Cars.com acquires PickupTrucks.com
Cars.com will expand its offering for truck buyers and advertisers with its acquisition of PickupTrucks.com, a Web source for pickup truck news and information. PickupTrucks.com delivers unbiased content, tools and information about pickup trucks to meet the needs of truck buyers and owners. The site was launched in 1995 by truck writer and site editor Mike Levine.
[FULL STORY]
|
|
VinSolutions.com announces CRM/BDC solution
VinSolutions.com rolls out its new Enterprise CRM/BDC solution for multi-rooftop dealers nationwide. Now from a single screen, with a single log-in, users in dealer groups can access customer and inventory data from each of their locations, according to the company. With the Enterprise system in place, sold, unsold, Internet and service customers' information flows into a centralized database, which in turn allows bi-directional communication with individual stores within the dealer group.
[FULL STORY]
|
|
GreenCarDepot provides a one stop shop for green car shoppers
Today’s consumers motivated and influenced with the concept of “going green” are increasingly interested in researching and buying automobiles less dependent on gasoline and that reduce pollution. Due to rising gas prices, better gas mileage is a key factor consumers are purchasing newer-technology, alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs).
[FULL STORY]
|
|
Dealer.com introduces video streaming toolkit
Dealer.com, the online marketing solutions company, Monday announced the release of the Video Streaming Toolkit to make it easy for automotive dealers to upload videos to their Web sites. The Video Streaming Toolkit is the only do-it-yourself solution available to dealers, allowing them to create professional, customized content that differentiates them from competitors, and to leverage existing video investments such as television commercials, all at a fraction of the cost of what they would pay website management companies to manage videos for them, the company says.
[FULL STORY]
|
|
DIGITAL DEALER CONFERENCE & EXPOSITION A SMASHING SUCCESS!
The 4th Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition was a smashing success with more than 550 dealership registrations and 1,200 attendees total.
The beautiful Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center was the site of last week’s event, with a 45,000-square-foot exhibit hall and plenty of space for the up to seven concurrent sessions. The venue was the perfect place for the peer networking-heavy event.
[FULL STORY]
|
OneCommand unveils new Web site
OneCommand, unveiled their updated and restyled Web site at http://www.OneCommand.com. Containing a wealth of information and features geared toward helping auto dealers build lasting relationships with their customers, reduce marketing expenses, boost loyalty and retention, increase frequency of visit rates and improve overall profitability, the new Web site is an essential visit for auto dealers everywhere. Click to read the announcement.
|
|
The Enthusiast Network joins Autobytel’s AutoReach ad network
Autobytel Inc. (Nasdaq:ABTL), a leading automotive marketing services company, announced the addition of The Enthusiast Network (TEN) to its rapidly growing AutoReach Ad Network. Autobytel will supply targeted advertising from the AutoReach Ad Network to TEN’s 35 car focused web properties. TEN is one of several recent automotive publishers to join AutoReach, increasing the total network impression count to well over one hundred million. Click to read the announcement.
|
|
Carfolks.com appoints Mark Boyd as President
CF Media Group, Inc. the consumer interaction and relationship based technology company servicing the retail automotive business has appointed Mark Boyd, a results-oriented leader of rapid-growth brands in the automotive market place, as President of the online social network CarFolks.com.
[FULL STORY]
|
|
Jared Hamilton honored with prestigious industry award
Auto industry research and production company Accelerate Automotive announced that company president Jared Hamilton has been awarded the 2008 Association of Automotive Internet Sales Professionals' (AAISP) Distinguished Service Award. The award was presented during a ceremony at the 4th annual Digital Dealer Conference at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando, FL. AAISP recognizes industry leaders and outstanding contributions annually. Click to read the announcement.
|
.jpg?i=050708160203)
This is the second half of an article focused on sharing insight from some of the best Internet directors in the automotive world. It is conceivable that in the future, dealers will break down sales between traditional retail and the Internet on their financial statements. Some dealers have already defined processes that take the Internet customers through a different sales process including the finance step (dedicated finance managers for the Internet teams). The Internet sale has become the core focus for many auto groups in the country. The Internet directors bridge the gap between the techies and the retail car teams (each group looks at the world differently and they talk in different languages). The Internet directors should be focused on determining how to move the sales needle with the help of technology. Here is what some of the superstars are focused on and what they expect from 2008. 
In today’s Internet 2.0 era, consumers are empowered with information at an unprecedented level. The importance of “market pricing” pre-owned vehicles for success in this information-driven era is a hot topic with dealers today and rightfully so, since 88 percent of consumers research online prior to visiting a dealership, according to a Yahoo-sponsored 2007 Dealer eBusiness Performance study. However, dealers who focus solely on upfront Internet (advertised) pricing risk missing critical market sales data needed to make well-informed decisions during the sales process. 360° pricing is the key to driving more traffic and closing more of these customers more profitably. Leading dealers are executing a systematic approach that drives more traffic to their store from the Internet and allows them to profitably close as many of these customers as possible. 
