How to choose the right automotive CRM for your dealership

What is an Automotive CRM

An automotive CRM is a tool developed for the car industry which enables you as a car dealership manager to handle your leads, hold your salespeople accountable, and provide exceptional customer service. It is the main hub where you can see all activities happening at your dealership.

As a car dealer, you have to choose the right automotive CRM for your dealership. Automotive CRMs are built to form stronger relationships with customers that drive revenue to the dealership, these software solutions help with marketing, sales, and client relations. 

Features that are specific to car dealerships

Lead management is a key function of the CRM and should allow you to view and manage your leads, assign them to your salespeople, and monitor them throughout their buying process. Inventory management in the CRM also plays a  major role in allowing the dealership to add vehicles and manage their inventory which is essential in this business. You can also find new ways to market new inventory to your customers that are searching for a specific type of vehicle by creating email campaigns through your CRM.

Auto dealership sales departments can use desking tools in the CRM by simplifying the buying process, which can bring online customers' deal information directly into the CRM.

Automotive dealerships should always use a dedicated CRM. It doesn’t matter whether you are an independent dealership running a used car lot or a franchise representing an international vehicle manufacturer. Since the car selling business relies heavily on regular customers, a dedicated automotive CRM software is built to cater to recurring customers. An automotive CRM ultimately helps car dealerships build loyal and long-lasting relationships with their customers and helps generates more sales.

Why should your dealership use an Automotive CRM?

As an auto dealer, you have to keep up with the volatile car industry. The internet has taken over and digital marketing plays a huge role in the way we do business. The way you sold cars before is no longer effective and profitable. In today’s digital era, everything is done online. You might say: “I have people coming in person or calling - that’s how I make my sales.” Yes, but people look into your dealership online before even making this call or visiting you. They do their research, check reviews and look into your competitors. In the end, they will choose the dealer that has a better online presence: that is at the top of the google search, has a better dealership website, engaging social media accounts, and extensive online inventory. Your Automotive CRM must enable you to capture these leads that are coming from various sources and allow you to manage them and respond easily. 

In other words, having an Automotive CRM improves customer relations which maximizes sales and profitability. The automotive industry is highly competitive, thus you and your team have to take extra steps to make your dealership outstanding for customers. The automotive CRM gives your dealership the power to do multiple outbound and inbound activities – starting from showcasing your showroom through marketing which would allow you to capture new leads on a daily basis. 

One fits all - is not the best solution when it comes to CRMs. The CRM you choose has to be sensitive to your individual needs and goals. That is why it is important that you choose a CRM that is specifically built for the automotive industry. The car business is unique and having the right automotive software will ensure your dealership is running at an optimal level.

Whether you are a franchise dealer or a used car dealership, you have to invest in an Automotive CRM software. Investing in software that will double or even triple the revenue seems like an extremely smart choice. If you are a small, mid-sized, or even large-scale car dealership, you can greatly benefit from a new Automotive CRM. It improves all the processes in your car dealership: sales, marketing, and customer service. It also automates and organizes these processes, leading to an increase in car sales.

The best automotive CRM boosts sales and helps in-house operations run smoothly. The Sales department uses CRM to simplify processes. Sales and marketing process automation is the main objective of a CRM. Your personalized marketing content created by CRM will help you capture the attention of prospective buyers, which is crucial to your car dealing business. However, not only should the software assist you in attracting prospective clients, but it has to help you keep long-lasting relationships with existing customers. 

Since after the purchase follow-ups are made easy with the right Automotive CRM, your existing clients will feel that special treatment and care. CRMs are designed to take your customer service to the next level, so the experiences your clients have with your team are unforgettable and externally pleasant. By keeping your team accountable, you can improve by making changes when needed and keeping an eye on the best employees. 

Key Features of an Automotive CRM

Finding a perfect Automotive CRM can be overwhelming. There are some key ingredients that the ideal Automotive CRM must have. When choosing the right CRM, try to focus on these features:

• User-friendly: the onboarding and training processes must be easy. Your team is already having so much on its plate. The idea is to make everything automated and straightforward, not the other way around. If the program is too complex, then it might not only destroy the spirit and motivation of your team, but it also might prolongate processes around car selling. 
• Modern: outdated platforms can destroy the whole experience of CRM. The Automotive CRM you choose has to change and update as new technologies become available. Otherwise, your car dealership might not fulfill its full potential.   
• Action-oriented and relevant data: The ability to generate usable and relevant data is one of the most important aspects of CRM. Without the properly operated data, the CRM can not bring as many sales as it should.
• Apps for mobile and tablets: the CRM you are looking for should be available on different devices. Desktops are there to do most of the work. The apps for tablets are made for your sales team to easily navigate through inventory while on the floor with a client. The mobile apps are for the supervisors to be able to track the processes from anywhere. No matter where your team members are operating from, everything they need should be at the tip of their fingers. 
• Email Integration: emails remain one of the best ways to attract new customers and offer your products and services to an exciting list of clients. It is essential that CRM you are choosing offers email integration. 
• Integrations with dozens of popular DMS: at this point, this is not the most important aspect since you can just transfer the data from DMS to CRM and vice versa manually. However, if the CRM does this for you, your team can use this time on to focus on delivering outstanding customer service rather than transferring data back and forth.  

Conclusion

If you own a dealership and still don’t use an automotive CRM, we hope we have given you the valuable tips to choose the right CRM for your auto dealership. Customer experience is the key to a dealership’s successful future. Incorporating an automotive CRM software allows you to have near-perfect customer relations management. And this is the way how you are able to deliver the best customer service to your clients.

The above-mentioned attributes, features, and qualities should help you choose the perfect automotive CRM. Since automotive CRM will not only help you manage data, make custom reports, and make more sales, it will also leave your customers satisfied. With this tool, you are to keep them satisfied hence, loyal from the beginning of their car purchasing journey to their next business with you.