Keyloop company RAPID RTC announced a new strategic partnership with AutoTrader.ca that is designed to enhance the online car shopping experience for Canadians. Keyloop specializes in digital communications and lead management for the automotive industry, and announced this week that RAPID RTC’s digital communication products will be added to the AutoTrader.ca platform.
Currently, RAPID RTC’s digital communication products are already used by approximately 1,100 dealers across Canada. According to the company’s press release, as of March select RAPID RTC dealership clients can enable digital communication options for car buyers on the AutoTrader.ca marketplace, including RAPID RTC Chat, Text, and Live Dealer solutions. These options are designed to “connect car buyers with salespeople at dealerships across Canada, by initiating conversations, live and in real-time, directly from inventory listing on the AutoTrader.ca marketplace.”
According to Jill Hadfield, chief product officer at AutoTrader.ca, “By connecting AutoTrader.ca users directly to our dealer partners, we are providing a seamless and convenient digital shopping experience today’s consumers expect, while aiding automotive retailers to engage in more meaningful conversations and convert more leads.” Hadfield added that, “We want to make things easy for our dealer partners by integrating with best-in-class tools that are already being used in dealerships.”
The hope is that through this partnership, RAPID RTC will be able to help dealers personalize the online car buying experience while increasing lead volumes, improving lead time, and reducing wait time for customers. “Data from RAPID RTC shows that sales conversations are up to 46 per cent higher when online customers can connect directly with a salesperson, and customers are three times more likely to respond to a dealer when the initial interaction is via text, compared to an email,” the company reported.
“Our own data from Keyloop’s consumer research shows just how important digital tools are to today’s car shoppers, with 89 per cent likely to use personalized digital engagement tools to interact with salespeople when shortlisting or selecting a preferred vehicle,” Todd Robinson, vice-president, sales at RAPID RTC said in the company’s press release. “This agreement with AutoTrader.ca extends RAPID RTC’s reach to Canada’s largest audience of prospective car buyers, enabling them to use our tools to seamlessly connect to our network of dealers using the communication method they prefer.”
Robinson added that RAPID RTC is “helping dealers bring the physical showroom to life for online shoppers, build and sustain more meaningful customer relationships, and ultimately, sell more cars.”
