“HomeNet helped us become #1 in Pennsylvania by delivering our inventory with detailed descriptions, photos and videos to over 250 websites.”
-Paul Smith, Hoffman - Ford Harrisburg, Pa
Today’s fast-paced consumers expect full access to information online about a car, and they want it on-demand, meaning it is easy to find, complete, and current. With 80% of consumers researching inventory online before coming into the showroom, no dealer can afford to wait to have any vehicle listed online. In order to draw shoppers into the showroom, however, that information must also be highly engaging. One challenge that automobile dealers struggle to overcome is the ability to duplicate the emotional, “on the lot” experience throughout their online marketing channels. Vehicle display listings need attention-grabbing descriptions, dozens of actual photos, and listings need to be updated every day.
In addition, listing and managing each vehicle across hundreds of websites can be a dauntingly cumbersome process. Software tools and third-party services help to facilitate this complicated process, but still dealerships may experience significant losses in revenue for many reasons:
- Hundreds of lost leads due to delays in listing cars online while waiting for vendors
- Less leads because of poor shopper engagement from a lackluster site
- Less traffic because of low search engine results rankings due to invisible inventory platforms
- Less selling time for Internet Managers (you’re down a salesperson while they fix technology)
One company, HomeNet, has automated inventory management, distribution and display so dealers can focus on selling cars rather than managing inventory. HomeNet calls their system IOL. Their Online Inventory Marketing Suite is a web-based application that converts incomplete vehicle data from a dealer’s DMS into complete, consumer-friendly, interactive, and emotional online ads that generate more, higher-quality leads to the dealership. IOL automatically gets dealers online inventory “front line ready” by executing a lot of complicated tasks quickly and accurately:
- Update Vehicle Information and photos with DMS polling, enhanced VIN decoding, price analysis with TrueCar Pricing, comment builder and more
- Inventory Hosting – dynamically-generated, search engine optimized (SEO) vehicle display pages with multiple calls to action
- Automated inventory distribution and management to your website and hundreds of 3rd party sites like Cars.com, AutoTrader, Oodle, eBay, Craigs List and over 250 others, and more
- Video Online - interactive video with custom voiceover options to upload to YouTube, your website, and third-party sites
- IOL 2Go - mobile lot management functionality that integrate with cell phones
- Online Appraisal tool powered by NADA Guides
“HomeNet helped us become #1 in Pennsylvania by delivering our inventory with detailed descriptions, photos and videos to over 250 websites,” said Paul Smith from Hoffman Ford in Harrisburg, PA.
Founded in 1996, HomeNet is privately-owned companies whose customers include dealers, OEMs, website providers, CRM providers, digital lot management companies; finance/leasing agents, auction agents, and more.
