AutoHook and Carfax Partner to Drive More Online Shoppers to Dealer Lots

DETROIT, MI (PRWEB) FEBRUARY 25, 2016

AutoHook, Powered by Urban Science, has officially announced the launch of their partnership with Carfax®. People shopping for used cars on Carfax.com will now receive extra incentives from select dealers to visit their showrooms for a test drive.

The partnership includes the integration of AutoHook’s incentive solutions into the vehicle details pages of Carfax Used Car Listings. The program is currently available to AutoHook customers that also are Carfax Advantage® Dealers with Used Car Listings. This comes at no additional charge to mutually subscribing dealerships and there is a simple form to opt-in.

New dealer and OEM clients of AutoHook that are already Carfax Advantage Dealers on Carfax Used Car Listings will be added to the integration during the initial setup process. Dealerships are only responsible for paying for redemptions (actual showroom visits) and AutoHook takes care of the entire incentive fulfillment process.

Following the September 2015 acquisition of AutoHook to global data giant, Urban Science, and the January 2016 launch of the all-new DriveAutoHook.com, the alliance came at a perfect time for AutoHook customers. Dealers will see additional benefits of working with the digital conversion experts, as the company is the only one in the space capable of attributing conversions to sales in near real-time.

“This industry has seen so many disruptions over the years, beginning with CRMs, then the Internet, and now with mobile. I am honored to say AutoHook has successfully disrupted the trend of declining lead conversion rates facing automotive today,” says David Metter, President of AutoHook. “Adding Carfax into this mix opens doors for further increasing both conversions and showroom visits for dealers and OEMs, attributing those clicks all the way to a sale - and it will bring more value to consumers during their research process.”

AutoHook continues to show their multidimensional business model while leveraging Urban Science’s unmatched data resources. By adding AutoHook’s technology into Carfax’s Used Car Listings, shoppers are incentivized to take the next step from viewing inventory online to connecting with the selling dealer and visiting their store for a test drive. The integration helps dealerships brand consistently across multiple platforms and ultimately increase conversions, leads, walk-ins and sales.

“Dealers choose to be on Carfax.com because it connects them with more qualified, down-funnel shoppers,” said Larry Gamache, Communications Director at Carfax. “Combining the added incentive dealers can offer through AutoHook’s test drive solution with the many unique benefits people already get from shopping on Carfax.com further increases the likelihood of a sale.”

For qualified AutoHook dealerships that are already Carfax Advantage Dealers with Used Car Listings, there is a simple “opt-in” process, consisting of a quick form to get set up. This comes at no additional fee, only a further benefit to AutoHook’s rapidly growing client base.

Dealers can opt in to the program here or contact AutoHook Dealer Support at DealerSupport(at)UrbanScience(dot)com.

About AutoHook (http://www.DriveAutoHook.com)

AutoHook uses an innovative blend of digital marketing, data science, execution, and their award-winning sales attribution engine to drive the highest intent to buy customers straight into dealer showrooms. AutoHook offers time-sensitive, high value "hooks" to selected prospects that can only be redeemed in-store. No other digital endeavor has come close to mastering their ability to attribute nearly 100% of showroom visits & sales to a single campaign while delivering show rates of up to twice the national average.

AutoHook provides dealers, OEMs, and agencies the power to offer customizable, real-time incentives to prospective buyers on dealer websites, email, third-party sites, direct mail, digital advertising, social channels, call centers, and most importantly, on mobile! Combining AutoHook’s incentive-based solutions with Urban Science’s unrivaled wealth of data, analytics, and industry expertise has resulted in driving higher lead conversion at a significantly lower cost-per-sale. Drive Website Traffic. Drive Leads. Drive Showroom Traffic. Drive the Experience. Drive Sales at DriveAutoHook.com.

About Carfax (http://www.carfax.com) 
Carfax, a unit of IHS Inc., is the vehicle history expert for used car buyers, sellers and the automotive industry. Carfax created the Vehicle History Report in 1986 and is trusted by 30,000 dealerships to help acquire, advertise, retail and service used cars using innovative services like Carfax Used Car Listings and myCarfax. Carfax is an essential part of 36 manufacturer Certified programs, is integrated into hundreds of acquisition and inventory management tools, and featured on thousands of automotive websites. Become a Carfax Advantage® dealer and see how Carfax helps your dealership win at http://www.carfaxonline.com. Based in Englewood, Colorado, USA, IHS is the leading global source of information, insight and analytics in the automotive industry and other critical areas that shape today’s business landscape.

AutoHook Launches All-New DriveAutoHook.Com

Detroit, MI – Date: 01/26/2016 – AutoHook, Powered by Urban Science today announced the official launch of their all-new website URL, DriveAutoHook.com.

The rebrand came shortly after the late 2015 acquisition of AutoHook, formerly a division of HookLogic, to global automotive data and consulting company, Urban Science.

AutoHook has grown significantly since their first products hit dealer showrooms in 2011. Backed with the additional resources and industry-best data available within Urban Science, AutoHook was due for a fresh, upgraded platform that would highlight what differentiates their technology for OEMs, dealerships, and agency partners. Thus, DriveAutoHook.com was born.

“We had to sit down and really dissect the elements and all the moving parts that define the multi-faceted formula that is AutoHook. At our absolute core, we drive conversion on sites, drive buyers into dealer showrooms, and drive sales; it’s that simple,” says David Metter, President of AutoHook.

“We are able to do this, helping OEMs by building a redemption network with dealers and making both happy with the results. In addition, their agency partners can ‘ride the rails’ on behalf of their OEM and dealers. All of these opportunities are accompanied by the attribution data, powered by Urban Science, to prove out the return on investment,” adds Metter.

AutoHook’s rapidly growing product suite has expanded well into the OEM and Tier II levels and has already experienced an upsurge of attention across dealer rooftops, and through further integrations with industry agency and vendor partners. DriveAutoHook was the most fitting URL to fuel the company’s 2016 efforts to better service both their existing and expanding client base.

The new website features an entirely recharged concept and design, including specific pages and content devoted solely to dealers, OEMs, or partner clients. The site aims to drive visitors into one of these three buckets. As for current AutoHook subscribers, the new URL signifies the beginning of a more beneficial relationship, with more integrations and solutions already in beta testing that will be released starting in the 2nd quarter of 2016.

“When you have the assets to drive great sales data, inventory data, and lead data, combined with the ability to execute with that data, it drives a higher intention buyer into a showroom, and the validation comes when these shoppers purchase cars,” says Metter.

The competition for dealerships is only going to intensify over the next year. Consumers are shopping digitally now more than ever and in many cases, lead and showroom conversion rates are down. Thankfully, AutoHook continues to demonstrate success in reversing this trend with their targeted incentives that drive higher conversion rates, showroom visits, and sales.

About AutoHook:

AutoHook uses an innovative blend of digital marketing, data science, execution, and their award-winning sales attribution engine to drive the highest intent to buy customers straight into dealer showrooms. AutoHook offers time-sensitive, high value "hooks" to selected prospects that can only be redeemed in-store. No other digital endeavor has come close to mastering their ability to attribute nearly 100% of showroom visits & sales to a single campaign while delivering dealership showroom visit rates of up to twice the national average.

AutoHook provides dealers, OEMs, and agencies the power to offer customizable, real-time incentives to prospective buyers on dealer websites, email, third-party sites, direct mail, digital advertising, social channels, call centers, and most importantly, on mobile! Combining AutoHook’s incentive-based solutions with Urban Science’s unrivaled wealth of data, analytics, and industry expertise has resulted in driving higher lead conversion at a significantly lower cost-per-sale. Drive Website Traffic. Drive Leads. Drive Showroom Traffic. Drive the Experience. Drive Sales at DriveAutoHook.com.

A Very Special Year-End Salute

From David Metter | President, AutoHook

There are two questions that have been asked of me several times over the past few months during my time speaking at conferences, interacting with clients, and hanging out within our family and friend circles. The first one pertains to our recent acquisition by Urban Science and the second one is connected more to the holiday season that is currently upon us. If you know me, I have never been one to shy away from a question and have enjoyed answering them so much that I thought I would make it the focus of my annual AutoHook year-end salute.  

So let's tackle the first one.  

1. How is the recent acquisition going and what does this mean for AutoHook and its clients?

The best way I can describe the AutoHook purchase and transition into the Urban Science company and culture: refreshing. When you have multiple companies that want to acquire your “baby,” it makes you feel good. That feeling quickly leaves you as the process gets maddening. Things never move as quickly as you want, and business people do strange things. I was fortunate to be connected to a number of “mentors” who had gone through this process and helped me to stay focused and calm (most of the time) as we made decisions on where we would best fit as a team and solution set. I can confidentially say that Urban Science was the perfect fit not only for us at AutoHook, but also for our clients and new prospects looking to drive customers into their showroom and increase sales in 2016. Anytime you can align the industry’s best data provider with near real-time data on car sales, lead scoring and enhancement solutions, customer service history, (I can go on and on) and marry it up with the industry-leading execution engine that works on websites, mobile, third party sites, email, and social channels, it sets the stage for great success in 2016. A few of our OEM clients are already reaping the benefits of the acquisition, and our enhanced dealer solutions aren’t far behind. This was my ultimate goal and what I wanted to do when I was the CMO at MileOne, but had to get a bunch of vendors to work together with the limited, fragmented data available at the time. This is an exciting time for us as we have already established great solutions and built and maintained one central rail system that a manufacturer, agency, dealer group, or single franchise dealership could utilize with multiple vendors. The entire AutoHook team came along for what should be a great ride. Check out the video to see how Urban Science and AutoHook plan to execute for you in the coming year.  

Now, on to the second question.  

2.  What am I thankful for this holiday season? 

First & foremost, I am thankful for my faith in God. I know that's not the PC thing to add to an industry newsletter, but it is the absolute truth. It has changed me and allowed me to serve others well instead of serving myself. Second, I am certainly thankful for my wife, Loni, who was my main sounding board during the 127 day due diligence period. As some of you know, she is an industry veteran as well. It's nice to have someone who can empathize with the day-to-day curve balls that the car business can throw at you. Speaking about the car business, I am very thankful for the industry that we work in. It has blessed me beyond anything I could have ever imagined when I started selling cars at Dave Dennis Jeep, Mazda, VW in 1990. It has provided for my family beyond our needs, allowed me to build multiple technologies, meet and work with some unbelievably intelligent people, and have the ability to help others build and enhance their careers on both the dealer operations and automotive technology sides of the business. If I left the industry right now, I would feel fulfilled...

But that’s not going to happen. Most technology transactions are an exit strategy. This was always positioned as a growth move and just three months in, the evidence is starting to show. The AutoHook and Urban Science teams are already synergistic. The product roadmap includes four new or integrated solutions (one of which has already been built), and we are firing on all cylinders. If you are a student of our industry, you know that this rarely, if ever, happens in three months, let alone in the first year. But the proof will be in our offerings, the data evidence, and the support of our customer base. Keep an eye on our process. You won’t be disappointed.  

On behalf of the entire AutoHook team, I would like to wish you, your family, and your work colleagues a very happy, healthy, successful  Holiday Season, and a safe and wonderful New Year!  

Sincerely,

David Metter

Want to hear more about the AutoHook acquisition? Watch the video interview highlights with David Metter & Rod Wright.