Been in the automotive industry for the past 6 years as their IT consultant. I have seen dealers spend tens of thousands of dollars in their web sites over the years. A typical web site today will cost a dealer on average between $8,000 – $20,000 not to mention the monthly hosting fees from as little as $200 – $400 per month.These figures are unheard of coming from a developer’s background. But most of the dealers are willing to spend the money but not knowing what they are getting for their money. They will often hire a web developer to maintain their web site after the development is done. With today’s competitive automotive market and shrinking profit margins. It is time for dealers to wake up and smell the coffee, to spend their money wisely on Read More…
06.28.10 | Autos | iwellbc
Can that really happen? What do you mean by taken hostage? Well folks after running my web and software development company for the past 5 years, I have encountered so many clients who have some major beef with their web design and hosting companies. It seems when you are opening or running an automotive dealership, the design company automatically charges you three to fives times more just because they think they can get away with it. There are few specialty web design companies that focuses on automotive web services, they can charge you anywhere from $6000 to $12000 to develop a dynamic web site. They usually will require 50% upfront, and after receiving the money their design team will produce a mock up for your approval. These companies can take up to 60 days to deliver Read More…
06.22.10 | Autos | iwellbc
DMS system or “Dealer Management System” refers to the complete packaged software that can run your automotive business. From printing service invoices to manage internet sales, from inventory management all the way to accounting and payroll. It is suppose to be the comprehensive system that is able to run a dealership all in one. But the software vendors in the market place are often poorly developed and hopelessly outdated. Many of the DMS or even the CRM solutions out there can be unnecessarily over complicated and redudant. Trying to enforce certain processes in the automotive business often leads to overwhelming human errors, and counter productive system glitches. If you can take some time out for a little research, you should ask your support staff just how many functions of your DMS system they are truly using Read More…
06.21.10 | Autos | iwellbc
We all have heard of the saying “functionality over design”, but how can this phrase apply in today’s automotive CRM industry? After been in the Canadian automotive industry for the past 7 years, I have encountered many CRM solutions from the software vendors. There are a wide range of selections of software available in the Canadian market, but very few are catered towards the smaller dealers. Many CRM solution vendors are in a rat race to become increasingly more complex, this unnecessary growth in complexity usually forces the end user to make mistakes rather than profit. A poorly designed CRM solution often enforces many artificial business rules that are not a reflection of the real business world.No two automotive dealerships are the same, hence no two business rules can apply exactly the same way. It is Read More…
06.20.10 | Autos | iwellbc
When you think about the auto industry, software possibly isn’t the first thing that can come to your mind. If you own an automobile repair shop or an automobile dealership however, you know how vital car software is when running your business.Visit our automotive software shopAuto industry software continues to evolve, providing more abilities to automate your office operations, sales and repair records. Automotive diagnostic software is starting to become more complex, giving you the ability to better research issues and supply better purchaser service. The automotive repair software industry should be followed closely to observe auto software reports and trends to stay competitive.When you concentrate on the auto industry, software potentially isn’t the first thing that can come to your mind. If you own an automobile repair shop or an auto dealership however, you know Read More…
06.16.10 | Autos | iwellbc