Get What You Need From Your Dealership CRM

Your dealership CRM system is only as powerful as you make it.

With the highly competitive and mobile nature of today’s automotive market, it’s important to take the time to assess both the needs of your dealership and your target market in order to build the best and most efficient CRM for your business.

When you are able to reach potential customers and offer them exactly what they are looking for—and at the time they are looking for it—you’ll get a leg up on the competition, and catch the attention of in-market shoppers.

But how can you do that in a crowded, fast-moving marketplace? And how should it be done with the data that’s offered in your CRM?

If you haven’t already, it’s time to take a look at your CRM and assess whether it’s offering everything you need when it comes to shopper insights, updates, and search histories.

There’s likely a lot more you could be getting from your CRM, and if you’re lacking specific information, that means you’re leaving potential customer relationships on the table—relationships that could lead to sales.

Build better relationships

Although it’s true your CRM is filled with data, you first need to be able to efficiently access and utilize what’s available. What’s more, it needs to be relevant, organized, and up-to-date—or it won’t help you make a sale.

Most CRMs boast powerful data organization, lead management, and marketing solutions. It’s important, however, to keep your eyes on industry front-runners because they are perfecting bigger and better ways to not only access and store information, but also build relationships with customers.

Relationship-building technology that aligns with your CRM can power it to its full potential, helping you get to know shoppers on a more personal level. Imagine the sales potential if your dealership professionals were able to reach every in-market shopper in the early stages of their vehicle-shopping research?

Armed with information such as which vehicle makes and models customers are searching, as well as information regarding past experiences with your dealership—and even whether or not they’re shopping the competition—you would be able to direct your conversations toward specific preferences, allowing you to more successfully influence shoppers and make sales.

When looking at new tech and capabilities to power up your CRM, consider the following:

Number of customer insights provided. Are you offered a number of actionable insights and intelligent data, such as makes and models being shopped, changes in shopping intensity, and information regarding customers who are in equity? Valuable information such as this can guide your sales pros toward potential shoppers who are ready to buy.
Messaging and communication capabilities. Both businesses and customers are fast-moving, and it’s important to have a communication plan that’s efficient and reliable, including alerts and internal, dealership-wide messaging. Look for an all-inclusive way to power your CRM to its maximum capabilities and get everyone on the same page.
Availability of information. Be sure customer status and information is easily accessible from any web-based CRM—and available to everyone in your dealership—in order to facilitate the best and most efficient service.

Power your CRM to reach everyone

Working in today’s market means building relationships, and that’s what the latest technology can help you do.

Although it’s comfortable to rely on the familiar—such as existing CRM capabilities—it’s extremely beneficial to keep your eyes open and lean into powerful new capabilities that can align with your CRM. This will help you reach an even greater number of in-market customers in new and innovative ways.

Today’s consumers are on the lookout for dealerships that can relate to them, and meet them where they are in their purchasing processes.

For your dealership, this means being open to innovative ways of attaining insights about shoppers, as well as reaching out earlier in their buying journeys to build relationships that will ultimately lead to more sales for your dealership.

Kimberly Cowan is the director of business development at AutoAlert.