Inventory updates-such as a change in price, photos or dealer comments -made using any Dealer Specialties tool will appear automatically on the dealer’s website(s).

“For years the industry buzzword has been ‘real-time’-now it’s a reality,” said Joe High, XIGroup general manager. “Dealer Specialties is the largest provider of inventory collection services in the industry and we are proud to offer our clients instant updates of their data and photos.”

Al Hess, general manager of Dealer Specialties, said of the integration, “In choosing Dealer Specialties inventory management and XIGroup websites, dealers now do not have to worry about manually updating their website with mid-day price and inventory changes. Those changes on a dealer’s XIGroup website will be seamlessly done through the Dealer Specialties IVM tool. We believe this makes the combined offering between our two companies the most unique in the marketplace today.”

Real-time inventory updates are available free of charge to all XIGroup website clients using Dealer Specialties for their inventory and requires only a confirmation call from the client to turn on the service. Interested clients should call 888-924-6448

About XIGroup

XIGroup is an industry leader in providing website value and customer support. For more than 10 years the company’s proven online services have empowered franchise and independent dealerships by helping them interact effectively with potential Internet car buyers. Easy-to-use, SEO friendly and cost-effective tools and superior customer service are the hallmarks XIGroup. For more information, visit www.XIGroup.com.

About Dominion Enterprises

Dominion Enterprises is a leading marketing services company serving the automotive, enthusiast and commercial vehicle, real estate, apartment rental, and employment industries. The company’s businesses provide a comprehensive suite of technology-based marketing solutions including Internet advertising, lead generation, CRM, Web site design and hosting, and data management services. The company has more than 45 market-leading Web sites reaching more than 16.7 million unique visitors, and more than 450 magazines with a weekly circulation of 4.3 million. Headquartered in Norfolk, Va., the company has 5,400 employees in more than 200 offices nationwide. For more information, visit http://www.DominionEnterprises.com.

That’s right, my opinion has every dealer displaying actual inventory and some dealers displaying actual inventory and a vehicle builder. I have heard a number of different reasons why dealers don’t think they should display their actual inventory. The most common reason is because they are a small dealer without a lot of inventory. My response to that would be that until the car buying process has become completely automated and the difference between buying a car from one dealer online vs. another is just financing or service, the customer is going to eventually visit your dealership before buying the car. If you have presented your dealership differently than you actually are, you may have just lost that sale on a lack of trust alone.

Both methods have their pro’s and con’s. Actual inventory lets the customer know that they can come to the dealership and buy the exact car they were looking at online. A vehicle builder or form allowing the consumer to request a specific type of vehicle makes your inventory limitless and could increase your number of leads significantly higher than you would have seen with actual inventory alone. Both methods will gather leads from different types of buyers.

The best thing you can do is to do your homework, find out what types of cars people are buying and stock them. Otherwise you may lose a future customer when you have to tell them you can’t find the F-150 with Navigation, DVD, Rear Spoiler, 22” wheels and the talking Knight Rider feature that even a 100% accurate Build-A-Car tool will allow them to create.

You should also keep in mind that not all buyers are the same. For example, if I were going to start looking for a new car to buy my first task would be to go to Google and search for that type of car. I would be looking for local dealers that stock that particular model. Once I found a site I would “build” the vehicle I am looking for just so I have an idea of what options are available, what the differences are between trims and what MSRP is for the vehicle. I would take notes and I would not submit a lead (sorry, that’s how I am). Now that I know what car I want, I would search actual inventory for that vehicle. If it isn’t on the site I am searching, I will go search somewhere else. Once I have found the vehicle of my dreams online, I would call the dealer to confirm that the vehicle was actually in-stock, if it isn’t I am done shopping at that dealer. If it is, I would go to the dealer, test drive and make my decision to buy or not to buy. You may notice that I never submitted a lead. I just don’t want anyone to call or email me at all in the process. If I could swipe my license in a candy machine that spit out the keys for me to test drive and swipe my credit card when ready to buy, that would be my ideal buying experience.

I hope you enjoyed my opinions. If you are curious to discuss this with me in more detail, please feel free to call me at XIGroup.

Joe High

General Manager, XIGroup