The new 16.3 version is being released at the end of September and includes a number of useful new features.  Full release notes will be sent in the coming weeks, but here's a sneak peak.

EASIER TO SEND ATTACHMENTS
In Desktop Studio when you are creating a new Email Response you can now add attachments via the ‘+’ button as well as the Windows style menu.  Note – you must click ‘Save’ before this option becomes visible.
 
VIEW EMAIL VIEWS
When using the Sales Pipeline in the Desktop Studio you can now view how many times your outgoing Email Responses have been viewed straight from the Lead Detail screen without having to open the email.
 
SET INTEREST ON IPHONE
We’ve now ported across the ability to set the ‘Interest’ within the iPhone version of the Sales Pipeline.  This allows iPhone users to set leads as Hot, Warm or Cold.
 
USE CAMERA ROLE ON IPHONE
On the iPhone Sales Pipeline we have now added the Camera Roll to both the Test Drive and the Appraisal screens.  This means that you are now free to take a photo of the customers Drivers Licence or Trade In direct to your iPhone, then add to your Test Drive or Appraisal Form in the Sales Pipeline at your convenience.
 
ITEMISE APPRAISAL RECONDITIONING COSTS
In the latest release it’s now possible to itemize your Appraisal reconditioning costs on iOS and Desktop Sales Pipeline.  You can now click on each Appraisal category, then use the + button to add itemized costs.  This allows you to be more specific about the location of damage and specific costs.  Entering itemized costs will overwrite any total cost you have entered for each Appraisal category.
 
ADD WHOLESALER QUOTES
In the latest release it is now possible to add a Wholesaler Name and their valuation to your Appraisals.  This allows you to store the quotes that wholesalers provide for future reference.  Simply click on the ‘+’ icon on Desktop, or the ‘Add/Remove Quotes’ button on iOS to load any relevant quotations.
 
SMS APPRAISALS
It is now possible to send SMS with your Trade Ins direct to a Wholesaler from the Sales Pipeline when using the iPhone App.  Just tap on the ‘+’ menu from the Appraisal screen and your iPhones SMS function will load a preloaded SMS with the first 3 photos of the Appraised vehicle, as well as the Year, Make, Model, Variant, KM’s, NZ New, Engine and Fuel Type.  You can then enter any other info you want to send the Wholesaler and send the SMS to one of your iPhones contacts.  This function is only available on iPhones with iOS8+.
 
ADD APPRAISAL FEATURES & COMMENTS TO IPHONE
The iPhone version of the Appraisals screen now has the ability to load Features and Comments to match the iPad and Desktop screens.
 
CAMBELT AVAILABLE ON APPRAISALS
We have added the option Cambelt to the Specifications on the Appraisal screen within the Sales Pipeline for iOS and Desktop.  This provides users the option to choose Chain, Done, Not Done and Not Applicable.
 
IMPROVED CUSTOMER DATABASE MATCHING
The ‘New Lead’ screen in the Sales Pipeline now allows users to search their customer database for matching customers without having to leave the screen. 
 
Immediately under the ‘Customer Details’ section there is a new ‘Search Customer Database’ button.  This will return matched customers but allow you to remain on the screen to complete and Source, Campaign or Listing selections. 
 
If you enter the matched customer you select has information that differs from what you just entered the application now gives you a choice of updating the existing customer record, or retaining the original customer details in the database – meaning no more chance of losing customer info by loading an old customer record. 
 
If you do not wish to take advantage of this feature – no problem.  You can still use the old method of clicking on ‘Done’ to proceed.
 
CAMPER/CAMPERVAN SPECIFIC FIELDS
We now have specialized screens in Listings if the listing type is chosen as Camper or Campervan.  This includes Camper/Campervan specific Body Types, and a list of Features tailored to Campers and Campervans.
 
MORE BOAT & MOTORBIKE SPECIFIC FIELDS
We have now improved how we manage Motorbike and Boat listings within the IOS Apps.  Body Type is now a drop down instead of free text.  Additionally, if the Listing Type of ‘Boat’ is selected there are now customized fields for ‘Propulsion’, ‘Construction Type’, “Draft’ and ‘Displacement’ to match what is required for Trade Me.
 
STOCK NUMBER DISPLAYED WHEN CHOOSING LISTINGS
The latest release now displays the vehicle stock number when choosing a Listing to add to your lead.  This brings the iOS into line with the Desktop and makes it easier to identify the vehicle you are looking for – particularly when there are no photos.

IMPROVED PROCESS FOR UPLOADING KIA PROOF OF PURCHASER TYPE
 In Desktop Studio the ‘Proof Of Status’ and ‘View T&Cs’ buttons are able to be clicked on when creating Kia Assistance Requests without forcing users to click ‘Save’ first.
 
USER SORTING BY LAST NAME
The list of Users in the Search dropdown on the Dashboard is now sorted more logically by Last Name, then First Name.
 
VEHICLE REGISTRY SHOWS SALESPERSON NAME
In iOS and Desktop we added Salesperson name to the ‘Type’ column in the Vehicle Registry Dashboard.
 
RUN VIR & VEHICLE CHECKS VIA SALES PIPELINE
You can now run your vehicle checks/VIR’s directly within the AutoPlay Sales Pipeline on both Desktop and iOS. 
 
The Appraisal screen now includes a ‘Vehicle Check’ section that can be activated to display either MotorCentral Car Check’s or MotorWeb VIR’s.  Clicking on this button will run a vehicle check which will be displayed in a popup on screen. 
 
This function is only available to dealerships that currently have a commercial relationship with MotorCentral and/or MotorWeb.  All billing will continue to be directed through your existing relationship with those providers. 
 
Please note that in order to turn on this feature you must contact support@autoplay.co.nz to request.
 
NEW PLACEHOLDER MUSIC
Update the placeholder music that plays on a Virtual Demo or Email Response when no individual recording is available.

Keep an eye out for the release notes at the end of September for more information.

The first product we ever built at AutoPlay was our Virtual Demo Videos – and they’ve served us well over the years.  We are now working on improving our Virtual Demos by converting them to MP4 format.  This means that they will display better on mobile devices on both vehicle display pages AND on Live Leads eDM’s.  Right now we are looking for dealerships keen to switch over from our old Silverlight videos to the new MP4s.   We will be restricting this to a few selected customers at first, before looking to migrate everyone in the coming weeks before the end of the year. 
 
Moving to the new video format won’t cost you any extra and opens up several new options.  We are keeping our ‘Branded Scripts’ which play on your existing videos in absence of a personalised recording.  However we are now layering these over backing music.  Don’t like your existing Branded Scripts?  You will now be able to opt for a music only version of the video if you prefer.   The new video format will also work for personalised or professional audio recordings and will prompt your video to be built as soon as you save your audio.
 
The new videos also feature better transitions and animations with slide out panels giving the viewer the key information about the video including Fuel Saver and Safety Ratings if available.  Combined with the new music this all adds up to an improved presentation of your vehicles that your customers will love. 
 

• Soft release to selected Virtual Demo customers initially
• If branded scripts are set up, we will automatically build videos with your existing audio over backing music. If no branded scripts exist, the music only option will become the default.
• All Live Leads we send on your behalf will use the new format – whether or not you also have a Vehicle Display Page with AutoPlay.
• Videos will be standardised to 10 images with pre-set slide out transitions. If too few images the video will repeat images up to the 10 photo threshold.
• There will need to be at least 5 photos minimum in order to have a new Virtual Demo Video. Less than this will not trigger the video to be built.
• Audio is 40 seconds minimum. If shorter the music will play until the end of the video.  If the audio is longer than 40 seconds, the video transitions will slow down to suit.

 
This represents the first part of the improvement of Virtual Demos.  The next stage will be to utilise our extensive audio library to automatically generate unique audio for each vehicle video automatically.  This will have a positive impact on streamlining the creation of Live Leads emails.
 
There is still some testing required before we are ready to roll over to the new video format.  You can preview the video below.   Please note the music tracks are for preview purposes only - we are still searching for the music tracks we will use when we go live.  If you are interested in being one of the first clients to have access to the new Virtual Demos over the coming weeks, please email matt@autoplay.co.nz

SALES PIPELINE HOW TO:
Send lead information to Provident Insurance
It’s now possible to send lead information from the Sales Pipeline to Provident Insurance so dealerships don’t need to double enter any customer or vehicle information.  To take advantage of this feature the dealership must be using the Sales Pipeline, and a customer of Provident Insurance*.

1. IN iPAD APP 
The button is located in the + menu on the top right of the app when in the VIEW LEAD screen.  The button is labelled REQUEST INSURANCE.  This will trigger the lead information including all vehicle and customer details to be sent to Provident Insurance. (Note if the Lead Export record has not been created this button will do nothing)  

2.  IN DESKTOP APPLICATION
In the Desktop Application the action button is labelled INSURANCE.  It is located on the View Lead/Lead Detail screen.  It otherwise behaves the same as the iPad App.

Contact AutoPlay Support on support@autoplay.co.nz to request set up.

The landscape of the web is ever changing and evolving as the environment is defined by new entrants with new business models and incumbents working to maintain and protect what revenue they have.  Staying on top of this is key as these changes impact where you can derive maximum value from your marketing spend. In the past, mainstream adoption of technology and the internet was generally led by the development of intuitive interfaces and authenticated walled gardens of content where users feel safe to roam.  It was not until the first of the graphical browsers turned up like Mosaic and Netscape, along with online communities like Apples’ eWorld that the person in the street experienced the power of the web in finding relevant content, even if it was only to download Doom and read the odd text based email.

Next to none of the original internet players still exist and even the companies that replaced them have in turn come and gone. The largest players with deepest pockets like Yahoo! still struggle to survive and despite the best efforts of Marissa Mayer, it will not last in its current form. So while we are in a period of change, we are always in a period of change and our strategies need to evolve and keep up. Our buyers are bold adopters of new things and quickly form different web based habits and allegiances. The rise and fall of Pokemon Go is testament to this.  What will remain as a legacy is the tangible benefit that location based augmented reality games can bring businesses. Did you setup your Pokemon Go Gym?

Change does bring opportunity and we are going through a period where content on the web is becoming more fragmented across many more marketplaces. In the past this would have been seen as a potential problem as it was hard to distribute data between many marketplaces and even if this was achieved the customers could not find or locate the products or services. Things have changed and the transfer of data such as vehicle listings is relativity cheap and the ability to search the web for content is relatively easy.  Your customers now don’t need a single large marketplace to find product as they look through the web as Google sees it; content is now found on many more niche and dedicated sites. Have a look at the courier parcels turning up at your workplace for your team, a couple of years ago these were originated from one or two online marketplaces only. Now they will be coming from far and wide from both international and domestic web based marketplaces. The cheese has move and will move again and again.

In the automotive retail world, it is not any different and at AutoPlay we have the advantage of seeing a huge number of customer leads each day and the trend in the distribution of leads is changing. If conducted well, leads generated by a dealerships own activity either based around a physical event or a solely online campaign are outweighing the traditional online marketplace. Mixing media, marketplaces and online communities through a coordinated campaign is a winner for driving customer engagement. Search providers are competing directly with content providers and the lines are being blurred.  Google serves up more content than most marketplaces and Facebook is enhancing it’s search to more effectively reach outside its own domain and is rapidly deploying its own marketplace.

Finding the value and ensuring any web spend is optimised requires a plan, nothing complex, it just needs to follow or drive the customers journey through to a purchase. It needs to complete a loop and be integrated into a complete plan; any spend in isolation is wasted spend.  For example, if you are currently spending on Google remarketing and you are driving as many customers as possible back to your website, you will not be leveraging the true value from this spend.  Start with a customer touch point within your business and then work through the customer journey. If a customer emails you, how are you and your team responding? Does the response include links to bring the customer to your website to view a video or access more information? If you do, from that point you have them in your re-marketing net, if not, you are not leveraging this spend to the maximum. Does creating the odd post on Facebook and running a few Facebook ads generate any value, where are these leads being captured and measured? Is this activity linked to other above the line marketing and where does the call to action leave the customer sitting?

Keeping track of your customer leads is a great way of measuring your return on investment. What leads are coming from what spend and what is the cost of acquiring each of those leads? How are you keeping the engagement going with those customers after spending the upfront cost of acquiring the leads the first time around?  Is your traditional online spending still working for you? Should you start to include other options that could be lower cost but add more value? Technology easily allows you to cover many bases effectively.

At AutoPlay our Sales Pipeline product is underpinned by the ‘AutoPlay Philosophy’ which is our management of those customers deemed as lost through our Live Leads remarketing engine. This forms the remarketing loop by keeping the potential customer engaged through updated vehicle listing and video. Again the goal is to keep bringing the customer to a point of re-engagement based on relevant reinforcement of the sales proposition.

Never before have we had so much control over our customers at such low cost, it does require some work and thought but the quality of the leads is generally higher and more qualified as you touch them a number of times. Being everywhere your customers are or are heading to on the web is becoming easier and easier, however any online activity needs a defined start and end to keep the customer engaged on the path to a sale.