Auto Dealerships - Embrace The Future
History has shown us that automotive dealers are slow to bring on and adapt to new technology. Currently there are dealerships in the United States that do not use a DMS (Dealer Management System) provider. Yes, you heard me correct, these dealers hand write everything. However this is not the norm, most dealers run a dms system to keep their business running smooth. I am not here to touch on this so much as I want to talk about other aspects of technology that could really help the dealers in today’s market increase their profit margins.
Dealer Management Systems have been around the industry for almost 40 years now, and this has led to them being used in almost every dealership. The internet on the other hand has only been in the mainstream for about 10-15 years. Find me a dealer that has a web-site and you are going to find thousands. Find me a dealer that uses the internet effectively and you will get probably less than 50. I am not saying that dealers do not have helpful sites full of content for potential buyers to sink their teeth into. I am saying that most of these websites cater to the selling of vehicles and leave little to the real money maker for the dealer, the parts and service departments.
Dealers have spent all kinds of money developing great websites. Most are created by a hand full of companies that specialize in dealer websites and do a terrific job. The next time you click on a dealer’s website find the link to the parts department. 99 percent of the parts sites are a form for the customer to fill out a request and then a dealer representative will contact them. This is a major turn off to an end consumer. In a time when they can get everything here and now, they want everything here and now.
According to a study only 2% of parts inventories are exposed on the internet. This is not just OEM parts, but all the aftermarket parts as well. This number is a fraction of a percent when talking about OEM parts. Up until now, there have been limited solutions that were cost effective and easy to use. That time is now past as there are companies that provide services to people wanting to list inventories.
Auto Dealer Improvements has launched the first strike to get dealership parts inventories listed on the internet. Myobsoleteparts.com is an excellent and inexpensive tool for the dealers wanting to increase revenue and embrace the technology of the internet.
