The best software in any industry starts with strong data. This is no different in the automotive retail industry, where dealerships depend on software that keeps inventory moving and operations running smoothly. But software providers don’t have the resources to build high-quality databases. By partnering with companies that aggregate automotive retail data, tech providers get the information they need to make the most effective software possible and, in turn, give dealers the tools they need to offer a transparent shopping experience.

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Leave it to the Experts: Using Data to Strengthen Dealership Technology

Everyone who has planned a large celebration, such as a wedding, graduation party, or 50-year anniversary, can tell you about the benefits of catering. Even for those hosts who are brilliant home cooks, time and space limitations, food safety considerations, and the desire to guarantee a fantastic event for their guests often outweigh any desire to take food preparation into their own hands.

For similar reasons, it’s common for companies to outsource certain aspects of their business to third-party providers who specialize in the services they’re looking for. Why try to do everything yourself when someone else can do it better, in less time, and for a fraction of the price?

Some companies hesitate to pull in third-party resources that are beneficial to their end-use product. Many tech company leaders are comfortable outsourcing non-core services like advertising or HR but find using third-party data for their proprietary software daunting. However, tracking all relevant data sources from scratch, obtaining and nurturing the right relationships, and storing and processing the data continuously to power end products can lead to high efforts, high costs, and lackluster results.

Complete Automotive Retail Solution

For companies creating software that operates and automates dealership sales—including DriveCentric, Fuse, Upstart, and Roadster—partnering with a provider such as Market Scan that offers reliable data solutions at national, regional, and local levels is essential. This kind of partnership allows dealership solution providers to focus on what they do best: building and improving software that helps dealerships run their businesses and close deals as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

It’s also important for data companies to be invested in their clients’ success and offer access to account managers who are veterans in both the automotive retail and technology industries. Managers who have experience working on the dealership side or with automakers have an intimate understanding of what their clients’ end users need and expect. Those invested will make a point to learn how their clients’ technology works, so they can provide the data that powers their solutions without bogging down their software with irrelevant information.

Finally, it’s essential for data companies to find solutions that pull data into their clients’ software seamlessly, constantly updating in a format that makes the most sense within the software and giving end users the information they need to make informed decisions. While any good company will always be available to answer questions and ensure their data continues to meet clients’ needs, this enables the companies using the data to provide their offerings without having to pull updates manually or seek input from the data provider’s side.

Powering End-to-End Dealership Software

Data is essential to dealership software at all levels of business, and strong data companies seek to empower their clients to operate as they see fit. Our Market Scan data strengthens solutions from a variety of companies that offer the following types of dealership software:

  • Dealership Management Systems (DMS): These systems are dealerships’ bread and butter when it comes to operations. They track inventory and organize all accounting aspects of a dealership, helping turn deals into contracts and communicate with banks for funding. DMS systems need to compute payments that the dealership can use for final transactions, so they must be accurate, fundable by a bank and defendable by the dealership. It’s essential that high-quality data back every DMS – having a “good enough” solution for automotive deal terms and payments just does not cut it for DMS systems.
  • AdTech / MarTech: Robust data offers advertising and marketing technology companies a unique advantage – it uses information from a wide variety of sources to generate accurate prices and payments throughout the entire vehicle purchasing process, from browsing online to finalizing the purchase in-dealership. This enables the dealerships running the ads to build trust and loyalty with their customers, who get the prices they initially see online. With the right kind of data and payment calculation, the advertised payment can be the payment that the consumer transacts on, which makes these ads desirable to OEMs and dealers who are looking for the utmost integrity in their offers.
  • FinTech: These solutions guide customers through auto financing programs on lender websites run by automakers’ captive finance arms, banks and credit unions. Like the advantages offered to advertising and marketing technology software, the right data allows these lenders to provide a pre-retail loan sourcing experience, helping their banking clients decide on a loan or lease program that works best for them.
  • Customer Relationship Management (CRM): These programs help dealerships understand which customers are in the process of purchasing vehicles and which vehicles best fit their needs. Complete datasets can show accurate pricing and monthly payments for vehicles, accounting for all fees, taxes, incentives, rebates and even current bank programs from the first quote, enabling dealerships to quickly and easily show their customers all-inclusive payment differences among vehicles they’re considering.
  • Digital Retailing: Complete and accurate pricing powered by data is again essential on websites for digital auto retailers and automotive marketplaces. Customers can see prices customized to their credit score, down payment, local fees and taxes, rebates and incentives, and dealership transaction preferences, giving them a sense of control and choice throughout the car purchasing process.

Dealership technology providers should look for data companies that provide complete and accurate data so they can provide the best possible solutions to their dealership clients. There’s no need for dealership technology providers to reinvent the wheel by cobbling together data, especially when they’re creating software designed to help dealerships get wheels on the road.

Book a demo today to see how Market Scan’s data can power your technology and provide you with the data you need, within your existing UI.