DealerRefresh

Obstacles, Observations and Opinions of an Automotive Internet Sales & Marketing Manager

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Stop Trying to Netflix and Chill Your Customers

Maybe I’m not the ideal person to make this analogy. After all, I haven’t been single for almost 20 years. That was before smartphones. Before Google. Before social media. Wifi barely existed. There was no Kindle, we actually read paper books. And Netflix wasn’t even an idea.

Regardless, the phrase “Netflix and chill” has become parlance for a laid-back method of closing the proverbial deal romantically with another. A simple statement uttered to another, letting them know your primary goal, all under the guise of another activity.

Unfortunately, it has become customary to say it at the start of an interaction, rather than toward the end of the evening…

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7 Seismic Shifts Coming to Automotive CRM

We live in a world where new technology swirls around us at a relentless and often dizzying pace, yet as we look closer inside the automotive industry and one particular area – the CRM – the winds are very calm, and the marketplace solutions aren’t keeping pace with innovation outside of the industry. In a nutshell we are operating in an innovation rut for automotive CRM. We believe that we are about to enter a renaissance that will completely reimagine what is possible with an automotive dealership CRM solution, and we have analyzed seven areas to pay especially close attention over the next twelve months.

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How Customer Reviews Enrich Attribution Insights

Many automotive dealerships listen solely to CRM data and whatever they can learn from Google Analytics to understand and attribute the factors that influence a customer’s purchase decision. Both tools provide a limited perspective. And CRM data is vulnerable to error (e.g., a salesperson inputs data incorrectly or incompletely). To get a more complete picture of shopper behavior, dealerships should mine the data that customers share with you in the form of reviews.

Listen to Your Customers

About eight out of 10 shoppers use online car reviews and car dealership reviews. Smart dealers solicit reviews, listen to them, and manage them like valuable assets – not only because reviews literally represent the voice of the customer, they also track customer behavior.

Think about it for a moment. Each time a customer takes time to talk about their experience with your salesperson, they’re providing valuable data on why they made a purchase. They’re giving you documented feedback on the performance of your dealership down to the level of the salesperson they’re interacting with. And since the purchase of a car still involves a handshake between a shopper and a salesperson, reviews are the purest and most valuable form of CRM data any dealer could hope to have. [Read more…]

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Why Data Disconnects are Holding You Back – and What to Do About It

Connected data: Everyone wants it. Almost nobody has it.

Consider this: car shoppers typically switch between online and offline four times over the course of their buying journey, and want those switches to be seamless. What’s more, customers interact with dealerships across many different digital touchpoints, which means omnichannel marketing capabilities are essential. And yet, across industries, only 7% of customers are satisfied with the seamlessness of the process.

Connected data is crucial for dealerships too – it allows them to understand the impact of vendor technology and make the most of marketing spend. But there are a number of data breaks that interfere with both the customer experience and effective tracking. Let’s break down these points of disconnect to get a deeper look at some important areas for improvement: [Read more…]

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Future of CRM

You know the biggest players: eLead, VinSolutions, DealerSocket, and Reynolds Contact Manager, but do you know when they were originally coded? I believe the newest one of that pack came to market in 2003. Do you remember 2003? I think we, as an industry, were finally beginning to accept that the Internet was not going to be a fad and maybe we should start taking these Internet leads more seriously. And the biggest CRM innovation was to have a web-based system. It was an easier time.

Regardless of how much lipstick gets applied to the pig, or how many other technologies they acquire, there is no getting around age. Unlike people aging to become wiser, technology withers. It may get more feature-packed, but the original data model and technology backbones just get more and more stressed. Also, while aging, the original designers and engineers usually aren’t still working on the core product… if they’re even at the same company anymore. So, with age, the original design intent gets lost.

We all watched Microsoft struggle with legacy tech like Windows 98 and then Windows XP. We will probably watch Apple lag without the Steve Jobs passion. It is absolute fact that thousands of dealers are stuck in a time warp with outdated CRM technology right now. The crappy part for us in the car business is that few modern options are in the marketplace yet.

So, I want to take this opportunity to write about what I think a CRM in 2020 could be.

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Categories: CRM

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Was I Too Dumb for CRM?

In the early aughts, my dealership invested in a CRM system.

I was basically a sales guy/assistant manager who (quite by accident) had championed/embraced internet leads, and whipped-up an internal lead management system for our 15-store group. I had probably just “graduated” from 100% commission to a salary+bonus pay structure — probably 4-5 years into my automotive career, and was unknowingly building what would later become widely accepted and known as a BDC. So naturally, this CRM thing was my baby. And then, my baby was born.

I can remember instant regret, remorse, anger — this “thing” and these “trainers” that landed in my dealership didn’t much seem to resemble the system we researched. But alas, here it was, it was here, and I was here.

Here’s where, in hindsight, I look back and ask, was I that dumb? [Read more…]

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Dominion contracts CRMSuite (formerly iMagicLab) as CRM solution

Richard Keith Latman of CRMSuite

Dominion has struck a deal to license the CRMSuite product from Richard Keith Latman.  Does this mean Autobase is going away?

Read the press release from Business Wire

Dominion Dealer Solutions announced today the launch of its new CRM, Dominion VisionTM. The most advanced automotive CRM in the market today, Dominion Vision combines the most intuitive CRM interface in the market with customized reporting and consumer-focused communication tools to create an easy-to-use CRM that will satisfy customers, sales reps and management. Powered by CRMSuite, Dominion Vision is the result of a business partnership designed to integrate CRMSuite’s state-of-the-art CRM technology with Dominion Dealer Solutions’ portfolio of high-performance digital marketing and data-mining software offerings.

Dominion Vision CRM eliminates conventional CRM thinking by combining ease-of-use functionality with user-tailored dashboards. Intuitive technology erases the need for traditional action plans and lineated work flows. Dominion Vision learns about your customers and their preferences – helping your sales people connect with prospects using the best possible method at the best possible time. With real data at your fingertips, Dominion Vision is a true business intelligence tool. Mobility for all users is available via both a tablet-friendly interface and a downloadable mobile app.

“There are many CRMs in the marketplace but Dominion Vision is truly different. From our rich CRM legacy with AVV and Autobase, Dominion has always been committed to the dealer – using the latest technology to build simple and elegant solutions,” says Jack Ross, president of Dominion Dealer Solutions. “Now all of our tools, from DMS to CRM, equity mining to digital products, can work together to help car dealers sell more cars.”

Dominion Vision also includes proactive communication using machine learning to track consumer communications preferences in the form of a virtual, personal assistant, “Olivia.” No longer will customers fall through the gaps. This feature will scan the customer database on a regular basis and communicate via email, text or voicemail with prospects who have not been contacted. Customer responses will be forwarded to the salesperson to re-initiate sales and service communication.

Get a firsthand look at our NADA Booth #3716C. To schedule a presentation of Dominion Vision, please call 877-421-1040 or visit www.transformyourcrm.com.

About Dominion Dealer Solutions

Dominion Dealer Solutions improves dealers’ lives by developing advanced technologies including: reputation and social media management, responsive websites, digital advertising, SEO, SEM, multi-channel marketing, and custom market reports. Coupled with award-winning lead management, inventory merchandising, equity mining, customer relationship (CRM) and dealer management (DMS) solutions, Dominion redefines automotive retail by delivering first-class customer experiences for today’s automotive dealerships. Based in Norfolk, Virginia, every OEM and more than 10,000 U.S. dealers depend on Dominion’s foundation of innovation, integrity, excellence and teamwork to provide them with results at every turn. For more information, visit our website, like us on Facebook, LinkedIn or Youtube, or follow us on Twitter.

About Dominion Enterprises

Dominion Enterprises is a leading online marketing and software services company offering client solutions across multiple business verticals. Our B2B cloud SaaS solutions directly support clients in establishing their online and mobile brands, generating leads, and managing customer relationships. Our B2C web and mobile portals serve the housing, franchise and travel markets and include popular sites such as Homes.com. Dominion Enterprises is headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia and has offices across the U.S.

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The 4 Truths of Connected Retail – According to Cox Automotive

How many of you have asked a customer what they would change about the buying process?

You know, right after they get out of F&I and have spent the better part of their Saturday drinking your coffee and eating your donuts and popcorn. Are they excited about the purchase, but exhausted by the 3 hr. experience? [Read more…]

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AI’s Role in the Future of Automotive Retail

The Economist recently pointed to AI’s growing importance, stating that “the world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data.” And with the vast majority of data—over 90 percent—being generated over the past two years, it’s no surprise that businesses across industries are looking for innovative ways to capitalize on this new form of riches.

In the automotive sector, AI, in combination with unprecedented processing power, is bringing about radical changes. Here are the categories where you can expect to see AI impact first:

Customer Service

In the next few years, the automotive retail industry will witness significant changes in the customer service arena. Gartner shows that by 2020, 85 percent of all customer interactions will be handled without a human agent. This means a greater reliance on AI to resolve customer service issues before they arise and to lower customer abandonment rates. Additional functions will be to reduce customer complaints and improve satisfaction levels.. [Read more…]

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Introducing DealerRefresh Mini-Webinars and Live Web Chats

A colleague once told me, “I’d rather spend 60 minutes learning from someone who already figured out what I need to know, than spend days, weeks, or months trying to figure it out on my own.” This is precisely why webinars have and continue to be so popular.

Problem is that in today’s business culture, we are all struggling to find time to invest those 60 minutes here and there to absorb new lessons and curriculum. In many cases, webinars can be painful to endure, offering limited or minimal value.

Introducing, the Mini-Webinar

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