Calendar Invite and SMS Reminder?

[DrewAment]

Sat in the corner at a CRM training session - where the CRM provider told the group that a "best practice" was to email the customer a calendar invite after setting the appointment and send them a reminder text the day before.

WAIT... WHAT??? Shouldn't "your" CRM send the calendar invite automatically when I set the appointment using "your" CRM? And do the "best practice" follow-up with texts to get the customer to show up? The trainer didn't like me much.

My doctors office and I think even my dentist...oh wait, and my windshield repair company, and ohh ya... my appliance repair guy too!! All do a version of the following:

1. Sends me a email/calendar invite/text the day I make the appointment.
2. Sends me a reminder text 3-5 days before appointment
3. Sends me a reminder text the day before the appointment

They are not doing it manually -- the CRM for the business is! Why are auto dealers left behind, and none of the CRMs are building into their programs/system the way they tell us to use?


Am I off base? Asking to much? Or shouldn't this be the norm in a DealershipCRM?

 

[Alex Snyder]

You aren't crazy @DrewAment. You're just expecting 20 year old technology (assuming it was one of the usual CRMs) to perform in a modern world. I'm hoping all the innovation holes that have and are being made by acquisitions will be filled in the next few years. We need the little guys to grow now!

 

[Jeff Kershner]

We use a platform in our service department that will communicate text, though most of it is manual but only because we chose it to be.

Most full CRM's in our industry are built on such antiquated platforms, good luck having a feature like this added.

My dentist sends me auto reminders all the time. I love it.