Using video e-mail Dealers with video e-mail technology can: Send customers general or personalized messages Send customers information about a product, such as a video brochure outlining details about a vehicle of interest Incorporate their current Web offerings, such as price quotes and inventory Video e-mail grabs attention New Web tools allow pinpoint marketing

They get a welcome message -- in streaming video e-mail -- from Ron Harred, Graff Chevrolet’s general manager.

"Wow, how did you do that?" is how Stan Graff, owner of the Grand Prairie, Texas, dealership, describes the reaction from customers. "They just can’t believe it."

The suburban Dallas store began replying to Internet customers with video e-mail in August. Graff uses an Internet startup company, ExpandMail.com of Dallas, to produce the streaming video and integrate it with dealer management systems.

It is called streaming video because the image is in motion, with no choppy mixture of motion and still frames.

ExpandMail.com is not the only company offering streaming video e-mail, but it is one of the first to target automotive dealers. Others are poised to follow.

Atlanta-based Media1st.com, for instance, has targeted the automotive industry as a market it plans to enter, said Jeff Gardiner, vice president of marketing.

"It would be very easy to do it," he said. "We’re going after business with elephant opportunities."

Nissan North America Inc. also is testing video e-mail, though details were not available.

When customers open video e-mail from Graff Chevrolet, they get access to a Web site. After watching the video message, customers are directed to multiple shopping options. They can, for example, choose to open a video brochure on a Chevrolet car or truck.

ExpandMail.com was launched in early August. Graff Chevrolet was its first customer, though Graff also plans to use video e-mail in his El Dorado Chevrolet, El Dorado Mazda and El Dorado Chrysler-Plymouth stores in McKinney, Texas, north of Dallas.

Friendly Chevrolet in Dallas also is using ExpandMail.com for video e-mail.

And ExpandMail.com announced Tuesday, Sept. 5, that it will design and develop custom video brochures for Lute Riley Honda in Richardson, Texas. Lute Riley Honda is owned by Sonic Automotive Inc., a dealership group in Charlotte, N.C.

ExpandMail.com uses patent-pending technology for its streaming video. If recipients have a 56K or high-speed digital subscriber line or cable Internet connection, they do not have to download an attached file to be able to view the streaming video.

By not having to download, customers are more likely to view streaming video messages and brochures, said Peter Martin, ExpandMail.com’s president.

"People don’t want to wait for downloading," he said.

"There are a variety of connection speeds out there. We allow the consumer to select their connection speed. Some have slow computers. If you have a slow computer, you may want to download this and play it for the best quality. We give them the best quality available to match with what type of equipment they actually have."

ExpandMail.com can integrate its video e-mail with any e-mail system, Martin said. Dealers can use a welcome message, or craft a personalized message. With ExpandMail.com’s auto responder system, it will be delivered automatically whenever customers contact the dealership via standard e-mail.

"The person may still be online when they receive it," Martin said.

If a customer e-mails Graff Chevrolet requesting information on the Chevrolet Impala, for instance, the dealership can return an e-mail containing a video brochure on the car, Martin said.

Graff Chevrolet has started with a welcome message. But Graff said he would make additional messages in the near future.

"This is such new technology," Graff said. "We’re walking right now. Give us just a little time and we’re going to be running. And then we’ll really kick everybody’s butt. That’s what this game is about, beating our competition."

While the video e-mail grabs the customer’s attention, the Web site offers customers various shopping options. They can get a price quote from the dealer, obtain a credit application online and schedule a test drive.

Customers who click on a video brochure can study features of a particular vehicle, build and price a vehicle and check inventory.

ExpandMail.com has its own video production company for better turnaround time and more control over production quality, Martin said. But ExpandMail.com also will take video provided from the dealer.

Graff said video e-mail is not cost prohibitive.

"Our position is this is an emerging technology and we’re going to be on the cutting edge," Graff said. "Video e-mail is personal communication. It is so much stronger than just standard e-mails."

The dealership cost is determined by a sliding scale based on the number of models in a franchise. For instance, the Chevrolet package, with 25 models, is $14,500; Honda, $7,000; Acura, $4,500; and Land Rover, $3,500.

In addition, ExpandMail.com charges from 17 cents to 23 cents each time a customer plays a video. Price is determined by usage volume.

Graff does not pretend to know all of the technology behind the streaming video e-mail.

"I’m still cussing FORTRAN from the ’60s and ’70s," Graff said, referring to an old computer language. "Yet I understand the benefit of this."

E-mail staff writer Ralph Kisiel.