By Aston Cade
CRM or Customer Relationship Management is an automated program designed to manage businesses at customer level. They allow to gather, organize and store customer data, which can be incorporated in your marketing efforts, sales, and services to target them. Goal of CRM software is to manage existing and new clients interested in your brand, interact efficiently, and build long-term relationships. The ultimate result being increase in sales and profit.
Standard CRM solution performs well with majority of businesses but an automotive marketing sector has specific needs and goals. Marketing and sales techniques are complex and very different from other products. The service post sales are as crucial as initial sales, so it is essential to maintain life long relationship with clients.
Car dealer software is the right solution for automotive sector. The program is specially designed from ground to suit automotive marketing industry’s unique requirements like scheduling service appointments, inventory management, and nurture long-term relationship with clients after initial sales.
Standard versus Dealer CRM software
Marketing strategy
Marketing regular products or services like cleaning business or selling tools can be done with standard CRM but vehicle marketing is totally different. Before buying a car, clients do plenty of research, they even visit different dealership, check different models and look through several complicated financing options involved in sales. After sales get closed, customer relationship needs to be cultivated, so that the client comes back to your dealership for support, service and even future car purchase. Automotive CRM manages this kind of marketing.
Sales strategy
In regular products or services there are few opportunities for upgrading or market premium parts and accessories, so standard CRM solution is programmed around basic sales concept. On the other hand, CRM software is specially programmed for taking advantage of multiple sales opportunities connected with car transaction. After sale customer returns back for warranty work, regular maintenance, and buy extra accessories. Automotive software detects sales opportunities with every transaction in sales & service departments. This helps to target customer directly by offering appealing discounts and loyalty programs, which will interest them. Thus, the chance of success increases.
Service department management
Automotive service department is very busy and standard CRM cannot handle such needs but automotive CRM can schedule, organize, and streamline all the service operations much better.
Inventory management
In automotive inventory management there is a need to monitor myriads of vehicle prices and options connected with variety of makes and models, which cannot be handled with standard CRM solution. Moreover, there are several programs, incentives, and discounts that are applied to make vehicle price malleable. CRM dealership software is designed uniquely to accommodate such variables.
