One news story could not contain all the cool people we talked to and things we experienced at the NADA show last week, so here it is—Canadian auto dealer team at the NADA Show: The Sequel. Since the last news piece focused on DMS providers, this story will tackle many of the other booths we visited, all with an important connection to the Canadian auto retail industry.
The NADA Show had a strong contingent of F&I companies, and the very first booth we visited for an interview was AutoVerify, where Randy Price told us all about the new digital retailing tool they are showcasing, called Car Media. You can read all about it in story number five in this eNews edition. He mentioned AutoVerify also has “some things in the works” so watch this space to find out more as we get the information.
We also made a visit to Market Scan, where Carsten Priesz talked about his company’s B2B reselling tool, and how Market Scan’s data helps retailers determine exactly which models are selling where, and which models may need to be incentivized.
Equifax was next on our F&I journey, where Russel Wicks explained Equifax’s evolution from being a simple credit filing company, to the holistic data provider that it is for retailers and software suppliers today.
Data and research providers were also showing off their products at the convention. Patrick Olsen at the CARFAX USA booth talked about how they were signing up dealers to their popular service, but mostly they were teaching current customers how to use their product better, particularly focusing on their new Vehicle History Reports functionality.
J.D. Power was there in full force, with an Old West-themed booth that was very busy with dealers learning all about the company’s Power Information Network (PIN) program. J.D. Power Canada’s Robert Karwell gave us a look at the useful new dealer-facing tool, PowerDealer, which the company provides to dealers in exchange for access to the dealer’s sales data.
Innovative digital marketing solutions also abounded on the show floor. We got to chat with PureCars’s Kate Colacelli about their AutoMiner customer data platform, which gives dealers access to leading-edge advertising technology for sales, service, or parts. PureCars has also just partnered with Spotify for a new type of advertising.
The Carbeeza team of Michael Dunham and Nick Samaha was there, talking about their tools that use fintech to help Carbeeza harness the power of A.I. to accurately predict a shopper’s best financing scenario, and directing them to a dealer that can sell them that vehicle.
DAS Technology, formerly known as Digital Air Strike, had a booth that you could not miss, with each team member wearing fluorescent orange runners that they were also giving away at the event. Alexi Venneri chatted with us about how DAS began as a way to enable dealers to monetize social networks organically, but evolved to include over 30 touchpoints to nurture and improve the customer journey. DAS has continued to build out its data integration partners to 189, including Amazon, Google, and many top OEMs, plus 35 CRM and dealer software systems.
We stopped by the Podium booth and talked with Jack Mata about Podium’s customer communication strategy that uses one single tool. Texts, webchats, social media messages, and now phone calls—all in one easy-to-use inbox. We also chatted with LESA Canada’s Dan Paras, a Canadian Hyundai dealer who was so impressed with the LESA automotive video sales platform that he partnered with the company to bring it to Canada.
On the equipment side of things, we got to visit the huge Hunter Engineering booth, and see the always engaging John Peron, who talked about the launch of the new tire changer called Maverick, and the updates to Hunter’s wheel balancing software. He also introduced us to the HunterNet2 software, which tracks equipment use, to give dealers the precise return on investment for their machines in each store. This service comes with the equipment and supports the most profitable centres in the service department.
Don’t miss a more comprehensive look at the people we talked with and the things we saw during our time at The NADA Show in the March issue of Canadian auto dealer magazine.
