Modern car buyers rarely follow a predictable path.
There are so many ways to find and interact with dealerships, that keeping track of potential customer movements is increasingly challenging.
Despite this, it’s vital that dealerships maximise their impact during every stage of the sales cycle, and this can only be done with the right system in place. And, by using a cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) system, your business will gain an invaluable understanding of the latest generation of car buyers.
If you’re yet to move to the cloud for sales and leads management operations within your dealership, we’ve got five reasons you’re missing out on more inquiries and confirmed orders than you perhaps realise.
1. Effortless implementation
Cloud CRM systems aren’t installed on your premises. Instead, they’re hosted on secure servers that are maintained by the provider. That means you don’t need costly on-site maintenance, and backups are taken care of by the provider.
It also means that the CRM can be implemented swiftly and without the need for costly server and networking infrastructure. Expanding your sales team, therefore, needn’t be hampered by system limitations or lack of budget.
2. Integrations that boost customer satisfaction
Customer satisfaction leads to ongoing customer engagement which, in turn, is the main revenue driver for your business. Cloud CRM systems benefit from integrations with services that help you engage and excite the new generation of car buyers like never before by bridging the gap between your digital presence and sales tools.
From email and SMS messages that keep them up-to-date with their test-drive appointments and purchase progress, to the ability to access a personalised mobile app or microsite dedicated to each enquiry, your customers will love the unrestricted view of the offer that’s on the table.
3. Customizable workflows to transform sales efficiency.
Adopting a next-generation automotive cloud CRM will help you reap the benefits of an efficient workflow approach by minimizing response time to leads, eliminating communication leaks and keeping every stage of the sales process on-track.
From an administration perspective, time consuming manual reporting will become a thing of the past thanks to automated customer visit reports generation and a bird’s eye view of the entire operation is gained, thanks to full monitoring and collaboration tools for managers that can be customised to meet the unique needs of the dealership.
Keep in mind there’s no one-size-fits-all sales workflow. Your cloud CRM should allow you to define detailed workflows, tailored per car make, model and market segment, based on the way you do business, and fine tune them to sit perfectly within your dealerships’ existing processes.
4. Mobility
The entire dealership’s sales performance in the palm of your hand; once a pipe dream, now a reality, thanks to cloud CRM.
Responsive web design has enabled these vital platforms to scale down to virtually any sized device. Sales reps can therefore free themselves from the confines of their desk and approach customers with tablet-based sales tools, while management staff can take their work offsite when tasks demand a quieter environment.
Painless navigation through the aforementioned workflow-based sales process on any device enables customer documentation to be immediately generated and collaboration between teams can happen anytime, anywhere.
5. Cutting-edge, always
Choose an automotive cloud CRM system that uses industry standard technology, and you’ll benefit from cutting-edge database design, security, reliability, extensibility and endless customisation potential.
This is why SAP technology is widely used in CRM today; it delivers super-fast speed for users and can scale effortlessly as you grow.
Cloud software also benefits from regular updates that are applied immediately and without the need for downtime, enabling your dealership to benefit from the latest innovations in CRM and sales and leads management, without any of the installation or maintenance headaches!
Wrapping up
Moving to a cloud-based CRM is a big step for dealerships who have deeply-embedded in-house systems, but with digital transformation changing how we do business at a rapid pace, it’s an investment that needs to be made.
Can your dealership really compete in the digital economy with an outdated CRM?
