Four Essential Features to Look for When Researching for Car Dealer Software

As a car dealer, there’s no doubt that you know your way around the automotive industry. You know all the OEMs and Suppliers, you know many the major auto news outlets, and you likely know who some of your major competitors are. But what do you know about the major types of car dealer software on the market today for your website?

When it comes to selecting car dealer software, you may feel unsure about what you need to help you boost sales in today’s digital world. You might ask yourself “What type of software does my dealership even need?” “What software is going to benefit my consumers?” And of course, “What software will equate to the highest ROI for my dealership?”

When researching tools to attract more customers, it’s important to identify software that will meet the specific needs of your dealership. Although there are hundreds of software options on the market today, you can easily narrow it down to ones that will work for you. Read these 4 essential features to look for in order to narrow down your search. 

1. SOFTWARE SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR YOUR INDUSTRY

When it comes to the automotive industry, things are not quite as straightforward as they are in other industries. While most car buyers are still purchasing their cars at a physical dealership location, most will spend the majority of their time researching online. 

It’s important to choose software that is tailored to the behaviors of consumers in the automotive industry — from their browsing habits to their deeper levels of engagement with you. PERQ Convert’s automotive solution offers several tools tailored for the automotive industry such as our shopping tool assessments, trade tool, payment calculators, and more.

2. SOFTWARE THAT IMITATES HUMAN BEHAVIOR

As an extension of your sales team, your software should be able to deliver a personal experience — one that comes across as engaging, intuitive, and, well…human. This is one of the most essential components of your car dealer software solution.

There are plenty of software solutions that get the job done — from gathering customer contact information to tracking consumer behavior. But how effective are they? Do your due diligence and select software that gives you the ability to engage visitors to your website in a way that’s personal, entertaining, and informative. 

For example, PERQ Convert’s automotive solution remembers the car buyers and the information they provide. It adapts to consumer interactions and serves up the next best steps in their car shopping process, increasing the likelihood they’ll make a purchase. PERQ Convert offers quizzes to consumers to narrow down the car that best fits their personality or style is a better top-of-the funnel approach to engaging first-visitors.

Your software should be able to pick up the user behavior that directs visitors to more tailored experiences as they navigate through your site.

3. SOFTWARE THAT GIVES YOU CHOICES BUT IS EASY TO USE

If you really want tailored experiences for all those customers, your software should be nimble enough to provide plenty of options. It should also allow for CRM integration. And, most importantly, it should be easy to use. If you’re exploring car dealer software options that seem too complicated to figure out from a user standpoint, you’re likely looking at a waste of money. Your team should be able to quickly learn how to use the software, as well as quickly produce reports to monitor engagement.

4. SOFTWARE BACKED BY GREAT CUSTOMER SUPPORT

There’s always a human component behind the car dealer software you select. The customer service, including training, could make or break your experience with the product. Take the time to talk thoroughly to dealership vendors about what you should expect in the way of customer support. How is the training? How does the staff address issues or questions on an ongoing basis? By investing the time to select high-performing car dealer software, you’ll be better equipped to engage customers visiting your website. The more engaged your consumers are, the more likely they’ll be to step into your car dealership.

To learn more about PERQ Convert’s auto solution, visit our automotive product page.