When the last time you evaluated the role your CRM plays in your sales operations? A CRM can—and should—be so much more than just a tool that gives you access to historical customer data. Today’s most innovative CRMs are so much more than lead engines and task managers. With the right capabilities and the right data, your car dealer CRM can be a smart tool that speeds up purchase processes, makes the sales process more efficient, and personalizes customer communications.
Your CRM should be working for you, not the other way around. If you find that you’re spending too much time tending your CRM (or hardly using it at all), it’s time to start asking the tough question of your technology.
What insights about your customers does your CRM deliver?
The car sales landscape has changed drastically over the past few years. Customers are approaching your dealership as part of their online research. So why not take advantage of their browsing behavior to give them a better car buying experience and let you discover new leads.
Modern CRM technology can leverage customer data and artificial intelligence to give you insight into shoppers, allowing you to accelerate their path to purchase, improve the customer experience, and engage online leads before your competition.
How does your CRM prevent deals from slipping through the cracks?
Today’s customers shop on their own terms. Instead of reaching out to you during normal business hours, many of them are browsing your website all hours of the night. In fact, one-third of leads are submitted after hours, and 36% of those after-hours leads are never contacted, according to Cox Automotive data.
If your CRM isn’t helping you capture these customers, you’re most likely losing leads too. Modern CRM technology comes with the option to integrate virtual assistant technology that communicates with your customers via email or text, sets appointments, schedules follow-up tasks in your CRM, and much more.
Are your automated marketing platform and CRM integrated?
Your customers want a personalized shopping experience, and one of the easiest ways to deliver on this expectation is through personalized, relevant marketing sent directly from your dealership.
But if your CRM is leaving all the marketing to you to deliver manually, or if your CRM and marketing platforms aren’t integrated, this kind of personalization is next to impossible. Today’s best CRMs can automate automotive marketing, engaging customers with marketing messages tailored to their exact interests, based on advanced data insights.
How does your CRM provider partner in your success?
If your CRM provider has largely left you to fend for yourself when it comes to updating processes and utilizing new features, you’re likely not getting the most out of your tech investment. Good CRM providers are also partners, pairing you with an experienced auto retail advisor to help you make the most of your processes and tools.
If you’re having a hard time answering the tough questions about your technology, it might be time to demand more from your CRM. Learn more about what a complete, connected suite of sales solutions, can do for your dealership.
