Why as a dealer do I need a mobile app?

[Jeff Kershner]

@DrewAment started this conversation a bit over a year ago, but in the mobile/technology world that's like 4-5 years. Rather starting a new thread, I thought it made more sense to bring this one back into play.

One year later and so much has changed. With the introduction of deep linking within mobiles apps, not only Google search but mobile operating systems like Apple iOS 9 are tapping into the potential of deep linking. Your Mobile SEO strategy and results are now being influenced by the existence, or there lackof your companies/dealerships mobile app. Ben Anderson just published this article over on the blog about importance of mobile apps and SEO.

For many of us, our opinion on this topic has changed year over year.

Has your opinion changed at all? Are you still Anti or Pro dealership mobile app??
If your opinion has changed, what changed it?


@kevinfrye @Jlewis74 @DrewAment @JamieS @ewalraven @Alex Snyder @Ryan Leslie @Eley Duke @Ed Brooks @Kelly Wilson @Bill Simmons -- speak up!!

--

 

[DrewAment]

One year and one month after my original post and I still feel the same way.

Not ONE app developer and/or dealership has been able to prove to me that the expense of the app, in most cases about $1000/month, is worth the limited engagement and usage that the consumers will be using the app.

I had a large dealership (350 units a month and 2000+ service ROs a month) that was trying to justify it for the service side. Average was about 100 app engagements a month and 4 service appointments.... really?

Would love for someone to prove me wrong... but I won't hold my breath.

 

[Chris Cachor]

Same here. I think matters have only gotten worse as most people buying iPhones are getting the 16gb model and are basically forced to only keep apps they use often. I don't think many people could justify an app for service on the customer side. I could see apps being valuable for employees though.

 

[joe.pistell]

Hi Drew & Chris. I agree, is no benefit for a car shopper to DL an app*. I have only one app scenario that makes sense for a car owner.

My car talks to my app.
-and-
My app talks to my car.

The app becomes an extension of the car. It's called M2M communications (Machine to Machine). Here's an old concept slide I made on this:



This is an OEM channel. GM's app is really cool. The next wave is coming where the lines between the phone and the car are merged.



Things are moving fast out here!



*Look at TrueCar's difficulty.

 

[Bill Simmons]

Hi Drew & Chris. I agree, is no benefit for a car shopper to DL an app*. I have only one app scenario that makes sense for a car owner.

My car talks to my app.
-and-
My app talks to my car.

The app becomes an extension of the car. It's called M2M communications (Machine to Machine). Here's an old concept slide I made on this:
View attachment 2590


This is an OEM channel. GM's app is really cool. The next wave is coming where the lines between the phone and the car are merged.



Things are moving fast out here!



*Look at TrueCar's difficulty.

I think @JoePistell nails it. I've been following the popularity of a company on Twitter named Automatic. They make a OBD device that plugs into your car and connects to your phone via bluetooth and provides car data to an app. Consumers love it as it tracks fuel economy and a lot of other features. The one feature that gets a lot of conversation is giving the consumer the code for a check engine light, they no longer have to pay a car dealer or service shop a diagnostic fee just to learn the "code" of what is causing the light to come on. Sounds like its not a big deal to some car guys I've mentioned it to. But some big players in our space think it is a really huge deal, they recently received $32M in funding from companies, including CDK Global. What do you want to bet something like this is going to be on the offering plate from them to their GM client base? I think the odds are pretty good.

 

[craigh]

I have a custom version of one of these devices in my car at the moment.
I bought the OBDII to USB device for my car and now I run all sorts of dashboards that show me error faults, engine behaviour, performance numbers and all the critical pieces I need. It tends to impress people who have never seen the concept, but apps like Torque have had a slimmed down version of this with generic $20 bluetooth OBDII readers for quite a while.


I think there's other places for dealership apps, but I'm still working through all the mental details of how it could work.
I have yet to see a single dealership app that made sense to me, but that's not to say it won't happen.

 

[Greg_Gifford]

@DrewAment started this conversation a bit over a year ago, but in the mobile/technology world that's like 4-5 years. Rather starting a new thread, I thought it made more sense to bring this one back into play.

One year later and so much has changed. With the introduction of deep linking within mobiles apps, not only Google search but mobile operating systems like Apple iOS 9 are tapping into the potential of deep linking. Your Mobile SEO strategy and results are now being influenced by the existence, or there lackof your companies/dealerships mobile app. Ben Anderson just published this article over on the blog about importance of mobile apps and SEO.

For many of us, our opinion on this topic has changed year over year.

Has your opinion changed at all? Are you still Anti or Pro dealership mobile app??
If your opinion has changed, what changed it?


@kevinfrye @Jlewis74 @DrewAment @JamieS @ewalraven @Alex Snyder @Ryan Leslie @Eley Duke @Ed Brooks @Kelly Wilson @Bill Simmons -- speak up!!

--

actually - a lot of people are misinterpreting what Cindy Krum and Emily Grossman said (they're the ones who wrote the posts that Ben Anderson quoted in the latest story on the blog.

Having an app won't boost your website... it doesn't work that way. BUT, if you have unique, useful content in your app, and your app is linked to your mobile site and uses Google's App Indexing API, then your APP will potentially rank higher in searches...

So your mobile SEO strategy is not being influenced by the existence or lack of a mobile app... Just want to be sure that dealers don't read this and misinterpret it further...

In fact, I'm friends with both of the gals he's quoted, and I'm moderating a panel of the two of them at Pubcon this Wednesday in Vegas... So i'll be sure to bring this forum thread up and see if we can get some quotes and clarification - those two ladies are THE experts when it comes to mobile SEO...

 

[Alex Snyder]

Having an app won't boost your website... it doesn't work that way. BUT, if you have unique, useful content in your app, and your app is linked to your mobile site and uses Google's App Indexing API, then your APP will potentially rank higher in searches...

So your mobile SEO strategy is not being influenced by the existence or lack of a mobile app... Just want to be sure that dealers don't read this and misinterpret it further...

That's some fantastic insight :thumbup:

What if a dealer had an excellent mobile site tied to an app people actually used and that dealer began to let the app go? Just as the app can help SEO would a bad/abandoned app hurt SEO?

 

[Jeff Kershner]

@Greg_Gifford thanks for chiming in and for the clarification.

Hold on - some here would rather allow the OEM host the "branded" app vs the dealership? Meanwhile we all bitch about the OEM's taking control of our websites and online presence??

So no one here is even considering the possibilities behind beacons and the potential it has for your service and sales department? I'm not referring to "marketing" alone but the overall experience the consumer could have in the near future?

I see so many endless possibilities utilizing a dealer app. 3 Years ago, I was on the fence but when your app becomes part of your dealers "echosystem" but I've changed my tune. Of course IF you're going to have an app, you'll need to use it! As @Alex Snyder points out.

 

[JessicaRuth]

How does @Greg_Gifford make one post and get 4 likes? It's the forums equivalent of a mic drop....