Bart Wilson, our Business Development Manager, walks into the local Barber Shop for a haircut.  Standard procedure.  And no, this isn’t an old-school, 1950’s shop – this is a modern, up-to-date business.  And like most companies these days, they operate under the guidance of a standard CRM system. 

After entering the shop, the lady looks Bart’s information up in the system and finds his details and hair-cutting preference.  He settled in the chair and waited for his service. 

It only took one swipe of the clippers for Bart’s eyes to widen and his mouth to drop.  This is as close to shaved as Bart’s probably ever been.  His typical Nick Carter-esque hairstyle was instantly shaved down to the length that his younger son usually comes away with.  

And that was exactly it.  The information pulled from the CRM system was the details of Bart’s son, who also gets his hair cut at that same location.  Was it a malfunction in the system or a misread by the hair stylist herself?  Hard to say at this point.  Bart was too shocked to stick around and find out.  But it begs the question:  How are you using your CRM system?  Is the data extraction as reliable as the data itself?  The CRM is a tool to help aid our memories about customer details that would be impossible to retain on our own.  But if we let the system take the place of our own operating intelligence, all we’re left with is a bunch of information and even more uncertainties in its validity.  Take the proper measures to ensure your customers are who your system says they are to help avoid a more-than-disgruntled customer walking out your door for the last time. 

Bart Wilson, our Business Development Manager, walks into the local Barber Shop for a haircut.  Standard procedure.  And no, this isn’t an old-school, 1950’s shop – this is a modern, up-to-date business.  And like most companies these days, they operate under the guidance of a standard CRM system. 

After entering the shop, the lady looks Bart’s information up in the system and finds his details and hair-cutting preference.  He settled in the chair and waited for his service. 

It only took one swipe of the clippers for Bart’s eyes to widen and his mouth to drop.  This is as close to shaved as Bart’s probably ever been.  His typical Nick Carter-esque hairstyle was instantly shaved down to the length that his younger son usually comes away with.  

And that was exactly it.  The information pulled from the CRM system was the details of Bart’s son, who also gets his hair cut at that same location.  Was it a malfunction in the system or a misread by the hair stylist herself?  Hard to say at this point.  Bart was too shocked to stick around and find out.  But it begs the question:  How are you using your CRM system?  Is the data extraction as reliable as the data itself?  The CRM is a tool to help aid our memories about customer details that would be impossible to retain on our own.  But if we let the system take the place of our own operating intelligence, all we’re left with is a bunch of information and even more uncertainties in its validity.  Take the proper measures to ensure your customers are who your system says they are to help avoid a more-than-disgruntled customer walking out your door for the last time. 

DrivingSales is excited to announce that the 2nd Quarter edition of the 2011 Dealership Innovation Guide is officially here!  The Dealership InnovationGuide is a free publication from DrivingSales.com full of good stuff for dealers looking to improve.  It's packed full of the latest vendor ratings and articles that will help dealers identify and adopt best practices that affect their bottom line.  We’ve fielded many requests for a more frequent publishing schedule, so we’ve transitioned from publishing the magazine bi-annually to quarterly.  Now you can get more great content, more often!  

Congratulations to Jon Sherrell for making this edition’s cover article with a fantastic story about how he won a brand new Fiat franchise with his stellar SEO strategy!  You can read this article RIGHT NOW at Dealership Innovation Guide - Jon Sherrell. 

Other great articles include:

“Dear Vehicle Manufacturers:  Three Ways You Are Killing Your Dealers” by Jared Hamilton

“Dealers Must CLOSE THE SALE” by Grant Cardone

“More Changes at Google in the Last Six Months than in the Last Six Years” by Richard Winch

Additional authors featured in the edition include:

Rob Fontano

Bryan Armstrong

Marc McGurren

…and MORE!

Gain access to these articles and the entire magazine for FREE at DrivingsalesInnovationGuide.com.  Want the actual magazine in print?  Subscribe to receive your free copy here.  Read the Dealership Inovation Guide hot off the press!

DrivingSales is excited to announce that the 2nd Quarter edition of the 2011 Dealership Innovation Guide is officially here!  The Dealership InnovationGuide is a free publication from DrivingSales.com full of good stuff for dealers looking to improve.  It's packed full of the latest vendor ratings and articles that will help dealers identify and adopt best practices that affect their bottom line.  We’ve fielded many requests for a more frequent publishing schedule, so we’ve transitioned from publishing the magazine bi-annually to quarterly.  Now you can get more great content, more often!  

Congratulations to Jon Sherrell for making this edition’s cover article with a fantastic story about how he won a brand new Fiat franchise with his stellar SEO strategy!  You can read this article RIGHT NOW at Dealership Innovation Guide - Jon Sherrell. 

Other great articles include:

“Dear Vehicle Manufacturers:  Three Ways You Are Killing Your Dealers” by Jared Hamilton

“Dealers Must CLOSE THE SALE” by Grant Cardone

“More Changes at Google in the Last Six Months than in the Last Six Years” by Richard Winch

Additional authors featured in the edition include:

Rob Fontano

Bryan Armstrong

Marc McGurren

…and MORE!

Gain access to these articles and the entire magazine for FREE at DrivingsalesInnovationGuide.com.  Want the actual magazine in print?  Subscribe to receive your free copy here.  Read the Dealership Inovation Guide hot off the press!