I am still not sold on Mobile Apps for Dealerships

[ryan.leslie]

I would never in a million years download an app from a car dealership.... And I love car dealreships.

The provider that is going to hit a homerun with an app is going to be the one that can convince the consumer they aren't downloading an app from a car dealership, they are downloading an app to significantly improve the ownership experience of the car they just bought.

Just like in classified merchandising, the car needs to be the star!

 

[Alex Snyder]

There is one other thing about apps that people don't consider: The App store. All of these, especially Apple, have approval processes and those approval processes apply to each and every app.

So, if you're a company that supplies apps to dealers, every time a new update/enhancement is made you have to submit each one through the approval process. Sure, there are ways to do this in bulk but it is frowned upon. It becomes difficult to submit hundreds/thousands of apps for approval every time you add a new feature or do something to fix bugs. If you're a dealer group who wants an app for every store (probably something compliance would eventually dictate) that's a whole new world of things you have to manage.

And I can see this bringing a lot of heartache to the dealers as they're the ones whose name is associated with the app. Those app reviews become a reflection of their business almost as much as Google or DealerRater reviews. You'd be at the mercy of the app developer.

I'm not saying apps for dealers is unscalable or impossible, I'm simply saying: "Dealers - be careful what you ask for."

 

[ewalraven]

I'm not saying apps for dealers is unscalable or impossible, I'm simply saying: "Dealers - be careful what you ask for."

Alright, I'll play off this .. Assuming you had a mobile app developer that could create you anything you wanted. Money or the app store wasn't an issue. What would you do .. What would the app offer? Any semi-niche's you can think of?

I'm curious if there's any big guys like Walmart, Staples, etc. that have mobile apps -- Is it beneficial to retail at all ??

 

[merritt]

100% of the panel at the CPO Dealer's Conference a few weeks ago agreed that the apps are a waste of money.

Build a proper mobile site and let your CRM handle your correspondence with your customers.

 

[ggarvin]

I think you guys are thinking of this wrong. It isn't about a "car dealer" app... it's a vehicle app geared to the post-purchase experience. It is about keeping the data you might keep in your glove box, everything vehicle related in one convenient place... with some car dealership branding around it. Convenient for scheduling service appointments and service history as well. I don't think anyone who legitimately try to sell an app because it would be good for a shopping experience for a consumer. It would never be a frequently used app but one that was there when needed. My two cents anyway.

 

[Reifel]

Great topic. My opinion on apps in general... There is limited real estate on a smart phone screen. The Apps that make it to a persons screen are there for one of two reasons:

1. Necessity - they HAVE to be there or they need to be there for something to work
2. Desire - end user wants it there

Until dealers, or more likely OEMs, ensure their "app" has one of these requirements, it seems like a no win situation.

I've thought about this so much that I even thought I had the perfect idea. What if the OEMs built an app that was branded by the selling dealer that acted as a secondary remote start key fob. Like the highend alarm systems that allow this. Throw in the ability to lock doors, start vehicle and track vehicle and it creates the necessity and the need. Branding it by the selling dealer allows for dealer marketing and communication to client (push messages, service reminders, etc).

I even went so far as to contacting a few OEMs and Vipers parent company. The message back from the OEMs was one of liability concern.

Anyway, this is how I believe dealers would have a better chance of landing some of that prime real estate on a consumers smartphone.