Podium — DealerRefresh Vendor Library

Here is the fully sourced sales brief: --- ## Company Research — Podium --- ### About Podium Podium was founded in 2014 by Eric Rea (CEO) and Dennis Steele. It is a private technology company headquartered in Lehi, Utah that develops cloud-based software related to messaging, customer feedback, online reviews, selling products, and requesting payments. Podium has raised $439M in funding from investors like Y Combinator, Accel, and IVP, with a current valuation of $3B. Podium has approximately 1,545 employees as of March 2026. The company's core offerings serve a diverse range of industries including auto, retail, healthcare, home services, financial services, dental, insurance, and entertainment. --- ### What They Do Podium's lead conversion platform helps businesses manage conversations using AI technology, assisting with review management, phones, lead consolidation, website chat, payment processing, text marketing, and more — all in a single platform, consolidating leads from multiple channels including phone, SMS, website, and social media into a centralized inbox. **Core Products & Capabilities:** - **Jerry AI Employee** — The only AI employee that gives dealerships AI customized to their brand, handling any sales or service talk track; it immediately answers phone calls, chats, texts, and emails to qualify leads, recommend inventory, and schedule appointments or test drives. - **CRM/DMS Integration** — Native integration with dealership CRMs, DMS systems, and inventory platforms for automated appointment booking, lead sync, and human escalation. - **Reviews Management** — Tools for generating, managing, and responding to online reviews across platforms. - **Payments Processing** — Payment processing launched in 2020, with transaction fees ranging from 2.7% to 3.5% depending on subscription tier. - **Unified Inbox** — Businesses can call and text customers from the web and/or mobile app, send payment links, and drive repeat business through bulk messages — all managed from one dashboard. - **Key integrations** include Dealertrack, VinSolutions, and other auto software tools. **Notable Automotive Customers/Stats:** - Trusted by 6,000+ dealerships across the US. - Southtowne Auto uses Podium's AI BDC to close 68% more sales. **Recent News:** - In December 2025, Podium launched **Jerry 2.0**, a significant leap forward in AI for automotive, home services, and aesthetics, coinciding with a new OpenAI case study detailing how Podium leverages GPT-5.1 to create AI agents that capture demand 24/7, schedule appointments, close jobs, and follow up with customers. - The result per Podium's reported data: 30% revenue lift and 45% higher conversion for customers; Podium's AI revenue has grown 300% YOY and its agents are influencing billions in revenue across 10,000+ rooftops. --- ### DealerRefresh Audience Fit Podium is a direct-to-dealer technology vendor with an established and growing automotive vertical. Its buyers are exactly the people in the DealerRefresh community. **Who at the dealership buys/approves Podium:** - **Internet Directors & BDC Managers** — Podium's AI BDC directly replaces or augments the BDC function. Podium's AI BDC is built for auto dealerships and provides immediate, context-aware responses; it beats other auto dealers with higher conversion rates. BDC managers evaluating staffing and tools are prime buyers. - **GMs & Dealer Principals** — When buying a car, 78% of customers will buy from the dealership that responds first — a stat that resonates with GMs focused on gross and volume. - **Fixed Ops Directors** — Jerry proactively follows up for lease expirations, trade-ins, and service appointments, mining for potential sales and boosting revenue without additional headcount. **Why DealerRefresh advertising reaches Podium's buyers:** Podium already knows this community. DealerRefresh forum history includes two Podium-hosted webinars (RefreshFriday sessions on texting/payments with Steve Shannon, Ross Tinkham, and Isaac Hernandez), meaning their team understands that DealerRefresh pros are operators and decision-makers — not just researchers. **Best-fit DealerRefresh products:** - **Forum Banners** — Daily brand visibility to 3,000+ auto retail pros. Podium is in active competition with other BDC/AI vendors (Dealer.com, Impel, etc.) — staying top-of-mind with Internet Directors and GMs who influence or own the BDC tech stack is high value. - **Retargeting Pixel** — Eric Fleshman's role at Podium focuses on driving user engagement through strategic marketing initiatives — retargeting DealerRefresh visitors on Facebook/Instagram aligns exactly with a demand gen mandate.