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:

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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!

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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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.

Web2Show Top Website Merchandising Tool for 2012

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At the Automotive Website Awards (AWA) Ceremony Wednesday night, our AutoHook Web2Show solution was awarded the Top Website Merchandising Tool for 2012.  The AWA's honor the top vendors in the website, mobile, technology, and innovation categories each year.  This is the 4th year for the awards, and all of us at HookLogic are honored to be named amongst such an elite group of prominent companies in our industry. Although the 2012 year is still upon us, this accolade has sparked a trip down memory lane that pinpoints the milestones HookLogic, as well as our clients, hit this year. I can only assume that these are some of the very milestones that ignited last night’s AWA recognition.

• Introduction of PureCars Tradehook: This incentivized online trade-in appraisal tool  enables dealers to generate additional trade-in acquisitions using gift card incentives. For the first time, dealers can drive the most desirable trade-ins into the showroom so that Used Car Managers can achieve a higher ‘win’ ratio. We’re keeping Used Car Managers away from the auction lanes and in the store, where they are most valuable.

• Continued advancement of our industry-leading Lead2Show solution:  Not only can we target by geographic region, inventory, and lead source.  Our Polk Lead Intelligence, Dataium In-Market Lead Alert, and other data enhancements continue to push our showroom visits to an all-time high for the company.  Equally, we are seeing an increase in sales in our quarterly Polk Registration Reports.  You will hear more about this later this month.

• Our clients succeeded…and shared: Although our clients are have always seen value in what we provide, this year many of them chose to share those successes on video. This is meaningful to the industry in terms on building a social, personal community of dealers all working towards common goals, against common challenges.

• Mobile launch: This was a big one. We launched new mobile capabilities that enabled automotive dealers to provide incentives to customers who visit their mobile websites or mobile apps. Auto dealers can now validate a customer’s AutoHook incentive coupon without being tied to their desk.

Lastly, as I look at this fantastic list of strong, progressive companies, I can’t help but take a moment to recognize one of our partners that we share this honor with. ActiveEngage (Voted Top Rated Chat Solution). Cheers to a groundbreaking 2012, and the inimitable innovation to come in 2013.

Read the press release.

AutoHook celebrates its 5th Birthday, continues to grow

Sounds crazy but it is true.  Some of you know this but the AutoHook product line was born out of an idea with the existing product offering that HookLogic had in its Travel and Retail verticals and a chance meeting with an auto dealership group executive (me!).  That was back in 2007 and there was never a thought in my mind at the time about building out a company with industry-leading products and a stable of great customers.  We were just looking for a solution to a problem; how to get more customers to show up and buy a car.  It is a good feeling to stand here now, next to my co-conspirator, Jeff Kershner, and see how the AutoHook team and products have evolved. In reality, the first 3½ years were just a huge beta test with very small growth.  The only dealers that jumped on the product were close friends of ours that we shared our success with.  It’s only after last June 1st that the floodgates were opened.  Since then, we have added hundreds of dealers, formalized our products, and partnered with some leading vendors in the automotive industry.  More importantly, we have pushed thousands of customers into your showrooms and been credited with selling thousands more the cars of their dreams.  As we grow towards 1,000 dealers on the AutoHook Suite of Products, HookLogic continues to grow its team and enhance its product offerings.

Our team continues to grow as well.  I would like to welcome Ani Hagopian, Manager of Client Services, to the AutoHook team.  Ani will lead the charge to make our existing clients even better.  Another new member, Kristine Williams, has been added to the Operations and On-boarding team.  Kristine joins AutoHook after 10 years with RL Polk.  If you have a chance, please welcome them to the team.

We are far from a coupon company.  In August, we will announce a brand new website product to complement our Web to Show and Lead to Show tools.  We will also roll out an extra data enhancement to Lead to Show, giving it the most robust data set to date.  In addition to enhancements to our incentive-based solutions, we will roll out our Product Ads Solution Suite; 4 products that have been utilized by companies like Expedia, Sears, and Staples.  Over the past year, they have been successfully rolled out in the UK with Europe’s leading automotive listing site, www.autotrader.co.uk.  Get ready, you will see these dynamic Product Ads in September.

Another area of growth is through strategic partnerships.  Check out our growing list of partners . These partnerships help enhance our existing products like Lead to Show.  Robust data from companies like RL Polk and Dataium help target in market shoppers and drive them into your dealership.   As we continue to move forward with additional products, we need your help to update our records with your preferred vendor partner list.  This way, we know which companies to target on your behalf.  You received a survey last week via email.  If you haven’t filled it out, you can click here.  Please take a couple of minutes to complete our short 6-question survey.  If you complete the survey, I will gladly send you a $15 Starbucks card.  You will also be entered into a contest on August 15th that will award one lucky winner a $100 MasterCard.

Come Party with ActivEngage and HookLogic at Digital Dealer 12 Orlando

HookLogic-ActivEngage DD12 Party

If you will be in town for the 12th Digital Dealer Conference and Exposition in Orlando, FL, join ActivEngage and HookLogic on Wednesday, April 4, at the Blue Martini Lounge as we co-host a blowout bash for clients, VIPs and friends. Every year during the spring Digital Dealer Conference, ActivEngage throws the best party in Orlando! Walk the redorange carpet feeling like a real movie star as you and guests enter this year’s most anticipated Digital Dealer extravaganza.

From 8:30 till 11:00 PM, the celebration will feature complementary beverages and the best blend of 80’s, 90’s, and today’s top hits performed by live entertainment that will surely have you on the dance floor all night! Don’t care to dance? No worries! Bump elbows and network with industry peers as well as meet the brains and faces behind ActivEngage’s excellence.

As tradition, the Customer Appreciation party will be hosted at Central Florida’s finest upscale lounge and live entertainment bar, Blue Martini. Blue Martini is undeniably the top spot for both locals and visitors from all around, delivering you an unforgettable experience.

Why ActivEngage and HookLogic?

ActivEngage and HookLogic have recently announced a strategic relationship to deliver the industry’s most advanced and effective lead generation technology. ActivEngage is the most trusted brand in automotive live chat. With over 75 years of automotive retail experience, ActivEngage proprietary chat software, fully-managed service and real-time business intelligence reporting is expertly designed to maximize the amount of leads delivered from websites while reducing the overall cost of lead generation for dealerships

RSVP

Make sure to RSVP to the event to guarantee a spot to this year most anticipated social celebration by clicking the red stamp link to your right.

David Metter Talking ZMOT to Showroom at March Innovative Dealer Summit

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The Innovative Dealer Summit has become the definitive management education forum for dealer principals and senior dealer managers and addresses the most pressing sales, profitability, technology, best practices, social media and other emerging issues in dealership operations today. It is one of the most timely and important leadership functions you can attend this year. Dealer principals/owners, general managers, senior dealership managers and directors, Internet sales managers, business development managers, F&I managers, key dealership leaders, sales leadership, advertising and marketing consultants, controllers and key decision makers alike will all benefit from attending.

The best and brightest in their fields of expertise have competed to present in Denver. All of the industry's top speakers are brought to you. Make the most of your time and learn about the newest innovations in the industry all in one place. Things you will learn include:

• Increase service and parts profit
• Reduce operational costs
• Enhance dealer brand reputation
• Improve bottom line
• Improve customer satisfaction and engagement
• Maximize customer relations management
• Gain market share

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Breakout Session

HookLogic's very own David Metter, President of Automotive, will be heading a breakout session on Wednesday at 11am MST titled, Taking the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) to the Showroom Moment of Truth. In this session, Metter will demonstrate how reward incentives such as gift cards can be used to effectively qualify auto shoppers on your website and elsewhere on the web and bring them into your dealership showroom, improving that elusive lead-to-show ratio and ultimately increasing the number of incremental sales at your dealership.

Summit Details

When: Wed March 21 & Thursday March 22

Where: Colorado Convention Center (Denver)

Visit the IDS website for a complete list of all topics and presenters or to view the agenda. Registration is $395 per person and you can register directly on the Summit website.

David Metter Leading ZMOT Panel at 12th Digital Dealer Conference in Orlando

12th Digital Dealer Conference Orlando

Are you tired of hearing that ZMOT is important to you and your dealership but not having a winning strategy to follow? Do you struggle with that elusive lead to show metric? On Wednesday April 4, 2012, HookLogic Automotive President David Metter will be moderating a panel discussion at the 12th Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition in Orlando where he and 4 other industry experts will discuss how to take your customer from that Zero Moment of Truth when they are engaged with your website or lead call-to-action and drive them into your showroom, providing your salespeople with the highest quality at-bat.

In this panel, Metter will combine great data from Google’s Automotive ZMOT study and apply it to real-world situations with our dealer panel. If you are interested in how progressive operators have figured out how to differentiate themselves in a highly competitive marketplace, you won’t want to miss this session.

On this panel are:

• Tom White, Jr., General Manager, Suzuki of Wichita
• David Kain, President, KainAutomotive.com
• Andrew DiFeo, General Manager, Hyundai of St. Augustine
• Shaun Kniffin, Director of Internet Sales & eBusiness development, Germain Motor Sales

Receive a $25 Best Buy Gift Certificate When You Visit Our Booth #414

If you are attending Digital Dealer and want to get a a sneak peek of HookLogic's AutoHook Suite of Products, including our new Web to Show 2.0 that supercharges your mobile websites and mobile apps, we would like to offer you a free gift.  Just visit www.leadtoshow.com/DD12 and fill out our simple form.  Then show up at Digital Dealer Booth #414 with your 8-digit code for your demo and we will redeem your coupon and show you how it all works.

About the Event

The last conference in Las Vegas drew more than 1,100 dealers and managers from almost every state and featured 94 sessions and workshops and more than 95 exhibitors. Combined, the last two Digital Dealer Conferences drew more than 2,100 registered dealers, GMs, sales managers, Internet sales managers, e-commerce directors, BDC/CRM managers, fixed operations managers, and pre-owned managers – every one of them there to learn more about Internet and technology-related issues from speakers and exhibitors.

The 12th Digital Dealer Conference & Exposition will continue to build on the learning and excitement from previous conferences with 94 sessions and even more emphasis on the cutting-edge topics for dealers and managers, such as using and managing social media to build business, online reputation management, effective website analytics, and more.

When: Tuesday April 3 - Thursday April 5, 2012

Where: The Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando, Florida

Save $100 on Registration: Visit the conference website www.digitaldealerconference.com for more information and to register online today. As a first-time dealer attendee, let Digital Dealer know we referred you by registering with the ID Code "DD12PEBHL" and receive a $100 discount off of the registration fee!