Chris, thanks for bumping this thread. I've been wanting to get in here and update my status on AutoAlert.
Here's the deal...I love AutoAlert.
It's great data and information that can help dealers sell more cars each month to their best customers - their previous customers. The user interface is clean and easy.
With that being said, it but it has all BUT failed at my dealers. Why? Because it takes discipline, people and process. You NEED to be a phone warrior! You need to know what to say once you get the customer on the phone
Like anything else, you get out of this program what you put into it. Also - the cleaner and more updated your data is, the better your results will be. If you have a lot of old data (phone numbers) - it will quickly become very frustrating when call after call after call is a number no longer in service.
The right people with the right process NEEDS to be established FIRST before getting on board with AutoAlert or any program like this for that matter. If you are failing at other simple processes and or tasks at the dealership - I would venture to say you'll fail at this as well.
NOTE: I'm not blaming AutoAlert for a bad product (however with some more "automatic" additional touchpoints it would be an improved product), I'm merely point out that IF you do not build the right process and people around this - it will not work.