By Cruz Lena
When it comes to retail automotive business, customer relationship management might sound to be a bit trickier aspect at first. Moreover, if CRM isn’t handled well, it may even result in loss of sales as well as services.
Well, technology has made everything easier these days. With the help of right CRM tool or package from the right CRM dealer, much of the follow-up correspondence that is sent to consumers can be done automatically and electronically. CRM tools have the ability to compile to-do lists for the e-mails, phone calls, and letters that should be completed and track those points of contact.
However, even with CRM tool of any kind, if different staff members and departments are responsible for different CRM duties, it might be difficult to decide if the tasks are completed or not. So, taking proper control of your CRM is necessary to make sure you get the most out of it.
Staying on track with the help of CRM
Customer relationship management in dealership can never be static. In fact, it must always be modified and tweaked to get maximum benefits out of it. Even the dealers that have processes defined in place and are tracking salespeople’s’ activities may still find some shortcomings in their overall CRM practices.
Just by having CRM tool regardless whether it is an online application or complete software doesn’t ensure that all CRM tasks will be taken care of well. However, there are some principles that remain constant and must be kept in mind while reviewing CRM practices.
One of the major principles is Commitment. You first establish a plan, and then a process and you finally commit to it. Now it is turn to track those results. While you might need to change some procedures or processes, you can either commit or you don’t.
Another constant principle of CRM is buy-in. Once you realize the importance and value of a customer not only as a mere customer, but someone who is going to refer family and friends and have great influence over online customers, there are great chances of you to get more buy-in.
One-on-ones especially with the salespeople are very important to maintain good CRM. Training them for this tool and making them understand that there are needs that should be met in terms of the customer contact will definitely help in ensuring accountability.
Automation alone is never enough. Planning well ahead of time and by ensuring that everybody is accountable for their tasks is equally important.
