How about an open source CRM/ILM/Desking/Inventory/

[countzerro]

I was looking at my T-Mobile G1 built on the open source Android operating system(it is way cooler than the iphone) and it made me ask myself a question. Do we have enough talent, time and leverage to build our own open source CRM program? Think about it guys, instead of being on here complaing about what programs won't do this or do that, we could just build someone a module that fixes thier problem. I know Microsoft has a modular CRM system but it is not a turn key solution and is more geared to very large corporations. Any ideas?

 

[Alex Snyder]

Great suggestion. I've always toyed with the idea of taking a year or two off from Checkered Flag to work for a CRM company....but then I decided it was best to stay where I am. I can make more of an impact as a customer.

However, I'm not sure you're considering the effort and time involved in doing something like this.

 

[mattwatson81]

I was looking at my T-Mobile G1 built on the open source Android operating system(it is way cooler than the iphone) and it made me ask myself a question. Do we have enough talent, time and leverage to build our own open source CRM program? Think about it guys, instead of being on here complaing about what programs won't do this or do that, we could just build someone a module that fixes thier problem. I know Microsoft has a modular CRM system but it is not a turn key solution and is more geared to very large corporations. Any ideas?

Well you could use Sugar CRM which is open source as the basis of a system.

We have a customer we just signed up that has their own CRM they made. This dealer is one of the largest in the country and made a great system. They were looking for a CRM because they got sick of maintaining the one they made, and they had one that worked!

The problem is CRM for car dealers is not simple. Beyond basic CRM it has to include significant email enhancements, service department info, a desking module, inventory module, trade appraisal tool, and much more.

 

[joe.pistell]

countzerro,

I completely designed our new web site from the ground up, it took over 11 months... OMG, what a clusterf* and CRM is far far more complex!

Have you any experience in software development? I didn’t. Now I understand just how difficult it is to get it all right. Software lives or dies on the shoulders of the program manager. Beyond management skills, the program manager in our industry needs software design experience, car sales experience, car management expertise, has to be a master at User Interface design (aka less is more) and must possess boatloads of communication skills. This is one rare soul and (IMO) it's why CRM falls short. Did I mention they must be a freak with details?

This is why a good Software program manager finds their brightest customers and solicits their opinion at every chance possible. The SMART players like Dealer.com keep super smart guys involved like our Alex to see if they're going down the right path. Its also why Dale Pollak and vAuto has such a following, Dale really cares about his customers experience and his customers know it.

Don't let your Lead generators drown out your shoppers experience.
To offer an example, I took trip over to your site and came across the 100% Credit Approval coupon lead generator thingy. http://www.jackingram.com/detail-2006-chevrolet-avalanche-1500_5dr_130-3894508.html Forget that it’s annoying and ugly. I DONT CARE about that. In fact, I rather like annoying floaty lead generators. BUT, in your case, my gut is telling me that even though your lead counts went up, what does the SILENT 98% of the public say about it? Remember, most internet shoppers prefer to shop stealth, treasure your SILENT SHOPPERS.

What I am saying is it's possible that your 100% Credit Approval coupon lead generator thingy is potentially costing you some biz. For example, I didn't see how to close it, so I hit the back browser to get rid of it. I went on to another car and BAM, there it is again. "Grrrr..." says the shopper, "this blows".

Is the extra leads costing you SILENT SHOPPER biz?

If you have Google analytics (GA) installed, you'd mark the date that the 100% Credit Approval coupon lead generator thingy was installed, then look for any tell-tale signs of changes in traffic (time on site, # of pages viewed, visitor loyalty, etc...). IF YOU DONT have GA, then you add it (very easy to add), let it run for 30-90 days, then turn off the 100% Credit Approval coupon lead generator thingy and see if it changes your shoppers search habits.

I used this lead generator coupon as an example of what a program manager does and how they CONTROL the user experience.

Sorry, I tend to ramble, hope I didn't bore you!!

 

[mattwatson81]

Software lives or dies on the shoulders of the program manager. Beyond management skills, the program manager in our industry needs software design experience, car sales experience, car management expertise, has to be a master at User Interface design (aka less is more) and must possess boatloads of communication skills. This is one rare soul and (IMO) it's why CRM falls short. Did I mention they must be a freak with details?

This is why a good Software program manager finds their brightest power users and solicits their opinion at every chance possible. The SMART players like Dealer.com keep dishing ideas to smart guys like our Alex to see if they're going down the right path.

Thanks Joe, you just described my life

 

[Indie Results]

I have used Sugar and it is very good, you will have to spend a little cash upfront to customize it and get the inventory api's working but once it is....goodbye monthly fee!

 

[mattwatson81]

I have used Sugar and it is very good, you will have to spend a little cash upfront to customize it and get the inventory api's working but once it is....goodbye monthly fee!

But that isn't entirely true. There are still monthly costs for maintaining the system. Server costs, backups, server maintenance, etc. Perhaps if you are an IT guy and have extra servers running around then maybe it wouldn't be a big deal for you. But for a car dealer who probably has no IT staff it is a whole different story.

I know a company that uses sugar CRM and they did a little customization and it works great for them.

We use Salesforce for our internal CRM. We probably spend about 50k a year on it because we have so many users and use it for so many things. We could use Sugar CRM and customize it ourselves... we have developers on staff.... but we think Salesforce is worth every penny of it and we would rather spend our resources on our customers.

 

[countzerro]

Thanks for the insight Joe,
We actually have two used car lots and one of them specializes in secondary finance. The coupons only pop up on the secondary lot vehicles. For example 2009 New Volkswagen GTI 2dr HB Auto PZEV at Jack Ingram Motors in Montgomery, AL | Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Porsche, Volkswagen, Volvo, IID 3379981the coupon does not pop up on other vehicles. What do you think of our landing page Alabama New & Used Car Dealer - Montgomery AL - Jack Ingram Motors ? Any constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated.