Pub. 1 2011 Issue 3

16 AUTOMOBILE DEALER NEWS ILLINOIS www.illinoisdealers.com As the use of mobile devices increases, auto dealers need to take advantage of new smartphone apps to help them increase sales and run their businesses more efficiently. With services like auto transport at your fingertips, business profitability becomes just a tap away. managers. These mobile apps have a variety of different func- tions, but almost all aim to provide users more information and easier access to services such as inventory management, mar- keting, and auto transport. This helps companies to streamline business operations, reduce costs and facilitate sales. Automotive Apps Changing the Game General Motors Workbench app – GM has designed an app specifically for their Cadillac and Chevrolet salespeople. The app allows sales personnel to search its own inventory (as well as other dealers’ inventory), check current finance offers, compare vehicle features with the competition, display key selling points and even has a VIN barcode scanner. Manheim app – Manheim customers can access the web- site’s data on their phones. The free app allows users to easily scan the VIN of a vehicle and instantly retrieve Manheim Market Report (MMR) values. Alternatively, app users can enter VIN numbers manually to get results or plug in the year, make and model search to get results. Cars.com app – Cars.com’s free app allows users to access vehicle listings in dealerships around the country. It also allows consumers to search those listings based on location and get directions to dealerships that are selling cars they searched for. The other features include marking favorite listings and chang- ing search parameters based on things like price range and year of vehicle. ShipCarsNow app – The company’s free mobile app is now available for iPhone, iPad and Android™ and will soon be re- leased for BlackBerry® devices. It allows auto dealers to easily get quotes, place orders, track shipments and make payments for domestic and international auto transport on their smart phones. Transport options include rail, truck and overseas vessel services. The app streamlines the auto transport process. NIADA app – The National Independent Auto Dealer As- sociation’s app is the only auto evaluation Web app to fully integrate the online resources of NIADA with the power of GigglePop.com – a recognized leader in mobile evaluation solutions for the auto market. The app allows NIADAmembers to enter a make and model or VIN to look up suggested pric- ing from Black Book®, Kelley Blue Book® and NADA®; get a vehicle history report; scan a bar code; see auction inventory; and arrange for vehicle transport. Other recently developed mobile apps for auto dealers in- clude the Dealer Car Search app, which gives dealers the abil- ity to advertise their automobile inventory quickly using their iPhone, and add, edit, and delete their inventory, photos, and videos; RouteOne’s app, which allows automotive dealers to manage leads, and review credit scores instantly; Dealer Im- pact Systems Facebook Inventory App, that integrates dealer inventory into the Facebook network, and automatically sends leads to CRM; and Dealer Specialties’ IVM app, giving deal- ers the ability to search current inventory, send eBrochures and video links to customers, as well as scan VIN bar codes, upload vehicle images and add pricing information while still at the auction. With hundreds of mobile apps to choose from, where can deal- ers go to find the best apps for their business? We found several sites to be useful when reviewing and searching for Android or iPhone mobile apps: www.appbrain.com , www.appsafari.com , www.macworld.com/appguide, www.appolicious.com . Since many apps don’t let you ‘try before you buy,’ take the time to do a quick review of the app’s features before you download. As the use of mobile devices increases, auto dealers need to take advantage of new smartphone apps to help them increase sales and run their businesses more efficiently. With services like auto transport at your fingertips, business profitability becomes just a tap away. Q For more information, visit http://www.ShipCarsNow.comor call ShipCarsNow Toll Free (866) 207-3360. Follow ShipCarsNow on Facebook and Twitter. Q smartphone apps — continued