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Lead Management question

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erikh

Lot Lizard
Mar 20, 2013
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First Name
Erik
#1
Hi everyone,

I'm a grad student finishing up some research on car dealerships and I have a couple of questions regarding lead management systems:

1) Is it better to have a separate lead management system, or one integrated with another system (i.e. CRM)?
2) Leads come from a lot of places (3rd party vendors, OEM websites, google search, etc.), how do you scrub them to make sure that you aren't paying for duplicates?
3) My research has shown that internet users are moving more and more toward utilizing the OEM and dealer websites as the leading sources of information, do you find less reliable leads coming from 3rd party vendors?

Thanks in advance for your answers, advice, etc.
 
#2
Wow loaded question.

All of us have our own opinion, here is mine after 8 years as a BDC manager and BDC set ups.

CRM Should integrate with the DMS seeing how the word is going electronically this would be best since we no longer keep file folders with notes not only that but with the integration with the dms this keeps the dealerships in compliances. (this is the short version to this question)
CRM will detect the duplicate most often OEM will not give credit for leads if you received the info from another vendor only with in the OEM in the past 30 days can you request a credit and if the info isnt valid. Most leads are pre-scrubbed with filters. Again this is the short version in less then a 3 page report that i am throwing at you since this question has many variables to you

Hope this has helped!
 
#4
Was your first question was asking if a internet Lead Management system should be separate from the rest of the dealership? Most everyone I think will agree the ILM needs to be a part of the CRM. Dealer Management Systems integrate at different levels to allow all departments of the dealership to work together. Ideally these systems communicate well. The biggest issues are with changing systems and the control of data access.

The information we get from leads is only as good at what we are provided. Customers sending in fake information, information removed before arriving in the dealer's system, the same people with different emails/phone numbers all make it difficult to scrub for duplicates. Depending on the lead provider, fighting for credit for a bad or duplicate lead can be very difficult.

I think lead scoring information from Polk would help you better understand those dynamics.
 
#6
Kelly Wilson said:
Was your first question was asking if a internet Lead Management system should be separate from the rest of the dealership? Most everyone I think will agree the ILM needs to be a part of the CRM. Dealer Management Systems integrate at different levels to allow all departments of the dealership to work together. Ideally these systems communicate well. The biggest issues are with changing systems and the control of data access.

The information we get from leads is only as good at what we are provided. Customers sending in fake information, information removed before arriving in the dealer's system, the same people with different emails/phone numbers all make it difficult to scrub for duplicates. Depending on the lead provider, fighting for credit for a bad or duplicate lead can be very difficult.

I think lead scoring information from Polk would help you better understand those dynamics.
Click to expand...

Yep, that's what I was wondering. As I have interviewed vendors (KBB, edmonds, etc.) and dealers I've found some discrepancies regarding how leads are stored, tracked, etc., and how they are perceived to be stored, tracked, etc. So I just thought I would throw the question out as to what is best. Thanks for the additional info too!
 
#8
erikh said:
Hi everyone,

I'm a grad student finishing up some research on car dealerships and I have a couple of questions regarding lead management systems:

1) Is it better to have a separate lead management system, or one integrated with another system (i.e. CRM)?
2) Leads come from a lot of places (3rd party vendors, OEM websites, google search, etc.), how do you scrub them to make sure that you aren't paying for duplicates?
3) My research has shown that internet users are moving more and more toward utilizing the OEM and dealer websites as the leading sources of information, do you find less reliable leads coming from 3rd party vendors?

Thanks in advance for your answers, advice, etc.
Click to expand...

1. A flattened technological portfolio is always the best for data transparency and accuracy. When the lead management tools are the same as the customer management tools the people answering the leads and the people physically working the customers are speaking the same language. The answer is yes, with one integrated system where ILM is just a part of the overall CRM.

2. Two parts to this question: a) Awareness and Response: are you aware of the number of duplicates regardless of the lead channel or source? Are those duplicates being applied to the same customer record to cut back on the amount of confusion and improper messaging? b) Corrections and Refunds: if the third party honors refunds what are their policies? Is it purely based on the dealer's say so or is proof required. Is this a "duplicate" lead for the same opportunity with this customer (in the last 90 days for example) or is it just another lead on a customer record from years ago?

3. I think the word you meant to use was "quality" and not "reliable." And I think there is a lot of recent news around various third party websites showing that scaling higher volume in lead delivery does not equate to quality. As an industry we have yet to fully realize that we are no longer after lead volume (which is easy to buy) and are more desiring quality (which is a lot more work to farm). As OEM and dealer websites improve consumers will be more and more drawn to them....if you build it they will come. But the definition of a quality "lead" will change to be less about some ADF/XML file that pops-up in an ILM or CRM system and be more about a nurtured customer who is pre-approved through the dealer's banks, is very close on a purchase price, and is mostly reaching out to say "Hi Mr. Dealer - I'm ready to complete the finer details of this deal" instead of "Hey you - what's your best price?"

In that world I speak of in point #3, it is only a few short years away. In that world the CRM is the ILM (we will actually laugh at the fact we used to have ILM tools), we will applaud multiple "leads" from the same consumer as positive recognition of stronger consumer engagement, and the third party tools will exist more as applications within OEM, vehicle sites (AutoTrader & Cars.com for example), and dealer websites than solely as their own entity (KBB and Edmunds for example).
 
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