Nexteppe Business Solutions has started a national effort to encourage auto dealers to use mobile as part of the overall marketing mix.

The Bohemia, NY-based company is confident that mobile marketing for auto dealers may be a viable option to help interact with mobile users and drive leads and sales of cars.

"We connect traditional advertising with the power of text messaging and cell-phone-friendly dealer Web sites to provide customers the opportunity to communicate with the dealership instantly without having to talk to a salesperson," said Kenny DellaPorta, CEO of Nexteppe.

Nexteppe is a creator of mobile marketing technology and retailing software, with sales training support. Its mobile marketing technology has been integrated into Nexteppe's SteppeWeb offering. The overall package includes text messaging, a customized mobile Web site and mobile campaign-specific promotions.

The campaign to attract auto dealers to mobile marketing comes at a tough time for the automotive business. According to the National Automobile Dealers Association, new U.S. vehicle sales this year will reach between 15.5 million and 15.8 million, down from 17 million in 2005.

"Mobile SteppeWeb helps dealerships overcome many obstacles to online marketing including receiving incorrect phone numbers, emails getting blocked by spam filters, limiting customers to their computers to receive information and not having the ability for customers to view their online inventory from their phone," Mr. DellaPorta said.

A study released by market researcher Borrell Associates shows that car buyers spend about five hours researching cars online. Also, Nexteppe hopes to ride on a mobile trend: industry observers project the monthly exchange of 80 billion text messages this year, showing a consumer willingness to use the channel.

Dealers can use mobile marketing as part of an integrated campaign by displaying new and pre-owned inventory on a WAP site and using SMS for inventory. They can also issue updates, maintenance reminders and inform customers about promotions and financing deals.

An example of mobile marketing that Nexteppe has done is when New York auto dealer Atlantic Toyota added a text address to its already scheduled newspaper advertisements asking readers to vote for the two Super Bowl XLII finalists, football franchises New York Giants or New England Patriots.

"The results were tracked hourly and the response was overwhelming, with 805 leads generated in five days," Mr. DellaPorta said. "Of these 805 leads, 450 customers visited the mobile Web site and 203 of those customers completed a traditional online form.

"By connecting our Mobile SteppeWeb to this dealership's traditional advertising they were able to accurately capture the cell phone numbers of an additional 805 potential customers that can now be marketed to with little or no expense to the dealership," he said.