BluStor Speeds Customer Recognition for Auto Dealers and Luxury Retail

    HURST, Texas--July 18, 2001--The average luxury car sells for more than $70,000, but according to the Polk Automotive Awards this year the customers don't remain loyal to a brand or dealer.
    Average loyalty ratings in the luxury classifications were under 20%, which means hundreds of thousands of potential lost sales from customers over the course of the car-buying years.
    That doesn't surprise the folks at BluStor, the first customer loyalty system using Bluetooth(TM) short-range wireless technology. "My partner and I spent more than $300,000 on luxury cars in the past three years, yet the dealerships have no idea who we are," says Bill McDaniel, EDP, Chief Technology Officer for BluStor, a wholly owned subsidiary of McGrew + McDaniel Group, Inc. "A dealership using BluStor will always know who their customers are and the current status of their car the minute they pull into the service drive," McDaniel continued.
    Leveraging Bluetooth(TM) wireless technology and the web-enabled BluStor Gatekeeper, this patent-pending technology revolutionizes customer recognition for luxury auto dealers, and for luxury goods retailers in any venue. Every manager knows that it can cost as much as 7 times more to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one. The fastest way to lose a customer in any industry is to fail to meet their expectations; the best way to retain their loyalty is to know who they are and what they need when they enter the business environment. On the service drive that means checking them in and getting them on their way as quickly as possible. With BluStor, the Service Writer is automatically notified as soon as a customer pulls into the dealership and has instant access to the complete customer history and preferences. The sales force is alerted and provided a current situation analysis that lets them know how long the customer has had the car, their favorite colors and options, current lease or purchase status, and even the owner's birthday! By integrating BluStor with existing customer databases and dealership applications, the rewards are almost instantaneous.
    The BluStor concept works in the luxury goods sector to increase sales. When a customer is recognized they are 75% more likely to make additional purchases. In retail environments with goods selling for thousands of dollars these repeat customers drive profits straight to the bottom line. BluStor makes that possible even when staff turnover is high.
    BluStor is currently in discussions with luxury car dealers and expects to have beta customers operational this year. The company is seeking private funding to expand market presence and applications, including fine art and photography galleries and antiques dealers.