LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY FOR SUCCESS
You, like many dealers, may now be selling more products that use technology to access a collection of knowledge. Precision farming tools and tractors equipped with remote diagnostic software are a couple examples. In a recent series of articles by Currie Management Consultants, “Technology for Profit,”George Russell says, “The products you sell and service are more technologically sophisticated, which means that the way you sell and service them must also match that level of sophistication.” This means that a progressive equipment dealer, like progressive farmers, should be using technology to access knowledge.
Get the Right Tools to Access Your Data
You own a wealth of information about your customers, such as history of their purchases and repairs that can be used to improve customer satisfaction. This data should be accessible through your business system and/or CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system. In ASPEN, Charter Software’s business system, the CRM is built-in into the software, eliminating the expense of buying and maintaining a separate system as well as any concerns about integration with your data. By putting your customer data, sales, quoting, and internal communications at your employees’ fingertips, a CRM will allow your staff to be more prepared to respond to customer questions and help them to foresee items customers may be interested in purchasing or need service.
At a Glance Information- the System Dashboard
Using ASPEN, your sales team can view and track the life cycles of sales, and prepare quotes, and easily access —and take action on this information from the system’s dashboard. By viewing this drill-able, high-level graphic representation of data, sales management can track sales confidence level, revisions, and sales won and lost reasons. Likewise, the service team gains ready access to open work orders and information to help expedite customer service, and the accounting team and dealership management can view information such as who is past due, cash on hand, in the bank etc.
Internal Communication Tools Speed Service and Customer Satisfaction
Internal communications tools, such as instant messaging or the ability to assign tasks to dealership staff are an important part of a CRM, as these functions both expedite your business communication and enhance the customer experience. In ASPEN, for example, users can send an instant message from most screens that allow their recipient to link directly to the relevant record or report right from the text of the message, so they can readily access information without the need to search for it. According to George Russell, many dealerships, especially large and/or multiple-location operations, struggle with internal communication. He says, “Using technology like instant messaging will not solve the entire problem, but with its ease and speed of use, it can minimize delays and enhance overall communications.”
Managers can use a CRM to assign and monitor the progress of the tasks they delegate. In some cases, tasks can be a part of Workflow, which is an automated task and transaction-creating process. As users complete their assigned task(s), they may continue the workflow by creating a follow-up task for themselves, another user or team. This is a great way to stay on top of processes in your dealership.
Mass Communications to Customers
E-mail and mass mail are more powerful features of a CRM to use to increase sales and service opportunities. The CRM allows you to target and segment the customers you want to reach by your specified criteria, such as the type of unit they own, their demographic area, product warranty date, etc., so you may customize e-mails to send to the desired customer base. These e-mails or any other types of mass communication such as a mailing are then permanently logged in the customer records. Users can also manually create and log communications for any contact they have with customers such as personal visits, mail sent, in-person visits, and phone calls, which will greatly assist the next person who comes in contact with that customer or prospective customer.
Take Advantage of Technology to Improve Your Business!
If you do not currently have a way to perform these vital tasks, it’s very possible that your competitor does! Take advantage of the technology available to you and take control of your business by leveraging your own data to increase sales, customer satisfaction and retention and improved workflow and communication at your dealership!
For more information on ASPEN and it’s CRM capabilities, call us at 303.932.6875 or emailsolutions@chartersoftware.com
Download and share a copy of the article as it appeared in the I-NEDA Retailer magazine.