OEM’s Embrace Mobile Apps, Providers Enter Market

Everyone in the supply chain, from the provider to the consumer, benefits from immediate access to information. The popularity of smartphones and tablets has created a whole new platform to reach the consumer through the proliferation of mobile apps. First, let's take a brief look at how the OEM's are embracing mobile apps, then we will explore how providers and administrators are already beginning to innovate.

Today, the smartphone has changed the information landscape in ways no one could have dreamed of as recently as the 1990's. The single most appealing aspect of a smartphone for a business and the potential to connect with its customers is the fact that the device goes everywhere with the user. As the cell phone morphs from a voice communication device into a personal information portal, how can we capitalize on this trend and bring more value to our customers?

Ford has been a trailblazer with the launch of AppLink, which allows SYNC users hands-free voice activation of mobile apps like Pandora. Mercedes Benz's mbrace allows users to interact remotely with their vehicles using the iPhone and Blackberry for such things as remote door lock/unlock, vehicle finder, concierge services, and contact assistance for roadside assistance, customer service, and their financial client care center.

OEM's like Porsche and Kia are using mobile apps for marketing. Porsche has a mobile app that provides information on the Pamanera, while Kia has not developed its own branded mobile app but advertises through third parties within other apps. Ford and Mercedes Benz, by delivering mobile apps that interact with the vehicle and provide useful services, may be better positioned to capitalize on this burgeoning technology because only 10% of users think ads on mobile devices are acceptable.

If a mobile app is a better website and is a clever answer to the question, "Who is going to type in lengthy URL's into a smartphone?," a mobile app is just like a "favorite" or a "bookmark." Mobile app developers are combining information and functionality, not just in the smartphone, but within the vehicle itself by the use of third-party apps rendered via smartphones into the vehicle head unit. OEM's like Hyundai, with its monitored telematics solution BlueLink, Ford's Focus Electric and the Nissan Leaf are hosting connected services directly into the head unit as native apps.

Mobile apps, whether accessed from a smartphone or a tablet, offer opportunities for the provider or administrator to connect with its supply chain. "Communication through mobile devices is becoming an integral requirement for most businesses and this part of the auto industry is no exception," states David Trinder, CEO of F&I Admin.

Connecting administrators and consumers through mobile apps can provide information to VSC contract holders to better maintain their vehicles. Allstate Dealer Services, through their mobile app CarMor Vehicle Care Center, offers consumers free access to manufacturer's recommended maintenance schedules, recall alerts, a vehicle maintenance log, details of the service agreement, and dealer contact information.

The apps are free, easy to download, and are accessible from the smartphone or tablet "desktop." Once in the application, while browsing through, for example scheduled maintenance, the user may find coupons and specials that apply to the next service. This increases the likelihood of a visit to the selling dealer. The possibilities for marketing tires, quick lane service, and other accessories and services through the mobile app are limitless and dovetail nicely with the dealer's fixed operation retention efforts.

The possibilities for mobile apps to connect administrators with inspectors, agents, and dealerships are just over the horizon. F&I Admin's innovative leap into this arena is just the start of what will surely be a growth sector within our industry. The company maintains that as an F&I administration solutions provider, it is crucial that they deliver the latest technologies and capabilities. Trinder sums it up by saying, "Providing mobile solutions is imperative if the intention is to provide the tools you need, the connections you need, and a system that helps you grow your business and build efficiencies in every way possible."

These devices and applications could expose pertinent data that are contained in a variety of repositories to users. "Imagine the value to agents and other field staff," says Trinder, "when the provider delivers mobile access to updated contract information, sales production reports, and territory analysis."

Agents play a huge role for providers as an independent, indirect sales force. Supporting agents with real-time analytics and tools to help them understand the dealer's activity keeps both parties on the same page and will improve customer service. Better customer service for the agent and dealership generally results in higher revenues for the provider.

Implementing mobile devices and applications is an inevitable technology solution for insurers. F&I Admin's COO, Kumar Kathinokkula, told P&A, "Just as system integration and industry standardization provide significant efficiencies for providers and administrators, mobile devices and applications bring about efficiencies in business processes and administration through immediate access to information."

The potential efficiencies of utilizing mobile apps which Kumar speaks of regarding business processes has not translated yet into marketing and sales in our vertical. An interesting quote from Jim Stogdill, writing for a website about emerging technologies, reads: "You aren't buying a computer when you buy an iPad, you are buying a 16GB Wal-Mart store shelf that fits on your lap...and Apple got you to pay for the building."

Substituting the name of your company for Wal-Mart in the above quote raises some interesting possibilities. Since many mobile apps are really web pages without URL's, is there a way to monetize them? What about a mobile app that offers answers to FAQ's a consumer may have about vehicle service contracts, then asks them to select which brand of vehicle they are contemplating purchasing? The app then directs the consumer to the nearest dealership selling that brand, and coincidentally sells your products. Would a dealer pay for that lead?

We are seeing just the tip of the iceberg today with mobile apps. Major vehicle manufacturers like Ford, Mercedes Benz and Porsche, and content providers like YouTube, Pandora, and Twitter, are working feverishly to meld hand-held devices with content, services, and marketing. The vehicular mobile app landscape is in its infancy, and innovators within our own community are already exploring the opportunities that this exciting technology has to offer.