Talk about a bullet point list: DealerSocket recently posted a list of what they see as 50 ways CRM can help your auto dealership.

Posted in, uh, handy bookmark format.

Obviously many of these ways work for other industries as well -- e.g. “Cleanse your current

customer and prospect database, removing duplicate records and updating with current contact information” -- and no, we’re not going to summarize all 50, that’s what the link is for. You’ve got that kind of time, we assure you they’re worth it. We’ll hit some of the highlights here to give you the general idea:

Perform a data append regularly. Send your current customer and prospect database out for a National Change of Address (NCOA) scrub. Once data has been cleansed, use an eMail Append Service to match any missing eMails to the records.

Make sure you have the follow-up mechanisms in place to bring prospects back into your showroom, your CRM is crucial in making this happen.

Present professional looking documents. Print dealership forms with the customer’s data populated, your dealership’s deal worksheet, trade appraisal and other items.

Post offers and incentives on the web site that customers can choose from when scheduling an online appointment.

Send automated service confirmation eMails. Follow-up with missed appointments and set rescheduling goals for your service advisors.

Implement escalation procedures to alert managers immediately if a customer is unsatisfied and track an unsatisfied customer from inception to resolution.

Make service follow-up calls a revenue generator by talking about declined and recommended services.

Retaining satisfied customers and upselling them service, parts or their next car is much easier (and cost effective) than acquiring new customers. Think of your CRM as your customer satisfaction barometer.

Your CRM should be used as much by your managers as by your sales and service people. A big challenge with most CRMs is that the managers don’t use them to proactively and strategically drive business.