LAS VEGAS -- SouthwestRe and marketing firm Visible Customer have partnered to improve marketing services and profitability for auto dealerships nationwide.

Through the partnership SouthwestRe, a provider of insurance products, policy administration, claims service and turnkey reinsurance solutions, will give auto dealers access to Visible Customer's innovative "1to1" marketing services. Visible Customer's dealer marketing programs have proven to increase dealer profitability and greatly reduce advertising costs within as little as three months.

"The results of our pilot programs with Visible Customer were phenomenal," said Jim Smith, president and CEO of SouthwestRe. "Our clients experienced significant returns on investment in a very short period of time using Visible Customer's customer intelligence and marketing tools. Not only will our partnership help replicate those outstanding results for all our dealers, it should make a significant, positive impact on the auto industry overall."

Smith formally announced the partnership with Visible Customer during his keynote address at the F&I Conference and Expo in Las Vegas on Sept. 17.

Visible Customer uses a customized, proprietary Intelligent Membership Database (IMD) to extract, refine, append and analyze dealer DMS data. The IMD helps transform the data into highly targeted marketing and rewards/loyalty campaigns that capture best opportunities for all areas of the dealership, drive strong customer retention and build unique dealership brand.

Visible Customer also evaluates and reports weekly on the effectiveness of each campaign and identifies future opportunities based on analysis of data, customer response and new industry trends or offerings. Auto dealerships engaged with the marketing firm typically experience triple digit ROI and significant profitability increases within the first three months. As a result, dealers are often able to drastically reduce advertising outlays long term.

"SouthwestRe agents will be equipped with the knowledge and information to introduce Visible Customer to their dealer clients. Dealers in the Visible Customer pilots have sold more cars, obtained more service appointments, closed more F&I products and cut advertising costs," said Gabe Galaviz, executive v.p. for SouthwestRe.

Galaviz will be leading the team to roll out the partnership across SouthwestRe agents throughout the remainder of 2008. Both companies expect to experience significant results in terms of increased business across the SouthwestRe and Visible Customer dealership client bases.

"SouthwestRe is one of the most respected leaders in the industry. They're known not just for their performance, but as a corporation that has always operated with a high degree of integrity. For Visible Customer, it's crucial that the values and mission of our partners be in alignment with our focus on advocating for the customer," said John Stapleton, founder and chairman of the board for Visible Customer.