January 2011
January 2011
www.dealermarketing.com www.dealermarketing.com $5.00 $5.00Bringing Together Inventory,
Bringing Together Inventory,
Websites, and CRM
Websites, and CRM
On The Cover Left To Right
Mike Baker - Founder, AULtec/Auto UpLink USA Christian Thornton - Founder , Aeros
Eric Hoopman - Founder, DealerFire Bruce McHoul - Founder, AULtec/Auto UpLink USA
On-the-lot vehicle services
Easy to use, industry-leading, inventory management¬software and vehicle publishing solution.
INVENTORY
Packages & Functionality
Trinity PLUS Trinity
LITE PREMIUMTrinity
Add comments, upload unlimited photos, document installed options, Printable Window Labels and Buying Guides, and more. Customer can add vehicles to their inventory via IIM.
Do-it-yourself Internet Inventory Manager (IIM)
VIN Decoder Add customized comments in English or Spanish, send customized dealer centric comments to lead providers and create, customize, and save specific comments for vehicles.
Ad Writer
Embed Text, contact information, dealer logo, certified logos and more. Ensure accurate dealer information is getting to the customer on all sites that will accept these images.
Enrich vehicle pictures with ImageMax
Ad management easily posts inventory on Craigslist!
CraigsList Inventory Listing
OpenLane, SmartAuction, etc.
Single-click posting to auction sites
Vehicle Reporting
Publish to dealer's website, plus two other sites/destinations.
Publish inventory to three third party sites
Hundreds of destination sites like Cars.com and AutoTrader, and unlimited exports and updates to third-party sites.
Publish inventory to unlimited third party sites
vAuto, FirstLook, etc.
Receive inventory data from third party sites and apps
Up to 28 DMS updates per week (i.e. four per day).
Upload YouTube live video content for display on vehicle page and distribution.
Add on in select dealer rooftops (Price compare with all oodle data base national inventory for competitive pricing). Add-on in select markets.
Add on in select dealer rooftops.
Multiple inventory updates from DMS Daily
YouTube Live
Vehicle VideoLink software Market Value Analysis
DMS Integration & NCOA Cleansing
Data Mining Campaigns Desking
Easy to use, manufacturer certified CRM.
CRM
Packages & Functionality
Trinity PLUS Trinity
LITE PREMIUMTrinity
1 10 25 Active users log into Aeros regularly to use "hands on".
Active Users
Internet Lead Management Use Aeros to respond, manage, follow-up and report on all Internet leads in a single application.
Aeros is certified by numerous manufacturers for lead management and CRM.
Manufacturer Certified Lead Integration
Customized follow-up schedules that can be programmed to create calls, emails, letters, and tasks for any business process.
Automated Reminders and Activity Management
Internal Chat feature for users to communicate in Aeros.
IM/Chat
Log Showroom Ups; includes follow up schedule(s) and automation.
Log Phone Ups; includes follow up schedule(s) and automation.
Showroom Control Features Phone Traffic Control Features
Delivered customer follow up schedule(s) and automation.
OwnerBase Control Features
Email templates and letterheads, call scripts, PDF Brochures.
Online Selling Tools
Aeros receives real-time inventory updates from third party DMS systems or inventory management apps.
Real-time inventory updates
Send targeted emails to groups of customers.
Existing database of customers will be imported into Aeros to ensure all customer data is present for initial use.
Real-time updates from third party call systems to create phone ups, store call recordings, and access from inside Aeros.
DMS data is imported into Aeros, cleansed, standardized and de-duplicated and assigned to the appropriate sales people. Includes both automated campaigns and customized manual campaigns built by the dealership in Aeros.
Cash, Loan, Lease and Multiple Payment Desking to quote payment, finalize deals.
Build and customize reports for management to review performance, productivity, status, ROI, etc.
PLUS Package: Five template forms from the CRM library; PREMIUM Package: Five custom forms from the dealership.
Mass Email Campaigns Database Import from Current ILM or CRM Custom Reports
Call Tracking & Recording Integration
Print and Save Electronic Business Forms
Text Messaging Email Newsletter
2009-2010 AWA Award Winning Website design and optimization.
WEB SITE
Packages & Functionality
Trinity PLUS Trinity
LITE PREMIUMTrinity
Utilize best practiced Website design, layout and conversions forms with¬One-click technology. Not a template Website.
Lite Website
Real-time Inventory Updates
List Custom Offers and Generate Leads and Conversions with Auto Email Responders.
Coupon Generator
Robust, easy to use site administration and analysis tools.
IGNITE Back-end Site Administration
SEO Built into every site. ¬RSS Feeds, XML Sitemaps, Unique Meta Data and Alt Tags, Social Media Integration.
SEO¬
(Search Engine Optimization)
No Templates, completely Custom look, feel and function with¬One-click technology.
Social Media Icon Integration and Like Functionality.
Premium Website Unmatched Video
Presentation and Optimization
Landing Page for each Make and Model in Inventory.
SMO
(Social Media Optimization)
SEO Built into every Website. ¬RSS Feeds, XML Sitemaps, Unique Meta Data and Alt Tags, Social Media Integration.
Landing Page(s) Advanced SEO
Mobile Version of Website with Automatic Mobile Redirect;¬ Includes 1 multi device compliant robust DF mobile Website. Search Engine Marketing Plan for¬Monthly Managed Content Generation (i.e. Blogs, PR's, etc.)
Includes basic 10 page Specialty Website with Inventory feed.
Includes mobile enabling all inventory and 1 vanity keyword. ¬ Only works as an add-on to DealerFire mobile Websites. Custom Designed Email Newsletter Templates with List Management and Blast;¬Includes Template design and Send to list of 10k Email addresses of less.
Inventory and Coupon tabs and feeds added to your Facebook Business Page.
Priced per roof top.
Mobile Website SEM
(Search Engine Marketing) SMM
(Social Media Marketing) Microsite(s)
Eric Hoopman
I
f your website is not creating a highly productive online marketplace to show-case your inventory, increase your sales, service and parts traffic, and convert site visitors to buyers, it’s time to think seri-ously about upgrading your site.True, dealership websites should include ‘About Us’ content and snazzy dealership exterior photos and appropriate OEM
branding visuals—and it should be easy to navigate—but ask yourself this question: What is my website’s primary objective? If your website does not play an integral role in your online auto shopping process, you are missing a huge opportunity in today’s online marketplace. Sorry to break the news.
Rapidly emerging online technologies are making it possible to have the freshest and most current inventory feasable merchan-dised on your website as well as on third-party car-shopping sites like cars.com. Inventory changes will be made seamlessly, the updated data flowing from your DMS to your website to your online sites and even to your CRM where online leads will reside for ongoing pursuit and follow up. This real-time online inventory updating, as exciting and competitively advanta-geous as it is to you, loses some luster if the website it drives visitors to delivers an experience short of thrilling. Thrilling means something conducive to their shop-ping experience. This caliber of web will feature several essential design elements:
Visual design:
• Includes not only
images and videos that are pleasing to the viewer’s eye, but a design structure that enable the dealer to customize the site’s look and feel so pages convey the desired brand impression and dealership personality.
Content design:
• Includes compelling
text that best defines what makes doing business with you an advan-tage customers won’t find elsewhere. Content design also means making use of every means to dominate search results, including search engine opti-mization. Content design should also include use of unique meta data for
every page within the site, and the rewriting of every URL and attach-ment of alt tags to every image to further enhance search results. In 2011, content will still reign as king; do not neglect it in your design.
Navigation design:
• A site that is not
only pleasant to the eye, so the eye can locate the right content quickly, but one where information the user wants is within one click. The design should also incorporate One-Click technology, which gets the user quickly to crucial content, like the department or service of interest to them, and lets them easily process a request, contact someone, or schedule a service appointment.
Analytics design
• : Includes total site
integration with Google analytics to provide you with the site visit and use data key to your marketing efforts. Solid visitor conversion analytics, for instance, help dealers write better ads, strengthen their overall marketing initiatives, help you better track your marketing spend, and create even higher-converting websites.
In short, the design of the website should enable the dealer to take real advantage of emerging integration and data updating technologies. So designed, the website should deliver superior search engine optimization, usability, consumer friendli-ness, and ease-of-user maintenance. When reviewing website providers, be sure you focus on their website development marketing strategy and deliverables, not just their ability to create sparkling website pages.
Website development company DealerFire has been creating, designing, building and maintaining cutting-edge automotive websites since 2000 and is poised to lead
the evolution to full-time web inventory integration. Tools like DealerFire TV and highly sophisticated online inventory presentations and lead conversion tools deliver customers to your inventory and convert more visitors to buyers.
Finally, as digital marketing technologies continue to evolve, be sure to consider how you’ll integrate a mobile strategy into your web design. This strategy enables you to send web pages, text messages, emails and video emails to customers’ mobile phones, which are fast becoming the communica-tion interface and web searching tools of choice.
Eric Hoopman is founder and owner of Deale Fire, www. dealerfire.com, an integrated web development and management company, headquartered in Oshkosh, WI. Reach him at ehoopman@dealerfire.com
Your Website’s Role in Tomorrow’s
Online Marketplace
Prepare your site now for seamless, real-time web inventory.
Internet Marketing
“If your website does not play an integral role in your online auto
shopping process, you are missing a huge opportunity in today’s online
marketplace.”
Bruce McHoul
A
s dynamic as today’s online inventory technologies are, there are some long-standing shortcomings that have plagued dealers who use them. Fortunately, some of these problems are about to be resolved as the world of online inventory management takes an industry-changing leap forward. To be clear, this significant improvement in how online inventory is listed, publishedand managed on car-shopping sites like cars.com and your own website is moving from yesterday to tomorrow—empowering you to make real-time inventory updates to be even more competitive.
This game-changer may be with us as soon as you read this. What’s driving this revolution is the dynamic killer app Dealer Profit Center or DPC. This app will soon make possible multiple, real time daily data extraction, compilation, and distribu-tion from your dealer management system to your dealership website inventory, key online car-shopping sites and the resulting leads right into you CRM.
This new integration technology will give used car and internet managers the ability to update vehicle inventory descriptions and prices in real time, any time of the day or night, so they can be sure to have the freshest, most appealing inventory online possible.
DPC is also going to make it possible to integrate leads from both your own deal-ership website inventory and third-party online sites through an integrated CRM that ensures a more consistent lead follow-up, management, and longterm relationship building.
Suddenly it’s 2012, with online inventory
marketing now more sophisticated, more effective, more manageable, and very fresh!
With this technology working in you dealer-ship, you’ll enjoy the most current content, images, and pricing for your inventory on your website and third-party car-shopping sites. With DPC, seamless integration of apps like web and CRM with online inventory will deliver a unified solution for dealers frustrated by having to use, pay for, and manage multiple vendors for indepen-dent and nonintegrated online marketing functions.
Other exciting online marketing apps will make it a cinch for dealers to build powerful and affordable online selling juggernauts. Some of these exciting apps include those that deliver:
Significant leads off sites like Craigslist •
and eBay that flow right into a CRM so leads don’t drop through the cracks and you are able to convert more of your digital marketing investment into vehicle sales. Engaged online shop-•
pers, because your “live” walk-around
vehicle videos build excitement in those units.
Vehicle history reports •
that build confi-dence in a dealer’s used inventory and attract eyeballs when displayed on online presentations.
Convenient solutions •
like online auctions and inventory mix/ price technologies, so you can be more confident in knowing you’re stocking the right vehicles at the right prices for your market so you sell more cars profitably.
Providing Dealer Profit Center and inte-grating online inventory management, web inventory management and CRM lead management is AULtec, the technology powerhouse behind its sister company and biggest client AutoUpLinkUSA, the leader in providing online inventory listing, imaging, publishing, and management solutions. In business since 2001, both companies help car dealerships market and sell more vehicles online as well as provide technology solutions for other automotive technology companies.
The companies’ superior products, in-dealer-ship services and product concern-resolution help auto retailers drive more revenue from their inventory. AULtec, Inc. is headquar-tered in Charlotte, NC. AutoUpLinkUSA is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN.
Bruce McHoul is President of AULtec, LLC. For more infor-mation, contact Skip Murphy at smurphy@aultec.com or visit www.autouplinkusa.com.
Suddenly It’s 2012
The Age of Real-Time Online Inventory
Integration
Internet Marketing
“This game-changer may be with us as soon as
you read this.”
©2010 COPYRIGHT DEALERMARK LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Price/Stevenson
Another Day In Paradise
Christian Thornton
O
ne of the fundamental tenants of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) success is to warehouse customer and vehicle data, push various kinds of com-munications to customers through different channels, and thereby prevent customers from defecting simply due to pursuit and follow-up neglect.Proactive and relevant communication is fundamental for improving customer acqui-sition and retention across all profit centers. Yet, getting customer and vehicle data into your CRM for immediate and ongoing action by the appropriate team member has been cumbersome, error prone, and time consuming. For instance, how are leads handled that come from the many types of online car-shopping sites where you market inventory? How about service appoint-ment requests or credit inquiries from your website? Or, what about sales and service records from your dealer management system?
None of these situations are as simple as
they seem, I know. In my 15 years in auto-motive retail—10 of them in and around CRM products and processes—I can tell you that any lead or follow-up procedure that isn’t easily repeatable and automated is a source of lost business, which means your P&L can be affected in real-time.
In the heat of the battle in the typical dealer-ship, where what’s new demands our energy and attention, a lead not converted or customer follow up not performed quickly results in lost opportunities or customer attrition. Effective CRM delivers the repeatable processes and communications to prevent the leaks.
Furthermore, when a CRM is integrated seamlessly into other, seemingly inde-pendent systems like your website or the services you use to list, publish, and manage your online inventory, you connect the missing link in CRM. Now customer and vehicle data can be leveraged in real-time, resulting in higher quality communications and interactions with customers.
With customers safely warehoused in your CRM application, you can leverage this information for cohesive follow-up phone calls, emails, video emails, targeted fulfill-ment marketing and much more—things that have always been time consuming and uncoordinated in the past—to deliver the right message to the right customer at the right time, dramatically reducing attrition while improving profitability per transaction.
CRM innovators like e-autobusiness with its modular AEROS Software Suite integrate the key components of emerging customer and vehicle management. By integrating CRM, website, inventory management, and online inventory listing, publishing and management tools, e-autobusiness is already introducing dealers to these new economies, freeing team members from data-processing chores and driving bottom-line results.
e-autobusiness, LLC, a Charlotte, NC, technology company, has provided flexible and innovative CRM solutions to dealers since 2000. Its showcase CRM, the AEROS Software Suite, is a modular CRM that lets dealers build the level of sophistication in their CRM that best fits their business needs and their budget. Components can be added as needed, over time. Certified by 15 manufacturers, the AEROS Software Suite helps dealers experience bottom-line results in sales, service, F&I, special finance, and parts, while providing web-based CRM, internet lead management, BDC control, lease and finance desking, and new media customer marketing.
Christian Thornton is managing director for e-autobusiness, LLC. For more information, contact the author at cthornton@ eautobusiness.com or visit www.eautobusiness.com
