Auto/Mate: Social, Mobile Apps on Dealers' Radar Screens

Social media and mobile apps are areas receiving the most interest from polled dealers, according to an Auto/Mate survey.

“We are getting more requests from our dealer clients for technology solutions to be integrated into their dealership management systems,” says Mike Esposito, president and CEO of Auto/Mate, a provider of DMS software.

The 159 survey respondents include 55% owners and general managers, and a 45% mix of management positions including controllers and chief information officers, dealer principals, service and parts managers, and sales managers.

Seventy percent of respondents maintain their social media and reputation management programs in-house, while 9% outsource to a vendor. Twenty-one percent of dealers still don't have social media and reputation management programs.

Based on survey results, dealership managers appear most interested in using mobile apps in their sales departments, with 46% saying they are doing that, and 35% saying they plan to do so within the next year.

Mobile apps for customer-relationship management systems are the second most popular choice; with 31% saying they are currently using mobile apps with their CRM and another 17% saying they plan to in the next year.

While 23% of dealers currently use mobile apps in the service department this year, another 32% indicate they will implement service-related mobile apps in 2012.

Parts departments show the least use for such apps, with 14% of respondents currently using them, and 13% saying they will next year.