Day Two: Showcasing our innovation and our appreciation at NADA 2015

If Day One was a celebration of our transformation into a new Dealertrack, then Day Two was about the difference we make to our clients and the spirit of innovation that drives the development of our products and services.

It certainly means that Dealertrack products and services make selling cars easier than ever – which is why our booth at NADA 2015 is so crowded.

Day One: Transforming automotive retail at NADA 2015

In a word: Wow.

As far as debuts go, this one was special. And by debuts, I mean us: Dealertrack. Here we are on the first day of NADA 2015, and it felt like it was the first time the new Dealertrack had been unveiled. Like a new model car, today we pulled back the curtain to show how we were transforming automotive retail, and people cheered.  

How to generate 25 percent website lead to sale ratio

Consumers not only spend more time online, but they want to do more of the major shopping steps before they visit the showroom. Until recently, dealers just did not have the retail-specific and dealer-controlled tools available that they needed to convert serious website shoppers into in-store buyers.

A view from the other side: Dealer practices that rile up plaintiffs' lawyers

In light of the ongoing increase in oversight activity, Dealertrack’s Compliance Counsel Randy Henrick recently conducted an interview with a very successful plaintiff’s attorney. And while she’s not an “enemy,” she represents a successful courtroom adversary, one who has won a number of $100,000+ settlements and judgments against automotive dealers in her home state. Her perspectives might have real value for your business.

CFPB goes on the offensive in auto finance. Or did they?

With several rulings and actions, the CFPB’s recently released Summer Supervisory Highlights and subsequent field hearing in September 2014 may seem to be yet another attack from the CFPB. But a closer look reveals that the release of the Summer Supervisory Highlights and subsequent field hearing may signal a softening of the agency’s harsh 2013 Auto Finance Guidance. Nevertheless, in the report, and at the hearing, the CFPB took five key steps that will most certainly impact automotive lending practices.

Advertising: New Times, New Media, New Rules

Advertising the sale or financing of motor vehicles has become increasingly complicated with an aggressive Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the need to reach consumers (especially Millennials) through social media, which was never thought of when advertising laws and regulations were written.  It certainly makes a dealer’s life more complex.

The FTC has launched a new automotive program since the Dodd-Frank Act gave it streamlined authority to write regulations.  It has also become much more active in pursuing dealers for deceptive advertising under Section 5 of the FTC Act.  (Since 2012, the FTC has brought 16 cases against auto dealers for deceptive advertising.)  The FTC’s Head of its Bureau of Consumer Affairs said the FTC believes that deceptive dealer advertising is a “significant problem,” many automotive dealer investigations are “in the pipeline,” and that this is a “priority area” for the FTC.

Capture More Sales from Your Website This Summer

The automotive industry is on pace for record sales this year with new vehicle sales predicted to reach more than 16 million, and this spring, visits to dealership websites are also up dramatically from last year.   

With this swift uptick of automotive shoppers visiting more dealership websites, we are seeing more and more dealers making investments in uniting and streamlining their online to in-store sales workflow. For many dealers across the country, Digital Retailing website tools are proving to be the answer for transforming their online/in-store sales process, improving customer engagement and overall CSI performance, and increasing lead-to-sales conversions.

Implementing dealer-controlled Digital Retailing tools on your website today can help position your dealership well for this summer selling season, and give you a clear competitive advantage in moving past basic website lead generation and onto real-time deal generation.

Still Not Satisfied with Your Website Lead-to-Sales Conversion Rates? – Dealer Video

As dealers continue to invest more of their marketing dollars in digital, why are so many dealers still not satisfied with their website lead-to-sale conversion rates?

It’s simple; Digital Marketing is only half of a successful online marketing strategy.

Watch as top automotive dealers discuss the overall health of their dealership’s websites since adopting a Digital Retailing strategy and how a dealer-controlled online sales process helps them drive more website visitors further into their sales and F&I process.

Watch Now

Are You Leveraging Your DMS Data for Profits?

Your dealer management system (DMS) is the backbone of your dealership.

However, are you leveraging the data running through and stored on your DMS to drive maximum profits?

In the March issue of Auto Dealer Monthly, I discuss how you can use your DMS’s built-in reporting capabilities to efficiently manage inventory, sales, service and parts. Two key areas where the use of your DMS data and reporting can be invaluable to your dealership are: 

  • Inventory – Inventory reporting from your DMS allows you to monitor the costs associated with reconditioning vehicles, carrying aged inventory and wholesaling vehicles
  • Service and Parts – You can use your DMS data to analyze service technician efficiency and productivity reports to effectively manage your service business for profits.

In my article, I show how several dealerships, including the Gunn Automotive Group, the Heller Automotive Group and the Todd Wenzel Automotive Group, are using their DMS data to improve their businesses. Mining the data in your DMS can help your sales team better prospect for potential buyers and source in-demand used vehicles, and improve your service team’s ability to target customers with service and maintenance reminders and offerings relevant to the individual and their vehicles.  In addition, this mining can help improve overall customer communications, which can pay off for your dealership for years to come.

 

An Industry First: Online Rate Justification Forms for Dealers

Last year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued guidance on credit discrimination in the indirect automotive finance market, putting dealerships and lenders on notice about potential audits and punishments. In response, Dealertrack recommended that dealers adopt and implement an Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) Fair Lending Policy, including complete documentation of any deviation from a dealer’s buy rate markup policy.

To help dealership develop a fair lending policy and better defend themselves in credit discrimination audits, Dealertrack made an Exception Rate Justification Form available to its Compliance solution subscribers last year. Today, for the first time, this form is available online to its subscribers.