712, email; mark.dubis@carfolks.net

Study details unexpected benefits: Benny Boyd Auto Group lost 4 cars to fake IDs prior to using ID Drive scanner; after using for one year: ID fraud eliminated – sales across 9 stores increased 10% - and sales process slashed by 30 minutes

Mission Viejo, CA – April 28, 2014 – ID fraud is a massive national problem – and a growing dealership issue. The Benny Boyd Auto Group, with nine stores in Texas, lost four vehicles to fake ID scams, so they embraced a new ID scanner that utilizes the same technology that’s used by Homeland Security. A just released case study from eLEND Solutions™ charts how the dealership group not only eliminated ID fraud, but also realized some unexpected benefits. Among them:

• Increased sales by 10%. Because ID Drive is seamlessly connected to a dealer’s CRM system, it captures exponentially more test-drive/in-store leads for follow-up.
• Cut their average sales/financing process by 30 minutes. Because ID Drive™ connects that customer’s info to the sales and financing departments at the “point-of-scan,” the paperwork/foursquare invoice is ready before the test-driver pulls back in.

In addition, the case study reports on how the scanner helped on multiple other fronts, from federal compliance laws mandating protection against employee identity theft to greater salesperson accountability, to protecting the team from criminals using fake IDs to take test-drives, and then pulling guns on salespeople. 

In 2013, nearly one billion identities were breached[1] (the Heartbleed bug being just the latest), putting birth dates, addresses, and other personal info into the hands of criminals, who use super-sophisticated technology to make impeccable-looking fake IDs. More thieves are now using fake IDs to test-drive and steal – or even purchase – cars, but dealerships use barcode scanners that can only verify that data is present on a card, not that it’s valid, leaving them vulnerable.

The ID scanner Benny Boyd utilizes is eLEND Solutions’ patent-pending ID Drive, which performs dozens of complex forensic tests on IDs in seconds, and scrutinizes not only visible ID properties, but also those undetectable to the eye.  

TO READ THE FULL CASE STUDY HERE:  http://www.elendsolutions.com/case-study/case-study-2/

Case Study Highlights

1) Burned by ID Fraud, But Not After ID Drive: Three months before adopting ID Drive, Benny Boyd Auto Group was hit with several sophisticated scams: four vehicles were sold to buyers with fake IDs/credit info that had “checked out perfectly.” The vehicles were shipped to the “buyers’” address, where the thieves signed for delivery and promptly drove off. Since installing ID Drive in their nine stores, no vehicles have been bought or stolen with fake IDs. Mark Gibson, E-Commerce & Internet Director, Compliance Officer, Benny Boyd Group, notes ID Drive has also helped by flagging expired licenses or ones with altered dates of birth, crucial, because if a test-driver with an invalid license has an accident, the dealership’s insurance premiums go up. 

2) Rigorous “Scan It” Process = More Leads Captured; Sales Grow 10%: Gibson reports that ID Drive enabled him to put in place a strict new process: no salesperson can take cars out or work deals unless the customer’s ID gets scanned. And with every ID Drive scan, that customer’s info is put into motion: pushed into the CRM system, with the customer, the vehicle and any pre-existing lead or credit app data made transparent to sales and F& I. Dealerships may focus intensely on Internet leads, but Benny Boyd Group notes that ID Drive ensures they capture and work so many more, too-overlooked in-store leads.

The result of capturing so many more in-store leads for follow-up: Benny Boyd Group has seen a 10% increase in sales since installing the ID Drive technology/process a year ago - or about 50 incremental cars sold each month.  

3) Shorter Sales & Financing Process: Because ID Drive connects the customer info and vehicle stock number (digitally via the CRM system) to the sales department pre-test-drive, Benny Boyd Group reports they now have the foursquare invoice/paperwork ready when that test-driver pulls in…trimming their average transaction time by 30 minutes.

Ironclad protection against fake IDs, significantly increased sales, and a shorter transaction process have been the “Big Three” ID Drive results for Benny Boyd Auto Group, but the dealership also reports numerous other eye-opening benefits. To read more, click here.

“Our dealerships experienced the nightmare of ID fraud first-hand, and we had 30 broken ID scanners sitting in a closet. But ID Drive has worked flawlessly: it’s sweet, slick technology, and in 5 seconds you know if there are ANY problems with any ID,” said Gibson. “But what’s amazed me is that, because it captures so many more test-drive leads into our CRM, we’ve seen a 10% increase in sales across the board. This one small scanner has delivered so many benefits to our dealerships.”

About ID Drive: ID Drive was developed with AssureTec Technologies, the ID authentication solution used by Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of State and border patrols all over the world. A far cry from the low-tech barcode scanners most dealers use.

With one scan, ID Drive performs dozens of complex forensic tests on IDs in seconds. It extracts all biometric and alphanumeric data in the document, and authenticates it using its forensics library and detection algorithms, scrutinizing not only visible ID properties, but also those undetectable to the eye. The result: instant validation or red flags. And unlike any other dealership ID scanner, ID Drive extracts, purifies and enhances the personal info on the ID, and seamlessly exports it into a dealership’s CRM/finance systems.

 About eLEND Solutions:

eLEND Solutions was founded in 2003 as DealerCentric, whose “Get Pre-Approved in Seconds” solution represents the auto industry’s leading online credit application product. The company has since expanded its mission by developing a comprehensive, next-generation consumer finance management system that will benefit dealers, lenders and consumers. E-LEND Solutions technology platform will bring financing to the front of the sales process, and put the customer in the right vehicle and loan, at the point of sale, reducing the dealership financing process from hours to minutes.  E-LEND Solutions is headed by Pete MacInnis, who leads a management team with over 250 years of automotive, finance and technology experience.  

Media Relations Contact: mWEBB Communications
Melanie Webber, (949) 307-1723 / melanie@mwebbcom.com 

DMEautomotive study provides fresh evidence that dealership avoidance is a new car buying “normal”

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – April 15, 2014 – It may be the second most expensive purchase of most people’s lives, but new research from DMEautomotive (DMEa) reveals that a growing number of Americans are bypassing test-drives – and making strikingly few visits to dealerships – in their car-buying process.

The latest survey of roughly 2,000 automotive consumers¹ found that, before purchasing, 16% took no test-drive, and 33% test-drove only one car. And more than two-thirds (68%) reported that they visited only two dealerships or fewer before buying - with 40% visiting only one dealer.

The survey also measured consumer trust of dealer salespeople, and the results were sobering: only 21% claimed they perceive them as “trustworthy,” a lower trust rating than reported for lawyers, mortgage brokers and insurance salespeople.

“This avoidance of physical dealerships is in stark contrast with how much online vehicle research is happening: 4 in 5 people now use the Internet for car buying, visiting 10 auto websites in the process,[1]” said Dr. Mary Sheridan, Manager of Research and Analytics at DMEa. “More people are stealthily comparison-shopping dealerships and inventory online, and then swooping in to buy when their minds are already made up. Dealerships can no longer rely on in-store visits and the old ‘be-backs’ to drive sales: they need to have the most powerful online presence wherever dealer/vehicle selection is happening, and work far harder to keep customers close throughout the ownership cycle, using every retention marketing tool possible, like a constant-connection mobile app.”

KEY FINDINGS:

Few Test Drives: The average new vehicle may cost a record $32K+[2], but roughly half (49%) of buyers report only test-driving one (or no) vehicle before purchasing their latest vehicle. On average, car buyers test-drive only 1.9 cars pre-purchase, with just over a quarter (26%) test-driving 3 vehicles or more.

Percent of consumers test driving vehicles
1 in 6 DID NOT test-drive latest vehicle purchased, half test-drove 1 or less

16%     33%     25%     14%     4%       3%       2%       3%

 0          1         2         3         4          5          6         7 or more

Even For Used Cars: Conventional wisdom is that used-car buyers at dealerships take significantly more test-drives (as each vehicle is unique), but the DMEa study reveals that is not the case: 30% of used buyers test-drove only one vehicle (vs. 35% of new buyers) – and a greater percentage of used buyers (18%) than new (14%) reported taking no test-drives.

Young More Likely to Test-Drive – Women to Avoid: Car buyers under 35, who may be more enthralled with the newness of the car-purchasing experience, are slightly more likely to take test-drives and try out more vehicles. For instance, 57% of those under 35 test-drove more than one vehicle (vs. 48% of those over 35) – and 33% test-drove more than three (vs. 23% of those over 35). But women, who influence 85% of all car purchases,[3] were bigger test-drive avoiders: 19% skipped it altogether, vs. 12% of men.

Few Dealerships Visited Pre-Purchase: The survey found that 68% of car buyers visit two dealerships or less – and only 15% visit four or more – before buying. Overall, car buyers only visit 2.2 dealerships. So, this new DMEa data confirms recent industry research like that from McKinsey[4] that found that car buyers visit 1.6 dealerships before buying – plummeting from 5 just a decade ago.

DME­­­’s survey reveals that used buyers make slightly more dealership visits (to search inventory) than new buyers do: for instance, 38% of used buyers visit 3+ dealerships, vs. 28% of new. Overall, new buyers hit 2.1 dealerships on average, vs. 2.3 for used buyers.

Again, Young Less Dealer-Averse, Women More: While all ages/genders report a low number of dealership visits, a bright spot for dealerships is that car buyers under 35 make slightly more visits than their older equivalents. Sixty-three percent of those under 35 visited two or more dealerships, vs. 53% of those over 35 - an indication that dealers should focus on delivering a modern retail experience, integrating the digital and mobile forms of shopping and purchase that millennials have come to expect.

Women, again, show more pronounced dealer avoidance: 46% of women visited zero or one dealerships to look at inventory, vs. 41% of men.

Car salesperson trust problem: Car buyers rated dealer salespeople on a “trust scale,” and a dealer image problem persists: a significant majority (56%) rated car salespeople untrustworthy - another 22% reported they “neither trusted/distrusted them” – and only 1 in 5 placed them in the trustworthy column.

Perhaps surprisingly, nearly twice as many car buyers under 35 trust dealer salespeople (30%) than those over 35 (17%). But again, dealerships have a notable “woman problem”: only 19% of women trust their salespeople, vs. 24% of men.

How Trust in Car Salespeople Stacks Up: The survey found that only 5% of consumers trust car salespeople more than doctors – 20% trust them more than lawyers - and 21% trust them more than either insurance salesmen or mortgage brokers. One small consolation: more people trust dealer salespeople than either politicians (57%) or telemarketers (59%).

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

Dealerships can now track – and precisely target – the 40% of their site traffic that comes through smartphones and tablets; 1,100 dealers using Gubagoo report even higher chat-to-lead rates on mobile (74%) than on desktops

West Palm Beach, FL–April 15, 2014 – Gubagoo announced today that its behavioral analytics-based chat and website engagement platform for dealer websites is now fully optimized for mobile. This means that, for the first time, dealerships can track and then relevantly target – through chat and personalized offers and inventory display – every single visitor that hits their website via a smartphone or tablet.

With an estimated 30-40% of dealer site traffic now coming through mobile devices,[1] Gubagoo is the first solution to serve up the right chats, offers and inventory to on-the-go, mobile car shoppers. And it keeps them right on the dealership’s mobile site, unlike other solutions that force the consumer onto another page, breaking continuity. Gubagoo Mobile works on any native smartphone or tablet device, requires no app downloads, and is able to automatically detect the presence of a mobile browser which instantly sets the mobile engine in motion.  And it is completely free to dealer clients.

Mobile Chat-to-Lead Rates Trump Desktop: The 1,200 dealerships that tested Gubagoo Mobile over the past 5 months understand how the concept of “chatting on the phone” is being re-written: their mobile chat-to-lead conversion rates are even higher (74%) than for chats happening through the desktop (71%) – further proof that mobile car shoppers convert at even higher rates than their desktop equivalents.[2]

“The auto industry is just starting to talk about ‘responsive’ dealer website design for desktop. But at Gubagoo we’ve been putting a powerful analytics ‘brain’ - which tracks, scores, and then relevantly engages every site visitor – to work on dealership sites for over a year. And now all our unique analytics, chat and engagement tools are available on mobile,” said Brad Title, CEO of Gubagoo. “Very soon, mobile will overtake the desktop as the way most people access dealer sites. And if a dealer’s vendors don’t enable smarter chat and more relevant site communications on mobile, they’re throwing 30-40% of their traffic away.”

Mobile Car-Shopping Facts: Industry research on how mobile is radically changing the way people shop for cars and dealers could fill a book.

• The percentage of car shoppers turning to auto sites and apps on their smartphones grew 73% from 2012 to 2013: from 41% of car shoppers, to 71%.[3]
• For all vehicle/dealer research done prior to visiting a dealer, 59% of car shoppers reported they used their smartphones, 48% their desktop, 19% their tablet – and 37% used multiple devices.[4]

How Gubagoo Works: Gubagoo is the fastest growing chat and website engagement platform for dealerships because it uniquely uses complex behavioral analytics and “scoring” technologies to make once-anonymous dealer site traffic totally visible and individually target-able. And when offers and chats are relevant and not “spam-my,” far more convert into leads and sales. In addition to its one-of-a-kind mobile platform:

Gubagoo is the only dealer website/chat solution to…

• Instantly tag every visitor every time they hit the site:  tracking every page they visit, car they view, 24/7.
• Decode all those clicks/URLs to build an ever-changing visitor profile with a dynamic “score.”
• Use that score to precisely target visitors across every website channel: from the published offers they see – to how chat agents interrupt. A high score visitor who viewed numerous Toyota Camry’s gets calculated Camry offers (which increase in value until either a lead is harvested or the maximum offer value has been reached) and inventory views. No more carpet-bombing service department visitors with new vehicle incentives – everything is personal and targeted.
• Uses predictive modeling to match dealer inventory to visitor behavior: putting the right cars, at the right price, in front of the right people.

• Gives chat and (cloud-based) call center agents an online dashboard that is an information-packed window into each site visitors’ activity and profile – leading to efficient, high-converting conversations.

“When we ‘flipped the mobile switch’ on the Gubagoo platform, our dealer websites had such a surge in chats and calls, that we had to dramatically staff up our 3^rd-party chat and call labs. That’s the power of mobile car-shopping in action,” said Title.

About Gubagoo 
Based in West Palm Beach, Florida, and staffed by a team of veteran technologists and innovators in lead conversion, Gubagoo offers revolutionary behavioral engagement and scoring technologies for automotive websites. With a mission to provide a smarter, more cost-effective alternative to the old lead generation model, Gubagoo is the first dealership website solution that successfully makes anonymous traffic identifiable, and converts the 95% of dealer site traffic that traditionally defects. Incorporating smart predictive matching and the best chat technology available - and powered by its proprietary behavioral engagement and scoring engine, ‘B.E.A.S.T.’ - Gubagoo engages new and repeat dealer site visitors with unprecedented relevance. Over 1,200 dealerships, including some of the nation’s largest dealer groups, as well as OEM-certified programs, already have adopted Gubagoo-powered websites.

Gubagoo Media Relations: 
Melanie Webber, mWEBB Communications, (949) 307-1723, Melanie@mwebbcom.com 

DMEautomotive named as Dealer Marketing Magazine’s 2014 Technology Leader in Service Marketing for Driver Connect

Daytona Beach, Fla., April 9, 2014 -- DMEautomotive’s (DMEa), the leader in science-based, results-driven automotive marketing, has received the prestigious Dealer Marketing Magazine Technology Leadership Award for the second year in a row.    Recognized once again for best service marketing, DMEa won the award for Driver Connect, its groundbreaking mobile app. This is the fifth technology award DMEa has won in the past 12 months, four of which were for Driver Connect.

“We launched Driver Connect to the industry in 2012 because we knew that nothing was going to be more critical to dealership service and customer retention than engaging customers where they are increasingly spending their time, on their smartphones,” said Mike Walther, president and CEO of DMEautomotive. “Since then, Driver Connect has continued to evolve ahead of the mobile – and service marketing – curve, deeply integrating with every step a dealership customer takes on his/her ownership journey. We are honored to again be recognized by Dealer Marketing Magazine Technology Leaderships Awards for our contribution to ensuring better, more effective, results-driven service marketing in our industry.”

Driver Connect helps dealerships keep pace with the new, “mobile-first,” consumer realities, by offering the first dealer-branded app that marries cool, truly useful and personalized automotive tools for customers, with keep-them-spending features for dealers – like “one tap” service appointment scheduling, robust new and used inventory search, and super-targeted offers tied to specific vehicles. Driver Connect also includes chat, vehicle-in-service/ready alerts, pre-paid maintenance, loyalty program and mobile wallet support, native service scheduler, push notifications, vehicle matching, and much more.  Driver Connect has been adopted by some of the largest dealer groups across the nation, and has won multiple awards, including the prestigious American Business Award, the 2013 BizTech Innovation Award®, and PCG Consulting – Automotive Website Award (2014).

The Dealer Marketing Magazine Technology Leadership Awards are unique because of multiple safeguards and a selection process designed to ensure objectivity. A supplier does not need to be an advertiser in Dealer Marketing Magazine in order to be considered or eligible for an award. To be considered in any Technology award category, vendors needed to be nominated by at least two separate dealers. To ensure the Dealer Marketing Magazine Technology Awards remained unbiased, the voting was moderated by Joe Webb and Bill Playford of DealerKnows Consulting, with all judging performed by members of the newly-formed Automotive Peer Review board. Vendors can be nominated for the award in any area of the dealership, from social media and service solutions to F&I tools. The only requirement is that the technology has benefited the dealership in some way.

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 dealers 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, Fla.

About Dealer Marketing Magazine

Dealer Marketing Magazine was started in 2002 by ad agency veteran, Brett Stevenson, owner of Stevenson Advertising, in Seattle, Washington. A team of auto marketing experts, led by Editor in Chief Michael Bowen, currently produce it. The Dealer Marketing Magazine staff is dedicated to providing auto dealers nationwide with a relevant one-stop resource for their advertising, marketing, sales, education, and business development needs. Every month, Dealer Marketing Magazine is mailed to over 18,000 auto dealers (most new car dealers and the nation's top used car dealers) and more than 1,000 industry-affiliated professionals. Dealer Marketing Magazine, however, is not a news magazine; it is a trade magazine focused on business success. Our focus is not up-to-the-minute information on manufacturer news, personnel promotions, and other news events. While some dealers may find this news informative, our experience suggests that dealers are more interested in learning how to be more effective marketers and better businesspeople.

DMEautomotive Media Relations:

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

Crystal Hartwell, mWEBB Communications, 714-987-1016, crystal@mwebbcom.com

DMEa Driver Connect joins with leading prepaid maintenance provider to put Fidelis PPM in the palm of the customer’s hand -- and powerful mobile marketing and retention at the dealership’s fingertips

Daytona Beach, FL –April 8, 2014 – DMEautomotive (DMEa), the leader in science-based, results-driven automotive marketing, today announced that Fidelis PPM, the leading provider of prepaid maintenance (PPM) solutions, has selected DMEa’s award-winning Driver Connect as its exclusive mobile app offering for its dealer clients.  Fidelis PPM will be integrated into Driver Connect allowing subscribing dealers to put its retention and revenue-driving power right into the palms of their customers’ hands.

“At our core, everything that Fidelis PPM does is about building and increasing dealership customer retention. That’s what made our integration of Driver Connect and our partnership with DME a natural fit. This represents the latest in the series of powerful tools that Fidelis PPM has put in place for our Dealers and F&I Administrators,” said Ryan Williams, Executive VP of Fidelis PPM.

DMEa research shows that engagement with, and usage of, prepaid maintenance plans drives future sales and service loyalty: 56% of consumers who have a prepaid or ‘complimentary’ service plan are likely to continue servicing at the dealership after expiration[1]

“By joining Driver Connect, which is popular with dealerships and consumers across the country, with Fidelis PPM, the leader in providing the most-requested dealer product in the country, Fidelis PPM dealers will have access to the most effective - and proven - mobile strategy available,” said Mike Martinez, Chief Marketing Officer of DMEautomotive.  “Prepaid maintenance is one of the best retention tools a dealer has -- but only if a customer uses it. This partnership will put all the info consumers need about their Fidelis PPM program, as well as the marketing messages to prompt them to use it, right on their mobile device.  This should greatly increase frequency of use – and with it dealership loyalty.”

Mobile marketing is becoming a critical tool for dealerships with app usage a powerful driver. In 2015, more people will access the Internet from a mobile device than from a desktop computer and DMEa research shows that 53% of consumers are likely to schedule a service appointment using their mobile device and 33% of consumers want to manage their maintenance schedule and records of their vehicle on a mobile device.[2]

Driver Connect has helped lead the mobile next wave in the auto industry, having been adopted by some of the largest dealer groups across the nation.  The DMEa app has won multiple awards, including the prestigious American Business Award and the 2013 BizTech Innovation Award®.

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 dealers 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, Fla.

About Fidelis PPM

Headquartered in Lakewood, NY, Fidelis PPM is the industry-leading provider revenue-driven pre-paid maintenance solutions. Fidelis’ unique prepaid maintenance (PPM) program is 100% Dealer branded and has customer retention at its core.

Powered by DRIV Customer Retention Software our program has an easy-to-use interface where Dealers can see ROI reports at a glance. The program comes with a turnkey marketing package, including automatic emails, POPL displays, brochures and service drive menus—all Dealer branded.

Agents—Give your dealers the most requested program in the country; but give them the best. Fidelis PPM. Talk to us about why our Agents see a 97% retention rate among their dealers.

Dealers—Create a new revenue streams, increase your customer retention to up 65%, and build brand awareness for your dealership. Our program is tested and proven to work.

To learn more about Fidelis PPM, visit www.getfidelis.com.

Media Relations

Melanie Webber, mWEBB Communications, (424) 603-4340, melanie@mwebbcom.com

Crystal Hartwell, mWEBB Communications, (949) 929-4637, crystal@mwebbcom.com

DMEautomotive will present Moving Beyond Retention: A New Paradigm to Grow Your Service Business, based on original research, at the DrivingSales Presidents Club in New York City April 16^th, 2014

Daytona, FL and Salt Lake City, UT – April 2, 2014 – DMEautomotive has been selected as a finalist for the 2014 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. DMEautomotive was selected as one of four finalists from a competitive field of submissions and will present Moving Beyond Retention: A New Paradigm to Grow Your Service Business as part of the Most Valuable Insight Competition at the 2014 DrivingSales Presidents Club event, held at the Grand Hyatt in New York City on April 16^th, 2014.

“Given the high level of investment and management attention directed at retention in the auto industry, we were surprised when our research showed how unreliable traditional retention metrics can be, especially in times of dramatic change as we’ve experienced over the past few years. We look forward to showing dealers at the President’s Club a new way of measuring customer retention and loyalty based on specific customer data. We believe the dealers who utilize this new metrics approach today will be the market leaders of tomorrow”, states Doug Van Sach, DMEautomotive Vice President, Strategy & Analytics.

Moving Beyond Retention: A New Paradigm to Grow Your Service Business will demonstrate that traditional retention metrics have become an unreliable way to measure customer loyalty and could be leading auto dealers to make poor business decisions. The presentation will offer a new approach for monitoring loyalty: GRO (Gross Revenue Optimization), which measures the percent of potential lifetime value a dealer is currently capturing from its customers. GRO enables dealers to better understand performance at each stage of the customer lifecycle and it provides a higher level of precision needed to compete in today’s hypercompetitive marketplace.

“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 DMEautomotive 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 Moving Beyond Retention: A New Paradigm to Grow Your Service Business 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 2014 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 2014 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 Gary Vaynerchuk and DealerTrack’s Mark O’Neill. 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 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 dealers 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, Fla.

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.

About DrivingSales

DrivingSales is a professional network serving the auto industry with dealer-driven news and information, online training, and performance data, all to enable dealers to make critical business decisions at their dealerships.  DrivingSales’ mission is to connect progressive dealership professionals to the people and information they need to maximize their success.  Founded by a third-generation car dealer, and opened up to the industry in 2008, today DrivingSales has registered users in over 50% of new car dealerships in the US and is active in several other countries around the globe.  To learn more about the DrivingSales community, training or performance analytics visit DrivingSales.com, DrivingSalesUniversity.com and DrivingSalesData.com

DMEautomotive, LLC Media Relations:

Elizabeth Erwin, 904.416.1018, Elizabeth.Erwin@dmeautomotive.com

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

Partnership integrates DMEautomotive’s state-of-the-art call center services and award-winning mobile app services directly into the DealerSocket CRM system, providing seamless and secure connectivity for DealerSocket users.

Daytona Beach, FL – March 31, 2014 – DMEautomotive (DMEa), the leader in science-based, results-driven automotive marketing, today announced a new partnership with DealerSocket, a leading auto dealer CRM provider.  The partnership gives DealerSocket users direct integration with DMEautomotive’s popular call center service, MasterCall, and its award-winning mobile app, Driver Connect. 

“I am very pleased to announce this partnership.  Our users will hugely benefit from a secure and seamless connection with DMEautomotive’s call center and scheduling services,” said Jonathan Ord, Founder and CEO of DealerSocket. “And, as mobile marketing becomes so crucial for today’s dealerships, having direct access to DriverConnect, the leading dealership mobile app, gives our users a real edge in the marketplace.”

In addition to the integration with MasterCall, DealerSocket will also enable service scheduling and connectivity through Driver Connect.  This direct integration means user data, including service and sales appointments, will seamlessly, and in real-time, feed directly into DealerSocket CRM.

“We are thrilled that DealerSocket has chosen DMEa as its primary provider of call center services,” said Mike Walther, CEO of DMEautomotive.  “DealerSocket is our preferred CRM provider and we look forward to introducing more of our dealer customers to this indispensible tool.  We understand that operating a successful and profitable dealership depends on having all the tools you need working in concert – this partnership makes that eminently achievable.”

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 dealers 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, Fla.

About DealerSocket

Since 2001, DealerSocket has provided the automotive industry with the most comprehensive Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and training solutions available, allowing auto dealers to save time and money, and improve sales staff effectiveness, with one consolidated product. With the power to manage sales, service, CSI, marketing and training, DealerSocket is the complete source for all customer-facing automotive dealership departments.

DealerSocket's core CRM is enhanced by a powerful, customer-facing Mobile Portal application to keep in contact with customers and prospects via all mobile devices, a data-mining tool called RevenueRadar, an online process-training university called CarMind and an efficient CallCenter solution. These products can be used alone or in conjunction with the core CRM solution to provide an end-to-end marketing and revenue-producing engine. More than 140,000 users at over 3,500 auto dealerships throughout the U.S. and Canada now leverage DealerSocket's automotive CRM solution to optimize and manage marketing activities, sales processes, customer satisfaction and retention and service-department operations. For more information, call 866-684-3175, email sales@DealerSocket.com, visit DealerSocket.com, like us at Facebook.com/DealerSocketCRM, or follow us on Twitter at @DealerSocketCRM.

DMEa Media Inquiries
Melanie Webber, mWEBB Communications, +1-424-603-4340, melanie@mwebbcom.com