Imagine you’re thinking about building a house. Future homeowners often want to jump the gun and start picturing how their house will look when it’s finished, buying paint colors and wall hangings before they’ve even bought the land. They can get so excited about the outside shell of the house that they neglect to take the time to think about all that needs to go into the process of building a well-made, functional home. Many people fall into the same trap when starting to build a website for their dealership. While the aesthetic aspects of a website are important, making sure that you have a strong foundation and the correct structures in place are essential to long-term success.

Start with a Solid Foundation

Everyone knows that a strong house starts with a strong foundation. Before you can start thinking about paint colors or decorations to hang on the wall, you must first start with the seemingly boring task of building a strong foundation. This means choosing the right location to begin building and spending time building the frame of the house properly. Building your website is no different.

When you’re thinking about selecting a website provider, it’s not enough to just look at the nice designs and flashy technology. For a dealership, it’s also necessary to determine if the company backing the websites is the strong foundation you want to build your “house” on. Consider if your website provider has the resources to invest in evolving technology and whether they have the resources to build at scale for your dealership or dealership group. Understand whether they’re just meeting the current needs of the industry or if they’re spending time in developing the next generation of solutions — like connecting online shoppers to the dealership showroom or making sure that your site will always work well on the latest mobile devices.

Make the “Behind-the-Scenes” Connections

Once you’ve built a strong foundation on sturdy ground, it’s time to think about the systems that need to be in place. Before the walls are covered and painted, the electricity, plumbing, heating and air conditioning systems need to be wired behind the walls and connected to the outside world. If you don’t make sure that the proper support and connections are in place before hanging the pictures on the finished walls, you’ll have to tear into the walls and start over. Similarly, before you begin picking pretty website designs, you need to make sure your website is connected to all the right “utilities.”

A house can’t run its own electricity without being connected to a provider, and your dealership’s website can’t function as it needs to without the right OEM connections. Make sure that your website provider has strong relationships with OEMs that enable an easy connection to your website. The website should also integrate with your DMS, CRM and other solutions in order to use the information you already have to better serve customers. In addition, consider whether your provider connects to other outside “utilities,” like third-party providers for  additional tools like live chat and online credit approval, or agencies that support your site through advertising. Lastly, ensure that the proper architecture is in place to allow you to capture analytics and make actionable decisions.

Add the Finishing Touches

After you’ve laid a strong foundation and connected your utilities, it’s finally time for the fun part – decorating. You can finally start to think about paint colors, furniture and décor, or in the case of websites, website design and homepage hero images. Just as you’d want someone to feel comfortable in your home, you want the design choices on your website to suit a customer’s experience. Think through the user experience and design choices. Your website provider should let you easily choose between a host of great designs and allow you to quickly change different aspects of the designs to suit your dealership’s and your customers’ changing needs.

Most of you have probably already built your “house” and while it may look stunning to the outside observer, only you know if it’s got the foundation and the systems needed to provide you the success you deserve. A hastily built house may show its weaknesses when you try to turn on the electricity, or a disaster comes along to shake its foundation; a poorly built website can show the same weaknesses when you try to connect to a third party or a competitor comes along to contend for your customers. Take the time to evaluate if your website really is as strong as you need it to be. We’ll be right here to help.

A couple weekends ago, Chicago saw its first glimpse of summer —70 degree weather, cloudless skies and new buds popping from the trees. As I rolled down the window and turned up the music in my car, I started to imagine how much better the music would sound on a boat floating out on the lake. On a whim, I started browsing the internet to look for different boats. Scrolling through, I ended up on Craigslist and a 19-footer, or more accurately the price tag, caught my eye. $300! Talk about a steal! As I continued to scroll, the nicer boats for $20,000 seemed almost ridiculous. Why would I pay so much for a boat when I could get a cheaper option? Obviously, I knew I would be giving up some of the comforts of the more expensive option, but did I really need them? I just wanted something that could get me out on the lake.

As I looked closely at the $300 boat, it seemed comparable to the more expensive one, just a little older with a little less shine. The truth came out in the fine print: “project boat, bad engine.” I took a closer look and saw that the motor wasn’t even attached. Sure, I could get it for a steal, but the maintenance and additional parts to get it to be lake-ready would surely add up. Not to mention the time and sanity I would have to sacrifice putting it back together. Was it really worth it?

Thinking about which DMS to choose for your dealership can look a lot like my boat shopping experience. The allure of a cheaper option is sometimes irresistible, especially if a dealer thinks they don’t really need all the bells and whistles of a more expensive DMS. And while that’s a legitimate thought, the reality is that some of the bells and whistles are needed to get the most out of your dealership. And some features aren’t as optional as you might think – like having a working motor on a boat.

Because what good is it if I launch my wonderful new boat in the harbor, get out to the middle of the lake and don’t have seats for my friends, can’t listen to the music because of the broken radio, or get stranded by a faulty motor? All of a sudden, my perfect summer dream has turned into a nightmare.

The truth is, you get what you pay for.

When you’re evaluating systems to power your dealership, think about your business and all your needs. Make sure you have a full understanding of the capabilities of each solution and are willing to shoulder the additional investments, time and stress that are likely to come down the road if you need more functionality. For example, take your dealership network. Some DMS providers have you outsource your network to third parties that don’t understand the specific needs of a dealership. Those additional costs — and headaches —may not show up on your initial bill, but they will add up in the long run. It’s also important to consider your customers’ needs and evaluate if the end experience is intuitive and up-to-date. Cutting corners on price may mean cutting corners on the customer experience. For example, DMS providers that offer incomplete electronic form signing aren’t just a hassle for you, they’re a negative experience for your customer.

A cheaper DMS means missing pieces.

As any good business person knows, you need to understand the full picture to make the right decisions for your business. And this includes having accurate information when you need it. You can’t think and act strategically if every report you run spits out different numbers. More importantly, you can’t serve your customer well if the information you have on their experience with your dealership is incomplete, inaccurate, or simply missing.

You need a DMS that plays well with others.

A DMS can’t stand alone. It needs to work seamlessly with F&I, Parts & Service, Sales, Accounting and even OEM integrations. Miss those connections and you miss valuable revenue or run up unnecessary costs. Instead, systems that speak to each other not only save you time and money, but they optimize the customer experience and your profit. Understanding your customer’s sales history allows you to better serve them in the Service department. Having accurate data from your Parts and Service departments allows payroll to properly compensate their employees. When different parts of the business can’t talk to each other, they might as well be on their own.

Inexpensive options are always appealing, but the initial price tag doesn’t always tell the whole story. Before you sign on for the least expensive option, make sure you’re aware of what it actually gets you — and what it doesn’t. Additionally, make sure the bells and whistles on the more expensive “boat” work the way you need them to. Talk to your sales representative or support teams at your DMS provider to make sure that you’ll be happily floating along, enjoying the summer sun and the gentle waves (while making a profit all the while).

We’re committed to listening to our customers and providing solutions that solve for all of their needs. We don’t have all the answers, but we’re committed to working with our customers to remedy the situation and create better solutions to fit their business. Talk to us today.