In changing times, this dealer adapts by tapping an app

An Ontario dealership group is using a new mobile phone app designed to engage with prospective buyers more effectively and to better serve and retain existing customers.

The AWIN (Automotive World Imports Network) Group of Dealerships of Toronto has chosen Mobile Dealer of Ottawa to provide an integrated app that links the group’s 35 dealerships, gives buyers real-time updates on inventory and instantly senses when a potential buyer is visiting a competitor and pushes an immediate offer to the prospect’s mobile phone.

“We didn’t want to be the first” with an app, said Alex Afshar, vice-president of operations for AWIN. “We wanted to be one of the better ones.”

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This is the first mobile app the AWIN group has tried, Afshar said, adding that the company wanted to respond to evolving buyer habits.

“COVID-19 taught us a lot about how to connect,” he said. “We wanted to be a part of that change. And we wanted to have a competitive edge.”

The app was developed by Tony della Busa, the founder of Mobile Dealer and its trucking-industry counterpart, Truckmore. Since the apps were introduced in 2017, they have been purchased by more than 1,000 dealerships in Canada and the United  States, della Busa said. Mobile Dealer and Truckmore were sold to Karmak Inc. of Illinois in November 2022.

‘MORE PERSONALIZED’

Della Busa, Mobile Dealer’s director of digital solutions, said he was motivated to create the app after noting shortcomings in the tools that were on the market.

“A lot of dealers said they were not satisfied. We wanted to create a more personalized experience.”

The app is well-suited to the omnichannel approach to selling because it “provides a seamless and integrated experience for customers across multiple channels,” della Busa said. Omnichannel refers to technology and processes aimed at providing a seamless buying experience for consumers whether they shop online, in-store or both.

The app also offers features that were attractive to AWIN, Afshar said: • Shoppers have real-time access to an extensive view of luxury and nonluxury new, used, certified used and demonstrator vehicles. A live feed of inventory appears across all of AWIN’s dealerships and the app can book test drives.

• Users can refine their vehicle searches by brand, model, year, odometer reading and price range.
• Families with multiple brand interests can merge profiles and upload their vehicles on the app for a personalized experience.
• Customers can upload and store their sales and after-sales documents and warranties.
• Users have access to all manufacturers’ apps represented by AWIN, from Acura, Alfa Romeo and Audi, to Subaru, Volkswagen and Volvo.
• An online map shows AWIN dealerships, service locations and body shops, and area charging stations for EVs.
• AWIN employees have instant access to company updates, communications and information. When the dealership group showed staff how the app makes their job easier, Afshar said, “they received this very well.”

Dozens of apps are on the market and have become a vital element of a dealership’s marketing strategy, according to BytesTechnoLab.com.

“Studies have shown that more than 55 per cent of millennials expect brands and businesses to have a mobile app to have quick and easy access to their business,” the website said.

A millennial is generally defined as someone born from 1981 to 1996, with current age ranges of about 27 to 42.

Interacting with customers through an app “has never been faster, more comfortable and cost-efficient.”

AWIN customers download the app from the App Store via a dealership website, said della Busa, adding that Mobile Dealer clients pay a monthly subscription fee of $375 to $575 per dealership, depending on the size of the group. Such costs are easily offset by the ability to reduce other marketing costs, della Busa said.

Clients have been known to generate 10-30 leads per month, della Busa said.

Some dealers were skeptical that prospective buyers would install the app, he said. Some buyers won’t use it, but della Busa expects most will.

In the first week after AWIN announced the app on Oct. 11, there were 1,000 downloads. The number is expected to grow substantially over time, della Busa said.

Buyers “download the app because they’re in the market for a vehicle,” he said. “It’s really a one-stop shop for everything that starts with AWIN.”

Because clients and prospects voluntarily download the app, features such as push notifications comply with Canada’s anti-spam legislation, he said.

Nadine Barhouche, marketing manager with AWIN, said the group chose Mobile Dealer in part because it was the only app that could integrate across the company’s dealerships. Buyers can access information on any cars in the group’s inventory.

“It’s very focused on the consumer,” Barhouche said.

The first phase for AWIN is to get customers and prospective customers to use the app and not just download it.

Critical elements of the second phase have not been finalized but will include leveraging the platform to send push notifications, Barhouche said.

To ensure a local dealer retains a competitive edge, his company does not sell the app to competitors in the same geographic area, della Busa said.