Kain Automotive, a training and consulting group, recently ran a six month composite of its clients' success with all lead providers. "We were caught by surprise when our auditing showed that AutoUSA's close rate numbers are considerably better than other new vehicle lead sources," said David Kain, President of KainAutomotive.com. "The gap between AutoUSA and the other popular providers has expanded rapidly this year. We are trying to determine what is causing the performance difference. Quality is of course an issue we will look at and suspect it will have a big role."

Kain used metrics reported from his clients every month via Monthly Internet Performance Summaries. From January 2007 through June 2007, in an average taken from more than 80 dealers, AutoUSA's close rate was 11.61%, which was at least 3% better than second-ranked Autobytel, and significantly higher than any other volume lead providers.

These results have also been confirmed by AutoNation, America's largest automotive retailer with more than 300 stores nationwide. "In our ongoing close rate analysis AutoUSA close rates are consistently 20% higher than any of the other providers we buy from," said Mark Taylor, Director of e-Commerce at AutoNation. "We share this data with AutoUSA on a regular basis to help them guide their business in an upward quality flight. We can see by the numbers and not 'opinions in a survey' that they have the best lead quality by far. That makes a lot of difference to us and our bottom line."

AutoUSA attributes the higher close rates to its strategic partnerships with the most respected and most visited automotive web sites including Edmunds.com, Kelley Blue Book, MSN and Yahoo! The majority of AutoUSA's leads come from these and similar top-rated web sites.

"None of the other new car lead providers come close to delivering the number of leads that we do from these highly qualified web sites," said Phil DuPree, President of AutoUSA. "From the beginning we have made lead quality our top priority and we continue to foster a culture of continued improvement."

To achieve the goals established in its initiative, AutoUSA increased capital expenditures in advanced filter and scrubbing technology, dedicated efforts to grow and expand its lead source partnerships, and has hired experienced and customer-centric oriented employees to service and support its network of more than 4,000 dealerships.

About AutoUSA (www.AutoUSA.com)
AutoUSA, Inc., is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and a subsidiary of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE: AN), the largest retail automotive company in the United States. AutoUSA is an independent third-party provider of leads to more than 4,000 dealerships. The company has built its success on a combination of advanced web-based technology and a network that includes the country's most well respected online automotive resources, including Edmunds.com, Kelley Blue Book, MSN Autos, Yahoo! Autos, America Online, NADA Analytical Services Group and AutoVantage.com. In 2006, 88 of the Ward's e-100 dealers were customers of AutoUSA. More information is available online at http://www.AutoUSA.com

SOURCE: PRWeb

---

Recommend this article...

Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register.