An active and engaging social media page can be great for creating publicity for your dealership and reaching out to new and current customers. There are many benefits, yet it can take time to do effective social media management for your dealership. So let's sort out the necessary from the unimportant, and focus on making your social media time more efficient and effective.

What social media platforms do I really need to use?

There are hundreds of social media platforms and it seems like some companies manage to be on all of them simultaneously. It is not necessary, however, to make a page for your dealership on every conceivable social media platform. Focus on quality, not quantity.

Twitter and Facebook are the most popular social media platforms and are more than sufficient for most businesses. Many customers visit your Twitter or Facebook page when they are trying to gather more information and see real comments and reviews from your customers. These are the two big social media platforms that you need to focus on.

What kind of information should I post to my social media pages?

Social media is an interesting mix of the informative and the engaging. A post should tell a customer what they need to know, or it should create interest, excitement, a heartwarming moment, a laugh, whatever. People who visit your social media pages are not just trying to find out about your inventory and promotions. They are also trying to get a sense of what your dealership is like. Do I want to take my business here? Is the staff friendly? Are they trustworthy? Are they knowledgeable?

In order to help your customers learn who you are, post pictures of your staff at work, interacting with customers and having fun at dealership events. Post automotive tips and reviews so your customers know that you are passionate about their safety and up to date on current industry news. And link to any articles, buyers' guides or other resources that can help your customers find more information.

How about promotions... how do I promote my products and services effectively on social media?

Social media is a great place to promote, because promotions can easily be shared with a much wider audience. Any visitor can share, like or retweet your promotion, increasing the amount of people who will see it and growing the list of new potential customers. Offer special social media deals and coupons to help engage visitors, and set up your automated social media solution to post frequently repeated messages that keep your promotions in the front of customers' minds.

Contests are a customer favorite on social media. People love having the chance to win something, and this is one of the best ways to get visitors to interact with your social media messages. Like us or tweet us for your chance to win! Contests can also be a great way to demonstrate that you are engaged with your customers, helping to build trust with new and potential customers: have your customers tweet or post a picture of themselves next to their car, or ask them to post or tweet their favorite thing about driving. Basically anything that grabs the interest of visitors and encourages them to interact with your social media messages.

How can I integrate my social media marketing with my other marketing campaigns?

Your social media pages should present your consistent brand that customers can identify with. Consistent branding helps customers to recognize your dealership across different channels and helps to build trust and loyalty.

Placing signup forms on your social media pages is an effective way to get visitors to sign up for your email marketing or text message marketing campaigns, helping to tie your marketing efforts together and building a larger subscriber base. Keep the signup forms short so visitors aren't scared off (or too lazy/busy to complete them), and advertise the benefits of signing up. Why would a customer want to receive your emails or text messages? Let them know if they will receive exclusive promotions, coupons, appointment reminders, contests, surveys, automotive tips or whatever else you offer that will provide benefit to their daily lives.

In other marketing campaigns that you send out, such as email marketing newsletters, text message campaigns or even snail mail campaigns, encourage customers to visit your social media pages and “like us” or “follow us.” This is a commonly used technique that encourages customers to interact with your dealership and lets them know that you have an active, up to date social media presence.

What's the best, most efficient way to manage my social media pages?

Hands down, the easiest way to manage your social media marketing and various other marketing campaigns is to get an all-in-one automated marketing solution. With automation, you can create hundreds of messages in advance and schedule exactly how and when you want them to go out. You can set your messages to automatically target specific social media visitors to create more personalized engagement. You can schedule your entire social media campaign for a month and then all you have to do is check it out once in a while. No tedious manual posting, no worrying about forgetting to post. Your social media pages stay fresh with constantly updated content and you simplify your day and your workload.

And automation is not just for social media. You can automate your email marketing, text message marketing, voicemail marketing and more. With automation, you can personally connect with each of your customers based on their needs, purchase history, individual interests and important dates. With automation, you can provide a highly personalized level of customer service that is not possible manually. You will always offer great customer service in person and over the phone, yet with automation you can do so much more for each of your customers. And automation saves you so much time you won't know what to do with yourself.

Try an automated solution for your social media marketing needs and your other customer communication. You still need to be personally involved, of course, but you can do so much more in a much shorter amount of time if you have a little automated assistance.

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, January 15, 2014 - SimplyCast.com, a global leader in multi-channel marketing Platform-as-a-Service solutions, today announced that the company has signed a deal with AutoSoft, a leading national dealer solutions provider, to become a preferred partner. 

SimplyCast will be a part of the newly launched AutoSoft Connect Data Services program. The AutoSoft Connect program is meant to provide secure, open access integration for dealerships that are seeking a solution to meet their unique needs. The partnership will allow AutoSoft to offer their dealership customers a complete marketing and communication solution through SimplyCast. This solution will provide communication tools to dealers to make it easier to reach out to current customers, potential customers and online leads through their preferred mode of communication. 

SimplyCast 360 is an automation marketing and communication solution which allows automotive dealers to engage with their customers through SMS, email, fax, survey, events, signup forms, Twitter, Facebook and autoresponder through a single solution. The tool has a simple drag-and-drop interface, from which dealers can easily create and schedule automated reminders and targeted marketing campaigns. 

In addition to the complete dealer management system provided by AutoSoft, the SimplyCast 360 solution is ideal to help automotive dealerships reduce no-shows with appointment reminders, provide personally targeted messages for each customer based on their preferences, and offer maintenance reminders and exclusive promotions based on vehicle type and purchase date. 

“Partnering with SimplyCast is a positive move for our automotive dealership customers,” said Mark Hellbusch, AutoSoft Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. “Dealers depend on our solution to run their operations, and the SimplyCast solution complements that by making it easier and more efficient for dealers to contact their customers.” 

“SimplyCast 360 is an invaluable tool for the automotive industry and we look forward to working with AutoSoft on this important integration endeavor,” said Saeed El-Darahali, President and CEO of SimplyCast. “The benefit to AutoSoft customers is that in just a few minutes, dealers can reach every customer or a targeted group of customers with a special promotion, a recall notice, appointment reminders, automotive updates and more.” 

Mr. El-Darahali also extended special thanks to Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and Nova Scotia Business Inc. “ACOA and NSBI have been instrumental in our ongoing efforts of securing global resellers for the SimplyCast solution, and we would like to sincerely thank them for their ongoing support.” 

“Customers will love the interactive nature of the messages, which are based on their individual preferences,” said Shawn Ryder, Director, Automotive Business Development at SimplyCast. “You can specify whether you want to be contacted by text messaging, email or voicemail, and you receive only messages that are relevant to your needs.” 

For more information about the SimplyCast Automotive Communication Solution, please contact Shawn Ryder, Director, Automotive Business Development at SimplyCast, at 1.866.323.6572, ext. 1103 or shawn.ryder@simplycast.com 

For more information about AutoSoft Connect, call (800) 473-4630 or email marketing@autosoft-asi.com. 

SimplyCast 360 is an automation marketing solution designed to reduce manual tasks while allowing organizations to communicate with their customers and clients in a highly targeted way that was previously unavailable on the market. SimplyCast 360 is used by the e-commerce and automotive industries, sports teams, nonprofit organizations, marketing agencies and government. It is also ideal for communication in emergency situations such as forest fires, bomb threats or blizzard warnings. 

About SimplyCast 

SimplyCast.com is a leading provider of interactive and multi-channel communication software for organizations worldwide. The company’s 360 Customer Flow Communication Platform is a feature-rich solution combining marketing automation, inbound marketing and interactive communication. With customers in over 175 countries, including many of the most recognized brand names around the globe in retail, non-profit and hospitality industries, SimplyCast provides organizations the ability to effectively reach customers on their preferred mode of communication.

About AutoSoft 

AutoSoft Inc. is a market leading dealer management systems provider for automotive dealers. Celebrating twenty-five years in the industry, AutoSoft has a customer base of more than 30,000 users in nearly 2,000 dealerships in the U.S. and Canada. AutoSoft is committed to delivering industry leading customer service and support that result in higher efficiency and profitability for dealerships. Visit our web site at www.autosoft-asi.com. 

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, January 15, 2014 - SimplyCast.com, a global leader in multi-channel marketing Platform-as-a-Service solutions, today announced that the company has signed a deal with AutoSoft, a leading national dealer solutions provider, to become a preferred partner. 

SimplyCast will be a part of the newly launched AutoSoft Connect Data Services program. The AutoSoft Connect program is meant to provide secure, open access integration for dealerships that are seeking a solution to meet their unique needs. The partnership will allow AutoSoft to offer their dealership customers a complete marketing and communication solution through SimplyCast. This solution will provide communication tools to dealers to make it easier to reach out to current customers, potential customers and online leads through their preferred mode of communication. 

SimplyCast 360 is an automation marketing and communication solution which allows automotive dealers to engage with their customers through SMS, email, fax, survey, events, signup forms, Twitter, Facebook and autoresponder through a single solution. The tool has a simple drag-and-drop interface, from which dealers can easily create and schedule automated reminders and targeted marketing campaigns. 

In addition to the complete dealer management system provided by AutoSoft, the SimplyCast 360 solution is ideal to help automotive dealerships reduce no-shows with appointment reminders, provide personally targeted messages for each customer based on their preferences, and offer maintenance reminders and exclusive promotions based on vehicle type and purchase date. 

“Partnering with SimplyCast is a positive move for our automotive dealership customers,” said Mark Hellbusch, AutoSoft Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. “Dealers depend on our solution to run their operations, and the SimplyCast solution complements that by making it easier and more efficient for dealers to contact their customers.” 

“SimplyCast 360 is an invaluable tool for the automotive industry and we look forward to working with AutoSoft on this important integration endeavor,” said Saeed El-Darahali, President and CEO of SimplyCast. “The benefit to AutoSoft customers is that in just a few minutes, dealers can reach every customer or a targeted group of customers with a special promotion, a recall notice, appointment reminders, automotive updates and more.” 

Mr. El-Darahali also extended special thanks to Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and Nova Scotia Business Inc. “ACOA and NSBI have been instrumental in our ongoing efforts of securing global resellers for the SimplyCast solution, and we would like to sincerely thank them for their ongoing support.” 

“Customers will love the interactive nature of the messages, which are based on their individual preferences,” said Shawn Ryder, Director, Automotive Business Development at SimplyCast. “You can specify whether you want to be contacted by text messaging, email or voicemail, and you receive only messages that are relevant to your needs.” 

For more information about the SimplyCast Automotive Communication Solution, please contact Shawn Ryder, Director, Automotive Business Development at SimplyCast, at 1.866.323.6572, ext. 1103 or shawn.ryder@simplycast.com 

For more information about AutoSoft Connect, call (800) 473-4630 or email marketing@autosoft-asi.com. 

SimplyCast 360 is an automation marketing solution designed to reduce manual tasks while allowing organizations to communicate with their customers and clients in a highly targeted way that was previously unavailable on the market. SimplyCast 360 is used by the e-commerce and automotive industries, sports teams, nonprofit organizations, marketing agencies and government. It is also ideal for communication in emergency situations such as forest fires, bomb threats or blizzard warnings. 

About SimplyCast 

SimplyCast.com is a leading provider of interactive and multi-channel communication software for organizations worldwide. The company’s 360 Customer Flow Communication Platform is a feature-rich solution combining marketing automation, inbound marketing and interactive communication. With customers in over 175 countries, including many of the most recognized brand names around the globe in retail, non-profit and hospitality industries, SimplyCast provides organizations the ability to effectively reach customers on their preferred mode of communication.

About AutoSoft 

AutoSoft Inc. is a market leading dealer management systems provider for automotive dealers. Celebrating twenty-five years in the industry, AutoSoft has a customer base of more than 30,000 users in nearly 2,000 dealerships in the U.S. and Canada. AutoSoft is committed to delivering industry leading customer service and support that result in higher efficiency and profitability for dealerships. Visit our web site at www.autosoft-asi.com. 

How involved is your connection with each of your customers? Excellent personalized customer service is what sets a great dealership apart from others. Providing superior customer service is an essential part of gaining repeat business. If you routinely followed up with every customer, in a way that would not increase your workload, how much more business could you do? Let's take a look at the customer experience process, from the perspectives of two different customers.

Without Automated Targeted Communication

The online lead (Buddy): Buddy is viewing vehicles on the dealership website. He wants to purchase a truck, and he sees two that he likes. He reads about them and views pictures on the website, then signs up for the dealership's email newsletter in case they are having any good deals.

Buddy forgets his search for a few days, then decides to check out another dealership website. He also views their trucks, and does so on a variety of other local dealership websites as well. After several months of searching, no one from any of the dealerships has contacted Buddy and he has not made a purchase.

The customer who has purchased (Minnie): Minnie purchased a car about a year ago. She received a call from the dealership three months after her purchase, letting her know that her car was due for an oil change. Minnie has not heard from the dealership since, and has discovered a shop that can do her regular maintenance for slightly cheaper than the dealership.

These situations are common. Most automotive customers now research vehicles online before visiting the dealership. In many cases, dealership staff do not have the tools to reach out to all the online leads they receive.

Once customers purchase vehicles, they require ongoing maintenance, and routine appointments are a great way to drive repeat business back to the original dealership. Does your staff contact every customer to let them know each time that their vehicle requires routine maintenance? Oil change notices, appointment reminders, updates about winter tires and special promotions... Are you contacting each customer with this important information?

If you are contacting each customer, that requires a lot of time, effort and organization. You could spend your whole day just calling customers. Is there a way to simplify the process of reaching out to customers, while still effectively connecting with them and enhancing the level of customer service that you provide?

With Automated Targeted Communication

Now let's imagine how the customer experience could be enhanced with the help of an automated communication solution.

The online lead (Buddy): Buddy views the trucks that he likes and signs up for the dealership's email newsletter. He immediately receives a welcome message: “Hi Buddy! Thanks for signing up. Use the promotional code TIRE2014 to get 20% off your purchase of windshield washer fluid or gas line antifreeze.” He receives another email the next day, with a list of “deals of the month” and he spots a truck. He clicks the link to view more information.

Two days later, he gets an email entirely focused on trucks, with links to pages highlighting the features of each of the dealership's trucks that are currently in stock. He sees the truck he likes, and clicks the link. The next day, he receives an email “Hi Buddy, would you like to test drive a Brand X 2014 truck? If you find the truck of your dreams, we will throw in three months of satellite radio free, just for you!”

Buddy goes to the dealership and tests out the truck. The salesperson is friendly and helpful and soon Buddy has decided to purchase.

The customer who has purchased (Minnie): Minnie just purchased her car. She told the salesperson that the best way to reach her is through text messaging. Two weeks after the initial purchase, Minnie receives a text message: “Hi Minnie, we hope you're enjoying your new car! If you have any questions or feedback, please let us know. You can always text us or call us at ---.”

Every three months, Minnie gets a text message letting her know that her car is due for an oil change. She even books her appointments through text messaging. On the day of each appointment, she receives a text message reminding her of the appointment time.

Every few months, Minnie receives messages and promotions that are tailored to her car type and purchase date. She always receives routine maintenance notices so her vehicle stays in top shape, and she also gets reminders when she should put on and take off her winter tires. Each year on Minnie's birthday and on the anniversary of the day she purchased her vehicle, she gets exclusive text message discounts and promotions. The communication process is quick and easy, and Minnie has never been so satisfied with customer service, so she continues to return for her maintenance and has recommended the dealership to friends.

Conclusion

Automotive salespeople and customer service representatives provide the most important connection to customers, and their hard work and friendly attitude encourage customer loyalty. Yet it is difficult for staff to contact each customer on every important date with updates about their unique vehicle and personalized promotions.

With the assistance of automotive automation software that is currently available, staff can contact hundreds of customers with a single click. They can set up a communication plan at the beginning of the year to ensure that every customer receives maintenance reminders based on their purchase date and date of last appointment, a special promotion on their birthday and more. Automatic messages are sent on the customer's preferred mode of communication. All messages are sent from a single automated solution.

Imagine how much more new and repeat business you could gain if you could follow up with every online lead and in-store customer, and provide information that is directly relevant to each unique individual. Your daily workload is reduced, yet you are able to provide more personalized service to each of your customers.     

How involved is your connection with each of your customers? Excellent personalized customer service is what sets a great dealership apart from others. Providing superior customer service is an essential part of gaining repeat business. If you routinely followed up with every customer, in a way that would not increase your workload, how much more business could you do? Let's take a look at the customer experience process, from the perspectives of two different customers.

Without Automated Targeted Communication

The online lead (Buddy): Buddy is viewing vehicles on the dealership website. He wants to purchase a truck, and he sees two that he likes. He reads about them and views pictures on the website, then signs up for the dealership's email newsletter in case they are having any good deals.

Buddy forgets his search for a few days, then decides to check out another dealership website. He also views their trucks, and does so on a variety of other local dealership websites as well. After several months of searching, no one from any of the dealerships has contacted Buddy and he has not made a purchase.

The customer who has purchased (Minnie): Minnie purchased a car about a year ago. She received a call from the dealership three months after her purchase, letting her know that her car was due for an oil change. Minnie has not heard from the dealership since, and has discovered a shop that can do her regular maintenance for slightly cheaper than the dealership.

These situations are common. Most automotive customers now research vehicles online before visiting the dealership. In many cases, dealership staff do not have the tools to reach out to all the online leads they receive.

Once customers purchase vehicles, they require ongoing maintenance, and routine appointments are a great way to drive repeat business back to the original dealership. Does your staff contact every customer to let them know each time that their vehicle requires routine maintenance? Oil change notices, appointment reminders, updates about winter tires and special promotions... Are you contacting each customer with this important information?

If you are contacting each customer, that requires a lot of time, effort and organization. You could spend your whole day just calling customers. Is there a way to simplify the process of reaching out to customers, while still effectively connecting with them and enhancing the level of customer service that you provide?

With Automated Targeted Communication

Now let's imagine how the customer experience could be enhanced with the help of an automated communication solution.

The online lead (Buddy): Buddy views the trucks that he likes and signs up for the dealership's email newsletter. He immediately receives a welcome message: “Hi Buddy! Thanks for signing up. Use the promotional code TIRE2014 to get 20% off your purchase of windshield washer fluid or gas line antifreeze.” He receives another email the next day, with a list of “deals of the month” and he spots a truck. He clicks the link to view more information.

Two days later, he gets an email entirely focused on trucks, with links to pages highlighting the features of each of the dealership's trucks that are currently in stock. He sees the truck he likes, and clicks the link. The next day, he receives an email “Hi Buddy, would you like to test drive a Brand X 2014 truck? If you find the truck of your dreams, we will throw in three months of satellite radio free, just for you!”

Buddy goes to the dealership and tests out the truck. The salesperson is friendly and helpful and soon Buddy has decided to purchase.

The customer who has purchased (Minnie): Minnie just purchased her car. She told the salesperson that the best way to reach her is through text messaging. Two weeks after the initial purchase, Minnie receives a text message: “Hi Minnie, we hope you're enjoying your new car! If you have any questions or feedback, please let us know. You can always text us or call us at ---.”

Every three months, Minnie gets a text message letting her know that her car is due for an oil change. She even books her appointments through text messaging. On the day of each appointment, she receives a text message reminding her of the appointment time.

Every few months, Minnie receives messages and promotions that are tailored to her car type and purchase date. She always receives routine maintenance notices so her vehicle stays in top shape, and she also gets reminders when she should put on and take off her winter tires. Each year on Minnie's birthday and on the anniversary of the day she purchased her vehicle, she gets exclusive text message discounts and promotions. The communication process is quick and easy, and Minnie has never been so satisfied with customer service, so she continues to return for her maintenance and has recommended the dealership to friends.

Conclusion

Automotive salespeople and customer service representatives provide the most important connection to customers, and their hard work and friendly attitude encourage customer loyalty. Yet it is difficult for staff to contact each customer on every important date with updates about their unique vehicle and personalized promotions.

With the assistance of automotive automation software that is currently available, staff can contact hundreds of customers with a single click. They can set up a communication plan at the beginning of the year to ensure that every customer receives maintenance reminders based on their purchase date and date of last appointment, a special promotion on their birthday and more. Automatic messages are sent on the customer's preferred mode of communication. All messages are sent from a single automated solution.

Imagine how much more new and repeat business you could gain if you could follow up with every online lead and in-store customer, and provide information that is directly relevant to each unique individual. Your daily workload is reduced, yet you are able to provide more personalized service to each of your customers.     

Start your engines: we're going to take a ride with targeted automotive email marketing. Email is an efficient, trusted and engaging way to send information to automotive customers interested in purchasing a vehicle. Email is useful for customers because it can include images and links, and the length of email messages is not limited. With automation software, it is now possible to send targeted email campaigns to your customers which will engage their interest further and cater to their unique needs.

Once the customer opens that first targeted email, however, how can you know how they react to it? Should you send more emails? Are they interested in a particular feature of the vehicle? In order to optimize future messages to each customer, you need to know how they reacted to the initial email message. A customer's behavior gives you insights into their preferences and also their unasked questions.

Targeted emails consistently outperform emails where the same messages are sent to everyone. More customers open, click and eventually purchase due to targeted emails.

It is now possible to see exactly how customers are interacting with the email messages you have sent. Automation software allows you to not only track email opens and link clicks, but also to have additional email messages sent based on these specific customer actions.

It sounds complicated, so what does it really mean? Let's say three separate customers sign up through your website to receive a basic information package about Brand X's newest minivan. You have told your automated solution in advance how to proceed based on certain customer actions.

• Customer 1 does not open the email containing the information about the minivan. No further messages are sent to this customer, although their contact information is retained in case you wish to reach out to them.
   
• Customer 2 opens the email and clicks on a link relating to the minivan's safety ranking. This action (clicking that specific link) triggers a follow-up email with additional information about the vehicle's safety features, as well as a comparison chart showing how the minivan's safety ranking compares to other minivans.
   
• Customer 3 opens the email and clicks the safety ranking link (and receives the follow-up safety-related email), and they also click a link that allows them to view other similar vehicles that they may be interested in. From these vehicles, the customer clicks on Brand X's SUV. This click triggers an email to be sent to the customer with an information package about the SUV.

By being able to see exactly what the customer does when they receive the initial email, you can engage their individual interests and send them messages that will engage them and show them only information that is relevant to them. The customer receives the information they are looking for and you have a better chance of connecting with them.

You should analyze your automotive email data frequently. Then once you see that a customer is very interested in a specific vehicle (has opened the emails and clicked on several of the links for a particular vehicle) the salesperson can take over and send a personal email message enticing the customer to learn more. “Hi Sam, we have some great deals on SUVs happening throughout November at the dealership. With this special email offer, you can receive 50% off a new set of winter tires with your purchase of any of our SUVs. If you would like to test drive an SUV or learn more, please visit our dealership or reply to this email.”

Automation software allows a salesperson to connect individually with each online lead, and spot a hot online lead so they can take the initiative to connect with that lead. It allows you to offer the customer special promotions based on their unique interests, so they know that their customer satisfaction is of the highest importance.

Reaching out to customers in a highly targeted way with messages that cater to their individual needs increases the level of personal service you are able to provide to each of your customers. Their overall customer experience is improved, yet much of the process is automated, so your workload is not increased. All you need to do is set up the messages and decide how the automated solution should send them, based on actions taken by customers, such as which link they click.

Want to offer a personalized customer experience to each online lead right from the beginning? Consider automation software as a way to provide more to your customers. Think of adding automation software to your dealership like getting an oil change: it helps to make it run that much smoother and provides you with an optimized experience.

A great Dealer Management System is a thing of beauty. It keeps your customers, vehicles, parts and sales data meticulously organized so you can find information when you need it. These DMS functions are essential, yet a DMS can provide so much more. Software is now available on the automotive market that can transform a DMS from a system to manage information into a complete automotive customer communication solution.

A DMS that also offers automation software can help dealerships save time, money and effort while also improving the entire customer experience and customer service. Such a DMS would be in high demand and would bring in additional revenue. You already provide the tools necessary to run an efficient dealership, so why not complete your offering with automated marketing and communication tools that will actually help dealerships grow by increasing current customers' satisfaction rates and gaining new customers?

DMSs can benefit from the addition of automation software, and stay ahead of the competition. Offer more to dealerships by allowing them to provide more to their automotive customers.

What Does Automation Software Offer?

The automation software that is now available provides dealerships with the marketing and communication tools they need to succeed. The software can automatically contact customers when their vehicle is ready to be picked up, send out well-timed customer satisfaction surveys, remind customers of their service appointment date and time through prompt text messages and much more.

Automation software integrates with the DMS in order to pull relevant customer information and important dates from the system. The software uses that data to reach out to customers automatically, to save time and effort on the part of the dealership staff. Each customer is contacted based on their individual needs and preferences. Without adding to the staff workload, the level of personal customer service is increased.

How Would it be Used?

Let's look at some examples of how the automation software would actually be connecting with dealership customers. 

Email: The automated solution could send a personalized email campaign to a customer who is interested in purchasing a vehicle. The customer selects the type of vehicle they want, their price range, preferred color and so on. 

They would then automatically receive an email information package with pictures and details of their preferred vehicle (within their selected price range), how many are in stock at their local dealership, the colors and any other information they requested.

Text Message: If a customer leaves their vehicle at the shop for maintenance, they would receive an automated text message letting them know when their vehicle is ready to be picked up. Customers can also receive appointment reminders through text messaging so they do not miss their service appointment.

Text messaging is also useful for personalized promotions. For example, the automated software reads that a customer purchased their vehicle three months ago today. It sends out a text message such as “Hi Jane, it has been three months since you purchased your vehicle and it is time for your first oil change. Book your appointment today and receive 20% off your service!”

Fax: Fax is useful not only for sending important documents to customers but also for advertising special sales and seasonal promotions.

Voice: Automated voice messages can be used for sending timely service appointment reminders to customers. It can also be used to send special promotions to customers who do not have internet access.

Facebook: Social media is a powerful force. It allows you to reach a much wider audience, as current customers can quickly and easily share social media information with their friends. You can schedule automatic updates to your Facebook page to post special sales, pictures, customer stories and testimonials to Facebook.

Facebook is also great for promoting contests and getting customers engaged with exciting events at your dealership.

Twitter: Twitter has the same potential as Facebook in the sense that information can be easily shared with many people. You can easily automate your Twitter feed.

Twitter is all about short messages, so you can post links to stories, pictures and so on. Twitter is also an effective way to run contests in order to get customers excited.

Survey: Customer surveys are one of the simplest and most efficient ways of gaining relevant information and feedback about your business and your services. Customers can automatically receive a survey a day or two after they visit the dealership for an appointment.

Signup Form: A customer can enter their data into a signup form to receive a newsletter, vehicle information package, phone call or email from a salesperson and much more. Their data is automatically stored and organized in the system so it can be used immediately.

How Do We Put it in Place?

Adding automation software to your current DMS solution is not difficult. The technology is already built and is frequently updated based on customer requirements. You can be up and running with your new tools in place almost immediately.

When you integrate automation software into your DMS solution, there is no need to deal with multiple providers. All the communication and marketing tools mentioned above are available in an all-in-one solution. Simple for you and efficient for your dealership customers.

Anything Else I Need to Know?

Adding automation software to your existing Dealer Management System is an effective way of growing your business and adding to your revenue. Integrating the software is simple and quick, and an automated solution allows you to offer unique communication tools to your dealerships that they have never had access to.

Instead of taking time to contact customers manually for every service appointment, follow-up, special promotion, and parts or service notification, these processes can be automated. Automation allows dealerships to serve each customer individually, while saving staff time so they can focus on interacting with customers in other ways. Salespeople and service people will always be the crucial points for excellent customer service, yet they can offer a greater level of service through automated messages, without doing more work.

One of the most effective ways to gain perspective into your customers' satisfaction level is through customer surveys. Often, customers want to provide feedback yet are unsure how they should go about it. A timely survey is an easy way for the customer to express their opinion, and for you to gain valuable insight.

Offering customer satisfaction surveys shows your customers that you care about their continued happiness, and we all know that great customer service increases dealership loyalty. What is the most effective way to conduct surveys? What types of questions should you ask? And isn't creating and sending surveys time-consuming? Let's explore these issues further.

Automated Surveys

Automation technology is a real asset to help you survey your customers. With only a one-time manual process required (to create the survey and decide when you want it to be sent), you can have a survey automatically sent around to each customer after they have a service appointment or after they purchase a vehicle. This saves your staff hours spent contacting customers to follow up.

The survey is completely customizable. You can have the survey sent out after every appointment, or only after routine maintenance appointments. It may be sent an hour, a day or a week (or any other interval) after the customer has been in. It can also be sent to all customers who come in for service or to make a purchase, or only certain customers. It is completely up to you when and how you survey your customers. The automation software simply carries out the task to your exact specifications.

What to Include

What type of feedback should you be seeking? Anything that will help you to improve the overall automotive customer experience. Did the salesperson greet you when you entered? Did the salesperson review the details of the vehicle with you? Would you recommend the dealership to others?

When crafting a survey that will yield useful, relevant results, format the questions in a way that makes them easy to answer. Be straightforward and not vague. “Yes or no” and “rating” questions are simple and effective. Also, be sure to ask “Are there any improvements we can make to serve you better?” and include a text box so the customer can add in any comments or concerns they might have that were not addressed in the survey.

Before the survey begins, as a courtesy, include a message letting the customer know approximately how long the survey will take them to complete.

What Happens Next

Once a customer has completed the survey, the automation software will email you the results, so you get nearly instant feedback. Then you just need to review those answers to learn more about what your customers want. 

If customers have only good things to say, great! And if there are any areas on which you can improve, you hold the answers in your hand. Surveys allow customers to communicate easily and directly, so you have an accurate measurement of their satisfaction level.

Back to Automated Surveys

Automation software is now available that can survey your customers based on their individual needs and preferences, their unique vehicle purchase dates and appointment dates, or any other criteria you can think of. This software integrates with your dealer management system, so you do not need to add any additional customer information.

Surveys are just one aspect of ongoing automotive marketing and customer communication. Automation software for the automotive industry also saves you time when doing email marketing, SMS marketing and even automotive social media marketing. Connecting with your customers in multiple ways shows that you have a strong presence and an engaged, thriving dealership.

Automation, when used appropriately, is an incredibly effective tool. Rather than replacing the salesperson's knowledge and hard work, automation is intended to assist the salesperson and allow them to focus on interacting with customers. Once you set up the initial survey, it will automatically reach out to customers in the way you have specified. It allows your customers to share their input, without increasing your workload.

One of the most effective ways to gain perspective into your customers' satisfaction level is through customer surveys. Often, customers want to provide feedback yet are unsure how they should go about it. A timely survey is an easy way for the customer to express their opinion, and for you to gain valuable insight.

Offering customer satisfaction surveys shows your customers that you care about their continued happiness, and we all know that great customer service increases dealership loyalty. What is the most effective way to conduct surveys? What types of questions should you ask? And isn't creating and sending surveys time-consuming? Let's explore these issues further.

Automated Surveys

Automation technology is a real asset to help you survey your customers. With only a one-time manual process required (to create the survey and decide when you want it to be sent), you can have a survey automatically sent around to each customer after they have a service appointment or after they purchase a vehicle. This saves your staff hours spent contacting customers to follow up.

The survey is completely customizable. You can have the survey sent out after every appointment, or only after routine maintenance appointments. It may be sent an hour, a day or a week (or any other interval) after the customer has been in. It can also be sent to all customers who come in for service or to make a purchase, or only certain customers. It is completely up to you when and how you survey your customers. The automation software simply carries out the task to your exact specifications.

What to Include

What type of feedback should you be seeking? Anything that will help you to improve the overall automotive customer experience. Did the salesperson greet you when you entered? Did the salesperson review the details of the vehicle with you? Would you recommend the dealership to others?

When crafting a survey that will yield useful, relevant results, format the questions in a way that makes them easy to answer. Be straightforward and not vague. “Yes or no” and “rating” questions are simple and effective. Also, be sure to ask “Are there any improvements we can make to serve you better?” and include a text box so the customer can add in any comments or concerns they might have that were not addressed in the survey.

Before the survey begins, as a courtesy, include a message letting the customer know approximately how long the survey will take them to complete.

What Happens Next

Once a customer has completed the survey, the automation software will email you the results, so you get nearly instant feedback. Then you just need to review those answers to learn more about what your customers want. 

If customers have only good things to say, great! And if there are any areas on which you can improve, you hold the answers in your hand. Surveys allow customers to communicate easily and directly, so you have an accurate measurement of their satisfaction level.

Back to Automated Surveys

Automation software is now available that can survey your customers based on their individual needs and preferences, their unique vehicle purchase dates and appointment dates, or any other criteria you can think of. This software integrates with your dealer management system, so you do not need to add any additional customer information.

Surveys are just one aspect of ongoing automotive marketing and customer communication. Automation software for the automotive industry also saves you time when doing email marketing, SMS marketing and even automotive social media marketing. Connecting with your customers in multiple ways shows that you have a strong presence and an engaged, thriving dealership.

Automation, when used appropriately, is an incredibly effective tool. Rather than replacing the salesperson's knowledge and hard work, automation is intended to assist the salesperson and allow them to focus on interacting with customers. Once you set up the initial survey, it will automatically reach out to customers in the way you have specified. It allows your customers to share their input, without increasing your workload.

What sets a great dealership apart from a good dealership? Excellent customer service, convenience, and providing customers with services to improve their customer experience and keep them coming back. One of the simplest, most effective ways to reach these goals is by offering your customers personalized Text messages.

Text is a quick, personal way to send notifications and reminders to customers. Most people carry a mobile phone with them at all times, which makes text messaging a convenient way for customers to receive updates. Automation software has made Text messaging a simple, time-saving tool which allows busy dealerships to connect personally with each customer.

Customers appreciate convenience. When you can make a customer's day easier, it contributes to a loyal, lasting relationship. Let's say a customer's vehicle is in the shop for maintenance. The customer is eager to get their vehicle back as soon as possible. With one click, send a message to the customer the moment the vehicle is finished. The customer receives the message and can come in right away to pick up their vehicle. Quick and easy. Customers can be notified in the same way when a required part arrives for their vehicle.

Text messaging is also useful when suggesting additional maintenance that a vehicle may need. If a customer's vehicle is receiving a routine checkup, for example, the technician may discover that there is a crack in the windshield. A quick text message updates the customer, and they can reply right away to let the technician know whether or not they would like the suggested service performed.

Text is not only an easy and efficient way to contact customers, it can also increase profit by reducing no-shows for service appointments. Text message reminders have been shown to be highly effective at increasing the number of customers who come in for their scheduled appointments. Often, customers simply forget they have an appointment that day, or cannot remember the time. A prompt Text message lets them know the exact details of their appointment. These messages are sent automatically, based on appointment dates in the dealership data system, saving time for the dealership staff.

Personalized messages based on customers' individual needs also help to build the sense of a dedicated dealership that is looking out for each of its many customers. Here again, automation software provides the ideal solution. Each customers' unique data and dates specific to their vehicle are already in the dealership system, so messages can be sent out automatically, based on that data.

Here's an example of how an automated personalized text message can be convenient for a customer, while also encouraging them to visit the dealership for service. “Hi Cindy, we noticed it is almost time for your vehicle's recommended brake job. Your continued safety is important to us, so we have included several times when we could fit you in for this service. Please let us know which (if any) of these times work for you.” Cindy is reminded that her vehicle needs work and can easily respond to the text message to book her appointment.

With automation software, it is simple to update your customers with the click of a button. Yet Text messaging offers even more to customers and dealerships alike. Text promotions can also be used with great success to offer customers special deals and sales based on their individual needs and vehicle history. Drive business back to your dealership by sending out regular and seasonal text message promotions.

Text is an effective way to engage your customers and maintain strong relationships. It allows your dealership to offer more than the competition, while also saving you time. Automation software makes it possible to reach out to each customer with automated text messages based on their unique needs and vehicle history. Take advantage of a great opportunity to bring more business to your dealership and help create loyal, satisfied customers.