Autobase Virtual BDC

Automotive CRM begs the question, "To be or not to be?"

Wednesday, September 30, 2009 by Steve Lausch

As Cash for Clunkers has come and gone, for some it really helped stimulate sales and for others it was just a trickle. So now that sales have softened, the first "to be" question is what to do or be? The answer is proactive.

It's the simple but profound answer based on your own gold mine of customer data. Let's start with your possible renewal customers. How are you contacting them? Are you using a true automotive CRM solution like Autobase CRM? This level of auto dealer CRM software tells you where the gold is and how to get to it FAST. Try having your dealership sales people call using the work plan, use AB Voice or our Virtual BDC. Perhaps the best contact is through simple permission-based email marketing.

Not being proactive means letting what you already have in your database go elsewhere -- that is, down the street to competitor's showroom.

by Rick Rogers

What components of Auto Dealer CRM will help us "sell out of the box?"

Friday, August 21, 2009 by Steve Lausch

A few days ago, I posted a blog on putting some creative ideas together with use of your Auto Dealer CRM software. Of course, if you're using Autobase CRM, it's got you covered for those days when your creative juices are flowing in abundance. Here are a few ways Auto CRM from Autobase can be used to "sell outside the box" ... and, yes, these are shameless plugs!

• Autobase Digital Marketing – Juice up your email correspondence with the components of our of hi-powered, digital marketing suite. Turn your old in-store "Why Buy Here?" presentation into a video email that drives traffic!

• Auto Sales Software - Use our Sales Center tool to track customer hobbies and interests and market toward these special interest groups. Then, have a car show, cigar bar party, or golf outing!

• Autobase Permission-based Marketing - Put our Business Solutions to work in concert with Sales Center CRM to create a targeted newsletter (or other customized webad), and track the deliverability of your message through detailed built in reporting within your Autobase Sales Solution!

• Business Development – Utilize the Autobase Loyalty Center or Virtual BDC (outsourced) to leverage your Autobase CRM solution further for lead management, follow-up, and appointment setting!

by Zach Thompson

Special Treatment ... Amazing Results

Wednesday, July 29, 2009 by Steve Lausch

The other week, I saw something unique at one of the auto dealerships using Autobase CRM. It is a high volume import store with an automotive BDC (business development center), and in an effort to increase their appointment, show, and sold rates, they have instituted a plan for all customers that set appointments with their BDC.

Upon setting an appointment with the customer, they introduced the customer to the fact that they will receive “VIP” service while at the auto dealership. They prepared the customer by saying that upon arrival at the dealership, the customer should identify himself as a VIP customer. Once identified as a VIP, the customer is escorted to a waiting area that is set up specifically for VIPs; complete with cozy couches and complimentary beverages. A sales manager is immediately notified that a VIP guest is in the showroom and personally welcomes the customer and gives them a brochure outlining the dealership’s VIP sales and service commitment. This brochure details all the amenities that the dealership offers, such as courtesy shuttle, complimentary high speed internet access, and free oil changes. The manager then introduces the customer to a sales person who takes over the sales process.

I tend to be a pessimist when it comes to things like this, and if I hadn’t seen it for myself I never would have believed the appointment show and sold statistics that this store was putting out. If you have a great auto dealer CRM in place (we trust it's Autobase CRM), go beyond and think outside the box when it comes to setting your store apart from the competition and exceeding customer expectations!

by Laurie Simons

Automotive CRM: Email dealership customers only after ISP testing

Thursday, July 2, 2009 by Steve Lausch

At the heart of Auto Dealer CRM software is the ability to successfully communicate with your dealership customers.

Your business development center (Automotive BDC or Virtual BDC) is absolutely vital for communicating via the phone and digital marketing. And a large part of our Autobase Digital Marketing is the permission-based email solution that carries it into your customer's Inbox.

Here are a few more "best practices" to keep in mind for a successful automotive digital marketing campaign:

Use ISP testing. Setting up an “ISP Test List” can be a fast and easy way to find out if your email will pass through spam filters. You can do so by simply setting up email accounts with the major ISPs such as AOL, Hotmail, Yahoo, etc. Before sending to your entire subscriber list, send to your test list and make sure your email reaches the inbox of each ISP. If it lands in a bulk folder or is blocked all together, you are then able to investigate and make the appropriate changes.

Avoid "spammy" words and phrases. Systematically scanning email subject lines and body content (also called content filtering) is the most widely used filtering method among ISPs. Avoid overly promotional words and phrases, multiple exclamation points, all capital letters, and other text often used by spammers. This may seem difficult at first for promotional messages coming from an auto dealership, but with a little creativity, it can be done. Remember, always better to tweak the message and make it into the Inbox, than to never make it to the Inbox at all.