Can integrated CRM systems replace the DMS?

[BrianPasch (blog)]

@Lesterjack1941  Thank you for your passionate reply to my post.   
 
Seven years ago, the thought of an integrated website platform replacing over a dozen stand alone marketing tools, would probably get the same response from newsletter companies, mail houses, video marketers, inventory management tool providers, and service schedulers.  (That's why I loved the VinSolutions checklist!)
 
VinSolutions, Dealer.com, Dominion Dealer Solutions, and ADP/Cobalt are expanding their suite of single login software with integrated data collection and analytics.  This is proof that the single silo data solutions are heading for consolidation.  The backend tools continue to grow to meet the expanding data management needs of dealers. 
 
Keeping track of the entire customer record and leveraging all data connection points is critical for effective customer management and retention.   Fixed Ops customer data has been an orphan for integrated marketing. VinSolutions recently added Service scheduling and data marketing to their website platform.
 
Parts?  Today most dealers are forced to use TradeMotion websites to sell parts which are ugly, cumbersome, and they suck at search optimization.  I don't know why there is not a better alternative on the market. I do know that products are coming that will make their crappy websites obsolete. 
 
So, where does the line stop for software development?  It doesn't.
 
Ask a dealer how they are marketing their parts customers? Ask them if they are using their parts purchasing history to create more revenue?  What happens when service and parts transactions are part of the rich CRM database and integrated marketing tools.
 
Yes, today DMS software seems like it's indispensable but so did VisiCalc and WordPerfect to early PC users.  The change that I wrote about will not happen overnight. What we see today is a poor excuse not to connect the dots.
 
There is an underlying opportunity that smart companies see;   tap into the high dissatisfaction with current DMS pricing, functionality, and data integration. 
 
All it will take will be companies that unlock the value of dealership data and integrate that data into a comprehensive marketing platform, and things will change.  The separate data silos will become one and the potential of fully leveraged dealership data will finally be a reality.
 
Finally, thank you for pointing out that I never worked at a dealership.  That is actually where my clients find great value.  I bring a new set of eyes to budgets, processes, and strategy that are often needed to pull dealers ahead of their competition.  It's a great collaboration actually, because both parties learn from each other to yield amazing ROI.
 
 
 
 

 

[Mike Esposito]

Brian
You raise some very interesting points some of which are valid and some of which are a little off base. Also you seem to have a myopic view of the DMS market.
 
I agree with your assessment... "They depend on the functionality that the software brings but they hate long-term contracts and the cost associated with the technology." of which I assume you are talking about ADP and R&R. If you view the market as ADP and R&R (myopic) then you are spot on BUT this is not what is actually happening in the DMS market today. Non-legacy DMS vendors are, on a daily basis, talking market share from both R&R and ADP owing to  the validity of your statement. You wrote in your response to one of the posters "There is an underlying opportunity that smart companies see;   tap into the high dissatisfaction with current DMS pricing, functionality, and data integration. " This is EXACTLY what is happening now. My company, Auto/Mate, along with the likes of Dealer Track, AutoSoft and ACS to name just a few are capitalizing on the archaic technologies and business strategies that make up ADP and R&R. 
 
You have to ask yourself why are there multiple silos of data being kept by the dealer. Data from their 3rd party desking solution and data from their 3rd party CRM solution and data from their DMS solution (read ADP /  R&R). Well the main reason is that intrinsically no matter what ADP and R&R say, they believe the DMS system that the dealer pays for is theirs and not the dealers. Both ADP and R&R have had a history of making it difficult for the dealer and 3rd party vendors (CRM / Desking / etc) to access their databases hence the term "hostile interface". In current years they have softened their stance in that they now have "certification programs" which are still costly to 3rd party vendors. The new DMS companies like Auto/Mate and Dealer Track have open API's that allow bi-direction integration to a single data silo that is housed on the DMS. Auto/Mate Open/Mate API even allows realtime updating of any 3rd party vendors system data. 
 
There will always be dealer who wants one stop shopping..all products from one vendor. As one dealer I spoke with said "I just want one throat to choke" . But the truth of the matter is that dealers want to be able to choose. To choose the best CRM and the best desking and the best web appointment system, and the best etc., and to have these seamlessly integrate with the DMS system that houses the data. This is what products like Open/Mate are all about.
 
As the President and CEO of a DMS company I believe in giving my dealers what they want and what I am hearing is flexibility to choose and to know that even though I may not purchase the CRM product from my DMS vendor that my DMS vendor has my back as to ensuring that 3rd party product I purchase will work in the environment of my DMS.
 
You are probably correct. As Bob Dylan wrote "The times they are a changing" and the DMS vendor who doesn't understand that will most certainly die....

 

[BrianPasch (blog)]

 @Mike Esposito  Thank you for joining the conversation and voicing a perspective from the DMS vendor side.  I agree with you that open API's allow for greater integration and best of breed solutions without creating isolated silos of data.
 
I commend your desire to provide alternatives for dealers who want to choose their data, analytics, and marketing partners and decide which level of access each will get.   This is part of the change I was speaking about.  It is coming, and your voice is proof that when choice is limited, innovation will come to the rescue.
 
I would love to learn more about your solution so that my insights to the opportunities that exist for dealers can be expanded.  

 

[Blake Andreese]

Brian, I like this subject, I will throw my 2 cents in here. Putting the dealer first is paramount. As someone that spent many years in an executive position in a large group, I battled all the time with my DMS provider about data and security, and why I am charged so much for what I receive. But I had no real choices back then. I also had many conversations for no apparent effect to my manufacturer that forced upon me my website provider, my ILM tools, my marketing, among otherthings. The point I am making is the companies that have ability to react daily not annually to widening dealership needs are growing and are becoming masters at their segment. With that said I do not believe that a DMS/CRM inclusive company is the best option. R&R and ADP tried it and have failed. I see a few CRM companies that do everything for the Customer, Sales and Service staff, and management, Including marketing, digital presence and desk management. They are experts and laser focused on the CRM and dealer R.O.I. I see great companies like Autobase, and Dealertrack doing the correct thing and focusing on the dealers wants and needs by having open API and secure data transactions between the dealers third party choices and them. with open mate API  it even updates the other 3rd party vendors data realtime. Bottom line is great focus on the DMS front and the CRM companies while allowing the dealer to choose whats best for them, without being forced in any one direction because of integration is putting the person that paid for the store in charge of who to do business with. as well as not be pigeon-holed because one company you need won't integrate with anything but themselves or charge you if you do. "Hostile Integration" started on the corporate side of ADP ad R&R not the dealers and vendors.

 

[BrianPasch (blog)]

Blake
Thank you for contributing to the thread and yes, companies that are creating open API platforms do give dealers the flexibility to add new marketing and analytics partners that come to market.  Today, for some DMS products, the barriers to creating integrated products are high upfront fees and sticky contractual agreements, which may just very well hinder innovation.  Companies like Autobase and DealerTrack obviously want to change that image of DMS software providers. 

 

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[ggarvin1]

For the attackers on Brian, please... cool your jets and assaults.  What exactly is getting you so angry?  I don't think it is at all naive to think that CRM is becoming the dashboard of the dealership from a sales and marketing perspective.  As @tomwhitejr Tom White stated, I think everyone is sick of the industry be pushed around by a couple of DMS providers and would welcome competition both for innovation sake and overall operating costs. 
 
I also agree that we are a long way away from a fixed ops and accounting perspective, however that might be as much of a Herculean task as you might believe.  
 
Brian's post is one that should excite you because the ultimate CRM/DMS blurred line creates a system that is better for our business.  Dealers and consumers alike.  

 

[Ken]

Reynolds has long been known as a DMS company. Now, they will tell you that while a DMS is still a necessary tool, it is not a sufficient business tool. And they are moving away from DMS just like CRM companies are moving away from CRM. What's called for is a retail management system, with ALL the requisite components. The tier one DMS companies already have the most difficult core component - its the CRM companies that will need to get to work to keep up.

 

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