New mobile app helps customer and car dealer more easily connect

Back in the 1980s on the classic cult TV show, “Knight Rider,” the lead character played by David Hasselhoff battled criminals with the help of his partner, a heavily modified black Pontiac Firebird Trans Am named KITT.
One of the best parts of the show was the fact that Hasselhoff’s character, Michael Knight, could talk to KITT. The interaction enabled the crime-fighting duo to form a tight bond throughout the show’s run.
At the time, the thought of communicating with your car seemed like pure fantasy. Three decades later, fantasy has to some degree become reality.
While the new mobile app developed by Akron-based Aytomic Technology called Proximity Aware will not enable you to carry on a conversation with your car or become a crime fighter, it will give you the ability to “communicate” with your car in ways that have never before been possible through your mobile device.
“It’s really creating a symbiotic relationship between the customer, the car and the dealer,” says Chris Thompson, co-founder and vice president of operations at Aytomic.
Aytomic and Montrose Auto Group have partnered to develop an app that allows customers to scan a vehicle’s vehicle identification number on the lot and have the vehicle information on their mobile device prior to working with a sales representative.
Customers can add vehicles to their watch list and receive notifications on price alerts or be notified when a car is available that matches their desired criteria.
Once the vehicle is purchased, the app can deliver notifications to the customer that it’s time to get the vehicle’s oil changed or have the tires rotated or fix a problem. Service appointments can be scheduled with one click.
“It’s designed to create a method of efficiency for not only the salespeople, but for customers,” says Shawn Inks, co-founder and vice president of sales at Aytomic. “It’s not just about selling cars. It’s about building that relationship.”
Building relationships
Thompson’s brother, John, is the Internet marketing manager at Montrose Auto Group. The brothers were talking about enhancements for the dealership and saw an opportunity in the mobile app space.
“We had people sitting in our showroom looking up the prices of vehicles on their phones and comparing prices while they were waiting on our managers to come back with numbers,” John says. “Websites are already getting a little archaic and the way people shop for cars has changed so much. They don’t go from dealership to dealership on a weekend anymore.”
A pilot program was developed for use at Montrose and Proximity Aware rolled out at the company’s 13 dealership locations in April 2015. The goal was transparency, John says.
“People don’t want to be sold,” John says. “They want to buy. You want to give them a reason to buy. We want to give them the information the best we can in the most efficient way we can so they can be educated.”
For those on either side of a business transaction who value the personal touch when making a purchase, Inks says the mobile app will only enhance those relationships.
“The ability for a dealership to have that functionality for those that desire it is creating an advantage for the dealership,” Inks says. “If I’m searching for a vehicle and I have a question, I can chat with a sales rep. Or I can put in a request for a test drive or request more information on a vehicle in a very non-threatening way.”
And once you buy a vehicle, the app will enable you to have a stronger relationship with your car, truck or SUV.
“We see customers wanting to get engaged in the health of their vehicle,” Inks says. “You can be notified on the app that your car is due for an oil change because your car is telling you. That’s where we see the future of this going.”
Get on board
Aytomic has formed a strategic partnership with Atlanta-based Automobile Protection Corp. (APCO) and the company’s CEO, Larry Dorfman, to bring the Proximity Aware app to dealerships across the country.
“He strongly believes that this is a void in the marketplace and that this is an application that dealerships will gravitate to at an extremely fast rate,” Inks says.
Customers ultimately choose what direction a business needs to go and Inks feels the companies that can most effectively integrate technology and customer service will ultimately come out on top.
“If you put your customer first in technology and create something truly valuable for them, they are more likely to come back to you,” Inks says. ●
How to reach: Aytomic Technology, (330) 597-0005 or www.aytomic.com; Montrose Auto Group, (330) 666-0711 or www.gomontrose.com