Dealership Marketing

Dealer Branded Consumer Mobile Apps – Necessity or a Nuisance?

G Guest Poster
Posted onJan 19, 2012 at 6:43 PM
Updated onUpdated on Jan 19, 2012 at 3:38 PM

image of mobile applications

I recall 15 years ago having conversations with dealers regarding the importance and necessity of deploying a dealer branded website. Today, dealers are now battling that same argument around the deployment of a dealer branded consumer mobile website / application.

Are dealer branded consumer apps a necessity or a nuisance?

Importance of mobile

With over 4.5 billion mobile subscribers in the US alone, dealers would have a hard time finding an argument against the importance of deploying a mobile strategy. As a key touch point that connects consumers to businesses, dealers need to consider that deploying a dealer branded consumer mobile app in their dealership is not only a necessity but also a cost effective way of increasing customer loyalty and ultimately driving repeat business.

Why are consumer apps important?

Nielsen Ratings reports that 44 percent of mobile subscribers in the US use smart phone technology. Of those, 71 percent own either an Android or iPhone device. Moreover, for the first time ever, mobile app usage in the US has surpassed desktop and mobile web consumption. Consumers are spending more time within mobile apps than ever before – nearly 2,555 minutes more per year. This is a clear statement to all dealers to get in the game. Be active. Stay connected to your customers. Be mobile.

Why will consumers use dealer branded apps?

Consumer trends show us that businesses continue to compete for consumer mindshare and ultimately, space on their smart phone. In fact, iPhone users download an average of 40 new apps each year, Android users download 25 and Blackberry users download 14 annually, respectively.

The top downloaded apps across all operating systems include: Facebook, Pandora, the Weather Channel, and Google maps. This is not surprising since consumers are interested in not only downloading but spending time in applications that are user-friendly and help make their life easier.

What dealers should look for when deploying a consumer app?

If mobile is important and consumers are actively using mobile apps, then it is clearly a necessity for each dealer to consider the best way to deploy this technology within their dealership.

Recent industry examples have helped to define what dealers should look for in a consumer mobile app. Ultimately, dealers should select a provider that can offer both convenient and on-demand channels of communication for their customers. Dealers should select a mobile app that includes not only a smart phone vehicle information application, but a two-way communication channel between dealer and consumer.

Today, relevant consumer mobile apps involve making information that used to be stuffed into the glove box available at a consumer’s fingertips. This information includes: general vehicle information, vehicle operations, maintenance and even warranty details. Connecting to real-time smart phone critical functionality, such as Google Maps, camera or QR scanners, help make the application necessary for daily use.

More advanced mobile apps include the ability to calculate loan payments, schedule maintenance appointments and evaluate vehicle trade-in values. For dealers this is a win-win. Imagine the ability to not only maintain real estate on a consumer’s mobile device but also track that usage. This will provide the ability to know if a consumer is shopping for a new vehicle.

Call to action

The time is now to start investigating how consumer mobile app technology fits into your marketing strategy and customer lifecycle management process.

What do you think – are dealer branded consumer apps a necessity or a nuisance?

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    jisaac1
  • January 20, 2012
Dealer branded mobile apps are useful for customer retention and loyalty. Therefore, the apps need to be more focused toward service. I don't see many potential customers downloading apps for multiple dealerships and using them for engagement prior to a sale. However, I do see these same potential customers using Cars and Autotrader's mobile app because they provide multiple dealership access.
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    dealerrefresh
  • January 22, 2012
Glen, I'm hoping you can elaborate a little more on why you think consumers will use dealer branded apps...



You point to that fact that consumers are indeed downloading apps onto their smart phones but the examples you give (facebook, weather, pandora) are not convincing me they'll engage with a dealership by downloading their dealer app. Your above mentioned apps are obviously very much different than what a dealership app would be likely to offer. Facebook, Weather and Pandora are part of daily life for many.



We've had this discussion several time here on DealerRefresh and each time it makes for a good one.



I believe the question "are dealer branded consumer apps a necessity or a nuisance?" still remains to have a definite answer.



Some vendors / business are offering consumers a hybrid approach. This is something our friend Ben is doing over at AutoMotion TV. Matter of fact, dealers can give it a try for free with an offer right here on DealerRefresh - http://forum.dealerrefresh.com/f60/automotiontv-dealer-app-offers-free-dealer-mobile-app-dealerrefresh-readers-2274.html



Mobile Sites within Apps. Where you have a "homebase" app that give it's own user experience while offering access to additional information hosted on their mobile websites.



This set up can offer the best of both worlds while utilizing the best of mobile applications and the best experience that a mobile website has to offer while also being more cost efficient.



@jisaac1 expresses, service retention is where a dealer app could really come into play and allow a dealer to gain its best results with a dealer branded application. However, there still needs to be a focus on the sales side as well. Afterall, without the selling of vehicles, the service department has less cars to work on.



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    jisaac1
  • January 22, 2012
@dealerrefresh I believe the sales side would need to be a web app not a native app, because potential customers are not interested in downloading multiple dealership apps while shopping for a vehicle. They would prefer to use an app the operates with a browser or 1 native app to shop for a vehicle.



Any native apps will have to be provided by a 3rd party sources that gathers various dealership information, therefore dealerships still have a need for dependency upon 3rd party sources. Whether a dealer branded app is – Necessity or a Nuisance can be answer like this, web app is necessity, native app nuisance.
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    VelocitySales
  • January 22, 2012
Here is recent article from Mashable that underscores @jisaac1 's point about shopping vs retention - Consumers Don’t Like Shopping Via Branded Apps - http://mashable.com/2012/01/17/branded-apps-infographic/
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Here's an article describing Native and Web apps. It lists features they can (and can't) support: http://mobileapploader.wordpress.com/2011/07/11/native-apps-vs-web-apps/
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    jisaac1
  • January 23, 2012
@Ruth Littmann Ashkenazi this is a good article.
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Thank you, @jisaac1 ... Native Apps support Push Notifications; web apps don't. I think that's why dealers prefer branded Native apps. Here are two more links showing how dealers are using their branded Native apps (examples of how they're reaching out to customers with Push Notifications:



http://mobileapploader.wordpress.com/2011/11/22/sailing-the-seven-cs-of-push-notifications/



http://mobileapploader.wordpress.com/2011/12/09/take-a-look/
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    emiltsch
  • January 26, 2012
Glen,



Always a lively debate around this topic. As much I love apps, it's stil very difficult for a traditional dealership to create a lot of traction with a branded app. I'm not saying it can't happen - just hard to do with transferring the existing website experience into an app.



I believe real the opportunity lies within a tablet app which creates a shopping experience unlike anything seen before. I see it being a mashup of the website experience, the blogging experience and even the social experience. Shop, compare, research, interact, make appointments, leave comments/reviews, be entertained, check-in, share photos, etc. - everything customers are already doing in a fragmented way, now just all in one spot. Creating a community around the brand & the experience is the best shot at making something like this work.



I've said it before, "Mobile web is for searching, apps are for doing." Make the mobile site accessible for the basics such as quick search, click to call, directions, click to contact, etc. Make the app a community where people will come back over and over - and that's the hard part as doing so would be cumbersome to manage. (I do so it happening - question is when?)
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    emiltsch
  • January 26, 2012
Glen,



Always a lively debate around this topic. As much I love apps, it's stil very difficult for a traditional dealership to create a lot of traction with a branded app. I'm not saying it can't happen - just hard to do with transferring the existing website experience into an app.



I believe the real opportunity lies within a tablet app which creates a shopping experience unlike anything seen before. I see it being a mashup of the website experience, the blogging experience and even the social experience. Shop, compare, research, interact, make appointments, leave comments/reviews, be entertained, check-in, share photos, etc. - everything customers are already doing in a fragmented way, now just all in one spot. Creating a community around the brand & the experience is the best shot at making something like this work.



I've said it before, "Mobile web is for searching, apps are for doing." Make the mobile site accessible for the basics such as quick search, click to call, directions, click to contact, etc. Make the app a community where people will come back over and over - and that's the hard part as doing so would be cumbersome to manage. (I do so it happening - question is when?)

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@emiltsch ... I love your quote! "Mobile web is for searching. Mobile Apps are for doing." In fact, Mobile Apps (and Tablet Apps) for auto dealerships enable customers to do A LOT these days. The key is: Integration. MobileAppLoader (the company I represent) builds Mobile Apps and Tablet Apps for auto dealers who want to connect with their customers via their web site, Facebook site, Twitter presence, YouTube presence, etc. We bring it all together for them in our native Apps (which are multi-platform: iPhone, Android, iPad. I agree with you; the Tablet App is very important.) Beyond this integration -- and perhaps even more critical -- are functionalities like Push Notifications, which deliver Mobile Coupons, Alerts, Announcements, & Invitations DIRECTLY to customers' phones. VIN Scanners/QR Code Scanners are also vital App functionalities. They help customers establish a seamless connection with dealers, and they help dealers give customers the best service, based on easy-to-access information about their customers' vehicles. Here's another link to a short article covering some (not nearly all) of the reasons auto dealers are using Mobile Apps, which -- as you point out -- are ever-developing and ever-expanding in functionality. We're living it every day! - Ruth http://mobileapploader.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/auto-dealers-mobile-apps/
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Dealerships that embrace a mobile application today will reap the same benefits that dealers enjoyed when they embraced email marketing over a decade ago. Emiltsch makes some good points but the main purpose of a mobile application is to build a relationship with the end user. A mobile application should be the "digital clove box". Meaning it should contain tools that enhance the car purchase experience from the dealer.
 
Eugene Gonzales
Dealerclickz.com
Direct: 949-295-5192
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@jisaac1  @dealerrefresh  we have designed our mobile application with a car purchasing module to assist the consumer in their car buying experience. Therefore keeping them active in app if they shop at another dealership. www.dealerclickz.com
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