This article appeared in the March 2014 issue of Auto Success magazine.

If your dealership consistently receives higher-than-average CSI scores, you may believe that a good percentage of your customers are happy and therefore loyal. But you may be wrong. Customer satisfaction and customer loyalty are two completely different…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ALBANY, N.Y. – May 19th, 2014 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (http://www.automate.com) announced today that Five Star Dealerships, an auto group in Aberdeen, WA has transformed its culture to one of managerial empowerment and has increased productivity with the help of reporting and dashboard features in Auto/Mate's dealership management system (DMS).

"Any time you make a big change like…

Every year it seems that "hot topics" emerge in the automotive retail industry; this year much of the focus is on fixed ops and customer retention. Dealers spend a small fortune on websites and Internet marketing in order to capture customers; now they are realizing that an equal amount of resources and energy should be spent on servicing and keeping those customers.

If customer retention is the goal, keep in mind that true customer loyalty is achieved not by a product but by…

ALBANY, N.Y. – May 5th, 2014 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (www.automate.com) announced today that results from its Spring survey reveal that more than half of auto dealers have customer loyalty or rewards programs in their dealerships, and another 20 percent have plans to implement one soon or are "thinking about it." Additionally the dealers weighed in on what they believe are the top factors that contribute towards building a loyal customer…