[Webinar Transcript from April 2022]

All right, thanks everyone for joining us today. My name is Ben. I'm on the marketing team here at Kenect. Today we're going to get some of your questions about the new Kenect, EverLogic integration. We're going to talk about Kenect for a few minutes and then get into the FAQs. And if you have any questions, please feel free to type them in in the questions tab and we'll get to them throughout this webinar for sure at the end when there's more time. It shouldn't be more than about 20 minutes. I don't want to take up too much of your time. So, with that, let's get started here.

Information about Kenect

First off, who is Kenect? We're based on the Silicon Slopes of Utah. We're a text messaging platform for RV dealers throughout North America. We're founded by dealers and built for dealers. So we help you communicate more efficiently, generate new leads, collect payments via text message and drive online reviews.

We are the 25th fastest growing software company in America and the 216th fastest growing company in America overall. That's according to Inc. 5000. We've seen tremendous growth over the last year and we really show no signs of slowing down in 2022 as more dealers find the benefit of business texting. So here's some of the integrations that we have. We have over 5,000 customers and 50,000 users on this platform. And we work with 70% of the top 50 RV dealers in North America. And we're integrated with the leading DMS systems in the RV industry.

So how do we do it? We're a two-way text messaging from your existing business phone number. So all of this platform is done through your existing business line, no personal cellphones. You don't have to give out your personal information. We do web leads straight from your website through a little “text us” button that we add, we'll show you that in a second. We collect payments via text message through Text-to-Pay and remote forms of payment and online review generation and reputation management.

Why text messaging?

Because customers prefer it. 89% of consumers would prefer to interact with businesses via text message rather than a phone call. 98% of all text messages are open. And 95% of those are read within three minutes. So people are going to get information faster. It's a way for you to reach them faster for important service updates. And especially with staffing issues, maybe your hours are adjusted. This is a great way to get it out to customers quickly so you don't have to call them, maybe play phone tag, that kind of thing. 96% of consumers find phone calls to be disruptive. And 78% of US consumers say receiving a text message is the fastest way to reach them for important service updates and purchases. So this quote is from one of our dealers who uses us. "We used to call customers, but 75% of the time they wouldn't answer. So now we text them with Kenect and they immediately text us back."

This is the top ways that businesses are using Kenect, scheduling appointments, setting up reminders and status updates. You can also send quick information like hours, maps or yours ready for pickup. You can send targeted warranty reminders, schedule maintenance notices. You can also collect payments via text message, do video chat with customers, attach and send photos, videos, invoices, and PDFs, especially if your customers are looking for bills, you can send them to right away through text, generating online reviews on Google and Facebook and capturing more leads from Facebook, Instagram, and your website.

Gathering Web Leads

So, this is the little “text us” button that we were talking about. It just adds to right at the bottom of your website. Customers can click it and then they can ask you questions, get information if they want. If they see something for sale or a service that you're offering and they want it, that's just a quick way for them to reach out to you. And what does that look like when they get into you? Well, you can see the dramatic leads that this generates.

This is something that we have gathered from the dealers that use us, And you can see from the middle of summer to getting into the fall you can see once the widget was added, that little button, they've seen a dramatic increase in the leads that are added going from that website. So customers are able to click that, they're able to get to you easily and they're able to find information faster because they're just texting you and you can just text them back.

This is what it looks like when they get hit that “text us” button. You can set this up any way you want for your dealership so they can choose what it looks like, service, parts, sales, anything like that. They fill out their information and their question, and then that's what it shows up on your texting platform. When people actually text in, it comes into this inbox, which is similar to like an email. So, it shows you who's texted in, what time, which salesperson is assigned to it. So, you can assign people throughout your team for each customer or for a series of customers so they can respond to them in that way. And then you can see where the conversation left off. If they still had a question, that kind of thing. Or if you see a little question and the person that's assigned to them isn't there, you can respond to them, too, because all of this comes back through your existing business line. You're not texting with individual personal cell numbers.

All of this is done through your business line and then the customer's also texting you through their business line. And then the mobile app is similar. It looks the same. Kind of a layout of any mobile email that you have this service. And then it shows you who's texting it in and all that, but you can also add pictures and videos and do video chats, that kind of thing. So you can use your camera anywhere, especially in your service bay that comes in handy. Because you're actually showing the customer what you're seeing and what you're fixing. Or if you're for sales, you can show the customer exactly what they're asking about. "Yes, we have this in stock and yes, it is happening,” or “yes, it is here." And all of this is free in the App Store. And it's something that your employees will be able to use on their phone without using their personal cell number. So, it's really convenient for them and really convenient for the customer.

Text-to-Pay

Text-to-Pay is the other thing that I wanted to get to because we really have seen the growth in the last year. And in fact, in the last six months it's really seen an uptick. And I'm not sure if that's from the pandemic as restrictions are kind of easing or if people are really just getting used to it and more dealerships are seeing the benefits of using Text-to-Pay, but we wanted to go through these with you just to show you exactly some of the examples that we have.

"Kenect Payments easily saves us 10 minutes per transaction." That's from one dealer that uses us. Collecting deposits, payments via text message from sales and service customers, you can collect on service tickets and special order parts with a 98% open rate. We showed you that earlier that customers open text pretty much 98% of the time and 95% of those are read within three minutes. So, you're going to have these texts open and read really quickly. You can allow for after hour pickups and remote drop offs by collecting prepayments from customers, increase over the phone sales and offer curbside pickup. You can also get paid faster and reduce accounts receivable, especially with staffing issues. This is huge because this takes time away from your employees that are doing this. So now your employees can just get the information from customers and then they file it away. They don't have to play phone tag. They don't have to do bill collection or anything like that. And it's next day funding and 100% secure.

So, here's what it looks like in the app when you're actually sending it to somebody. You click on the little payments icon down at the bottom and that'll send them a link. You fill out the information, the amount, what it's for, and then the customer completes the transaction. They'll fill out their card number, their name on the card and all the pertinent information. And then you could put your logo at the top of this form so it's personalized. This allows you to have customers see this, you can send them a text and say, "Hey, this is a form from us and you know it's from us because you can see our logo at the top." That’s key. And especially it builds trust and the customer feels comfortable filling out their information and sending it back to you.

And this is where you can also view all of this transaction history. You can see where people have sent in and if they've bought something from you in the past, what they've sent to you, and then just overall per month what your revenues coming in, how many requests you've sent, all that kind of stuff can be tracked so that you know exactly where you are with each customer. And you know exactly where you are when it comes through the process of billing. So that's really convenient and really helpful.

Using broadcast messaging

Another feature we just added that we wanted to mention is broadcast messaging. It allows you to create a subset of lists through in your contacts. You can send it to a group rather than your whole contact list for winterization, or warranty renewal, or service reminders. You don't have to do it every single customer that you have, you can send it to a group. If all of them have warranty reminders coming up or if all of them have winterization that they need to get to, you can send that to them all at once. And then they can respond through that platform that we showed you, the inbox, all of that'll come filtering through that inbox. So it's all coming through your existing business line and they're responding back that way.

The seven ways dealers are using broadcast messaging, sending extended warranty updates, sending review requests. You can send a review request for Google reviews, that kind of thing or to sales customers, anything that would work for you so you don't have to send it to a huge group. You could send it to maybe 10 or 20, but that'll get you going for starting to get Google reviews and starting to build that up. You can send invites and notices for events of the dealership. Sending notification from sales and promotions, winterization or spring tune-ups, product upsell. And you can also reduce cost per customer touch for direct mail pieces because you're sending this out broadcast messaging and people are going to read it.

We've seen the data. I've showed it to you before. People are reading texts and they won't necessarily pick up the phone if you call, but they're definitely going to read your text. So this is where this comes in handy. So you don't have to do this individually with each customer. You're sending it out to a group so it's key there.

Understanding Google reviews

I wanted to touch on reviews just real quick because I know that I showed you that little graphic before. And this is where Google reviews come in handy. And we all want to make sure that we're getting the best reviews in the most recent reviews. So, this will keep track of it for you on our platform, so you can see if on Google or Facebook or wherever the views are coming in, you also send a request. You can see who's got the best reviews where reviews are coming from and which reviews have just been posted. So you can keep track of all this when you're in this platform. And reviews are key because they matter. And 93% of consumers use reviews as a first step in choosing a dealership. 91% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.

Online reviews are more trusted than word of mouth right now and 89% of consumers won't consider a dealership with a low online. So making sure that you know that customers think that this matters. So you better make sure that you know that this matters and you want to put up a process in place so that customers can easily send you reviews. You don't want to have them struggling to get on Google or Facebook. You want to make sure that they have an easy way to get you a five-star rating.

Your online listings like the one above now get 500 more views than your dealership's website. So you may think that the website is just enough, but it really isn't because customers are looking at reviews more than they are trusting word mouth. So that's key. According to Harvard, a one-star increase in your ratings can mean a 5% to 9% increase in revenue. And one negative review can cost you about 30 customers. Negative reviews don't happen very often, but it's how you deal with them that really stands out. Making sure that you're responding to every single review, even if it's negative and also burying negative reviews with positive reviews.

Using broadcast messaging or sending out that link to people to send reviews to you, putting a plan in place to make sure you're keeping reviews up-to-date. That's key here to make sure you're burying that bad review into good reviews.

What potential customers want to see in your reviews? Quality. About a five-star rating is preferred. Of course, four can happen, but somewhere around there. Recency, 73% of customers disregard reviews that are older than 90 days. Quantity, you want a minimum of 50 reviews. This may seem daunting, but if you're using that texting platform and you're using broadcast messaging, you can see send out that message to customers and it's easy for them to respond to you. Owner response, making sure you're responding to each one like I talked about. Even if it's negative, you just want to make sure that you're responding to a review saying, "Sorry, you had that bad experience. We're looking forward to making it right. Give us a text or send us a message and we'll get back to you and try to get to the bottom of it." That kind of thing. Easy for you to respond, easy for you to take care of it. It's very simple. And it helps with customers who are looking at your reviews online. They can see that you're responding to every review. So that's key and that's necessary.

So, this is what it would look like if you're sending a review to somebody, same thing. Your logo is at the top so that they know that it's coming from you. You can say "Congratulations, here's a link to send us a Google review. Please fill it out." And then they can choose Google or Facebook. Obviously, we want to do Google because that's pretty much where a lot of people are going these days. Facebook is a little less, but there are reviews on Facebook, but Google is pretty much the king at the moment. And then they fill it out. They put the five-star, they add a line, they say, "This is great. I really had a good time. Thank you for the service. I appreciate it." So it's that simple and it's that easy for your customers. Making sure you're taking control.

You want to build a repeatable process. You want to use Kenect text messaging, not email. Kenect is 35 times more effective than email at collecting reviews. People read their text 35 to 40% of the time. And they read emails about 1% to 2% of the time. Just think of it on your phone, you have your phone handy. You probably have gotten a few texts already today and you probably responded to a few texts today. How often have you checked your email? Probably a little less because your phone's always on you and your email you have to kind of dig into. Texts alerts, come up, email alerts maybe come up, but you definitely use texts more often than you do email. Respond and start marketing. So again, always respond to every review and then all the good reviews that you get, you can also use in marketing for yourself. So that's really key.

EverLogic integration with Kenect

So, we want to go through the EverLogic integration real quick so that you know what it's all about and how it would help you. It'll sync your contacts from EverLogic to Kenect nightly. So if you add more contacts into your EverLogic account, it'll be in Kenect the next day or in the next few hours. So they sync contacts so they're equal and you have all the same contacts in Kenect that you do with EverLogic.

It'll post conversation histories inside of EverLogic. So text messages sent from Kenect will post into EverLogic and the customer record, that's in real-time. And you can also see conversation histories inside EverLogic, including date and timestamp so you know when these are coming in and they're coming in and you can see the history and where the conversations have left off. So that's no mystery and you can exchange it in between Kenect and EverLogic.

Automatic lead forwarding. So, you can capture all inbound leads and automatically forward them directly to EverLogic via ADF and XML email. Leads will contain first names, last names, mobile phone number, and then customer message so you can see all that information will be transferred over from EverLogic in Kenect. So it's a two-way street there. On the URL if they're coming in from a website, that'll show up also.

Kenect texting from within EverLogic system, you can also use Kenect messaging within that EverLogic system. So, it's a pretty much free exchange between the two, whichever system you're using and it'll all connect like we showed you the conversation histories will record in real-time. And automated messages, including reviews, requests, and surveys, sales events trigger based on contact close dates. So that'll show up when you're sending these out so you have a history of when you've sent things, automated messages to people, what that looked like. And then also you can set up automated messages, including review requests.

So, all of this is what the integration looks like. It's really a free flow between EverLogic and Kenect, but it allows you to use text messaging more freely and allows you to use those automated texts more frequently because we have that connection. And then if somebody comes into you from Kenect and their contact is listed there, all that'll be transferred into EverLogic. So we wanted to show you what it looks like. These are the contact syncs with EverLogic. It'll just come into the system from EverLogic and Kenect. Both of these will be there and you can see that they're similar and they're transferred over.

Automated messages. This is how you'd set it up and you and choose when to start all this. And this will all show up in EverLogic as much as it doesn't Kenect. So you can see which date. You can choose the days that you want to send these automated messages, here’s what it looks like. You can have templates if you want to put in there and then choose what time you want it sent and which days that you don't want it sent. So all that kind of stuff is set up.

So, the EverLogic integration FAQs, these are questions that you've brought up and we want to make sure we address them to make sure that you have a clear picture of what this integration looks like. "Do I have to be a Kenect customer to use the integration?" Yes, you do need to be a Kenect customer and an EverLogic customer to get this started. But once you do, then all of these messages will be free flowing back and forth and you can set up automated messages and all that like we just showed you.

"How long does it take to set up the integration?" once you're a customer of both tools, it takes about five minutes to set up. So our activation team can help with this, but really you're set up almost immediately because you already have all your information in there from one of the systems that you already have. So setting up another system is very easy because we have all the information already.

"What does the integration do?" So, we can show you real quick. I wanted to recap the previous slide. So this is what it looks like, the EverLogic integration overview. Kenect texting with EverLogic system, automated messages, automatic lead forwarding. And especially with putting all that pertinent information in, that's key. That's what we want to make sure that we're doing. So, if people are using that “text us” button and they're texting you and they have questions or anything that they want to get in, then they're texting all that information to Kenect through their Kenect website through that button that you just put in. And all of that is being transferred over to EverLogic. So you never miss the contact and you never miss their information, phone number, URL, where they're coming from, all that. It's all there and all there for you to see in both platforms.

"What's the cost?" Depends on some of the specifics related to dealership, but we try to recoup the cost of building integration. So it depends on what you choose, what features you want and we can go through that with you once you've decided that you want the integration.

"And how can I get signed up for the integration?" Set up a demo, sign up with Kenect and our activation team will help you through the integration. They'll show you what it looks like for your dealership and what features that you can add to it. Aside from that button on the website like we talked about Google reviews, you can do broadcast messaging. All that stuff is through the Kenect platform. So, you're adding a bunch of different tools that you wouldn't have with EverLogic that you're adding into your business that you're allowing customers to use. So, it's really key here.

And just to go through the six benefits of Kenect, generating leads via your website widget like that little text us button, generating five-star reviews, standing out line and selling more units. You can also use video chat in sales and service for more effective communication. Like we talked about walking around the service bay, showing customers what you're looking for, what you're seeing, what you're fixing. Collecting deposits and payments from sales and service customers via text message and then texting from your existing instead of your personal line so you don't have to use your personal cell number or give that out. You're using this through your existing business phone number, and that's what customers are texting you back with. So it's really key there. And then save time and sell more by sending photos, videos, and surveys.

So, we really want to make sure that you get the most out of this and we encourage you to text us, ask us about the demo making sure that we show you exactly how this would fit into your business and what features we can offer you once you've signed up with Kenect. And then make sure that you get a full picture of what this would look like for your business.

Questions here: "For the existing business line, do I have to get a new number?" No. So your existing business line that you have, we just call your carrier and set it up. So you're just adding another tool to that line like a phone number you have already with people that can call in, but that phone number is now going to be used for texting. It's just another tool that customers are looking for.

We've seen that customers really gravitate towards this, and they have over the pandemic. So it's just another tool to get your customers in. And that's really key. So I don't think I have any more questions here. But anyway, if you'd like, again, so we have people standing by. We can walk you through this, you can get a free demo and we can show you exactly what this looks like. So make sure you text us, give us a call if you'd like and we'll walk you through all of that process. Thanks so much for your time. I really appreciate it and have a great rest of your week.

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