Customer data as a competitive advantage: Why dealerships should take control

Rapid digitization.

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Evolving customer preferences.

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Shifting supply chains—have all disrupted traditional dealership models.

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But despite these changes, dealerships have a huge competitive advantage: customer data.

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In this post, we explore how dealerships can stay relevant and drive revenue and build strong, profitable relationships with their customer data. Keep reading to learn how to improve your online presence, tackle shrinking profit margins, and find out where to invest to deliver the seamless omnichannel experiences and quick turnarounds customers expect.

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Customer Data Ownership

Data has always been essential to providing exceptional experiences. But as customers up their interactions with dealerships across digital channels, the volume and variety of data has grown to epic proportions. But with great change comes great opportunities. Despite the challenges, the growth of digital platforms empowers dealerships to reach a wider audience, improve customer engagement, and streamline their operations.

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So why does customer data matter?

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Why should you seek to improve the way you use it?

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Salesforce lets you:

• Segment customers,
• Send hyper-personalized communications,
• and even predict customer behavior.

Knowing how customers interact with your dealership lets you tailor your services, craft relevant offers, and spend more time building relationships. Now that you know why customer data ownership matters, let’s look at three ways customer data benefits dealerships.

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1. Steering Personalized Customer Experience

Consider an example of an automotive dealership – let’s call them “BestAuto” – to illustrate how they used Salesforce and SaltClick to deliver personalized experiences. BestAuto, like many dealerships, used to follow a traditional approach where customers were treated more or less the same way. They had a generic sales process and a standard set of communication templates.

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While this worked to some extent in the past, BestAuto started noticing that their customer engagement and sales conversion rates were lagging behind their competitors. They also received feedback from customers about their interactions feeling impersonal and generic.

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Embracing personalization

Recognizing the need for personalization, BestAuto decided to implement Salesforce.

With Salesforce, BestAuto could create a comprehensive profile for each customer:

• Capture their interests,
• past purchases,
• service history,
• and communication preferences.

In addition, data could be collected from various touchpoints such as website visits, social media interactions, sales inquiries, and service appointments. Now, when a customer visits BestAuto’s website and shows interest in a particular model by visiting its page multiple times or requesting a quote, this information is directly captured in Salesforce. BestAuto’s sales team gets real-time notifications about these activities, so they can reach out to each customer with personalized messaging and offers.

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Where SaltClick comes in.

We help dealerships like BestAuto integrate Salesforce with their existing systems, automate data collection processes, and train their staff to use Salesforce tools effectively. Plus, we enable dealerships to understand Salesforce’s analytical tools for customer segmentation and personalized marketing.

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For example, dealerships can create customer segments based on purchase history, preferred car features, and service frequency for targeted marketing campaigns. As a result of these personalization efforts, BestAuto (and dealerships like it) can see a significant boost in customer engagement, sales conversions, and customer satisfaction scores.

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Why does personalization matter?

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Because tailored interactions make customers feel valued and understood.

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2. Targeted marketing campaigns for dealerships

Transitioning now from a theoretical scenario to a real-world customer success story, let’s look into the Salesforce project we executed for a leading automotive dealership. Despite its reputation as North America’s top-tier Ferrari dealership boasting locations in Beverly Hills, Westlake, South Bay, Silicon Valley, and Los Angeles, Mattioli Automotive Group (MAG) was not without its challenges.

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Overcoming data silos

MAG’s business operations were highly compartmentalized, impeding its sales and marketing efforts. This structure also obstructed their unique assembly of factory-certified Ferrari dealers from collaborating, sharing data, and delivering real-time KPIs to the executives across the entire group.

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Speeding up reporting

Assembling reports and analytics was a tedious process that often took days or weeks, integrating data from several systems into Excel files.

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Launching Salesforce Sales Cloud

SaltClick successfully deployed the Sales Cloud for five of MAG’s dealerships, giving their sales teams a 360-degree customer view. This empowered them to build enduring relationships and engage customers with the right message at the right time on the right channel.

Furthermore, Sales Cloud facilitated lead capturing from manufacturers and third-party platforms like Cars.com, Autotrader, and Hemmings.

Learn more: How to Make Your Auto Dealership’s Transition to Salesforce Easier

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3. Revving up customer loyalty

Fostering loyal customer relationships can be a game-changer in a world where the next dealership is just a click away. This loyalty stems from delivering quality vehicles and providing exceptional service at every stage of the purchase process. Customers expect a smooth and personalized experience. The more seamlessly you can meet their needs, the more likely they will return (and recommend your dealership to others).

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Exceptional customer service with Salesforce Service Cloud

Salesforce Service Cloud is a powerhouse tool that enhances the dealership customer service experience. Its features allow dealerships to provide efficient, personalized support that can help nurture rock-solid relationships.

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Service Cloud also provides a centralized platform for managing all customer interactions, ensuring no service request or question falls through the cracks. With comprehensive customer views and intelligent automation features, Service Cloud enables dealerships to deliver timely, tailored service that can significantly boost customer satisfaction.

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For instance, let’s take the transformation at MAG. Despite its prestigious status, MAG grappled with siloed business processes that created hurdles in delivering top-tier customer service. The integration of Salesforce Service Cloud revolutionized their customer service approach and fortified customer loyalty.

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Accelerating success with SaltClick

SaltClick was crucial in MAG’s successful transition to Salesforce Service Cloud. By implementing Service Cloud across their dealerships, SaltClick equipped their teams with a tool that enhanced their ability to offer unforgettable customer service.

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Integrating DMS

SaltClick also facilitates the integration between Salesforce and the Dealer Management System. The system combined information about deals, repair orders, and service appointments. It created a complete picture of each customer and automated communication, making service more personalized and efficient. Now, operating from a single Salesforce organization, MAG executives have real-time analytics from all their dealerships at their fingertips—accessible from a single dashboard. The comprehensive view and detailed understanding of each customer empowers sales, marketing, finance, and service departments to provide personalized customer experiences on a massive scale.

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Drive into the future with Salesforce and SaltClick

Navigating the competitive dealership industry requires more than just offering quality vehicles— it demands a commitment to exceptional customer service that fosters enduring loyalty. With Salesforce Service Cloud and the strategic guidance of SaltClick, dealerships like Mattioli Automotive Group can significantly enhance customer loyalty and satisfaction.

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