Pub. 12 2014-2015 Issue 3

N E W J E R S E Y C O A L I T I O N O F A U T O M O T I V E R E T A I L E R S 13 new jersey auto retailer W W W . N J C A R . O R G In order to get your money’s worth from your DMS system, you need to get the service writers and technicians to buy into the process. A dealership’s CRMmust adapt to the way the dealer first meets a customer and continues to build a long-lasting relationship. If it does not, then start shopping for one that will. One other point about your CRM. It is for the present and future business. Too many ignore the features of their CRM to setup the next potential sale that might be three or four years away. Make Your Website Repesent You Recent studies have found that an average customer consults with over 18 sources before buying a car and 90% begin their search online. About two years ago, the landscape of Internet searches changed and dealer websites failed to change with it. We all know Google rules the world when it comes to search engines. Dealertrack bought Dealer.com and ADP/CDK bought Cobalt so how do you maximize your internet advertizing budget? Try and stay away from boiler plate pages and make your website unique. If thousands of GM, Toyota, or any other brand dealers all have the same templates for their models then none stand out. But if a dealer rewrites each page and adds his own name and thoughts about the vehicle then Google gives it a higher score. The smart dealers today are rewriting their dealership pages to add their style and improve their position when it comes to Google Analytics. One must keep in mind Google Analytics frequently changes the way you will be found so add somebody to your team who can keep up on the changes. DMS And The Dealership Service Department Many OEMs are focusing their efforts toward online schedul- ing, tablet PC's in the service drive and service sell-up software. The largest DMS providers have stepped forward with their own software solutions for the service department, in an effort to chip away at the well-established third party providers in this emerging market. According to one recent study, the average American household spent nearly $5,500 last year on gas ($2,200) and automotive expenses ($3,300), including dealership maintenance, service station fixes and body shop repairs. The dealership must offer service scheduling via the Internet. Service scheduling is a hot product and the consumers are linked to the cloud through in-dash systems or the internet. More and more service advisors are also using tablet PC's to walk around the car for both an inspection and to present vehicle-specific service menus. In order to get your money's worth from your DMS system, you need to get the service writers and technicians to buy into the process. Some systems are installed in a dealership and then abandoned after a couple of days because the implementation within the dealership was so poorly handled. These systems change the service culture of the dealership. Dealers need to prepare their people ahead of the install. Most dealerships fail to achieve more than 50% of the benefit because they process the customer in front of them but fail to find the time to properly sell up and follow up. All the systems offer these features but many dealerships can't get service advisers and technicians to stop and present the pictures and stories of needed repairs. To get the most out of your sales and service software both goals have to be met. First, deliver the car or service repair to the customer who is in your dealership today. Second, and equally important, create a system to sell the customer and their relatives and friends their next car and service. Paul Gillrie is founder of The Gillrie Institute, a leading consultant and advocate for automobile dealers in their quest to reduce technology expenses in their dealership. Paul can be reached toll free at 800.576.6959 or by email (paul@gillrie.com) .