AutoHook powered by Urban Science, the automotive industry's frontrunner in driving proven, incremental showroom traffic to dealerships, announced the official expansion of their dealer co-op program with Kia Motors America to include the Urban Science solution, TrafficView™.

TrafficView will be added to AutoHook’s existing suite of test drive incentive solutions already approved by Kia for Dealer Advertising Support (DAS) funds, including Web2Show and Lead2Show. TrafficView works by ingesting a dealer’s CRM data and matching it up against the daily industry sales statistics available through the Urban Science® DataHub™ to provide first-ever visibility into a dealership’s greatest opportunities and losses. The solution uncovers otherwise undetected problem areas across all facets of a dealer’s sales operations by layering in defection data to show lost sales tied to a specific lead source, model, geography, competing dealer or brand and even down to a dealer’s individual salespeople.

“TrafficView gives dealers the power to accurately measure the success and failure of both their marketing initiatives and internal sales processes so they can take action to reduce defections and improve their overall sales effectiveness,” said David Metter, President and Co-Founder of AutoHook powered by Urban Science. “We’re honored to have the opportunity to help Kia dealers execute upon the insights revealed within TrafficView and convert lost sales into showroom visits using AutoHook’s custom incentive campaigns.”

AutoHook has already received outstanding remarks and industry recognition from dealers who have piloted TrafficView at their stores.

"We entered into our initial meeting with AutoHook searching for answers. After seeing our data in TrafficView for the first time, we left with a detailed game plan and immediately got to work implementing new strategies in areas where TrafficView identified specific weaknesses. We’ve already seen a dramatic decrease in defections and we’re extremely confident these changes will undoubtedly continue to grow sales,” says Joshua Clinton, General Manager of Gunther Kia of Ft. Lauderdale. “We look forward to reviewing TrafficView on a monthly basis in order to consistently stay ahead of the competition."

Kia Motors was the very first automaker to fund AutoHook’s private incentive offers through a co-op program back in 2014. Kia dealers can now choose from among four AutoHook product packages, all DAS eligible.

About AutoHook powered by Urban Science
Based in Detroit and a subsidiary of Urban Science, AutoHook uses scientifically proven sales and defection insights to drive incremental dealer showroom traffic and attribute sales in near real-time. With a complete view of traffic opportunity, AutoHook's private incentive offers convert leads at a low cost-per-sale for dealers and automotive manufacturers. For more information, visit DriveAutoHook.com or call (855) 532-3274.

CONTACT: Lindsay Waller: lawaller@urbanscience.com

How Does CRM help sell cars today? Given the fact that car dealers rely heavily on Internet leads from multiple sources including their own dealership websites, it is imperative for dealers to have a way of prioritizing, handling, following up, and filtering through hundreds if not thousands of opportunities each and every month.

This is why Customer Relationship Management (CRM) plays such an essential role in selling cars in today’s market.

The future of CRM is about adaptability

Ten years ago approximately 20% of dealers had an automated CRM system. Today this is so mainstream that it is pushing CRM providers to offer more features and solutions that better fit the dealerships’ needs.

As an example, it is only a matter of time before we see more mobile functionality within CRM systems incorporating apps with smartphones and tablets. These mobile functions will be tightly woven into a social play, including video and check-in features.

That being said, CRM providers will want to think differently from how they have in the past. These companies can't be the best at everything so they will need to start allowing niche companies to “bolt on” their specialty products to enhance the dealer’s experience.

For instance Salesforce.com, arguably the world’s largest CRM company used in many industries, has an API that allows more specialized companies to offer Salesforce users more and better capabilities such as enhanced reporting, mobile functionality, and other capabilities to their users.

Within the auto industry this doesn't happen but if you look at the website space, companies like PureCars, UnityWorks, and ActivEngage are “bolting on” to dealership websites to enhance conversion and the customer experience.

Auto dealers should expect the same flexibility with their CRM providers.

Maximize the potential of your CRM

Most dealers don't take advantage of their sold customer data for remarketing purposes, especially around their service departments. I am not talking about the set-it-and-forget-it automated birthday, anniversary, service reminder emails and postcards. I am talking about the polling of customer data for highly targeted campaigns.

A CRM should be used in a holistic endless manner throughout the customer life cycle to send highly targeted messages of all kinds to customers of all types.

Differentiate your dealership from your competition

To help differentiate your dealership, avoid using the default letters and email response templates that come with your CRM. Odds are the dealership down the street has the same one going out. Be different and make your own.

In my career I didn’t care if my competition knew what tools I used at my dealership because I knew we would use them more effectively.

Don’t fall for the boilerplate CRM presentation

When you are considering a CRM solution, take your time to figure out your major and minor pain points that you and your sales staff have, document them, and then schedule a meeting to discuss these issues. Let the CRM provider think about these issues for several days before you have a presentation of their solution. If they follow your lead, you will get a presentation that will fit your needs and you will have an easier time making a decision that is right for you.

You have the power

Don’t roll over. If you have a plan, stick to it. If you picked the right CRM provider, they will be your partner and help you execute on your plan. Remember, you are the customer.

Come up with a plan. Use your data to your advantage. And execute well. If you do this, your CRM tool will help you build a profitable dealership that will give you an incredible ROI.

Kia Motors Approves AutoHook’s TrafficView™ For Dealer Advertising Support Funds

How Does CRM Help Sell Cars Today?