4 important CRM trends for car dealerships

CRM trends come and go in the car industry, but these four are sure to improve your business.

If you’ve been in the automotive industry for long, you’ve found many CRM trends. Your CRM isn’t what it used to be, and that’s the fact. What was once an address book and notebook, is now a powerful sales tool thanks to modern innovation.

Technology is turning the auto sales world into a field that would be nearly unrecognizable to past generations of car dealers. Like any industry, though, auto sales are subject to some trends that are little more than untested theories, while other trends bring helpful changes to the way we work.

Four of the most current CRM trends that are helping car dealers improve their profitability and efficiency:

1. Artificial intelligence (AI)

AI is not only here, it’s on the path to major growth, according to Salesforce research.

Thanks to the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI), CRM tools do a lot more than store client information. With WizPoster, car dealers can quickly filter through leads and inventory data. You can check from where your leads are coming and figure out which car listing site is the most profitable for you. Running reports is a lot less complicated, thanks to the minimal effort you need to pull information. Time once spent on data management is now free to focus on selling your inventory.

2. Continuous digital communication

The numbers show that technology can drive your dealership to better business development. Today’s car buyers prefer digital communication and online shopping then to spend countless hours wandering around your showroom. Cox Automotive’s study revealed that if given a choice, 58% of customers would prefer a digital negotiation to one that takes place in person especially now during the COVID19 situation. The research also shows that 62% of customers would shop farther from their homes to find a vehicle if they knew dealers offered a digital buying process.

WizPoster tool focuses on helping dealers contact their clients the way they prefer and it helps dealers staying in contact with important buyers and transferring hot leads into the sale. Having texts and calls all in one place makes communication with potential customers easier and quicker. It’s just one way for dealers to expand their potential client base while appealing to the modern customer’s preferred research and communication methods.

3. Powerful posting tool

Having a posting tool that can easily post more ads to a few different channels is a lifesaver. That’s one of the most beneficial CRM trends to date. Because car sales are such a competitive industry, you can’t afford to have bad car ads that are not visible on Craigslist and other car listing sites. With this CRM benefit, you can schedule posts of all of your inventory in just a few clicks.  

4. Lead assignment improvements

Leads are assigned differently depending on the dealership, but a lot of managers are still using an ‘up system’ or distributing customers verbally. These methods are outdated, and they can leave your staff (and customers) feeling frustrated.

With this CRM add-on, you can choose if you want leads to be redirected by a certain schedule or to a specific person who will then redirect leads to other salespeople.

Say the next salesperson in line is busy with another customer. While they’re working, your other team members are off somewhere. They figured since it wasn’t their turn that they’d take their lunch break or check out the new inventory in the back lot. While everyone was gone, who was watching the showroom? You could have had a potential customer standing around feeling ignored. 

The automatic lead assignment tool is one of the best CRM trends for maintaining productivity and customer satisfaction. Lead assignment features help to ensure that no sales opportunity ever goes unnoticed.

Take advantage of CRM trends that increase productivity.

If you are willing to integrate these CRM trends into your daily sales routine, you’re sure to see an increase in business and profit. The technological improvements in modern CRM tools are leaps and bounds better than when they first gained popularity in the auto industry. Your team can save time, and you can save money by helping your existing employees become more productive without having to add another person to your payroll.

The customer experience is still king in 2020. Modern customer relationship management (CRM) must be used as a foundational technology for customer engagement in order to deliver personal experiences that will show your commitment and that will show that you care about each and every customer.

CRM trends are like ocean breezes — the car dealerships that stay aware of which way the wind is blowing can maneuver so they’re better positioned to sail toward success.

The destination should always be the same. But tacking effectively will get you there in a faster, more efficient manner.

If these trends have made you aware of shortcomings in your dealership's CRM, or if you’re looking to upgrade so you don’t get left in the wake, we hope this list of trends helped you realize if you’re missing out on something.

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