We are thrilled to serve you as an educational platform – we want to be THE place you go to find helpful industry updates and information about the newest technologies. In this blog, we’ll publish research and whitepapers, how-to guides along with well-researched answers to your most common questions. To start, let’s talk about something that seems to be a common frustration among dealers – catching up with technology. A challenge many used car dealers face is keeping up with technology, more specifically software. It’s not just about having a computer and website anymore. According to the 2015 NIADA Used Car Industry Report, the internet is the number one influential source that connects customers to your dealership. For Gen X and the Millennials, it’s actually 20 times more influential, than any other media source.
Today, dealers have the ability to use a variety of different software solutions to optimize their business operation. But how many different software programs does it take? Many dealers find themselves logging into separate software programs for inventory management, accessing credit reports, submitting deals for financing and finally desking the deal and printing paperwork. Technology is getting smarter though, and converging these capabilities into a single software platform is now an affordable reality…even for Independent car dealers. Dealers can now benefit from using systems such as a dealer management system (DMS), a customer relationship management (CRM) system and a mobile application that all work together to help dealers sell more cars, simplify their operation and save valuable time and money. As mobile technology has become mainstream, the focus is on enabling all of these same features to be accessible using a smartphone or tablet.
Owners and managers who cannot spend all of their time physically at the dealership can use mobile technology to continue to run their business. From receiving leads real-time to managing inventory to closing a deal, it can all be done with mobile technology. Consider auction day, this is a critical activity that can consume a great deal of time to acquire new inventory. Mobile technology with VIN scanning can be used at the auction to buy smarter, with real-time easy access to vehicle data intelligence sources such as book value services and vehicle history reports. This helps dealers make informed decisions and avoid overpaying.
As vehicles are acquired, mobile technology can be used to take vehicle photos and instantly add new vehicles to inventory and online platforms such as the dealer’s website. According to a Think with Google report, six out of ten car shoppers enter the market without knowing which car to buy. One in three shoppers who used their mobile device as part of their purchasing process, located or called a dealer directly from their mobile device. Not to mention that mobile has become the preferred method of searching for a vehicle, making 56% of all searches.
The right software solution can be a game changer and help a dealer take control of their dealership. Don’t hesitate to contact us with topic suggestions or questions.
* This blog post was originally published on 06/10/2016 on dealercenter.com