Subaru of America Inc., with more than 500 Subaru dealers in the U.S., can now offer their customers a streamlined online shopping experience as a result of a new e-business program that was developed in partnership with The Cobalt Group.
Cobalt, a provider of e-business products and services to the automotive industry, worked closely with Subaru and its dealers to develop a strategic program to help boost dealers' Internet leads and resulting sales, according to Terry Smail, executive vice president of sales and account services for The Cobalt Group. This program is designed to create a consistent online brand presence for the automaker and its dealers, according to Smail.
"Cobalt is helping Subaru and its dealers nationwide attract and develop relationships with online customers through an enhanced e-business program," Smail said. "We will continue to work closely with Subaru and its dealers to enable them to capitalize on the benefits of the Internet and turn more leads into sales."
"Since launching the new Subaru dealer Internet program with Cobalt, our dealers have seen a significant boost in their online traffic," said Jonathan Rivard, e-business operations manager for Subaru of America Inc. "More importantly, dealers are receiving better leads with cleaner, more informative quote requests."
Key components of the Subaru dealer e-business program include:
MyPrice: Dealers can gain flexibility with Internet pricing on their Web sites with the new MyPrice feature, according to Cobalt. MyPrice is an enhancement to Cobalt's AutoShow tool that gives dealers the option to activate prices they set on their site along with invoice price (if selected) and MSRP.
Subaru dealer support Web site: Participating dealers have access to a support site for the tools and information they need to implement effective e-business strategies. The support site plays a crucial role in training dealers about the program. Features of the site include information about the program, site management tips, promotional ideas, and online technical support.
Redesigned sites and enhanced navigation: The new Subaru dealer sites feature enhanced navigation and dynamic designs that are consistent with Subaru.com. Dealers can choose from a gallery of Subaru-branded designs and customize their sites to reflect their market and unique value proposition. The result for consumers, according to Cobalt, is a smooth online car shopping experience that seamlessly guides them through the car shopping process from Subaru.com to the dealer's Web site.
Subaru Essentials Bundle: Cobalt provides Subaru dealers with essential e-business marketing and management tools including Web site development and hosting, e-mail forms, interactive hours and directions, automated new-vehicle inventory listings on their sites (with optional upgrade for used inventory listings), new-car inventory listings on DealerNet.com and Yahoo Classifieds, and traffic reporting tools to measure their site's effectiveness.
About The Cobalt Group
The Cobalt Group™, headquartered in Seattle, Wash., is a provider of e-business products and services designed to help automotive dealers and manufacturers manage their businesses online.
Cobalt's suite of e-business solutions includes Web services, Web site hosting, e-commerce applications, Internet-based customer relationship management applications, data management, and best practices training and consulting.
Nearly half of the nation's auto dealers use Cobalt's technology, including 8,950 Web services clients, and approximately 9,000 PartsVoice® (www.partsvoice.com) clients.
Cobalt's e-business products and services are endorsed by 14 automotive manufacturers and more than 50 of the 100 largest dealer groups in the United States. Cobalt is the only e-business provider endorsed by the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA).
Cobalt operates MotorPlace.com™ (www.MotorPlace.com), an online business management and industry information resource for auto dealers. At MotorPlace.com, dealers utilize Cobalt tools to manage their Web sites, buy wholesale used vehicles through MotorPlace Auto Exchange, locate and market OEM parts through PartsVoice®, purchase leads through Pick-or-Pass, and access industry information, news, events, and stock quotes.
Cobalt also operates DealerNet® (www.dealernet.com), one of the most widely visited consumer automotive information portals on the Web. IntegraLink Corporation, a Cobalt company, is the auto industry's premier provider of automotive data collection and reporting services.
Cobalt has offices in Seattle, Wash.; Portland, Ore.; Detroit, Mich.; Columbus, Ohio; and Austin, Texas.
For more information, visit www.cobaltgroup.com or call (800) 909-8244.
About Subaru of America Inc.
Subaru of America Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan.
Subaru pioneered the concept of the passenger car/sport-utility vehicle with the introduction of the Subaru Outback, billed as the "World's First Sport Utility Wagon." The Subaru Legacy is the best selling all-wheel drive car sold in America, based on the Polk Company retail registration statistics as of Dec. 31, 2000.
Headquartered near Philadelphia, the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of 588 dealers across the United States.
All Legacy and Outback models sold in the United States are produced at the Subaru-Isuzu Automotive Inc. manufacturing plant near Lafayette, Ind.
