CRM: Overrated or Underrated?

Is CRM overrated? Depends on who you ask.

Justin Norwood, the Internet director for Classic Chevrolet, the top selling Chevy store for three consecutive years, raised a few eyebrows at the Ward's Automotive Spring Training Conference, while on a panel, when he called CRM overrated.

Brent Hillyer of the Tonkin Family of Dealerships in Portland, OR, who was sitting next to Norwood on the stage, smiled and responded that for his group, CRM is "underrated."

To be fair, Classic has a sales process in which the sales person works the deal from top to bottom. Norwood says Classic uses CRM to manage the Internet leads but not for other leads.

Classic is not like most dealerships. It can get away with not having a full-scale CRM process. It's the biggest dealership in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and effectively uses its inventory as a marketing tool. Tom Durant, Classic's owner, knows the market and what his customers want. And he acts accordingly.

CRM, however, is "mission control" for the entire Tonkin organization, Hillyer says. "We want to make sure that everything is captured, everything is followed up on, everything is measured, and people are made accountable for every point of contact."

He also says CRM is part of Tonkin's strategy moving forward. "The opportunity now is how we leap ahead and take the processes we’ve learned the last few years and technologies that are out there and adapt them for our overall business," he says.

CRM has promised many things through the years, and often has not delivered. But technology is getting better. And dealers are getting smarter with how they use it.

As dealers have to cut expenses -- advertising costs often is one of the first areas to get slashed -- CRM can be a great way to create some traffic. It doesn't have to be elaborate. Market to customers already in your database. Specials on both used and new vehicles or maintenance work are the low hanging fruit.

But, now might be the time move beyond that and implement an aggressive CRM strategy.

Few dealers are taking advantage of the downtime to refocus and get into position for when the market returns — and it will. It might be a while, but people are going to have to buy cars. The question is, are you going to be the one selling to them?

Ways to leverage or improve operations likely is not high on the priority list. But this might be the perfect time to start moving the dealership into the 21st century. Dealers that do will be the ones who reap the benefits when people start buying cars again.