Dealer Locators.....Tools and Opportunities

'Dealer Locator' is one of those terms that seems to mean different things to different people. In short, a dealer locator is a tool that helps customers learn where-to-buy your product, but there are a variety of tools and ways to support this function. In the article below I explore some thoughts on this topic and broadly outline some different approaches. Anything to add?

Dealer locators generally fall into three categories:

1. Query-able databases provide a good way for customers to quickly filter through a large amount of data and find what is relevant for their needs. In some cases these query-able databases use a zip code search to find local dealers. In more sophisticated applications, they can be developed to find specific products that have been shipped to a dealer, or are actually available in inventory.
2. Text lists of dealer locations are clearly the most boring and cumbersome of the three vehicles; yet they are still fairly commonly used.
3. Geographically plotted lists let customers zoom in on a map near where they live, work, or travel, and find locations and directions easily and conveniently. (Some Query-able databases also plot the results on a map.)

The primary point in this email is that there are a myriad of ways to develop a dealer locator -- with a range of functional capabilities, aesthetic, and at a variety of price points. The assumption that dealer locator systems require a significant investment, is false. A text list is not the next best alternative to a big ticket project. There are several approaches available, including a few straight forward do-it-yourself options.

Here are a couple of the architecture options available to you:

1. On-Premise dealer/product locators maybe the best solution if you're interested in integrating near real time inventory or frequently changing dealer data. These solutions are often sold as an add-on module to a contact management system.
2. Software as a Service (SaaS) tools are a on-line services where you can upload your dealer and/or product lists, and leverage software build on a 'multi-tenant' architecture, to present your dealer locator to your customers (in some cases embedded right into your website). The advantages of these services, is that they require minimal 'technical' expertise and limited up front costs -- you would generally incur costs on a monthly subscription basis. In most cases, your data in these solutions would not be integrated with your internal data, and you would periodically need to re-upload current lists. For a relatively modest fee, these solutions far out perform a dry old text list.

"Yesterday's super user is today's developer."
-- Brett LaDove

The map below is output from one of these 'do-it-yourself' tools that I recently tested.