We interviewed many vendors during NADA 2017 to hear what they think is ahead for the auto industry. Check out our interview with DealerSocket where we discuss how to leverage big data, technological advancements, and customer service.

*The thoughts and opinions expressed by interviewees do not reflect the opinions of DrivingSales. These interviews are purely editorial content and are not sponsored by any party.

We interviewed many vendors during NADA 2017 to hear what they think is ahead for the auto industry. Check out our interview with DealerRater where we talk about big data, customer experience, and competition.

*The thoughts and opinions expressed by interviewees do not reflect the opinions of DrivingSales. These interviews are purely editorial content and are not sponsored by any party.

We interviewed many vendors during NADA 2017 to hear what they think is ahead for the auto industry. Check out our interview with Contact At Once where we discuss texting and mobile leads, and how the industry is changing to account for this technology. Check back for more NADA 2017 Vendor Insights! 

*The thoughts and opinions expressed by interviewees do not reflect the opinions of DrivingSales. These interviews are purely editorial content and are not sponsored by any party.

Norfolk, VA – January 27, 2017- Dominion Dealer Solutions has released a completely redesigned Inventory Manager App for appraisal data for its Dealer Specialties product line, the leading provider of automotive inventory merchandising for over 20 years. The mobile appraisal application gives dealers access to all of the resources, including book values and competitive intel, needed to make a fast, educated decision that helps them reach profit goals with just a few clicks. The app will be available for automotive dealers nationwide on both iOS and Android devices and contains complete appraisal data.

Dealers who have used the previous version of Dominion’s Inventory Mobile App will notice several changes immediately. In addition to a more user-friendly interface, the app contains simplified fields for gathering customer information, bulk upload and deletion options for appraisal photos, and more than 70% faster photo upload speeds. Vehicle photos have also been removed from the initial appraisal lists on the app. This is a direct result of extensive dealership testing validating that photos on this list were unnecessary to complete an effective appraisal. Additional upgrades for both auction and inventory data will be added after NADA 2017 based on user involvement.

“With vehicle price maintaining its hold as the most essential component for vehicle merchandising, the right components of an appraisal are crucial to the success of any automotive dealership. Our app has been designed to create vehicle evaluations with the potential to reach all profit objectives. We want our dealers to thrive within the buy/sell cycle,” noted Shane Marcum, general manager of inventory solutions for Dominion Dealer Solutions.

Dealers creating vehicle appraisals through Dominion’s Inventory Mobile App have the ability to submit an appraisal for manager approval without leaving a customer’s side. The application has been designed to be intuitive, requiring little or no training for salespeople at the dealership with no lag time.

For more information on the benefits of Dominion Inventory Manager’s improved mobile appraisal application for your automotive dealership, please call 877-421-1040.

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About Dominion Dealer Solutions

Dominion Dealer Solutions improves dealers' lives by developing advanced technologies including: reputation and social media management, responsive websites, digital advertising, SEO, SEM, multi-channel marketing, and custom market reports. Coupled with award-winning lead management, inventory merchandising, equity mining, customer relationship (CRM) and dealer management (DMS) solutions, Dominion redefines automotive retail by delivering first-class customer experiences for today's automotive dealerships. Based in Norfolk, Virginia, every OEM and over 10,000 U.S. dealers depend on Dominion's foundation of innovation, integrity, excellence and teamwork to provide them with results at every turn. For more information, visit our website, like us on Facebook, Pinterest or YouTube, or follow us on Twitter.

About Dominion Enterprises

Dominion Enterprises is a leading online marketing and software services company offering client solutions across multiple targeted business verticals.  Our widely recognized B2C web and mobile portals, including ForRent.com, Homes.com, and CycleTrader.com, generate nearly 30 million unique visits monthly. Our B2B cloud SaaS solutions directly support clients in establishing their online and mobile brands, generating leads, and managing customer relationships.  Dominion Enterprises has more than 40 businesses and 3,000 employees in our Norfolk, Va. home office, across the U.S., and internationally.

 

Media Contact:

Dominion Dealer Solutions

Peyton Hoffman

Director of Public Relations and Event Management

757.351.7271

Peyton.hoffman@drivedominion.com

Equity mining, fixed ops, dynamic retargeting and predictive ads now available for automotive dealers

Norfolk, VA – January 26, 2017- Dominion Dealer Solutions announced today that Prime Response, its award-winning provider of reputation and social media management tools for auto dealers,has launched next gen automotive social ads for fixed ops, dynamic retargeting, predictive advertising, and equity mining.

With Equity Social Ads, dealers have access to the automotive industry’s leading equity engine, DealActivator, combined with Prime Response’s social media management platform. Dealers using DealActivator can generate a list of equity customers who can be targeted on social media with custom ad campaigns. This combination of DMS data, social ROI tracking, Facebook and top partner integrations creates a distinct advantage for dealers using Dominion’s Equity Social Advertising. These ads are fully managed campaigns that reach in-market shoppers in the shopping funnel. Dealers reach local market equity customers through DealActivator’s equity data and Facebook’s hyper-targeting ad options.

In addition to Equity Social Ads, dealers can drive more fixed ops business through Dominion’s Fixed Ops ads, a low-cost channel that extends the dealership’s messaging from email marketing or direct mail marketing into social media. Dominion’s Fixed Ops ads deliver relevant, service-based Facebook advertising to current, conquest, and lost soul customers. This comprehensive strategy drives fixed ops revenue for automotive dealerships by enhancing their success from email and direct mail marketing. Fixed Ops social ads leverage DMS data to drive one-to-one messages for dealers, letting their ads stand out from the competition.

"Prime Response’s Next Gen Social Media not only helps automotive dealerships sell cars through advanced hyper-targeting but also increases bottom-line revenue with improved shopper segmentation. It’s time that dealerships get more personalized on social media, and this is the perfect opportunity for them to embrace the future of digital advertising and get ahead of their competitors," stated Mat Lee, product manager for Prime Response.

For dealers that want to re-engage with online automotive shoppers in a personal and meaningful way, Dominion offers Dynamic Retargeting ads that drive deep-linked VDP traffic by displaying the exact vehicles that shoppers previously viewed even if they didn’t submit a lead. Dealers can retarget unlimited online shoppers at a critical point in the shopping experience, keeping the dealership’s brand and inventory in front of relevant shoppers. With a full Facebook ad integration, Dominion’s Dynamic Retargeting ads dynamically display ad content on each shopper’s Facebook News Feed.

Dealers also have the option of using Predictive Advertising to provide relevant, inventory-based Facebook advertising to in-market or near-market consumers. By leveraging data mining to uncover the traits and profiles of shoppers most likely to buy, dealers reach in-market shoppers with their inventory. With a seamless inventory integration, Predictive Advertising drives relevant traffic to both a dealership’s Vehicle Detail (VDPs) and Search Results Pages (SRPs).

For more information on the benefits of Dominion’s Next Gen Social Media Advertising for your automotive dealership, please call 877-421-1040.

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About Dominion Dealer Solutions

Dominion Dealer Solutions improves dealers' lives by developing advanced technologies including: reputation and social media management, responsive websites, digital advertising, SEO, SEM, multi-channel marketing, and custom market reports. Coupled with award-winning lead management, inventory merchandising, equity mining, customer relationship (CRM) and dealer management (DMS) solutions, Dominion redefines automotive retail by delivering first-class customer experiences for today's automotive dealerships. Based in Norfolk, Virginia, every OEM and over 10,000 U.S. dealers depend on Dominion's foundation of innovation, integrity, excellence and teamwork to provide them with results at every turn. For more information, visit our website, like us on Facebook, Pinterest or YouTube, or follow us on Twitter.

About Dominion Enterprises

Dominion Enterprises is a leading online marketing and software services company offering client solutions across multiple targeted business verticals.  Our widely recognized B2C web and mobile portals, including ForRent.com, Homes.com, and CycleTrader.com, generate nearly 30 million unique visits monthly. Our B2B cloud SaaS solutions directly support clients in establishing their online and mobile brands, generating leads, and managing customer relationships.  Dominion Enterprises has more than 40 businesses and 3,000 employees in our Norfolk, Va. home office, across the U.S., and internationally.

 

Media Contact:

Dominion Dealer Solutions

Peyton Hoffman

Director of Public Relations and Event Management

757.351.7271

Peyton.hoffman@drivedominion.com

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., Jan. 24, 2017 – DealerSocket, the automotive retail industry’s leading integrated technology platform developer, will be displaying new technologies that improve dealership sales processes at the upcoming National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Convention & Expo, Jan. 26–29 in New Orleans. Announcements include: 

• Precise Price™ highly accurate and transparent integrated digital retailing tool
• Blackbird™ Demos: DealerSocket’s redesigned and improved technology platform
• Enhanced customer service, supported by Health Check™ and Customer Success Managers 
• New Credit Bureau Connection (CBC) and RouteOne CRM integrations 

Precise Price™ to deliver most accurate online pricing

DealerSocket is introducing Precise Price, its transparent and accurate digital retailing tool that allows customers to initiate the structure of a deal on a dealer’s website and be fully informed about all costs prior to making a purchase decision. Precise Price promotes customer confidence and trust in every negotiation, factoring in potential cost influencers, such as dealer incentives and fees, F&I and vehicle protections, local taxes, down payment, trade-in evaluations and more. 

Precise Price integrates with dealership CRM platforms for a seamless, no-surprises, online-to-store purchase experience and an improved, more efficient sales process by shortening the in-store desking time. Precise Price works in real time, offering true time savings to both dealerships and customers. Precise Price also enables dealers to stay in alignment with the buyers “buying process” as opposed to squeezing them into the dealers “selling process,” improving gross profit, buyer confidence and customer satisfaction.

Blackbird™ – Demo the new DealerSocket platform

DealerSocket will continue its introduction of Blackbird, the redesigned version of its software platform, to further simplify integration of its CRM tools and the dealership and dealership customer user experience. The newly enhanced platform provides a more intuitive and streamlined workflow, offering more customization and easier navigation, allowing sales teams to spend less time performing standard activities in the platform and more time on sales and service. 

“DealerSocket listened to its customers—receiving input from more than 70 dealers and user testing feedback—and responded with the development of Blackbird,” said Brad Perry, Founder and CTO of DealerSocket. “We determined the areas where the platform could be improved and completely redesigned the interface for quick access to regularly used tools, so dealers could experience greater efficiencies and savings.” 

CSM model streamlines support for DealerSocket technologies

DealerSocket is also introducing an improved customer service model with simplified access to all DealerSocket products and resources via a single point of contact or Customer Success Manager (CSM). To support DealerSocket CSMs, DealerSocket is also introducing a new digital monitoring tool, Health Check™, to proactively assess and alert dealers who are not fully optimizing their CRM platform. Health Check also allows DealerSocket support to proactively see when users need help and training. Dealers will now have much easier access to customer service for real-time answers to questions, support, and immediate assistance for deploying DealerSocket tools. 

“The new customer support model allows us to diagnose and compare dealer technology use against competitive benchmarks, while CSMs proactively provide recommendations,” said Darren Harline, VP of Customer Engagement and Partnerships at DealerSocket. “Our customers will no longer need to juggle multiple points of contact with DealerSocket or wait for a quarterly visit to have questions answered or learn how to improve use of the tools. Every DealerSocket CSM has quick access to the full resources and expertise of our team.”  

Reliable credit report and compliance solutions now fully integrated with DealerSocket

DealerSocket has partnered with Credit Bureau Connection (CBC) and introduced a newly enhanced integration with RouteOne to offer efficient, complete credit solutions directly through the DealerSocket platform:

• Credit Bureau Connection offers fast, reliable and complete credit report and compliance solutions. Whether dealerships are seeking to prequalify applicants or capture leads, sales teams can receive electronic credit reports from Experian, TransUnion and Equifax (individually, or all at once). The tool also grants ease of mind to dealerships, providing extra compliance protection with the Red Flags Indicator to visually identify potential identity fraud situations. 

• DealerSocket’s newly enhanced integration with RouteOne allows two-way data synchronization between DealerSocket CRM and RouteOne, increasing end-user workflow efficiency, improved data accuracy and greater transparency between deals in each system. 

Dealers can now instantly send CRM sales opportunities that include a customer’s full credit application, vehicle of interest and trade-in vehicle to RouteOne’s credit application decision engine. Once credit decisions are determined in RouteOne, they are instantly returned to DealerSocket’s CRM to help sales teams more efficiently communicate with customers. 

In addition, customer records including online credit applications that are captured in RouteOne can be sent back to DealerSocket’s CRM for proper customer follow up. This saves time for dealer customers, improves the buying experience and reduces the chance of customer information getting lost.

To learn more about DealerSocket’s new technologies or to schedule a product demo at NADA, stop by Booth #937 or #1137 or visit nada.dealersocket.com.

About DealerSocket

DealerSocket is a leading automotive technology platform that helps dealerships in the United States, Canada and Australia improve profitability through a fully integrated suite of marketing, sales, service, customer experience, DMS, data mining, and inventory management solutions. Headquartered in San Clemente, California, DealerSocket employs more than 1,000 people, and serves 11,000 dealerships and 300,000 active users in the United States, Canada and Australia. DealerSocket's advanced technology provides benchmarking data that paces the industry, and its insightful experts identify trends and develop strategic road maps that help dealers optimize processes and operate more profitably. Visit DealerSocket.com for more information. 

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Spireon Inc., the leader in aftermarket telematics solutions for risk management and business optimization, will introduce its latest connected car solution - Kahu™ - at the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Convention & Expo in New Orleans. Kahu is designed for dealers, providing streamlined lot management while delivering a new finance and insurance (F&I) profit center by offering consumers a modern location tracking and stolen vehicle recovery service. Additionally, Kahu empowers dealers to grow service retention with car buyers by providing accurate vehicle data for proactive maintenance reminders that can improve vehicle health and keep vehicles within warranty.

SPIREON UNVEILS KAHU, THE FIRST CONNECTED CAR SOLUTION SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR DEALERSHIPS

“New car dealer margins have been flat for several years, driving a need to create new revenue and profit opportunities,” said Kevin Weiss, CEO at Spireon. “Connected cars are changing the industry, but dealers are receiving little value from this shift. Kahu changes that dynamic, giving dealers the tools they need before, during and after the sale to grow profits and benefit from the connected car revolution.”

Kahu includes an aftermarket GPS device and mobile apps for both dealers and their customers. The solution provides these features and benefits to dealers:

• Lot Management — Dealers can easily manage inventory, track specific vehicle location, and see low battery indicators using a mobile phone or tablet, streamlining operations and creating a better buying experience for consumers. Virtual geofences and after-hours alerts allow dealers to identify and recover stolen vehicles within minutes.
• F&I Profit Center — Kahu offers dealers a high value add-on for consumers who seek peace of mind with a next generation vehicle recovery service and an arsenal of easy-to-use mobile features. From 24/7 vehicle location visibility, so consumers can track their vehicle and family at all times, to smart alerts for speeding and low battery, Kahu is an attractive add-on that safeguards consumers while driving dealer profit.
• Customer Loyalty — Kahu uses GPS-based mileage tracking to improve the accuracy of service reminders and increase service retention. Consumers benefit by being able to maximize warranty protection and ensure recommended service intervals are maintained.

“Our partnership with Spireon has paid for itself tenfold,” stated Spireon customer Jon Hansen, General Sales Manager, Burien Nissan. “Being able to offer a product that I find value in to our customers and making it a revenue generator for the dealership is really big for us. I would absolutely recommend Spireon to other dealerships.”

Spireon’s aftermarket GPS devices are installed on more than 3.5 million vehicles and offered by 14,000 dealerships across North America. With Kahu, car dealers and consumers now have access to state-of-the-art mobile location services, which protect their vehicle assets and can lead to reduced insurance premiums.

Kahu is already installed with a select group of early adopter customers, and will be generally available in the second quarter of 2017.

To learn more about Kahu at NADA please visit Spireon’s booth, #4309 in Hall E, or schedule a meeting at http://www.spireon.com/nada2017/.

About Spireon

Spireon, Inc. is the industry’s leading open connected vehicle company, providing businesses and consumers with powerful Big Data insights to track, manage and protect their most valuable assets. The award-winning Spireon NSpire open platform delivers rich information from any GPS connected vehicle or asset, converting that information into actionable insight. Headquartered in Irvine, CA, Spireon’s open connected vehicle platform now supports more than three million active subscribers across the company’s growing suite of product offerings for new and used car dealers, lenders and financial institutions, rental car agencies, insurers, consumers, and fleet, trailer and asset management companies.

Learn how technology drives sales at booth 4655

NEW YORK (Jan. 24, 2017) – Automotive dealers compete to target the right customer at the right time with the right offer and message. Dealers have always found ways to accomplish this, but have not had the power of behavior prediction to help. automotiveMastermind (aM) is the leading predictive analytics and marketing automation technology for dealerships and manufacturers – and it’s transforming the sales process. The technology will be on display at the 2017 National Automobile Dealers Association Convention (NADA), taking place Jan. 27-29 at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. aM is exhibiting at booth 4655.

“Dealers cannot rely on price alone to drive sales – for the first time, they can use a more sophisticated technology to tell them who is ready to buy and why,” said Marco Schnabl, CEO and founder of aM. “Our unique approach is highly successful because we reveal the motivating factors that pertain to each prospective customer. The moment a dealership goes live with our technology is the moment they start to see significant success.”

The aM technology empowers sales teams with key insights and valuable information on its top prospects. Its proprietary algorithm crunches thousands of data points, combining DMS (dealer management system) information with Big Data - including social media, financial, product and customer lifecycle information, to calculate how likely a consumer is to purchase a new vehicle now. The complex data is distilled into one simple number, the Behavior Prediction Score® (BPS), which is a ranking from 0-100. The higher the score, the more likely the customer is to buy. aM takes this information one step further by layering on micro-targeted email and direct mail campaigns. The simple, intuitive nature of the technology speaks for itself.

automotiveMastermind has a proven track record of transforming the dealership experience for consumers and revolutionizing the way automotive dealerships and manufacturers, find, engage and earn long-lasting customer relationships.

NADA attendees can demo the aM technology by submitting an RSVP via this link: https://www.automotivemastermind.com/nada, or visit booth 4655 at the show.

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About automotiveMastermind

Founded in 2012, automotiveMastermind is the leading provider of predictive analytics and marketing automation technology for the automotive industry. The company’s cloud-based platform helps dealers precisely predict automobile-buying behavior and automates the creation of micro-targeted consumer communications, leading to proven higher sales and more consistent customer retention. automotiveMastermind currently works with hundreds of dealerships from various automotive manufacturers, including Acura, Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Honda, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, MINI and Toyota, and has plans to add more during 2017. automotiveMastermind is headquartered in New York City and San Francisco and has more than doubled its employee count in the last year. For more information, visit automotivemastermind.com or follow them on Twitter @autoMastermind.

2016 has come to an end. For some, it was a banner year full of amazing sales and advancements. For others, it was a rough sales year, and one full of nervous anticipation for the future. No matter how you felt about 2016, it’s almost over. And now we get a fresh start with 2017. But what will this New Year hold for us? We asked some of the industry’s top influencers what they predicted would be ahead for 2017, and here’s what they had to say.

Gary May, President of Interactive Marketing and Consulting Services:

1. Incentives will rise in 2017 and pressures on OEMs will result in more focus on traditional media for Tier 1.

2. Tier 3 will still struggle with digital due to pervasive platforms and middlemen, while a small increase in leading dealers will invest properly in digital to take market share.

3. Online purchase technology and adoption will continue to move forward, slowly.

4. Data and data ownership/sharing rights will be a powder keg behind the scenes.

Aaron Krane, Drive Motor’s CEO:

1. Millennials will gain marketshare and gravitate towards on-demand car-renting and purchasing experiences, which will influence auto-dealers’ behavior/offerings.

2. Consumers who don’t like being “desked” will spend less time inside the F&I manager’s office, especially as auto dealers will sell more F&I products online -- and fewer offline. With more transparency and digital transactions, everyone wins. In a hassle-free environment, consumers will be more likely to self-upgrade.

3. Large tech companies like Amazon and Uber will begin to encroach on dealership marketshare and customer relationships.

David Kain, Kain Automotive President:

1. I predict that 2017 will be the expansion of more self-service on dealership websites, where consumers are able to move further in the purchase process before interacting with a salesperson at the dealership. This will require innovation by website providers and trust by dealership management and financial institutions. At present, dealership websites are more of a barrier to self-service or digital retailing than a catalyst.  

2. I predict that 2017 will be an opportunity for dealerships that focus on the Professional Development of their Sales Team Members and move them into more entrepreneurial roles where they are responsible for their own business development in harmony with the Dealership BDC's and Internet Operations.  

3. I predict that 2017 will be a year when attribution becomes readily available and true sales influencers are revealed forcing passive influencers to rethink their business models so they can really prove their value in Digital Marketing.

Richard Rikess, Auto Consultant:

1. The Autonomous Vehicle won’t happen in 2017. Pretty much all I hear people discussing is the autonomous auto. While I am cautiously optimistic about this game changing event, it will not be happening in 2017! So, let us who are not involved in the production and distribution of this era changing vehicle focus on what we can impact this year. While others are chasing shiny widgets and the next great thing, when can we go back to basics and just start becoming professional sales consultants again?

2. Digital Marketing will be important, but not without proper sales techniques. SEO/SEM/Rep Man/Social Media, how do any of these matter if we can’t do a proper meet & greet? If we can’t take a phone up and turn into a sale? If we still do not respond to emails by answering the consumer’s questions and providing value? When a football team is in trouble, they always go back to the blocking and tackling. That’s all I want for 2017, I don’t want the latest and greatest algorithm to beat Google, and I don’t need to undercut my competitor’s price by fifty bucks! I just need to do a better job taking care of my customer base and my prospects!

Ron Henson, Director Of Operations DrivingSales University:

1. SAAR for 2017 declines to 17.2 ruled by higher interest rates that won't be offset by lower fuel prices.

2. Nissan surpasses Honda and becomes #2 import brand trailing only Toyota.

3. Usage-based auto insurance will increase steeply in 2017 as insurance companies adopt a model where customers are charged based on driving habits as recorded by telematic devices.

4. THIS IS A BOLD ONE: Lenders will begin to allow multiple borrowers on car loans in order to adapt to the current ride-sharing trends.

Allen Turner, Owner of Allen Turner Hyundai

1. I am not alone in thinking that interest will continue to rise as will consumer confidence over the next few years, however that will not be a huge number.

2. I believe that Trump will be business friendly and that will help create jobs helping us to sell more metal. 

3. I believe that buying services such as True car and others will be less of a factor as they are not new anymore, and more dealers realize they are not our partners. 

4.  Used cars will continue to be the go to department as manufacturers have less opportunity for "take always" in that area. 

5. As we have seen Beepi shutting down outside of California, I am encouraged that a locally owned and operated, bricks and mortar, car dealership still brings value to the community and its consumers. I predict that this trend continues and manufacturers and customers alike realize we bring value and service that helps them. 

Joe Webb, DealerKnows:

1. While I don't want to make full-fledged proclamations of prognostications, I will say that I have several "hopeful predictions" for automotive retailing in 2017. As searches are trying to match customer intent more and more at all phases of the shopping funnel, dealers will continue to draw back budget from 3rd party resources in hopes of off-site leads, and dedicate dollars to driving all means of traffic (digital or otherwise) to their own website and storefront. Given this trend, more focus will be put on technology that will assist their own website (and staff) with valuable customer engagement.

2. I would like to see a greater emphasis be put on developing seamless interactions with customers through new website transactional tools, video platforms, and SMS texting capability embedded throughout sites. With the new embracement of communication methods and transactional technologies, dealers must look inward at their own personnel to ensure they have the skill sets and training in place to deliver these efficient sales processes.

3. Sadly, I think dealers will still struggle with the transition between delivering a great online experience and the less than ideal customer experience the showroom provides. Hopefully, more transactional technologies become utilized at the tier 3 level before tier 1 begins instituting policies that some dealers are not yet ready for. Differentiation of the dealership brand will become harder to clarify as more dealers invest in themselves, and I see only dealers truly leveraging the power of video able to stand out online.

Do you agree, disagree? Have some different predictions of your own? Please let us know in the comments below. And if you have your own predictions for 2017, please comment by January 15th for the chance to be involved in one of our breakout sessions at DSES.

Congratulations to Richard Rikess for his top November blog, Which Language Can Close Leads. We caught up with Richard to learn a little bit more about how to close leads, while balancing not being overly pushy. Thanks Richard, and congratulations!