Your CRM should be a protected environment for one on one communications with your contacts. Dealers are mass emailing contacts far too often, and it is ruining their customer data base.

Join Brian Pasch and special guest Bill Wittenmyer on Auto Marketing Now to learn why dealerships must change their email marketing strategy.

Dealers tend to spam inboxes towards the end of the month, and this severely hurts deliver-ability rates. Although there may be positive results, correct email policies must be implamented in order to continuously grow your sales channel using email.

Dealers need a fully integrated data base solution, and ELEAD CRM provides this. The CRM provides a true mobile experience with a digital retailing tool that can be placed directly on your site. You can also view customers’ alternate email addresses, sister stores, and much more all controlled by dealership management.

With countless log ins and tools, dealerships have become a graveyard of technology. Here are some of the tools which ELEAD CRM has integrated to provide a seamlessly dealership experience:

Email Blasts

You must take proactive measures to ensure deliverable emails and protect your transactional email channel, which is particularly difficult with email blasts. ELEAD has partnered with Salesforce.com to provide highly technical campaigns. These emails are also highly deliverable, optimizing your opportunity for success by protecting customers from spammy email blasts.

Mobile Worksheet

When dealers say “Let me go back to check with my manager” it causes a disconnect between you and the shopper. It not only gives the customer the opportunity to shop elsewhere on a mobile device, but is also timely.

To increase transparency and trust, and to save time ELEAD has integrated a mobile worksheet to allow the dealer to stay face-to-face with the shopper throughout the buying experience. The desk manager can control the deal and approve the terms remotely.

Proactive Portfolio Management

The Exchange Data Mining tool allows you to mine your customer data base and increase the lifetime value of each customer. Using this mining tool, dealers can plan out and prepare for the next 30, or even 90 days.

The auto industry is an instantaneous business and typically works around a monthly deadline. But by proactively managing your portfolio, you can maximize your long-term results.

ELEAD CRM functions to create a shorter showroom experience while optimizing your database. For more information, visit www.eleadcrm.com

Marketing Tip:

When someone submits a lead on your site, you should always use an auto-responder. This email should be free of graphics and links, and contain only text to ensure it makes it through the spam filters. You can say something like, “Thank you for your submission, our team will get in touch with you shortly. Is this the best number to reach you at XXX-XXX-XXXX?”

Asking a question in your auto-responder enables the consumer to respond, which increases the probability of your second email (which may contain graphics or links) making it through the spam filters.

You can check your email templates for spam triggers using a tool such as www.mail-tester.com. This will tell you if your sender is on any blacklists, if your image is out of balance, and much more.

Email Grab Bag Question:

“Should I include text options in my email communications with customers?”

Younger generations prefer text over other forms of communication. You should give consumers the option to text in your auto-responder. You can say something such as, “Is this the best number to reach out at XXX-XXX-XXXX? Would you prefer we carry out our conversation via text message or on a call?”

Be sure that your sales personnel are not texting from their personal mobile phones. Instead, use a compliant transaction texting solution that allows them to opt-in and give permission to receive your messages.

With all of the technology available, the auto industry must change their marketing strategies to adapt to today’s consumers. To ensure you are on top of the latest automotive marketing strategies, tune into Auto Marketing Now every week!

About the Author

PCG Digital Marketing is an award winning digital agency headquartered in Eatontown, NJ. We help our clients get found online through innovative search, social and online advertising campaigns.