SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., June 7, 2017 – General Motors dealerships can now use GM in-Market Retail (iMR) advertising funds for the most powerful customer management technologies in the market, DealerSocket CRM and DealerSocket equity mining tool Revenue Radar. Both existing and future GM DealerSocket CRM customers are now eligible for reimbursement using their iMR funds.

“DealerSocket’s integrated technologies have contributed to the success and profitability of GM dealerships across the nation,” said Reuben Muinos, DealerSocket Senior Director of Business Development. “GM is now making it easier for customers to take full advantage of the benefits and profitability offered by DealerSocket tools.”

DealerSocket CRM paces industry with leading data and technology innovations
In 2016, DealerSocket released its latest customer relationship management (CRM) user interface, Blackbird. The leading integrated CRM tool on the market, Blackbird delivers powerful analytics, desking, call management, service, sales, lead management, and mobile functionality. Recent improvments streamline access to tools and offer intutitve workflows, comprehensive search functionality, customer activity timelines and more. Learn more at https://dealersocket.com/crm

DealerSocket Revenue Radar identifies profit-generating opportunities
DealerSocket’s equity-mining tool, Revenue Radar, continually searches Dealer Management Systems (DMS) for opportunities, including identifying customers in favorable positions to spend money at dealerships. Database queries identify sales and service opportunities and ping sales teams to maximize marketing efforts and reach customers before they shop at competitors. Learn more and demo Revenue Radar at https://dealersocket.com/equity-mining

DealerSocket Continues Customer Service Leadership with Simplified Support and Real-Time Technology Monitoring

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., Jan. 29, 2017 – DealerSocket, continuing its leadership in customer service, today announced a real-time, technology-driven customer service model to drive greater profitability for its 11,000+ dealership customers through better utilization of DealerSocket tools. The announcement was made at the 2017 National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Convention & Expo in New Orleans.

Simplified service support with a single point of entry
To provide easier access to DealerSocket product support and resources, the company is introducing a simplified customer service model through a single point of contact, or Customer Success Manager (CSM). When engaged, dedicated CSMs can provide portfolio-wide advice and insight for all interactions with their respective assigned dealers regarding sales, setup and support.

“The CSM support system truly streamlines our dealer service communications and provides a higher level of protection and value to our clients,” said Mark Bernstein, Director of Customer Success at DealerSocket. “Service and other calls from the dealer to multiple points in DealerSocket will be eliminated in favor of the efficiency and convenience of reaching out to just a single contact. Customers will spend less time on software and more time on their businesses.”

For dealers who still wish to have in-person counseling, DealerSocket has created a premier consultant team that can quickly and efficiently come into a dealership to help implement tool utilization or perform hands-on training to improve usage of DealerSocket technology.

Health Check real-time, non-intrusive digital technology monitoring
To support DealerSocket CSMs, a new digital monitoring tool, Health Check, will proactively assess dealers’ product utilization of DealerSocket CRM and technology tools.

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Health Check is a non-intrusive means of diagnosing and comparing dealer technology use against competitive benchmarks, and will alert DealerSocket CSMs to make proactive recommendations only when dealers are not utilizing DealerSocket technologies to the full potential. Much like a home security system, this real-time monitoring only warrants attention when an issue is identified.

“Health Check constantly scans benchmarking data and pings our teams with opportunities, helping our customers be more efficient and effective, contributing to savings and sales,” said Darren Harline, Vice President of Customer Engagement and Partnerships at DealerSocket. “Instead of scheduling quarterly visits with a rep or contacting one of the many technology professionals to fix a software problem or have application questions answered, Health Check and our new CSM model allow us to consistently stay ahead of possible issues and be more efficient at resolving them.”

Virtual classroom support
To assist with training needs, DealerSocket leverages state-of-the-art on-demand virtual training. Dealers can subscribe for unlimited training to orient new salespeople and managers, refresh users with weak usage, and shore up knowledge in advanced product areas like DealerSocket’s List Builder and Campaign Manager.

To learn more about DealerSocket technologies or to schedule a demo at NADA, stop by Booth #937 or #1137, or visit nada.dealersocket.com.

DealerSocket Launches Precise PriceRetailing Tool, Putting Customers at Center of Deal
Online vehicle pricing tool syncs to salesroom for faster, seamless desking

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., Jan. 28, 2017 – DealerSocket, the automotive retail industry’s leading integrated technology platform, today announced the launch of its Precise Price™ digital retailing tool at the 2017 National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Convention & Expo in New Orleans.

Precise Price is a fully transparent and accurate digital retailing tool that allows customers to calculate the true price of a vehicle and begin structuring the terms of the purchase through an integrated, web-based platform. Precise Price, whether utilized by customers online or sales teams on the showroom floor, integrates with dealerships’ CRM and desking platforms for seamless data synchronization of pricing information for a more efficient and transparent desking experience.

Consumer pricing with confidence
Price misinformation and doubt over getting the best deal are leading sources of frustration for car buyers, compromising trust and confidence in the transaction. According to the 2016 Dealership Action Report, distrust toward salespeople is the top reason customers dislike the car-buying process.

“Precise Price accelerates the lengthy desking process and educates consumers with greater transparency to evoke customer trust and confidence in the car purchasing experience,” said Aaron Schinke, Director of Product Management at DealerSocket.m“There should be no surprises when a customer walks into a dealership. Precise Price helps put everything on the table in advance, creating a more enjoyable and efficient experience for both the dealer and customer.”

Precise Price puts all of the information in the customer’s hands, allowing them to be at the center of the deal and to lead the purchase with confidence, without providing personal information or creating an account. It also allows consumers to get the exact same price at home as they would in the dealership – no guesses or estimates. Dealers also build customer trust through utilization of a familiar pricing platform, and shared access of the calculated deal.
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Precise Price incorporates all possible price influencers, including:

True time savings
Precise Price is an exclusive integrated solution that offers true time savings for both dealers and customers. When customers initiate a transaction and desired payment structure on a dealer’s website, the information is automatically synced to the dealer’s CRM. This eliminates duplicate efforts by sales teams re-collecting customer information at the time of the visit. When the customer walks through the door, the deal is ready to send to the dealer’s DMS, saving the dealer and customer valuable time.

Seamlessly access the deal on any device at any time
The tool is mobile friendly and responsive so both dealers and customers can easily access the deal. With an industry-first “Save & Finish Later” functionality, customers are able to pick up exactly where they left off on any device at any time. Team members can also structure deals in-store to be sent to customers for revisions and completion from anywhere.

Unlike other third-party pricing models, DealerSocket’s digital retailing solution uniquely allows every dealer to brand Precise Price as their own and keep the customer on their own website and within their system. The tool does not redirect customers to a third-party website, allowing dealers to market precise digital retailing as part of the customer service offerings.

DealerSocket to Introduce Four Technology Advances at NADA to Streamline Automotive Retail

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., Jan. 24, 2017 DealerSocket, the automotive retail industry’s leading integrated technology platform developer, will be displaying new technologies that improve dealership sales processes at the upcoming National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Convention & Expo, Jan. 26-29 in New Orleans. Announcements include:

Precise Price™ to deliver most accurate online pricing

DealerSocket is introducing Precise Price, its transparent and accurate digital retailing tool that allows customers to initiate the structure of a deal on a dealer’s website and be fully informed about all costs prior to making a purchase decision. Precise Price promotes customer confidence and trust in every negotiation, factoring in potential cost influencers, such as dealer incentives and fees, F&I and vehicle protections, local taxes, down payment, trade-in evaluations and more.

Precise Price integrates with dealership CRM platforms for a seamless, no-surprises, online-to-store purchase experience and an improved, more efficient sales process by shortening the in-store desking time. Precise Price works in real time, offering true time savings to both dealerships and customers. Precise Price also enables dealers to stay in alignment with the buyers “buying process” as opposed to squeezing them into the dealers “selling process,” improving gross profit, buyer confidence and customer satisfaction.

Blackbird – Demo the new DealerSocket platform

DealerSocket will continue its introduction of Blackbird, the redesigned version of its software platform, to further simplify integration of its CRM tools and the dealership and dealership customer user experience. The newly enhanced platform provides a more intuitive and streamlined workflow, offering more customization and easier navigation, allowing sales teams to spend less time performing standard activities in the platform and more time on sales and service.

“DealerSocket listened to its customers-receiving input from more than 70 dealers and user testing feedback-and responded with the development of Blackbird,” said Brad Perry, Founder and CTO of DealerSocket. “We determined the areas where the platform could be improved and completely redesigned the interface for quick access to regularly used tools, so dealers could experience greater efficiencies and savings.”

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CSM model streamlines support for DealerSocket technologies

DealerSocket is also introducing an improved customer service model with simplified access to all DealerSocket products and resources via a single point of contact or Customer Success Manager (CSM). To support DealerSocket CSMs, DealerSocket is also introducing a new digital monitoring tool, Health Check™, to proactively assess and alert dealers who are not fully optimizing their CRM platform. Health Check also allows DealerSocket support to proactively see when users need help and training. Dealers will now have much easier access to customer service for real-time answers to questions, support, and immediate assistance for deploying DealerSocket tools.

“The new customer support model allows us to diagnose and compare dealer technology use against competitive benchmarks, while CSMs proactively provide recommendations,” said Darren Harline, VP of Customer Engagement and Partnerships at DealerSocket. “Our customers will no longer need to juggle multiple points of contact with DealerSocket or wait for a quarterly visit to have questions answered or learn how to improve use of the tools. Every DealerSocket CSM has quick access to the full resources and expertise of our team.”

Reliable credit report and compliance solutions now fully integrated with DealerSocket

DealerSocket has partnered with Credit Bureau Connection (CBC) and introduced a newly enhanced integration with RouteOne to offer efficient, complete credit solutions directly through the DealerSocket platform:

 

Dealers can now instantly send CRM sales opportunities that include a customer’s full credit application, vehicle of interest and trade-in vehicle to RouteOne’s credit application decision engine. Once credit decisions are determined in RouteOne, they are instantly returned to DealerSocket’s CRM to help sales teams more efficiently communicate with customers.

In addition, customer records including online credit applications that are captured in RouteOne can be sent back to DealerSocket’s CRM for proper customer follow up.
This saves time for dealer customers, improves the buying experience and reduces the chance of customer information getting lost.
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To learn more about DealerSocket’s new technologies or to schedule a product demo at NADA, stop by Booth #937 or #1137 or visit nada.dealersocket.com.

DealerSocket User Summit Provides Forum for Advancing Automotive Retail

Technology Introductions Announced Along With Release of Dealership Action Report

SAN ANTONIO, Oct. 5, 2016 DealerSocket, the automotive retail industry’s leading integrated technology platform, is currently hosting its annual User Summit, which takes place in San Antonio through October 5. At the opening keynote, DealerSocket founder and CEO Jonathan Ord addressed attendees, providing insight into the company’s future vision, the introduction of the "Blackbird" customer relationship management (CRM) system and several other product innovations.

"Blackbird is the result of DealerSocket’s vision, several years in the making, to create a streamlined automotive platform tailored to the future of automotive retail," said Ord. "It has been built for power and ease of use, incorporating dealership feedback. The release of this completely rebuilt platform has been highly anticipated and User Summit is the perfect forum to make its introduction."

Blackbird was developed and refined through intensive user engagement, including charting eye paths and mouse-based movements to refine the platform. The Blackbird platform is user-optimized, resulting in a customized portal with fewer clicks and simplified navigation. These innovations have led to improved operational efficiencies and a refined user experience.

Dealership Action Report Released

The second annual Dealership Action Report (DAR) debuted Tuesday, October 4, at User Summit. DealerSocket developed the DAR utilizing its proprietary data as well as calling upon Google and J.D. Power for additional consumer insight. Incorporating data from Google Consumer Surveys, this year’s DAR is the first to compare data representing 11,000 dealerships to insights from 2,000 consumers who purchased a vehicle in the last 12 months. The report also references customer satisfaction information from J.D. Power’s Power Information Network to provide complete analysis of the consumer vehicle buying process.

Through the DAR, franchise dealers can develop methods to reform the buying process and improve long-term profitability by learning:

"This year’s DAR provides a dual view, from the dealer and consumer perspective, of the vehicle buying process. Surprisingly, we found significant gaps in what dealers perceive to be the optimum

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experience and what consumers expect," said Marylou Hastert, director of product marketing, DealerSocket. “As the industry cools after a year of record sales, it’s critical that dealerships focus on high-impact, data-driven processes to improve their margins.”

User Summit Highlights

In addition to CRM and the DAR, DealerSocket unveiled its new iDMS platform, which merges its FEX and AutoStar products into a single comprehensive dealership management solution for the independent market. It is the first of all DealerSocket products to be integrated into the all-new Blackbird platform, maintaining a consistent user experience across the system.

User Summit attendees will also take part in professional development tracks specially developed for advancement in the following topics:

About the Dealership Action Report

Representative of DealerSocket’s 11,000 dealership customers and data representing 2,000 vehicle buyers, the Dealership Action Report (DAR) is a resource developed to guide automotive dealership and dealer group professionals to improved, data-driven processes that drive customer retention and profitability. It is composed of key performance data and survey results, and analyzes industry trends, performance benchmarks and metrics, top performing dealers and consumer online shopping behaviors. The Dealership Action Report is available for download at: dealersocket.com/DAR.

Today, it’s common to see people facedown in their phones, texting instead of making a call. Nearly 40 percent of U.S. households don’t even have a landline anymore. When it comes to customer service in particular, people dread calling a company because they know a less-than-enjoyable experience stuck in an automated IVR system awaits.

Given these observations, and with Generation Z fast approaching the vehicle-purchasing age, you might think talking on the phone soon will be completely extinct in the modern dealership. Here’s a surprise: According to recent data, that’s not the case at all.

According to data from DealerSocket’s Dealership Action Report, dealership phones are actually ringing off the hook. Phone appointments continue to be a top lead source for dealerships, and these calls have become even more valuable sales and service opportunities (“hot leads”) than ever before. Why?

Consumers have moved use of the phone from the beginning of the sales process to the end. Consumers today are doing their research online and shopping around, meaning by the time they do pick up the phone, they’ve usually already made a decision about what car they’re interested in or what service they need.

Despite this trend, dealerships still lack proper processes and phone management, including limited accountability, limited data insight, and limited support overall. Sales opportunities are knocking (or in this case, calling), and no one is answering!

One possible solution for dealerships is Car Wars, a premier call tracking solution that integrates with DealerSocket’s CRM. Dealers turn to Car Wars when they struggle with limited insight into phone performance from their CRM, want to convert more calls to appointments or service visits, and want to create a culture of phone accountability.

Here are four easy ways to use technology to boost productivity and profitability through better phone management and make every call count.

  1. Don’t just track your calls – analyze them, too. Tracking and analyzing phone calls helps dealers determine which phone leads are “hot,” requiring quick follow-up, and which are “cold,” or lower priority. Without this kind of automatic tracking, you may miss out on countless sales and service opportunities to competition or waste precious time on unpromising leads.

    DealerSocket’s partner technology, Car Wars, integrates with your CRM to not only track calls, but also help boost productivity through a competition-based platform. Car Wars gives dealers a scoreboard-based platform that helps them physically see their success rate and motivates them to perform better on the phone.

  2. Create accountability. How do you currently hold salespeople accountable when they’re on (or off) the phone? By number of calls made in a given day? By number of calls converted to sales? Do you keep track at all?

    Some technologies only track simple stats, like length and number of calls, which often doesn’t give dealers the whole picture. Car Wars features Call Claim, which require sales agents to identify themselves by entering their unique four-digit code into the platform. This not only boosts the number of calls claimed by salespeople, but also increases accountability by putting the salesperson’s name and picture next to every logged phone call. Their phone calls are monitored and scored live by a Car Wars team to increase visibility and competition, helping sales take ownership of its performance.

  3. Create a solid lead-management process. How do you currently determine whether phone leads are hot or cold, and how do you manage them? Without the necessary tracking and analysis tool and with so much data available from numerous calls, it can be a complicated process or a guessing game .

    With the proper tools, tracking phone leads becomes strategic and purposeful. With Car Wars, managers save time by not having to review and assign calls or calculate each team member’s performance separately. Also, CRM to-do lists are automatically created for salespeople when they enter their phone code, making their lives much easier and their calls more streamlined.

  4. Measure your success. With the right tools and processes in place to measure your sales team’s performance side by side on a common platform, you can ensure fewer calls go to voicemail, fewer calls go unanswered, and fewer callers hang up. This puts more sales leads in your salespeople’s hands, enriching their careers and your dealership’s success.
  5. Don’t forget service.Your fixed ops provides enormous opportunity for profitability. By carefully monitoring customers that are due for service and having a representative make proactive calls to schedule appointments, dealerships have a real opportunity to boost their bottom line.

With phone appointments continuing to be a top source of both sales and service opportunities, they are becoming an even more valuable lead source than ever before. Smart dealers will use all the tools available to them to optimize call leads to generate revenue and increase profitability.

Learn more by visiting dealersocket.com/call-management.

DealerSocket Announces Sponsorship of Star Olympic Athlete

Leading auto tech provider helps pave the way to Rio for U.S. Olympian

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., July 22, 2016 – DealerSocket, provider of the leading automotive dealership technology platform, has announced its sponsorship of Casey Patterson, 2016 U.S. Olympian in beach volleyball. The sponsorship will help see Patterson to the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he will kick off his quest for Olympic gold Aug. 6 at 3:30 p.m. ET versus Qatar on the sands of Copacabana Beach.

On July 17, Patterson, along with teammate Jake Gibb, won the Manhattan Beach Open. The tournament is widely considered the elite event on the AVP (Association of Volleyball Professionals) tour, and gives the pair confidence and momentum heading into the 31st Olympiad.

“In its industry, DealerSocket is synonymous with passion, respect, and progressive innovation – attributes that I admire and try to bring to my own game every day,” said Patterson. “I am proud to represent my country, the sport I love, and an amazing partner in DealerSocket.”

As Patterson battles it out on the sands of Rio, DealerSocket is preparing for the biggest product release in its history. The curtain will be pulled back at DealerSocket User Summit 2016 (DSUS16), the company’s annual dealer convention, to be held at the JW Marriott in San Antonio, Texas, Oct. 3-5.

Patterson himself will join in the DSUS16 festivities in San Antonio as he tees off in the event’s golf tournament and presents his own TED Talk-style keynote presentation. Rounding out the keynote lineup are adventurist and National Geographic photographer Cory Richards and LinkedIn Influencer Brian Solis. DSUS16 will also host the most relevant interactive classes in the industry, the opportunity to network with over 1,100 industry professionals and product experts, and the industry party of the year, headlined by folk rocker Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats. Attendees will be the first in the world to preview DealerSocket’s forthcoming game-changing product release.

“We work every day to bring qualities similar to Casey’s to our business,” said Jonathan Ord, co-founder and CEO of DealerSocket. “We love getting close to and learning from great examples like him.”

DealerSocket User Summit 2016 will be held at the JW Marriott in San Antonio’s picturesque Hill Country Oct. 3-5. Registration is open now at usersummit.dealersocket.com.

Patterson and Gibb begin their Olympic run Saturday, Aug. 6, at 3:30 p.m. ET. Check your local listings.

Follow Casey Patterson on Instagram at @caseypatt.

DealerSocket integrates with ProPay to expand Independent dealers' payment processing options

Participating dealers will benefit from lower rates and real-time account setup so they can start taking payments immediately.

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., June 23, 2016 — DealerSocket's FEX DMS has added to Independent dealers' payment processing options by fully integrating with ProPay's LenderPay platform, a leading credit processing platform for complete, end-to-end payment solutions that are simple, secure and affordable. This partnership will provide FEX users with more options to select the credit processor that best serves their dealership's unique needs.

"Dealers who take advantage of this integration will benefit from significantly lower, transparent merchant card processing fees, as well as a convenience fee option for those who want to eliminate the cost of card processing," said Cameron Darby, Chief Operating Officer at DealerSocket. "In addition, dealers can now accept credit cards, debit cards and electronic bank transfers without ever leaving the DealerSocket platform."

"By embedding both real-time merchant account setup and activation all within their native application, DealerSocket has taken a giant leap beyond anything currently seen in the automotive industry," said Dave Duncan, president of ProPay, a TSYS company.

The automated solution features dealership bank settlement reconciliation all within DealerSocket, embedded within a platform that is fully compliant with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS). A simple, one-click enrollment process means dealers can immediately start taking payments through ProPay. Making a payment is easy for consumers too, with on-demand one-click payment options.

The ProPay LenderPay integration is now available for FEX DMS users, and it will be part of DealerSocket's new iDMS to be released this year.

Dealers who want more information on ProPay, including how to start using it at their dealership, can contact a DealerSocket representative at (866) 701-4393 or online at DealerSocket.com/IND.

About ProPay

Since 1997, ProPay has provided simple, secure and affordable payment solutions for organizations ranging from small, home-based entrepreneurships to multi-billion-dollar enterprises requiring complex payment solutions. ProPay's ProtectPay platform provides software integrators, payment facilitators and SaaS providers with all the tools necessary to easily implement payments processing. As a leading provider of complete end-to-end payment security solutions, ProPay helps reduce the client organization's risk of sensitive payment data compromise. ProPay is a wholly owned subsidiary of TSYS (NYSE: TSS) and is a leader in payment data security. For information, visit ProPay.com or call (888) 227-9856.

About TSYS

At TSYS, (NYSE: TSS), we believe payments should revolve around people — not the other way around. We call this belief People-Centered PaymentsSM. By putting people at the center of every decision we make, TSYS supports financial institutions, businesses and governments in more than 80 countries. Through NetSpend, a TSYS Company, we empower consumers with the convenience, security and freedom to be self-banked. TSYS offers issuer services and merchant payment acceptance for credit, debit, prepaid, healthcare and business solutions.

TSYS' headquarters are located in Columbus, Georgia, with local offices spread across the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific. TSYS provides services to more than half of the top 20 international banks and has been named one of the 2015 World's Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere magazine. TSYS routinely posts all important information on its website. For more, please visit us at tsys.com.

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., March 24, 2016 – DealerSocket, a leading technology platform provider for automotive dealerships nationwide, has put together its most ambitious booth presence and lineup of product launches, feature enhancements, guest speaker, and market insights to date for the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Convention & Expo. NADA’s latest convention takes place March 31 through April 3 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

An Award Winner Goes Bigger

Already having won a best of show award for it’s 2015 NADA booth, DealerSocket is doubling down this year by adding a VIP lounge for existing customers and extending the booth’s footprint to accommodate new DealerFire and Inventory+ customers that were added aboard in a pair of 2015 mergers. All current customers also will have access to refreshments, concierge, VIP gifts, device recharge stations, support, and account management.

New Product Launches and Enhancements

DealerSocket has a cascade of launches and enhancements queued up for the big show:

Special Guest Speaker

DealerSocket proudly welcomes Tom Brewer, retired senior executive from Ford Motor Company, to its booth. Tom will lead three sessions, titled The Future of Digital Retailing, on Friday, April 1, at 10 a.m., 12 p.m., and 2 p.m. Tom’s wide scope and depth of experience with Ford proved highly effective overseeing key international posts in emerging markets and environments with constant change. He’s worked vigorously with dealers throughout the years and is often referred to as “a dealer’s friend.” Tom’s extensive knowledge, experience, and relationships give him a unique, holistic view of the digital landscape and how it is changing the way dealers do business.

Inventory Market Insights

To keep your inventory strategy strong, DealerSocket will be releasing its Market Action Guide 2016, a franchise dealer’s guide to taking in trades and merchandising used cars, at NADA. Dealers may wonder if the large margins and shorter selling cycles of used car sales in 2015 will continue or cease. After reviewing more than 2,000 Inventory+ customers who use AAX, an inventory management solution, and 1,100 responsive DealerFire websites, DealerSocket produced this report to reveal data and trends that may help as dealers formulate their strategies to acquire, price, merchandise, and sell used cars.

To learn more about DealerSocket or to schedule a demo, drop by Booth #2477C or visit nada.dealersocket.com.

 

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., Feb. 24, 2016 — DealerSocket, the automotive retail industry’s leading technology platform, grew its customer base by 67 percent and its number of employees by 136 percent in 2015, and expanded its unrivaled range of capabilities through the strategic acquisition of four key companies. These companies, DealerFire (digital marketing and websites); Inventory+, including AAX (inventory management); and AutoStar and FEX DMS (independent dealership management systems (DMS)) strengthen DealerSocket’s fully integrated portfolio of solutions, which is unmatched in the industry.

“As we prepare for major launches and global expansion in 2016 and beyond, it’s vital that we continue to deliver the expertise of our industry’s leading experts, and develop and deploy world-class technology, data and guidance to help dealerships operate more profitably,” said Jonathan Ord, CEO, DealerSocket. “Our leadership team has remained constant since our company was founded 15 years ago. That team remains committed to investing significant resources in research and development that power organic growth, and to actively seeking opportunities for strategic acquisitions that position our organization and team for continued success in both the short and long term.”

DealerSocket expects its customer base to grow by 40 percent and projects expansion into three additional countries in 2016.  

Hiring surge projected through 2016

Since January 2015, DealerSocket’s total number of employees has grown by 136 percent.

Of these additions, 62 percent came aboard as a result of acquisitions, and 38 percent were hired directly by DealerSocket. The organization projects that its team will grow by approximately 10 percent this year as it actively recruits developers, as well as candidates to fill sales, accounting, finance and IT positions around the world.

In 2015, the organization’s hiring was most significant in Utah (more than 200 employees), California (more than 100 employees) and Wisconsin (more than 60 employees).

Major product launches in 2016

Game-changing platform
DealerSocket, which has experienced year-over-year growth since it was founded in 2001, is preparing for its most significant launch to date. This innovation will redefine how technology empowers dealerships to sell, service and retain their customers.

Complete data integration
Earlier this year, DealerSocket introduced CrossFire, a data-integration solution that allows customers’ (DealerSocket) CRM and websites to work in tandem to create more meaningful, effective follow-up processes, and empower dealers to drive revenue and profitability. By allowing customer-behavior data to flow seamlessly across DealerSocket technologies, CrossFire empowers dealers with information about when customers are actively browsing their websites, and allows dealers to track customer behavior, better understand customer interests and to follow up while customers are actively browsing.

Independent DMS solution
The company’s iDMS platform — a dealership management system designed for Independent and BHPH stores — will launch this summer. This technology, which can be scaled to any size business and evolve with a store as its needs change, empowers independent dealers to more effectively track cost and inventory data, and to streamline collections and daily operations. The iDMS launch underscores DealerSocket’s commitment to developing world-class, cost-effective solutions for independent dealerships, which have been underserved by smaller competitors that lack the ability to integrate solutions and drive profitability across key business areas.
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About DealerSocket

DealerSocket is a leading automotive technology platform that helps dealerships in the United States, Canada and Australia improve profitability through a fully integrated suite of marketing, sales, service, customer experience, DMS, data mining, and inventory management solutions. Headquartered in San Clemente, California, DealerSocket employs more than 1,000 people, serves more than 10,000 dealerships and 300,000 active users in the United States, Canada and Australia. DealerSocket’s advanced technology provides benchmarking data that paces the industry, and its insightful experts identify trends and develop strategic roadmaps that help dealers optimize processes and operate more profitably. Visit DealerSocket.com for more information.

Philadelphia, PA - October 19th, 2015 - GoMoto, a leading provider of Hardware and SaaS services, that enables consumers to interact with state-of-the-art car shopping HUBs within the dealership, today announced it has partnered with David Maus Volkswagen South a Berkshire Hathaway Automotive Certified Dealership

Todd Marcelle CEO commented: "GoMoto is excited to be writing another chapter in our history with one of the most progressive dealership groups and leading CRM providers. Partnering with Kenny Sims (GM of David Maus Volkswagen South) and his staff has allowed us to transform their sales process and deliver a digital customer experience reducing the transaction time and increasing sales. This will be a template for Berkshire and other groups to follow as we help drive the automotive retail transformation"

For consumers, the large format, easy-to-use touch screen HUBs and mobile software bridges the gap between online shopping and the in-dealership experience, driving a structured sales process, enabling car buyers to self register with license scanning technology, capture advertising sourcing, browse new and used car inventory, book test drives, research vehicles - all at their own pace, with sales staff nearby to provide assistance when needed. The HUBs are 100% cloud-based, fully customizable, and improve the overall Sales, BDC, F&I, and Service experience.

"Automotive retail has changed dramatically online yet the dealership experience has seen little innovation (Kenny Sims General Manager). At David Maus Volkswagen South, we seek to be progressive in how we engage customers to drive an expedient and transparent sales process. GoMoto was the first company that could demonstrate an in-store technology that enabled a same side selling experience, reduces transaction time, improve customer feedback scores and have direct integration with our CRM provider DealerSocket. We are excited to be working with GoMoto and be a change agent for automotive retail.”

This information is then fully integrated into the dealer's CRM system DealerSocket.

"We are excited to be integrated with GoMoto Digital Solutions", said Nathan Usher, Director of Business Development at DealerSocket. "We believe it will bring extreme value to our customers, and will allow them to offer more customer friendly technology into their stores.”

 

About GoMoto

GoMoto has developed a truly unique technology platform designed to enhance customer experience in automotive showrooms and service waiting areas. Their suite of interactive solutions extends a dealer's digital footprint, and compliments customers' online shopping experience when they arrive at the dealership. In line with rapidly evolving and technologically-sophisticated car buyers of today, GoMoto's Digital HUB provides progressive dealers a turn-key medium to stay digitally ahead of the curve in-store-and think beyond furniture and coffee station upgrades. Their sleek, intelligent, and easy to use interfaces provide instant customer engagement, increase CEI/CSI, and ultimately drive measurable ROI from existing and prospective customers.

DealerSocket, a leading technology provider for automotive dealerships nationwide, has been selected as one of three preferred website providers for Jaguar Land Rover. DealerSocket will provide websites and digital marketing solutions for Jaguar and Land Rover dealerships with its DealerFire product offering.

DealerFire, which was acquired by DealerSocket in January, was already a preferred provider in programs for Toyota and Volkswagen for websites and digital marketing. In addition, franchise and independent dealerships throughout the United States and Canada currently use the DealerFire website platform.

"We're very excited for the opportunity to welcome more Jaguar and Land Rover dealers into the DealerSocket family and expand relationships with current partners," said Matt Redden, DealerSocket CMSO. "It's great that Jaguar and Land Rover dealers have some new options, and we're proud to be part of it."

The opportunity to have numerous technology services handled by one company is likely to be one of the most appealing facets of the DealerSocket partnership for Jaguar and Land Rover dealerships. This fact, plus the company's reputation for providing real results for dealerships on a variety of metrics, makes it an ideal choice.

To learn more about DealerSocket's partnership between Jaguar and Land Rover call 775-473-6622.

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