By Renee Doyle
I’ve heard, once you are in the auto industry you never really leave. Well I left but like many, it has pulled me back and after a 5-year hiatus, I’ve landed back with DealerMine CRM. The job is different, putting on my sales hat this time around, but it feels familiar all the same.
Reconnected with old colleagues and clients, with a refresher on our products and industry. This is where it started to feel very different, so many aspects of the industry have evolved in the past 5 years.
Here are some standout differences between the company and industry I left 5 years ago and today;
1) To begin with, I left a CRM and BDC company – I came back to a much larger organization now offering service lane technology, desking, F&I, DMS. I will need a little time to catch up on all this technology but initially I am so impressed with these advancements. The industry has embraced the digital age – no more paper appointment schedules that’s for sure.
2) Ringless Voice Drops – what is this magic driving service appointment bookings? At first, I was a bit of a skeptic – I was having déjà vu of robocalls telling me I won a cruise. To my surprise, consumers are very receptive, likely because they are less intrusive. The results speak for themselves – effective and inexpensive – and they have really helped offset staffing shortages through COVID.
3) Digital Retailing – seriously, I can buy a vehicle online now? Without ever stepping foot in a dealership? Sign me up. I reconnected with an old client and they were raving about Autovance’s MyDeal technology. First week it was live on the dealer’s website a consumer bought a vehicle on Sunday evening and picked it up Monday morning without ever speaking with the salesperson. Now that we are experiencing additional community restrictions, I’m not sure how dealers would survive without migrating online and virtually for vehicle sales.
4) BDC – I’ve always known the BDC to be a key driver to a dealer’s service business. I am not sure if it is COVID or the secret is out about BDC but we have a line up waiting to get into our BDC. Staffing has been an issue for some dealers through COVID but phone volumes are way up, BDC is more important than ever.
I’m happy to be back, it’s an exciting time in the industry.
