Let me save you some time right from the start: if you came here looking for an article that discusses specific CRM vendors and provides some insight into who you should go with, my advice is two-fold: a) iMagicLab, and b) who cares.
The latter part of my answer is in fact what this article is about. When the phrase “CRM” started popping up in this industry (twenty years after it did in the Telecommunications & Financial industries), dealers had an opportunity to revolutionize their business models and bring about a new dawn in the infamous dealer-to-customer relationship. But the combination of dealers’ “I only understand results I can see today” mentality and the willingness of CRM vendors to belittle their tools as plug-n-play business boosters created a perfect storm of squandered opportunity, resulting in the half-assed execution of CRM we typically see today at dealerships.
Here’s the thing: when you decide that your dealership needs a CRM tool, the very last thing you should do is shop CRM vendors for the best deal or the coolest tool. Deciding to create a Customer Relationship Management discipline in your store is just that - a discipline, not a solution in a box. You’ve got a long way to go before you’re ready to sit in on a sales pitch from a CRM vendor if you want to get this right the first time… and trust me, you do.
Granted, if you’re clueless about CRM, it would help to talk to a vendor and get an idea of what such tools can do. But a better idea would be to hire a consultant (even if it’s a consultant from a CRM company) to assist you in developing a new business model that integrates departments, increases productivity, and keeps your customers in constant revenue rotation. The integration of a CRM tool is the most opportune time you will ever have to change the way your store does business for the better… don’t screw it up.
The most important thing to understand about CRM in the automotive industry is that a CRM tool is like an engine, with your staff being the cylinders. In order to get some results out of this engine, your cylinders have to make a revolution… and it’s the Owner or GM’s job to make sure the engine is tuned before starting it up. What you see in many dealerships is an Owner who bought the engine and turned the key right away… and he’s got a cylinder whose timing is off (the Sales Manager doesn’t appreciate the value of the tool and undermines it), as well as a cylinder that’s totally frozen (Fixed Ops doesn’t even know the CRM tool exists).
Fact is, the CRM revolution doesn’t start with a product pitch. It starts with you, the dealer, asking questions and envisioning your future. Some of the issues you’ll need to address include:
- Understanding where your processes are at now, where you think they could be realistically in a year, and where you’d want them to be if you had all the resources you need. Build out a plan of action to get to both of those goals.
- Ensuring that every single member of your staff is ready and able to do their part in the new process. If they don’t understand the agenda - or don’t want to make the effort - get them on your side or marginalize them before CRM implementation.
- Envisioning a customer record that stays in one system and can be touched by everyone at the dealership, from sales to service to administration. Think of the perfect customer: they buy a car, they come for service, they recommend others, and they come back to buy again. Now think about who needs to be involved and how they need to collaborate to make that the case for every customer.
- Recognizing the value of Internet Sales & Service as an integral part of your business, and not a mysterious sideshow. The Internet will eventually be the future or the end of your business, depending on how much perceived value you can build through your dealer website and CRM practices.
Build your business plan first, get everyone on-board to the point that they’re salivating over the opportunities they’re about to receive, and then go shopping.
