Digital marketing firm Dealer Authority has bought into the philosophies of eReputatitionBuilder, as well as buying into the company itself.

February 24, 2014

Reputation management and social media marketing go hand-in-hand in the automotive industry as car dealers are finding that online buzz can drive business if it’s positive, or detract from business if it’s negative. To further promote this concept, Dealer Authority has purchased a significant interest in eReputationBuilder, an innovator in the automotive reputation management arena.

The deal maintains controlling interest with eReputationBuilder founder and CEO Peter “Webdoc” Martin, but adds Dealer Authority as a managing partner.

“JD Rucker is the Auto Industry’s foremost authority on Social Media and SEO and his involvement will take the product to a new level and provide our clients by leveraging the power of online reputation to increase SEO and drive more traffic which ultimately generates more sales," said Martin.

Dealer Authority specializes in automotive digital promotions with social media marketing and search engine optimization at the forefront of their services. By adding reputation management to the mix, President and founder JD Rucker hopes to “clean up” a portion of the industry that poses risks to car dealers.

“The vast majority of reputation management services available to the automotive industry are smoke and mirrors,” Rucker said. “It was important to find the company I felt offered services that would work today and will continue to work tomorrow when the nefarious methodologies that some of the other companies utilize are finally exposed as unfruitful and dangerous. That company is eRepBuilder.”

Sentiment filtering is the biggest concern with most automotive reputation management services. Companies like Google and Yelp frown on the standard practice of emailing customers to find out whether they are happy or not before sending a second email that only allows them to leave online reviews if they responded positively to the first. This filtering process is against the terms of service for most review sites and is considered unethical by many consumers.

“True reputation management is about communicating with customers and finding out how to make their experience amazing,” Rucker continues. “We looked at several services during our search for partners and eRepBuilder was the only one we found that did not put dealers at risk when the hammer drops on filtering. The ability to integrate reputation into search engine optimization is the other big factor in our decision, but more on that soon.”

Rucker will be participating in day-to-day operations at eReputationBuilder and is currently in negotiations with Martin to establish a long-term strategy for the partnership.

###

About Dealer Authority 
Taking a holistic approach to automotive digital marketing, Dealer Authority strives to bring the three most powerful components of a dealership’s online presence – search, social, and content – and make them work together. The concept of “the whole being greater than the sum of the parts” is a driving force in building a comprehensive system that gives car dealers the juice they need to dominate their competitors in today’s aggressive atmosphere.

About eReputationBUILDER 
This enterprise solution is designed to proactively build, enhance and manage your company’s online reputation. Created to boost positive online reviews and stop negative reviews from being published to the web, eReputationBUILDER leverages Cactus Sky’s expertise in email deliverability and incorporates mobile-friendly video email to further increase response rates. eReputationBUILDER encourages customers with complaints to voice their experience using our “Not Satisfied” button and routes those negative reviews directly to dealership management and provides the opportunity to respond before permanent damage can be done to your business and your reputation. Strategically designed campaigns promote authentic, positive reviews and increase your “Google Juice” via direct links to the most influential review sites. The best of both worlds, eReputationBUILDER has proven an invaluable tool for businesses to protect and promote their reputation while enhancing their online visibility and developing real customer relationships. With easy to monitor comprehensive reporting and an unmatched inbox placement, eReputationBUILDER is an irreplaceable tool that delivers results.

Free webinar on Thursday, February 27th at 2 p.m. EST provides an easy-to-grasp guide to mobile marketing; free copy of “The Big Picture Book of Mobile Marketing Strategy” for each attendee

Daytona Beach, FL–February 19, 2014– DMEautomotive (DMEa), the science-inspired, results-based automotive marketing leader, announces the ninth in a series of webinars the company is hosting with Automotive News. The sixty-minute webinar, “Mobile Marketing Success - What You Need to do Today to Win!”, demonstrates the importance of mobile adoption by auto dealerships and provides easy-to-grasp and actionable steps to ensure mobile marketing success. The webinar takes place on Thursday, February 27^th, at 2 p.m. EST.

“There is a significant void in dealership marketing when it comes to tested, actionable steps dealers can take to get more out of their mobile marketing investment. Deciding to make that mobile investment is the first step, but then what? For starters: recognizing that mobile is not just one, but six distinct channels, each of which needs a specific strategy,” said Mike Walther, president and CEO of DMEautomotive.  “This webinar will help attendees get the biggest bang for their mobile marketing buck.  Consumer adoption of mobile devices is massive and is having a major impact on the way they shop and communicate with dealerships. Being able to separate mobile marketing reality, which this webinar offers, from pie in the sky promises, will be mission critical to dealerships in 2014.”

“Mobile Marketing Success - What You Need to do Today to Win!” features DMEautomotive’s CMO Mike Martinez and Director of Customer Engagement for Driver Connect Kelly Krause. The webinar is moderated by Phil Nussel, Online Editor at Automotive News.

Backed by DMEautomotive and third party research, the webinar provides dealerships with steps to easily navigate the rapidly evolving mobile marketplace, including:

1. Mobile stats and facts you can’t afford to ignore
2. Step-by-step guide to mobile marketing success
3. What needs to be done today

The webinar will also outline a comprehensive mobile marketing strategy, covering six primary channels of mobile marketing:

1. Responsive email design
2. Mobile app
3. Mobile wallet
4. Mobile web
5. QR codes
6. Text messaging

All webinar material reflects content in DMEautomotive’s recently released “The Big Picture Book of Mobile Marketing Strategy” and each attendee will receive a digital or hard copy of the book. 

For more information, or to register for the “Mobile Marketing Success - What You Need to do Today to Win!” webinar, click here: https://vts.inxpo.com/scripts/Server.nxp?LASCmd=AI:4;F:QS!10100&ShowKey=18653&AffiliateData=%5bdme%5d

DMEautomotive / Automotive News webinars have received strong attendance that has

generated exceptional feedback. Visit http://www.autonews.com/section/WEBINAR to

download previous webinars in this series.

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. 

Contact: 
Media Relations 
Melanie Webber, mWEBB Communications, (424) 603-4340, melanie@mwebbcom.com 
Elizabeth Johnson, mWEBB Communications, (213) 713-4865, elizabeth@mwebbcom.com

Vaynerchuk joins line-up that includes DealerTrack’s Mark O’Neill, Presidio’s  Erin Kerrigan and Markel Automotive’s Tony Caputo; “Most Valuable Insight’ competition applications open – deadline March 3rd; event focuses on latest trends/best practices to strengthen Capital, People and Brand

Salt Lake City, Utah – February 19, 2014 – DrivingSales today announced the full line-up for the second annual DrivingSales Presidents Club, designed exclusively to help dealership principals and general managers build the strategies they need to adapt to - and lead - a changing automotive retail market. New York Times best-selling author and marketing trailblazer, Gary Vaynerchuk, headlines a powerful slate of keynoters at the intimate and collaborative event, all of whom will provide fresh insights, data-based strategies and proven best practices focused on the three foundational elements of successful dealership operations: ‘Capital,’ ‘Brand’ and ‘People’.

The company also announced that applications are open for one of the most popular segments of the event, The Most Valuable Insight competition, which showcases original data/research that offers unique and actionable value for dealerships. The Presidents Club will be held on Wednesday April 16^th at The Grand Hyatt in New York City. 

“The DrivingSales Presidents Club returns with a bang for its second year, offering a dynamic, information- and inspiration-packed agenda for our elite group of dealership leaders,” said DrivingSales CEO and Founder Jared Hamilton. “From Gary Vaynerchuk, who brought an entire audience of auto dealers to their feet at our 2011 Executive Summit, to Jay Rao who offers best practices from a wealth of research on successfully implanting innovation in the dealership, to DealerTrack’s Mark O’Neill, who will participate in an open QA, our attendees will have front row seats to some of the most exciting, high-level and productive thinking in (and outside) our industry.”

Last year’s Presidents Club hosted dealer principals and general managers from across the country and sold out weeks in advance. Said attendee Brad Hensley, Founder of Knoxville Auto Brokers “I'm leaving DrivingSales President's Club more inspired to be a trendsetter in our industry than ever! Thank you.”

The Line-up

• Gary Vaynerchuk “Build Your Dealership Brand With Clarity In This Noisy World” 
  Already considered a quintessential maven of modern-day marketing, Gary Vaynerchuk is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling author as well as a self-trained wine and social media expert. In 1997, Gary launched Winelibrary.com and helped grow his family business from $3 million to $45 million by 2005. Although Gary does not consider himself to be a ‘techie’, in 2005, he began video blogging and established himself as a true social media trailblazer. Gaining nearly 1 million Twitter followers, Gary was included in BusinessWeek’s list of the “top 20 people every entrepreneur should follow.”
   
• Jay Rao, “Leadership Skills Necessary to Implement A Strategy Of Innovation”
  Rao is Professor of Tech., Operations & Info. Management at Babson College whose research and case studies have appeared in multiple pulbications including The Sloan Management Review, The European Financial Review, and the Journal of Innovative Management.
   
• Erin Kerrigan, “Buying or Selling a Dealership? Know These Important Trends”
  Returning for a second year as a keynote, Kerrigan is Managing Director & Co-Head of Presidio Automotive
   
• Tony Caputo “Dealership Team Development For Bottom-line Results”
  Caputo is Vice President of the Markel Automotive Group
   
• Jon Lancaster “Preparing Your Store For The Economic Pressures Of 2014”
  Lancaster is Managing Director of Lancaster Investments, LLC
   
• Mark O’Neil  “Open Q&A” 
  Mark O’Neil is Chairman, President and CEO of Dealertrack Technologies 

The Most Valuable Insight Competition

The Most Valuable Insight Competition is a key element of the Presidents Club and encourages automotive professionals to illuminate something in the automotive industry that will impact dealership executives at the top. Finalists selected by dealer judges from online applicants have the opportunity to present their ‘insight’ on-stage at the Presidents Club. The presentation includes a Q&A with a panel of dealer judges who score each insight.  The finalist determined to have the Most Valuable Insight will have the opportunity to present findings in more detail at the Annual DrivingSales Executive Summit in October 2014. The deadline to apply is March 3, 2014. Applications are available at http://drivingsalespresidentsclub.com/application/

“The President’s Club sells out fast because we keep it intimate and collaborative,” continued Hamilton.  “We want dealer attendees to meet in an environment that nurtures truly productive dialogue and networking -- one that ensures they walk away with some of the most provocative and implementable ideas our industry has to offer.”

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

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

ALBANY, N.Y. – February 18th, 2014 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (http://www.automate.com) announced today that TimeHighway has completed integration of its service scheduling solution with Auto/mate's Automotive Management Productivity Suite (AMPS) dealership management system. Auto dealers using both Auto/Mate's DMS and TimeHighway's service scheduling solution will benefit from real-time data exchange between the two systems.

"Many dealers are focused on improving service department processes," said Mike Esposito, President and CEO of Auto/Mate. "Having an online scheduling solution makes it easy for customers to schedule appointments at their own convenience and allows service department employees to spend more face time with customers, improving customer service."

Auto/Mate's service merchandising module is a robust, user-friendly system featuring a mobile service lane solution, one-screen access, automated dispatch, electronic RO's, a graphics-rich calendar that service managers can view "at-a-glance," and an "OEM button" providing instant access to manufacturers' online information.

"Service departments can really benefit from having their DMS integrated with an online scheduling solution, as customers can easily set appointments online and will receive confirmation and reminder e-mails," said Karen Dillon, President of TimeHighway. "DMS integration ensures that appointment information gets added to customer histories and makes converting appointments into RO's a snap, streamlining service processes."

Auto/Mate's Open/Mate integration ensures that all data exchanged between its DMS and third-party software systems is delivered instantly and securely in both directions. Real-time, bi-directional integration greatly eliminates redundancy and delivers more accurate information, compared with data exchanges performed via batch deliveries.

For more information call Auto/Mate at 877-340-2677.

About Time Highway (www.TimeHighway.com)

TimeHighway is the premier scheduling solution provider for automotive dealerships, enabling service department customers to schedule real-time, online appointments. TimeHighway sends confirmation and reminder e-mails, maximizing appointment hours and improving service department productivity. TimeHighway is customizable to current dealership processes and is proven to increase revenue and customer satisfaction.

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. In 2013 Auto/Mate received the “Highest Rated” DMS award in the fourth 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

Century Interactive call tracking announces a partnership and reporting integration with VinSolutions.



Century Interactive, a leader in call tracking solutions and phone call analytics, and VinSolutions, the marketplace leader and developer of internet-based customer relations management (CRM) and Internet lead management (ILM) for the automotive industry, announced Thursday a partnership and reporting integration. The partnership empowers users on the VinSolutions CRM platform to optimize inbound and outbound calling efforts by means of the widely effective click-to-call feature.

With the new click-to-call functionality, automotive dealers will now be able to make phone calls directly out of their CRM. Using the simple one-click call feature, calls will be initiated through VinSolutions, recorded for tracking through Century Interactive and then placed back into the dealership’s CRM for remote access and review. This feature allows users to optimize call conversions and follow up on missed sales opportunities in a quick and timely manner.

The new Century Interactive – VinSolutions integration connects sales opportunities and phone call conversions in the most actionable way possible for automotive dealers. Tracking and optimizing on phone calls is no longer “optional” for auto dealers looking to stay ahead of the competition. With the Century Interactive – VinSolutions partnership, automotive dealerships can now automatically and more efficiently connect with potential customers, and log sales calls in a centralized location for true sales management purposes.

True outbound click-to-call functionality is a rare and powerful tool in automotive CRMs. Century Interactive is the clear leader in that technology. This new integration with VinSolutions affords auto dealers greater call functionality, and allows VinSolutions users to take full advantage of the features on the automotive suite’s platform.

http://bit.ly/1ouGN5T

Annual report offers industry’s most comprehensive list of acquisitions; market brisk in 2013; Chrysler/Jeep franchises led activity

Detroit, MI –February 11, 2014 – The Banks Report, the retail auto industry’s leading online source for analysis and insight, today released The 2014 Dealership Acquisition Report, the auto industry’s most comprehensive assessment and analysis of dealership acquisition activity from the previous year.

Covering national and international activity across 2013, the report paints a picture of a year that showed more robust acquisition activity than in previous years (although public dealer group activity was flat), with over 202 dealerships/286 franchises changing hands. Activity was at its most brisk in the first and last months of 2013, while Chrysler/Jeep brands led all franchises for number of acquisitions. The report segments buy/sell activity by public dealer group/franchise, brand and segment.

"This report reveals a market in flux, although US public dealer groups buy/sell activity in 2013 was flat compared to 2012," says Cliff Banks, founder and president of The Banks Report. "The public dealer groups continue to exercise a disciplined acquisition strategy which keeps the market from being more active. Also, there are numerous challenges in getting a deal across the finish line.”

2013 Dealership Acquisition Report Highlights

• 180 U.S. Dealerships and 260 Franchises changed hands
• 34 U.S. acquisitions made by the public groups
• 146 U.S. acquisitions made by private groups
• Domestic brands accounted for 50% of all acquisitions
• Chrysler and Jeep led all brands with each accounting for 19 acquisitions

"The Chrysler brands were the hottest in 2013 when it came to acquisitions," says Banks. "Several dealers who made it through the bloodbath in 2009 know this is the time to get out. Their sale prices are as high as they'll ever be due to Chrysler having had more than 40 straight months of sales increases. The buyers primarily are well-capitalized local dealers looking to add to their portfolios at prices that still are fairly reasonable."

The entire 2014 Dealership Acquisition Report is available to subscribers of The Banks Report. To subscribe go to: http://www.thebanksreport.com/subscription-information.html

About The Banks Report

The Banks Report is an online weekly analysis of the automotive retail space covering manufacturers, vendors and dealers. The weekly report features cutting edge trends, predictions of potential acquisitions and insight into the biggest news stories. In addition to providing analysis not found elsewhere, The Banks Report also has broken numerous stories in the previous year. Subscribers include investors, analysts, dealer, vendor and manufacturer executives.

Media Contact:
mWEBB Communications

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

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

ERA-IGNITE’s Advanced User Interface and Architecture Designed to Help Dealers Increase Profitability and Reduce Inefficiencies

DAYTON, Ohio, and MISSISSAUGA, Ontario – Feb. 10, 2014 – A number of dealerships have successfully piloted it, and hundreds of automotive retailers have seen its advanced functionality demonstrated at dealership events in Montreal and Toronto last November and at the 2014 National Automobile Dealers Association Convention that drew dealers from the U.S. and Canada. Now, for the first time, it is available to automotive retailers throughout Canada (English only).

The Reynolds and Reynolds Company announced today that its ERA-IGNITE dealership management system (DMS) is widely available to Canadian automotive dealers after four successful years in the American market.

ERA-IGNITE is the foundation of the company’s vision for Reynolds Retail Management System, a comprehensive set of retail management solutions for automotive retailers that is designed to increase productivity and profitability in the dealership, as well as improve the consumer experience of buying a car.

“Delivering ERA-IGNITE to dealers in Canada is the first step in helping them capitalize on the changing retail environment of the automotive industry,” said Ron Lamb, president of Reynolds and Reynolds. “ERA-IGNITE is the foundation of a retail management system that extends beyond the traditional DMS. It offers our customers greater flexibility and functionality to help them manage and grow their business at a time when the retailing battle is engaged consistently beyond the four walls of the dealership.”

Among its advanced features, ERA-IGNITE offers dealerships the tools to:

• Work more efficiently with streamlined applications that leverage the capabilities of a graphical user interface to reduce the number of keystrokes and screens it takes to perform core business transactions.
• Work faster with a familiar Windows^® point-and-click environment, including drill-down fields and hyperlinks.
• Work more effectively with additional business information available at users’ fingertips.

As the automotive world has changed, ERA-IGNITE is the keystone of an investment Reynolds made during the global economic recession to help dealers meet the new challenges of selling and servicing vehicles in a market where consumer expectations have evolved and changed the way dealers do business.

“We are excited about bringing ERA-IGNITE to the Canadian market,” said Ian Reilly, vice president of sales in Canada for Reynolds. “Initial customer reaction to ERA-IGNITE from both our pilot installations and our road shows has been tremendous. We plan to continue touring across major Canadian cities in 2014 so dealers can experience first-hand the advantages of ERA-IGNITE and our other retail management solutions.”

About Reynolds

Reynolds and Reynolds is the automotive industry’s largest and most trusted provider of automobile dealership software, services, and forms to help dealerships improve business results.  The company is headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, with major U.S. operations in Houston and College Station, Texas, and Celina, Ohio.  In Canada, Reynolds has operations in Mississauga, Ontario, and Montreal, Quebec. Visit Reynolds online at www.reyrey.ca.

 # # #

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(February 4, 2014) - Broomfield, CO. The buzz surrounding DealersLink® — one of the most exciting companies in the automotive industry — was abundant at NADA this year. DealersLink® ran over 500 dealer demos at the show and impressed dealers with its new release of the V4 Game Changer.

DealersLink® is gaining more attention as one of the most innovative companies in the auto industry — DealersLink® experienced a 50 percent growth rate in 2013 and with the launch and reception of the V4 Game Changer, is poised for unprecedented growth in 2014, making it one of the fastest growing companies in the industry.

DealersLink® identifies solutions for dealerships that are powerful and easy to use with elegant interfaces and Apple-style intuitiveness. With DealersLink®, dealers deal directly with other dealers to buy, sell, and trade vehicles quickly and effortlessly. DealersLink® has mastered the art of dealer direct transacting and regularly updates their system with dealer-member suggestions. The system achieves maximum efficiency with direct negotiation and communication between buying and selling dealer members.

DealersLink®’s V4 Game Changer includes an entire suite of tools that helps dealers improve the speed and quality of due diligence before acquiring vehicles, consolidates vendors, saves thousands of dollars monthly on technology and transaction fees, and increases the sales performance of a dealership on both the retail and wholesale sides. With the ExportPro® CloudCam™ and the Mobile Trading Desk apps also released at NADA, they have a suite of tools that no one else in the industry can offer.

The DealersLink® 4.0 Game Changer includes:

• A new user interface that is faster, easier, more intuitive, and more effective.
• The CloudCam™ HD device runs the ExportPro® Mobile App that quickly scans VINs, runs book values, takes photos, adds options, and stocks inventory in one step, saving thousands of hours of photo management time.
• The New Mobile Trading Desk App has all the functionality of the desktop trading desk but now runs on your smartphone. Dealers can quickly respond to requests, submit and receive buy bids, manage their requests, and complete deals directly with each other. A dealer member no longer has to go to their computer to buy and sell vehicles with other DealersLink® members.
• No transaction fees ever.
• No middlemen.
• On-demand access to retail ready inventory with wholesale pricing.
• Over $1 billion dollars in quality inventory available in the marketplace 24/7.
• Intelligent booking automation, vehicle history reports, velocity reports, competition view, and eBay and Facebook exports.

About DealersLink®:

DealersLink® has been eliminating wholesale transaction fees for 8 years with $1 billion of used inventory available 24/7. Dealer members use the marketplace daily to stock their lots with clean, reconditioned units; locate hard-to-find vehicles for their customers; sell inventory without incurring wholesale losses; arrange book-for-book trades; and manage their inventory with industry-leading analytic tools.

To learn more about DealersLink®, please visit: www.dealerslink.com. 

###

CONTACT: Travis Wise at 877-859-7080 x302 or travis.wise@dealerslink.com

VinSolutions, the marketplace leader and developer of Internet-based customer relationship management (CRM) and internet lead management (ILM) for the automotive industry, and Xtime, the leading retention solution for automotive manufacturers and service departments, today announced a new partnership. This partnership will enable dealers to have an enhanced service CRM experience by utilizing both the VinSolutions CRM platform and the Xtime retention solution to enable call centers, service advisors and even salespeople to meet any customer’s service needs from any part of the dealership.

“Lifecycle management is becoming evermore important for today’s dealerships, and by integrating VinSolutions’ CRM platform with Xtime’s leading retention solution, we are helping to fill an unmet need in the industry,” said Brian Skutta, vice president and general manager of VinSolutions. “For our dealer customers, this new partnership will enable them to have an end-to-end view of their customers, which will help them provide a best-in-class experience each and every time consumers engage with the dealership.”

Benefits of this integration for our joint customers include:

• Complete Consumer Engagement: Ability to manage customer sales and service interactions all from the VinSolutions CRM tool. Any person in a dealership—from the sales person to the receptionist—can assist customers who call in, whether for a sales or service appointment, which will greatly enhance the efficiency at the dealership and the experience for the consumer.

• Service Needs Transparency and Conversion: With Service Scheduling 7, the latest version of Xtime’s scheduling solution, dealers can put service packages online to provide consumers with dealer and factory recommendations, as well as the auto manufacturer’s service schedule. The Xtime Cloud solution provides dealers with consistent and accurate access to essential information, including factory menus, vehicle history, customer details and availability, enabling them to provide an exceptional experience for consumers and to maximize shop utilization.

• Website Integration: More efficient and effective online service scheduling through VinSolutions and Haystak website integration.

“This partnership represents the first integration between leading sales and service CRM products,” said Xtime CEO, Neal East. “The variable and fixed operations of the dealership can now leverage each other’s strengths to access new revenue sources and boost CSI. This innovation will benefit both companies and most importantly, our customers.”

Case studies show visitor to lead conversions triple for one dealership using Gubagoo and jumping over 1500% for another -- and all at a cost per lead/sale at a fraction of traditional media

New Orleans, LA – January 26, 2014 – Dealerships using Gubagoo’s revolutionary behavioral engagement and scoring technologies for automotive websites are experiencing dramatic increases in visitor to lead conversions at a fraction of the cost of traditional media, according to case studies released by the company at the 2014 National Automobile Dealer Association Convention today.

The case studies, conducted with Honda of Gainesville and Ocala, Savannah Toyota and Lexus of Pembroke Pines, along with metrics aggregated from a cross section of dealerships using Gubagoo’s website platform, confirm that Gubagoo’s dealer chat and website solution, powered by an advanced site analytics engine and behavioral tracking technology, are turning dealership websites into powerful conversion engines.  For example, Savannah Toyota experienced an increase in visitor conversion from 1% to about 20%; Honda of Ocala doubled conversion of site visits to active leads, and Lexus of Pembroke Pines tripled its lead conversion with a cost per lead of $7 and a cost per sale of $33, versus $20 and $400 with other providers respectively. And, the aggregated cross section of dealers studied reported an average of 138 leads a month generated from their Gubagoo powered websites, with a nearly 60% chat to lead ratio.

“Our mission is to make once-anonymous web traffic identifiable, and help convert the 95% of visitors that typically defect from a dealership site,” said Brad Title CEO of Gubagoo.  “The results we have been seeing, and that are reported in these case studies, are testament to the importance of dealers supercharging their websites so that they better convert visitors to chat, lead, and sale. How? By making their websites much much smarter.”

According to Title, Gubagoo’s complex Behavioral and Engagement Scoring Technology (the B.E.A.S.T) gathers all information on each site visitor’s online behavior, from the exact vehicles they’re looking at, to how many times they have visited, to how long they are spending on each page. The Gubagoo platform then puts all that rich data in motion: assigning each visitor a unique score based on their real-world behavior - and using that score to precisely engage and re-engage individuals with calculated messages, chats and offers/coupons, about the right vehicle, at the right time – and in real-time.

Each of the dealerships in the case studies benefitted from Gubagoo in different ways. Savannah Toyota used Gubagoo to power a relaunch of a website that had not been improved since 1999:  “Gubagoo shows you what visitors are thinking, so you can approach them in a way that is not as aggressive as the phone, and that makes them much more comfortable because they know you are really listening to their needs,” said Savannah Internet Sales and Digital Marketing Director Brian Lollie.  “Our engagement is super relevant, which leads to a much better consumer experience and, most notably, more car sales.”

Hondo of Gainesville and Ocala’s Tom Moore was frustrated with third party lead providers and existing chat platforms: “We are making thousands of dollars on each car converted with Gubagoo. I would recommend using Gubagoo to any dealer looking to notably increase their sales.”

And, Lexus of Pembroke Pines Internet Marketing Director Jesse Walker was using various direct marketing efforts and third party leads, but was struggling to convert leads from their own website traffic: “We have experienced significant return using Gubagoo. Our website lead conversion has tripled since launching the Gubagoo platform with agent chat-to-lead rate holding at about 70%. The coupon claim-to-sale rate is nearly 20% and we are averaging 30 new vehicle sales per month through Gubagoo.”

To read the full case studies, click here:  http://gubagoo.com/case-studies

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 700 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 

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