Trilogy Powering the e-Commerce Customer Experience for Gulf States Toyota
AUSTIN, Texas--Feb. 12, 2001--Trilogy, a leading provider of e-business solutions for the Global 2000, today announced that the Trilogy MultiChannel Commerce solution is powering the customer experience on the Gulf States Toyota Web site.
In the first three months that the Trilogy solution has been deployed, the closing ratio for consumers who initially shop on the site has been 20 percent. That compares with a closing rate of 15 percent to 17 percent for those who simply walk into a dealership without visiting the Gulf States Toyota site.
The sales increase illustrates how the Trilogy MultiChannel Commerce solution for the automotive industry is revolutionizing interaction between Gulf States Toyota, its 135 participating dealers and tens of thousands of customers by moving interaction and information communication to the Web.
"E-Commerce has brought radical change to the automotive industry," said Toby Hynes, president of Gulf States Toyota. "Gulf States Toyota has selected Trilogy as the partner that will help keep us at the forefront of that change by adopting a multichannel e-business strategy. Gulf States Toyota is proud to be working with Trilogy to set new standards for customer responsiveness and channel interaction in the automotive industry."
Offering an Unparalleled Customer Experience Across Multiple
Selling Channels
The Trilogy MultiChannel Commerce solution for the automotive industry is providing Gulf States Toyota Web site visitors with real-time vehicle and price information tailored to their unique preferences by helping the customer specify vehicle, option and pricing requirements. The Trilogy-powered site gives customers the ability to comparison shop over the Internet across Gulf States Toyota's full product line before entering a dealership.
"Gulf States Toyota's Web site now can provide consumers with information about almost every combination of vehicle and options imaginable -- as many as 7 million differently configured autos," said Angie Sherrell, director of interactive marketing for Gulf States Toyota. "That's a level of complexity that Trilogy's competitors can't touch."
To further enhance the buying experience, the Trilogy solution provides customers with a Virtual Garage that allows Web site visitors to shop and save model and option preferences for their vehicle over multiple site visits. Recognizing that most vehicle purchases are made as a collective effort, Trilogy's technology allows for the customer to share information about customized vehicles with friends and family.
Creating a Unified Information Platform for the Distributor,
Dealer and Customer
The Trilogy solution has linked Gulf States Toyota with its dealers and customers for the first time on a unified online information platform. Trilogy is delivering a comprehensive customer profile to Gulf States Toyota's dealers, giving dealers an enhanced view of the customer and their needs to allow for a highly efficient buying experience. By aggregating customer preference data, Gulf States Toyota can more accurately align inventory distribution with the customer's make, model and option preferences.
"Customer service in today's consumer-driven automotive industry encompasses a lot more than just selling cars -- it requires exemplary service and better information throughout the purchasing process. Trilogy's multichannel e-commerce solution is helping to align Gulf States Toyota with our dealers to ensure that we are well ahead of the curve in customer service," said Toby Hynes, president of Gulf States Toyota.
"Trilogy is proud to be applying our e-commerce expertise and our proven track record in the automotive industry to bring innovative companies like Gulf States Toyota closer to their customers and their dealers through e-commerce," said Ajay Agarwal, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Trilogy.
About GST
GST, based in Houston, is the independent distributor serving 139 dealers in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. GST introduced the first Toyotas into the region in 1969.
About Trilogy
Trilogy is the leading provider of industry-specific e-business software for Global 2000 companies. Our integrated application suites are at work in the automotive, financial services, telecommunications, computer hardware and retail industries, providing solutions to global leaders like Ford, IBM and Lands' End. Trilogy software and services enable the transformation of sales, marketing and customer service across the Web, retail and dealer networks, reseller channels, the field and call centers. A privately held corporation with 1300 employees, Trilogy is on the Web at www.trilogy.com.
Trilogy, Trilogy MultiChannel Commerce, and Virtual Garage are trademarks of Trilogy and its affiliated companies.
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