Advantages of Automotive CRM Tools

By Neil Zawacki
Updated: August 19, 2011

The automotive industry has recently discovered the great value of CRM. They are using the software to monitor and forecast sales, follow up on potential leads, and perform enterprise reporting for their dealer groups.

Here are some of the advantages of automotive CRM tools:

Improved Dealer/Supplier Relationship

Automotive CRM allows the auto dealer and supplier to work together in a highly efficient manner. The information between the two is synchronized and available at any time. Competition is also much less of an issue because the suppliers now have a global market to deal with.

Advanced Desking

You can use automotive CRM tools to desk multiple deals, book vehicles, and modify customer information from a single screen. You can also create and print sales proposals at a moment’s notice since the vehicle and customer information is stored on the test drive.

Lead Management

Automotive CRM provides dealers with full access to their new and pre-owned inventory. You can thus respond to a customer inquiries with a description, photo, brochure, and details about similar automobiles. You can also track the customer’s response and compile management reports on a regular basis.

Data Appends

You can keep your contact information accurate through automotive CRM. It can match names to phone numbers through a comprehensive database, update the information when a client moves, and validate any email addresses that you might have. They can process your phone list against the Do Not Call list and remove any phone numbers that appear.

Multichannel Capabilities

CRM tools offer several different ways for automotive companies to interact with their customers. They provide access to voice service, email, chat rooms, faxes, surveys, message boards, and blogs. This improves the chance that a person will contact the company when they have a question since they have many more options at their disposal.

Showroom Monitoring

Automotive CRM can automatically check your DMS at the end of the day for changes to your inventory. If a vehicle is added or sold, it notes the change on the server. You can thus rest assured that all of the inventory listed is there and not have to worry about monitoring the showroom.

Phone Scripts

Most automotive CRM comes with phone scripts that can be used in many different situations. If an agent is making a follow-up call to a customer, there is a script available. If a customer is calling about service work for the vehicle, there is a script available as well. You can also typically modify the scripts or write your own if you prefer.