Auto Dealer Monthly Magazine is the daily operations publication serving the retail automotive industry. This automotive publication serves dealer principals, officers and general managers with the latest best practices.
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see the importance of CRM as a selling tool, Goebel said. Many, he added, have little idea of the traffic or leads their CRM is producing because they don't understand its true purpose. The three- letter acronym can mean different things to different people, Goebel explained, but generally it refers to customer retention or cus- tomer relationship management. "Regardless of what you call it, it's vitally important," he said, pointing to industries like real estate, insurance and banking as examples of effective use of CRM tools to cultivate relationships with customers and contacts already in the businesses' respective databases. "All of these industries are tied keenly to the customer relationship." "It's the smallest things sometimes that can send (customers) to your dealership instead of the other guy," expounded Kendall Billman of VinSolutions on the importance of building customer rapport. That can be as simple as a birthday wish or allowing a customer to feel in control of the purchasing conversation. "The dealer who cares the most wins," Dominion Dealer Services General Product Manager Bryan Anderson added. For auto retailers, CRM data- bases may contain thousands of customers and tens-of- thousands of people who have come in contact with their store over the years. With a few exceptions, Goebel said, most of those potential leads and sales are left lying on a hard drive somewhere as squandered opportunities because a dealer doesn't know how to foster them from data into relationships. "You've got to change your way of thinking," said Raines, addressing dealers on hand for his first-day session. "The en- tire process of your dealership should be built around your CRM." According to the U.S. Bureau of Consumer affairs, cited Goebel, 80 percent of dealer- ship profits come from only 20 percent of existing customers. Just a 5-percent bump in that customer retention can in- crease profits by as much as 75 percent. "CRM is managing customers to the best of your ability," Overy told convention-goers. "Dealers can't keep sticking their heads in the sand." When the proverbial ostrich rears its heads to look around, he continued, it's going to see an automotive industry that no longer relies on the reactive methods of traditional adver- tising. Today, dealers must anticipate a person as a customer before they even realize they're in the market for a new vehicle. As many as 95 of every 100 car shoppers are searching online before entering a deal- ership, said Dealer Synergy's Sean Bradley, who offered dealers in the audience a live look inside an active CRM. That leaves a dealership's website as the first—and perhaps only—impression for many car shoppers. Through today's CRM technology, sys- tem tools like "heat tracking" and "confetti maps" allow a dealer to know in real time who is looking at their site and what they are looking for when shopping online. "Gathering real-time informa- tion gives you that little edge," said Billman. Sales staff can utilize such high-tech tools to virtually anticipate the next move of those e-shoppers. "Don't make people think, read their mind," offered Paul Portratz of Potratz Partners Advertising in his educational tract. Today's proactive solutions to turning lookers into buyers are a 180-degree turnaround from the hail-Mary methods of tra- ditional advertising relied upon as recently as 20 or even 10 years ago. "Spraying and pray- ing is over with," Potratz said. "People are changing," explained Alex Snyder of Dealer.com. Due in large part to the Internet and mobile technology, shoppers are looking at fewer than two dealerships on average before buying a car, whereas only 10 years ago that number was more than three. That's why correctly implementing a CRM system is so vital. "You've got to get to them before the other guy," Snyder added. Dealers like Daniel and John Wright—each regularly asking questions and jotting down notes during presentations— believe the CRM Convention gave them the tools necessary to become that first and last stop for shoppers. "There was some cutting-edge stuff here," said John. "We certainly got what we needed." Convention Sponsors Convention Exhibitors AutoRaptor CRM 35