CRM, ILM, Chat, Desking, Emails, Phone, SMS

A dealership struggles with low email collection rates across sales and service departments and seeks practical solutions. Recommendations range from implementing incentive-based kiosks and accountability measures (with financial penalties for missed collections) to leveraging email append services, with emphasis on staff training and immediate follow-up nurture campaigns to validate collected addresses. The core debate centers on whether email collection should be driven through positive reinforcement and education about ROI versus stricter enforcement tied to compensation.

A Honda dealership owner shares enthusiasm about the upcoming 2012 Civic launch, highlighting its impressive 40 MPG highway rating and the planned expansion of the Natural Gas Civic GX to all US states, with supporting links to concept photos and news articles. Other dealers express genuine excitement about the vehicle's design and Honda's manufacturing philosophy. The thread reflects positive dealer sentiment about the new model's market potential, though no significant business discussion or strategic insights emerge beyond appreciation for the product itself.

Alex Jefferson is offering free mystery shopping services to automotive dealerships to evaluate their internet department phone and email responses, with the goal of using real case studies in a Digital Dealer 10 presentation comparing what dealers think is happening, what's actually happening, and what should be happening. One dealer expressed interest but asked to postpone participation due to simultaneous website relaunches and process implementations scheduled for March 1st. The thread highlights an opportunity for dealers to receive honest, actionable feedback on their digital customer engagement processes with guaranteed confidentiality.

• Locked

# Summary A dealer asked about CRM tools offering bi-directional SMS texting with customers and prospects. VinSolutions emerged as the primary solution discussed, offering integrated two-way texting that logs all messages to customer records, starting at $30/month plus per-text fees, while CRM Text Solutions was mentioned as another option with delivery assurance capabilities. The thread was closed by a moderator who identified the original poster as working for a competing CRM vendor and characterized the inquiry as promotional bait.

# Summary A dealer seeking newsletter solutions asked for alternatives to Constant Contact, receiving recommendations for multiple platforms including MailChimp, IMN (iMakeNews), Sensible Driver, Streamsend, 3 Birds Marketing, and Aweber. The thread reveals a spectrum of options: complete all-in-one solutions with pre-built templates and support (IMN, Sensible Driver, 3 Birds Marketing) versus simpler, more affordable self-serve platforms (MailChimp, Aweber), with general consensus that MailChimp offers the best delivery rates and value for basic needs. The key insight is that dealerships should prioritize their budget and technical comfort level, as industry-specific solutions provide more support and features but at higher cost, while general platforms require more hands-on work but are cheaper.

# Summary A dealership manager seeking comprehensive BDC/internet sales training and processes receives recommendations for consultants and actionable advice on prioritizing phone skills training, CRM system implementation, and proper team management. Key insights emphasize that strategy, people, and process matter more than technology alone, and that success requires a committed CRM leader who enforces adoption across the organization rather than constantly switching platforms.

A dealer asks about CRM functions to automatically match incoming inventory with interested leads and send templated emails to multiple customers. The community identifies that the dealer's current CRM—bundled with their website provider—lacks basic features like vehicle-searchable leads and email functionality, and recommends either upgrading to a dedicated ILM (Inventory Lead Management) solution like VinSolutions or AVV, or consolidating their two existing CRM systems with proper staff training and vendor support.

Jason Walter seeks recommendations for a new CRM system to replace his current provider, having demoed DealerSocket, VinSolutions, and iMagic. Community feedback reveals mixed experiences with DealerSocket (both praise and criticism regarding mobile capabilities and reporting), strong endorsements for VinSolutions' comprehensive features and customer support, and a cautionary note about iMagic's recent reliability issues. Jason ultimately selects VinSolutions based on the breadth of functionality and support infrastructure it offers for internet lead management and showroom control.

Dealership managers across the U.S. share January 2011 sales performance updates, with many citing weather disruptions (particularly heavy snow in the Northeast) and lack of promotional incentives as headwinds. While most dealers report struggling to meet targets—particularly Honda dealers facing a non-promotional month—a few bright spots emerge, including one Ford dealer significantly outperforming regional competitors and another Toyota dealer benefiting from unexpected Saab sales. The overall sentiment is cautious, with soft lead counts and mediocre-to-struggling performance being the norm, though a handful of dealers managed to exceed targets despite challenging conditions.

# Summary A dealer struggled to get Edmunds support to address missing inventory listings and account issues, initially receiving vague responses since the dealership wasn't a paying customer. After posting about the problem on DealerRefresh, another member connected him with contacts at Edmunds, which prompted an actual response from the company. Within three weeks, Edmunds resolved all issues and the dealership became properly listed with full inventory visibility.

# Summary The thread discusses industry consolidation trends in automotive dealership technology, with participants debating whether vendors acquiring competitors actually benefits dealers by integrating disparate tools into cohesive platforms. While there was optimism about CRM and website providers consolidating services in 2010, the key insight is that vendor consolidation through acquisitions doesn't automatically translate to better dealer efficiency unless the acquired companies are properly integrated into a single, unified platform rather than remaining as separate tools.

A used-car-only Autotrader Premier dealer asks whether investing in Premier status for new vehicles is worthwhile, given they currently don't appear in new car searches. Matt Wise advises carefully weighing the $1,400 cost against alternative lead sources and competitor saturation, recommending they consider whether they have a unique value proposition beyond branding since Autotrader is primarily a used car portal.

Jerry Thibeau offers free mystery shopping services to dealerships, evaluating their phone intake and internet lead response processes with recorded calls and detailed feedback. One dealership confirms the service delivered valuable, actionable insights in under a day, and several others sign up for evaluations. The thread demonstrates strong community interest in this peer-review approach to benchmarking and improving sales processes.

# Summary eCarList announced its acquisition of DealerUps, a CRM provider, with the goal of integrating CRM capabilities into its vehicle merchandising platform to offer dealers a more comprehensive and cost-effective solution. The acquisition generated positive sentiment from the dealer community, with forum members expressing interest in how the combined technology would perform. The thread suggests the integration could strengthen eCarList's competitive position by bundling inventory management, websites, and CRM tools into a single platform.

# Summary NTIV10 raises frustration that most CRM vendors only support Internet Explorer and don't work with Mac browsers or iPad/iPhone, limiting mobility for tech-forward internet departments. Responses indicate that some CRMs like Dealersocket work partially in Safari/Firefox, one vendor hints at upcoming Mac/iPad support "soon," and mattwatson81's CRM tests across multiple browsers and could theoretically function on iPad, though the broader industry consensus is that iPad integration isn't yet a priority given the technology's newness and cost.

Jeff Kershner seeks user feedback on DealerTrack's Salesmaker desking solution, which the company plans to expand into a full CRM/ILM platform. The thread reveals that Salesmaker has very low dealer adoption rates, with minimal community response to inquiries about real-world usage or demos. No clear conclusions or insights emerge, as the thread appears to have stalled without substantive user experiences being shared.

# Summary A dealer recommends updating CRM off-hours email responses during Christmas weekend to include holiday-themed messaging, noting that personalized responses typically generate higher reply rates from customers. The post advises notifying sales staff about the change so they're prepared to discuss it with customers who reference the message. The suggestion garnered positive feedback from other dealers who implemented the recommendation.

Dealers discuss strategies for responding to customers who receive lowball quotes from competitors, with most recommending honest approaches rather than deception. Key tactics include the catchphrase "We've never lost a customer due to price," inviting customers to bring competing quotes in, and creating educational videos explaining pricing differences. The consensus is that transparency and confidence in value proposition work better than trying to discredit competitors' offers.

Dealers discuss their experience with CargigiAutos.com, a service that distributes inventory listings to Craigslist and other platforms for $395/month, with users reporting strong lead generation (42 email leads and 134 calls from 50 cars in one month) and closing deals when properly managed. Key concerns raised include the need for responsive staff to handle incoming calls, watermarking images to build perceived inventory size, and a critical warning that the service can create listings for vehicles that aren't actually yours, requiring dealers to monitor their brand closely via Google Alerts. The thread ends with confusion about whether CargigiAutos is the same service as or related to HomeNet, which remains unresolved.

# Summary The thread discusses emerging technology that would enable blind drivers to operate vehicles, with the original poster referencing research and articles about the development. Participants express skepticism about the safety and practicality of blind drivers on public roads, with one commenter questioning the effectiveness despite advancing technology, while another makes a humorous jab at generally poor driving habits.

A dealer principal seeks advice on implementing a test drive policy to ensure salespeople consistently conduct demos with customers. The discussion reveals tension between enforcement-based mandates ("do it or you're fired") and building genuine buy-in by helping salespeople understand why test drives increase rapport, customer commitment, and sales performance—with experienced contributors emphasizing that the latter approach yields better long-term results than policy threats alone.

A dealer inquires about www.pricequotes.com as a potential lead source after encountering a customer who obtained quotes from the site, asking whether other dealers use it and what costs are involved. The thread explores whether this is a viable lead generation platform for automotive dealerships. No resolution or consensus is indicated in the available content.