MONTVALE, N.J. -
Mercedes-Benz USA dealers now have a new website platform through Motortrak — a company specializing in digital retail marketing — that officials say will be highly beneficial to dealers in several arenas.
One of the main purposes of the new platform is for the company’s dealers to no longer have to utilize multiple retail websites in the business. Furthermore, officials said the new platform allows for dealers to be more flexible in their marketing, while also boosting their level of search-engine optimization.
Additionally, the new platform can lead to stronger conversion for fixed operations and vehicle sales, the company said.
And, what Mercedes-Benz said was of even greater magnitude was that the platform can make the experience better for shoppers and lead to them viewing the brand more favorably.
“Our dealers have invested heavily in their showroom environments over the past three years, and this new website platform will provide a premium online showcase to complement these efforts,” said Stephen Cannon, the company’s vice president of marketing.
“We are constantly innovating through our digital marketing channels, and this brings that level of innovation and integration to the dealerships and their customers,” he added.
The platform is also designed to help the customer move more smoothly from the automaker website to individual dealer websites. Officials said the platform provides integration between the new dealer websites and “existing and future infrastructure.”
Among the embedded brand content from www.mbusa.com is new-vehicle information, a car configurator and a used-vehicle search function, as well as national news, events and promotions.
Offering some dealer response, Jennifer Sweet, who is the communications manager for Friendly Motorcars, said: “Dealers do not need a second site when it’s this good. Motortrak provides a great content management system — we needed the ability to better promote all parts of our business and react rapidly to market opportunities. The new system does all that.”
Mercedes-Benz noted that shortly after the rollout began, dealers found the capability to customize their own content  to be highly beneficial.
"We have built a customized, brand-commensurate site that also highlights the unique dealer voice. So we can now deliver vital, relevant content for all cost centers; sales, service and parts,” explained Holloway Automotive’s Robin Holloway. “The site is visually clean and information rich, especially the inventory push throughout the entire site.
“No wonder initial analytics have shown a significant improvement in all of our key performance indicators, resulting in increased conversion. The leads from our website, not third-party sites, now boast enviable closing ratios,” Holloway added.
Motortrak began serving as the manager of the company’s online used-vehicle program in 2007. And now, it is also providing the aforementioned dealer website platform.
“We were looking for a business partner with a strong track record in this space as well as a deep understanding of the premium automotive market,” Cannon shared. “Motortrak excels in both these areas.”
David Cox, the chief operating officer at Motortrak, said, “Compared to other traditional website vendors, the combination of our ability to translate brands effectively at retail, the flexibility of our platform and our focus on conversion is unique in this sector. Even just four weeks into the program all KPIs are very positive."