Company Press Release

DealerRater Introduces iOS App for Dealers

Smartphone Tool Helps Certified Dealer Employees Sell More Cars

WALTHAM, Mass. – May 19, 2016 – DealerRater, the world’s leading car dealer review website with more than 5,600 Certified Dealership customers in the U.S. and Canada, today announced the release of the iOS version of the DealerRater for Dealers App. The app, which is included as part of the company’s CertifiedEssentials™ reputation-management program, helps dealership employees sell more cars by connecting them directly with in-market shoppers at the critical point in the buying journey when consumers are deciding where to purchase a vehicle. 

The number of customer visits to automotive showrooms has tumbled, with more than half of shoppers visiting at most just one or possibly two dealerships. Thus, dealers often have just one chance to make a positive first impression with consumers. The DealerRater app allows employees to put their best foot forward by facilitating online conversations with buyers earlier in the sales process to garner trust, lower apprehension, and accelerate successful showroom visits. 

“We developed an app that helps salespeople sell more cars,” said Gary Tucker, DealerRater CEO. “It’s an extension of a dealer’s showroom floor, opening a new digital channel that connects shoppers already engaging with employee profiles on DealerRater.com and individual salespeople. Because of these connections, consumers can now enter a dealership with confidence, knowing exactly who they will be working with and the buying experience they can expect.”

The new app is a big win for dealer sales and service personnel who can now receive qualified leads around the clock, wherever they are located. And employee page updates – photo additions, product specialty notations, trainings completed, certifications attained – can happen with just a few clicks. On vehicle delivery day, salespeople and their customers can mark the occasion with the integrated LotShot “snap and share” feature that helps employees secure additional customer reviews.

Store managers benefit from unprecedented visibility and oversight into sales activity. And built-in leaderboards, which rank salespeople by number of reviews and review ratings, give supervisors a new way to incent employees to keep their employee pages up-to-date and realize the power reviews have to drive new business. 

The launch of the DealerRater for Dealers app follows the company’s recent announcement of CustomerConnect™, the newest addition to DealerRater’s powerful suite of dealer-focused products. With CustomerConnect, dealerships can showcase top-reviewed employees on DealerRater search directories and vehicle detail pages. Product subscribers also gain access to additional DealerRater for Dealers app capabilities.

The iOS version of DealerRater for Dealers is available for immediate download by DealerRater Certified Dealers.

An Android version of the app will be released soon. Certified Dealers can sign up to be notified when it becomes available.

To learn how dealerships can profit from digital connections between their sales and service employees and in-market consumers, download the highly-informative white paper, “Bridging the Car Buyer’s ‘Last Mile.’”

For more information about the DealerRater for Dealers app, visit us.

About DealerRater

Founded in 2002, DealerRater is the world’s leading car dealer review website that connects consumers with the right person at the right dealership. The site offers more than 2.5 million sales and service reviews across 41,000 U.S. and Canadian dealerships, including a network of more than 5,600 Certified Dealers. More than 14 million consumers read DealerRater content across the web each month. By offering a product suite that allows qualified dealerships to manage their reputations and achieve higher SEO rankings, DealerRater supports new customer connections by growing online presence. For more information, visit www.dealerrater.com, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or contact 800.266.9455, ext. 1.