Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/422004
FOCUS PSB E-commerce/DMS 18 • December 1, 2014 • Powersports Business www.PowersportsBusiness.com Social media assistance also provided by company BY LIZ KEENER MANAGING EDITOR Nearly 1,000 powersports dealerships rely on LotVantage's online classified and social media posting services, but many may not even be familiar with the name. That's because while some dealers work directly with LotVantage, others use the company's software through another service provider. LotVantage is a 6-year-old division of That's Us Technologies that launched in the automo- tive space as a solution for dealers looking for simplification in the posting process for Craig- slist, eBay, eBay Classifieds, Backpage and social media. Three years ago, LotVantage entered the powersports space as well. "We saw a need, just like there was in the automotive space," explained Jim Jabaay, vice president of sales. Now the company works with nearly 4,000 dealerships, with about half coming from auto- motive, about 1,000 in powersports and the rest comprised of marine and RV dealerships. For its customers, LotVantage provides an easy solution for posting new and pre-owned inventory in multiple marketplaces from one platform, which if done individually instead, can be a very time-consuming task. "What we do is simplify that posting process to enable the dealer to have success in these marketplaces," Jabaay said. "We do everything from assisting the dealer in posting their inven- tory to giving them a call tracking number on their ads and also providing them leads through the software." Posting on online classified and e-com- merce sites is critical to increasing sales in today's market, Jabaay said, and too few dealers are taking advantage of free sites such as Craig- slist and eBay Classifieds. "I think the most important thing for a dealership is understanding the importance of capitalizing on these marketplaces," he added. These sites not only lead to sales, but, espe- cially in the case of Craigslist and eBay Classi- fieds, they drive new faces into the dealership, allowing staff to begin to build a relationship with that customer. "I think the key to understanding what we do is we drive traffic to the dealership. We drive traffic either to their website or over the phone, and we get consumers into the dealership, to sell inventory and sell more vehicles every month," Jabaay reported. And, with eBay and social media, LotVan- tage can help dealers reach a national audience that would normally shop elsewhere. "We really provide both ends of the spec- trum, local and national," Jabaay said. Not only has LotVantage attracted fran- chise dealers, but the company also works with independent dealerships and even sales- people themselves, who are looking to boost their numbers. Drawing customers to Lot- Vantage's product is the company's constant drive to improve. "We're definitely not the cheapest prod- uct out there by any means, but I will say I think we're the most innovative company. We're constantly staying ahead of the curve," Jabaay said. Though LotVantage works in a variety of industries, the software functions differently in each industry. In marine, for example, it easily allows dealers to input hull numbers, rather than VIN numbers, which are used in automotive, powersports and RV applica- tions. The company also created a platform that's easy for nearly any dealer to implement. PSB LotVantage offers help posting on online classifieds LotVantage provides solutions for posting on Craigslist, eBay and other sites.