HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. -

Thanks to significant dealer input, Cobalt announced on Thursday the immediate availability of its Dealer Command Center for all Cobalt customers.

The company explained Dealer Command Center can provide dealers with insightful performance analytics together with an integrated suite of digital marketing management tools.

Officials explained this major enhancement of the Cobalt platform was guided by extensive dealer input with store managers confirming that these new capabilities drive their marketing effectiveness by providing deep insights into consumer behavior combined with increased dealer control and flexibility. They added Dealer Command Center is a no-charge enhancement to the Cobalt digital marketing platform.

Cobalt highlighted some of the solution’s new features:

—Insightful Analytics: “The most powerful analytics engine in the industry goes beyond standard web reporting to give unmatched insight into a dealership’s customers, vehicle interest levels and the effectiveness of different marketing programs,” Cobalt declared.

—Intuitive Website Editor: “Fast and easy website changes with a powerful what-you-see-is-what-you-get editor, enabling efficient dealer self-service,” the company noted.

—Effortless Inventory Specials: “Swiftly and efficiently update specials in real time,” officials insisted.

—Intelligent Dealer Portal with Single Sign-On: “A fully integrated dealer portal with one login for all digital marketing management tools and reporting,” Cobalt added.

A pair of dealership mangers who were early users of the new Dealer Command Center described their experiences.

“I really like the new Command Center,” stated Ben Ruenger, Internet manager at Gordon Chevrolet in Tampa, Fla.

“It is great to see such relevant information that is honed in rather than just seeing the overall numbers,” Ruenger continued. “I really enjoy having access to the Leads by Form information and Top Pages. Having the Referring Domains for the customers’ tab easily shows me where to invest my time and money.

“That, along with the Lead Map, allows us to figure out where our customers are and where they are coming from instead of guessing,” he added.

Russell Blackstone, e-commerce director of Hewlett Volkswagen in Georgetown, Texas, concurred with Ruenger’s assessment.

“I believe that the new Dealer Command Center is a huge improvement,” Blackstone began. Because the system is very user friendly, it will be easier to post more specials, more often, and in real time.

“Our favorite part of Dealer Command Center is the enhanced analytics feature,” he shared. “The referring domains window shows us counts for each referring domain. A lead source map shows the location of where our leads are coming from. Now we know instantly where our marketing efforts are working.”

Cobalt insisted its Dealer Command Center can enable coordination between the dealer and their ProCare Advocate. Dealers have the flexibility to define their service relationship with Cobalt across the full “do-it-yourself” to “do-it-for-me” spectrum.

Cobalt also pointed out its customer service department has more than 500 associates. As part of the services team, its ProCare Advocates can provide strategic digital automotive expertise to their clients with emphasis on marketing alignment and optimization.

"With all of the digital marketing channels available it is becoming increasingly difficult for dealerships to know which channels are most effective to drive sales and service revenue, stated John Holt, senior vice president of ADP Digital Solutions, of which Cobalt is a business unit.

“With Dealer Command Center we are taking the guesswork away from digital marketing and helping dealerships maximize their staff productivity and marketing spend,” Holt concluded.