Today, dealers aren’t just up against the shop next door. They’re also competing with customer expectations to drive the same personalized, convenient experience that behemoths like Amazon, Domino’s and Uber deliver every day. Customers are busy. That we know. They don’t want to have to scroll through lengthy emails or take a phone call from your dealership when they could be receiving and sending text messages just as easily while on the go.
Nearly all U.S. adults today own a mobile phone, so it’s safe to assume the vast majority of your customers are sending and receiving texts. In fact, the average consumer uses three different messaging apps per week and sends three messages per hour. Messaging is also the number one preferred customer service channel for consumers in the U.S. — nine out of 10 consumers want to communicate with businesses via texting. Despite this clear demand, only 48 percent of businesses are equipped to connect with customers through messaging.
It is therefore critical that your dealership meet consumer expectations head on and invest in a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) provider that offers texting capabilities. By having your sales staff text exclusively through the CRM, your dealership can successfully track customer conversation history while also increasing accountability in the dealership. Not all CRMs are the same, however. Look for a provider that offers an intuitive, easy-to-use interface that lets you take photos and videos and share with customers, like VinSolutions Connect CRM.
Prior to the introduction of CRM photo and video texting capabilities, sales staff would use their personal devices to communicate with potential leads, often resulting in a customer’s personal information being stored in the salesperson’s personal device. This is a MAJOR compliance issue that puts the dealership at risk. Using a CRM’s texting capabilities ensures customer data stays in one, secure location, enabling your sales team to have a 360 view of the customer’s contact history. This helps your sales team provide the seamless experience that customers have come to expect even if the salesperson changes.
Having a secure, all-encompassing way of communicating with customers relieves a significant pain point for dealers. With the ability to log message history, managers can see where potential sales leads stand at all times. When used to the fullest, a CRM with photo and video texting capabilities not only helps improve relationships with customers and increases dealership security, but also boosts your business’ bottom line.
About the Author
Mark Vickery is senior director of performance management for VinSolutions.