What's Missing In Auto Dealers' Lead Management
A robust CRM is one of the most vital components of successful dealership lead management, but as a standalone system, it’s just not enough. Sure, CRMs get the ball rolling by managing customer data, but their limited capabilities can cause your dealership to fall wildly short of consumer expectations and sink your ROI.
If you’re still relying on a traditional auto dealership CRM to manage customer relationships, streamline the sales process, and generate revenue, you’re leaving money on the table – but Strolid can change that. We support our automotive clients with AI-powered CRM integration to provide more comprehensive solutions that elevate the entire customer journey. Discover the hidden gaps in your dealership’s lead management – from data silos to slow follow-ups – and learn how Strolid can bridge them to skyrocket your sales.
CRM: A Crucial Tool but Not a Silver Bullet
Customer Relationship Management systems, as we know them today, were created in the 1980s. What started as a rudimentary form of database marketing has grown into a multifaceted method of identifying, capturing, qualifying, and nurturing leads. The trouble is that even with modern auto dealership CRM advancements, these platforms still can’t deliver the comprehensive, fast-paced customer experience that today’s shoppers expect.
Traditional CRM Pros
- Provides a centralized database for storing and organizing all car sales leads and information.
- Automates lead capture from web forms, emails, and phone calls.
- Tracks car sales leads’ activities and interactions throughout the sales pipeline.
- Segments contact lists based on demographics, behaviors, interests, and purchase histories.
- Offers reporting and analytics tools to track key lead-generation metrics.
Traditional CRM Cons
- Often delivers inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated lead data that hinders effective targeting and segmentation.
- Tends to rely on manual data entry and lead follow-up protocol, leading to reduced productivity, increased errors, and lost sales.
- Struggles to implement and maintain effective lead scoring models that accurately prioritize car sales leads.
- Becomes nearly impossible to scale as data volumes and user demands increase.
- Results in missed opportunities and a waste of time and resources on low-quality car sales leads.
PROVEN TRACK RECORD, EXCEPTIONAL RESULTS
Dealership Lead Management Gaps:
Examining Your Current CRM
Whether you’re already aware of the traditional CRM cons outlined above, or you’re here to discover where and how your auto dealership CRM is underperforming, don’t stress. Dealership lead management gaps are fixable, and you can right the ship particularly fast with an auto BDC team like Strolid by your side.
Take a moment to pull up your current CRM or think back on its capabilities, then explore these five common dealership lead management gaps to see if your CRM needs additional support in one or more areas.
Hidden Gap #1: Low Sales Team Adoption
You've likely invested thousands of dollars into your auto dealership CRM and spent countless hours training your staff to use it – but do they? No matter how powerful your system, it's only helpful if your sales team integrates it into their daily routine. Clues that your salespeople aren't utilizing your CRM might be their over-reliance on sticky notes, spreadsheets, and emails to create reports and track customers. You can attempt to bridge this dealership lead management gap by retraining your staff, but this may not solve the problem.
Hidden Gap #2: Stale Data and Inaccurate Information
To add insult to injury, unused CRMs can turn stale. With repeated disuse, CRM data and customer contact information become outdated, reports turn inaccurate, and your sales team may lose trust in the CRM system altogether. A vicious cycle ensues, and the only way to fix it is through painstaking data auditing, cleansing, and enrichment. You'll be able to spot stale CRM data if your dealership consistently experiences high email bounce rates, unresponsive or slow-to-respond car sales leads, duplicate records, discrepancies in reports or revenue, or an inability to meet forecasted sales goals.
Hidden Gap #3: Data Silos and Integration Shortfalls
At its core, a CRM should be your dealership's one source of truth that contains all your relevant customer data. However, traditional CRMs tend to trap information, or "silo" it, into multiple systems. Data silos can occur if your CRM isn't properly integrated with marketing automations, accounting software, or e-commerce platforms, or if individual departments within your dealership prefer to use their own tools rather than your CRM integration. If you notice different departments reporting varied figures for the same metrics, redundant data, or inconsistent data-sharing between various teams, you likely have a CRM data silo.
Hidden Gap #4: Slow Lead Response Time
Creating a positive customer experience starts with a quick lead follow-up time, but if your CRM relies on manual follow-ups, your sales team likely isn't keeping up. Today's customers expect a lead follow-up – either via phone, email, chatbot, or social platform – within five minutes, and most certainly within 24 hours. Any delay longer than five minutes can result in lost interest, and a multi-day lag can cause a customer to walk away forever. Conversely, recent studies by the mortgage industry software company Velocify note that calling a lead within one minute of their inquiry can increase conversions by a shocking 391%.
Hidden Gap #5: Lack of Personalized Engagement
If your CRM is running on outdated or inaccurate data, it's probably also sending out generic messages that make customers feel like a number on your sales sheet. When properly implemented, your CRM integration should contain customer preferences, purchase histories, and a deep understanding of customers' needs. If your CRM fails to provide this holistic perspective of each lead, you'll have a difficult time fostering strong customer relationships or increasing sales.
Closing the Gaps: Tangible Steps To Improve Dealership Lead Management
If your current CRM has hidden gaps, it’s time to make some changes. After all, customers are counting on you to provide first-rate service. You can begin to close your most glaring CRM gaps today in one of three ways: follow the steps below to attempt to rework your existing CRM, review our BDC best practices for auto dealers, or reach out to Strolid for a free consultation.
DIY Steps Toward Improved CRM Integration
Set new CRM goals for your sales, service, and outbound communications.
Retrain internal teams to highlight the importance of whole-dealership CRM adoption.
Audit your CRM to remove outdated information, then enrich it with current data.
Consider the role and future of AI for car dealerships and how your store could get on board.
PROVEN TRACK RECORD, EXCEPTIONAL RESULTS
The Strolid Solution: AI-Powered CRM for the Best Customer Experience
In all likelihood, the do-it-yourself approach to improving your dealership lead management just isn’t feasible. Sales teams are already overburdened with responsibilities, so if handing this problem over to an experienced automotive BDC professional sounds like the best path for your dealership, leverage our outsourced BDC services to meet your specific needs.
Our CRM integration platform all but guarantees sales process improvement. Strolid solutions can virtualize every piece of customer data, eliminate silos, and shrink lead follow-up times. Dive deeper into the ways our BDC professionals deliver these results in our Understanding the Customer Experience in Automotive guide, or browse our proven offerings now:
In-Depth Assessment:
Strolid examines your current operations to pinpoint inefficiencies and uncover hidden growth opportunities.
Complete CRM Strategy
We implement CRM structures that provide your dealership with a complete solution and 100% transparency.
Seamless CRM Integration
Our platform fits effortlessly into your existing workflow for minimal disruption and quick results.
AI-Powered Solutions
We've created a robust, AI-driven web app that places real-time performance tracking, deep conversational insights, and automated intelligence at your fingertips.
100% Lead Follow-Up
The Strolid TO Tracker offers a 100% lead follow-up rate, plus real-time visibility into sales team performance.
Personalized Support
Not only can Strolid create a customized solution to meet your performance and profit goals, but we can also supply your dealership with a team of advisors and 24/7 proactive lead follow-ups and appointment scheduling.
Zero Training Headaches
Strolid management and training staff are responsible for recruiting, hiring, and training, so you'll receive the highest quality service at a 72% lower cost than relying on in-house BDC employees.
Agile Scalability
As your leads and market share increase, our BDC model pivots instantly to meet your growth.
Unmatched Communication
Our deep CRM integration logs every customer interaction so you can check in on customers and Strolid employees at any point.
Schedule Your Complimentary Call With Strolid Today
Strolid offers complimentary calls and a website full of automotive BDC insights, along with detailed examination of the benefits and risks of chasing new leads vs. focusing on current leads. We’d love to help you optimize your lead management.
Our website also contains helpful overviews of how BDC agents handle automotive leads to better understand what you’ll gain by hiring us as your partner. Call or click to schedule a complimentary call today, and we’ll customize a lead management solution together.
Handling The HEAT Since 1987
FAQ
ask us
anything
How fast should an auto dealer team respond to a new lead?
After years of experience and expertise, Strolid experts recommend that a lead follow-up should occur within one minute of a customer inquiry for best results, or within five minutes to maintain customer interest. A lead follow-up time of 24 hours is generally acceptable but often results in lost sales, and any delay longer than 24 hours plummets customer conversions even further.
Can auto BDC fill in CRM gaps?
Yes, a robust, comprehensive automotive BDC partner like Strolid can assess any operational inefficiencies within your dealership’s current CRM, help you create new goals, tailor their solutions to meet these goals, and remove stress and lead follow-up burdens from your internal sales teams. They’ll scale at a moment’s notice and can ultimately result in a more positive customer experience and massive sales process improvement.
What should customers expect regarding their data security when interacting with an automotive BDC?
Customers should expect their automotive BDC security partner to follow all customer information protection best practices and compliance guidelines. BDC partners should also provide transparent service that allows you to see, read, and listen to customers and Strolid employees. Request information about data encryption protocols and regular security audits to make sure client data will be protected and that all regulatory compliance rules are followed, including the FTC Safeguards Rule