Cars.com has extended its online chat to mobile devices to help dealers connect with shoppers even when they are away from their desks assisting other customers.
 
The mobile chat functionality allows salespeople to be more responsive to shoppers' inquiries, even if they have stepped away from their desk. Dealers can respond at shoppers' convenience, giving them the information they need to take the next step toward a purchase.

?Car buyers viewing a dealer's listings on a third-party shopping site such as Cars.com contact the store through online chat, email, telephone calls and visits to the dealership or the dealership's Web site,? said Michael Page, vice president of advertising products at Cars.com, Chicago. ?When salespeople are away from their desk, they don't have to be out of touch.

?We realized the same smartphones that let them take calls and access their email also could connect them to the online chat system,? he said. ?Very often, the first dealer to answer shoppers' questions and deliver a good experience will win the deal.?

Mobile chat
With the popularity of smartphones in the store, dealers can use the mobile chat capability to enhance their customer service and sell more cars.

So far Buster Miles Chevrolet Dealership in Heflin, AK, is using the mobile chat service and finds it is a plus for the store.

Phil Amason, a dealer at Buster Miles, said he appreciates the immediacy of chat. He reported an increase in business after he began testing the new mobile chat enhancement.

Dealers interested in adding chat functionality to their online advertising package can contact their sales representative.

Sell more cars
When Cars.com launched online chat in January 2009, it added it to its advertising packages for no additional cost.

?Literally within a few hours of beginning to chat with their customers, our dealers told us it helped them to sell more cars,? Mr. Page said. ?As those stories continued to mount, we started studying ways to encourage more dealers to use chat and to make chat more useful.

?Providing on-the-go access seemed the logical approach,? he said. ?When you think about the typical salesperson's day, you understand that they can't be tied to a desk.?

The Cars.com mobile chat was designed for franchise and independent dealers who want additional chances to connect with their customers.

Mobile chat works on Internet- and SMS-enabled smartphones, so most people can use their existing devices.

Marketing
The company is getting the word out in several ways, the most important and effective of which is its sales and dealer training teams.

During the next several weeks, these teams will introduce dealers to mobile chat and help them configure their systems.

Cars.com is also using Facebook and Twitter to get the word out.

?As consumers increasingly rely on portable Internet devices for day-to-day purchases, we're seeing them also turn to the mobile Web for help with big-ticket items,? Mr. Page said. ?In fact, more than one-third of site visits to Cars.com now originate on a smartphone ? many of them from a dealership. 

?Car buyers want immediate access to information, whether to locate the store, double-check the price they should pay or learn more about a vehicle the salesperson presented,? he said. ?Mobile chat changes the business of selling cars by increasing dealers' ability to connect with shoppers.

?No longer do salespeople have to miss an opportunity to chat with a customer because they're walking the lot or assisting another customer.?