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Our guide to the very best automotive software and apps on the market
In a time where automotive digital retailing is both gaining strength and momentum by the day, having the best and latest automotive software, tools, and apps puts you several steps ahead of the competition. In fact, they could be the difference that enables your dealership to progress from being an automotive business that is managing to get by in one of the most difficult markets of recent decades, to one that is thriving.
The best car dealer apps and car dealer software are multi-faceted digital assets that will work hard for your business. As well as being designed to help you boost sales volumes, they’ll also improve your efficiencies, processes, and profitability. From inventory, cost calculation, financing and authorization tools, to those for preparation, sales contracts, auto repairs and e-payments, we’ve tried, tested, and reviewed the best for your convenience. As a company of experts that have lived and breathed the automotive landscape our entire working lives, we’ve put the most reputable car dealer software and car dealer apps for iPhone and Android to the test. We’ve categorized and rated some of our favorites in the sections below. Each and every one has earned its place by having the best interests of automotive businesses at their heart.
Customer Relationship Management Systems (CRM)
An essential piece of car dealer software is a comprehensive customer relationship management system. In short, a CRM platform or software helps manage customer data. It does this by supporting sales management, delivering and highlighting actionable insights, integrating with your digital channels (like social media), and enabling more efficient communication between your teams, and between your business and your customers. A CRM system helps you manage how you engage with your audience, and enables your teams to use key customer history and buying behavior intelligence to drive new car sales, as well as profits in aftersales.
Here are our top three CRM software providers.
DealerSocket is a CRM specialist that has evolved alongside the automotive industry, expanding its offering to also include inventory management and DMS (Dealer Management System) platforms. They describe their products as being made by car people for car people, which is especially true of their CRM product. The platform is extremely customizable, and can be configured to meet the unique needs of your dealership. You can also create tailored reporting categories, enabling you to sieve through your data to get to the information you want, so you can highlight your most prominent Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) at a glance. You’ll also benefit from dedicated customer support that delivers a ‘white glove’ experience via handy tutorials, optional reminders, email templates, automation tools, and access to real-time data. There’s even a feature-filled car dealer app, giving you access to personalized marketing across any device.
Founded in 2006, and boasting the well-known Cox Automotive as a parent company, VinSolutions provide car dealer software that integrates your systems and tools to deliver a single, uncomplicated overview of your customers, right across the business. As they point out, car dealers rarely engineer CRMs, and that’s the problem they have set out to solve. Their industry insight and expertise come straight from the forecourts and service centers of automotive businesses. Their sales, support, performance management, and product management teams are all full of former dealership employees. VinSolutions also pride themselves on helping you to overcome your biggest challenges as a dealership. The system is data-focused, allowing your team to see key reports in an entirely visual and digestible way. The layout is smooth and straight-forward too, making all information quickly accessible.
GoMoto isn’t a typical CRM system, it’s a self-service automotive kiosk designed to grow dealership revenue. This forward-thinking platform works with your existing CRM and DMS and is designed to revolutionize your service lane. It does this by adopting the principles of other CRMs, simplifying and streamlining the process. Your customers can use the kiosk, which acts as a virtual service advisor, to check-in and lead the experience themselves. This has been shown to increase revenue and deliver greater customer satisfaction. The user experience is incredibly intuitive, and provides consistency for your customers, regardless of their digital ability.
Lead Generation
Lead generation remains one of the biggest challenges for automotive marketers. In simple terms, lead generation is the process of initiating a potential customer’s interest into a new vehicle, service, or repair, to the point they feel compelled to make an inquiry. But rather than send out emails into the ether or cold call until the cows come home, lead generation marketing should be about finding the right leads through the right channels.
Here are our top three lead generation specialists.
When it comes to the best car dealer apps, we unashamedly and proudly place ourselves in that category. As a lead generation platform, SnapCell places the ultimate automotive sales tool kit right on your smartphone. SnapCell also enables your sales team to record and send high quality vehicle walkarounds in minutes, or create virtual test drives at the touch of a button. And your aftersales teams can create personalized technician videos that can be added to SMS and email with ease. Two-way chat makes communication as simple as a video call, whilst its intuitive reporting interface makes identifying your KPIs quick and easy. It also boasts fast and simple editing tools for both mobile and desktop whilst integrating seamlessly with all industry-leading CRMs and DMS platforms.
Apollo is TeamVelocity’s proprietary Customer Experience Platform (CXP), and it is designed to manage frictionless consumer experiences across an automotive business.
Apollo uses clever AI and marketing automation technology to deliver quality leads. The software allows both dealerships and OEMs to target a hyper-local customer base, identify customers that are in-market for their next vehicle, automate relevant offers and VIN-based campaigns, and create a personalized, high-relevant shopping experience.
As well as a comprehensive, advanced CRM, ELead offers a multitude of automotive tools, including those for marketing, inbound and outbound BDC, and inventory management. The software focuses on both generating more leads, by creating personalized experiences for each customer, but also managing those leads in an effective, profitable way. Like others in this category, ELead’s car dealer software is designed to streamline the process of converting leads into sales, prospects into customers, and in establishing long-lasting, profitable relationships with those customers.
Website Providers and Apps
Website providers will build, and usually, license a digital space that is specific to your dealership. As a key sales tool that acts as your online shop window for your business, it is important that your website is built and managed by specialists that understand the demands and challenges of the automotive industry.
Here are our top three car dealer app and web providers.
Choosing the right website tools should be done with care, as your website needs to reflect your business model. If you’re looking for the best dealer website application, then we’d recommend WebBuy. WebBuy’s unique selling point (USP) is online car sales, allowing customers to buy a car from you via their mobile phone in just a few clicks. The application works seamlessly with all website software and can be fully integrated by the WebBuy team. According to a survey of 1,089 consumers, 49% said they’d be willing to purchase a new vehicle entirely online, so if ecommerce isn’t already a future consideration, then it should be.
Dealer.com takes your dealership to your customers. They enable you to provide a digital, store-led experience for your customers from the comfort of their own home. Dealer.com also uses advanced programming techniques to provide industry-leading, mobile-first websites. With car buyers spending 60% of their time researching online, Dealer.com focuses on delivering sites that have a fast and fluid mobile user journey. Websites are completely personalized to your dealership and brand, and with automated, real-time reporting, you can easily monitor ongoing traffic and lead performance too.
DealerOn boasts over 3,000 automotive clients across the USA and Canada, and provide award-winning car dealer websites, as well as automotive SEO and PPC services. Their healthy mix of a highly converting platform with effective traffic-driving marketing strategies and software help them deliver more leads to their customers, and enables their customers to sell their products and services more profitably. DealerOn’s websites are fully responsive and built with best-practice SEO in mind. They perform consistently well, and have some of the best rated VDP software for car dealers.
We’ve collated the best car dealer apps and car dealer software to provide you with an overview of the tools and services available to you. Automotive marketing is evolving at an unprecedented rate to meet the demands of the digital era and consumer. That’s why partnering with the right digital pioneers and specialists is vital to the success of your business.
Learn more about how SnapCell can increase car sales, footfall, CSI scores and, ultimately, dealership revenue. Arrange a free demo of our impressive, simple and reliable video sales tool by contacting a member of the SnapCell team today.
