from- news.yahoo.com

AutoShopper.com’s website buyers can find a million new and used certified pre-owned cars from thousands of auto dealers and private sellers. Now with new open source technologies being added to its dealer management structure from That’s Us Technologies, dealers can orchestrate cutting edge classified marketing services. This software suite to simplifies the process’ that dealers use to broadcast vehicles across the web in a one-click fashion. This leverage of web services integrates easily with AutoShopper.com and provides dealers with an easier, more efficient way of posting cars quickly and easily to the latest classified and social media sites, also easy to use dashboard is available for productivity and lead reporting and also integrates seamlessly with a dealership’s website.

Read full article at: http://news.yahoo.com/autoshopper-com-thatsus-com-dealers-over-top-strategic-081125124.html

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Watch as a member of our support team demos the LotVantage application.

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See what customers are saying about LotVantage’s Classified Listing Application for Autos and Powersports.

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Backpage.com is a “craigslist-like” online classified site which is also available to our customers. By subscribing to backpage.com, dealers will be able to expand the distribution of their listings, and get more exposure for their vehicles. Any dealer who subscribes to one of our products is eligible to sign up for backpage.com distribution. Here are some interesting facts about backpage.com:

• Backpage is ranked 138th most visited site in US (alexa.com)
• 260 Newspapers’ Online Classifieds are powered by backpage.com
• Over 3 million unique visitors in March 2011
• +20% monthly growth for almost a year
• Posting 2.0 now offers FULLY AUTOMATED FEEDS to backpage.com
• No ghosting or flagging issues
• Posting to over 220 metro markets available
• No Captcha Code necessary
• No backpage.com account required

Sample backpage.com listing:

auto inventory, autodealers, backpage, Classified Listing Application, craigslist, inventory management software, inventory marketing, online marketing Hide

Every ad posted to either craigslist or backpage.com includes their own VSLP (Vehicle-Specific Landing Pages or simply just Landing Pages). These custom landing pages will scrape traffic off of the classified portal and bring customers directly to the vehicle’s specific page. Each VSLP includes multiple calls to action to increase leads for dealers, including:

• Links to dealership website dealership phone numbers contact dealer forms and full analytics
• Links to all other VSLP’s (the dealer’s entire inventory).

Vehicle specific landing pages have been proven to increase dealership website traffic in excess of 28% – making this feature a great addition to the product.

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Craigslist+ integrates a new user user-friendly interface that internalizes the Craigslist functions and ultimately reduces the time necessary to manage your Craigslist advertisements.

Find the vehicle you want to post, hover over the Select an action menu, and select Post to Craigslist. This will open the ad preparation page.

From this page, you can do the following:

• Select your preferred template
• Click the Edit Details link to change the vehicle details
• Modify the Craigslist ad title
• Change the Craigslist market for the post
• Select preferred banner (works only for banner supported templates)
• Select photo count

To begin the actual posting process, Click the Post To Craigslist button.

The first time you post to Craigslist using this system, the application will prompt you for permission to run the java applet. Check the Always trust content and then click Run. By checking the “Always trust” box, it should bypass this prompt in the future and immediately begin the actual posting process.

Once the posting process begins, a yellow progress bar will appear. On the first post you attempt, if will ask you to login with your Craigslist account credentials. Enter that information and click Login.

At the end of this process, you will be prompted to enter in the captcha code to finalize the post.

When the post is complete, you will be returned to the main inventory page and will notice it says “Craigslist Post Successful“.

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Ever receive a sales call and wish you had a way of knowing the caller’s ID and where they were calling from? LotVantage now provides an advanced Call Tracking service to help auto, motorcycle and powersports dealers better manage their leads.

Don’t just receive calls – track them!

The LotVantage Call Tracking software provides dealers with a unique toll free phone number that is inserted into each online advertisment. The toll free number allows the phone calls to be tracked and provide the dealership with important details about the lead, such as: the caller’s name, phone number, state and area code they are calling from, and the date and time of the call.

It gets even better – LotVantage Call Tracking for auto dealerships can tell whether or not a call was answered and the duration of the phone call or voicemail message. But what was the conversation about? Is the lead a serious buyer? Never forget the details again! LotVantage Call Tracking records the conversations and voicemails and enables dealers to listen to them – all from within the software!

Every incoming call is tracked as a lead from within LotVantage’s Lead Management System. Access important details like where the lead came from (craigslist, your website, etc.), who the caller was, the salesperson that took the call and the duration of it. Have a third party Customer Relationship Management (CRM)? LotVantage’s Lead Management System with Call Tracking gives you the ability to export your leads to your CRM!

Enable Call Tracking in your LotVantage account today, or click here to receive a free trial & demo!

autodealers, call tracking, Classified Listing Application, craigslist, inventory management software, inventory marketing, Lead Management, online marketing, post to craigslist Hide

With so many auto, motorcycle and powersport inventory marketing systems out there it can get a little difficult to figure out the right fit for your dealership. At LotVantage, we cater to dealerships of all sizes and ensure the best possible customer support out there. That’s just one of the reasons our customers rave about our online marketing solutions.

Superior customer support is integral to our success and the success of the dealerships that rely on us. With other companies, you might get the run around and never even receive a call back.  You can think of LotVantage’s Support team as a technology partner with your dealership – anything you need, just ask and we’ll provide the solution.

Need an example? Many online inventory marketing softwares provide websites with email for auto dealers. What they don’t provide is adequate support behind it. How will your site get updated if you need the phone number changed? What can be done to better represent your dealership’s image online? What happens if you can’t access your email? LotVantage provides multiple avenues for you to obtain these answers: chat on live support with a customer service representative, send us an email, browse the LotVantage Help Desk, submit a support ticket, or hey – just give us a call at 813-470-7094!

Review our eBay Motors & Craigslist Getting Started Guide, browse the Frequently Asked Questions and see the latest updates at the LotVantage HelpDesk.

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The U.S. auto industry had one heck of a year in 2009. Nearly every automaker in the United States struggled to stay afloat and sales plummeted thanks mostly to the recession. December, however, did bring some good news as the industry continued it’s slow rise out of the pits. While shoppers’ enthusiasm is still below pre-crises levels there was a slight uptick in auto sales during the last month of ’09.

The annualized rate of U.S. auto sales went up to 11.2 million, which is up from 9.1 million at the end of 2008 but still far below the 16 million it was before the economy bottomed out. Like Jessica Caldwell, senior analyst at Edmunds.com, said, “It’s not even growth, really — it’s more like stabilization”.

Some U.S. automakers are being hit much harder than others. Of course, GM and Chrysler have been the two most negatively impacted by the recession. Chrysler’s December sales were down 4% from last December and annual sales were down 36% for 2009. General Motors, which is now largely owned by the United States Government, saw December sales drop 6% below December ’08 levels. GM’s annual sales were also down 30% from 2008. For GM, those drops can be attributed to a reduction in fleet sales, a drop in spending for consumer incentives, and the decision to close the Pontiac and Saturn brands. Thanks to the U.S. Government’s bailouts of these two automakers and a $3 Billion Cash For Clunkers program auto sales were able to somewhat stabilize.

China, meanwhile, surged and has nearly matched the U.S. as the largest auto market.

The brightest spot for the U.S. auto industry has been the performance of Ford, which did not take any government bailout money. Ford’s annual sales were down from 2008 but December sales were up 33% from the same month in ’08. The company’s stock has also surged to over $11 per share, up from just over $1 a share in early 2009.

Some people project that the number of cars scrapped in 2009 was higher than the number of new cars sold. This number wouldn’t be inflated by Cash For Clunkers because each clunker was traded for a new car. Public transportation in the United States has become more heavily relied upon as a result. Although there may be a slight shift away from personal transportation to public transportation, John DeCicco, a University of Michigan lecturer and former senior fellow at the Environmental Defense Fund, believes the U.S. is far from ending it’s love affair with the automobile.

Source

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General Motors began an experiment in July that had dealers posting new cars for sale on eBay. The project ends today, and although cars didn’t fly off the lot as a result, the move peaked plenty of interest.

GM and eBay said the program, which was limited to California, was useful in helping determine whether auctions would work on a nationwide basis. The online auctions were credited with generating 1.5 million page views and 15,000 sales leads for dealers.

According to GM, about 95% of its California dealers participated in the program, which required little of them other than that they upload inventory information and guarantee availability of the vehicles listed for auction.

Although the auctions will cease after today, GM said it was not closing the door on the online auction format for good. Its dealers will continue to sell certified pre-owned cars on EBay, as do dealers for Ford, Audi, Lexus, Toyota and Mercedes.

In addition, GM’s spokesman John McDonald said the automaker would consider posting new cars for sale online again in the future, perhaps as early as next year.

George Peterson, president of marketing consulting firm AutoPacific, believes that Internet sales will play a larger part in the new-car distribution chain.

(Psst – George, we knew this already!)

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