Autobase Marketing Solutions

If you are like most auto dealerships, the answer to the above question is “not very well”.

Besides being expensive, it’s near impossible to measure results. With the recent consolidation of dealerships, many service departments are bursting at the seams. Now more than ever there are valuable prospects visiting your service department that did not buy their vehicle at your store. What a perfect opportunity to properly start a sales cycle with these orphaned customers.

Many of the auto dealers using our automotive CRM system have found the best way to find some of these hot leads is to do a search of their customer database. For example, try a quick search of your entire database using these parameters:

1) Service customers who did not buy their vehicle at your dealership
2) Visited your Service department within the last 30 days
3) Over 75,000 miles on the odometer
4) Repair Order bill over $250.00 out of pocket

You might be surprised to see this number is larger than first thought.  Why not have a “new model” introduction e-mail automatically generated when these customers get back home (using a strong permission-based email marketing solution, of course).  Better yet, what a great time to drop these folks a well timed call. They already know who you are. Know where you are. They are a customer already. They have a high mileage vehicle. And repairs are starting to cost them out of pocket. 

As a New Car Salesperson, I would much rather make a well timed, well informed call to these prospects than to follow up on a mailer. And by the way, these leads don’t cost a penny.

by Mike Niebling

Yesterday, as I walked into a large Honda dealership, a sales person greeted me.  I’ve seen him a couple times recently.  This time he wanted to tell me his ideas to improve the auto dealer CRM software they were using.  After every single one of his suggestions, my reply was always the same… "Great idea! But you can already do that!”

Then together we walked through the processes in his auto CRM software. He was amazed that the searches and the features he was seeking already lived right at his fingertips. I know it made his day to find a whole new source of leads. He started showing the other sales people in the showroom what he had discovered.

My question to him was “how long have you been here?” I was assuming the answer ranged anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months. To my surprise he told me he had been there over 5 years. It occurred to me that even the experienced pros need to be frequently reminded of and shown all the benefits that exist in a high end sales and marketing solution, like Autobase CRM.

The salesman relayed the story to a couple of the sales managers at the tower who agreed that they do not take advantage of all the revenue streams available to them in their CRM.  I showed them all the extensive on-line training that is available 24/7. Surprisingly no one in that large Honda store has taken advantage of it yet. And reminded them that they can turn to any Autobase employee for some guidance. 

Bottom line is no matter how long you have been at a job, there is still plenty to be learned. It is up to all of us to seek out the help available. 

by Mike Niebling
 

Every now and then I drop in and see what's going on with the guys at www.drivingsales.com.  They've built a pretty good resource for dealers, whether it's the networking, their newsletter articles, or the vendor ratings.

Vendor ratings can be a tricky animal.  There are those few dealership sales and service managers who can't give a bad review and perhaps a few more who couldn't give a good one if they tried -- these, of course, are the exceptions.  One the whole, though, you have to look for the trend, especially when higher numbers of reviews have been posted.

I am so pleased to watch the number of reviews grow on this site.  And though we have not yet broken down our dealership technology into automotive sales software, business development products, dealership lead management, marketing solutions, etc ... we have seen 58 auto dealer professionals reach out (48 more than the runner up!) to give their honest opinion about us.  And what have they said?

With 95% recommendation, the original CRM (since 1988) is still by far the one helping more dealers to drive more traffic, sell and service more vehicles, build more customer loyalty, and make more money.  Thanks, Autobase customers!  We appreciate the loud vote of confidence in the middle of the marketplace!

No dealership sales person would say they "want to rely on floor traffic for every up" or "want to avoid repeat and referral business," but this commercial from the Autobase Archives has a lot to say. Orignally put together for the 2004 NADA Expo in Las Vegas, this clip has a little fun with a spoof on the old "When I Grow Up" commercial.  It also makes a statement to how Automotive CRM from Autobase truly helps auto dealers drive more traffic, higher sales, and stronger profits -- all through our Auto Dealer CRM Software.

If your auto dealership is looking for an automotive sales and marketing solution (CRM, BDC, ILM, Permission-based Marketing, Digital Marketing, and more) that can do just that, start by getting more info here! For now, enjoy the video ...




View the Autobase channel on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/autobasecrm

In the auto dealership, the heart of a strong Automotive CRM System is its communication capabilities.  These would include permission-based voice messaging, permission-based SMS text messaging, and of course permission-based email marketing.

While the former two are somewhat new to the scene, the latter has been around for years.  Yet, there are still so many auto dealerships sending mass email campaigns out of their CRM -- most with little understanding of the communication handcuffs that are waiting to be slapped on by watching ISPs (never mind the Federal Government).

As you email your customers, use a proven permission-based email marketing solution, and as you do, there are a few things to remember.  Here are just a few ...

Get and confirm permission.  Receiving permission from your subscribers is the crux of a successful email campaign. To find out if you are sending something that is unwanted, look at your email from the eyes of your recipients. Will they anticipate receiving the email? Does it contain information that interests them? If not, it is likely to get filtered due to complaints and will cause harm to your deliverability, as well as your dealership brand over time.

Send highly valuable and highly relevant emails.  As the inbox gets more crowded with SPAM, your customers are looking to your email to provide them with relevant content – the quality content they expect in doing business with you. Begin capturing data on your subscribers. Over time you will be able to send more relevant content, which lessens the
chance that your email will be interpreted as SPAM by your subscribers.

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.
 

When Autobase was born in 1988, it was the only technology-based auto CRM solution that lived in the showroom at that time. And at that time, we endured the extremely basic, but extremely functional, screen layouts allowed by the DOS platform.  The software did wonders for auto dealerships, and we put up with the generic white text on the generic blue screen.  It was all steak -- and very little sizzle.

With the dawn of Windows, dealership software providers could get creative -- not just for the sake of colors, images, and the overall "cool factor," but creative in such a way as to increase ease-of-use and user-friendliness. It's exactly why Autobase created its screens to mimic the dealership logbook -- something dealers, managers, and sales people could use immediately because they were familiar with what they were looking at on the screen.  All steak -- and lots of sizzle!

Over the past ten years, automotive CRM companies have come and gone.  Some have introduced screens with big fonts, bright colors, and big icons in an effort to make the program appear user-friendly. A few web-based CRM solutions have taken a more conservative approach, but nevertheless, deliver on the glitz without the underlying functionality to serve the dealership as a true auto CRM.  All sizzle -- and very little steak.

Let's just put it on the table: Even though our innovation and technology grow year after year, Autobase is sometimes thought as being old technology, mostly because dealers see similar screen layouts as were used a few years ago. Unfortunately, they often opt for the sizzle elsewhere and realize in time there is very little steak on the plate...

Others look at the Autobase system and see the tried-and-true electronic logbook on the screen, know that it's what their guys are used to, and understand that true ease-of-use is going to translate into usage and usage is going to translate into success for the business.

Let's face it, the automotive world will probably witness a face lift to the Autobase software at some point in the future.  We all love new stuff.  But those who partner with us THEN will do so for the same reason auto dealers continue to partner with us NOW even though there are "glitzier" systems available ... it's because they know they'll see more return on their investment with Autobase CRM than with any other sales and marketing solution available to auto dealers.

 

• In December, we brought every last person on our nationwide team to Indianapolis to unveil and train on the latest and greatest in automotive CRM, lead management, dealership marketing, etc. etc. etc.  Simply an inspiring time for the entire Autobase team!
• We then took this growing package of products and auto dealer services to New Orleans at NADA.  Beyond the basics of dealership software like permission-based marketing and ILM, auto dealers learned about our new offerings in voice messaging, toll-free number call tracking, SMS text messaging, and a number of other additions to our marketing solutions.  The overall traffic was down as many of you know -- but Autobase had a great show!
• Finally, Autobase Business Solutions (formerly, Autobase Platinum CRM) continues to be recognized by auto dealers as one the highest returning investments they can make in today's market.