Dealer glossary
Dealer terms, in plain English.
From CDPs and BDCs to TCPA consent and the FTC Safeguards Rule: what the words mean, and why they matter at a dealership.
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A
- AI voice assistantPhones and BDCAn AI voice assistant is software that answers or places phone calls in a natural, human-sounding voice. At a dealership it can answer common questions, book service appointments, route sales calls and take messages, so callers get help after hours and when every line is busy.
- Answer ratePhones and BDCAnswer rate is the share of inbound phone calls a dealership answers live, out of all the calls it receives. Stores usually track it by department and by hour, because a missed call is often a missed sale or service appointment. The term is also used for outbound calls that customers pick up.
- Appointment show ratePhones and BDCAppointment show rate is the percentage of scheduled appointments where the customer actually arrives. Dealerships track it for sales appointments set by salespeople or the BDC and for service appointments. It shows how many booked appointments turn into real visits.
- Automotive Standards Council (ASC)Websites and analyticsThe Automotive Standards Council (ASC) is an industry group that publishes a shared specification for tracking shopper activity on dealer websites in Google Analytics 4 (GA4). Website providers and other vendors that follow it send events such as form submissions, chats and calls with the same names and details.
B
- Branded caller IDPhones and BDCBranded caller ID is a service that shows a business’s verified name on the screen of the person it calls, instead of only a phone number. Depending on the carrier and phone, it can also show a logo and the reason for the call, such as a service appointment or a vehicle inquiry.
- Business development center (BDC)Phones and BDCA business development center (BDC) is a dealership team that handles customer contact at scale. BDC agents answer phone calls, respond to internet leads and follow up by phone, text and email, with one main goal: setting sales and service appointments that show up.
C
- Call to action (CTA)Websites and analyticsA call to action (CTA) is a button, link or prompt that asks a website visitor to take a specific next step, such as checking availability, estimating a payment, valuing a trade-in, applying for credit or booking service. On dealer websites, CTAs lead to the forms and tools that turn visitors into leads.
- Call trackingPhones and BDCCall tracking is technology that assigns different phone numbers to different ads, listings and web pages, so a dealership can see which marketing produced each call. Many platforms also record calls, report missed calls and classify calls by department and outcome.
- CARS RuleComplianceThe Combating Auto Retail Scams Rule (CARS Rule) was a Federal Trade Commission rule, finalized in December 2023, that targeted bait-and-switch pricing, junk fees and add-ons at car dealerships. A federal appeals court vacated it in January 2025 before it took effect, and the FTC formally withdrew it in February 2026.
- Co-op advertisingAdvertisingCo-op advertising is a cost-sharing arrangement in which an automaker reimburses a dealership for part of its advertising spend, as long as the ads follow the brand’s guidelines and program rules. The money often builds up in a co-op account based on vehicles the dealer buys or sells. It’s paid back after the dealer files a claim.
- Conquest marketingAdvertisingConquest marketing is advertising and outreach aimed at winning customers who currently buy or service with another dealership or brand, rather than the dealer’s own customers. Typical conquest targets include owners of competing models, in-market shoppers near rival stores and people who have never done business with the dealership.
- Consent management platform (CMP)Websites and analyticsA consent management platform (CMP) is software that shows website visitors a privacy notice or cookie banner and records their choices about tracking and data sharing. It then passes those choices to the tags and scripts on the site, so they collect only what each visitor allowed.
- Cost per saleAdvertisingCost per sale is the amount a dealership spends on marketing for each vehicle sold. It’s calculated by dividing advertising spend, for one channel or in total, by the number of vehicles sold and credited to that spend over the same period. Unlike cost per click or cost per lead, it measures what a sale really costs.
- Customer data platform (CDP)Customer dataA customer data platform (CDP) is software that pulls a dealership’s customer data from the DMS, CRM, website and other tools into one profile per person, cleans and matches it, and makes it usable for marketing, advertising and the sales and service teams.
- Customer relationship management (CRM)Customer dataCustomer relationship management (CRM) software is the system a dealership uses to manage leads and customers. It logs calls, texts and emails and assigns follow-up tasks to salespeople and the business development center. It also reports on how leads turn into appointments and sales.
D
- Dealer management system (DMS)Customer dataA dealer management system (DMS) is the core software a car dealership runs on. It records vehicle sales and financing, service repair orders, parts, inventory and accounting, and it holds the store’s official history of which customers bought and serviced which vehicles.
- Deterministic matchingCustomer dataDeterministic matching is a way of linking customer records that treats two records as the same person only when they share an exact identifier, such as the same email address, phone number or customer ID. It is very accurate but misses people whose details don’t line up exactly.
- Digital retailingWebsites and analyticsDigital retailing is the set of online tools that let a car shopper complete parts of a purchase on a dealer’s website, such as estimating payments, valuing a trade-in, applying for credit and placing a deposit. The goal is for the shopper to finish the deal online or in the store without starting over.
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F
- Finance and insurance (F&I)Dealership operationsFinance and insurance (F&I) is the dealership department that arranges financing and leases for vehicle buyers, completes the sale paperwork and offers optional products such as vehicle service contracts and guaranteed asset protection (GAP). The F&I manager sends credit applications to lenders and presents the final contract to the customer.
- First-party dataCustomer dataFirst-party data is information a dealership collects directly from its own customers and shoppers, such as sales and service history, lead conversations and activity on the dealer’s website. The dealer controls it, unlike third-party data that outside providers collect elsewhere and sell or license.
- Fixed operationsDealership operationsFixed operations, or fixed ops, are the departments of a car dealership that service and repair vehicles rather than sell them: service, parts and, where the store has one, the collision center or body shop. Their revenue includes customer-pay repairs, warranty work paid by the automaker, parts sales and internal work such as reconditioning used cars.
- FTC Safeguards RuleComplianceThe FTC Safeguards Rule is a federal regulation that requires financial institutions, including car dealers that arrange financing or leases, to run a written information security program that protects customer information, with specific controls such as encryption, multi-factor authentication and a designated Qualified Individual.
- FTC Used Car RuleComplianceThe FTC Used Car Rule is a federal regulation that requires dealers to display a Buyers Guide on each used vehicle they offer for sale. The guide tells shoppers whether the vehicle is sold "as is" or with a warranty, and what any dealer warranty covers.
G
- GA4 key eventWebsites and analyticsA key event in Google Analytics 4 (GA4) is a user action that a business marks as especially important, such as a lead form submission or a phone call. Google renamed GA4 conversions to key events in March 2024, and key events can be imported into Google Ads as conversions.
- Google Tag Manager containerWebsites and analyticsA Google Tag Manager (GTM) container is a collection of tags, triggers and variables that loads tracking and marketing code on a website through one code snippet. Each container has an ID that starts with GTM-, and people with publish access can add or change code on the site without a developer.
- Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)ComplianceThe Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) is a 1999 federal law that requires financial institutions, including car dealers that arrange financing or leases, to explain how they share customers’ personal financial information and to protect it. For dealers, the FTC’s Privacy Rule and Safeguards Rule put the law into practice.
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P
- Per vehicle retailed (PVR)Dealership operationsPer vehicle retailed (PVR) is a dealership measure of average gross profit for each vehicle sold at retail. It’s calculated by dividing gross profit for a period by the number of retail units delivered in that period. The term is most often used for F&I income per vehicle, but it can also describe front-end or total gross.
- Probabilistic matchingCustomer dataProbabilistic matching is a way of linking customer records that estimates whether two records belong to the same person from partial or similar clues, such as a similar name, a shared address or the same device, and gives each match a confidence score instead of requiring an exact identifier.
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S
- Search results page (SRP)Websites and analyticsA search results page (SRP) is the inventory page on a dealer website that lists every vehicle matching a shopper’s search or filters, such as new or used, make, model, price or body style. Each listing shows a photo, price and key details, with a link to that vehicle’s detail page (VDP).
- Speed to leadPhones and BDCSpeed to lead is the time between a shopper sending a lead and the dealership’s first real response to it. Dealers usually measure it in minutes. The faster the first response, the more likely the store is to reach the shopper while they are still deciding where to buy.
- STIR/SHAKENComplianceSTIR/SHAKEN (secure telephone identity revisited and signature-based handling of asserted information using tokens) is the caller ID authentication framework phone carriers use to confirm whether a caller has the right to use the number it shows. The FCC requires voice providers to use it to fight spoofed robocalls.
- Streaming TV advertising (CTV/OTT)AdvertisingStreaming TV advertising is video advertising that runs in TV shows and other content delivered over the internet instead of by cable, satellite or broadcast. Connected TV (CTV) ads are seen on an internet-connected TV screen. Over-the-top (OTT) is the wider term for internet-delivered TV content on any device, including phones and computers.
T
- TCPA consentComplianceTCPA consent is the permission a business needs under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) before calling or texting consumers. Marketing calls and texts sent with an autodialer or an artificial or prerecorded voice, including AI-generated voices, require prior express written consent: a signed agreement that covers a specific phone number.
- Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)ComplianceThe Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is a 1991 federal law that restricts marketing calls and texts made with an autodialer or an artificial or prerecorded voice, sets the rules behind the National Do Not Call Registry and lets consumers sue for $500 or more per violation.
V
- Variable operationsDealership operationsVariable operations, or variable ops, are the sales side of a car dealership: the new vehicle, used vehicle and finance and insurance (F&I) departments. Their volume and profit rise and fall with inventory, incentives, interest rates and buyer demand, which sets them apart from the steadier service and parts business in fixed operations.
- Vehicle detail page (VDP)Websites and analyticsA vehicle detail page (VDP) is the web page that shows one specific vehicle for sale, on a dealer’s website or a marketplace. It includes the photos, price, features, VIN and stock number, plus buttons to check availability, estimate payments, value a trade or book a test drive.
- Vehicle listing ads (VLA)AdvertisingVehicle listing ads (VLAs) are Google ads that show individual cars from a dealer’s inventory, with a photo, make, model, price, mileage and the dealer’s name. Google calls them vehicle ads. They run from an inventory feed in Google Merchant Center, and a click takes the shopper to that car’s vehicle detail page.
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