Chrome Systems Corp., provider of automotive data, configuration technology and commerce solutions, and Lease Marketing, Ltd., announced June 4 that Chrome's configuration technology has been integrated into Dealer Link(TM), Lease Marketing's point-of-sale leasing software service.
Lease Marketing's 4,500 automotive dealer customers will now be able to offer consumers a side-by-side evaluation of vehicle leasing options using the most accurate automotive data, according to Karen Dillon, executive vice president of Lease Marketing.
"We feel this truly is a marriage of best-of-breeds," Dillon said. "By adding Chrome's configuration technology to our leasing solution we are delivering the ultimate in dealer control and flexibility."
By combining Chrome's pricing and configuration technology with the Dealer Link suite, dealers are able to calculate and present lease options and information in real time for the vehicles configured. If multiple cars are being considered, Chrome's configuration technology allows the dealer to show the customer side-by-side comparisons. The combined solution allows dealers to meet customers' needs for accurate, independent and comprehensive leasing information, enabling dealers to improve the customer buying experience and ultimately increase sales, according to Bob Navarre, CEO of Chrome.
"Dealers are searching for effective solutions for selling vehicles while improving customer satisfaction," Navarre said. "Chrome is pleased to partner with Lease Marketing to provide this comprehensive leasing solution, serving both the dealer and its customers."
Lease Link(TM), Lease Marketing's leasing solution that allows dealers to quickly present lease options and information, thereby meeting both the customer's need and the dealer's terms for agreement, is part of the recently released Dealer Link suite of products.
In addition to Lease Link, the Dealer Link suite includes Wizard Inventory and Custom Finance, which matches customers to inventory and lenders to create the most profitable deals, and Guest Track, an advanced software application for dealers' business development centers that manages customers, salespeople and target markets. "The Dealer Link suite of products provides dealers with a comprehensive, integrated package that ensures they have the latest and most accurate information, simplifies the process and increases revenue," Dillon said.
Chrome's desktop vehicle configuration tools, used by about half of all automotive dealers in the U.S. and Canada, deliver instant access to in-depth automotive configuration, specification and pricing information. Chrome's vehicle configurator provides access to more than 6,000 makes and models and 50,000 standard and optional equipment choices. "By offering customers unbiased, accurate and consistent vehicle information throughout the dealership and on their Web site, dealers are able to build customers' confidence and gain their trust," Navarre said.
Chrome: "Most Accurate"
In a recent independent study CNW Marketing/Research concluded for the second year in a row that Chrome provides the most accurate online vehicle pricing and 100 percent orderable configurations.
About Chrome
With more than 12,000 clients, including half of all automotive dealers in the U.S. and Canada, Chrome provides configuration technology, software and professional services to produce complete enterprise solutions for all segments of the retail automotive industry, including manufacturers, fleet companies, dealers and Internet sites.
Chrome pioneered the technology behind electronic vehicle configuration and for the past 15 years has collected, analyzed and enhanced "raw" automotive data from all manufacturers.
Chrome provides the North American ordering system for General Motors and its 8,400 dealers. Chrome specializes in ordering systems for fleet management, serving 15 of the 17 largest fleet leasing companies. Chrome's automotive dealer clients accounted for more than half of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. in 2000.
The company is based in Portland, Oregon. For more information, call 1-800-936-8906 or visit www.chrome.com.
About Lease Marketing
Lease Marketing was created over a decade ago and bills itself as the largest provider of leasing software to the dealer and financial industry.
The company says it was formed to enable dealers to find the best leases for their customers using the quickest and latest technology. Since the introduction of the Lease Link program, more than 5,000 dealers and financial institutions have utilized this leasing database and have allowed Lease Marketing to provide accurate and timely information to their clients.
