Building an Automotive Data Warehouse: A Practical Guide To In-House Data Integration
By: Bill Hoerr

Building a unified customer data system is not just for large enterprise dealership groups with massive budgets. With the right approach, dealers can achieve enterprise grade capabilities using modern cloud infrastructure and smart integration strategies. Having built a complete data warehouse from scratch for a 4-rooftop dealership group. I'd like to share the real-world experience, challenges, and measurable results that prove it's possible.

Section 1 - The Data Challenge:
Our group operates multiple disconnected systems. DMS, CRM, Digital Retailing, websites each containing important data points that rarely integrate with one another. This fragmentation costs us time, accuracy, and of course, money. This section explores the challenges.

Section 2 - Fragmented Customer Data:
Beyond missed sales opportunities, these data silos create operational inefficiencies that further drain resources on a daily basis. From hours of weekly manual data entry, to technology redundancy across platforms, the true cost of disconnected systems contribute to more bottle necks than obvious revenue loss. This section quantifies what fragmented data was costing our group.

Section 3 - Solution Architecture That Actually Works:
Not all integrations are created equal, We'll break down the technical architecture that successfully unified CDK, DriveCentric, and real-time customer touchpoints use AWS, curated scripts, and Segment CDP. This is the system design that was successful for Sport Automotive Group.

Section 4 - Real-World Implementation:
6 Months, $3,000/month budget, and team of one. This section illustrates the actual implementation journey including 3rd party partner involvement (CDK Data Your Way), technical challenges (inconsistent data format), and practical solutions that worked. You'll get honest assessments of what went wrong and how it was fixed.

Section 5 - Measurable Business Impact:
Examine the specific business impact to marketing, data processing, customer acquisition costs and more importantly, you'll see the data scoring methodology that proves the system works for our initial targets.

Section 6 - The Path Forward:
The auto industry is at a point where customer data capabilities will determine operational efficiency, competitive advantage, and internal data quality. Review the upcoming opportunities in AI, predictive analytics, and what our group can do today to position for tomorrow's data-driven opportunities.

Download Your Copy Here
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1nJEOSz5Y3MgFJyY33fU7hRdXKY31dPAd

This whitepaper represent real implementation, not vendor marketing. Every metric, challenge, and solution comes from the actual deployment at our 4-rooftop dealership group.

Cox Automotive’s Car Buyer Journey Study Reveals Record High Satisfaction Among New and EV Buyers​

​

For 15 years, Cox Automotive has researched the car-buying journey,tracking key shifts in consumer buying behaviors. The study exploresvarious aspects of vehicle buying in America, specifically focusing on thesatisfaction of both new- and used-vehicle buyers.

The 2024 Cox Automotive Car Buyer Journey Study recorded the highest level of new-car buyer satisfaction in the study’s history, driven by advancements in digital tools that seamlessly integrate online and in-dealership activities. Overall satisfaction among all buyers declined slightly due to decreased satisfaction among used-vehicle buyers, though it remained above pre-pandemic levels.

Download to review the Key Takeaways

FRIKINtech sent over half a million texts to in-equity customers in the service drive to discover how much more powerful texting is over email and mail campaigns.

Click here to see the white paper: https://frkn.tech/SMSequityDR

A Guide for Creating & Maintaining a Best-in-Class Omni-channel Customer Experience
By: STAUNING SOLUTIONS

This guide is the culmination of scores of dealer interviews and in-store observations over several years, as well as multiple in-depth studies of the trials and errors of digital retailing’s early adopter

Shared herein are the best practices of luxury and non-luxury dealers who are showing success with their digital retailing efforts. This guide is intended to help dealers maximize their returns from digital retailing while minimizing potential missteps. Additionally, this guide is expected to help dealers shorten the learning curve associated with adopting a true digital retailing culture.

Because each individual dealer is at a different point in their journey of adopting a digital retailing culture, this guide was written to allow dealers and their teams to choose where they feel they need the most help, and to skip to those sections of the guide. Of course, dealers who’ve struggled with their adoption of digital retailing may want to study this guide from beginning to end.

This guide is divided into eight sections:


Download your Copy of the Digital Retailing Handbook by Steve Stauning

Our instructor-led training transcends industries! Proper phone training isn't just for car dealerships! Give us a call to learn more!

Dial 618-4-NINJAS and let's get this party started!

#training #party

CDK Global Study Finds Gen Z Car Shoppers Spend More Time Researching and Find Purchase Process More Difficult Than Older Generations

There are a lot of assumptions about Generation Z. Those born between 1997 and 2012 are generally thought to be hyper-online and at the leading edge of consumption trend.

In a recent survey, CDK asked more than 1,100 shoppers of all ages who recently purchased a vehicle about the car-buying experience. It found Gen Z respondents, most of whom were buying their first car (56%), were least likely to recommend their dealership experience than older generations with a net promoter score (NPS) of just 32, compared to an NPS of 49 for Millennials and 53 for Baby Boomers.

When it comes to buying a car, Gen Z is much different than the stereotypes portrayed on social networks. In a recent survey, CDK Global asked over 1,100 people of all ages, including Gen Z shoppers 18–25, about the car-buying experience. The results found that Gen Z can be more thoughtful, spending more time weighing decisions, but they also found the car-buying process more difficult than any other age group and were least likely to recommend their dealership experience.

For more information, download the white paper

You’ve had one customer on a test drive, your next appt just showed up an hour early, and somehow you were the only “available salesman” when a family just walked into the dealership… what do you do?

That answer is easy, you start juggling! Get them comfortable in the customer lounge, tell them to enjoy a warm or cold beverage, or snack, and here is the remote for our Satellite TV with over 2,000 channels!!! Now here’s the rub, have you ever taken a minute to see what is being watched on your waiting room televisions?

For the vast majority reading this it’s probably news, morning talk shows, sports, or if a child has control maybe even the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Right about now you’re thinking “what’s the problem?” Nothing, right?

Wrong! Soap operas these days are essentially soft porn and that programming isn’t agreeable to everyone. Same for political shows, religious shows, and even left/right slanted news networks. In today’s reality, it’s just too risky (and too easy) to offend everyone somehow.

Now here’s the worst part, you do realize that you’re actually paying to advertise your competitors’ commercials to your clients, right? Your competition is literally in your showroom and whether it’s another store or another manufacturer, this is a huge red flag! Not to mention it could be your own manufacturer’s regional lease special on an “LS” and you just closed a deal on an “LT” and now they’re wondering why their payment is $100 more than the ad says it could be… LT > LS but they don’t know that. The alloys and sunroof they said they wanted aren’t offered on LSs. Or perhaps you don’t have any LSs in stock? So think about this the next time your customer is “waiting to get into finance” as they’re being offered a ton of different information, some could ruin the deal, some could offend them and some may even set them in a foul mood and that’s never a good thing for F&I or your delivery!

So, even after you sold the car the right way and ran through options, and structured everything correctly for your client’s situation, your competitors’ commercial comes on and offers that “same” new vehicle you just had detailed for delivery and they ask you “why didn’t I get that bonus cash or 0% APR?” Now you have to re-close and re-explain everything because the professionally crafted commercial worked, it creates reasonable doubt and the worst possible time!

We work very hard to earn a customer’s business and the last thing we need is someone or something else adding confusion to what for most is already a very stressful and time-consuming major decision in our lives. Check out Ninja Network, dealer-specific customized content keeping business at your store while still providing relevant channels and content for all ages while at your dealership. Take control of your TV, your programming, and your customer content!

Identity theft and fraud utilizing "Synthetic ID fraud" is something I personally had never heard nor was aware of (the term Synthetic ID) until a friend and former co-worker - Kelly - alerted me to it. Kelly landed a job with Equifax awhile back and was filling me on the what/how this newer form of ID theft is effecting automotive dealerships nationwide.

"Fraudulent synthetic identity accounts that go undetected for 24 months drive estimated total losses of $200 million per month across ALL industries — $2 billion annually..."

This PDF merely touches on some of the statistics and risk assessment results while promoting a new Equifax service - FraudIQ® - designed to help dealerships detect synthetic identity fraud earlier so dealers can:

• Avoid chargebacks
• Mitigate fraud losses
• Maintain lender relationships
• Better protect your bottomline

The purpose of the resource is NOT to promote Equifax but instead to help bring about more awareness of Synthetic ID fraud.

I've also included a few links to additional resources on the information around synthetic identity fraud:

When an Equity Mining solution isn't giving the results you want, your people are usually where the finger gets pointed. It isn't your people's fault - it is the technology. Find out why in this white paper and start pointing the finger back at your equity mining solution.

LIVE STATS

You've always wanted to know how you stack up against the dealership down the street. Here's a chance to understand how you stack up against the average dealership across the country.
We've taken CRM, DMS, and Inventory data and turned it into decision-grade analytics you can use to guide your dealership through an increasingly complex marketplace.
Driven Data helps you see the big picture, delivering the a years worth of data in comprehensive trends that can help you understand the industry, your dealership, and the choices you need to make to continuously improve your dealerships performance.

Inventory Trends


Sales Trends


Service Trends

Performance Trends

Your dealership relies on the phone. You can’t ignore incoming calls and you can’t stop calling your leads. So how can you combat inbound and outbound spam to ensure you’re focusing on the calls that matter and reaching your targeted customers?

This guide will present digestible information on what inbound and outbound spam are, why they’re becoming more and more prevalent, and how you can prevent them from becoming a hindrance to your business.

When consumers need to find a local business, the first place they turn is Google.

• 85% of customers trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation.
• The average customer reads 10 reviews before they feel like they can trust a local business.

With Google reviews becoming increasingly important in the customer journey, businesses need a smart review management strategy that will boost their search rankings, build customer trust, and drive new business.

What You'll Learn​

• 1-star, no comment reviews
• Handling refund requests
• 4-stars, but negative?
• How to hold your ground
• How to sell without being salesy
• Variety is the spice of life (what this means for your review responses)

These are to-the-point techniques our team uses every day.

A well-executed reputation management strategy is a cost-effective way to boost your company's online visibility, attract new business, and strengthen customer relationships.

This guide has actionable tips from our seasoned experts (we've managed over 300,000 reviews) that will help you step up your reputation management game in 2021.

What You'll Learn​

• Why online reviews are so critical this year
• How to maximize your review frequency
• How to boost your overall rating and rank
• How a reputation management partner can save you money

From Google:

From ridesharing to electric vehicles to driverless cars, the automotive industry faced major disruptions long before COVID-19. But the past year has brought about rapid shifts in consumer behavior, which accelerated new trends that impacted the entire sector, from manufacturers to dealers.

In the first six months of 2020, for example, nearly 10% of cars were sold online,1 compared with just 1% of cars sold online during all of 2018.2 For auto marketers, this required a quick pivot to online retailing and a fully digitized purchase journey.

Navigating the current crisis is complicated and challenging, but there are new ways for auto marketers, and dealerships in particular, to turn the changes and challenges into new opportunities. We updated our Auto Dealer Guidebook to help.

Inside, we offer four key steps to accomplish your current goals and position your business for future success. These best practices and examples from a variety of dealerships will help you:

1. Catch up on the latest trends impacting the automotive industry.

2. Maintain your momentum by aligning your ad spend strategy to the audiences most likely to convert to a car sale.

3. Grow your business by delivering the right message to the right auto shoppers.

4. Prepare for the future by leaning into automation and online retailing.

Learn from Matthew Haiken of Prestige Volvo who removed the negativity from his stores, empowered all of his salespeople, promoted his Internet managers, and discovered the path to faster YES's is through consistent price and payment presentations through every step of the process.

He also discovered people who say YES faster don't haggle away every dime of profit.

Autotrader brings you our COVID-19 Consumer Trends and Dealer Sentiment tracker where we highlight our most recent findings. Based on the latest data we’re not out of the woods yet. We don’t even have a good handle on how much longer the woods are going to last. It’s that uncertainty that makes this situation so difficult. That’s also why it’s so important that we avoid falling back into old habits. We must all continue to adapt if we want to win in an increasingly difficult market.

Key Insights:

• It’s clear that we have fewer active shoppers in the market right now. That means the total pie is smaller and dealers will need to fight hard for their piece. Unfortunately, they’re also saddled with rising prices and low inventory leaving less options than normal. However, dealers can still differentiate from competitors and lure consumers by delivering the experience they’re looking for. They just have to make the leap.
  • Key Takeaway: An uncertain market finds itself saddled with fewer shoppers and more worry. With no end in sight dealers need to get proactive and adapt to customer preferences in order to win.
• Fear of COVID-19 isn’t the only thing keeping customers out of the service drive. Months of social distancing and a surge in those working at home have cut miles traveled and trimmed the demand for general maintenance and repair. Dealers have to make it easy for customers who are on the fence.
  • Key Takeaway: Service and repair traffic continues to lag, but new approaches can help attract fresh customers.
• Every day the average consumer shops, compares, and transacts online across most of the areas in their life. For dealers, meeting customers where they are means getting comfortable in an online world. It’s critical that consumers are allowed to chart their own path through the buying experience.
  • Key Takeaway: COVID-19 has forced more activity online, but shoppers still want to do more.

Using Text to Deliver a Better Customer Experience at your Dealership

J.D. Power 2019 Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) Study
J.D. Power 2019 Customer Service Index (CSI) Study

*Prepared for Podium


Executive Summary

• Based on feedback from over 28,000 sales customers and 58,000 service customers, dealership use of text messaging during the shopping experience and after-sales process supports a significantly improved customer experience.
  
• While customer preference for text communications has increased at a steady rate, dealership usage has not kept pace. Service customer preference for text updates has increased from 21% to 34% over the past five years. Meanwhile, actual usage has only increased from 1% to 9%.
  
• Almost all brands benefit from increased text usage. Non-premium sales customers report a 10 point increase in satisfaction while service customers report a 26 point CSI lift. Yet no brands consistently provide their customers a text-friendly customer experience.
  
• Among all communication channels, text contributes to the most significant decrease in sales process time; 33% of customers who use text spend less than two hours at the dealership purchasing their vehicle.
  
  
• Use of text service updates creates the highest intended service loyalty among communication channels with 61% of non-premium customers and 64% of premium customers intending to return to their dealer for paid service.
  
  
• Across both purchase and after sales, text is the communication channel that creates the highest lift in both customer satisfaction and loyalty. Particularly in service, the progression from no contact at all to service text updates (172 points) is striking and addresses the more significant engagement that customers are seeking.

Download the study / white-paper

The last ten years have been punctuated by advancements in technology, and the pace is accelerating. The automotive industry is being shaped by autonomous vehicles, connectivity, electrification, and shared mobility. As I meet with OEM’s and business leaders, they consistently cite a fifth, equally important trend — the digitized customer journey.

With an amplification of online resources, car shoppers have become more empowered and ready to buy before reaching the dealership. In fact, 71% of auto purchasers do not submit a traditional lead, and 41% first communicate with the dealer when they arrive in person . The takeaway — you must
win online before you win in store.

We launched the Dealer Guidebook (2017) to help dealers prioritize Google Ads products. In just two years, our ambition for the industry has grown quite a bit. The Dealer Guidebook 2.0 is designed to help dealers integrate marketing automation and technology into their digital strategies.

Powered by machine learning, these best practices focus on delivering relevant messages to car shoppers at scale and connecting Google Ads investments to dealerships’ sales goals.

We’re proud to share a resource that will move the industry forward in transparency, efficiency, and profitability.

Download Google's Dealer Guidebook 2.0

Discussing the Single Point of Contact methodology.

The goal of this payplan is to keep the BDC agent focused on a volume of work. Feed them through CRM tasks and monitor quality through management. If quality becomes a major issue, add a component for appointments that show or appointments that buy.

This is just an example of a payplan I have had success with. The numbers are fictitious. Ask @Alex Snyder any questions you may have around it.

Click here to download

FRIKINtech & Roadster teamed-up to explore the fallacies of Digital Retailing as neither believe the word "digital" matters in retail.

BUYING A CRM: A MASSIVE DECISION, SIMPLIFIED

Buying a CRM is a massive undertaking. It takes a lot of research and requires knowing exactly what you want. Looking at a CRM demo represents your best chance to see how the system will work, and most importantly, how it will mesh with the way you run your dealership. Having sat through many a demo in his dealership days, Dealer.com’s Senior Director of Product Design and writer for DealerRefresh, Alex Snyder, offers his insights into what to look for when you’re sitting down for a CRM demo.

Chapter 1: CRM 101

What is a CRM system? Let’s start with the basics so we’re all on the same page. A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system helps to keep you focused on your customers by enforcing process. In a nutshell, it’s a system that tells you “who to call and when to call them.” But when you look beyond those narrow constraints, a CRM system begins to get more sophisticated; it’s also a database of your customers that organizes their information in ways that aid in your marketing and decision-making efforts.

Chapter 2: Process

Now that we’ve got the basics out of the way, it’s time to talk about the most important aspect of CRM: Process. In order to sell more cars, get more service appointments and just generally get more customers visiting your dealership, it all boils down to good follow-up. This is where the needle gets moved. This is where you close the gap with your competitors. Because this is where CRM makes the difference. Don’t let anyone tell you different.

Chapter 3: Marketing

While process is king when it comes to the benefits of your CRM, marketing is still
a big piece of the pie. Every email sent, voicemail left, and phone call connected can be viewed as a marketing impression. Hopefully these one-to-one encounters leave a big impression on your customer.

Chapter 4: Decision-Making & Reporting

Sure, process is the core of a successful CRM system, but the reporting and decision- making aspects are where things start to get interesting. They are what fuel the tweaking and accountability of the processes. They complement one another, especially when they’re both done right and someone is overseeing everything. Unfortunately, variables such as faulty reports, lack of comprehension, and data corruption (duplicates, bad ad sources, etc.) can plague the accuracy of CRM reports.

Chapter 5: Marrying a CRM with Your Dealership

A CRM is an incredibly powerful piece of technology, and I’ve spent a lot of ink
so far in talking about what you should expect from a good system. That said, the success or failure of a CRM doesn’t lie solely with the tech company that developed it. The best CRM in the world can be undermined by a poor foundation. And that foundation is your dealership—how it behaves, how expectations are set, and how a dealership’s leaders make the most of the system.


Chapter 6: The Final Word

The biggest thing to remember when judging a demo and buying a CRM is to avoid getting distracted by the shiny bells and whistles, and instead focus on the core elements. At the end of the day, the features and screens that your people will use day in and day out are where you should judge a demo and a system. Everything else is just window dressing; the bells and whistles might be nice if they work but they won’t make or break your CRM. How readily it gets adopted by your staff, how useful it is to your managers and how much it ultimately moves the needle for your business is what matters.

Download your copy here! --> https://dlrfr.sh/buyCRM

*Don't forget to rate this resource!!



A collaboration between DealerRefresh and Dealer.com No matter how old this white-paper gets it remains true.

Contributors:
Alex Snyder, Senior Director of Product Design at Dealer.com and writer for DealerRefresh