January 11, 2010 (West Chester, PA) – HomeNet Automotive, the leading online inventory solutions provider for auto dealerships, and Edmunds.com today announced a partnership that allows dealers to list their inventory on Edmunds.com and receive high quality leads in return from consumers visiting Edmunds.com. HomeNet is offering this lead program to users of its Inventory Online (IOL) Internet Marketing Suite customers, which facilitates the listing of inventory online for over 15,000 automobile dealerships nationwide.
Dealers who participate will be able to sell more cars with less effort, according to HomeNet’s Neal Gann, Vice President of Strategic Relations. “It is well known in the industry that Edmunds is one of the premier auto shopping sites and that Edmunds leads have among the highest closing ratios,” says Gann. “Consumers who visit Edmunds.com are affluent and educated, and they have great credit. These are every dealer’s dream buyers.”
In fact, Edmunds.com indicates that of the 15.8 million unique visitors to its site each month, 80% own their home, and 70% are married. In addition, Edmunds.com is the most visited automotive site for consumers earning over $100,000 as well as for people with investment portfolios of $250,000 or more.
“HomeNet continues find ways to help our dealers get the most from our online inventory marketing solutions, and so we’re always looking for best-in-class marketing opportunities for them to get their inventory in front of more buyers. This is definitely one of those opportunities,” adds Gann.
With the Edmunds.com inventory-based lead program, dealers only pay for the leads they receive, so it is a self-sustaining arrangement, according to Sean Peoples of Edmunds.com. “Dealers have nothing to lose with a per-lead revenue model, and they gain free exposure with Edmunds’ nearly 16 million monthly visitors to boot,” says Peoples. “Unlike sites that charge a flat monthly subscription, even with no lead activity, HomeNet is only charging dealers based on that dealer’s success, so the dealers can’t lose.”
HomeNet’s Inventory Online (IOL) Internet Marketing Suite is a vehicle marketing solution that helps thousands of automotive dealers to sell more cars online. IOL’s web-based applications streamline the process of converting raw DMS data into consumer-friendly and emotional online ads. IOL offers rich functionality for DMS polling, Premium VIN Enhancement, video, search engine optimized (SEO) vehicle display pages, price analysis, unlimited photos, text messaging, email ads, automated distribution to 3rd-party services like eBay, Craigslist, and Oodle, mobile lot management, and more. IOL solutions quickly turn every vehicle on the lot into a compelling, online point-of-presence… and a gateway into the showroom.
About HomeNet Automotive: HomeNet is a privately owned automotive technology provider. Founded in 1996, HomeNet’s core focus is providing innovative technology solutions to help automotive dealers increase online sales. HomeNet offers its products to a variety of customers including dealers, OEMs, website providers, CRM providers, digital lot management companies, finance/leasing agents, auction agents, and more. The company is based on Christian principles and is headquartered in West Chester, PA, with satellite offices in FL, GA, TX, TN, CA, IL, IA, MI, NC, OR and UT. For more information, please visit www.homenetinc.com. For more information regarding Edmunds.com inventory lead program, dealers should contact the HomeNet Sales Team at [email protected] or 877-738-3313.
About Edmunds Inc.: (http://www.edmunds.com/help/about/)
Edmunds Inc. publishes four Web sites that empower, engage and educate automotive consumers, enthusiasts and insiders. Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive consumer information, launched in 1995 as the first automotive information Web site. Inside Line launched in 2005 and is the most-read automotive enthusiast Web site. CarSpace launched in 2006 and is an automotive social networking Web site. AutoObserver.com launched in 2007 and provides insightful automotive industry commentary and analysis. Edmunds Inc. is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and maintains a satellite office in suburban Detroit.
