Technology, Processes and People 

This week I attended Digital Dealer (sigh!), the exhibitor room was full of vendors selling all types of technology. I counted at least 7 booths that offer a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Tool. As dealers visited each booth I noticed they were often comparing the different features each vendor provided. One thing that stood out to me is for the most part all CRM companies offer the same type of technology. They all allow you to input customers, receive leads, automate marketing campaigns, and reporting. 

It is important that the technology isn’t the only thing that you are looking at. Technology should enable processes. Consistent processes create consistent business. One of the ways to enable process is through the automation of business rules designed to target specific groups of people. If the data is there, the technology should be able to enable processes like: 

A customer life cycle (customer for life) 
Finance termination 
Extended warranty 
We want your trade 
Declined services 
Aftermarket accessories 
Customers in equity 
Bought elsewhere, service introduction 
High customer pay RO to new vehicle 
Future model introduction 
Lead escalation 
Sales notification of a customer in service 
And the list goes on… 

This can also apply to the technology of Social Media. Are you just using it or really using it to enable the processes? Once you have the technology and the processes in place the last important part is the people. I have seen time and time again where technology fails because either the people don’t use it or don’t know how to use it effectively. 

 Do you have the people to not only train you how to use and support the technology but also how to use the technology to enable the processes your dealership needs? I am excited for the DrivingSales Executive Summit, where technology and innovation is discussed, something I hope dealers will use to enable more processes. Your thoughts? 


About Hunter Swift 
Hunter Swift is the Director of Sales Development at DealerSocket and has been with the company since 2005. In addition to his current role, he has fulfilled the responsibilities of customer support, consulting, training, and sales. Hunter specializes in helping dealerships improve sales and follow-up processes through the use of CRM technology. He is known for his ability to connect with people and demonstrate his knowledge to help others solve their problems. Hunter honed his dealership skills as a salesperson prior to joining DealerSocket. He has earned a Business Degree from Pepperdine University. Hunter can be reached at hswift@dealersocket.com and on social media at @HunterSwift.