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bpulseadmin · Nov 10, 2010

As car dealerships across North America continue to embrace DealerRater’s user-based reviews as an integral element of their online reputation management, DealerRater doubles its Certified Dealer membership to 2,000 in six months.

WALTHAM, Mass. - November 8, 2010 - DealerRater, the world’s premier car dealer review website, welcomed the 2,000th customer to its Certified Dealer Program, which marks a two-fold increase in the company’s Certified Dealer membership in the past six months. Such monumental growth in the number of Certified Dealers underscores the significance of the certification program as an accepted online reputation management tool for car dealerships throughout North America and demonstrates to the users of DealerRater the Certified Dealers’ commitment to a high level of customer service.

“I am pleased to welcome our 2,000th customer to our Certified Dealer Program,” said Chip Grueter, president of DealerRater. “Our Certified Dealers understand the critical role that user reviews have in building their online brand and are dedicated to cultivating a best-in-class dealership grounded on high quality sales and service.”

DealerRater’s Certified Dealer Program, introduced in February 2008, includes a network of car dealers spanning 46 states and three Canadian provinces. The Certified Dealer Program helps car dealers connect with DealerRater’s three million users and monitor their online reputation. Certified Dealers that are successful in establishing an online presence are committed to both asking customers to write reviews and to addressing customer feedback. By requesting and receiving significant positive user reviews, Certified Dealers are able to outpace the competition and leverage their online reputation to increase market share. Certified dealers typically receive a 400% increase in visitor click traffic over non-certified dealers.

“By selecting one of our Certified Dealers, DealerRater users can ensure they work with a dealership that upholds a commitment to quality service and delivers a positive car buying experience to their customers,” said Grueter.

About DealerRater
DealerRater was founded in 2002 as the first car dealer review website worldwide. With more than 250,000 people joining the DealerRater user community each month, DealerRater is fast becoming the world’s #1 online resource for anyone seeking third-party information on automobile dealerships. DealerRater features more than 30,000 US and International car dealers, 190,000 user reviews and over 1,000,000 classified ads. DealerRater attracts more than 3 million consumers every year who visit the site to search for car dealerships, read current reviews, write their own descriptive reviews, and find car deals – all for free. Car dealers are rated on the criteria of customer service, quality of work, friendliness, price and overall experience. In addition, DealerRater offers qualified car dealers a Certified Dealer Program as a reputation management tool to help them grow their online presence and achieve higher SEO rankings across the Web. For more information, visit www.DealerRater.com or call 800-266-9455.

brhannan · Nov 17, 2010

Thanks, Jeff, for letting folks know about the webinar. For anyone who wasn't able to attend, or would like to share the session with a colleague, you can access the archived workshop at Best Online Car Marketplace for Dealers & Shoppers | Cars.com.

Nov 11, 2010

Andrew has really built his Hyundai store from the ground up using his eCommerce knowledge throughout the process. He shared some great ideas at Digital Dealer that were a different approach from the traditional dealership model, and I think folks will find very beneficial. I look forward to attending...

Nov 10, 2010

I'd listen to AD all day. Signed up.

Aug 31, 2011

I am a serial internet entrepreneur and looking for larger dealerships interested in co-developing a high-impact cross-platform site written in a contemporary way that fosters both browsing and engagement - effectively turning Autotrader on its head.

Over the past few months, I have been interviewing top development teams from San Francisco to D.C., and know what it takes.

Imagine your customers being able to browse inventory that your sales team uploads from any device, where customers can bookmark favorites and quickly engage with the proper sales member.

I have authored a book on Adwords, have Adwords certification and am well versed in SEO. This product will capitalize on that knowledge.

If you are interested or represent an interested dealership, I can be reached at @K7marketing.

Jun 22, 2011

Our www.usedcarking.mobi traffic is so strong lately that it's totally challenged my thoughts of how important mobi is to shoppers and where it fits in the marketing priority list.

Wait till 4G hits! It'll create another wave of usage.

Jun 21, 2011

Since Jeff is wanting to bring this conversation back to life, I will start it out. We have had our mobile site up for a year now (went live last June). So far this year, we have had a 200% increase in traffic over the last 6 months of 2010 in just the first 6 months of this year. If someone says that people aren't using their phones to shop, they are lying.

One stat that threw me back in my chair at DD was that 93% of the cell phones in the U.S. are smart phones. Of those, 37% were using their phones to surf at home over their home computer. Guess it's good to have your site mobilized.

As far as the app is concerned, we are seeing an increase month over month on the iPhone side of things. I can't see the usage of the Android version. Being able to push notifications is great, but you have to use those notifications and be careful of the amount of notifications you are pushing out. The usage is going up, and we are seeing more and more service appointments with the app. Was it worth it? I think so. I have even had a few customers hand written iPhone app on my sourcing sheet that is filled out by all of our sold customers in F&I. it's paid for itself.

Jan 11, 2011

Definately think that mobi sites are the better way to go. You are going to have much more natural traffic flowing to a mobile site than you will ever have of getting your customers & non-customers alike to find and download your app. Good post & comments...thanks all

Dec 6, 2010

The apps that I like best allow me to do specific tasks such as downloading audio books. I generally have to interface with the main website first and then use my app to complete the task.

I'm pleased how well our own WordPress sites show up on smart phones. People need to be sure that their video shows up - not all video is compatible with all smart phones.

Charlie Seymour Jr
http://repairyourownlegendnow.com

terrencegordon · Nov 16, 2010

Most of the dealer apps I have seen have the same (if not less) functionality than the dealer's mobile site. I would agree with a combination assuming the dealer app meets an entirely different purpose - such as personalizing my data and allowing me to schedule service appts.

Nov 15, 2010

As a vendor to OEMs I have promoted both apps and mobile web "apps" over the past year. But now I am a mobile web proponent and this information was great! Anything out of the OEM changes the day it is released. Apps take too long to update even with web components. The vendor independence is something I don't promote - but a great reason to go with the web approach. In our business the current thought is all websites should start design as a mobile site and then move to desktop. The numbers say more users access the web on a mobile device than the larger screen devices.

The QR code concept is so powerful, it's a no-brainer, but still hard to sell to clients. Mobile for the OEMs is great for performance enhancement - ie reference or simple training. Everyone here seems to be way ahead of the manufacturer in understanding the power of mobile - make my job easier and share this great knowledge with your OEM.

Nov 12, 2010

I think that there is room for both; however the more practical approach for your average dealer seems to lean towards the mobile site. In the end the goal is lead conversion. Unfortunately most examples of mobile sites that are now being used are bland and simply fulfill a void as a better choice to having the full site appear on a four inch screen. Apps are likely to be the next “bright shiny object” at the end of the watch chain being demo’d to the GM and recent statistics shows that 70 – 80% of uploaded apps are deleted.

We have had the fortune of being an integral part of the development of both of the mobile sites that we are using for our two stores. We chose Mobile Fusion because of the flexibility they gave us in growing and expanding the use of our mobile site, for example the future and integration of QR codes is something that was important to me. Both sites are appealing and functional lead conversion tools.

The one thing that I don't hear people talk about when the mobile site subject comes up is phone calls. Is it too obvious? We received over two hundred calls from the tracking numbers on our John Marazzi Nissan mobile site last month, 60/40 Sales to Service. I am also encouraged by the page views and time on site. We chose to split the baby with iPad users by feeding our Dealer.com site horizontally and our mobile site vertically. We are adding a “See Full Site” button at the bottom of the screen.

Nov 11, 2010

Wow, that article should be a must-read for all of us in the community. I know that I am getting lots of sales calls from vendors who want to build apps for us, but this answers the question for me. Thanks for sharing Matt.

Nov 11, 2010

Here is a great article on this topic

The iPhone app is the Flash homepage of 2010
http://venturebeat.com/2010/11/08/the-iphone-app-...

Nov 11, 2010

You could schedule service visits via a mobile website.... doesn't have to be an app.

alexfsch · Nov 11, 2010

I see more potential for ROI with apps when you use it for scheduling service visits instead of showing inventory (but you should still do both). Because the app is there on the smart phone until the user deletes it, they will probably continue to use it when they need to get their vehicle serviced.

If the Service Writer had a smart phone and showed every customer coming through how easy it was to schedule an appointment and their paperwork had the name of the app with a short list of benefits, it would also help drive adoption.

From that standpoint, apps are great for customer retention, but not as good for gaining new business. The person who is browsing for a car or a place to service their vehicle from a mobile device is probably more likely to look around with his/her mobile browser than download a dealer-specific app - especially when they haven't picked which dealer they want to be a customer at yet.

All of that leads me to say that you really need both.

Nov 10, 2010

Great comment stream Gentlemen, thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences. I was a mobile site advocate, and to a certain extent, still am. It is far easier to create and is cost effective.

I am leaning towards Apps more these days, I really like the Contemporary Motor Cars iPhone App as an example.

I have a question for you. Who do you envisage using your mobile site/app? Is it those customers that deliberately come to your lot when you are not there, to browse uninterrupted? -The Racoon Shopper?!

Let them access the information they need with a QRCode that leads them to your Inventory Listing on your mobile website or App. Info, photos, comparison suggestions, special offers and links back to your website for other services can all be downloaded into their Smartphone.

QRCodes can also be primed to send SMS, phone contact, and provide accurate metrics.

The decal is the size of a windshield price sticker, can be Branded and instructions on how to scan included. Most new Smartphones come with the Barcode reader as standard.

Airlines use them for boarding passes, Google Places use them, they are part of the Mobile Web evolution and are widely accepted by GenYs. Thoughts?

Nov 10, 2010

In these early years of App development, it's a closed garden that doesn't allow for quick implementation. I expect in the next couple of years (months?) that we'll start to see "throwaway apps" that can be made quickly and easily and run on a deck that's already developed for the different app platforms.

In other words, similar to how the Internet works today, you will be able to go to, let's say, a universal car sales app that is attached to multiple dealers in your area. Rather than being dealer-specific, a buyer would be able to install the app, do their business with access to tons (every?) of dealers in their area, and then uninstall the all when they've bought.

Otherwise, mobile website and traditional web browsing on mobile devices is still the way to go in my opinion.

ben.anderson · Nov 9, 2010

@ Kevin: My research has confirmed your points. The "stickiest" apps tend to be those the user has reason for multiple visits (social media apps, shopping, travel). Also, an interesting point can be made for an app's home screen placement and it's effect on increased usage and multiple user visits. More and more mobile sites are capitalizing on home screen placement - we'll see how this affects the future numbers.

On the flip side, an interesting example of how VW used an app to “create a reason” for multiple visits (app video game) and tied back $4m in revenue to the app: 免费看视频-高清无码随时看

@ Jim Bell & Mike Maher: Great to hear some relevant experience from dealers.

@ Mat: Great analogy. Mobiles sites or apps should be considered an accessory to a well-rounded marketing strategy. What dealers should be paying attention to is how many visitors are using each "driveway". Let those numbers guide your efforts in mobile marketing. Jeff's post earlier this year is of particular interest: Tracking Your Webite Visitor Analytics by Mobile Device – DealerRefresh

@Jim Bell · Nov 8, 2010

It's good to see that there are some guys out there who track well enough to see the value in their apps and mobile sites like @Jim Bell.

With so many of us obsessed with our mobile devices today (personally I live on my iPhone 4 so I fall into this category) it would seem like every dealer should have, at a minimum, a mobile site that will allow a consumer to search & browse their inventory as well as set a service appointment.

If they really aren't going to invest any more time into tracking the results but want to make sure they're not missing out on folks who do it all on a mobile device, this should be enough shouldn't it?

The thing I always find humor in is when dealer friends of mine jump on the mobile site/app bandwagon and expect some grand increase in sales just because they have these up and running.

That's like putting an extra driveway into your dealership parking lot and expecting more sales because of it.

Your mobile site and mobile app, in my humble opinion, are two more 'virtual driveways' for a consumer to 'pull in' your dealership. They're supposed to be a fast and easy way to get information and contact you if they want to.

Can you make them into more and get better results? Sure you can. But with most of us not honestly tracking, measuring, monitoring, training, adjusting, tracking & measuring more...you get the picture....since most of us in this industry aren't tracking and adjusting in a way that will make a difference...adding a mobile site or mobile app are basically good ways to add another entrance to the dealership just in case a customer happens to be driving down those virtual roads.

I love the article Ben, thanks!

MMaher · Nov 8, 2010

We have an App and a mobile site. Since we launched the App we have seen our mobile visits increase 110%. Mobil sites are pretty bland. Our strategy is to market the App heavily on our site, with email, and print advertising, entertain them with the app, give them informaton and videos with the app, then drive them to our site. The younger generation seems to like texting more than talking on phones, they also surf considerably more than previously with their phones. We want to cover all bases. When they are in the market we want to be ready.

Nov 8, 2010

@matt...unless you pay to NOT have their advertising which we did.

Nov 8, 2010

Mobile apps also lock you in to a specific vendor who made the app and they have you trapped for life basically.

Mobile sites can be changed at anytime between vendors

Nov 8, 2010

We actually have both a mobile site and apps for iPhone and Android right now. We do a couple of updates a month on the app and get some traffic with it. We also are seeing more and more people scheduling service appointments through both the app and the mobile version of our website.

The app does tie into our mobile site so it is working great for us. I am seeing increased traffic on our mobile site month after month and shows that more and more people are surfing on their phones.

Nov 7, 2010

You can make a mobile site and it works on every phone there is... Or you can try and create mobile apps for iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile 7, etc, etc.... can you afford to make them for every platform and keep up with the changes?

Mobile apps allow you to access the camera and maybe send them push notifications. Otherwise there isn't much of an advantage.

You also can't measure page views/usage very well on mobile apps.

Ask people to bookmark your mobile site and it will create an icon in their menu just like a mobile app does.

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