Why you should focus on your CRM to tell your Brand story.

A dealership’s reputation is often determined by the customer’s last experience. If they had a positive experience, they will most likely be willing to share it with others. The same is true if they have a negative experience. Thus, it’s important that dealerships strive to create a positive experience for everyone who interacts with their dealership. Any interaction customers have with your dealership is a reflection on your brand.

Branding is not just a marketing responsibility, but also something that everyone at the dealership needs to be part of. That’s why hiring the right person, training them the right way, and having the right tools available are essential to not only give your customers a great experience, but also to help build your brand and customer loyalty.

One of the most influential tools dealers can use that affect a customer’s experience and branding is your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool.

RELATIONSHIPS

The days are gone when dealers relied on their CRM to simply manage leads and customers. Today, the most progressive and successful dealers are using their CRM to manage the relationship with their customers. They are using their CRM to tell their “brand” by developing and managing long-lasting positive relationships and creating the ideal customer experience, while making customers for life.

This is only accomplished by offering a positive customer experience through marketing, prospecting, the entire sales process, the sales follow up, and service.

DATA VS LEADS

Dealers often neglect their customer database and spend too much time, money and effort into acquiring new leads through advertising and third-party lead providers; leads that often have very little information, and do not even have dealership exclusivity. If dealers focus only on attracting new customers and don’t serve their existing clientele, they run a serious risk of losing the loyal customers they previously worked so hard to acquire. The use of CRM allows a dealer to capture a valuable database of information that it can use to better the way it interacts with its customers, and increase customer retention.

Today, we know more about a customer than ever before. We know every call, email, letter, and text that has been sent. We know where they live, their phone numbers, their email addresses. We know every lead they have submitted, every vehicle they have ever looked at. We also know what vehicles they own or have previously owned. We know their service history and average repair order cost. We know the estimated mileage, trade value, and if the customer is in an equity position.

We have all of this data, but are you using it? Do you have processes in place to know and understand who your customers are? Dealerships need to access this data to cater marketing and follow-up to their customers with relevant and timely messages, through the customers preferred method of communication. Are your marketing efforts aimed at the 2 percent of people who are in the market for a new car or the 98 percent that are not?

CRM AND YOUR BRAND

Customers are loyal to a company or a business because of the quality of their product and/or the excellent customer service they receive. Because dealers do not have exclusivity on the products they sell, customers have many options when it comes to purchasing a new vehicle. With multiple dealerships selling the same cars, the distinguishing characteristic is often how you treat your customers. It’s not so much what you are selling, but how you are selling it. CRM technologies allow dealers to distinguish themselves by the service they provide. Dealers often talk about how they are dedicated to customer service, but applying it is an entirely different matter.

As mentioned before, your brand is determined from the relationship between the dealership and its customers. This evolves from hundreds of small interactions (leads, phone calls, emails, visits, service). These interactions add up to build or destroy the dealership’s brand. Since a majority of these interactions originate in the CRM, it is important that the CRM matches the brand or image you are trying to portray. A positive customer service experience must be applied to every customer touch point.

To your customers, branding is largely about faith; believing in something they can’t see, and trusting you when the dealership says, “We care.” Ultimately, people don’t trust companies, they trust people, making it critical to build this trust. When a salesperson says they are going to call the customer back tomorrow, the CRM needs to prompt the salesperson to call them. If a customer says they don’t want to receive any calls at home, that should be respected. They expect when you email or send in a lead that the dealership will be quick to respond. They trust that when they give you their email address that you are not just going to spam it, but give them something of value.

TODAY’S CUSTOMERS

Today’s customers do not want to be “sold.” Most often, by the time they’ve contacted a dealer, customers have done their due diligence. They just want someone to engage with, to help them, and to celebrate with them when they make their decision. Customers are more likely to do research on the company’s brand, such as looking at online reviews or social media posts regarding past customer experiences. Apart from price, why should customers buy from you? It should be all about the experience. With the use of CRM technologies, dealers can better serve their customers, speed up the sales process, and create a positive experience.

CRM EXAMPLES THAT DRIVE POSITIVE EXPERIENCES

Use CRM Desking multi-payments to present numbers and allow customers to choose their payment versus being pushed into a payment. This speeds up the negotiation process, improves CSI, and helps you hold gross.

When someone comes in looking for a used car you don’t have, instead of letting them leave, search your CRM with your prospect for customers you sold that vehicle to 3-4 years ago. Offer the owner of the possible trade a free car wash or oil change for bringing their car in.

Create customized business campaigns designed to send the right message, to the right person at the right time.

Integrate sales and service by introducing recently sold customers to the service department and to your website to set their first oil change. Then meet them in the service drive when they come in to follow up with the sale and ask for a referral.

Use the CRM’s data-mining tool to find specific customers in an equity position that could qualify for a lower payment by getting them into a new vehicle.

Incorporate a mobile CRM to allow your salespeople to be 24-hour salespeople, where they can enter and follow up with customers wherever they may be.

NEGATIVE EXPERIENCES

We can’t control every interaction, and negative experiences are bound to happen. But you can control how you react to negative experiences. You should make sure you have a way to uncover negative experiences through surveys. If you receive a negative survey you should quickly enroll those customers into a campaign where it notifies those that can correct the problem, and immediately reach out to resolve the customer’s issue. Communication is key to great customer service. Surprisingly, these customers become some of your best customers after you have spent time listening to them and resolving their issues. Learning from your mistakes is also an important aspect of good customer service. Documenting heated issues into the notes in your CRM helps to ensure you don’t make those same mistakes again.

REWARD LOYAL CUSTOMERS

Do you know who your most loyal and long-standing customers are, those who have bought more than four vehicles, or spent over $100,000 at your dealership? Use your CRM to identify and segment these customers so it will notify you when they visit your store. Create a customer appreciation campaign to thank your loyal customers and reward them for their repeat business. Offer sales and service discounts to entice them to continue to do business with you. Offer incentives for their referrals. Invite them to special VIP events, like new model introductions or a customer appreciation party.

Using a CRM will help you stay on top of your customers and ensure you’re being proactive in maintaining positive relationships, not just responding when something goes awry. Your CRM will be taken to the next level when combined with marketing, branding, and customer satisfaction. Dealers will be much more efficient when they use their CRM for more than just a storage bin for contacts. Fully utilizing your CRM to manage the relationship with your customers will help create a better overall experience for your customers, increase your CSI, and ultimately grow your brand.

About Hunter Swift

Hunter Swift is the Director of Sales Development at DealerSocket and has been with the company since 2005. In addition to his current role, he has fulfilled the responsibilities of customer support, consulting, training, and sales. Hunter specializes in helping dealerships improve sales and follow-up processes through the use of CRM technology. He is known for his ability to connect with people and demonstrate his knowledge to help others solve their problems. Hunter honed his dealership skills as a salesperson prior to joining DealerSocket. He has earned a Business Degree from Pepperdine University. Hunter can be reached at hswift@dealersocket.com and on social media at @HunterSwift.

Why you should focus on your CRM to tell your Brand story.

A dealership’s reputation is often determined by the customer’s last experience. If they had a positive experience, they will most likely be willing to share it with others. The same is true if they have a negative experience. Thus, it’s important that dealerships strive to create a positive experience for everyone who interacts with their dealership. Any interaction customers have with your dealership is a reflection on your brand.

Branding is not just a marketing responsibility, but also something that everyone at the dealership needs to be part of. That’s why hiring the right person, training them the right way, and having the right tools available are essential to not only give your customers a great experience, but also to help build your brand and customer loyalty.

One of the most influential tools dealers can use that affect a customer’s experience and branding is your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool.

RELATIONSHIPS

The days are gone when dealers relied on their CRM to simply manage leads and customers. Today, the most progressive and successful dealers are using their CRM to manage the relationship with their customers. They are using their CRM to tell their “brand” by developing and managing long-lasting positive relationships and creating the ideal customer experience, while making customers for life.

This is only accomplished by offering a positive customer experience through marketing, prospecting, the entire sales process, the sales follow up, and service.

DATA VS LEADS

Dealers often neglect their customer database and spend too much time, money and effort into acquiring new leads through advertising and third-party lead providers; leads that often have very little information, and do not even have dealership exclusivity. If dealers focus only on attracting new customers and don’t serve their existing clientele, they run a serious risk of losing the loyal customers they previously worked so hard to acquire. The use of CRM allows a dealer to capture a valuable database of information that it can use to better the way it interacts with its customers, and increase customer retention.

Today, we know more about a customer than ever before. We know every call, email, letter, and text that has been sent. We know where they live, their phone numbers, their email addresses. We know every lead they have submitted, every vehicle they have ever looked at. We also know what vehicles they own or have previously owned. We know their service history and average repair order cost. We know the estimated mileage, trade value, and if the customer is in an equity position.

We have all of this data, but are you using it? Do you have processes in place to know and understand who your customers are? Dealerships need to access this data to cater marketing and follow-up to their customers with relevant and timely messages, through the customers preferred method of communication. Are your marketing efforts aimed at the 2 percent of people who are in the market for a new car or the 98 percent that are not?

CRM AND YOUR BRAND

Customers are loyal to a company or a business because of the quality of their product and/or the excellent customer service they receive. Because dealers do not have exclusivity on the products they sell, customers have many options when it comes to purchasing a new vehicle. With multiple dealerships selling the same cars, the distinguishing characteristic is often how you treat your customers. It’s not so much what you are selling, but how you are selling it. CRM technologies allow dealers to distinguish themselves by the service they provide. Dealers often talk about how they are dedicated to customer service, but applying it is an entirely different matter.

As mentioned before, your brand is determined from the relationship between the dealership and its customers. This evolves from hundreds of small interactions (leads, phone calls, emails, visits, service). These interactions add up to build or destroy the dealership’s brand. Since a majority of these interactions originate in the CRM, it is important that the CRM matches the brand or image you are trying to portray. A positive customer service experience must be applied to every customer touch point.

To your customers, branding is largely about faith; believing in something they can’t see, and trusting you when the dealership says, “We care.” Ultimately, people don’t trust companies, they trust people, making it critical to build this trust. When a salesperson says they are going to call the customer back tomorrow, the CRM needs to prompt the salesperson to call them. If a customer says they don’t want to receive any calls at home, that should be respected. They expect when you email or send in a lead that the dealership will be quick to respond. They trust that when they give you their email address that you are not just going to spam it, but give them something of value.

TODAY’S CUSTOMERS

Today’s customers do not want to be “sold.” Most often, by the time they’ve contacted a dealer, customers have done their due diligence. They just want someone to engage with, to help them, and to celebrate with them when they make their decision. Customers are more likely to do research on the company’s brand, such as looking at online reviews or social media posts regarding past customer experiences. Apart from price, why should customers buy from you? It should be all about the experience. With the use of CRM technologies, dealers can better serve their customers, speed up the sales process, and create a positive experience.

CRM EXAMPLES THAT DRIVE POSITIVE EXPERIENCES

Use CRM Desking multi-payments to present numbers and allow customers to choose their payment versus being pushed into a payment. This speeds up the negotiation process, improves CSI, and helps you hold gross.

When someone comes in looking for a used car you don’t have, instead of letting them leave, search your CRM with your prospect for customers you sold that vehicle to 3-4 years ago. Offer the owner of the possible trade a free car wash or oil change for bringing their car in.

Create customized business campaigns designed to send the right message, to the right person at the right time.

Integrate sales and service by introducing recently sold customers to the service department and to your website to set their first oil change. Then meet them in the service drive when they come in to follow up with the sale and ask for a referral.

Use the CRM’s data-mining tool to find specific customers in an equity position that could qualify for a lower payment by getting them into a new vehicle.

Incorporate a mobile CRM to allow your salespeople to be 24-hour salespeople, where they can enter and follow up with customers wherever they may be.

NEGATIVE EXPERIENCES

We can’t control every interaction, and negative experiences are bound to happen. But you can control how you react to negative experiences. You should make sure you have a way to uncover negative experiences through surveys. If you receive a negative survey you should quickly enroll those customers into a campaign where it notifies those that can correct the problem, and immediately reach out to resolve the customer’s issue. Communication is key to great customer service. Surprisingly, these customers become some of your best customers after you have spent time listening to them and resolving their issues. Learning from your mistakes is also an important aspect of good customer service. Documenting heated issues into the notes in your CRM helps to ensure you don’t make those same mistakes again.

REWARD LOYAL CUSTOMERS

Do you know who your most loyal and long-standing customers are, those who have bought more than four vehicles, or spent over $100,000 at your dealership? Use your CRM to identify and segment these customers so it will notify you when they visit your store. Create a customer appreciation campaign to thank your loyal customers and reward them for their repeat business. Offer sales and service discounts to entice them to continue to do business with you. Offer incentives for their referrals. Invite them to special VIP events, like new model introductions or a customer appreciation party.

Using a CRM will help you stay on top of your customers and ensure you’re being proactive in maintaining positive relationships, not just responding when something goes awry. Your CRM will be taken to the next level when combined with marketing, branding, and customer satisfaction. Dealers will be much more efficient when they use their CRM for more than just a storage bin for contacts. Fully utilizing your CRM to manage the relationship with your customers will help create a better overall experience for your customers, increase your CSI, and ultimately grow your brand.

About Hunter Swift

Hunter Swift is the Director of Sales Development at DealerSocket and has been with the company since 2005. In addition to his current role, he has fulfilled the responsibilities of customer support, consulting, training, and sales. Hunter specializes in helping dealerships improve sales and follow-up processes through the use of CRM technology. He is known for his ability to connect with people and demonstrate his knowledge to help others solve their problems. Hunter honed his dealership skills as a salesperson prior to joining DealerSocket. He has earned a Business Degree from Pepperdine University. Hunter can be reached at hswift@dealersocket.com and on social media at @HunterSwift.

As a vendor, these last couple weeks were pretty busy as we prepared for NADA.  It is amazing how much goes into an event like this in order to be successful.  NADA consists of some very long days and my body is still trying to recover.  The show was very good for us and I imagine it was for others as well.

The first thing that stood out to me; dealers had positive outlooks on the current and future conditions of the auto industry.  Dealers were eagerly looking for new and innovative products to buy.  There are sure a lot of vendors out there now.  Competition is good; it sparks innovation and keeps vendors having to improve in order to keep being competitive.

As dealers shopped different vendors it was interesting for me to hear what the technology, features, and benefits they liked.  But what was more interesting to me this year, was how many dealers seemed very interested in learning more about the companies, the leaders, the culture and its employees.

I heard multiple times dealers say they do business with people who they like.  I heard others say, it was important for them to really know and trust the people they give their money to.  Apart from technology, they also seemed interested in the customer service, the support and the company’s reputation in the industry and what their customers had to say about the company and its employees.

 I feel privileged to work for a company (DealerSocket) that prides itself for being a moral and ethical company.  A company that takes pride in offering services to dealers that they sincerely want to help be successful and works hard to make sure its customers can trust and respect them.  Working with people who have character, are trustworthy, honest, moral and ethical goes a long way and makes working with them a pleasure.  And these types of behaviors do not just come from how they perform when they are working but even when they are not.   This helps customers know that they can rely on us and we will be there for them when there is a need.

I think this can also apply to dealerships.  Apart from the design of the dealership, inventory, advertising and tools they use; customers also ultimately buy from those people who they like.  We need the customers to know they can trust and respect dealerships. This ultimately comes from their interaction with the people that work at your dealership.  Is moral and ethics an important part of your dealership and business model? Is it in-line with your personal morals and ethics?

Hunter

Hunter Swift is the Director of Sales Development at DealerSocket and has been with the company since 2005. In addition to his current role he has fulfilled the responsibilities of customer support, consulting, training, and sales. He specializes in helping dealerships improve processes through the use of CRM technology. Prior to DealerSocket he sold cars and is a graduate of Pepperdine University.

Follow him: @HunterSwift

As a vendor, these last couple weeks were pretty busy as we prepared for NADA.  It is amazing how much goes into an event like this in order to be successful.  NADA consists of some very long days and my body is still trying to recover.  The show was very good for us and I imagine it was for others as well.

The first thing that stood out to me; dealers had positive outlooks on the current and future conditions of the auto industry.  Dealers were eagerly looking for new and innovative products to buy.  There are sure a lot of vendors out there now.  Competition is good; it sparks innovation and keeps vendors having to improve in order to keep being competitive.

As dealers shopped different vendors it was interesting for me to hear what the technology, features, and benefits they liked.  But what was more interesting to me this year, was how many dealers seemed very interested in learning more about the companies, the leaders, the culture and its employees.

I heard multiple times dealers say they do business with people who they like.  I heard others say, it was important for them to really know and trust the people they give their money to.  Apart from technology, they also seemed interested in the customer service, the support and the company’s reputation in the industry and what their customers had to say about the company and its employees.

 I feel privileged to work for a company (DealerSocket) that prides itself for being a moral and ethical company.  A company that takes pride in offering services to dealers that they sincerely want to help be successful and works hard to make sure its customers can trust and respect them.  Working with people who have character, are trustworthy, honest, moral and ethical goes a long way and makes working with them a pleasure.  And these types of behaviors do not just come from how they perform when they are working but even when they are not.   This helps customers know that they can rely on us and we will be there for them when there is a need.

I think this can also apply to dealerships.  Apart from the design of the dealership, inventory, advertising and tools they use; customers also ultimately buy from those people who they like.  We need the customers to know they can trust and respect dealerships. This ultimately comes from their interaction with the people that work at your dealership.  Is moral and ethics an important part of your dealership and business model? Is it in-line with your personal morals and ethics?

Hunter

Hunter Swift is the Director of Sales Development at DealerSocket and has been with the company since 2005. In addition to his current role he has fulfilled the responsibilities of customer support, consulting, training, and sales. He specializes in helping dealerships improve processes through the use of CRM technology. Prior to DealerSocket he sold cars and is a graduate of Pepperdine University.

Follow him: @HunterSwift

I was recently talking to a dealer who has been incorporating YouTube videos into his emails and marketing efforts. I noticed an issue and have been unable to come up with a fix or work around and wanted to reach out to the Automotive Industry for help. The issue has to do with YouTube’s Recommended Videos.

Scenario:

Dealer records and publish a video to YouTube… “Why Buy From Us”.

He embeds it into an email to send to his customers.

Customer clicks on Video Thumbnail and watches video.

After the video concludes YouTube populates 16 Videos they recommend (As well as 20 Suggested Videos on side of page).

The issue is the videos it is populating as recomended/suggested are for the dealership’s competitors.

I have searched all through the channel setting and I see no way to turn this off.

If it is your video on your channel it seems like you should be able to control this.

But YouTube is free to use, so I maybe we cant do anything about it.

Really hoping some knows something or could offer some help. Is there any way you can influence what is being shown? 

Thanks.

Hunter Swift is the Director of Sales Development at DealerSocket and has been with the company since 2005. In addition to his current role he has fulfilled the responsibilities of customer support, consulting, training, and sales. He specializes in helping dealerships improve processes through the use of CRM technology. Prior to DealerSocket he sold cars and is a graduate of Pepperdine University.

Follow him: @HunterSwift

I was recently talking to a dealer who has been incorporating YouTube videos into his emails and marketing efforts. I noticed an issue and have been unable to come up with a fix or work around and wanted to reach out to the Automotive Industry for help. The issue has to do with YouTube’s Recommended Videos.

Scenario:

Dealer records and publish a video to YouTube… “Why Buy From Us”.

He embeds it into an email to send to his customers.

Customer clicks on Video Thumbnail and watches video.

After the video concludes YouTube populates 16 Videos they recommend (As well as 20 Suggested Videos on side of page).

The issue is the videos it is populating as recomended/suggested are for the dealership’s competitors.

I have searched all through the channel setting and I see no way to turn this off.

If it is your video on your channel it seems like you should be able to control this.

But YouTube is free to use, so I maybe we cant do anything about it.

Really hoping some knows something or could offer some help. Is there any way you can influence what is being shown? 

Thanks.

Hunter Swift is the Director of Sales Development at DealerSocket and has been with the company since 2005. In addition to his current role he has fulfilled the responsibilities of customer support, consulting, training, and sales. He specializes in helping dealerships improve processes through the use of CRM technology. Prior to DealerSocket he sold cars and is a graduate of Pepperdine University.

Follow him: @HunterSwift

There has been much talk recently about “Big Data” which, to me, only emphasizes the importance of "Clean" Data. According to Kurt Bollacker, “Data that is loved tends to survive.” Having clean data is necessary for you to extract revenue from your most precious resource: your customer and prospect database. Clean data increases opportunities, saves money, and helps you maintain a positive reputation with satisfied customers. Luckily, there are tools available to dealers that can help keep data clean and updated with the NCOA, CASS, DNC, Phone/Email Validation and Phone/Email Append.

Increased Opportunities Come When:

The mailer you recently sent doesn’t go to the customer’s old address, as your customer recently moved to a new address. Your mailer arrived at the proper address because your data has been updated with the National Change of Address (NCOA).

Your mailer for the huge tent sale this weekend is received prior to the event, not after, because your data has gone through the CASS Standardization process with the USPS.

Your BDC or Salesperson can set that appointment instead of throwing away the lead due to lack of phone numbers.  Ensure you have appended cell numbers and landlines that are incorrect or missing in your database.

You are able to append/add email addresses to customer records, helping your next email marketing campaign be successful. 


Money Is Saved When:

You recently sent a mailer; a few weeks later, you don’t have a huge pile of returned mail sitting on your desk because your data was scrubbed against the NCOA.

Your BDC or Call Center is not wasting time calling bad numbers because your database has had the phone numbers validated.

You can now send an email to your customer/prospect instead of a letter due to the appended email addresses you now have because of email appends.

Your Reputation is Maintained When:

Your mailers are making it directly to their intended recipient, rather than being forwarded from their previous address, or thrown away by the new homeowner at the old address.

Your Sales or BDC Team is not calling on customers and prospects that are on the “Do Not Call List.”

Invalid email addresses are eliminated, effectively reducing the number of “hard bounces” on transmission. 

The email validation process helps protect the broadcasting IP from domain-level filtration and IP “blacklisting.”

If hundreds of thousands, even millions, are spent annually to market to prospects and get them in your database, shouldn’t a fraction of that money be budgeted to show your data the love?

Hunter Swift is the Manager of Market Development at DealerSocket and has been with the company since 2005. In addition to his current role he has fulfilled the responsibilities of customer support, consulting, training, and sales. He specializes in helping dealerships improve processes through the use of CRM technology. Prior to DealerSocket he sold cars and is a graduate of Pepperdine University.

Follow him: @HunterSwift

There has been much talk recently about “Big Data” which, to me, only emphasizes the importance of "Clean" Data. According to Kurt Bollacker, “Data that is loved tends to survive.” Having clean data is necessary for you to extract revenue from your most precious resource: your customer and prospect database. Clean data increases opportunities, saves money, and helps you maintain a positive reputation with satisfied customers. Luckily, there are tools available to dealers that can help keep data clean and updated with the NCOA, CASS, DNC, Phone/Email Validation and Phone/Email Append.

Increased Opportunities Come When:

The mailer you recently sent doesn’t go to the customer’s old address, as your customer recently moved to a new address. Your mailer arrived at the proper address because your data has been updated with the National Change of Address (NCOA).

Your mailer for the huge tent sale this weekend is received prior to the event, not after, because your data has gone through the CASS Standardization process with the USPS.

Your BDC or Salesperson can set that appointment instead of throwing away the lead due to lack of phone numbers.  Ensure you have appended cell numbers and landlines that are incorrect or missing in your database.

You are able to append/add email addresses to customer records, helping your next email marketing campaign be successful. 


Money Is Saved When:

You recently sent a mailer; a few weeks later, you don’t have a huge pile of returned mail sitting on your desk because your data was scrubbed against the NCOA.

Your BDC or Call Center is not wasting time calling bad numbers because your database has had the phone numbers validated.

You can now send an email to your customer/prospect instead of a letter due to the appended email addresses you now have because of email appends.

Your Reputation is Maintained When:

Your mailers are making it directly to their intended recipient, rather than being forwarded from their previous address, or thrown away by the new homeowner at the old address.

Your Sales or BDC Team is not calling on customers and prospects that are on the “Do Not Call List.”

Invalid email addresses are eliminated, effectively reducing the number of “hard bounces” on transmission. 

The email validation process helps protect the broadcasting IP from domain-level filtration and IP “blacklisting.”

If hundreds of thousands, even millions, are spent annually to market to prospects and get them in your database, shouldn’t a fraction of that money be budgeted to show your data the love?

Hunter Swift is the Manager of Market Development at DealerSocket and has been with the company since 2005. In addition to his current role he has fulfilled the responsibilities of customer support, consulting, training, and sales. He specializes in helping dealerships improve processes through the use of CRM technology. Prior to DealerSocket he sold cars and is a graduate of Pepperdine University.

Follow him: @HunterSwift

I was recently talking to a dealer about how to handle his "No longer owned" vehicles in his CRM. I was surprised to learn that his CRM didn't have this feature. In my opinion, having a CRM with the ability to automatically Inactivate Vehicles, is one of those features that is a must have.

DealerSocket has 4 ways we recognize a vehicle as “No longer owned” (inactivated) on individual customer records.

1.       Vehicle Trade In - Customer Trades in their car that they originally purchased from the same dealership.

Ex. Bob buys a 2003 GMC Yukon from ABC dealership, 5 years later… I decide to trade that same vehicle to ABC dealership and buy another car.  The DMS sends DealerSocket this information as part of the Sold Transaction and we recognize that the Trade In was a car Bob previously purchased and we “Inactivate it” as a vehicle that is no longer owned on that customer record.

2.       Closed RO - A Service Customer closes a repair order on a vehicle that another customer originally purchased from the dealership.

Ex. Bob buys a 2003 GMC Yukon from ABC dealership, 5 years later… Bob sells the vehicle privately to John.  John decides to service that vehicle at ABC dealership.  DealerSocket recognizes that a different customer now owns that vehicle and “Inactivates” that vehicle on Bob’s customer record.

3.       Email Marketing - A customer receives an Email from the dealership and clicks on a link telling the dealer they no longer own the car referenced in the email.

Ex. A dealer might decide to enable a campaign targeting customers that purchased 3 years ago, offering to purchase their vehicles.  When customers click on the link stating they no longer own their vehicle, DealerSocket knows to no longer market to customers based on that Year, Make, and Model that was inactivated.  All ongoing service reminders, recall notices, and tailored messages based on that vehicle will be stopped.

4.       Service Scheduler - Service Appointment Scheduling Process

Ex. A customer decides to either book an appointment through the mobile garage, website, or over the phone.  As part of that process, the customer can easily tell the dealer through that process that they no longer own certain vehicles.

The true value of a CRM is its ability to send TARGETED RELEVANT messages to customers/prospects. 

The result of doing CRM right through automatically inactivating vehicles:

1.       Improves Campaign ROI by helping dealers spend less on collateral

2.       Opt outs are decreased due to more relevant targeted messages being sent

3.       Customer CSI goes up because customers aren’t annoyed

4.       Database management is improved by having ongoing updates to vehicle ownership on customers

Hunter Swift is the Manager of Market Development at DealerSocket and has been with the company since 2005. In addition to his current role he has fulfilled the responsibilities of customer support, consulting, training, and sales. He specializes in helping dealerships improve processes through the use of CRM technology. Prior to DealerSocket he sold cars and is a graduate of Pepperdine University.

Follow him: @HunterSwift

I was recently talking to a dealer about how to handle his "No longer owned" vehicles in his CRM. I was surprised to learn that his CRM didn't have this feature. In my opinion, having a CRM with the ability to automatically Inactivate Vehicles, is one of those features that is a must have.

DealerSocket has 4 ways we recognize a vehicle as “No longer owned” (inactivated) on individual customer records.

1.       Vehicle Trade In - Customer Trades in their car that they originally purchased from the same dealership.

Ex. Bob buys a 2003 GMC Yukon from ABC dealership, 5 years later… I decide to trade that same vehicle to ABC dealership and buy another car.  The DMS sends DealerSocket this information as part of the Sold Transaction and we recognize that the Trade In was a car Bob previously purchased and we “Inactivate it” as a vehicle that is no longer owned on that customer record.

2.       Closed RO - A Service Customer closes a repair order on a vehicle that another customer originally purchased from the dealership.

Ex. Bob buys a 2003 GMC Yukon from ABC dealership, 5 years later… Bob sells the vehicle privately to John.  John decides to service that vehicle at ABC dealership.  DealerSocket recognizes that a different customer now owns that vehicle and “Inactivates” that vehicle on Bob’s customer record.

3.       Email Marketing - A customer receives an Email from the dealership and clicks on a link telling the dealer they no longer own the car referenced in the email.

Ex. A dealer might decide to enable a campaign targeting customers that purchased 3 years ago, offering to purchase their vehicles.  When customers click on the link stating they no longer own their vehicle, DealerSocket knows to no longer market to customers based on that Year, Make, and Model that was inactivated.  All ongoing service reminders, recall notices, and tailored messages based on that vehicle will be stopped.

4.       Service Scheduler - Service Appointment Scheduling Process

Ex. A customer decides to either book an appointment through the mobile garage, website, or over the phone.  As part of that process, the customer can easily tell the dealer through that process that they no longer own certain vehicles.

The true value of a CRM is its ability to send TARGETED RELEVANT messages to customers/prospects. 

The result of doing CRM right through automatically inactivating vehicles:

1.       Improves Campaign ROI by helping dealers spend less on collateral

2.       Opt outs are decreased due to more relevant targeted messages being sent

3.       Customer CSI goes up because customers aren’t annoyed

4.       Database management is improved by having ongoing updates to vehicle ownership on customers

Hunter Swift is the Manager of Market Development at DealerSocket and has been with the company since 2005. In addition to his current role he has fulfilled the responsibilities of customer support, consulting, training, and sales. He specializes in helping dealerships improve processes through the use of CRM technology. Prior to DealerSocket he sold cars and is a graduate of Pepperdine University.

Follow him: @HunterSwift