Cooperative Sites Help Level the Playing Field for Single-Point Dealerships
By Mike Bowers
A hurdle that cooperative sites must clear is the new car inventory issue. Many individual dealers do not want to list their inventory, fearing that if the consumer cannot be satisfied with what they have in stock, they will lose them to the competition. While that is not an unjustified fear, it is also true that Internet car shoppers are looking for that exact piece of information. If your site insists on having them fill out a "price quote" or "vehicle request" form (usually asking for all kinds of information), they are likely to keep on looking for a dealer who gives them what they want.
Used cars are less of a problem, and this site does offer a specific list of used vehicles available. When you locate a desired vehicle, they will tell you which dealer has it in inventory. The site also takes individual classified ads for used vehicles. Interesting! One would think that dealers would look at this as unnecessarily promoting non-dealer sources for used vehicles. However, if the public perceives this site as the place to go for any used car, from any source, it could be a winner.
Subject to our own philosophy and research regarding what an Internet car shopper wants from dealer Web sites, I think the unavailability of new vehicle inventory can be a large negative. But the site does offer the smaller group or single-point dealer a method of competing with the larger groups. AutoNation has long been rumored to have some sort of blockbuster (no pun intended) Internet site in the works that could spell trouble for competing dealers. This is certainly one way to fight back.
www.carsoup.com-this site is a cooperative Internet effort without the trade association as the prime organizer. In this case the organizer is Jerry Cuneo, owner of an advertising agency specializing in dealership promotion.
Carsoup has roughly the same approach as found in dealerlocator, with a few additional twists. One of these twists is the offering of employment opportunities. Most of the successful sites of larger dealer groups also make this available. Many job seekers are using the Internet in their quest. If Carsoup can become the dominant cooperative car-buying site in the trading area, then prospective employees are also likely to visit and check out the jobs listed. Like dealerlocator, they list used car inventories, but no new cars. A customer still must go through the e-mail form and surrender their anonymity to find out who has the vehicle they want.
How can you benefit from cooperative efforts like these?
Of course there is no set agenda for creating such an effort. If your local or state dealer association does not offer such an arrangement, then you have to look elsewhere. We believe that in the coming years, more and more dealers will organize into similar cooperatives with varying structures. Over time the winning formula for such ventures will come to the surface. But that does not mean that you should sit back and wait for Internet nirvana. Get involved and help set the agenda.
Mike Bowers is managing editor of WD&S Publishing, Metuchen, NJ. WD&S is a provider of information services for the automotive retail industry. Publications include "Dealer's Edge," "Warranty Dollars & Sense," "Auto Retailing on the Web," "The Parts Manager," and "Fixed Coverage". mbowers@dealeronline.com
