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Future of CRM

Alex,

Long time no chat! Great thread!!

So we’re talking CRM in the future that’s “built for the future” let’s blow some minds - going from simple ending with holy shit

I would say the crm of the future needs to evolve to become a dealer suite

Sales. Service. Work flows. Marketing flows. Human capital management. Inventory management. Accounting. Desking/ bank submissions. Reporting ( data warehouse)

Specifically

# 1) incorporate live chat directly in crm platform

#2 ) rather focusing on crm being able to send out data for custom reports - allow it to accept data and become a data warehouse

#3) internal social networking ecosystem

#4) true timeclock/payroll/hr management/recruiting/ document warehouse

#5) customers information is already in crm, submit the deal and print paperwork all from system...... Because everyone’s working in 1 system - incorporate finance into workflows.

#6) better collaboration between OEMs/CRMs as it relates to recalls

#7) Better access for customers to view their profile on the go. Viewing - service work, service intervals, we owes, all signed paperwork for sales and service, save payment methods,

#8) for dealerships/dealer groups that have video cameras - incorporate The feeds directly into this app

#9) Activity heatmap of actual dealership by day/time ( I think I just made this up sounds cool!!!)

#10) Number 10, and by far the most radical - yet actually could end up being the future of our industry and necessary to build into the CRM of the future

Begin building the infrastructure for inventory management as it relates to ride sharing utilizing dealership inventory such as flex car

...... is this the crm of the future????
 
Thanks @Baron Ringler for sharing that horror story. Was there a clear leader of the project? Was it a vision by committee?

I can't remember the name of the VP in charge, but he had made all sorts of promises about deadlines, functionality, etc. So in that aspect, it was a one-man gang. But he was also getting his information from project leaders who were also over-promising, so by the time the whole thing went up to the top the exaggerations of completion were way over the top. The attempt to blame the testers, like me, fell flat because we had nothing to do with deadlines, etc. Upper management was told that we had collectively given the 'ok' to start the pilot, specifically me because I had just completed the only successful pilot install of their ODS F&I ERA upgrade. No one believed them.

So to your point, it was 100% a collaborative effort by middle management, compounded by a VP who wasn't involved enough to know what reality was. All the money they had from the divestiture of their medical forms side was blown on one throw of the dice at the craps table.
 
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I agree 100% with everything you said. I've agreed that the customer experience is going to be the key determining factor for future sales. I'm actually a software developer (I currently work for an automotive group), and the state of software in the automotive sector is horrifying. Almost every system I've worked with, I've completely despised (our dealer group uses VinSolutions/CDK). The amount of man hours that are wasted dealing with these systems is completely absurd. I'm currently working on a CRM that addresses all of these concerns, while expanding into what I believe will be the future of automotive CRM and customer experience. The bar is just set too low for me to not be doing this.
 
http://crmomentum.com/

I'm starting to hear about this start-up CRM, based out of California. Anyone know anything about it?

Yup. Although I wouldn't classify them as a startup. They've been at it for a while.

The fact that they aren't owned by any of the giants is probably the biggest thing going for them at the moment.
 
Have you guys had any good experiences with service oriented CRMs? What one best serves the need of interacting with the service department without sacrificing anything on the sales side? I want to encourage better collaboration as sales drop and service remains the lifeblood of the dealership in these tough economic times ahead