Customers who use branded dealership apps are 73% more likely to purchase a car and will spend up to 7% more on that purchase than customers who don’t use a dealership app, according to automotive industry market research company DMEautomotive.

Users of dealership apps also tend to come in for 25% more service visits than non-app users.

With stats like that, it is apparent that if you run a car dealership, you need to have your own branded app to go along with it.

There are several different app options for dealerships. However, unlike traditional apps that you simply download from iTunes or Google Play and start using, dealership apps have to be configured for the specific dealership that is interested in using them.

Here are five options for dealership that want to get their own, branded app.

Auto Dealer App by Pulse

Like all of these apps, the Auto Dealer App allows you to completely customize the app to fit your dealership and send push notifications to your customers’ phones via the app. You can create an offer for customers who drive a certain kind of vehicle and send it just to those customers, for example.

Getting geographically specific, you can also send out push notifications to people when they are within a certain radius of your location (or a competitor’s location). You can also use the app to send out surveys, service reminders, notifications of dealership events and more.

The app’s back end analytics grant dealerships the ability to keep tabs on customers’ activity within the app so they can better target their offers.

For customers, they can book service appointments and receive alerts about their vehicles, search inventory and contact the dealership.

DealerApp Vantage

Offering a full range of services, DealerApp Vantage comes with features like My Garage, which allows users to create a profile of their vehicle that includes details like tire size, oil type, warranty info, insurance info and more so they have all this info at their fingertips. They can also book service appointments using the My Garage feature.

The Virtual Service Manager allows dealerships to handle all service bookings through the app and accompanying system at the dealership, plus it allows either the dealership or the customer to initiate a live chat to discuss the service if necessary.

Other features include Real Inventory, which allows people to view all the vehicles you have in stock, book test drives, see the vehicles’ histories and save vehicles to their favorites list. You can also upload inventory videos to give customers a better look at a certain vehicle. Real Payments let customers view the best payment plan available right next to a vehicle’s details and it also creates Reg M and Reg Z compliant disclosures for the dealer for each vehicle quoted.

Dealerlogix

Specific to dealerships that offer service, Dealerlogix is a completely customizable app for either iPad or Android tablets that allows dealerships to give their service clients a completely personalized experience.

By simply inputting the license plate number or last name of the client, that client’s complete service history pops up on the tablet. Dealers can then carry the tablet with them as they do a vehicle walkaround and ask the client what needs to be serviced. No more sitting behind a computer.

Dealerlogix then allows you to create a simple, one-screen presentation to your client that details all the service in easy-to-understand language that you can immediately show the client.

The overall experience for the customer will be a sense of highly customized and personalized service.

DriverConnect

Another customizable app for dealerships, DriverConnect can be completely tailored to fit your dealership and help you maintain a robust dealership-customer relationship.

Some of the features included in DriverConnect are:

• Geo-Fencing – Allows you to immediately send app users incentive offers to come in whenever they are near your dealership or a competing dealership.
• Appointment Booking – 24/7
• Service Alerts – Lets you keep customers up to date on exactly what is going on with their vehicle during service (when it’s up on the lift, etc).
• Loyalty Points – If your dealership has a loyalty points program, DriverConnect allows customers to check their balances from the app.
• Showroom – Your complete inventory can be browsed on the app.
• Mobile Wallet – If a customer cannot take advantage of a an offer you send to them right away, mobile wallet allows them to keep the offer for later use.
• Test Drive Scheduling – Customers can easily book a test drive from the app.
• Service History Tracking – Allows clients to easily see what work has been done on their vehicles.
• Service Appointment Scheduling – Customers can easily book a service appointment from the app.
• Recall Notifications – Let customers know immediately if a recall has been issued on their vehicle.

With a branded app that can do all this, your dealership will virtually be in your customers’ pockets.

Mobile Dealer

Mobile Dealer delivers a dealer-branded mobile app that helps car dealerships and auto groups to shop, service and directly engage with their dealership of choice. The company offers a robust, proprietary, cloud-based management system that is accessible from any computer, which allows dealers to make live updates to the app while engaging their customers and prospects in real-time with personalized push notifications, mobile offers, loyalty rewards, inventory browsing, digital retailing, service scheduling, mobile payments, service history tracking, video marketing, geofencing and F&I selling.

Mobile Dealer integrates with all of your current systems, including your CRM, DMS, Online Scheduling system, Inventory system and Manufacturer OEM apps, so you don’t have to switch everything over to a new system.

Like the other apps listed here, Mobile Dealer has a toolkit for customers that includes things like payment calculator, cheapest fuel locator, EV charging station locator, roadside assistance and other tools that add value and convenience for customers.

As you can see, most of these apps are relatively the same, so the most obvious differentiator between them will be price. Test each one out and see which one works best for you. One thing is for sure; having a branded dealership app will be a good investment for your business.

Aside from a branded app, car dealerships can also use branded videos to promote themselves. Click here to schedule an appointment with wizMotions to see how we can help you make the perfect video to help you with your automotive sales business.