Stream > Case Studies > Dealer-FX Enhances User Retention by 90% Through Stream Chat Integration

Dealer-FX Enhances User Retention by 90% Through Stream Chat Integration

Technology Category

Networks & Connectivity - 5G
Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Application Development Platforms

Applicable Industries

Automotive
Cement

Applicable Functions

Maintenance
Sales & Marketing

Use Cases

Vehicle Performance Monitoring
Vehicle-to-Infrastructure

Services

System Integration

About The Customer

Dealer-FX is a fast-growing software solution provider that streamlines vehicle maintenance. Founded in 2007, the company aims to improve vehicle maintenance efficiency, transparency, and convenience. Their tools assist dealerships in serving their customers better by facilitating booking appointments, estimating quotes, and ensuring clear internal communication. After being acquired by Snap-On Incorporated in early 2021, Dealer-FX recognized the need to build a more sophisticated contactless communications solution. The company's core requirement was to adopt a backend chat infrastructure that could scale with them as they grew.

The Challenge

Dealer-FX, an automotive software company, was facing a challenge with its existing SMS text messaging platform. The platform was used by service dealerships to communicate with vehicle owners. However, as the company scaled, it needed a more sophisticated communication platform with features such as 1:1 chat and automated group messaging to enhance the car maintenance experience. The existing disjointed communication tools were not sufficient to keep all dealership departments connected and updated about a customer's vehicle status. After several months of attempting to build a messaging platform in-house, Dealer-FX engineers decided to explore using a third-party chat API solution instead.

The Solution

Dealer-FX turned to Stream's flexible backend chat API infrastructure to customize a communication platform that could store, filter, and search certain data types, including users, channels, and messages. This enabled Dealer-FX to have a high-performing automated platform. The company worked closely with Stream's customer success team to integrate the Stream Chat API into their product. Instead of using Stream's front-end UI kits, Dealer-FX engineers customized the entire front-end user experience for an on-brand appearance. The tool extracts meta-data from each repair order and can automatically generate a group conversation that includes key stakeholders from around the dealership. This functionality allows Dealer-FX the unique capability to enable their customers to connect to their app in myriad ways.

Operational Impact

The integration of Stream's chat API has significantly improved Dealer-FX's operational efficiency. The new communication platform has not only enhanced the car maintenance experience for vehicle owners but also improved internal communication within the dealership. The tool's ability to automatically generate a group conversation involving key stakeholders around the dealership has ensured everyone is kept in the loop about a vehicle's status. This has eliminated communication gaps and improved service delivery. The company is now primed to continue building innovative communication solutions with Stream, with plans to add a slash command functionality, voice or video component to the chat feature, and an activity feed functionality.

Quantitative Benefit

90% user retention after integrating with Stream
The chat API integration took around three months to get up and running
Plans to use Stream’s Mobile UI Kit to accelerate the build of a mobile version of Dealer-FX’s communication platform