We are in the final stages of our decision as to which CRM to go with. Can anyone who is happy with their CRM tell me which one you are using and what you like about it?
It's funny you should mention Higher Gear because thats what I had AFTER Contact Management. Needless to say, I was happy with neither.
For me the most important thing is continuity of information and the ability to communicate throughout the store and Depts. in one medium. I needed a system that would communicate well w/ my DMS (we just switched to Arkona which took some getting used to but the savings have FAR outweighed any inconvenience) and was easy enough that Salespeople would enter the info. Furthermore I wanted to be able to market to my own Database, both sold and unsold, for both Sales and Fixed-Ops.
After looking for approx. 6 mos. the short list was Autobase, DealerSocket and VinSolutions. The kicker for me was I wanted a web-based (but secure) product.When comparing Socket to VinSolutions it was easy,we went with VinSolutions.
I have their entire package through which we can desk deals, control inventory,look up a customers "net worth",mine data for leases expiring/equity position customers,like models w/ incentives,market pricing and bookout plus a myriad of other functions.
Though I was skeptical at first, this company has never let me down and continues to be responsive to our needs while being progressive in the industry.
The savings I acheived by cancelling our Dealerskins site and taking the inventory management, photos and stickers as well, in-house while cancelling the $2300 per rooftop I was paying Higher Gear has aided our bottom line this year substantially.
Best of all with the extensive library of templates and processes they provided, we have generated deals 60-90 days after the salesman has marked them "dead".Service Dept. customer-pay is up 12% y:y due in large measure to the letters that go out.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. I believe that if something works we should let one another know...of course it would probably be different if you were in Utah instead of N.J.!
Good Luck!
I have used Buzztrack (also known as Nettrack) and I found it completely unreliable. While the reporting was great, using it with a large BDC was near impossible, and making changes or implementing follow up for service was difficult. Integration with the DMS was mediocre.
I looked at Dealer Socket and was impressed with its functionality, but my sales staff is a bit older and I felt like it had too many choices and options and came across a little busy.
We currently use Autobase and I have been very happy with them. We have a very small DMS that almost no one has heard of (ACS) and they have found a way to integrate with them. My oldest salesperson is about 75 years old and he is the most proficient with making his follow up. Autobase gives you a way to tap into your database and find more leads to work during this slow season. Service follow up is also very easy. We are working our Writers into the follow up process. Feel free to call me with any other questions!
Erin Stevens
Internet Director
Art Gamblin Motors
360-825-3567
I have also used Buzztrak and I agree with Erin. I've also used Higher Gear. It has alot of features and can do lots of things IF you have time to learn them all properly from a management point of view. On the flipside, it does give you great control over the follow-up and it's pretty simple to use from a salesperson's perspective. Using all the maintenance tools and reporting properly would take some studying, though. I've used Reynolds Contact Management. That's a nightmare! I hated that. It takes forever and takes about 20 steps to do anything. Dealer Principals love it, however, because once a process is set, it's in stone. Salespeople and managers would find it difficult to use.
I know this didnt answer your question on what CRM is "liked" but I thought I'd share with you which ones I didn't like. If I had to choose, I liked Higher Gear the best.
We use Higher Gear at my store. I like the ease of use on the salesperson side, and the reporting tools are very nice if your whole staff is using the program properly.
The only downside so far is the lack of blackberry support for stopping the GM internet lead time clock. Once that issue is resolved, my only additional issue could be that the program is not web based.... some say that is a negative, some don't mind the server based setup...
I am currently at the end of my highergear contract, and would consider a CRM with fewer back-end features if it was drastically less expensive.
I also agree with Erin - I used BuzzTrak and found it to be very limiting and frustrating to use, we would lose data all the time, however the reporting was very straight forward and useful in refining lead management/sales processes. I have also used AutoBase and R&R Contact Management, but if I had to pick a CRM tool today, I would choose Dealer Peak. It fully integrates with your DMS and it is both super easy for salespeople to use while having all the bells and whistles needed for complex follow up campaigns, data mining, etc. I think that a CRM must be really simple for salespeople to maneuver so they will actually use it!
I work for Dealer Marketing Services, creator of ProMax Online. I have to spoke to many dealers using this product and have yet to find one that regrets their decision. Please take a look at our services before making a final decision. Below is a short description of ProMax, for more information you can go to http://www.promaxonline.com or contact myself at .
ProMax Online Version 8.0 is a stream-lined, fully integrated web-based program that can manage every aspect of your operation, from desking to CRM, inventory management, and much more. The new 8.0 version is more powerful than ever before with an all-new compliance package option, including digital signature pads and electronic archiving. ProMax Online 8.0 performs the functions of lease software, special finance software, prospect and customer follow up software and inventory management software, all in one program. It can be accessed from any computer and is easy to use! And ProMax is affordable, with low monthly fees and no up front costs.
I beg to differ with you Mr. Deemer. In fact, I do not know a dealer who uses your services who likes ProMax. Your desking tool is fine, but the rest of your solution has very much to be desired. You opened yourself up to this critique. This is supposed to be a dealer forum that speaks about dealer issues. I think it is very inappropriate for you to attempt to sell your wares when discussing CRM solutions and dealers experiences with them. I think there is a place on this site for vendors to display their solutions.
ProMax is a very limited tool and I for one would not recommend ProMax to any dealer wanting to have a credible CRM solution
We've narrowed down our choice for a new CRM to replace Higher Gear to:
VIN Solutions
CAR-Research
eLead
Dealer Socket
What are your thoughts on each?
Vinsolutions seems to be the one everyone likes the best. My son says iMagicLab was really good, but they haven't been talked about much lately. He said Dealer Socket is good, but expensive. He just came back from the conference where they talk about all those type of things.
I'm a big fan of Dealersocket. We use it our dealership and it's been great for all of our sales people. Its great for follow up and very easy to use.
Has anyone used the David Lewis CRM?
Buzz Track is not a CRM but is a very capable ILM and here in lies the problem. Buzz Trak is a great tool for following up a high volume of internet leads as it is very transparent and easy to learn and use. I have not seen a true CRM tool that is as easy to over see and track a large number of www leads. I have used iMagic Labs for floor follow-up and its very good at that but my Internet crew found it to be very clunky to use as a ILM. We joked that we would all have carpel tunnel syndrome after a week of using it! Our dealer now uses both tools which is not a ideal setup. So to answer your question pick the one your Internet team will be the most happy with as your sales team will most likely not use any CRM tool to it's full potential.Bruce Hartz
I like Elead crm because it works like Microsoft outlook and its for the entire store. Also, it allows me to create targeted campaigns and track the ROI from each whether its an email broadcast to a specific database or a call and mail campaigns it tracks every dollar of revenue to the report regardless of salesman input. It also has a great desk log that shows you who is in show room and who has left. With that said as an internet tool it allows several responces and will build workflows that go on and on all and all a 10.
Check out the vendor rating section on DrivingSales! There are ratings for most of the CRM vendors mentioned on this post.
Shellie Pierce
http://www.dealersocket.com
Hello,
My name is Dan Dulgheru, live in Romania. In Romania we are beginners in the field of CRM / ILM. At the moment we use CRM without an option of ILM. Therefore I would like to receive a recommendation for an ILM solution - opensource. I want to implement the test version into a single dealer. Then I will seek the best solution - paid or open source application - which will be implemented in the company for 5 dealers I work.
Thanks
Start a Discussion
Upload a Video
Rate a Vendor
Post a Blog
Share News
Share a Strategy
