Automotive Compliance Consultants’ president and CEO Terry Dortch cautioned service and detail technicians to choose the right safety gloves to wear when working on high-voltage hybrids and EVs.

To protect individuals working on these high-voltage systems, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has determined that technicians must wear OSHA Class 0 gloves when working on these vehicles.

Wearing these gloves, due to their cumbersome design, however, can slow down techs’ productivity.

“Class 0 gloves are cumbersome to wear and slow down techs’ work,” said Terry Dortch, president of Automotive Compliance Consultants. “This bulky glove makes technicians feel like they’re wearing a baseball mitt, so wearing them can reduce their tactile sensitivity they need in their hands when working on high-voltage EV and hybrid vehicles.”

Dortch said an alternative available from Automotive Compliance Consultants enables techs to retain greater feel and flexibility. These gloves are rated to 5,000 volts, not 1,000 volts as are Class O gloves. This alternative glove is also approved by the American National Standards Institute, from which OSHA writes its standards.

Dortch said his company’s safety glove program features an extra safety advantage—it helps techs avoid accidentally putting on gloves that might have holes, wear spots or other wear imperfections that can lead to electrical shock.

Whatever glove choice the dealership opts for, Dortch reminds service managers that any safety gloves used for EV and hybrid vehicle maintenance must be off-site safety tested every six months. Techs must also follow all OEM service and repair procedures. Techs must also remain alert to the unique dangers present when working in EV and hybrid environments.

Automotive Compliance Consultants specializes in dealership compliance, providing in-dealership consultations and analysis, compliance audits, and training, and offers solutions for all compliance needs. For more information, contact Terry Dortch atterry_dortch@compliantnow.com or visit www.compliantnow.com.

"Clicks-to-bricks" Express Retail Platform Allows Shoppers

to Buy Online or In-Store in a Fraction of the Normal Time

DALLAS, TX, FEBRUARY 15, 2016 -- Pearl Technology Holdings, LLC, (Pearl) (www.pearlsolutions.com) today announced the launch of ShowroomXpress, (www.showroomXpress.com), a new Express Retail Platform for both automotive dealers and consumers. The platform allows consumers to buy a vehicle online or in the dealership and complete the transaction in a fraction of the traditional process. 

ShowroomXpress utilizes Experian’s Instant pre-screen technology to allow the consumer to see vehicles they are pre-qualified to purchase without generating a hard inquiry on their credit report.  Only a customer’s name and address are required for an instant calculation of payments to the dollar on every vehicle in a dealer’s inventory.  The platform integrates with all U.S. auto lender programs and consumers can see which lenders are offering the best rates based on their credit score. ShowroomXpress ranks the top three lender rates for both purchase and lease transactions, giving the consumer complete transparency.  The dealer’s mark up or profit is included in the rates displayed.    

“ShowroomXpress is the first tool that pre-qualifies without a SSN and maps to every U.S. auto lender in under 10 seconds,” said Pearl CEO Bruce Thompson. “This functionality opens a whole new frontier in the automotive retail space. Today, the average in-store transaction is 3.5 hours and the reality is that a customer cannot really buy a vehicle online today on 99 percent of dealer websites.  We live in the Amazon, Uber and Google generation. Dealerships realize that their retail process needs to change.  It is widely reported that AutoNation has spent $100M on their digital storefront thus far; which indicates how strongly the largest auto retailer in the country feels about online retail.”

ShowroomXpress will offer a seamless online and in-store shopping experience. The company intends to transform the traditional dealership showroom into a dynamic digital showroom with its 6’4” touchscreen “Genius Stations.”  The “Genius Stations” resemble giant smartphones and enable a salesperson or consumer to start a new transaction or resume right where they left off from home.  “Genius Stations,” connected directly to Pearl’s headquarters, allow for centralized dynamic media syndication when they are in idle mode.  This capability enables ShowroomXpress to syndicate OEM commercials, digital vehicle brochures, monthly incentive offers and much more.  With a simple touch of the “Genius” screen a real-time streamlined shopping journey begins.  Instant pre-qualifications without a SSN allow the customer to shop by real payments and to make term adjustments to fit their budget as necessary.

According to Thompson, the system is also a real-time mobile desking tool. “Payments are exactly calculated and integrated into the dealer’s F&I screens on the fly.  Every transaction detail is calculated; from dealer finance profit, to sales tax, trade allowance, documentation fees, manufacturer incentives, license fees, etc.  The ShowroomXpress platform seamlessly performs  on tablets, smartphones, and ‘Genius Stations.’ Customers or sales personnel can toggle terms and watch payments change instantly based on regional lender programs,” Thompson added.

ShowroomXpress will be officially unveiled at the NADA 2016 Expo and Convention on March 31-April 3, in Las Vegas, NV, at Booth # 2323C. For more information call: 888.339.1116 or to sign up for a demonstration visit: www.showroomXpress.com.

# # # # #

About Pearl Technology Holdings, LLC

With the formation of American Auto Exchange (AAX) in 2001, auto industry entrepreneur Bruce Thompson became widely known as the creator of the “used car inventory management” space. He went on to start RedBumper, LLC in 2010, which is also primarily focused on “used car inventory management.” RedBumper’s intellectual property was acquired by CDK Global in September 2014. At that time, Thompson formed a new holding company, Pearl Technology Holdings, LLC, created to be an automotive technology incubator. The company’s mission is to create and deliver innovative new tools that have an impact on the industry. Pearl has launched five subsidiaries:  NewCar IQ, LLC; VehicleXchange, LLC; eCarTag, LLC; Trade-In Concierge, LLC and ShowroomXpress, LLC. NewCarIQ, LLC was acquired by CDK Global in January 2016.

Allen Turner Hyundai Wins DealerRater 2016 Dealer of the Year Award

Accolades awarded to top-rated dealerships nationwide based on online customer satisfaction

Allen Turner, which also took home top honors for the state, beat out more than 800 other dealers across the U.S. to receive the honor.

“The automotive marketplace is one of the most competitive industries,” DealerRater CEO Gary Tucker said. “A dealership’s online reputation is a key differentiator in helping consumers determine where to shop for their next car or get their vehicle serviced and who to work with at a dealership.”

Allen Turner Hyundai has consistently received above-average reviews on www.dealerrater.com, where users characterize their dealership experience as enjoyable and the staff as knowledgeable, professional patient and honest with “no hassle, tricks or games.”

Turner said his team’s focus on building authentic relationships with customers was key to their success.

“All businesses face the same question,” he said. “That is — How do we create a genuine experience for a customer? In order for a customer to feel the car-buying experience is genuine, the relationship must come first —  whether or not there is a transaction. The sales will follow."

In recognition of the award, Allen Turner Hyundai’s dealer page will receive a “2016 Dealer of the Year Award winner” badge so that consumers will instantly recognize it as one of the best dealerships of the year.

The DealerRater Dealer of the Year Awards program was created to acknowledge dealerships that demonstrate outstanding sales and customer service. Dealer of the Year Award winners are chosen based upon their PowerScore™, which is an algorithm that compares the dealership’s average rating with the total number of reviews written about the dealership during the previous calendar year.

Allen Turner Hyundai has won the Florida Dealer of the Year Award for the last two years in a row, but this is the first time the dealership has won the national award.

###

About Allen Turner Hyundai —

Allen Turner Automotive has served the Pensacola Bay Area since 1998 with a huge inventory of new and certified pre-owned vehicles. Allen Turner Hyundai is an award-winning dealership that takes pride in providing dependable service and the best Hyundai vehicles and products on the Gulf Coast. For more information, visit the dealership in Car City Pensacola, call 850-637-8270, or go to www.allenturnerhyundai.com. 

Austin, TX - February 09, 2016 -Vast, the data-as-a-service platform for autos and real estate, today announced a $14 million investment from Capital One Growth Ventures. Vast connects buyers and sellers of cars and homes through data-driven discovery experiences. CarStory.com, Vast’s consumer marketplace, utilizes the Vast data platform to understand consumer intent and match each shopper with the right vehicle. The investment by Capital One Growth Ventures will enable Vast to grow its CarStory® product footprint while bringing its big data platform to other industries such as real estate. As part of the investment, Jaidev Shergill, Managing Partner of Capital One Growth Ventures will join the Vast board of directors.

“What Vast is delivering to consumers with its CarStory product is very intriguing to us at Capital One,” said Shergill. “Consumers expect more information at their fingertips and for that data to be personalized and customized. Big data technologies enable this and Vast delivers it.”

For nearly 10 years, Vast has been bringing big-data intelligence to large-ticket purchases. First for dealers, and now also for consumers, Vast creates unrivaled products that leverage its database to create quality leads and interactions. CarStory, which is the industry’s first, largest and only mobile-first vehicle discovery platform, now curates over 3.5 million unique vehicles.

CarStory makes the used car discovery process more efficient and effective for the consumer, and gives a used car buyer more confidence in their ultimate purchase decision, while benefitting dealers by delivering more-informed, ready-to-buy customers.

“Big data for life’s biggest purchases, that’s what Vast is all about,” said Vast CEO, John Price. “Our patented approach delivers critical discovery information, predicts alternatives and analyzes the local market to guide the purchase decision in service of the buyer. Companies like Capital One are utilizing Vast to help ensure they are delivering a positive user experience to their customers fueled by insights that both inform and delight.”

About Vast 
Vast is a big-data-as-service platform that provides consumer experiences —powered by data and analytics — for big purchases in automotive and real estate. Founded in 2005, Vast is the premier provider of big data solutions for many of the Global 1000’s largest automotive and real estate businesses. Learn more at Vast.com.

About Capital One Growth Ventures
Capital One Growth Ventures (COGV) is the venture investing arm of Capital One, with offices in San Francisco and New York. COGV invests across data, security, payments, and financial technology, and seeks opportunities to build unique strategic relationships that benefit both startups and Capital One customers.

About CarStory 
CarStory is a service that matches used car shoppers with the right car. Using patented technology and an industry-leading dataset, CarStory facilitates an efficient, effective discovery process resulting in a confident purchase decision. With a network of over 6,000 participating dealerships nationwide, CarStory’s available inventory and user-data is the largest, and most accurate in the industry. Discover your new used car and drive happily ever after at: http://www.carstory.com.

Media Contacts:
Laura Beck for Vast
laurabeckcahoon(at)gmail(dot)com
512-786-1098

Tatiana Stead for Capital One Growth Ventures
tatiana.Stead(at)capitalone(dot)com
703-720-2352

Cassandra Cavanah for Carstory
mWEBB Communications
cassandra(at)mwebbcom(dot)com
818-397-4630

CLEARWATER, FL – FEBRUARY 8, 2016–AutoLoop, LLC, a leading provider of auto industry marketing and customer relationship management solutions, announced today a strategic partnership with 700Credit for prescreening services that will provide auto dealers with more leads and better qualified buyers.

AutoLoop provides one of the industry’s most powerful equity mining tools, Quote, a dynamic platform which enables auto dealers to automatically pinpoint and target customers in positive equity positions and uses automated direct mail and email marketing channels to communicate relevant offers to those customers in a position to upgrade to a newer vehicle. The integration with 700Credit increases the speed and accuracy of custom quoting, providing immediate insight into what customers are paying – including interest rate, payment terms and even equity position – using only a name and address. With this progressive soft-pull process, Quote and other AutoLoop solutions can now bypass the need for a Social Security number or date of birth and will have no negative impact on the consumer’s credit.

“By offering accurate credit data early in the sales process, each customer can be aligned with appropriate vehicle and payment options right from the start,” explained AutoLoop Chief Operating Officer Matt Rodeghero. “It helps generate more qualified internet leads and creates a more engaging experience for customers from wherever they shop.”

The 700Credit program is fully integrated, affording AutoLoop dealers real-time access to critical customer credit info without ever leaving the Customer Engagement Suite. “Of course, seamless, secure prescreening data is invaluable to dealers – but it also benefits customers by adding transparency into the sales process,” Rodeghero explained, emphasizing: “It leads to better deals up-front: as a consumer, who wouldn’t want to hear ‘I can get you into this car today with a lower payment than you’re making now’?”

###

About 700Credit

700Credit is the automotive industry's leading solution for credit reports, compliance products and prescreen services. The company’s product and service offering includes credit reports, prescreen services, OFAC compliance, Red Flag solutions, score disclosure notices, adverse action notices and more. 700Credit exists to provide its clients with the highest quality data in a compliant framework in the most time efficient manner possible. For more information about 700Credit, visit www.700credit.com.

About AutoLoop:

Since 2005, AutoLoop has helped automotive dealerships nationwide increase sales, improve client retention and achieve overall higher customer satisfaction ratings. With the AutoLoop Customer Engagement Suite -- an all-encompassing platform that includes everything from CRM and automated messaging to equity mining, service scheduling and more -- AutoLoop is the industry’s first and only single-vendor, end-to-end marketing and engagement solution. An Inc. 500 company with nearly 50 million names in our database and over a billion individual communications initiated, AutoLoop is passionate about being America's best customer retention partner for progressive dealerships.
 

CLEARWATER, FL – FEBRUARY 2, 2016 -- A majority of auto dealers are spending their marketing budgets inefficiently, according to AutoLoop, LLC. The leading provider of auto industry marketing and customer relationship management solutions found that dealers are spending too much money due to overlap in vendor services.

“Using multiple marketing vendors, all with overlapping services and all communicating with your customers, is not a good strategy,” said John Bottone, Vice President of National Sales, AutoLoop. “More importantly, it leads to a frustrated customer base hit with a barrage of redundant and mixed messages.”

“Trying to manage and integrate multiple marketing vendors also creates very inefficient dealership operations,” Bottone continued. “Many dealers I know are working with 2, 3, or even 4 (or more) vendors. Each one represents a software product that is communicating in some way with the dealer’s customers, sending multiple, uncoordinated messages. This type of overlap can cost thousands of dollars each month and inevitably results in contradictive messaging.”

AutoLoop promotes a well-synchronized marketing strategy, starting with the dealer gathering data beforehand about what kind of vehicles will likely interest the shopper. If the shopper is a current customer, the dealer will know the exact vehicle the shopper currently owns as well as which channel of communication they prefer, be it email, text, or phone.

Armed with this information, all of the messages the consumer receives -- from the type of vehicle to financing offers, service, and available amenities -- will be consistent and on point. Instead of feeling confused and unheard, the customer is much more likely to feel well-informed and taken care of. AutoLoop has found that a well-coordinated approach empowers customers to make the right decisions about their vehicle purchase and service needs. Being given the right information at the right time enhances engagement with customers for all their sales and service needs and facilitates a highly profitable and effective Sell-Service-Repeat cycle. This leads to more sales, increased revenue, and happy, loyal customers.

“Imagine a scenario in which a customer receives a postcard offering a special financing rate for a luxury sports car on Monday … an email announcing a new line of mid-range sedans at a different financing rate on Tuesday … and a text message offering a discounted oil change on an SUV the consumer sold over a year ago on Wednesday -- all from the same dealer,” Bottone explained. “The customer is likely to feel confused and anonymous: it’s pretty apparent that the dealer doesn’t know the customer or their preferences at all.”

AutoLoop has created the industry’s only true end-to-end complete single-vendor marketing and engagement solution for streamlining operations and boosting dealer revenue. With full integration between all its products, dealers are able to seamlessly access, utilize, manage and customize program modules, ensuring a streamlined workflow and eliminating the need for multiple products from various vendors. 

“Since our inception, our goal has been to deliver speed, accuracy, and cost-effectiveness to every aspect of marketing. We believe minimizing dealers’ time is essential to maximizing their profit, and that thinking drives every product we design,” said Bottone.

About AutoLoop: 

Since 2005, AutoLoop has helped automotive dealerships nationwide increase sales, improve client retention and achieve overall higher customer satisfaction ratings. With the AutoLoop Customer Engagement Suite-- an all-encompassing platform that includes everything from CRM and automated messaging to equity mining, service scheduling and more-- AutoLoop is the industry’s first and only single-vendor, end-to-end marketing and engagement solution. An Inc. 500 company with nearly 50 million names in our database and over a billion individual communications initiated, AutoLoop is passionate about being America's best customer retention partner for progressive dealerships.

Huntington Beach, CA – February 2, 2016 -- Vboost Inc., (www.vboost.com), a viral marketing company focused on the auto industry, today announced that the company has grown so fast it has expanded into new offices in Santa Ana, CA. The expansion follows the addition of several new features to its highly successful marketing program auto dealers use to produce share rates from 60 percent to as high as 130 percent for their innovative “Customercials.”  Vboost now has automotive dealer clients in 20 states across the U.S. and Canada.

Vboost’s core product is a quick and easy process to capture photos at the time of vehicle delivery and immediately send these “branded” photos onto customers to share with family and friends. The captured photos are stitched into a slideshow set to music. These are called “Customercials”. Now the customer becomes the dealer advocate by posting and sharing the video/photo packages via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and other social platforms, as well as emailing and texting them to their friends and family. 

Vboost then monitors and quantifies results from each viral marketing campaign and reports back to their dealers. The Vboost Viral Marketing Platform delivers and tracks thousands of viral messages monthly – all designed to create referral business for its dealers. Vboost dealers enjoy high share rates because the content is unique and relevant to their customers. These results go beyond simple page views -- they reflect customers that are actually clicking and watching the dealership “customercials.”

The Vboost “customercials” can be sent to the customer with an enticing message, such as a first service offer, to encourage the customer to connect with the service department and schedule their first vehicle service. Once the videos and photos are shared, the offer then changes to a sales offer for friends and family. Up to 35 percent of photo packages convert into online traffic for the dealership and enhanced reporting features enable dealers to better track all these interactions.

Vboost has successfully helped auto dealers connect with customers and win the online marketing game for over 3 years, constantly upgrading the platform based on results and feedback from users. The next generation of the platform brings Vboost to a new level. Most recently, Vboost signed an agreement with a top recording clearing house. Auto dealers now have a huge selection of music to use as background for their “customercials.” This further increases the impact with the customer, boosting social media interactions, views and customer share rates. For a sample click here:

Another recent new feature is an upgrade that enables dealerships to get instant customer consent to post their photos and videos on the dealership’s website and Facebook page, as well as other social media properties. Dealerships can now post this content every day. On average, customer consent is given 60-70 percent of the time. And, the final new feature is the ability for dealerships to text the “customercial” photos directly to the customers’ cell phone. This leads to increased open rates and faster online sharing.

“It’s the passion behind car buying that translates over to social networking sites and this is why our company has grown so fast -- its exactly what Vboost does. We enable the customer to share their passion for that new vehicle with their network of family and friends and the results are incredibly powerful,” Moran stated.

“Our dealers often enjoy over 100 percent share rates and thousands of photos/video views through our proactive process. We bring them more referral business by creating positive viral marketing from customer photos taken at the time of delivery. These then get shared by the customer on social media. The most powerful form of marketing is word-of-mouth and social media is the word-of-mouth of today. Vboost is the only form of advertising that gets posted for you by your customers. This is the best way to become part of the online conversation that goes on during the buying cycle,” Moran added

For more information, or to schedule a demo, call 800-799-3130 or visit www.vboost.com

About Vboost:

Based in Huntington Beach, CA, Vboost, Inc., is the first process to bring more referral business to dealers by creating positive viral marketing that is delivered quickly and gets shared. It involves a streamlined process, via a mobile application and three unique technologies, which collect customer photos at the time of vehicle delivery, convert them to custom music videos and send directly to the customer. By sending these branded messages to customers during the emotional highpoint of the buying process, it has been found that most buyers are compelled to upload and share these videos with family and friends via Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, email and other social media platforms. Best of all, results from each viral marketing campaign are monitored, quantified and reported back to the dealers. For more information or a demonstration call 800.799.3130 or visit www.vboost.com.

Urbandale, IA--February 1st, 2016--Flick Fusion Video Marketing today announced the integration of its award-winning Timeline Marketing tool with the suite of website conversion tools developed by Automark Solutions, an industry-leading marketing software provider. Auto and truck dealerships with website lead-generation strategies that include conversion and video marketing tools can greatly increase their online reach and visibility, and gain greater return on investment (ROI) by using both Flick Fusion and Automark Solutions' integrated products.

"Many auto and truck dealers are shifting their focus from how many website visitors they get to how many of those visitors convert into leads and sales," said Tim James, COO of Flick Fusion. "Vehicle inventory videos combined with inventory marketing and pricing tools create a powerful and compelling experience for vehicle shoppers. The Flick Fusion and Automark Solutions tools work synergistically to capture, engage and convert more in-market car and truck shoppers into high-quality leads."

Flick Fusion's Timeline Marketing tool makes it simple to create and update inventory videos with promotional messages in the form of banner ads and video overlays. With a few simple clicks, videos on a dealership's Vehicle Display Pages (VDPs) and across the Internet can be dynamically updated with targeted rule and/or behavior based marketing and re-marketing messages, across multiple touch-points, and throughout the entire buying cycle.

Auto and truck dealers using Automark Solutions' suite of conversion tools are able to greatly reduce spending on third-party leads and online advertising, while simultaneously increasing website traffic volume and conversion rates. Highly visible calls-to-action on websites feature the ability to view Daily Deals and other money-saving offers, generate customized price or lease quotes, secure trade-in quotes and participate in dealer-sponsored promotions.

"Our conversion tools are designed to fundamentally change the way dealers interact with vehicle shoppers, increasing transparency and simplifying the buying experience, which is what today's consumer demands," said Lance Tebay, Chief Strategy Officer with Automark Solutions. "The integration of our products with Flick Fusion's video marketing platform allows us to leverage the power of video to engage and convert an even greater percentage of vehicle shoppers into leads."

The integration of Flick Fusion videos and Automark Solutions' tools will enable shoppers to view conversion offers while watching any video (of choice) hosted on the FlickFusion Video Marketing platform. Calls to action encourage viewers to click on the video and be taken to a landing page where they can generate an instant price or lease quote, find out what the trade-in value is for their current vehicle and more.

Flick Fusion's video marketing platform provides website marketing providers with a turnkey solution for creating, hosting and distributing auto and truck dealers' inventory videos. Flick Fusion's tools make it easy to create custom-branded videos that are automatically distributed to the dealership's VDPs, Facebook inventory page, YouTube channel and dozens of third-party listing sites.

For more information, call Flick Fusion at 515-333-4337.

About Automark Solutions

Automark Solutions, LLC is an industry-leading software company serving the automotive and related vertical industries focusing on ecommerce marketplaces. Since 2012, Automark Solutions has been optimizing manufacturer, auto dealer, ad agency and media companies' websites for lead generation utilizing a suite of uniquely developed conversion tools that have been awarded the AWA's highly-coveted "Top Website Merchandising Tools" award. Additionally, in a recently completed iHS Lead Quality Analysis, Automark Solutions was revealed to have the highest industry buy rates of over 47%. To learn more about Automark Solutions ability to generate incremental first party leads, higher conversion rates and increased sales, visit www.automarksolutions.com

About Flick Fusion

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 http://www.flickfusion.com 

Albany, N.Y. – February 1st, 2016 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems today announced the integration of its dealership management system (DMS) with Scan123's electronic document management system. Auto dealerships using Scan123's solution can now store documents in, and retrieve documents from, Auto/Mate's Automotive Productivity Management Suite (AMPS) DMS. The integration helps auto dealers transition to a paperless environment, streamline workflow and comply with federal law.

"The ability to instantly retrieve information from a DMS allows employees to quickly answer inquiries from partners and customers, increasing productivity and customer satisfaction," said Mike Esposito, President and CEO of Auto/Mate Dealership Systems. "With a document management solution, your employees may never have to say, 'let me look that up and get back to you' again."

"Integrating our system with Auto/Mate's DMS was inexpensive and relatively easy due to the Open/Mate integration program, which is based on open standards," said Gordon Vavrek, Sales Manager with Scan123. "Integration with a top tier DMS provider allows us to expand our customer base and improve our service to our current customers that use Auto/Mate's DMS."

Scan 123's electronic document management solution delivers the following benefits to auto dealers:

• Increases productivity
• Backs up files
• Reduces filing costs associated with folders, filing cabinets and storage fees
• Restricts access to sensitive files with granular user permissions
• Allows secure access to files from anywhere using a 256-bit encrypted Internet connection

Auto/Mate's integration program, Open/Mate, is based on open standards so that third-party vendors can easily integrate with the DMS. Some DMS providers charge third parties expensive certification fees, and those vendors have no choice but to pass those costs on to their auto dealer customers. Auto/Mate's open integration program keeps integration costs low for vendors, saving auto dealers money while providing them with more vendor choices.

Auto/Mate's dealership management system, Automotive Management Productivity Suite (AMPS), is a comprehensive solution offering robust functionality for any size dealership or auto group, advanced reporting capabilities, along with the best customer service in the industry.

For more information, visit http://www.automate.com or call 877-829-7020.

About Scan123

Scan123 is an electronic document management solution for today’s modern business. Since 2004 Scan123 has helped businesses move from an inefficient, paper-filled office to a simple and effective electronic filing system that saves time and money. For more information visit Scan123.com

About Auto/Mate

Auto/Mate Dealership Systems is a leading provider of dealership management system (DMS) software to retail automotive dealerships, typically saving dealers thousands of dollars per month from their current provider. Our Automotive Management Productivity Suite (AMPS) is a user-friendly, feature-rich DMS in use by more than 1,200 auto dealers nationwide. Auto/Mate has received DrivingSales Dealer Satisfaction Awards in 2012, 2013, and 2014.

Auto/Mate’s employees have more than 940 years of combined experience working in franchised auto dealerships, the foundation of its “Designed By Car People For Car People^TM” slogan. Auto/Mate is committed to winning its customers’ business each and every month with no long-term contracts and free software upgrades. For more information follow us on Twitter @AutoMateDMS and subscribe to our blog at www.automate.com/blog.

San Francisco, CA – January 26, 2016 – Recall Masters, Inc., a leading provider of automotive recall data, services and communications, today announced the addition of several powerful new features to its fully-inclusive Recall Communication Services. These additions ensure dealers better identify and communicate with existing and prospective customers that have open recalls, helping drive service revenue and vehicle sales. Recall Masters full suite of services include: Recall Masters Academy, Recall Knowledge Data Base, Recall Reminders, Recall Lookup and VIN Check on Demand. With the recent addition of new features, Recall Masters has increased its offering and is now a one stop provider that builds a highly-effective Recall Department for auto dealerships.

“This is not a program that we sell and then just walk away,” said Chris Miller, President of Recall Masters. “It’s about making sure our dealers become successful recall centers for their communities. We train, watch, monitor and constantly stay in touch with our dealers. Recall Masters becomes an extension of the dealership’s management to help keep performance at a high level.”

As part of every dealer setup, Recall Masters conducts a complete recall communications analysis upfront to prepare each dealership for the entire year. Each dealer’s database is broken down by active customers, lost customers and recall prospects in the area that are not yet the dealership’s customers. This provides a “big picture” overview of the total recall opportunity in their market. A communications plan is then designed for the full year in advance, so as not to over saturate the market and ensure that the plan is manageable. For instance, with a database of 24,000 names, the plan would be to budget for communications to 2,000 consumers per month.

The communications program uses a multi-channel communications approach to help better capture each recall customer’s attention. The first email is delivered in coordination with outbound calls and a recall reminder. Follow-up emails are delivered weeks 2 and 3 (you have a recall); and weeks 5 and 7 (you may have a recall). Six call attempts are also made over a 3 week period, and a message is left on the 1^st and 6^th call attempts. Calls are placed at varying times of day to help drive recall customers into the store. This approach produces up to double the response rate.

Recall Masters offers call center services to handle both inbound and outbound appointments from the recall communications. In addition, it also integrates with and pushes appointments directly into the dealership’s appointment scheduling systems including Xtime, TimeHighway, Reynolds and Reynolds, AutoLoop, CDK, and more. A new customer look up tool also allows both the dealership’s BDC and the Call Center to confirm recall status and parts availability while the customer is still on the phone.

Calls are recorded and feedback reports generated that help monitor call center and representatives on an ongoing basis, so as to gauge the overall success of the program. This ensures that all recall owners are being treated correctly. Reports are generated that include a breakdown by Warranty customers, Customer Pay customers and vehicle sales across all customer types, and show how results can grow and change over time.

Recall Masters’ training now includes service advisors, in addition to BDC personnel. This ensures that the dealership correctly handles any customer, in any situation; be it over the phone, or an in person walk in, providing a consistent customer experience.

“We have grown into a one stop shop that addresses everything a dealer needs to be successful with recalls.  The recall customer needs a special type of handling. Recall Masters builds the Recall Department at the dealership and then trains all personnel on an ongoing basis in the correct state of mind about how these customers should be perceived and handled,” said Miller.

“Recall customers have a high tendency to trade in and buy new vehicles. They can also generate CP revenue in addition to Warranty work. Our program offers a tremendous opportunity to reconnect with both existing and lost customers, while also bringing new customers into the store. And the results speak for themselves. On average our dealers enjoy an ROI of $7 for every dollar spent; an average response rate of 10 percent and as high as 20 percent for those dealers that use a multi-channel approach; an average RO of $300; average Customer Pay Lift of 30 percent; and an average of 3 vehicle sales per 1,000 VINS,”  Miller added.

To learn more and schedule a demo or a free trial call: 888-651-4480; email info@recallmasters.com; or visit: http://www.recallmasters.com.

# # # # #

About Recall Masters:

Recall Masters is a leading provider of automotive recall news, data, training, and communications. The company is dedicated to helping automakers and their dealers expedite the repair of recalled vehicles and make the roadways safer for everyone. Greater recall awareness and proactive management helps automakers protect their brand and build trusting relationships between automotive dealers, rental car agencies, auto auctions and consumers alike.  Recall Masters is privately held and based in the San Francisco Bay Area. www.recallmasters.com