I posted this on my linkedin page, but also wanted to share this here...

As I reflect on my time at NADA, I can’t help but get excited about the auto industry.  There are so many amazing products out there serving dealers and helping them be more profitable.  Regardless of any of the widgets and products out there, it still all comes down to giving the customer an amazing experience while having best practice processes in place, and then holding your team accountable through the CRM.

The customer experience starts with proper training of your staff and then having all follow up and communication be driven by your CRM.  CRM’s should be at the heart of any dealership, but many times this is not the case.  Much of this reason is dealerships not seeing the benefit of the CRM and many times it is the fact that some CRM’s are just flat out clunky and hard to use. 

Let me say this, I love numerous CRM’s out there in today’s market, and many were awarded the Sales Process award at the AWA’s this past year.  But with that said, some are still stuck in the technology of yesteryear.

The big players in the game need to make sure they are staying relevant and continue to innovate and update. The reason I state this is the the CRM Evolution is coming.  I am calling it out that there are going to be some CRM shakeups in 2016 and then coming to a head in 2017.  The evolution has been slowly building over the past few years as small group of players have been building out and perfecting their new CRM that are now coming to market.

Many are small and you have most likely never heard of, but watch out for players like Drive360 CRM out of Texas, Avendas by NCC, and Drive Centric out of Indianapolis. These three CRM’s will push the big boys to innovate and shake up the automotive CRM industry.  I foresee these CRM’s being in any dealer’s CRM consideration set here in 12-18 months, and one if not all three of these will be wildly successful helping dealers sell more cars through their CRM.

All three have clean and simple UI’s, their speed is unparalleled, and their forward thinking innovation is astounding.  They are small and nimble able to code with the latest technology, and shift in lightning speed when necessary.  I like all the leadership behind all three CRM’s and I am extremely excited to see where they are at next year’s NADA. 

Again, I love many of the CRM’s in today’s market, but after seeing these CRM’s, I am also nervous for them as I can see potential market share being taken away.  With any evolution, its great for the end user as new companies like Drive360, Avendas, and DriveCentric shake up the current landscape and force others to innovate, stagnate, or just get out of the way.

I look forward to where this CRM Evolution ends up, because at the end of the day, it will help dealers be more relevant to customers today and sell more cars tomorrow.