Is there room in automotive for another CRM?

[Tallcool1]

This is the CRM that most users can proficiently fly. It is functional, dependable, and predictable. It requires very little user input. It is not sexy. Make no mistake, it is fast and efficient and will get users from Point A to B.

An "Execution Grade" of A+ is easily attainable if the user generally gives a shit. Any untrained person can fly it if they want to. They can go ahead and get everything set just right and it will pretty much fly itself.





This is the CRM that most users have. It too is functional. Theoretically it is dependable and predictable. It is really sexy and even has some empty space for future buttons that will CERTAINLY be added. It is really fast, but not efficient at all. It will positively get users FROM Point A. It will get a few users TO Point B or C, but most users won't really know where it got them to.

An "Execution Grade" of A+ is not possible. A good goal is to grade out at about a C+. An untrained person can't even get this thing off the ground much less control it to the point of a predictable landing. The only way to get this thing in the air is to hire someone to teach people how to use it. People have tried to bring in a trainer for a few days to teach the users, but as soon as the trainer leaves, the users pile it up. So that didn't work.

This CRM can also be set up to fly itself. It is the button there on the right next to the yoke...no, no that isn't the yoke, that's the throttle...the steering wheel looking thing. Yep, but not that one. I said RIGHT, that is left. directly above the red button...so you see it? What do you mean there is no red button, there has to be a red button. Oh wait, you can't see the red button. Ok ok...ok, we got this. Ask Oliver there if he can see the red button. He can!, ok, cool. Switch seats with Oliver real quick. Oliver, please tell me you are not color blind. Ok, turn everything off and restart it.......

This is a kick ass machine but unfortunately the only people that can truly fly it are usually not the people that are spending most of their time trying to fly.



Is there room for another CRM? I think there is. Is it going to be easy to sell it to people EVEN IF IT IS A BETTER PRODUCT? Nope. This is why.




So, my advice is...build out an MVP version of what you envision. Then take THAT to market and see if you can sell it. If you can sell it then get after it! It is a whole lot harder than most people realize.

 

[Carsten]

Congrats Ryan!!

 

[Shawn Ryder]

AutoCRM | Intelligent Automotive Dealership Management Platform

AutoCRM.pro - The leading automotive CRM platform that transforms dealership operations with AI-powered lead management, inventory tracking, and customer engagement tools.

autocrm.pro

A VERY early model in progress - all information is obviously not real and need to add more features - Building out more on the ai tools is next.

 

[jmaco3]

No. @Shawn Ryder Not in the traditional model of CRM. DriveCentric flipped the old guard on its head a bit in the way they approach tasks and engagement and UX. They're still limited though by partnerships and integrations with the puzzle pieces they don't posses (DMS, etc). Tekion's goal of a single integrated system seems to be stalling even though they're growing in accounts, growing in features, but seemingly not improving satisfaction, performance, or value of tools. I think the largest area of opportunity for someone with a new CRM wanting to move quickly is in the independent space. Subscription based $199-$399 price point with basic features, mobile, and customer management with even 5% of the market is $3M+ in annual revenue. And with that said, every entrepreneur on here is going to say I'm an idiot LOL. The other issue is going to be the increasing OEM lock down of tools and required partnerships and integrations for franchise dealers. For instance, just to get FordDirect integrations I had to move our four Ford stores to "FordDirect CRM" aka DriveCentric which we were already using. My FD rate on DriveCentric is going to add a considerable expense to our Variable Department expense BUT gotta play if we want those private offer and inventory integrations...

Not to veer off-topic, but I’d genuinely be interested in learning how you’re leveraging the DC + FD private offers and inventory integrations, especially in light of your comment justifying what we know to be a significant variable expense. From our perspective, the utility of these integrations feels quite limited:

Private Offers:​

• The mining list doesn’t update or remove customers who are no longer eligible, still requiring a manual pull of the manifest.
• Offers aren’t typically tied to a new prospect—for example, on a new ADF lead from a customer who hasn’t done prior business with the individual store—even when they’re eligible.
• Offers are rarely discussed by the sales staff (I acknowledge this is a management/training issue where better processes could certainly help).
• As it stands, the integration hasn’t added much tangible value. I’d love to see it contribute toward making a genuine new car deal, rather than its current role as a "lottery ticket" the desk manager picks up on the way home after finding the offer while sending the VIN/ZIP back with the deal folder to F&I.

Inventory Integrations:​

• The integration remains largely underutilized, as we haven’t found much usability or value within the sales staff’s day-to-day operations.
• While the ability to view a vehicle as scheduled or in-transit is helpful, our website uses the same feed in a more practical, purpose-driven way.
• Displaying the vehicle within the customer card without the functionality to save it to their profile or mark it as a sold order leaves us questioning its purpose.

Have you found ways to make these integrations more impactful or efficient? I’d love to hear if there are processes or strategies we might be overlooking that could improve the ROI on these tools.

 

[Dan Sayer]

Not to veer off-topic, but I’d genuinely be interested in learning how you’re leveraging the DC + FD private offers and inventory integrations, especially in light of your comment justifying what we know to be a significant variable expense. From our perspective, the utility of these integrations feels quite limited:

Private Offers:​

• The mining list doesn’t update or remove customers who are no longer eligible, still requiring a manual pull of the manifest.
• Offers aren’t typically tied to a new prospect—for example, on a new ADF lead from a customer who hasn’t done prior business with the individual store—even when they’re eligible.
• Offers are rarely discussed by the sales staff (I acknowledge this is a management/training issue where better processes could certainly help).
• As it stands, the integration hasn’t added much tangible value. I’d love to see it contribute toward making a genuine new car deal, rather than its current role as a "lottery ticket" the desk manager picks up on the way home after finding the offer while sending the VIN/ZIP back with the deal folder to F&I.

Inventory Integrations:​

• The integration remains largely underutilized, as we haven’t found much usability or value within the sales staff’s day-to-day operations.
• While the ability to view a vehicle as scheduled or in-transit is helpful, our website uses the same feed in a more practical, purpose-driven way.
• Displaying the vehicle within the customer card without the functionality to save it to their profile or mark it as a sold order leaves us questioning its purpose.

Have you found ways to make these integrations more impactful or efficient? I’d love to hear if there are processes or strategies we might be overlooking that could improve the ROI on these tools.

I think you just summarized this well. It is a BS integration and is not the enhancement we were cast vision on either. FD inserted themselves into a revenue play just like Shift does. We just recently "re-launched" with the integration and are going through training but so far no one is blown away by enhancements. We'll maximize through process with salespeople and Offers but beyond that, I would not have signed up for the change knowing what we know now. For Ford to leverage fit list integrations for their dealers behind a pay-wall via vendor is a counter-intuitive move.

 

[jmaco3]

I think you just summarized this well. It is a BS integration and is not the enhancement we were cast vision on either. FD inserted themselves into a revenue play just like Shift does. We just recently "re-launched" with the integration and are going through training but so far no one is blown away by enhancements. We'll maximize through process with salespeople and Offers but beyond that, I would not have signed up for the change knowing what we know now. For Ford to leverage fit list integrations for their dealers behind a pay-wall via vendor is a counter-intuitive move.

Appreciate your response—it’s reassuring (though admittedly frustrating) to know we’re not alone in this experience. It’s definitely not the streamlined solution we were led to believe it would be. For context, we were among the first 50 adopters with DC and have had nothing but success with it, so this integration wasn’t something that influenced any decisions on our end. In fact, it was our FD rep who pushed for the switch, which required moving invoicing through Ford Direct to enable the new integration—adding an annual cost of $9,600.

You’re absolutely right—it feels more like a revenue grab than a genuine value-add for dealers.

Thanks again for sharing your perspective—it’s always helpful to compare notes with someone else in the trenches.

 

[BillKVMotorCo]

Sometimes I forget how smart you guys are and then I read a thread like this. I'm just over here like "Can I get alerts for tasks that are due?" and you guys are over here talking in a language I don't understand.

 

[BillKVMotorCo]

Dealers: "7% of buyers purchased a vehicle entirely online in 2023" (NADA '23)

In what was a down month for us, 10% of our deals were done entirely online. With NO digital retail tool. Another 10% was agreed to before they came to the dealership.