Contributed by Bryce Veon

Today, it was announced that CDK has purchased Auto/Mate.  I expect this action to create a major disruption in the dealer management system (DMS) industry.

First, there is now one less option for dealerships to choose. Second, this purchase isn’t an effort to combine two smaller players in hopes of making a bigger impact in the marketplace. Rather, it’s a scenario in which one of the big 2 DMS providers eliminates another legitimate option.

History shows that this kind of acquisition often has a negative impact on all buyers, both customers and non-customers alike, because as supply shrinks, prices tend to rise and quality tends to fall. Buyers get less flexibility and innovation often slows.

Why? To get the ROI (return on investment) needed to offset the acquisition costs, the company will focus on consolidation of platforms, which causes changes in functionality, workflows, etc.  A consolidation of people is also common, often resulting in adverse impacts on customer support and account management. With the focus on offsetting the cost of the purchase, expect investments into the product and services to be greatly curtailed.

Yes, expect disruption. And consider your options. At Autosoft, we remain committed to diversification in the DMS industry. It’s one reason why we’ve been named Highest Rated DMS three years in a row by DrivingSales.

We hear it every day at the dealership about how our customers keep defecting. I thought I would share an experience of a co-worker when she went to an independent. These facilities really want our business. Let's not let them take it from us. Treat every customer like it's the last time you might see them... It just may be!

Contributed by my team member Marlo Halliday - Thanks Marlo!

Well, it was actually all a bit surprising—pleasantly surprising. Here’s the account of my experience and the number one lesson I learned that some dealers might want to note.

For 16 years prior to joining the Autosoft team, I worked in three positions with the same import dealer group, finishing my retail career there as a general manager. After my departure, I remained loyal to the brand and was still having my service work done at the dealership. I understood the value of trained technicians and advisors. I got the importance of using exact OEM parts for fit and function. But one day last week, I didn’t have the option to go to my dealership.

On my way in to work at Autosoft, my tire pressure light came on. Knowing better than to assume it was just the change in temperature that triggered the warning system, I pulled off at the first safe spot. I was glad I did. My tire wasn’t low, it was flat. I had gone about a mile from the point where the light came on to where I could pull over. It was less than another half-mile to where I knew a small tire center was located. I decided it would be ridiculous, at that point, to be towed. So, I put on my hazard lights and proceeded slowly.

It was about 7:15 a.m. and the sign on the door said they opened at 8. Around 7:40, someone who looked like a technician arrived, and then someone else. I decided to see if they had opened the customer entrance. They had, so I went on in and received a friendly greeting from the lady behind the counter. She smiled, said good morning, and asked if I was in the Honda she saw parked out front. I told her I was and explained what had just happened to lead me there.

She listened and said she could have someone check my tire right then. She’d let me know what they found. She also told me the coffee was almost done and took my keys. From there, I went and sat in the waiting area.

So let’s pause and consider my experience so far. I arrived before they were open and without an appointment, but they took me in immediately anyway. Okay, most dealership advisors would do that. But, the first point scored for the independent repair shop was that they did it with true concern and a smile. I wasn’t made to feel like I was an inconvenience or that I was throwing a wrench in their morning schedule. Point 1 to mom and pop.

Point 2? From the outside, their facility looked neat. They had a well-painted building, clean and current signage, and easy access to parking. The waiting area had maybe 8 seats, a large wall-mounted flat screen, current magazines, and loads of neatly-arranged antique vehicle knick-knacks lining the cornice shelves above my head. The room temperature was comfortably warm with cozy chairs, and the coffee wasn’t Starbucks, but it was good. The state of their lounge may or may not be considered a “one up” on most franchised dealerships’ service lounges, but it was definitely comparable. So, point #2 may be a tie, but it comes with a tip: be sure to take a close look at your lounge, if you haven’t lately, and make sure it’s welcoming and comfortable.

Now, here’s where the independent scored big in the franchised vs. independent experience. The counter person (not sure if she’d call herself a service advisor?), was genuinely distressed when she came back out to tell me about my car.

She informed me the technician had found that I’d lost air at the seal around the valve. It would have been repairable if I hadn’t driven on the flat as far as I had. She said they had to replace the tire and that she was sorry.

She actually said, “I feel bad.” She was genuinely empathetic. I honestly believed she felt sorry that I had to spend money on a new tire. Is that the impression dealership advisors characteristically convey?

I have to believe that, like myself, other service customers would approve a service or repair much more contentedly if it were proposed so considerately versus indifferently.

The counter person went on to say they didn’t have a match in stock or available, but she had found the closest tread match for the size I needed. I wasn’t thrilled about having one tire that didn’t match, but I certainly didn’t want to replace three other fairly new ones to have an identical set.

She told me they could get the tire in the next day and would call me when it was done. She didn’t tell me the price (okay, score one for the dealership; I would have gotten an estimate and signed something by now), and I didn’t ask. I really didn’t want to know. I was just glad I hadn’t ruined the wheel at that point.

The next day, I got a call around 2. The tire was done and the total cost was about half of what I’d guessed it would be. Even so, price isn’t the point here. The point is that the sincerity, which correlated to integrity, made the independent facility the winner for me. Score big time for the mom and pop.

That’s the #1 key, I think, for dealers to win out over the independents: show that you care . . . sincerely.

Will I go back to the independent facility? Without a doubt (barring a major repair) I’m there.

What a simple way to win business. If a dealer or service manager would strongly emphasize the human factor with their service writers, I think CSE and customer retention would reflect the effort ten-fold.

Maybe the “mom and pop” cliché is really making a positive suggestion: Treat the customer how you would like your mother or father to be treated. That kind of attitude would be a winning difference for the dealership.

Improve Training Retention with Video

Video learning has exploded over the past few years. OEMs use it extensively with everyone from sales professionals to technicians for new model learning, continuing education certifications, and more. NADA and State Associations have broad virtual libraries for best practices and process training, regulatory and compliance learning options, and many other topics. You’ve most likely subscribed to at least one online video sales or F&I training series for your dealership team. You may have even made video part of your store’s onboarding for new hires.

It’s easy to see why video has taken over as the learning tool of choice. Did you know YouTube has over a billion users? That’s one-third of people online![1] The same thing that drives people to seek information and entertainment on YouTube is also fueling their use of other social media outlets, like Facebook and Instagram. The expectation for instant, on-demand information has spread to both education and marketing. Video learning is the answer.

The Real Value of Video 

Is video learning beneficial? Absolutely! It’s almost seven times more beneficial than documents or articles alone. Seven times! Stimulating both audio and visual senses gives the mind far less time to wander, and helps maintain focus. Successful learning videos commonly do these 3 things:

1. Grab attention within the first 8 seconds.
2. Keep it short (3 minutes or less).
3. Engage the viewer. A good instructional video can make ANY content come to life.

Learning videos fill a need in the education market to deliver information in a way people can remember. Did you know our attention rates are less than that of a goldfish? No joke! The average human attention span is merely eight seconds, compared to a goldfish with an attention span of nine seconds.[2] The combination of visual and audio versus just reading words is the key to getting and keeping our attention, and superior retention rates.

Not only do we have pitiful attention spans, we only remember 10% of what we hear or read after just 72 hours. Those stats rise to almost a 70% retention rate when we combine audio with visual stimulation that catches our attention.[3]

You might guess employees, especially millennial employees, favor video over other forms of learning. In fact, research proves it. Forrester research shows people are 75% more likely to watch a video than read documents, emails, or web articles.[4] That’s huge in the business world!

They can watch video training as they are able, on demand, and from anywhere. Plus, travel costs and schedule conflicts are reduced, conference rooms are freed up for other needs, and your training is consistently being delivered the same way each time.

Do It Right

To make your video learning successful, you must keep it short. Just because something is in video format, doesn’t mean people will remember it, especially if the content is dry or the video is long. YouTube statistics show the average length of an online video watched is just under three minutes. No matter how spectacular your video is, after three minutes your audience has lost interest. Understandably, it can be difficult to keep videos short, especially if you have a lot of content. The key here is to deliver it in “chunks.” Several small, three-minute chunks of material will hit the education sweet spot.

No matter how short the video, dull content will lose your audience every time. People aren’t looking for Hollywood style video learning with action clips and loud music, but you can’t just read a PowerPoint either. Your employees don’t need an excuse to fall asleep, so be sure the videos are engaging. Instructional designers are out there with the ideas and authoring tools to make any content more engaging and interactive. It might be a good idea to utilize them.

There you have it. To get the most training retention from your dealership team, start developing your own learning videos and start utilizing the multitude of industry learning videos available. Most importantly, make continuous learning through videos part of your dealership’s culture. As a matter of fact, why did I type all of this? I should have vlogged it instead!

Reference Links

[1] https://www.youtube.com/yt/press/statistics.html

[2] http://www.statisticbrain.com/attention-span-statistics/

[3] http://www.statisticbrain.com/attention-span-statistics/

[4] https://www.panopto.com/blog/5-facts-you-can-use-to-make-the-case-for-video-in-your-learning-development-organization/

https://www.forrester.com/report/Improve+Customer+Engagement+With+A+Blended+Learning+Strategy/-/E-RES115865#figure3

Introduction

Imagine you send and receive as many as 3,000 text messages a month, but make and receive fewer than 150 phone calls in that same time. Imagine you read reviews on blogs and other social media platforms before a purchase, instead of asking the opinions of friends or family. Imagine you share virtually everything that happens in your life on Facebook, Snapchat, or Tumblr. Can’t picture it? That’s probably because you’re not a Millennial or part of the iGeneration. Yet these generations are an enormous and exciting opportunity for your dealership; understanding them is arguably one of the most important things you can do to take your business to the next level, and survive and thrive in the years to come. Their numbers make the Baby Boomer generation look tiny, and their spending power is huge: over $200 billion a year by 2017, according to Forbes.

It’s no wonder retailers across the board are spending billions of marketing dollars to get on their radar. The irony is that these generations don’t trust traditional advertising – to them it’s just more of the same old spin. Instead, successful companies have taken the time to know this market and the channels they prefer. For example, AT&T decided to advertise on Tumblr because it reaches both desktop and mobile users. It created a sponsored post with a text message that read, “When you know what you want call me.” The decision to toss aside a traditional marketing message and instead go after a moment many experience in life spoke to these generations and had far reach. Another great example is Tide, which used short mobile videos to boast that its Pods “provide excellent results with minimal time and effort;” a message that speaks to the convenience and ease that many in this generation crave from a buying experience.

When it comes to the automotive industry, too few dealers are following the examples of these innovative brands. Perhaps because many dealers run generational businesses passed down from family member to family member and have little reason to question previous decisions, or because they just don’t know where to start, the auto industry lags behind in appealing to these multi-billion dollar demographics. That’s a problem because these generations are changing the face of vehicle buying and servicing. They are very progressive when it comes to technology, prefer to research and shop online, and come to your dealership armed with pricing information and ready to buy on the first visit. That presents a challenge: how do you get these lucrative generations in your store, and once they are there, how do you keep profits up when you don’t have a lot of room to negotiate on price? The answer lies in understanding what motivates these generations and how they prefer to communicate, shop, and buy; while at the same time, making smart technology investments to root out inefficiencies on the back-end and keep profits high. 

Who Are These Buyers?

To win the business of Millennials and the iGeneration, you first have to understand them. Millennials are commonly defined as born between 1980 and 2000. They are often referred to as “digital natives” due to always having technology at hand. They’ve seen it all when it comes to marketing – consequently only 1% say a compelling advertisement would make them trust a brand more, according to Forbes. They’ve grown up on social media and trust it, to the point where Forbes found that 33% rely on blogs before they make a purchase, and 62% are more likely to become a loyal customer if a brand engages with them on social networks. Research also shows that their values have been influenced by events like 9/11 and the Great Recession; perhaps accounting for why up to 75% say it’s either fairly or very important that a company give back to society instead of just making a profit.

The iGeneration (also known as Generation Z) are commonly defined as born between 1994 and 2004. Like Millennials, they share constant connectedness and are defined by their love of electronic communication and the individualized way they use it (no wonder their name is derived from Apple’s popular products). A 2015 study conducted by Worldcom Public Relations Group partners Schneider Associates and The Pollack PR Marketing Group found that this generation more than any other requires information on demand, and is inclined to trust the advice of “friends” or strangers who share opinions freely on social media platforms.

While most can agree on these facts and characteristics, there’s also been a lot written about Millennials and the iGeneration that is simply untrue. For example, the idea that these generations aren’t interested in owning a vehicle because they are part of the “sharing economy.” In fact, J.D. Power reported that millennials’ share of new vehicles purchased rocketed to 27% in 2014 from 18% in 2010. A recent study from AutoTrader backed-up this growing demand when it found that in the next 10 years, 40% of all new vehicles will be sold to Millennials. It went on to state that in picking cars, Millennials “consider what they identify as ‘practical’ vehicles, yet they aspire to brands they describe as ‘sophisticated,’ ‘innovative,’ and ‘stylish.’” This is exciting news for our industry – these generations are buying cars, and as digital natives looking for practicality with a little style, they are all but telling us how to sell to them.

How Do I Win Their Business?

With these preferences and habits in mind, you can win your share of this lucrative market and gain a steady revenue stream for years to come. Companies marketing the right way to these generations incorporate some or all of the following tactics:

Personalize everything – Many call these generations the “me” generations in part because they want to feel unique. That’s why a hyper-personalized customer experience is so important. A marketing platform that segments your customers and draws on data you already have will help you know your customers and what they need, so you can send timely and relevant sales and service communications.

Connect through social media – These generations live on social media so your dealership should be there too. They expect a Facebook page, Google reviews, a Twitter stream, and maybe even a Tumblr account. Social media offers real-time engagement and is a huge opportunity for your dealership to communicate and connect with these buyers.

Excite with content – Content is a mainstay of the Millennial and iGeneration lifestyle. They are constantly scrolling through news feeds and watching videos on YouTube. In fact, a 2014 Most Memorable New Product Launch survey conducted by Schneider Associates marketing group found that almost 50% of iGens turn to YouTube to learn about new products, compared to only 25% who read emails from brands. Videos, photos, and social media posts go a long way towards turning them on to your dealership.

Use mobile – It’s no surprise that these digital natives prefer a technology-based dealer experience. According to a 2015 J.D. Power study, dealerships that use tablets as part of their sales and F & I process achieved greater customer satisfaction than their old-school competitors. You can incorporate mobile throughout the buying experience – from configuring a vehicle, to payment options, to paperless contracting, menu selling, and after-purchase service appointments. Incorporating technology is a huge plus for your dealership too. The best solutions boost productivity and efficiency, so you can hold down back-end costs, hire fewer people, and do more in less time.

Give back to society – Giving back to their local communities is something dealerships have traditionally done very well. Go to virtually any town and you’ll see the local softball or baseball team sporting jerseys sponsored by the neighborhood dealership. Start talking on your website and social media about how your dealership gives back. Post photos and videos, testimonials from recipients, or other engaging content. These generations will appreciate that you’re not all about profit.

Focus on selling an experience – It’s difficult, if not impossible, to sell purely on price these days when all the information available on the Internet limits your negotiating power. Instead, sell the experience buyers can expect at your store. Whether that’s a completely mobile buying process, a service center that uses license plate scanners to greet customers by name and instantly access service records, or a waiting area with virtual reality vehicle simulators. Whatever you do to surprise and delight your customers should be prominent across your marketing channels.

How Can My DMS Help?

The right DMS can help you deliver the convenient and easy technology-powered buying experience these generations demand, while also rooting out inefficiencies to hold down back-end costs. This is increasingly important as modern buyers, unlike their older predecessors, educate themselves with easily accessible information and arrive at a dealership ready to buy on the first visit. This low-negotiating way of buying affects profits, so the experience you provide is paramount to win sales and loyalty.

Let’s look at the buying experience first. How do you know if you have the right DMS to deliver the personalized, easier, and faster experience that Millennials and the iGeneration demand? Ask yourself these questions:

• Does my DMS allow me to manage operations in every department, communicate with customers, desk deals anywhere, and service vehicles quickly, all from one platform?
• Do I have purchase history at a glance to speed transaction time and create a personalized experience based on stored photos, preferences, and past interactions?
• Do I have efficient, menu-based workflows to speed up the in-store process?
• Can I work with the third-party providers of my choice to take advantage of new innovations in efficiency and functionality?
• Do I have streamlined desking to shorten the sales process?
• Do I have tablet-enabled menu selling for an interactive and enjoyable F & I process?
• Do I have the ability to completely sell a vehicle via mobile devices – including vehicle configuration, history reports, payment options, desking, and menu selling?

Now take a look at your back-end processes.  Do you have the right DMS to increase operational efficiency and hold-down costs? Ask yourself these questions:

• Does my system have an intuitive design and logical workflows to simplify my daily processes?
• Do I have deep-dive capabilities so I don’t have to open multiple screens?
• Can my Sales Manager track and trend deals to coach the team and capture sales?
• Can I manage my inventory and create VDPs on the fly?
• Do I have automated end-to-end processes for invoice approvals and other accounting functions?
• Can I easily access trade, loan, and auction values for quick buy and sell decisions?

A “yes” to these questions is a good indicator that you have a DMS capable of helping you attract and retain Millennials and iGen buyers, and root out inefficiencies that cost you money. Too many “no’s” and it may be time to start researching other providers.

Conclusion

Millennials and members of the iGeneration are a whole new type of buyer – digital natives schooled in constant connectivity who expect from companies the instant information, convenience, and real-time engagement they’ve come to expect from the Internet. Dealerships that take the time to understand what motivates these generations, and create an experience  that appeals to how they prefer to communicate, shop, and buy, will rise to the top and earn business from this lucrative demographic. At the same time, savvy dealers will invest in smart technology to help root out back-end inefficiencies and counteract a drop in profits that results from widely available pricing information. Autosoft is prepared to help dealers capitalize on the huge opportunity these generations hold with an open, dynamic, and intuitive DMS.

Not only is this a great Molly Hatchet song but it seems to be the norm when it comes to dealerships updating their operating systems or securing their computer networks. One of the lines in the song actually foretells of impending doom… ”When we gamble with our time, we choose our destiny.”

In my job I travel to many dealerships and quite often engage with either the I.T. person or experience their computer network myself. I am constantly amazed at either how little is understood about a computer network or the apathy displayed about this most critical piece of their business’ infrastructure. The Gramm Leach Bliley Act, Safe Harbor Rules and Privacy Act all tell us how important it is to protect and safeguard not only your data, but all of the data you have collected from your customers. Ultimately, it is the dealer’s responsibility if a customer’s information gets lost or stolen.

With this being said, wouldn’t you think we would all take the utmost care and be diligent about making sure the access to our most critical data is always up to date and has the most security possible? You certainly would think so. However, this goes back to my dealer visits. I was in a store not too long ago and was asked to show how to perform a certain process with our software. I quickly agreed and asked if I could use one of their machines to show them an example. “Sure” was the quick response.

I went to a finance manager’s desk and moved the mouse to get the security screen to pop up. I asked for the other person to enter the password and he said “just hit the return key. The password is blank.” I was stunned to be sitting at an F&I manager’s desk and there wasn’t any security measures in place to make sure customer data nor dealership data was compromised. Sure enough, I hit the return key and the screen came to life. There I was looking at an online credit application that had all the information I would have needed to do some major damage to a customer’s credit file. I asked why they didn’t have the PC secured. Apparently the F&I manager has a hard time remembering all his passwords and felt this particular one was a nuisance. How much was that fine for losing customers’ data???

Another dealership allowed me to log onto one of their PC’s remotely. I immediately saw the start button wasn’t Windows 7 and asked to check the system’s properties. Turns out this machine was running Windows XP and wasn’t even up to date on its service packs. I asked the dealer if he knew that Windows XP is no longer supported by Microsoft and hasn’t been since April 8 of 2014, over a year ago. The dealer seemed shocked and told me most of his machines still run XP!!!

Another instance, I am completely astounded when I look at the system tray on a PC and don’t see a business grade anti-virus running. Most recently I found a network that was running the FREE VERSION of an anti-virus program. When I asked why the dealership was doing that, the GM told me it was cheaper than paying for one. I agreed but reminded him the FREE license doesn’t include commercial applications and wouldn’t pay for any damage or liability caused by using a personal anti-virus solution in a commercial setting. I also showed him where he was running a two year old version of the program and it hadn’t been updated in that same amount of time!

Another opportunity for disaster comes from the wireless access granted to customers when they are in the dealership. While getting my car serviced, I asked the cashier for a wifi password. She was very quick to give me the answer but pointed out it happened to be on a display that was sitting 2 feet from me! I thanked her and logged on to my laptop to get some work done. Imagine my shock when I saw every workstation, printer and network drive throughout the entire organization. Apparently, the network router they had was wireless so they turned it on and gave customers access. They didn’t realize this access was “behind” the firewall and gave customers access to everything in the dealership. It quickly got resolved.

Lastly, a dealer asked me if I could help him fix some customer files that were either damaged or had been somehow changed. I said “sure, no problem. All I need is your last backup and we will gladly restore it.” From the look on his face, I already knew the answer. His last backup of his system had been over 6 months ago. Fortunately, the customer’s information he was looking for was on there. Imagine if it hadn’t.

To put this all together, let me tell you how bad things can happen quickly. Think of one of those customers in the service lane logging onto your network with the wifi password. They get a little bored so they start surfing the net. One of the sites they go to happens to have a ransom virus embedded in it so when they view the page, the virus automatically downloads and gets proliferated throughout the dealership’s network. The customer finally logs off but by that time, the virus has spread to the service advisors computer and starts to branch out to the other workstations until, uh oh, it finds a server on the network. The ransom virus does what a ransom virus is supposed to do and encrypts portions of the server’s files and asks for you to send money to some offshore account to unlock your data.

You consider doing this because your entire network is down and you are basically out of business. In a stroke of genius, you call for I.T. support. No issues, they have heard of this before. They just need your latest backup and they can put it back together. Ughhh. The last backup was from 6 months ago so when your I.T. people do restore your data, you are missing the last 6 months’ worth of business.

This sounds horrible (and it is) but this doesn’t even include the $10,000 per instance of illegal software on your machines or the fines and lawsuits for letting personal confidential information getting out into the public domain.

Imagine, all of this could have been avoided had someone taken the time to understand and protect their network. Be sure you are utilizing the latest firmware for the hardware you have. Make sure you are not using out of date software or out of date anti-virus subscriptions. Run your backups as scheduled and be sure to have two copies, one on-site and one off-site just in case the building burns down, washes away or is taken out by an EMP! Know the end-of-life for any operating system you are using and have a plan to upgrade before the end. Windows Server 2003 is not being supported any longer and should be immediately upgraded. Windows Server 2008 is due to sunset in January of 2020 (still have some time there). Finally, know the law. Get a good understanding of GLB, Privacy Act, Red Flags, OFAC and all the other laws that the dealership is responsible for. And for goodness sake, make sure you have a guest wireless network that is in front of your firewall and completely separate from your companies IP scheme.

Bottom line, if you don’t understand computer networks, the maintaining of a network or the laws that govern business in a car dealership, I would highly suggest you find someone who does. Either hire them or pay for their service; in the long run, it will save you a ton of money!

West Middlesex, PA – February 6th, 2015 – Autosoft, Inc. has received the “Highest Rated” DMS Award in the sixth annual DrivingSales Dealer Satisfaction Awards, presented at a special event in conjunction with the 2015 National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Convention & Expo. Autosoft’s FLEX DMS solution received the highest dealer satisfaction ranking in the DMS category, as determined by the thousands of auto dealers who are part of the DrivingSales.com community.

“We work hard every day to create DMS solutions that drive our customers’ businesses forward,” said Autosoft President and CEO Bryce Veon. “An award like this, determined by our customers’ votes, is both gratifying and humbling. We continue to enhance our core offering, invest in new solutions, and provide superior support services. It’s a winning strategy that our customers have come to expect from us, and we are proud that they have recognized us through DrivingSales ratings.”

For more than 26 years, Autosoft has powered automotive dealerships with flexible, easy to use, and affordable DMS solutions. Today, Autosoft is the preferred DMS provider of more than 30,000 users in 2,000 car dealerships.

“We congratulate Autosoft on being recognized as one of the best-of-the-best by the people to whom their services count the most: the dealer community,” said DrivingSales CEO and Founder Jared Hamilton. “For six years, and through over 21,000 validated reviews, DrivingSales Vendor Ratings has helped dealers make smarter, more informed decisions, leading them to outstanding service providers such as Autosoft.”

The DrivingSales Dealer Satisfaction Awards are based on cumulative ratings tallied and verified over the calendar year (January – December) at DrivingSales.com Vendor Ratings. DrivingSales.com Vendor Ratings is the industry’s only neutral, comprehensive vendor rating forum featuring real-time peer reviews and honest competitor comparisons, and provides dealerships with important information from actual customers who have hands-on experience using vendor products/solutions in their stores. Each rating is verified as coming from an actual dealership employee.

Full award results are available online. Award winners are showcased in the Q1 2015 issue of DrivingSales DealerExec which, in addition to being distributed at the 2015 NADA Convention and Expo, is delivered to every new car dealership nationwide, as well as to more than 2,000 of the top used car dealers in the U.S. For more information on DealerExec, please visit: dealerexecmag.com.

About Autosoft
Autosoft develops and supports integrated software solutions that simplify business operations to produce better business results for automotive retailers across the U.S. Complete dealership management system (DMS) capabilities with affordable month-to-month support fees are designed to improve dealership processes and profitability, and reduce operating costs. Learning is quick and easy with intuitive applications that result in greater system utilization. FLEX DMS is built on an open-system platform, giving dealers the most flexible and secure choices for managing and sharing data with OEMs and third parties. Managed hosting services offer convenience and mobility, providing secure and reliable access from any chosen device. Autosoft is the preferred solution of more than 30,000 users in 2,000 car dealerships and consistently receives the highest customer satisfaction and most-likely-to-recommend ratings. www.autosoftdms.com.

About DrivingSales
DrivingSales enables retail automotive dealers to learn, connect, innovate, and prosper in a rapidly changing retail environment. DrivingSales operates three business units geared at delivering actionable insight to dealers: DrivingSales Media, which comprises the DrivingSales.com dealer community, DrivingSales News, Dealer Executive Magazine, and multiple industry conferences. DrivingSales University, the leading provider of automotive retail education content and certification programs, and DrivingSales Data, the industry’s largest cross-channel data analytics platform.

Founded by a third-generation car dealer in 2008, today DrivingSales is utilized by over 60% of franchised dealerships in North America as a reso

urce to improve their business performance. To learn more about the DrivingSales community, news, training or performance analytics visit DrivingSales.com, DrivingSalesNews.com, DrivingSalesUniversity.com and DrivingSalesData.com

Autosoft Media Relations:
Stephanie Woeste (swoeste@autosoftdms.com), Autosoft, Inc., 724.906.6249

DrivingSales Media Relations:
Melanie Webber (melanie@mwebbcom.com), mWEBB Communications, 949.307.1723

Ranked #1 in Dealer Satisfaction, Autosoft,Inc. wins award in DMS Category

San Francisco, CA – January 22, 2015 – Autosoft, Inc. Flex DMS has received the “Highest Rated” Dealership Management System Award in the sixth annual DrivingSales Dealer Satisfaction Awards, presented at a special event today in conjunction with the 2015 National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Convention & Expo. Autosoft, Inc. Flex DMS received the highest dealer satisfaction ranking in the Dealership Management System category, as determined by the thousands of auto dealers who are part of the DrivingSales.com community.

The Autosoft FLEX DMS helps streamline business functions for maximum efficiency:

• Affordable, powerful functionality gives dealers a proven way to manage operations and communicate with customers and prospects, while servicing and selling cars quickly
• Easy to use, scalable architecture for a single store or a dealer group
• Integration capabilities with leading technology providers
• A reliable, dependable platform DMS that has been the core of Autosoft’s business for more than 25 years

“We congratulate Autosoft, Inc. Flex DMS on being recognized as one of the best-of-the-best by the people to whom their services count the most: the dealer community,” said DrivingSales CEO and Founder Jared Hamilton. “For six years, and through over 21,000 validated reviews, DrivingSales Vendor Ratings has helped dealers make smarter, more informed decisions, leading them to outstanding service providers such as Autosoft”

The DrivingSales Dealer Satisfaction Awards are based on cumulative ratings tallied and verified over the calendar year (January – December) at DrivingSales.com Vendor Ratings.  DrivingSales.com Vendor Ratings is the industry’s only neutral, comprehensive vendor rating forum featuring real-time peer reviews and honest competitor comparisons, and provides dealerships with important information from actual customers who have hands-on experience using vendor products/solutions in their stores. Each rating is verified as coming from an actual dealership employee.

Full award results are available online at http://dealersatisfactionawards.com/. Award winners are showcased in the Q1 2015 issue of DrivingSales DealerExec which, in addition to being distributed at the 2015 NADA Convention and Expo, is delivered to every new car dealership nationwide, as well as to more than 2,000 of the top used car dealers in the U.S. For more information on DealerExec, please visit: dealerexecmag.com.

About Autosoft

Autosoft develops and supports integrated software solutions that simplify business operations to produce better business results for automotive retailers across the U.S. Complete dealership management system (DMS) capabilities with affordable month-to-month support fees are designed to improve dealership processes and profitability, and reduce operating costs. Learning is quick and easy with intuitive applications that result in greater system utilization.  FLEX DMS is built on an open-system platform, giving dealers the most flexible and secure choices for managing and sharing data with OEMs and third parties. Managed hosting services offer convenience and mobility, providing secure and reliable access from any chosen device. Autosoft is the preferred solution of more than 30,000 users in 2,000 car dealerships and consistently receives the highest customer satisfaction and most-likely-to-recommend ratings. www.autosoftdms.com.

About DrivingSales  

DrivingSales enables automotive dealers, manufacturers and vendors to learn, connect, innovate, and prosper in a rapidly changing retail environment. DrivingSales operates three business units:  DrivingSales Media, which comprises DrivingSales.com, DSNews.com, the largest news, information and community hub in Automotive Retail, and  several of the industry’s best regarded conferences, including the DrivingSales Executive Summit and DrivingSales President’s Club; DrivingSales University, the leading provider of automotive retail education content and certification programs, and  DrivingSales Data, the industry’s largest cross-channel data analytics platform.

Founded by a third-generation car dealer in 2008, today DrivingSales is utilized by over 60% of franchised dealerships in North America as a resource to improve their business performance.  To learn more about the DrivingSales community, news, training or performance analytics visit DrivingSales.com, DSNews.com, DrivingSalesUniversity.com and DrivingSalesData.com.

Autosoft, Inc. Media Relations:

Stephanie Woeste (swoeste@autosoftdms.com), 724.906.6249

DrivingSales Media Relations:

Melanie Webber (melanie@mwebbcom.com), mWEBB Communications, 949.307.1723

DMS Provider Receives Two Prestigious Recognitions in 2014

WEST MIDDLESEX, PA (PRWEB) September 22, 2014

Autosoft, Inc., an innovative software and services company serving the automotive retail industry, is proud to announce its selection as one of the top 100 Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania.

“We’re proud to be a company that offers the opportunity to do amazing things,” says Bryce Veon, president and CEO, Autosoft. “Creating and being a great place to work benefits our employees and customers alike. Being a great place to work for makes us a great place to work with. It shows we care about our employees and customers, and who doesn’t want to be with the best?”

The awards program, created in 2000, is one of the first statewide programs of its kind in the country. It was designed to identify, recognize and honor the best places of employment in Pennsylvania, which are benefiting the state's economy and its workforce.

“We’re growing because our employees are dedicated to our success. For this reason, we focus heavily on providing a great environment, support for ideas, the right tools to get the job done, and a place to feel comfortable collaborating and having fun. To attract the best software developers, product managers, sales associates, customer support staff and other skilled professionals, we’ve examined what makes for a great workplace, the issues that employees deal with and the best ways to make Autosoft’s employees’ work and personal lives mesh.” This philosophy has resulted in programs designed to make employees happier, healthier, more engaged with the community in which they work, and aware of how appreciated they are by Autosoft’s leadership,” says Veon.

The company has established a wellness program to help employees achieve better health and manage stress, while the Autosoft A-Team keeps the workplace energetic. The committee behind the A-Team hosts cookouts, associate cook-offs, themed days at the office, and social outings to build team spirit and connection. Through the Autosoft Cares committee, the company organizes activities and fundraisers that give back to the communities Autosoft and its employees call home.

Companies from across the state entered the two-part process to determine the 100 Best Places to Work in PA. The first part was evaluating each nominated company's workplace policies, practices, philosophies, systems and demographics. This part of the process was worth approximately 25% of the total evaluation. The second part consisted of an employee survey to measure the employee experience. This part of the process was worth approximately 75% of the total evaluation. The combined scores determined the top companies and the final ranking. Best Companies Group managed the overall registration and survey process.

Autosoft will be recognized at the Best Places to Work in PA awards banquet on Thursday, Dec. 4, 2014, at the Lancaster County Convention Center in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Rankings will be revealed at the ceremony. In August, Autosoft was selected as one of the “Best Places to Work in Western PA” by the Pittsburgh Business Times; rankings of this honor will be announced Oct. 30, 2014 at an awards program to be held at the Westin Convention Center Hotel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

About Autosoft, Inc.
In an established automotive retailing marketplace, Autosoft, Inc., headquartered in West Middlesex, Pennsylvania, with offices in Dayton, Ohio, is breaking the mold with innovative, user-friendly technology and business-friendly terms and conditions. Through new software and services, customers throughout North America now have convenient, affordable access to the tools they need to run a car dealership from any Internet-enabled device. We are proud that we put customers first, with more than 30,000 users in 2,000 car dealerships, and that we have a growing associate team that lives this practice of exceptional customer care and support.

For more information about Autosoft, call Autosoft Marketing at 800-473-4630, email marketing(at)autosoft-asi(dot)com or visit the website at http://www.autosoftyoudrive.com.

About the Best Places to Work in PA
The program is a public/private partnership between Team Pennsylvania Foundation, the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, the Pennsylvania State Council of the Society for Human Resource Management, and the Central Penn Business Journal. In addition to the public/private partnership, the program is supported by the following organizations: Lead Sponsor—Team Pennsylvania Foundation; Major Sponsors—Capital BlueCross; Global HR Research; Ryan, Saul Ewing, LLP; and Santander; Founding Partners—Team Pennsylvania Foundation and the Central Penn Business Journal; Program Partner—The Department of Community and Economic Development.

For more information on the Best Places to Work in PA, visit http://www.bestplacestoworkinpa.com or contact Jamie Mowery, event coordinator at the Central Penn Business Journal at 717-236-4300 or jamiem(at)cpbj(dot)com.

At Autosoft, we pride ourselves on customer service and have done so for over 25 years. So when a current customer’s service manager walked out without notice, the general manager was at a loss for what he was going to do. The parts manager just joined the team, the old advisor quit and the new advisor wasn’t due to start for another week. That left him with a brand new crew with no experience and a service department without the ability to wait on customers!!! Out went the phone call to the local business development manager… “can you help?”

This is where my question comes in… Does your staff have the training, knowledge and empowerment to understand how to answer this question? Do they know how critical it is to answer quickly and with enthusiasm?

A customer seeking help is going to be your best advocate or worst reference based upon the way your staff answers the question and with what kind of attitude. What value could you possibly place on this customer if you were able to help him out of the problem? Do you think he would share that experience, especially in today’s environment of social media? Do you think he would share if you couldn’t help him?

Fortunately, the answer from our local rep came swiftly and very professionally as a resounding “YES.” Even though we sell training and we obviously had this customer at a disadvantage, our answer was to extend a hand, get the customer back up and running and THEN offer additional training, if so desired, for additional people on his staff to be cross-trained. But the customer’s immediate needs came first.

Training is critical. The time to know how your staff will answer is BEFORE the question is asked.

Summer Driving School Webinars and Boot Camp In-Person Training a Success

WEST MIDDLESEX, PA – Oct. 16, 2014: Autosoft, Inc., introduced two new, free training programs to improve customers’ system utilization this summer, and achieved tremendous results. Summer Driving School, a live, weekly webinar series, and Boot Camp, an in-person, hands-on training event hosted at Autosoft’s corporate headquarters in September, were well attended and highly rated by those who participated. 

More than 1,700 auto dealers and staff attended Summer Driving School, a series of live webinars hosted by Autosoft every week in June, July and August. Each webinar was presented by a software support expert and provided instruction on common dealership processes, including month-end accounting procedures, bank reconciliation, service-to-payroll integration, daily operating controls, franchise financial statements and other frequently performed processes. The series was recorded and is archived on Autosoft’s website for customer access, and more than 800 additional customers have tuned-in to date.

Autosoft hosted more than 115 dealers and staff for the first-ever FLEX Dealership Management System (DMS) Boot Camp training from Sept. 22-25. This free, hands-on training event was held at Autosoft’s corporate headquarters and provided system utilization instruction based on dealership roles in Accounting, Parts, Service, F&I and IT departments.

Autosoft’s in-house experts focused on each application within the FLEX DMS suite to help customers with different levels of experience become more efficient using the software that’s important to their specific job functions.

“One of our greatest strengths is the ability to provide auto dealers with full-service FLEX DMS support from knowledgeable, in-house staff. No-cost training programs like Boot Camp and Summer Driving School are great examples of the ongoing support we know is important,” says Autosoft’s Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Mark Hellbusch.

Stephanie Woeste, Autosoft’s Vice President of Marketing, says, “We listened to customer feedback and recognized a common need for continued system training. Whether our customers have new staff to train or seasoned employees who want to learn more advanced capabilities, we want to provide the best options for training so they get the most value out of their FLEX DMS. We were very pleased to hear from our Boot Camp attendees, who made a point to compliment our knowledgeable and dedicated trainers and the friendliness of our corporate staff. We are a growing company because our employees are deeply committed to our customers’ success, and it’s clearly resonating with customers.” 

About Autosoft, Inc.
Autosoft develops and supports integrated software solutions that simplify business operations to produce better business results for automotive retailers across the U.S. Complete dealership management system (DMS) capabilities with affordable month-to-month support fees are designed to improve dealership processes and profitability, and reduce operating costs. Learning is quick and easy with intuitive applications that result in greater system utilization.  FLEX DMS is built on an open-system platform, giving dealers the most flexible and secure choices for managing and sharing data with OEMs and third parties. Managed hosting services offer convenience and mobility, providing secure and reliable access from any chosen device. Autosoft is the preferred solution of more than 30,000 users in 2,000 car dealerships and consistently receives the highest customer satisfaction and most-likely-to-recommend ratings.