Nexteppe Test-Pilots Mobile Marketing Technology: New York Toyota Dealer’s Success Story

BOHEMIA, N.Y.--Nexteppe Business Solutions and New York Auto Giant’s Atlantic Toyota test-piloted a mobile marketing campaign and experienced an overwhelming response, with 805 leads generated in five days.

The next generation in automobile dealership lead management has arrived and it’s in mobile marketing. The Mobile Marketing Association reports a survey indicating, that 3-in-4 mobile phone subscribers (75%) use some form of text messaging. The mobile advertising industry earned a notable $2.7 billion in revenue for 2007, is expected to double in 2008 and is forecast to reach $16.2 billion by 2011, reports eMarketer.com. Other forecasters have predicted anywhere from an $18 billion to $20 billion industry. Retailers will particularly benefit from mobile marketing. Their customers are on-the-go, with their mobile phone always on and always available. Automobile dealers will be looking to this technology because it overcomes inefficiencies experienced in traditional Internet lead-generation such as spam-blocking and visitors’ entering false e-mail addresses and phone numbers making them untraceable.

Kenny DellaPorta, Nexteppe’s Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer, sees an immediate advantage in mobile technology for his dealer customers. Dealers simply add a text address to existing media advertisements and promotions; when a customer responds, his or her phone number is added to a database that can be used by the dealer for mobile advertising and communication. Atlantic Toyota’s General Manager Lenny Cafarelli enjoyed immediate results when he tested the new technology: “When Nexteppe approached me to test-pilot their new mobile marketing technology, I knew it would fit right in with my Super Bowl Blitz marketing campaign.” The Amityville New York Toyota dealership added a text address to its already scheduled newspaper advertisements, asking readers to vote for the Giants or Patriots. The results were tracked hourly and the response was overwhelming, with 805 leads generated in five days and a mobile website conversion rate of 20%.

The mobile marketing technology has been added to a suite of services offered in Nexteppe’s SteppeWeb™ product offering. The complete business solution package includes:

Text messaging
A customized mobile website
Mobile campaign-specific promotions

About Nexteppe:

Nexteppe is an innovator in automotive technology, retailing software and sales training.