Top Buick/GMC dealer attracts 30 percent of business via mobile apps

Search Optics, a San Diego-based interactive marketing firm focused on the automotive industry, helped Sellers Buick/GMC create a quick-loading mobile presence providing instant access to store hours, directions and inventory.

"We want to make it easy for our customers to get to us no matter where they are," said Sam Slaughter president of Sellers Buick/GMC. "Being the number one Buick Dealer means we take our customer’s needs very seriously and we want them to get the information they need. Being able to find our dealership, schedule an appointment or contact us whenever and wherever it is convenient for them is the key to our success in keeping our customers happy. Our mobile presence provided by Search Optics helps us do that for customers at home, at work or on the go."

“We sold 2,276 new and used vehicles in 2010,” said John Sedlak, sales controller for the dealership. He also provided the total sales amount stated earlier.

"Our automotive dealers are seeing between twenty and thirty percent of their site traffic coming from a mobile device, with more and more customers calling a dealership using our mobile site's convenient contact features," said Christian Fuller, vice president of Search Optics. "As the mobile customer becomes more important to our clients, we are building experiences that not only provide extreme ease of use for the visitor, but tracks their activity and lead submission so that dealers can create the most compelling reasons to contact them – regardless of where the customers are or how they are engaging with the dealer."

We can only wonder how long it will be before the car buyer uses the mobile apps in their current car to contact a dealer, get a trade in quote, and make an appointment and buy their next vehicle – probably sometime this year or next.