Blueprint Series: Automotive CRM Solutions

[Alex Snyder]

One of the toughest jobs these days is picking the right technology for the job, so we're going to take a different approach with something called the "Blueprint Series".  The idea behind this series of articles is to tell our vendors what we want.  Hopefully they'll take our ideas and put them into a product we can buy!

For the first Blueprint Series we're focusing on automotive CRM solutions.  ADP, Reynolds & Reynolds, AutoBase, HigherGear, iMagicLabs, DealerSocket, eLeads, and all other CRM vendors please pay attention...but please do not come in here with comments saying "we do that", "I am the solution for you", etc.  WE DO NOT WANT VENDOR SPAMMING IN THIS THREAD.  If you have a selling message, please email Alex Snyder:  [email protected] and he will point you in the right direction.

Dealer Refresh crowd - here's your chance to put all your wishes on the table!  Please use the comments link to add your thoughts.

Starting with Alex's first CRM wish:  Coming from a dealer group with competing franchises all on the same stretch of road we are prone for duplicate leads.  I'd like to have a single customer base, inside our CRM solution, that allows for a separate salesperson, salesmanager, BDC agent, service writer, service manager, etc to be attached to a single customer record for each store.  I'd also like vehicles of interest and vehicles owned to be unlimited for each customer record.

My Honda and Toyota stores are less than a mile apart, so I'd like to have a customer be able to have an interest in the Accord and the Camry....and have a different salesperson for each car.  I'd like to be able to send marketing messages on both the Camry and the Accord to that customer.

Yes, I understand this could get messy in the database, so we'll have to figure out a way to clean things up.  However, I'd rather have my CRM cater to the real world than have to make the real world cater to the CRM.

 

[Wayne Anderson]

I wish the industry would mature to the point where vendors came together to create some standards. I could write a mile on this topic, but won't because I'm not really crazy about doing the vendor's innovative work for free.

 

[Brian T in Etown]

I would like to see some way to track aggressive pricing strategies via a stock number or vin. My current control panels only let's me track a model. I would like a system that compares inventory views similar to the way autotrader tracks your traffic, that way I can see what effects pricing has on different vehicles in stock. I would also like some type of read receipt for my emails and some way to push info to our arkona showroom management on customer contacts, vehicle interests, appointments and demos. While your at it throw in the ability to manage third party sites such as cars.com and autotrader.com from one control panel and if I change something live it doesn't lock out future pushes from our DMS. Maybe current products exist for some of these issues?

 

[Alex Snyder (blog)]

Brian - I think you're looking more for an inventory control solution. Check out HomeNet (http://homenetinc.com) for starters. I agree, it would be nice to have all that working inside a CRM, and I think one CRM vendor is working down that path, but there doesn't seem to be a great CRM/Inventory solution out there yet.

While we're talking about inventory, I'll add another one of my wishes (I have tons): I'd like to be able to upload my inventory from a DMS provider or Inventory Control tool such as HomeNet with photos and all details. I don't want a cap on the photos because I'd then like an "ebrochure" feature allowing me to email a professional looking template about a single vehicle (especially a used car).

I'd also like to see a "Dream Car" feature much like Dealer.com's CarFinder (http://www.checkeredflag.com/carfinder.htm), or have the CRM work with my website's CarFinder. But I want to take things a step further than just sending a customer an email saying "your car is here" - I'd like the salesperson to be notified and task be dropped into his/her to-do list to contact that customer. And to take things a step even further, I would also like the option of having it work with potential trade-ins. If customer A wants a 2005 Ford F350 Diesel and another salesperson is appraising one for customer B, I would like either customer A or customer A's salesperson to be automatically notified when one is currently being appraised.

 

[Greg]

I'd love to see standardization with the ability to send leads from all sources, autotrader.com, cars.com, ebay, etc. to one CRM source but this unfortunately seems impossible as all of these online vendors wish to be the "sole destination" within their own products for this and would be unwilling to have these leads send to a CRM system for the simple fact that it would enable us to track ROI on them on one screen and make it that much easier to track the effectivness of our ad spends with all of these vendors. They all wish to be "stand alone solutions".

 

[Joe Pistell]

R&R user.

Email campaign produces many dead email addresses. These bounced emails should be automatically deleted from the system.

Bounced emails have multipe causes for failure. For any emails with a questionable error message, have an fast management single page management area where we can click a check box and edit, delete or re-try as needed

Joe
p.s. Alex, is it a good idea to list what CRM you use at the top as we all have different systems with different issues.

 

[Alex Snyder (blog)]

Thanks for the suggestion Joe. It would certainly be helpful, but the idea behind the Blueprint Series is for us to be architects for all the vendors. I don't want to see things turn into a "Witch Hunt" against the vendors who don't do something. It also isn't a spotlight for the current vendors who do certain things well. This is an opportunity for improvement for everyone.

If saying who you're currently using helps you to explain what you're looking for, by all means, put it in your comment.

 

[Joe Pistell]

R&R user.

Topic: Post Sale Survey (in store).
CRM offers only a single choice as "lead source". That's ok if a majority of our customers are contacting us online. And, we all know, THEY ARE NOT. So this leaves our reps to key in the lead source. We get erratic data lead sourse data.

CRM should offer a "post sale survey" thats handled post sale, in the store. Reps desk, F&I, at delivery etc...

Example:

http://www.used-car-king.com/survey.htm

How many dealerships did you visit before you bought from us?
1,2,3, 4 or more
How long were you shopping?
Do you consider yourself a frequent internet user?
Did you visit our website, DealerName.com?
How did you find our website, DealerName.com?
____ Heard it on TV
____ Heard it on Radio
____ Found it on Search Engine (i.e. Google, Yahoo, etc...)
____Found it on Auto Shopper Site (AutoTrader.com, Cars.com)
____ Other

The Survey and financial data can be linked so we can connect financial results with user behavior.

 

[Leigh Grant]

TYPE R&R User

I have a number of desired features, automation being a major one. First and foremost however my current issue that is foremost in my mind is communication, specifically via Email. Part of my role at my dealership is coaching the sales staff on good vs bad email techniques. I really want any CRM to allow us to simply enter in our Email settings and 'POP' the Email instead of having to use the built in tool, it would also be nice to be able to moderate new employees emails more efficiently until I know they are up to speed on how to construct a proper email response.

Having moved (over a year ago) from GM's InTouch solution to ReyRey's contact management I can honestly say ReyRey has a much better product. InTouch is now defunct regardless. However I find the reporting abilities to be quite limited. Any CRM tool needs to have superior reporting abilities with in-depth customisation available.

Another point is we have three stores and our sales people sometimes move from store to store. Being able to track clients across stores would be a nice ability as well since sometimes I have one employee with customers across two stores, especially at the management level.

I have one other request to any CRM developer, PLEASE start making your applications platform independent. I want to be able to use your app from any browser. In this day and age being locked into Windows with Internet Explorer hurts our options. Also integration with a Dealer's DMS system is a MUST.

 

[Dave Rudey]

All:

I would love a CRM that would prospect for me, call the customer, close the deal, wire the $ into my bank account and then tell my wife she can't buy that 6th pair of shoes..... maybe 3030??

Dave