A new study by Bazaarvoice dives into user generated content and how valuable it is for the car industry and buying process.

Most of us are aware of the power of user generated content, especially online, but it’s difficult to figure out the best steps to take to make this work for us. On average, car buyers reference 24 sources before buying, 12 of which are digital. Consumers also trust ratings and reviews three times more than brand messaging, over half of consumers looked at reviews before purchases, and most of those who read reviews, read them on their mobile phone. A good chunk of customers will actually read reviews about your dealership while they are at your store shopping!

So we see how important reviews and comments are for the car buyer, but how do we harness that to make it work for us?

It is smart to publish your consumer generated content EVERYWHERE. Especially on digital platforms! The language used in these reviews is more appealing to shoppers, it gives people an in-depth look of not just shopping but owning the car, and removes barriers to purchase.

It’s also important to recognize there’s no such thing as too much consumer-generated content. You don’t need to worry if you’re flooded with reviews, lots of content is GOOD content. Most of the time, people will want more reviews than you have!

Car shoppers are everywhere, so be sure you publish in the right places. Whether it’s websites, social media, review apps, or just word of mouth, you want to make sure your dealership is easy to find or hear about.

To learn more about Bazaarvoice or read their full study, visit their website.

Roadster Inks Deal with John Elway’s Crown Toyota to Become Exclusive Commerce Platform Across Online and Offline Channels

Crown becomes the third Toyota dealership in CA to turn to Roadster’s Express Storefront to empower salespeople to sell any car seamlessly and effectively from online to in-store

San Francisco, Calif. — November 20— Roadster, the leader in eCommerce solutions for car buying and leasing, today announced a comprehensive deal with John Elway’s Crown Toyota. As one of the largest Toyota dealerships in the world, Crown will be bringing a modernized, end-to-end selling experience to the marketplace.  The deal will place Roadster’s Express Storefront at the center of the one price dealership’s sales operations to help Crown’s entire staff sell more efficiently, effectively and seamlessly from online to in-store for the first time.

Through the partnership, Crown will receive their own online branded storefront, enabling the dealership to merchandise all of their vehicles online and across all devices.  The storefront will empower Crown’s customers to desk their own deals, navigate complex leasing and financing options, and receive instant trade-in offers. It will also make it easy for consumers who want to come directly into the dealership to pick up where they left off and finish the transaction side-by-side with one of Crown’s salespeople.

In addition to the online storefront, the partnership will give Crown access to Roadster’s Express Storefront app, which will empower Crown’s staff to greet a customer at the door and guide them through the entire car buying process. The app places all of Crown’s inventory, pricing and service and protection plans at the fingertips of salespeople on the showroom floor to help facilitate a more streamlined and transparent car buying experience. For example, if a salesperson learns that a customer had already started their car buying online, and is interested in adding a protection plan like Toyota Extra Care Platinum and ToyotaCare Plus prepaid maintenance, the app will give them the ability to immediately pull up all of the information the customer previously configured at home, and then add the additional products to the transaction. Lastly, Crown’s salespeople can also use the app to locate a new VIN or model number and instantly share deal terms with the customer so that they can review every detail of the available financing and service and protection plan options in real-time.

“As a one price store, transparency, efficiency, productivity and the speed of transaction are extremely important to us," said Paxton Gagnet, GM & Managing Partner of Crown Toyota.  “Roadster’s Express Storefront is the only commerce solution in the marketplace that empowers dealers to sell any car seamlessly from online to in-store.  Having a customer’s information available instantly and at our fingertips gives us the ability to run deal terms in real time and ensure our customers know exactly what to expect.  We’ve never seen a solution like Roadster’s and are thrilled to be placing Roadster’s end-to-end Express Storefront commerce solution at the center of all of our sales operations.”

Since October, Roadster has experienced an influx of dealer demand for its Express Storefront solution.  In fact, the partnership with Crown Toyota marks the third Toyota dealership in California to deploy Roadster’s Express Storefront Solution.

“It is exciting to be working with a new dealership as progressive and expansive as Crown,” said Rudi Thun, COO of Roadster. “Crown is an impressive addition to our customer roster and underlines Roadster’s commitment to modernizing the car buying experience and giving dealers access to the most innovative solution in North America.” 

For more information about Express storefront, please visit http://wwww.roadster.com/dealersales

About Roadster
Roadster is an eCommerce platform that enables hassle-free car buying 100% online through partner dealer websites and Roadster.com. Roadster dramatically improves the car buying process, significantly reducing dealership sales costs while ensuring buyers get a fair and transparent deal and save time. With unmatched industry expertise and complete knowledge of market pricing, lease and finance rates, and incentives and rebates, Roadster finally makes online car shopping a reality. Roadster is based in Palo Alto, CA and was founded in late 2013. For more information, please visit https://roadster.com.

About Crown

John Elway's Crown Toyota Scion, located in the heart of Ontario, CA is one of the largest Toyota dealerships in North America, serving the greater Ontario, Riverside, Corona, Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, Fontana, Norco, Chino, & Chino Hills areas, with their One Price, Simple, No Games sale experience.  For more information, please visit http://www.crowntoyota.com

Did you miss DSES, or want to remind yourself about the Innovation Cup winners? Well, you're in luck! Check out the full DSES 2016 Innovation Cup right here!

Did you miss DSES, or want to remember the awesome ideas we heard in the Best Idea Contest? Well, you're in luck! Check out the full DSES 2016 Best Idea Contest right here! 

Nissan Rogue Rogue One Edition

Nissan’s limited edition Star Wars car made its official debut yesterday at the LA Auto Show. The impressive Star Wars Rogue SUV (pay attention to the model name here, it’s related to the new Star Wars Rogue One movie due out this year) features subtle Star Wars touches. Insignia on the doors, floor mats, a symbol on the trunk and even in the cup-holders all come together to create this limited edition vehicle.

Free Storm Trooper Helmet Anyone?

Beside a few differences, this special edition Rogue is meant to look like other Rogues. Nissan explained that the purpose is to keep the integrity of the Rogue design, while making it extra appealing to Star Wars fans.

But the Star Wars appeal won’t end with the car; each vehicle will come with a helmet for the Imperial Death Trooper, the Empire’s head-to-toe black soldiers in the movie Rogue One.

Limited Edition Means Limited Edition

Nissan announced they are limiting the production to just 5,400 cars. They’ve made it available for order on their website, and roughly 5,000 will be sold in the U.S. with the other 400 set to be sold in Canada.

Michael Bunce, Nissan’s vice president of product planning said that the vehicle will not likely be restocked. “It’s going to be very, very precious, very limited, not a car that’s going to be available for the next six to eight months,” he commented to Inverse magazine.

The car will come in black and white models only. Nissan estimated that each of Nissan’s 1,100 American dealerships will be getting roughly two black and two white cars, four total.

“It was a joint discussion between Lucasfilm and ourselves, but the main point is when you name something limited edition, it needs to be limited in production, that’s how it becomes a little extra special,” said senior manager of marketing strategy for Nissan, Jeremy Meadows.

The Nissan Rogue Rogue One edition will cost roughly $28,950. If you’re interested in purchasing, you better hurry and sign up!

Congratulations to Marissa Marazzi! She had one of the the most top exclusive blog posts in October: 10 Thoughts Millenials Have When Searching for a Car Online. We appreciate Marissa so much for sharing her insights!

Here's an interview with Marissa discussing her blog post in more depth.