MediaTrac and ARKONA Partner to Deliver the First Fully Integrated DMS Loyalty Program for Auto Dealers
SAN RAMON, Calif.--June 26, 2006--| Dealers Now Have Seamless Information Access to More Effectively Market to Their Customers and Drive Revenue |
MediaTrac, the market leader in automotive loyalty programs, and ARKONA, a leading supplier of fully integrated business management solutions, today announced that ARKONA and MediaTrac have entered into an OEM agreement to offer a comprehensive customer management solution to automotive dealerships. The partnership brings together the full benefits of ARKONA's Dealer Management Solution (DMS) and MediaTrac's customer loyalty program to deliver a more effective and integrated approach to customer marketing, retention, and management.
ARKONA, with 700 dealers nationwide using its DMS solution, brings an exceptional and successful sales force to the partnership. MediaTrac leads the automotive loyalty industry with over 300 dealers that benefit from increased profitability through higher vehicle sales, F&I service up-selling, and improved RO metrics.
"ARKONA has a great market reputation and a competitive product portfolio," said Steve Comes, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for MediaTrac. "We believe the partnership with ARKONA will make our products even more valuable to automotive dealers through the integration ARKONA is delivering. By partnering with ARKONA, MediaTrac will extend its customer loyalty program through a well-established and successful sales channel and we'll realize significant growth that's in line with our long-term business development plans," said Comes.
"The decision to partner with MediaTrac was easy," said David Jenkins, Vice President of Marketing for ARKONA. "Their customer loyalty program is well laid out, smartly designed, and delivers a real return on investment for its customers," said Jenkins. "Rather than develop a product to compete against one that leads in its category, we chose to partner."
ARKONA is a leading supplier of fully integrated, on-demand dealer management solutions targeted at the automotive dealership industry. ARKONA's Web-based Dealer Management Solution provides automation for all aspects of a car dealership including finance and insurance, parts, service, accounting, and back office functions including payroll and sales management. Its solutions are based on a flexible, industry standard technology that easily adapts to the evolving needs of the dealership.
MediaTrac provides loyalty solutions that help dealers retain a significantly higher percentage of their customers while improving customer satisfaction. The company has taken the next step in customer relationship management (CRM) by using proven loyalty principals to influence customers' buying habits. Its loyalty program provides dealership customers incentives to continue using the dealership for ongoing service and purchase additional vehicles. Because customers are rewarded for continuing to spend with the dealership, they are more responsive to the dealer's marketing efforts.
"Clearly this partnership between ARKONA and MediaTrac makes sense to us. We previously evaluated and selected each product independently to help us compete effectively in the market," said Tom Lane, CEO of Dwayne Lane's Family of Auto Centers. "MediaTrac's customer loyalty program has offered us a real competitive edge in retaining customers and has created a successful path for new car sales through existing service customers. ARKONA's DMS solution has proven to be a valuable tool for managing our entire business across our family of dealerships," said Lane. "I'd highly recommend dealers take a close look at what these two companies have to offer."
Under the terms of the distribution agreement, ARKONA sales will offer the ARKONA Allegiance loyalty product to existing and prospective customers. Program pricing will be determined by ARKONA and will be based on MediaTrac's pricing model, which is a flat, all-inclusive, monthly program fee. ARKONA's Allegiance loyalty solution is immediately available and will be supported in the same way it supports its other products. To learn more, ARKONA and MediaTrac customers can contact their sales representatives directly or visit www.arkona.com and www.media-trac.com.
About MediaTrac, LLC
Headquartered in San Ramon, California, MediaTrac, LLC is a proven provider of customized customer loyalty and media tracking programs. Founded in 2002, MediaTrac has more than 300 retail clients throughout the US and Canada. The company is one of the fastest growing, privately held firms in Northern California. MediaTrac prides itself on delivering measurable ROI for the programs it provides. For more information please contact Steve Comes at 925-415-1300 x207 or visit www.media-trac.com.
About ARKONA, Inc.
Founded in 1996, ARKONA is a leading supplier of fully integrated business management solutions for automotive and powersports dealerships. The Company's industry-leading application service provider or ASP model provides state-of-the-art technology and high-level technical support and training at low cost. The company serves dealerships representing every major car manufacturer throughout all regions of the United States. ARKONA's Dealer Management System (DMS) also leads the market in technologically superior e-business solutions for automotive dealers that fully integrate back-office systems with a retail Web presence. ARKONA's DMS supports all major back-office functions including accounting, payroll and sales management. The ARKONA DMS is based on flexible, industry standard technology. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.arkona.com.