Cambria Automobiles Holdings Ltd, a UK ContactAtOnce! customer and one the fastest growing dealer groups in the UK, today issued a press release highlighting the business benefits that chat has delivered for them. It is a very impressive story. Below is an excerpt, but consider reading the full release here if you are interested in [...]

Today ContactAtOnce! announced partnerships with AutoConX and Dealer HD, two auto dealer website providers. Both companies have integrated ContactAtOnce! with their website solutions, enabling their dealer customers to purchase ContactAtOnce! on a bundled basis. Dealers benefit from improved conversion of website visitors into appointments via presence-aware graphics, such as the business card drop-in, that stimulate [...]

Today we issued a press release announcing that ContactAtOnce! has been deployed on Cox AutoTrader’s recently introduced web2.0 automotive website CarShopSmart.com. It is a sister site to AutoMart.com and incorporates some great new features that place it at the intersection of social media and automotive.
In all likelihood CarShopSmart.com is a harbinger of what we will [...]

JDPower just published the results of their 2008 New Autoshopper.com Study. There were several interesting findings:

Seventy five percent (75%) of new-vehicle buyers in 2008 are using the Internet during their shopping process, compared with seventy percent (70%) in 2007. This is the largest year-over-year increase in online shopping since 2001.

The total amount of time shoppers [...]

A study commissioned by Autobytel and published this week included some interesting information including who/what dealers blame for the downturn and my favorite section highlighting survival plans. Here’s an excerpt:
“So, how are dealers adapting to this downturn? According to the study, an overwhelming number are ramping up their follow-up and lead-conversion processes and paying more [...]

Last week JDPower & Associates released a report concerning online vehicle buying services. The excerpt below contained some very interesting statistics that caught my attention.
The study also finds that the average number of online lead providers that dealers subscribe to has increased steadily in recent years—from 5.6 in 2006 to 6.8 in 2008. In addition, [...]

Today we announced that PowerSports Network (PSN) will integrate our IM/Chat solution with their website platform which is used by 3,000+ motorcycle, boat and RV dealers. This is an exciting opportunity for us as a company – a chance to bring the same strong ROI we’ve delivered in the automotive sector to an entirely new [...]

Yago Paramo, head of Paramo Group Inc. (one of our business partners), writes a monthly e-newsletter that is chock full of good stuff (including some comedy!) for automotive internet sales managers. Yago’s business serves only the state of Washington, but if you work around auto retail I suggest subscribing regardless of where you are located [...]

It’s not a matter of if, but when…
Dealerships committed to growing their business through internet sales have already invested in Blackberry’s for their sales people with great results. Improved responsiveness means more sales and a happier customer. But a fast reply to an email is NOT going to be enough going forward.
As readers of this [...]

Dan Rindos is a Vice President with Bargain News LLC, a ContactAtOnce! customer located in Trumbull, CT. When he’s not innovating to extend his company’s leadership position in auto classifieds in the CT, NY, NJ tri-state area, Dan can be found speaking at industry conferences and sharing bits of wisdom with his peers in the [...]