A lot of people can go through your dealership on any given day, both online and at your brick-and-mortar. When they do, they could be at any stage in the customer journey. Whether they’re checking out your store for the first time, or they’re considering trading in their RV for something new, every touch point is an opportunity to strengthen your relationship with a customer and drive more sales.
But if you’re not capturing and capitalizing on these touch points, many of those opportunities will fall through the cracks. That’s where leveraging a CRM (customer relationship management) system to automate data collection and customer communication can be invaluable — especially if that CRM is feeding information directly into your dealership management system (DMS).
Here is what a sales flow that leverages a CRM’s automation capabilities looks like.
Discovery Phase
When a customer inputs information on your website, this is an opportunity for your CRM to log that customer’s information in your DMS. Then, you can automate notifications to your sales team and assign that lead to a specific salesperson. Automating lead assignments ensures there is ownership for that lead at the get-go.
If a customer comes into your store, one of the first things your front desk or salesperson should do is log that customer’s information into the CRM to begin the process. Once a customer is in the system and assigned to a sales team member, you can follow that customer through the sales cycle.
Evaluation & Learning Phase
Once a customer has been interviewed, you can ensure they are matched with the best products to meet their needs. By using a CRM that integrates with your DMS, you can create a flow of information that enables automated functions like reviewing current inventory and inventory matching with the customer. Not only does this have the potential to save time for your sales team, but it also creates a better experience for your customers.
Purchase Phase
Strike while the iron is hot and use a CRM to create a sales quote on the spot, out on the floor. If the customer is ready to buy, you can quickly hand off the quote number and customer number to your business office.
But if the customer is not ready to buy yet, use your CRM to ensure the opportunity doesn’t fall by the wayside. Plan follow-up tasks based on how the interaction with the customer went and easily match new inventory to that customer based on their interest. Leverage your dealership’s tech ecosystem with an integrated marketing tool to automate email marketing messages to keep prospects interested.
Use & Want More Phase
Congratulations, you’ve made a sale! But the relationship with your customer shouldn’t end there. You have the opportunity to turn every sold customer into a repeat patron of your dealership. In the CRM, automate follow-up tasks and reminders for customers to share new products and services that customers may be interested in based on the data in their files. Equally importantly, you can assign sold customers to a salesperson to ensure ownership of the customer’s file moving forward.
Once you have a solid process in place for inputting and maintaining customer information in the CRM, it becomes easy to use that information to maintain communication touch points with customers at all stages of the buyer journey. Communication is the foundation of any strong relationship — with your customers and with your team.
Cliff Andrew, Product Manager, IDS
Why do you think SalesCRM Online is useful for dealers?
“Many CRMs out there will do roughly the same thing, but none of them were built specifically for the needs of the RV industry. SalesCRM Online allows dealers to leverage key customer interaction data from the IDS dealership management system, eliminating the need to maintain customer information in multiple places. This makes the handoff from department to department seamless and easy, creating a better customer experience and helping you to build long-term relationships.”
What pain points does the CRM address?
“Like all CRMs, SalesCRM Online helps dealerships sales teams sell more RVs. What sets IDS apart is its connection to the DMS, which provides a complete view of customer engagement and helps you desk deals faster. You just can’t do that as effectively with a CRM that is separate from your DMS.”
What can that dealer do to earn buy-in for this system from employees?
“Focus on how an integrated CRM can help them go from lead to sold customer faster, easier and with total visibility. Having centralized, detailed customer data will make their jobs easier and help them form long-lasting relationships with customers.”