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Mobile Websites vs. Mobile Apps. Which One For The Dealer?

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#11
Great comment stream Gentlemen, thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences. I was a mobile site advocate, and to a certain extent, still am. It is far easier to create and is cost effective.

I am leaning towards Apps more these days, I really like the Contemporary Motor Cars iPhone App as an example.

I have a question for you. Who do you envisage using your mobile site/app? Is it those customers that deliberately come to your lot when you are not there, to browse uninterrupted? -The Racoon Shopper?!

Let them access the information they need with a QRCode that leads them to your Inventory Listing on your mobile website or App. Info, photos, comparison suggestions, special offers and links back to your website for other services can all be downloaded into their Smartphone.

QRCodes can also be primed to send SMS, phone contact, and provide accurate metrics.

The decal is the size of a windshield price sticker, can be Branded and instructions on how to scan included. Most new Smartphones come with the Barcode reader as standard.

Airlines use them for boarding passes, Google Places use them, they are part of the Mobile Web evolution and are widely accepted by GenYs. Thoughts?
 
#12
I see more potential for ROI with apps when you use it for scheduling service visits instead of showing inventory (but you should still do both). Because the app is there on the smart phone until the user deletes it, they will probably continue to use it when they need to get their vehicle serviced.

If the Service Writer had a smart phone and showed every customer coming through how easy it was to schedule an appointment and their paperwork had the name of the app with a short list of benefits, it would also help drive adoption.

From that standpoint, apps are great for customer retention, but not as good for gaining new business. The person who is browsing for a car or a place to service their vehicle from a mobile device is probably more likely to look around with his/her mobile browser than download a dealer-specific app - especially when they haven't picked which dealer they want to be a customer at yet.

All of that leads me to say that you really need both.
 
#16
I think that there is room for both; however the more practical approach for your average dealer seems to lean towards the mobile site. In the end the goal is lead conversion. Unfortunately most examples of mobile sites that are now being used are bland and simply fulfill a void as a better choice to having the full site appear on a four inch screen. Apps are likely to be the next “bright shiny object” at the end of the watch chain being demo’d to the GM and recent statistics shows that 70 – 80% of uploaded apps are deleted.

We have had the fortune of being an integral part of the development of both of the mobile sites that we are using for our two stores. We chose Mobile Fusion because of the flexibility they gave us in growing and expanding the use of our mobile site, for example the future and integration of QR codes is something that was important to me. Both sites are appealing and functional lead conversion tools.

The one thing that I don't hear people talk about when the mobile site subject comes up is phone calls. Is it too obvious? We received over two hundred calls from the tracking numbers on our John Marazzi Nissan mobile site last month, 60/40 Sales to Service. I am also encouraged by the page views and time on site. We chose to split the baby with iPad users by feeding our Dealer.com site horizontally and our mobile site vertically. We are adding a “See Full Site” button at the bottom of the screen.
 
#17
As a vendor to OEMs I have promoted both apps and mobile web "apps" over the past year. But now I am a mobile web proponent and this information was great! Anything out of the OEM changes the day it is released. Apps take too long to update even with web components. The vendor independence is something I don't promote - but a great reason to go with the web approach. In our business the current thought is all websites should start design as a mobile site and then move to desktop. The numbers say more users access the web on a mobile device than the larger screen devices.

The QR code concept is so powerful, it's a no-brainer, but still hard to sell to clients. Mobile for the OEMs is great for performance enhancement - ie reference or simple training. Everyone here seems to be way ahead of the manufacturer in understanding the power of mobile - make my job easier and share this great knowledge with your OEM.
 
#18
Most of the dealer apps I have seen have the same (if not less) functionality than the dealer's mobile site. I would agree with a combination assuming the dealer app meets an entirely different purpose - such as personalizing my data and allowing me to schedule service appts.
 
#19
The apps that I like best allow me to do specific tasks such as downloading audio books. I generally have to interface with the main website first and then use my app to complete the task.

I'm pleased how well our own WordPress sites show up on smart phones. People need to be sure that their video shows up - not all video is compatible with all smart phones.

Charlie Seymour Jr
http://repairyourownlegendnow.com
 
#20
Definately think that mobi sites are the better way to go. You are going to have much more natural traffic flowing to a mobile site than you will ever have of getting your customers & non-customers alike to find and download your app. Good post & comments...thanks all
 

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