Welcome to HookLogic / AutoHook and What to "Expect"

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Not long ago, I posted and article titled "Customer Service at HookLogic / AutoHook". In this article I reviewed the many different ways our dealer clients can contact us. Whether it's for support, training or a general question - we have you covered.

Providing avenues of "Pro-active" support in todays world is imperative to be successful. It allows a business the opportunity to answer questions and provide help to a client before it becomes an actual issue. Continuing on with this "pro-active" approach to support, I thought it only made sense to post a short article around what happens after a new dealer client has signed up to increase their Lead to Show using our HookLogic AutoHook suite of products.

Below is "What to Expect" to ensure a smooth and efficient on-boarding process when you partner with us.

Welcome to HookLogic / AutoHook

What to Expect:

Phase 1: Request Form

1. Our Dealer Support team will be contacting you via email.
2. Click the URL provided in the email and complete the information request form.
3. Contact Dealer Support at (646)467-8228 with any questions throughout this process.

Phase 2:Implementation

Once the information request form is complete, Dealer Support team will email you instructions

• Web2Show: Forward these instructions to your web provider, along with approval to add script to your website. • Lead2Show: Have 3rd Party leads forwarded to HookLogic email address provided in instructions email.

Note: Most of the time this can be done directly through your CRM system. Other times you may need to forward these instructions to your CRM provider.

Phase 3:Training

Sign-up your team for training to get the most out of your HookLogic experience!

1. A client service representative will reach out to you with training information.
2. Go to: www.leadtoshow.com/training-webinars to:

• View videos and tutorials (currently found in the upper left corner of your admin screen) • Sign up for a live training (every Thursday at 11:30am EST) on how to implement the applicable product:

Keys to Successful Implementation:

1. Timely action throughout all phases: The on-boarding process can take as little as a day when action is taken promptly.
2. Effective communication: Ensure proper contact information is provided throughout the process.
3. Follow-up: The Dealer Support team will follow-up when actions are not complete or if the process is moving slower than expected. We ask that you do the same with your Web and/or CRM providers when necessary.
4. Training: Please make sure to register your team for training as soon as possible

Questions or concerns?

Please contact Dealer Support by email dealersupport@hooklogic.com or phone (646) 467-8228.

HookLogic AutoHook Introduces “Instant Fulfillment”

The AutoHook team is excited to announce the full-scale launch of our “Instant Fulfillment” feature.

Up to this point, the Autohook incentive redemption process has been seamless and easy. Whether you’re using your online admin or our mobile application, you’re able to redeem a customer’s incentive in less than 30 seconds when they show up at your dealership for a test drive.  The customer would receive their gift card in the mail within two weeks.

Now with the addition of “Instant Fulfillment”, all our dealers will have the ability to redeem and send your customer their coupon/incentive instantly to their email or mobile device.  Up to this point, our instant fulfillment option was exclusively for select OEM and listing site partners like Autotrader.com.

The overall incentive redemption process hasn’t changed; still taking under 30 seconds to redeem a customer’s incentive using your AutoHook admin or mobile application.  Now, your customer will be able to confirm that they have received their e-code gift card right in your showroom.

This is no doubt exciting news for our dealers. One of the distinct advantages of our traditional redemption process is the ability to have the check and balances needed in place for dealers, reducing any ability for customers or dealership employees to “game the system” and receive multiple incentives, a problem experienced with other less secured offerings. With the addition of our new Instant fulfillment, we have taken many great measures of security.  This is something we know our dealers, OEMs, agencies, and 3rd party listing companies will greatly appreciate, which are often overlooked by others.

Now, not only can you increase your dealers Lead to Show percentage with HookLogic, you will have the ability to instantly fulfill your customers incentive, making your customer experience at the showroom even more seamless.

Chrysler Partners with HookLogic for 2,500 Dealership Rollout

Chrysler Digital has selected HookLogic as the newest part of the Chrysler Digital Program. HookLogic’s success generating higher website lead conversion, industry-best showroom visits, and more sales made the company the perfect addition to the Program. Chrysler Digital is pleased to offer the HookLogic Web2Show and HookLogic Lead2Show products for all Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and FIAT dealers. Both Web2Show and Lead2Show are available through Chrysler Digital and are proven to drive shoppers into your dealership. Current Chrysler dealers are averaging almost 20 additional showroom visitors through the use of both products, with a cost per sale under $100.  HookLogic is one of only 12 certified products that will be listed on the Chrysler Digital Certified website as an enhancement to the original digital advertising program.

HookLogic Web2Show:

• A fully customized, lead generating product that incentivizes visitors to visit your website, and ultimately walk into your dealership in exchange for a gift card.
• Web2Show will be Bonus PAP eligible (50% reimbursement). NOTE: Excludes the cost of redeemed gift cards, which will be set by the dealer and billed directly.

HookLogic Lead2Show:

• A customizable, remarketing, lead conversion product that incentivizes visitors who have previously submitted a web lead to visit your dealership in exchange for a gift card.
• The offer emailed to the consumer is initiated once it is determined they have a high propensity to buy or are actively shopping for a vehicle through strategic third-party data integration.
• Lead2Show will be Bonus PAP eligible (50% reimbursement). NOTE: Excludes the cost of redeemed gift cards, which will be set by the dealer and billed directly.

For more product information or to sign up today please visit the following enrollment website @ http://leadtoshow.com/chrysler-digital.

If you are a Chrysler Dealership and have any questions, please contact Chrysler at info@chryslerdigital.com or call (888) 511-8902.

DealerRater/Polk Study Finds Auto Dealers with Higher Average Online Star Ratings Enjoy Higher Increases in Vehicle Sales

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Recent DealerRater/Polk study offers auto dealers compelling evidence on the quantifiable value of a comprehensive online reputation strategy.

Waltham, Mass. – February 11, 2013 – DealerRater, the world’s premier car dealer review web site, today announced the results of a joint study with Polk that demonstrates the direct connection between auto dealerships’ average online star ratings and new vehicle sales.  Based on study findings, dealers with an average star rating of 4.0 or higher had a 25 percent greater increase in sales compared to dealerships with an average star rating of 2.0 or less over the study period (Jan-Sep 2012 vs. Jan-Sep 2011).In the DealerRater/Polk Dealer Reviews study, dealership ratings and reviews from DealerRater's database were matched up with new vehicle registration data from Polk.  Polk analysts then investigated and reviewed the changes in registrations over several time periods.

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"DealerRater and Polk have worked together to bring greater insight into the effect of an auto dealership’s average star ratings on new vehicle sales,” said Brad Korner, vice president, sales and client services, automotive retail and media solutions with Polk. “We work with automotive marketing decision makers to help them understand and measure market performance at the OEM and dealer level. After viewing every slice of this study data, we are very confident that it looked at dealers in a fair and equitable manner.  The powerful and meaningful insight gained from this study finally puts some hard data behind the strong influence of online consumer reviews," he added.

The DealerRater/Polk study also compared the sales performance of DealerRater® Certified Dealers to the general market as well as to non-Certified Dealers.  Results show that Certified Dealers experienced a 23 percent greater increase in vehicle sales during the study period compared to non-certified dealers.  In addition, Certified Dealers who had been on the program for at least 12 months outperformed the general market.  On average, Certified Dealers experienced a five percent increase in new car sales after six months on the program and an eight percent increase after 12 months – regardless of market conditions.

The study further found that dealers using the premium level of DealerRater’s Certified Dealer Program - 360Certified™, experienced nearly a 50 percent greater increase in sales compared to non-certified dealers during the study period.

“Our joint study with Polk is compelling evidence of the quantifiable value of an online reputation strategy in the automotive industry,” said Chip Grueter, president at DealerRater.  “Today, 89 percent of car buyersread reviews online before purchasing a vehicle.  This latest study with Polk further validates the importance of online reviews and finally demonstrates the direct correlation between our Certified Dealer Program and higher increases in new vehicle sales.  Real, trusted reviews really do drive business and we now have the proof,” Grueter added.

The DealerRater site receives a new review submitted every 55 seconds during daylight hours.  With its unparalleled volume of dealer reviews now approaching 950,000, 26 percent of all franchised dealers in the U.S. have embraced DealerRater and its award-winning Certified Dealer Program as a critical component of their online reputation management efforts.

Customer Service at HookLogic - AutoHook

They say a typical business hears from only 4% of it's dissatisfied customer. Only 4%.  Does this mean 96% of their consumers are satisfied? Of course not. There could be several reasons why the typical business only hears from 4%, but I would like to focus on one.

Ease of communication. 

How easy does the typical business make it for dissatisfied consumers to reach support or the right person? How easy is it for a consumer to reach someone that can address their concerns at your dealership? Something to think about, no doubt.

Let's be honest - the reality is, very few people welcome complaints. A disgruntled consumer is never fun to deal with - it takes talent and experience to turn a consumers lemon into lemonade. Is there something you can do to help prevent the buildup of disappointment a customer may experience?

Here at HookLogic, we believe the secret to great customer service is encouraging our customers to communicate with us their concerns, questions and ideas pro-actively. We help accomplish this by offering several points of contact for support.

If at anytime YOU have a question, concern, idea or just want to say hello - below is a list of the many channels we offer for you to communicate with us:

customers experience admin support

Customer Support Hotline - This one is a given but you might be surprised by how many people do NOT pick up the phone. For our customers that would like to talk to us by phone, our main line number is 855-LEAD-2-SHOW (855-532-3274). Give is a call if you need something.

Fast, Effective Email - We have a dedicated email for dealer support - dealersupport@hooklogic.com. Do yourself a favor and add our email to your address book so you have easy access and there's no need for you to remember it . While you're in your address book, go ahead and add our phone number too :)

Chat - As many dealers are leveraging chat to obtain sales leads, we offer chat to our customers for support. When you log into your dealer admin, you'll notice we have a chat bubble in the bottom left of your browser. There you can see if we have a support representative online to chat (we usually do during business hours). If for some reason there's no one to chat with, please leave a message and we will get back with you ASAP.

Not only do we offer Chat within our dealer admin, we also have it on our main website - leadtoshow.com. If you have a question, you can chat with us right from our website without having to log into your admin.

Also - You'll soon notice a chat icon in the bottom of our support emails and weekly email reports.

Don't be shy. If you have question, a concern, an idea on how to better leverage our services at your dealership, or maybe you just want to get to know us better, use ANY of the above channels to communicate with us here at HookLogic.

Our customers are using the industry's best technology to increase their lead to show rate and sell more cars each month. On top of that we want to offer you the industry's best customer support and experience.

We look forward to hearing from you!

AutoHook rolls out MyGiftCardStatus.com

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The AutoHook team is pleased to announce the launch of our new AutoHook fulfillment portal, MyGiftCardStatus.com!  The new portal allows your customers to easily inquire about the current status of their AutoHook Walk-in incentive.  The benefits of the Customer Portal include: Customer: Gives them a tool to easily look up the status of their Gift Card. Gives them a simple mechanism to contact support.

Dealer: Decreases the number of questions they receive from consumers related to their incentive.

How does it work?  When a customer receives a incentive voucher they will learn about the portal via the AutoHook system emails.  The link will also be included on the voucher itself.  When a user goes to the portal they will be asked to enter their voucher code. Depending on the status of their voucher they will receive one of the following messages:

Voucher Not Redeemed:  If a customer enters a code that has not been marked as redeemed, they will be presented with a form that can be used to plug in details of their dealership visit.  These requests are passed to Auto Support, and then forwarded along to the dealership for appropriate follow-up.

Voucher Redeemed (But Today’s Date is prior to the expected arrival date):  If the customer’s voucher code was redeemed within the past three weeks, the user will be shown the estimated arrival date of their incentive and a note stating that the card is likely still in the process of being delivered.  The customer’s address information is also displayed, along with a link allowing them to contact us via the “Contact Support” form.

Voucher Redeemed (Past the expected arrival date):  If the voucher code was redeemed and it is more than three weeks after the redemption date, the customer will be shown a screen with the date that their incentive should have arrived by.  The user’s address information is also displayed, along with small form allowing them to request additional follow-up on the on their incentive’s whereabouts.

If a user does not have a coupon code, or just has a general AutoHook related question, they can submit a generic “Customer Support” request.  All requests are logged and available within the Administration area of the UI.  Additionally, details of all requests are forwarded to the Auto Support group.  The customer is also emailed to let them know that we have received their request.  For those that are looking for details on activating a Prepaid MasterCard Card, we will direct them to our Incentive Network Prepaid Card Center.  From here, customers are able to activate their Prepaid MasterCard, check transaction history, etc.

We are excited to offer this new solution to our dealership, agency, vendor and OEM partners.  We would like to pass along a special thank you to our advisory board dealer customers that helped provide input for this project.  We look forward to rolling out other tools that benefit you and your customers.

The Higher Gear Group Partners With HookLogic's Lead2Show

The Higher Gear Group and HookLogic have partnered together to benefit their mutual dealership customers, building a CRM integration that allows leads to flow into HookLogic's Lead2Show solution. When a Higher Gear CRM dealer signs up for Lead2Show, Higher Gear will automatically funnel all internet leads into HookLogic's funnel, powered by Polk, Dataium, and CallSource. Lead2Show takes leads that a dealership purchases or receive from providers, finds the highest intent to buy customers, and then uses the industries best data to drive these hand raising customers right into the showroom. Partnering with The Higher Gear Group allows HookLogic dealers to leverage their current vendors to make a better product and process for their dealership employees, without any additional costs. This plays directly into HookLogic's industry-wide initiative of opening up API access to make life and business easier for our dealership clients. Much like Apple's approach to 3rd party apps on an iPhone, HookLogic wants to work with other vendors for the greater good of the customer. The Higher Gear Group shares this vision.

Current Higher Gear Group and HookLogic customers can take advantage of this free integration immediately. If you are interested in more information, please feel free to contact a HookLogic team member.

ActivEngage teams up with HookLogic to integrate targeted incentives with chat

One of the biggest challenges most dealers face is getting website visitors into their showrooms. Online shoppers may browse through inventory or examine specials without setting an appointment for a test drive. Convert these website visitors into showroom visits by leveraging the power of targeted, time-sensitive incentives with proactive chat invitations. ActivEngage has teamed up with HookLogic to give dealers the bait they need to drive website visitors into the dealership using behavioral and geographically targeted incentives. We are proud to introduce ActivShow - an integrated chat solution specially designed to generate more walk-in traffic from your most qualified prospects.

The best part is, since you are already a HookLogic customer, implementing ActivShow has no additional cost for you! All you need to do is add ActivEngage chat to your website and we will do the rest. Click here and fill out the request form at the bottom of this page to get started!

If you are an ActivEngage customer already, call your ActivEngage Customer Success Manager at (800) 441-7779 option 1, and they can have ActivShow added to your site today!

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Enhancements Continue for Lead2Show

As the New Year approaches, we continue to make great enhancements to the entire AutoHook Product Suite. One of the products that I am the most proud of is Lead2Show.  If you aren't familiar with it, Lead2Show is an award-winning solution that takes leads that you purchase or receive and pinpoints the highest intent to buy customers. The industries best data providers are then utilized to drive these hand-raising customers right into your showroom. As a dealer, you receive leads from all around your dealership. Lead2Show allows dealers like you to go after specific groups of high-closing leads by using geo-targeting and “big data.” The end result is a higher show rate into the dealership and a higher close rate on your existing leads. When leads come into your CRM system, you will continue to follow up as you do today. Lead2Show is automated with specific filters and execution orders that take place behind the scenes.

Here are just a few of the enhancements we've made to Lead2Show that are sure to ring in a very happy new year for dealers, based on their specific goals:

• You want to target your competitor’s backyard. Have you ever looked at your market share report and noticed that although you get leads in your competitor’s market area, those customers don’t buy from you?  Lead2Show will help change the behavior of those customers, giving them a reason to drive past your competitor and give you and your sales team an opportunity.

• A competitor that is farther from you is still taking share from your dealership.  Lead2Show will target those leads differently, raising the stakes for the customer, and drive them into your dealership.  Some of our most successful dealers see their closing rates triple with geo-targeted messages and incentives.

• You want to identify the leads that are most likely to buy:Lead2Show also uses the industry’s best “Big Data” to drive more customers your way.  HookLogic’s integration of Polk Lead Intelligence allows our dealers to quickly identify the leads that are lower in the funnel.  When the lead comes into the dealership’s CRM, Lead2Show immediately matches the lead against over 100 data points including past registration data, lifestyle information, and credit worthiness.  Customers who score high are sent a time sensitive email with an incentive to pick your dealership. Does this really work?  In a recent case study with over 170 dealerships, incentivizing a high scoring lead resulted in an overall closing ratio of 47%.  When the high scoring lead wasn't incentivized, the buy rate was only 28%.  These high intenders are buyers.  Now you just need to make sure that they buy from you instead of the competition.

• You want to know where your leads go after they visit your site, and how you can bring them back: Adding another “Big Data” provider, Lead2Show infuses Dataium’s VisiCogn In-Market Lead Alert.  This allows our dealers to match up each lead and watch those customers if they show specific online behavior post lead submission. Make no mistake; this is not re-targeting based on predictive guessing that others may talk about.  This matches up a customer that has submitted a lead to YOUR dealership and, even if it is 3 weeks after, allows you to know if this customer is searching for a vehicle on your site or on other sites like Cars.com, OEM sites, or even other dealership sites.  HookLogic uses this match to automatically deliver a time sensitive incentive via email to drive that customer into your dealership at a point when that customer has come back into market and alerts you when it happens.  HookLogic literally reanimates your old leads and provides a differentiating message to the customer at the right time.  No one other than HookLogic does anything like this.

• You want to link internet and phone leads: Lead2Show integrates offline call tracking data from CallSource. Each time a call comes in, Lead2Show matches that call information against your Internet leads, even if it is weeks or months after the lead was submitted.  A customer call is the hottest lead and no matter if the call is handled well or poorly by the salesperson, Lead2Show has you covered, alerting you of the match and sending a time sensitive incentive via email to the customer.  Lead2Show reanimates the lead when that customer is showing buying tendencies.  No one uses offline call tracking data to execute like HookLogic and CallSource.

HookLogic pulled together the top “big data” providers in the auto industry and built the best execution engine to drive more leads into your showroom.  When our dealers utilize geo-targeting and Polk Lead Intelligence to instantly identify the best leads, and then layer in Dataium and CallSource data to reanimate their leads, they see huge increases in how many customers visit the dealership.  In some cases as many as an additional 25 shows and closing ratios as high as 28%.  One successful dealer has sold an additional 20 cars a month for the past 3 months on Lead2Show.

Lead2Show supercharges your existing 3^rd party, OEM, and listing site leads and drives more customers into your showroom, in most cases, over a 50% increase, a higher closing ratio, which pushes your market share higher and your cost per sale is lowered.

And here is a reminder what makes AutoHook’s Lead2Show different:

• Your dealership can target based on your customer’s geographic region.
• You will also be able to target based on Polk Lead Intelligence and Registration Data.
• We will reanimate old leads based on Dataium online activity and match up/reanimate old leads based on CallSource offline call activity.

See for yourself.  Click here to check out how Lead2Show can give you a competitive advantage.

Drive More Trade-in Opportunities with PureCars TradeHook

An AutoHook Best Practices Webinarw/ Jeremy Anspach, President, PureCars

When it comes to online trade appraisal tools dealers today have a small handful of options from which to choose. Each tool allows site visitors to enter information about their vehicle and receive fair market value dollar figures for trade, private sale, and retail. But there are two key problems not being solved by most of these tools:

1.) Value is more than just price 2.) They don’t drive showroom traffic

Enter PureCars TradeHook...

With PureCars TradeHook, dealers now have the ability to give site visitors a complete value guide with PureCars Trade-in Reports, plus they get a tool to help bring those site visitors into the showroom.

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PureCars Trade-in Reports

From Price and Mileage Analysis, to Vehicle Certification, Accident + Ownership History, Factory Options, Vehicle Reconditioning, and a Local Market Comparison, the PureCars Trade-in Report provides information to help car owners find the vehicle that best fits THEIR value needs, not the dealers’.

TradeHook Foot Traffic

Combined with the targeting capabilities of HookLogic’s AutoHook solution, dealers using PureCars TradeHook also have the ability to target vehicle trades with specific incentive offers designed precisely for those genuinely interested in coming in to have their vehicle evaluated.

PureCars TradeHook incentivizes shoppers with a gift card, redeemable at top retailers nationwide, to submit their trade-in opportunity for an instantaneous trade-in value estimate. The customer is able to redeem their gift card upon a full appraisal at the dealership – consequently giving them even more of a reason to come in.

Register to Attend

To learn more about PureCars and the TradeHook solution, which was announced this month in a recent press release, PureCars President Jeremy Anspach will be our guest presenter in this month’s Best Practices webinar. During this webinar, Jeremy will touch on:

1. How you are answering the top concerns of your used car shopper?
2. Are you able to sell all vehicles or equally or are some trades more valuable to your store?
3. How you increase your lead to appointment show rate significantly on a trade-in lead?

About the Presenter

Jeremy has valuable experience with fixed-ops, digital marketing and dealer websites. Having a well rounded understanding of the industry has helped him develop automated technologies. He is a strong believer that dealerships have great tools but lack the manpower and processes to fully utilize them. The PureCars suite of products are fully automated and designed to help showcase the value in a vehicle. Jeremy advocates that selling a used vehicle requires a strategy which helps educate the shopper. He has worked with a range of dealerships, on better merchandising their pre-owned vehicles. Dealers have found his approach to be easy to execute and results in great success! To connect with Jeremy visit his LinkedIn profile.

About the AutoHook Best Practices Webinar Series

Every month, HookLogic conducts a “best practices” webinar where we cover a range of different topics that contribute to the success of auto dealerships. These topics and best practices typically incorporate some aspect of the AutoHook Web Suite, a toolset designed to give dealers the ability to perform highly targeted marketing campaigns that drive quality foot traffic into the showroom.

Often times these best practice webinars feature a guest expert to present, sometimes being one of our integration partners and sometimes one of our dealers. Other times we simply cover an important strategy or best practice that can benefit AutoHook customers.

To register for this series click here. Once registered then you will receive a reminder for each upcoming best practice webinar within the series so there is no need to re-register for each individual event.

HookLogic conducts other virtual training sessions as well, such as The AutoHook Training Show which is held on Google+ Hangout and on GoToWebinar once a week. For information about this and all other HookLogic Automotive training click here to visit the AutoHook Training Resources page.