Partnerships are up over 165% since new release
GrooveCar’s credit union specific, auto-buying resource has been receiving tremendous praise for its innovation, performance, value and relevance. The enhanced and forward thinking platform was launched in early 2016 and was preceded by over a year of planning and design. “With over 97 percent of car buying originating online we wanted to provide an information rich and mobile friendly resource for members. Designed to drive faster results, credit unions have been utilizing the new features and updates to increase auto-lending activity. The new look has also improved the member experience,” explained Frank Rinaudo, Sr. Vice President, GrooveCar.
“Since introducing the new site in March of this year, we have already increased our cliental by over 165%, serving credit unions across the U.S. and are forecasted to grow by more than 200% for 2016. Credit unions ranging in asset size from 3 million to over 5 billion, located throughout the U.S., have been joining the program in order to provide a valuable car buying tool for members,” stated Robert O’Hara, Vice President of Strategic Alliances. The new website is providing credit unions with increased user sessions and visits to the platform which is translating into a lot of new auto loan growth. The mobile responsive design allows users to perform all the tasks necessary for researching, shopping and securing a loan right from their phones. “With the new design features we have seen mobile users now accounting for nearly 50 percent of all visits to the site,” explained O’Hara.
The new site was designed to rival any auto buying resource available to credit unions and consumers at-large. The GrooveCar platform provides all the tools for a member to start their car buying journey as well as the ability to calculate their trade-in values and secure a loan right from their phone or desktop. The feature-rich program gives credit unions the ability to control their direct auto loan strategy and bring it to new heights with expanded vehicle inventory, research information, marketing support and other auto buying focused elements. Feed back has been tremendous, “The GrooveCar platform provides our members with all the pertinent information needed during the car buying process, allowing our credit union to remain relevant with our members at every stage, from initial research, to loan applications,” remarked Kathleen Petrelli, VP of Lending McGraw-Hill FCU, East Windsor, NJ with assets of $378 million. Included in the program are customized digital marketing support services building member engagement on a consistent basis.
It comes as no surprise that in another historic auto buying year, member interest and engagement with the program would increase. “There’s a lot of auto resources vying for your member’s attention and at the same time, credit unions have found similar programs specific to their needs lacking, until now,” states O’Hara. With all the on-line competition presented to credit unions members, the GrooveCar program has delivered beyond expectations. GrooveCar’s in-house analysis found leads for credit unions are up over 280 percent over year-to-date 2015, and the number of new users and activity has dramatically increased. “We are never satisfied and are always looking at new ways to better the member experience and drive engagement. Since going live, we have already added additional lead capture tools like our auto loan recapture plug-in and custom promotions page. It’s all about driving loan growth while adding value for our credit union partners and the best way to do that is to ensure the consumer has the best experience on our site more so than others.”
Members want a seamless and quick experience. During the entire car-buying journey the demand of obtaining and accessing inventory, as well as financial information needed to quickly make that purchase happen right from a member’s mobile device. “Our goal is to empower our members with the tools and information necessary to make an informed decision during their next vehicle purchase. GrooveCar helped us solidify our presence with our members throughout the auto-buying purchase leading to an increase in loans and products-per-member,” stated Amy Persyn, Marketing Manager, Extra Credit Union, Warren, MI with assets of $202 million.