A dealership management system is a bundled software suite that allows auto dealers to monitor their business operations more efficiently and see the big picture.
Streamlined Operations
For most dealers, the Dealer Management System (DMS) is the brains of the dealership. It’s a complex system that touches nearly every aspect of the business, including inventory, sales, service, parts, accounting, and finance. It takes a lot of time and effort to keep track of records manually, especially when dealing with large volumes of information. A DMS makes the record-keeping and data-management process much more efficient. It’s easy to cross-reference data and identify opportunities or areas of improvement. A DMS also allows dealerships to streamline operations by integrating different software tools. This will enable them to manage customer interactions better, and it helps improve the efficiency of their employees. For example, a CRM system in the DMS allows dealers to track customer connections and interactions. It can help them provide individualized service, which leads to greater customer satisfaction and loyalty. Additionally, DMS systems can allow dealers to use text messaging to communicate with customers.
Increased Customer Satisfaction
Integrated dealer systems offer various solutions to help you streamline communication between your team and your customers. The latest solutions provide a line of two-way communication between your service department and your customer, all while aligning route sheets, job priority, quotes, photos, and SMS communication in one customizable space that is unique to you. Whether your team is in the office or the field, an integrated dealer system will allow you to keep everyone connected with 24/7 access. Dealerships can cut costs using unified communications by moving all their calls over an IP network rather than traditional circuit-switch lines. An integrated dealer system also increases sales productivity and improves customer satisfaction. With a fully automated workflow, you can create an efficient and profitable process for your salespeople based on data recorded in the CRM, inventory tool, and DMS.
Increased Efficiency
Rather than having different systems for each department, an integrated dealer system allows you to manage all dealership operations from a single platform. This eliminates the time lost trying to track down information from a separate location and improves communication between departments. Having all your dealership’s daily tasks in one place also helps you automate many of them and create a more streamlined customer process. For example, a sales team can easily pull up point-of-sale invoices or customer credit reports from their tablets without asking a manager. Keeping accurate records and ensuring the proper follow-up of prospects is essential to business success. An integrated dealer system makes it easier to stay on top of these tasks and increase profits.
Increased Profits
As traditional car dealership profit margins shrink, dealers must be agile and find new ways to generate revenue. That’s why a dealer management system that combines multiple software tools on one platform can be valuable. A unified DMS can help you manage sales and service operations, track leads, and make more informed marketing decisions. An integrated DMS can also include a suitable communications system that allows dealership staff to communicate with customers on their preferred channels. This can reduce overhead and labor costs by allowing dealerships to route calls over the Internet instead of using circuit-switched lines. In addition, a cloud-based communication platform will enable dealerships to eliminate expensive per-minute calling rates and lower data storage costs. For example, many dealerships incorporate text messaging into their customer communication strategies. This allows customers to send a quick message through your business number and be instantly connected with a representative. This type of interaction can be highly effective in boosting customer satisfaction and retention, and it’s becoming a popular way to communicate with consumers.
Increased Security
It is often difficult for auto dealers to switch systems because they rely heavily on their Dealer Management System (DMS). It is the central brain of the dealership, touching every department, including sales, service, parts, and accounting. Using an integrated dealer system that includes an auto CRM allows your salespeople to focus on delivering a great customer experience, boosting overall dealership revenue. This helps ensure that customers are happy with their car-buying experience and creates lifelong customers for your dealership. Dealerships can also improve security by upgrading to a newer technology like SD-WAN. This technology uses multiple high-speed Internet connections to connect the dealer enterprise efficiently, resiliently, and with an eye toward business outcomes. This allows dealerships to access any dealer enterprise location, all data center-located applications and data, and all cloud applications. This increases uptime and connectivity, allowing dealerships to grow their businesses confidently. Then they can focus on attracting customers, expanding operations, and creating more jobs. This is why more and more auto dealers are upgrading their technology tools to an integrated dealer system.
