Autobase Loyalty Marketing

As every oak came from an acorn, every car, truck, and SUV on the road traces back to a sale ... somewhere.  That point is especially driven home as I look out of my sixth story office window and down over the I-465 beltway surrounding Indianapolis.  That's a lot of sales, but it makes me wonder, "HOW each vehicle was sold?"

Is that car passing by driven by someone who happened into an auto dealership, or by someone targeted by the auto dealer and the dealership's automotive CRM system?

Did the salesperson wait for the door to swing and phone to ring, or was he proactive in managing that contact through strong lead management and quality permission-based digital marketing over time?

Did that car come from a dealership that is passive regarding CRM (hoping to ride out this recession) or from a store that is actively attacking their database to find, sell, and keep customers with the help of true Auto Dealer CRM software?

Now that he IS a customer (of some dealership somewhere) will they wait for him to come in for service, or will they utilize service campaigns and loyalty marketing from their CRM to maximize the worth of that customer?

One thing I know: as time goes by, more and more successful auto dealers are seeing an incredibly strong return from CRM, which means more and more successful sales are made at their stores everyday.

Autobase will be back in Las Vegas this weekend for the 6th Digital Dealer Conference.  Looks like a decent line-up of speakers and seminars, as well as a fairly good turnout from vendors who are ready to show off their various automotive software and services.

Vegas is always a draw for these kinds of events, but the poor showing in New Orleans for NADA 2009 as well as the fact that Mr. Roscoe and his crew have these shows twice a year has everyone asking, "Will the dealers show up?"  I am optimistic.

There are a few important areas where the average dealership requires evolution in today's market, and harnessing the power of technology for sales and marketing purposes is at the top of the list.  Those who (are able to) attend this conference get it.

Of course, our sales solutions (Autobase CRM with its fully-integrated Internet lead management (ILM) and business development (BDC) solutions) will be on display alongside of our marketing solutions (digital marketing, permission-based voice and text messaging, and service/ loyalty marketing solutions to name a few).  And our neighbors will be our friends at Dealer Specialties and Dealerskins -- both from the family of brands under Dominion Dealer Solutions. 

If you plan on being there, stop by and see us (and the latest offering of true customer relationship management for auto dealers) at Booth #61.
 

"How many engines does a car need?"  Obviously, one.  It drives everything the vehicle does.  Two engines (or six) would complicate a process that can (and should) be handled by one, capable engine.

It's the same with Automotive CRM.  How many CRMs does an Auto Dealer need?  Dealer CRM drives everything that dealership does in terms of growing business by creating customer relationships and maintaining customer loyalty.  Like the engine in a vehicle, two CRMs (or six) complicate the process that can (and should) be hanlded by one, capable CRM.

So even if an auto dealer's website provider, digital marketing provider, ILM provider, lead management provider, and phone lead provider each give that dealer some level of CRM with their individual product, has the dealer won?  Or is he complicating the process... and losing??

Just ask the Top 125 auto dealer (large, multi-store dealer group in the upper midwest) who spoke with me at NADA... "Steve, we have six different programs we use to sell a car -- one for this that houses these customers and one for that and it houses those customers.  Six different programs and I can't get them to talk to each other!  Can you help me?"

The answer to his question was TRUE CRM.  He realized that he needed only one, capable engine at work -- one solution to drive business, sell more cars, and to house and mine his data.  I pointed him to an Automotive CRM that could serve as the central nervous system for ALL his customer management (including digital marketing, Internet Lead Management, loyalty marketing, website leads, permission-based marketing, etc.).  It made sense to him...

So, how many CRMs does a dealer need?  One.