Car dealerships Sport Durst, Ben Mynatt Auto Group and New Port Richey Hyundai are using the new MyMobileDealer mobile application to support their sales efforts and provide a way to send targeted messages to customers.

MyMobileDealer was developed to provide both dealership and customer functionality and is delivered as a dealership-branded app. The combined number of downloads for Sport Durst, Ben Mynatt and New Port Richey Hyundai since launching the apps earlier this fall is over 2,000.

“We provide a way to reach customers on the only thing they are assured not to leave home without – their mobile phone,” said Nick Genty, CEO of myMobileDealer, Raleigh, NC.

“This communication channel helps to build customer loyalty,” he said.

“The app makes it easier for customers to schedule service appointments at the dealership rather than go through a Jiffy Lube.”

Cloud technology
MyMobileDealer uses a proprietary intelligent cloud-based dashboard to allow changes to be made to the apps by dealerships in real-time.

In addition to eliminating the need for dealerships to work with developers to update their apps, the cloud-based dashboard also provides additional marketing opportunities.

For example, one customer recently took advantage of the instant update capabilities to advertise for a local charity golf tournament it was sponsoring.  Leading up to the event, the dealership continued to switch out images counting down to the charity outing.

The app features separate modules for customers and dealership staff.

The customer mode enables users to schedule service appointments, view and print their entire service history, view owner’s manuals, make loan payments, find gas stations and stay informed of safety recalls.

The app also provides VIN and QR bar code scanners to make it easy to retrieve information about a car. 

Back-office integration
The dealership mode provides information about cars from Kelley Blue Book and Black Book, Carfax and AutoCheck. Additionally, dealership staff can find pricing trends, vehicle invoices and sales tools.

The app is also integrated with back-office systems, including their CRM and service scheduling software, enabling dealers to send out targeted messages. For example, dealerships can easily send a free oil change coupon to anyone who has not been in their service department within the last 12 months.

Dealerships can also directly communicate with their customers via push notifications.

“Most companies that include push notification within their app, don’t allow you to select the audience – it’s an all-or-nothing approach,” Mr. Genty said. “MyMobileDealer allows you to have very granular focus, and send messages to user-defined groups, such as all owners of a particular make and model, or perhaps based on the last time you visited the dealership.”

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York