The post How Leading Dealerships Use CRM Tech to Build Relationships That Drive Repeat Business appeared first on AutoRaptor CRM.

Many big companies like Google and Microsoft are already using AI to help improve their services. Its transformative impact extends to industries far and wide, including the automotive sector.

This article provides a glimpse into the transformative role of AI in automotive marketing, exploring its applications and the tools that marketers can explore to put it to use.

Personalized Customer Engagement

First on this list is chatbots. These intelligent assistants provide instant responses, streamline inquiries, and offer personalized assistance, enhancing the overall customer experience. They can handle regular questions, provide product information, set up service appointments, and even assist in car troubleshooting, all in real-time. This level of engagement ensures prompt and relevant interactions, making customers happy.

AI-Powered Chatbot Builders

TARS: TARS is a cutting-edge platform that offers a versatile chatbot solution with significant potential for automotive marketing. With TARS, businesses can easily make chatbots powered by AI without knowing much about coding. Its easy-to-use interface lets you create conversational flows, so you can have personalized conversations based on the current company data you have.

Chatfuel: This platform provides pre-built blocks that can be customized to create conversational paths, making the development process efficient. Chatfuel allows seamless integration with popular messaging platforms like Facebook Messenger and Telegram.

Predictive Analytics

AI’s role in predictive analytics is not just about understanding the past; it’s about foreseeing the future. This technology processes historical data, identifies patterns, and uses these patterns to make accurate predictions. This translates to understanding which vehicle models are likely to gain traction, what features consumers value the most, and even predicting when maintenance might be needed.

AI-Powered Tools for Predictive Analytics

DataRobot: DataRobot’s automated feature discovery generates diverse and relevant features for improved predictions, leveraging complex relationships within the data. Its AI-powered predictions provide insights into buyer preferences and help optimize marketing efforts, ensuring relevant and effective promotions are delivered to potential customers.

Alteryx: Alteryx offers a comprehensive suite of predictive analytics tools, making it a powerful asset for automotive marketing. These tools include advanced spatial, predictive, time series, and optimization analysis capabilities.

Automated Marketing Campaigns

Marketing automation tools allow automotive companies to schedule and execute repetitive tasks automatically, freeing up marketing teams so they can focus on strategic planning and creative aspects of campaigns. Automated marketing campaigns can include email and social media in addition to traditional print. For example, an automated tool can schedule posts showcasing new features or special offers for upcoming car models.

AI-Powered Tools for Automated Marketing Campaigns

AutoRaptor: AutoRaptor is a premiere CRM for automotive dealerships and comes with a marketing automation platform that enables dealerships to manage marketing campaigns efficiently. AutoRaptor’s automation features include personalized email marketing, text (SMS) marketing, and versatile action plans.

Zapier: Through Zapier, automotive marketing can be optimized by connecting marketing automation tools to various other tools the team uses. This integration ensures smoother workflows, scalability, and enhanced communication across systems. For instance, automotive companies can automate lead generation by connecting their website forms to CRM systems, triggering personalized follow-up emails, and scheduling test drive appointments.

Optimized Content Creation

Leveraging AI to create content such as blogs and videos for automotive marketing offers a range of compelling advantages. Firstly, AI-driven content creation accelerates the process of producing high-quality content at a faster pace than manual methods. Automotive marketers can use it to create a steady stream of content that addresses the growing demand for relevant, up-to-date information.

AI-Powered Tools to Create Content

VEED: Automotive marketers can utilize VEED to create dynamic promotional videos showcasing vehicle features, benefits, and visual aesthetics. VEED offers tools like video translator, video converter, Instagram Reels downloader, and avatar generator.

Bard: Bard is an AI chatbot developed by Google, renowned for its unique features that facilitate content creation and engagement. It can answer questions, provide information, generate text, and seamlessly integrate with various Google apps and services.

Enhanced Customer Insights

With artificial intelligence, companies can delve into customer sentiments and perceptions at a level of granularity that traditional methods might overlook. This allows marketers to comprehend customer touchpoints, leading to a more precise understanding of customer preferences. For example, Tesla uses artificial intelligence to learn about its customers and determine which touchpoints influence purchasing decisions. They then use this insight to inform how they prioritize content creation, distribution channels, and budget allocation.

AI-Powered Tools to Gather Insights and Feedback

Chattermill: Chattermill is a customer feedback analytics platform that helps companies gather insights from customer feedback through AI-backed sentiment tracking and text analytics software. It focuses on providing actionable intelligence to deliver retention-driving customer experiences.

MonkeyLearn: MonkeyLearn, on the other hand, is a text analysis platform with unique tools for collecting and analyzing customer comments, which can help automotive marketers learn valuable insights. Their advanced natural language processing (NLP) lets companies get useful information from unstructured text data like customer reviews and comments on social media.

Take Aways

AI is a powerful tool, and if used correctly, there’s no question that it can help automotive brands reach new levels of success. It can help you create engaging content, optimize your campaign strategy, and boost ROI. But it’s also important to note that AI isn’t a magic wand. You must understand how to use it properly to get the most out of it.

In this post, we’ve covered some AI marketing tools. This list is by no means exhaustive; there are plenty more tools out there that can be used for growth. Some are free, and others are paid. The best advice is to know what you need, how much money you’re willing to spend, and what your goal is. Once you’ve figured that out, it’s time to get started!

The post AI-Powered Tools You Can Use To Boost Your Automotive Marketing appeared first on AutoRaptor CRM.

It wasn’t that long ago that the idea of a digital dealership was laughable. Who would want to buy a car without a test drive or seeing it in person? But technology has dramatically changed the auto dealership industry.

3D imaging lets car shoppers view a vehicle from every angle. Review sites describe how a vehicle feels and performs. Software lets us conduct business transactions without ever meeting in person. AI and marketing automation can also make parts of the process hassle-free for dealers and customers alike. There are online dealerships, and some automakers are moving toward a direct-to-consumer business.

But you can’t be part of that movement without the right tools.

The digital dealership tools you need to roll into the future

1. An automotive CRM.

Yes, we are biased about the right CRM, but as you implement digital dealership practices into your routine, you need a central hub to help you stay organized. An automotive CRM can do everything from tracking inventory to automating texts and emails, scanning VINs, and managing the entire sales process.

2. A state-of-the-art website.

If your website looks like it’s from 2010, you aren’t going to have much luck going digital. In part, that’s an aesthetic issue. Your buyers expect a modern, eye-catching website. More importantly, though, it’s a functional issue. Your website needs to load quickly, be mobile-friendly, and be easy to use. In addition, every vehicle on your website should include plenty of interior and exterior photos, a 360-degree video, a complete list of features and specifications, and historical information. You may even consider adding a CARFAX link to each vehicle.

3. Transparent pricing.

Controversial? Perhaps. It certainly goes against the traditional dealership strategy of haggling. This also might not be the right move for every dealership. But when a certain very large and well-known digital dealership offers upfront pricing, it might be worth considering. Besides, a no-haggling approach might be a good marketing strategy. It would certainly set your dealership apart from almost any other dealership around.

4. Online financing options.

To succeed as a digital dealership, you need to give customers the ability to complete the entire car-buying process online. That includes financing. Whether you opt to finance in-house or use a third-party vendor is your choice. But you will need to make sure the tools are there for customers to enter their information and get a financing offer, preferably within just a few minutes. Be aware, however, that you’ll need to be upfront here, too, about credit checks and what impact that could have on your customers’ credit ratings.

5. Live chat.

Live chat is common, but much of it is based on chatbots. If you want to stand out, offer live chat on your website and have your dealership team respond to questions. Whether you run an in-person or digital dealership, customer service is still one of your most robust sales tools. And though a bot can do a lot, it can’t offer the same level of service and knowledge that your team can.

Ultimately, the secret to a successful digital dealership is to make the process as easy as possible for customers. The tools you use can help you achieve that goal. Add in some excellent customer service, fairly-priced vehicles, and modern technology, and you’ll be selling vehicles online in no time.

The post 5 Tools Every Successful Digital Dealership Needs appeared first on AutoRaptor CRM.

Today’s car dealers know that digital communications, like emails or texts, are some of the best ways to sell cars, and yet a lot of them neglect to take full advantage of the car dealership BDC email templates and automated texting processes that make their CRM such a valuable tool. It can be tough to try new strategies when you’re busy, but the data doesn’t lie. If you fail to appeal to the modern car buyer, you stand to lose a lot of business. Digital communication is the key to selling more vehicles, and that’s not about to change any time soon.

Need more proof? Here are some highlights from a recent infographic about dealer communications:

• Over 90% of shoppers prefer to interact with a business through text.
• More than 77% of car buyers use a mobile device to shop for a vehicle.
• Email marketing continues to generate the most leads for auto dealers, at 39%, which is 27% more than direct mailers.

6 Ways to keep your customer communications running on all cylinders

Today’s car buyers are well-researched and quick to move on if you aren’t ready to help them. Want to make contact with a lead? If you respond to them within five minutes, you have a one hundred times greater chance of making contact than if you wait thirty minutes. If you plan to stay ahead of the competition, you can’t just schedule daily email and text blasts; you have to implement processes that maintain their success.

1. Oversee daily communication logs to see how many emails and texts are getting sent. Set goals to double that number by the end of the month. Next month, strive to double that number.
2. Stop wasting time sending messages that get overlooked; create content that car buyers will appreciate by customizing templates aimed towards distinct demographics.
3. Use CRM reporting to track which messages are getting the best responses, so you know if your approach is working, and which you can eliminate entirely.
4. Remember to delete the templates that have failed so they don’t accidentally get used again.
5. Don’t be afraid to customize unique templates, because customers prefer personalized messages over generic ones.
6. Schedule automated texts and/or emails for each of the following circumstances, but also come up with original content that may appeal to your particular customer base:
   • Welcome a customer and say thanks for stopping by.
   • Schedule a test drive with new or existing clients.
   • Send messages of customer appreciation.
   • Wish them well on their birthday or wedding anniversary.
   • Congratulate them on their vehicle purchase anniversary.
   • Remind them when their registration, license, or inspection is going to expire.
   • Send inventory snapshots to shoppers.
   • Share how-to videos and seasonal maintenance tips.
   • Schedules service appointment reminders.
   • Inform customers about fun dealership or community events.

15 Car Dealership BDC Email Templates for You to Snag!

1. New Car Model Announcement

Subject: Introducing [Car Model] at [Dealership]

Dear [Customer’s Name],

We are excited to announce the arrival of the new [Car Model] at our dealership. This innovative model offers [briefly describe features].

We would love to invite you to come in for a test drive. Please let us know when you are available.

Best,
[Your Name]

2. Service Reminder

Subject: Your Car Service Reminder

Dear [Customer’s Name],

This is a friendly reminder that your vehicle is due for service. Regular service is essential to keep your car running smoothly.

Book an appointment at your earliest convenience to ensure your vehicle stays in top shape.

Best,
[Your Name]

3. Follow-Up After a Visit

Subject: Thank You for Visiting [Dealership]

Dear [Customer’s Name],

It was a pleasure meeting you during your visit to our dealership. We hope you found the information helpful in your car buying journey.

If you have any questions or would like to schedule a test drive, feel free to reach out to us.

Best,
[Your Name]

4. Invitation to Sales Event

Subject: Exclusive Sales Event at [Dealership]

Dear [Customer’s Name],

We are excited to invite you to our upcoming sales event on [Date]. We will have exclusive deals on some of our top models.

Mark your calendar and we hope to see you there!

Best,
[Your Name]

5. Follow-Up After a Purchase

Subject: Congratulations on Your New Car!

Dear [Customer’s Name],

We want to congratulate you on the purchase of your new car. It was a pleasure helping you find the perfect vehicle.

Remember, we’re always here for any questions or service needs you may have.

Safe driving,
[Your Name]

6. Scheduled Maintenance Reminder

Subject: Scheduled Maintenance for Your [Car Model]

Dear [Customer’s Name],

Your [Car Model] is due for its scheduled maintenance. To ensure the longevity and safety of your vehicle, we recommend booking an appointment with us as soon as possible.

Please reach out to schedule your service.

Best,
[Your Name]

7. Post-Service Follow-Up

Subject: How Was Your Recent Service Experience?

Dear [Customer’s Name],

We hope you were satisfied with the recent service performed on your vehicle. Your feedback is important to us and helps us improve our service.

Please let us know about your experience.

Best,
[Your Name]

8. Trade-In Offer

Subject: Exclusive Trade-In Offer for Your [Car Model]

Dear [Customer’s Name],

We are currently offering exclusive trade-in values for your [Car Model]. Upgrade to a new model and enjoy the latest features and technologies.

Contact us to learn more about this offer.

Best,
[Your Name]

9. Seasonal Offers

Subject: Seasonal Offers at [Dealership]

Dear [Customer’s Name],

As the [season] approaches, we are excited to offer special discounts on select car models and services.

Please visit our dealership to explore these offers.

Best,
[Your Name]

10. Car Accessories Promotion

Subject: Enhance Your Driving Experience with Our Accessories

Dear [Customer’s Name],

We have a wide range of accessories designed to enhance your driving experience. From all-weather floor mats to advanced navigation systems, find the perfect addition to your vehicle.

Drop by our dealership or contact us for more information.

Best,
[Your Name]

11. Extended Warranty Offer

Subject: Protect Your Car with Our Extended Warranty

Dear [Customer’s Name],

Ensure peace of mind with our extended warranty. It covers a wide range of repairs and services, keeping your vehicle running smoothly for years to come.

Contact us to learn more about our extended warranty offer.

Best,
[Your Name]

12. Lease Expiry Reminder

Subject: Your Lease is Nearing Its End

Dear [Customer’s Name],

Your lease agreement on your [Car Model] is nearing its end. We would be delighted to assist you in exploring your end-of-lease options.

Contact us to discuss the next steps.

Best,
[Your Name]

13. Check-In After Test Drive

Subject: Checking in After Your Test Drive

Dear [Customer’s Name],

We hope you enjoyed test driving the [Car Model]. We’re here to answer any questions you may have or provide additional information.

We’re looking forward to helping you find your perfect vehicle.

Best,
[Your Name]

14. Invitation for a Test Drive

Subject: Test Drive Invitation for the New [Car Model]

Dear [Customer’s Name],

The new [Car Model] has arrived at our dealership. We would love to invite you for a test drive.

Please let us know when you are available.

Best,
[Your Name]

15. Birthday Greetings

Subject: Happy Birthday from [Dealership]

Dear [Customer’s Name],

We want to wish you a happy birthday! As a valued customer, we have a special gift waiting for you at our dealership.

Please stop by at your convenience to pick it up.

Best,
[Your Name]

These templates can help enhance your dealership’s customer service and engagement. Remember, personalization is key, and always try to customize the emails based on the customer’s specific needs and history with your dealership.

Everyone is responsible for dealership compliance.

Not only is it essential to use a CRM tool that takes auto dealer compliance seriously, but it’s also crucial that any team member who sends digital communications to clients fully understands TCPA Compliance regulations. Sending a message of the wrong type, at the wrong time, can lead to expensive fines and possible lawsuits. Any recipient has the right to Opt-Out or decline messages at any time, so be sure to have procedures in place that prevent them from getting contacted again.

It’s far too costly to ignore digital dealer tools that will increase efficiency.

Think about the days when there are so many deliveries that there’s hardly time to keep up with current prospects. The pressure is on to maintain existing customer satisfaction while simultaneously trying to attract fresh leads. On days like this, a digital assistant can be extremely beneficial. Besides organizing client and inventory information, a CRM tool can help maintain a consistent lead pipeline by assisting you with scheduling thoughtful text and email blasts in just a fraction of the time. Spend less time doing tedious clerical work and leave extra time to nurture client relationships as well as your career in car sales.

The post 15 Car Dealership BDC Email Templates appeared first on AutoRaptor CRM.

Managing an auto dealership sales team can be quite complicated, and it takes a driven, organized person to keep things running smoothly (while also moving inventory). Luckily, advancements in technology are resulting in new tools, apps, and website plugins to make the job of a dealer car manager much easier.

Technology will make various parts of the job easier, but getting to that point can be challenging. There are almost too many options out there for a dealership manager to choose from and making the “right” choices can often seem like an overwhelming task.

If you are looking for new ways to improve how your sales team does business and how you manage your team, take a minute to consider some of these dealer car manager tools that have proven track records of success.

For the best auto dealer: car manager website plugins, apps, and tools

ADP

Bottom line: your employees won’t work for free, but do you have the resources to hire an entire HR and payroll staff? ADP can help you manage all of your dealership payroll, taxes, human resources, and benefits needs. Best yet, it integrates directly with your AutoRaptor system.

Hootsuite

It’s a given that your dealership should have a presence on all of the social media websites and apps like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Managing all of those pages, however, can get exhausting. Hootsuite allows you to manage your social media all in one place — that includes scheduling posts, engaging with followers, “listening” to what people are saying about your dealership and even in-depth analytics that show you how well your social media efforts are being received.

WP Email Capture

Capturing customer e-mails is essential and WP Email Capture provides a double opt-in that allows you to create a robust list for your e-mail marketing. The premium version lets you track site visitors, send an auto-responder e-mail after sign-up, create multiple lists, and add custom fields.

Slack

This messaging app is the ultimate in team communication. You can organize team conversations in open channels and private channels and reach out to colleagues directly via direct messages. It’s also easy to drag, drop, and share all types of files with anyone you want. Every conversation is also automatically indexed, so you can search the archive if you ever need to go back for information or a file.

QuikCoupon

QuikCoupon allows you to quickly and easily create custom coupons for your dealership that can be e-mailed out to customers, posted on your website, or shared on social media. Of course, you can also print the coupons and hand them out in the dealership as well. QuickCoupon also includes a QR Code Generator.

WP Fast Cache

40% of people abandon a website that takes longer than 3 seconds to load. Auto dealership websites are notoriously slow due to the number of photos and graphics featured on the sites.

WP Fast Cache is a plugin that will boost your website loading speed, creating a more enjoyable experience for potential customers (and hopefully, more money in your pocket).

Wix

If you want to try your hand at putting together your own dealership website, consider trying Wix, which has a pre-made template for dealers. It’s free to get started, but premium plans are available if you’re looking for more support, storage, bandwidth, and analytics.

AutoStar Solutions

Are you looking for dealership management software that also includes loan servicing software? AutoStar Solutions is the perfect tool for you. From boarding loans, to accounting, collections, and even inventory management, AutoStar will meet your needs. Here’s some great news: your AutoStar system will integrate with AutoRaptor.

AutoRaptor

When you’re an auto dealer, car manager tools can help you run a better business. AutoRaptor is the perfect CRM system for dealerships. We provide an application for managing your sales team and potential customers. Let us help you automate your processes.

Just remember, you aren’t always going to be at your desk when you need AutoRaptor — so don’t forget to download the mobile app.

A little research is worth your time

Technology is always evolving, and as a dealer car manager, it’s your job to stay on top of it. Yes, it can be overwhelming — but with a little bit of regular research every week (or even month), you can stay on top of the trends and ensure your team is set up for success.

The post 9 Great Dealer Car Manager Tools, Website Plugins, and Apps appeared first on AutoRaptor CRM.

Selling cars can be tricky, and the competition can be brutal. No matter how good you are at your job, it seems there’s always someone a step ahead, but that doesn’t need to be the case. By utilizing specific car dealer tools, you can take much of the stress out of car sales, allowing you to focus more on your customers and less on your bottom line.

Of course, the bottom line is important, too. That’s precisely why we’re recommending these car dealer tools; so that your sales won’t suffer, and neither will you.

If this post-pandemic world has you scratching your head about increasing your car sales, then these tools are definitely for you. Check out our list and put some of them into practice. We’re sure you’ll see the results that you’re looking for.

Car Dealer Tools You Can Start Using Today

Used Car Dealership Automotive CRM

Used car dealership and automotive CRMs like AutoRaptor takes a lot of work out of the car-selling process. A CRM will help you keep track of your customers and maintain profiles for each one, making sales a lot easier. You can automate tasks like email follow-up and appointment reminders and manage inventory, among so many other things. If you’re not using an automotive CRM, you’re missing out on one of the most helpful car dealer tools.

Vehicle Pricing Tool

Take the guesswork out of pricing your vehicles by getting a tool that will do it for you. Estimating vehicle prices is a pretty extreme gamble as you could either short yourself or on the flip side, you might fall behind the competition. Vehicle pricing tools use actual sales and marketing data to give you an accurate price model for just about any vehicle. It may be the second most important of car dealer tools available today.

Text Communications

People love text messaging. They love it so much that it’s becoming a preferred method of communication—even for car sales. If you don’t have texting capabilities, you may be missing out on leads or even existing clients that could convert to additional sales, especially if you’re only using traditional forms of outreach. Technology has taken over communication. Embrace it and use it to your advantage.

Updated Your Dealership Website

Like text messages, websites are essential car dealer tools that may be your first point of contact with a customer. For that reason, your website should be sleek and easy to navigate, with updated inventories and professional pictures of the vehicles you have for sale. If you use a blog, make sure it’s search engine optimized so that more traffic will come through your site, hopefully resulting in more sales. Another tip is to ensure that your website is optimized for mobile viewing since many people rely solely on their phones for website access.

Virtual Showrooms

In addition to an updated, professional website, car dealer tools allow you to create fully functioning virtual showrooms where people can view many vehicle details before they ever step foot on your lot. This is important, especially in the post-pandemic world where so much shopping behavior has gone online. People have not only adapted to the virtual world, but some of them prefer it, giving them the time and space to shop at their own pace without worrying about a salesperson asking lots of questions. Showcase your inventory this way, and you’ll find many customers coming in to make a purchase rather than just shopping around.

Online Chat

With so many people shopping online now, it’s a good idea to have a way to engage with them and answer their questions even if they haven’t come into the shop. A standard method is a virtual chat—a little dialogue box in the corner of the screen where customers can instant message sales reps in real time. But, again, many people have come to prefer the lower-stress setting of buying online, so it would behoove you to pivot if you haven’t already and use tools that can do exactly what you’ve been doing for years, only in a different way.

Social Media

Websites aren’t the only way to sell cars online. Social media platforms can be powerful car dealer tools that may open doors to more sales than you’d have otherwise. Use social media to engage with customers, advertise your business, and demonstrate what makes you the best. Facebook is probably the most commonly used, but Instagram is also great for car dealerships because you can showcase your inventory with pictures.

Car Dealer Tools Are Here To Help

Car dealer tools can help used car dealerships streamline their operations and improve their bottom line – sales. As discussed, these tools can range from automotive CRM software to inventory management systems to marketing automation platforms. These tools allow dealerships to manage customer relationships, track sales processes, monitor inventory, and automate marketing activities.

A good car dealer tool should be user-friendly, flexible, and customizable to meet the unique needs of each dealership. Choosing the right software and receiving adequate support and training is essential to get the most out of these tools. Appropriately used, car dealer tools can help dealerships achieve their goals, provide better customer service, and increase sales.

The post 7 Car Dealer Tools to Increase Sales appeared first on AutoRaptor CRM.

Fortunately, there has been no shortage on the innovation side to help car dealers adapt to the changing times. Sales teams and car dealership owners and managers must stay vigilant to the changes that digitization and the global pandemic continue to bring on them. One of the solutions that you should start looking into if you’re in the car dealership business is automotive CRM software providers.

The CRM Software Movement

So what is CRM software? A CRM or Customer Relationship Management system is a tool that helps a company or individual prospect, qualify leads, and then move them through a funnel that will turn them into customers. It’s also a great resource for customer service and after-sales. Some of the capabilities that CRM tools bring include:

• Sales and customer support automations
• Prospect mining
• Customer management
• Lead generation
• Text message marketing
• Sales analysis and reporting
• Email blasting
• Customization
• And so much more

The CRM software market is set to have a value of $128.97 billion by 2028 at a CAGR of 12.1%. Accordingly, it makes sense to start looking into CRM for car dealers in order to experience these features and the benefits they bring. With a CRM solution, car dealers can generate more prospects, move them more efficiently through a pipeline, and process transactions better to ensure customer satisfaction. 

Challenges CRM Software Can Help Car Dealerships With

You have to admit that these have not been the easiest of times to be a car dealer. Global car sales dropped from 74.9 million units to 63.8 million from 2019 to 2020. What are the challenges that car dealers now face and how can using CRM software solve that issue? Let’s look at some of the most common issues.

1. The new car supply bottlenecks

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a major slow-down on new car order shipments. Certain travel restrictions and lowered workforces in factories due to health protocols are some of the root problems that have affected this bottleneck. Accordingly, the whole supply chain has been affected by it and dealers are not exempt. There’s been a major change in car buying experiences since COVID. Because clients have to wait longer on their orders, sales have slowed down. Moreover, customers aren’t as happy now as they once were.

While the whole market for new cars is beyond our control, there are ways we can respond well. Using CRM tools to manage customer expectations and give them timely reports can be a big leap forward. Car dealer personnel can use a CRM’s contact management tool to send their waitlists timely feedback that will provide more peace of mind and confidence that the deal will push through. It certainly beats manual systems, where some clients fall through the cracks several times a year.

2. An increased demand for used cars

More car buyers are resorting to used cars nowadays because of two main reasons, either because of a restricted budget or the lack of new car inventory due to chip shortages. A lot of it depends on your customer base, your location, and what kind of vehicles the dealership normally sells.

Auto dealer CRM software can increase used car sales for your dealership even when your inventory is limited. Use the CRM software to review your customers’ wishlist vehicles, contact them via text or email if you have something close or better yet target those vehicles when you visit the auction. Using the CRM to follow up with customers on their request shows you care about their needs and can go a long way in creating the best impression.

3. Aftersales remains critical

Because people are traveling less in the hybrid work environment that many professionals have now adopted, servicing cars is not much of a priority. But there are other ways that car dealers can add value to existing customers. For one, sanitation and deep cleaning on vehicles seem to be at an added premium with the pandemic. Moreover, people are looking for ways to put preventive maintenance on issues caused by lower usage, such as moisture buildup, faded paint, gas tank breakdown and so on.

Car dealers can use CRM systems to track their customer’s history and provide more insight into when you should approach them for a tune-up and what kinds of issues their cars might face today. On top of using CRM tools, you can deploy ERP software solutions to make internal changes to service priorities should also help a company get on the right track in terms of aftersales.

4. Annoying prospects with irrelevant messages

Customers are getting smarter when it comes to the text messages and emails they receive from companies. Car sales in the digital age are nothing like it once was. More people know about promotional emails and spam messages than they did back in the early 2000s. So now, what car dealers need to do is personalize messages. The more relevant an upsell, the more likely prospects will turn into hot leads. 

Using some of the best CRM for auto dealerships to avoid the lazy text blasts should be one of a car sales team’s priorities in 2022 and beyond. Create niches and personas that your car dealership can service best. Then customize your message to respond to their pain points. If you’re targeting new families, what are the issues they face with a new car? What are their top priorities— safety, style, or fuel-efficiency? What’s their budget like? Using a CRM tool to personalize these campaigns will help increase your conversion rates. 

5. Changing customer behavior

When the markets change, it’s generally because people’s consumer behaviors change. That’s nothing new under the sun. People change all the time. As businesses, we need to be able to spot those changes and adjust accordingly. Here are just some of the many noticeable changes that your car dealership should know about. 

• Customers are making quicker decisions. That’s because speed is of the essence and people want things faster now. 

• Customers look for online channels. 7 out of 10 buyers are more likely to buy from a dealership if they’re able to start the process online. So the question now is whether your dealership has that capacity? At the bare minimum, a dealership should have social media channels— Facebook at the very least (and probably an Instagram account)— and an official website. There are some great car listing sites that you should be on too.
• Customers are becoming more mobile. 63% of consumers now use their mobile phones to compare car prices online.

Having an auto dealership CRM software integrates all the channels and platforms that your dealership has into one stream so that your sales and admin team can be ready to adjust to the fast-paced digital activities of your potential clients.

8. Fear is still a factor

Of course, there are still some people who are afraid of contact because of the COVID-19 situation. And because sales representatives should do their best to never leave anyone out, we need to have contactless sales tools for people who want to transact with lesser face-to-face interaction. A CRM tool can help make that happen by giving customers who want more health safety a channel to reach out to anytime from the comfort of their own homes. 

Selecting the Best CRM Software for the Job

So how do you select the best CRM for their car dealership? The best thing to do is determine what your needs are first and which of the pain points mentioned above you need to deal with. Check out various automotive CRM reviews and see what existing clients of CRM providers have to say about their experience with the tool. When you pick the right tool for the right job, you’ll be in a better position to grow in the coming years despite all the challenges and changes.

The post 9 Challenges Affecting Car Dealerships And How Implementing CRM Software Can Help You In Overcoming Them appeared first on AutoRaptor CRM.

If contactless auto sales are in your future, these essential tools will help you get there.

A few years ago, people would have laughed at the idea of contactless auto sales. There are test drives to be driven, sales prices to be negotiated, customers to build relationships with, and vehicles for showing off. The test drive alone makes the idea almost impossible. 

As you know, that’s not how it is today. Contactless auto sales are a real thing. Customers can “test drive” a number of cars thanks to car-sharing services like Zipcar and Turo. One major auto retailer offers a seven-day money-back guarantee. And all those negotiations and financing discussions are easy to manage with text, email, or video conferencing tools. 

There will always be buyers who want to come into the dealership in person. There is also a growing contingent of buyers who are happy to go through the entire process without leaving their homes. Here’s how you can keep up. 

8 Essential contactless auto sales tools you need right away

1. A robust, mobile-friendly website. This isn’t anything you haven’t heard, but if you want to succeed with contactless auto sales, you have to invest in your website. And every car on your lot needs a full set of pictures so your audience can see exactly what each vehicle has to offer. 

2. A powerful CRM. An automotive CRM is helpful for in-person and virtual auto sales. You can set up automatic emails, keep track of your to-do list, text customers, create a database for leads, set up your workflow, and manage leads and sales. And it just so happens that we have a recommendation for this. 

3. Skype, Facetime, Zoom, or some other live video chat. These tools can connect you with the customer to show them the car in real time without the need for them to come to the dealership. 

4. Edmunds.com. Regardless of your thoughts about Edmunds, you can bet that your customers are looking at the site to determine what they can expect to pay for a particular vehicle. Of course, that doesn’t mean you have to price a vehicle with that information, but it’s a good idea, especially in contactless auto sales, to understand what your customer is thinking. 

5. vAuto. vAuto offers inventory management tools and “real-time supply and demand data.” This contactless auto sales tool aims to help you price and appraise vehicles more accurately and locate nearby inventory.

6. 700Credit. 700Credit gives dealers the ability to pull credit scores, verify identification, offer pre-qualifications, and let customers apply for credit right on your website. 

7. CARFAX. You’re likely familiar with CARFAX and its vehicle history reports. Did you also know you can integrate CARFAX right into your website, so customers can click the link and view a vehicle’s history right from your site. 

8. DocuSign. Complete your deals with an electronic signature and agreement, thanks to DocuSign. And in case you’re wondering if an electronic signature is legally valid, here’s what DocuSign has on their website: “DocuSign eSignature complies with the U.S. ESIGN Act and UETA, as well as the EU eIDAS Regulation. We automatically generate and store a robust audit trail for every agreement.”

While these tools can all help you improve your digital sales, there are still a few details to attend to if you plan to create a genuinely contactless auto sales system. You will need some form of guarantee that assures customers that they can return the vehicle within a specified time frame if they are unhappy with the vehicle. It’s a giant leap to make such a huge purchase, and a satisfaction guarantee can help minimize the hesitation.

Lastly, you’ll need to deliver the vehicle. Whether you drive it to the buyer or have it delivered on a truck, one of the benefits of contactless auto sales for the buyer is the convenience of never needing to go to the dealership. 

Remember, too, that you don’t have to jump into digital sales all at once. You could test out the option to see how it works. And you will invariably hit a few potholes; that’s just part of the learning curve. Keep trying and find what works for you.

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Looking for better auto dealership email marketing features? Look no further! AutoRaptor has you covered.

In addition to the fantastic marketing capabilities already offered by AutoRaptor, we’re excited to announce some new auto dealership email marketing features you’ll find on our platform! Developed based on feedback from our dealers, we put together a very easy-to-use email marketing tool we call Target Marketing.

Target Marketing is essentially a way for you to reach out to specific audiences about new offerings without it sounding like you’re sending a broad email blast. For example, if people search for a certain kind of car and one comes in, you can email just those people based on the information stored in each up sheet. The best part is, you can do it all directly from the up sheet tab in AutoRaptor!

Let’s take a closer look at the auto dealership email marketing features you’ll find with this new tool, which we’re sure will lead to more happy customers.

New auto dealership email marketing features designed to help you succeed

1. Create templates in advance

While target marketing can be used to send effective plain text messages as well, one of the best features is the ability to create beautiful, professional templates in advance, which you can then use to reach a number of different customers who might be looking for or interested in the same things. At this time, only administrators can create new templates or edit existing ones. Still, non-admins can add a personalized message to a template so you can specifically target individuals in a customized way. You can also create draft templates and finish them later in case you need to make any finishing touches or last-minute changes. And of course, all templates can be edited by administrators at any time.

Some of the auto dealership email marketing features that the template editor offers include: dragging and dropping photos, adding text, adding video, adding social media buttons, and more!

2. Choose your audience

Using the different sub-tabs and filters in the up sheets section of the system, you can customize your audiences so that only the people you want to receive your communications will get them. No more blasts out to your entire mailing list! You can send out as many or as few targeted emails as you like depending on how many credits your company has. (The first 5,000 credits per month are free!)

3. All communications in one place

After you choose your template and customize your email, you can send it directly from the up sheets dashboard, and the responses will come right back to the same place! No more switching between programs to send and receive emails. This way, you’ll be able to keep track of your correspondence in a single place so you can streamline future follow-ups and other communications related to your campaigns.

4. Run reports

After you’ve started a campaign, you can measure its success through the reports function. Keep an eye on sent emails, the number and percent delivered, the open rate, how many have bounced back, and more. With this auto dealership email marketing feature, you can determine precisely how effective your campaigns are and make adjustments if you’re not satisfied with the results.

5. Leverage text messaging

One of the most exciting auto dealership email marketing functions offered through AutoRaptor is the ability to use Target Marketing with text messages instead of emails. That’s right; you can reach customers right away if you have their appropriate text contact information. With an average text response time of 90 seconds, you’ll know right away whether or not your efforts are making a difference, and hopefully, you’ll be able to close deals quicker and better develop trust with your audiences through these personalized messages.

6. Build deeper customer loyalty

Perhaps the best part about these changes to our auto dealership email marketing platform is that you’ll foster deeper, more reliable customer loyalty by engaging customers with personalized messages just for them. Customers will feel that you’re looking out for them and keeping their best interests in mind at all times, which means they’re much more likely to turn to you when they’re ready to buy or when they have questions about particular vehicles or any other part of the buying process. Everybody wins!

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As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, more dealerships are looking to automotive CRM systems to help sell more cars without ever meeting in person.

For businesses that have been allowed to reopen, contactless customer service has become the new trend, and it’s truly coming into its own. But for the car industry, contactless is more challenging than it sounds. Customers spending so much money on a purchase typically want the in-person experience to build rapport with salespeople, test-drive the vehicle, understand the available features, and more. While automotive CRM systems can’t replace the face-to-face buying experience, they can help streamline your business with the goal of contactless sales in mind.

Whether you’re new to automotive CRM systems or you’re looking for one that better meets your needs, it’s imperative in today’s climate that business owners look to available technology to help them stay ahead of the curve and sell as many cars as possible without sacrificing customer safety and satisfaction.

Going virtual with automotive CRM systems

According to Consumer Reports, online car-buying has typically made up 10-15% of all car sales. While there’s no measurement of how much that’s increased since COVID-19, a safe bet is, a lot. With businesses closing temporarily or working with skeleton crews, and more consumers conscious of the safety of conducting in-person transactions, the entire process of car-buying has been, at least for now, moved online.

So if customers are shopping online, it only makes sense that dealerships improve their digital offering. One side of this involves the customer shopping experience, but there’s also the business side to consider. How can car dealers enhance their digital offerings in ways that lead to contactless auto sales? Perhaps most importantly, what role can automotive CRM systems play in making that transition? Here are three ways car dealerships are adapting.

1. Working remotely with automotive CRM systems

For years now, success in auto sales meant using CRM systems, but today’s world calls for more. Because fewer people are buying cars in person, it can be challenging to attend to each customer’s needs.

One of the most significant benefits of automotive CRM systems is that they allow you to store and track customer information so that, however long the sales cycle takes, you can stay on top of each case with ease. With integrated text and email communications, these CRMs make it easy to keep in touch with leads without even picking up the phone.

You can also use CRM technology to do things like scan vehicle bar codes to collect accurate, mistake-free data about any given vehicle. You can then send that information to remote customers so they can make informed decisions about their purchases. This function was useful when people still came onto the lot to buy cars, but it’s essential now that so many people are buying online.

Whether you’re working from home or a quiet showroom, automotive CRM systems can help you do your job almost the same way you did before, perhaps even more efficiently, since everything you need about each sale is right at your fingertips.

2. Contactless contracts and compliance

If there’s no other reason to appreciate a CRM, how about the fact that it can make paperwork so much easier? Whether housed within the CRM or integrated with another system, this technology can help you put together relevant contracts for each sale, eliminating the need for any in-person signatures—something that was previously a stumbling block to online purchases.

(Note that some states still require in-person signatures on some contracts, especially those that have to do with financing a vehicle. Check your state and local regulations to ensure that you’re able to do this in your area.)

Even if your locale does require in-person signatures, automotive CRM systems can help keep these contactless by allowing a delivery team and a customer to complete the transaction entirely electronically. For the time being, many in-person requirements have been put on hold anyway, but even after the pandemic has passed, many people will likely still want contactless options until the world feels safe again.

3. Taking advantage of automated features

We all know there’s more to auto sales than the customer contact. But things like scheduling pick-ups, deliveries, or virtual appointments are a breeze to track with a CRM system. Use the integrated text and email functionality to automatically send reminders to customers to help keep the sales cycle moving and build customer rapport. With these parts of the sales cycle automated, you’re able to stay in constant contact with customers, keep them up to date on the process, and give them opportunities to ask questions without taking the time for a phone call.

By making the entire car-buying experience contactless from the first customer inquiry to the final ink on the page, automotive CRM systems are all but a necessity in the low-contact world we inhabit today. 

It just so happens that we know where you can get a fully-functional CRM system that’s designed especially for independent dealerships. With AutoRaptor’s easy-to-use and always accessible sales manager dashboard, there are no limits to what you can achieve both in the dealership and out. Call 1-888-421-6533 to schedule a demo today to learn more!

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