This week, hot-off-the press, we’ve got the 2016 U.S. Women’s Car Dealership Report, showing how progressive car dealerships make a difference in the experiences of women and families. This national report shows what is important to women when shopping, buying and servicing their vehicles.

The information in this report is drawn from over 4,000 women’s reviews and opt-in surveys. Using the reviews, Women-Drivers.com generates a Women Satisfaction Index® (WSI Score),…

It’s getting more difficult to earn and keep loyal customers. Consumers these days have so many choices for their shopping needs that it only takes that deep discount, or shiny bauble, to lure them to your competition.

As businesses scramble to create positive customer experiences by ensuring superior customer service, consumers increasingly realize they are…

In the decades I’ve been in the automotive industry, I’ve rarely seen a dealerships compete on anything other than price.  After all, it’s pretty easy to compare pricing, especially with the advent of the internet.  Today, more than ever, the consumer has the ability to shop faster, further and with all the tools that strip leverage away from the dealership.  Frankly, we’ve…

Give Dealership Professionals the Tools They Need to Succeed

You’ve worked hard to ensure you have the best professionals in the business working at your dealership, so it makes sense that you’ll continue working hard to give them the edge they need when it comes to connecting with shoppers, creating relationships, and boosting sales.  But things move quickly…

Albany, N.Y. – February 1st, 2016 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (http://www.automate.com) today announced the integration of its dealership management system (DMS) with Scan123's electronic document management system. Auto dealerships using Scan123's solution can now store documents in, and retrieve documents from, Auto/Mate's Automotive Productivity Management Suite (AMPS) DMS. The…

Social media has many advantages in today’s digital world. And, leveraging these social media accounts and platforms through employees enables your dealership to reach local customers through the networks of these employees.

Many salespeople use social media to promote themselves and increase awareness of their dealership, so as to attract customers and…

What’s the most time-consuming part of making a sale? More often than not, it’s the paperwork: dragging the customer inside to input information…involving sales managers who are stuck in their offices desking deals...getting trade-in information down on paper to input into the appraisal tool, which is back in the office, and so on.

Sound familiar?  There…

One of the biggest issues facing dealerships in the sales process is compliance. There are a number of pitfalls dealers face. Many of these have to do with “transparency.” This basically means being certain the dealership personnel treat everyone the same -- especially when matching them up with the correct financing. Finance reserves are a hot topic right now between NADA…

An undeniable shift is happening in our industry. One that will change how we operate forever. It’s all about delivering on the customer experience with a true online buying process. AutoNation saw it. And, Carvana, Beepi and other start-ups are gaining traction. In addition, other vendors within our industry have built platforms that allow dealers to facilitate this type of…

What’s New & What’s Staying the Same in 2016 

Each year there are shifts and updates in social media. One minute, a platform is the hottest new thing around, and the next, it’s been deleted off everyone’s smartphones and a new one’s taken its place.  In 2016, it’s important your dealership stay on top of the latest trends and consumer insights in order to…

Dec 23 was a sad day, indeed. A young man driving a 2001 Honda Accord was killed in an accident when his recalled Takata airbag shattered and he was fatally injured. Honda had previously made two attempts to contact and inform the original…

Today, technology must create a customer journey that allows a consumer to buy online, or start online, and pick up right where they left off in the showroom. The technology exists to accomplish this. Proof of that is right in front of our eyes in the Carvanas, Beepis, Vrooms and other such companies. They’re already leveraging technology to take sales away from dealers.…

News for the Week of 12.30 

Google 360-Degree Storytelling on YouTube

Storytelling is BIG and YouTube doesn't plan on missing out. Google Spotlight Stories are now available for select Android users on the YouTube app, bringing an in-the-moment, virtual reality feature to users. Now,…

Earning customer loyalty in today’s society is especially tricky. As almost every retailer now has a loyalty program, it’s difficult to stand out and make your customer truly feel special and appreciated. Earning loyalty isn’t simply about giving something away. It’s about creating and nurturing a relationship that builds a brand advocate who will continue to patronize your…

An interesting study conducted by MaritzCX and published on CustomerThink relays how dealers should care about – and invest in – the creation of a better customer experience in their stores.

While customer experience can be vague, and in the past has mostly been measured through surveys and…

A recent article in Automotive News highlighted a start-up seeking to help dealers offer loaner cars and delivery/pick-up services without the additional expense of staff. RedCap Automotive Technology is a concierge service that provides drivers in…

In the 2015 NADA Workforce Study, one of the most shocking statistics to me was that only 33% of all sales consultants hired reached their three-year service anniversary; which means that 67% of sales consultants that were hired quit within the first three years.

The high turnover rate among car salespeople as a whole leads many dealers to shake their heads…

ALBANY, N.Y. – December 15th, 2015 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (http://www.automate.com) announced today that it has recently integrated its dealership management system (DMS) software with CRMSuite. Dealers using both Auto/Mate and CRMSuite will benefit from the increased business intelligence that the DMS and CRM deliver via real-time data exchanges between the systems.

“Our Open/Mate integration program is very inexpensive…

In dealing with the customer experience, all too often the conversation centers on the customer’s buying path from initial contact through the sale. What many businesses don’t think about, however, is that the sale is only the start of the relationship. Customer loyalty is built through a consistent customer-centric experience. In the retail automotive space, this is more…