Technology Newsmaker Q&A: Mike Martinez

Jan. 1, 2020
Mike Martinez, chief marketing officer at DMEautomotive, spoke with Aftermarket Business World about the findings.
Automotive marketing firm DMEautomotive recently published a study on how auto service customers are interacting with QR codes and mobile apps. Mike Martinez, chief marketing officer at DMEautomotive, spoke with Aftermarket Business World about the findings.

While auto service customers are more likely to use a mobile app (44 percent) versus scanning QR codes, just 10 percent of them are actually using a dealer or service provider app right now. Why is adoption so low?

I'd turn that around and say that with 10 percent of owners having adopted mobile apps, that says that mobile apps have crossed the chasm and are a mainstream tool for vehicle owners.

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While it feels like they've been with us forever, mobile apps are only a few years old, and up until this point have mostly been about people playing Angry Birds. Now we're seeing mobile apps that allow customers to do useful things.

The people who are using mobile auto service apps have a fairly high rate of engagement, with two out of three using them once per day. Did that surprise you?

It's astounding. We offer a mobile app for dealers, and we've found that average visit duration for customers is around 21 minutes. It's stunning. That's five times what the average website receives. Customers are definitely engaged with providers.

What types of mobile apps are service customers using?

The first and most important aspect for these apps is to make it easy for the consumer to manage the family fleet, by which I mean they can create an account, register vehicles, and it automatically shows up with service data for those vehicles.

The second thing is the app should make it easy for them to be able to contact you, or schedule a service appointment. The third thing the app should do is provide tools that improve their ownership experience, so they will have reasons to go back to the mobile app.

Are there any technological hurdles to enabling any of that functionality?

It's not technological as much as there are process hurdles. If you aren't taking online appointments today, that's a substantial change to your business model. You need a scheduling tool that is on your website as well as in your mobile app. You have to select the right technology vendor to give you the best mix of features you think the customer wants, and then keep that solution refreshed.

The other big takeaway from this study seems to be that marketers aren't using QR codes very effectively.

I think QR codes are here to stay, but many QR codes are being used in very inappropriate and downright ludicrous fashion. I saw one on the back of a bus the other day. What am I supposed to do, run behind the bus to scan it?

So first, be careful about where you put them, and second you have to make the scanning of the QR code valuable to me. A lot of QR codes are just taking you to a website, so you have to take the effort to open up the QR code reader just to save yourself from typing the URL? What consumers want from QR codes are coupons, or the ability to schedule service. You should also use them to drive downloads of your mobile app, because there is more functionality to tap into there.

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