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Gerald Hand, an industry trainer and AutoBase team member, answers this month's question for AutoUSA readers.
How can dealers and their employees get the most from their CRM programs?
In my years of being an Internet Director and now being in the CRM field proper, I have yet to see the "typical" dealer with regards to CRM use and implementation. Unlike many aspects of the car business where there is tried and true processes in place to ensure success and are virtually universal, CRM processes are not equally embraced.
Why aren't your employees embracing CRM tools?
Part of the problem stems from a clear understanding of what your CRM needs to do for you or what it should be doing for you. Another issue is from a technical standpoint; many sales people are not comfortable with the usage, do not fully understand how the CRM will help them stay in contact with customers or are afraid it will enable them to be managed (read held accountable). Still another aspect is the disparity from one product to another- some do desking well, some do floor traffic well, and then some do Internet Lead Management (ILM) better than anything else.
But the one recurring theme for stores where there is lackluster CRM performance seems to be buy-in from the top. If a dealer management is not terribly interested in the staff's performance with regards to tracking opportunities, the road to the sale, closing ratio and G.P., the staff will neglect these areas. This will lead to artificially high closing percentages as many ups are not entered into the CRM at all. If your most fundamental number is inaccurate, every number derived therein is necessarily inaccurate, to include your closing ratio.
Really, it is the same concept when you consider the new car department's sales, G.P. and CSI, or the pre-owned department's sales, G.P. and wholesale loss. If a dealer is NOT paying attention to these issues, they tend to slide off, a until one day you look up and ask "What happened? Why are we not selling more cars?"
The answer is usually pretty easy. First of all, CRM is NOT a silver bullet. It is a tool, and like any other tool, it has to be maintained and used according to its design. A hammer can double as a screwdriver, but the results won't be what you are looking for.
( Read More )
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AutoUSA Featured Interview
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Darryl Mayberry
Internet Director
Rotolo Chevrolet | Fontana, CA
Rotolo Chevrolet is in the San Bernardino and high desert area of California and has developed into a major commuter suburb of Los Angeles. It is also the home of Auto Club Speedway, a NASCAR racetrack that draws big crowds of race fans for their events. There are about nine competing Chevrolet stores within 40 miles of their location, so they must act quickly and offer superior service to maintain their sales targets.
AutoUSA: What is the size and structure of your Internet Department?
Darryl: As the Internet Director I work with four other Internet Managers and we handle all the Internet leads from start to finish. That means we respond to the leads, set the appointments and handle the customer experience when they arrive at our showroom. We do handoff the finance office part of the transaction, so it frees us up to concentrate on the sales and delivery process. About 60% of our sales are for new vehicles.
AutoUSA: How do you stand out in the market, and what do you do that is different from your competition?
Darryl: Like most markets consumers have become very Internet savvy these days, and they want to get to the bottom line very quickly. Our policy is to follow up fast and hard to respond as quick as we can to each lead. We are "quick to quote" and find that our customers appreciate our fast and upfront responses. Many of the dealers in our market area aren't that aggressive so we capitalize on our strengths.
AutoUSA: Do you use third party lead providers? And what is your experience with them?
Darryl: Even with the best marketing program, we find that third party companies along with GM OEM leads help us supplement the leads we bring in from traditional advertising and organic traffic to our website. We look for providers that give us flexibility to target where our leads come from. We also recognize that these leads are also going to other dealers in our market, so we make sure to respond in a very timely fashion. We've been very pleased with the quality of AutoUSA leads in our market and continue to focus on raising our closing ratio on all our leads.
AutoUSA: What do you do to create a great customer experience?
Darryl: We know our customer's time is precious so we work hard to expedite the research, pricing and test driving experience. We answer their questions in a straight forward way and make sure they are comfortable with our handling of their purchase. We also use traditional advertising in the LA Times and television spots on local cable channels to drive more traffic to our website and we even have a mobile phone friendly site too.
Website: www.rotolochevy.com
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Web Selling & Marketing
Internet News Developments of Significance to Dealer Management
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Homegrown or Third Party Leads
As vendors and dealers gain more web expertise there is a temptation to generate your own leads from prospects. The challenge lies in figuring out where to best spend your time and energy to identify prospects. (Read More)
How to Write an Effective TV Script for your Dealership
If you are using television to market your dealership, you are likely more successful than the car stores in your market who are not using TV. There is no better advertising medium for selling automobiles than television. Before you call the production crew to shoot footage your store, and prior to calling the media rep or your ad agency to place the buy, however, first you will need to craft a script for the commercial. (Read More)
Don't Suffer from Analysis Paralysis
Any Internet professional that is worth their salt actively tracks the important metrics making their dealerships tick. We look at the numbers and make little adjustments to the ways we do business, the technology we employ, and the people responsible. But remember there are times when you need to separate yourself from the statistics of the day and look at the big picture. (Read More)
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This newsletter is published as a combined news, editorial, and market research enewsletter by Automotive Information Network, Inc. and AutoUSA. The content is intended to be for informational, educational, and promotional purposes only.
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Automotive Information Network, Inc
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310 265-2225; Webitor@automotivedigest.com
Web Editor: Mark Dubis
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AutoUSA
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Contact: Vincent Hoag at 800-243-9935
or via email at support@autousa.com
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