Maintaining seamless communication with customers is paramount in the automotive industry. Enter the game-changer: automotive sales CRM mobile texting technology. Dealerships can foster stronger connections with clients while also significantly improving the customer experience and deftly navigating major compliance risks. This VinSolutions Performance Management discussion on Texting Best Practices explains why utilizing mobile text messaging in your sales CRM strategy is a must for modern dealerships. When used correctly, text messaging enhances customer interactions, and helps your business avoid major risks ensuring compliance and success.
Enhancements and Benefits of Mobile Texting Technology
Preferred Communication Channel: Mobile texting technology allows your dealership to communicate with customers in real time, through a channel many prefer. When your salespeople follow up on leads, appointments, and dealership visits directly from the CRM via texting app, this communication is instant, compliant & recorded in your dealership’s CRM database.
Access to Critical Information: Using a CRM texting app provides quick access to essential data, including inventory details, customer records, and conversation histories. Sales representatives have instant access to information that enables a more personalized, and authentic, conversation.
Opt-In/Opt-Out Compliance: To receive texts, customers must first opt in – and customers who opt-out can no longer be contacted by text. Using a trusted and official CRM texting technology will ensure compliance by automatically managing opt-ins and opt-outs.
Photos and Videos: Salespeople can easily send images of vehicles and features via your texting solution, enhancing customer engagement and providing a visual context.
Text Opt-In and License Scanning: By using a CRM mobile app for texting customers and license scanning, dealerships can verify compliance while streamlining processes.
Major Risks and Pitfalls of Unsanctioned Texting
Legal Vulnerability: Customers who opt-in to receive texts are technically agreeing only to receive texts from a specific third party (your dealership). When employees use their personal cell phones for texting, they become the “4th party” rather than the intended third party. This puts both your automotive dealership and the employee at risk of lawsuits. Federal regulations, such as the CAN-SPAM Act tend to be strict, and privacy laws vary across states.
CRM Effectiveness: If salespeople communicate outside your CRM, it becomes challenging to manage opportunities effectively. Your dealership’s automotive CRM is designed to track interactions and create additional sales opportunities. Without proper tracking, these opportunities may slip through the cracks.
Unauthorized Use of Customer Data: Allowing your salespeople to conduct business via their personal phones means they carry the dealership’s book of business in their pockets. Assigning unique numbers within the system ensures better tracking and prevents unauthorized use of customer information.
Activity Breakdown: Managers can review activity breakdown reports to ensure that salespeople are utilizing your texting technology effectively. This helps track follow-ups and maintain compliance. Moreover, these interactions can become part of your performance KPIs.
Integrating mobile texting technology with your dealership’s CRM not only improves communications, creating a more personalized shopping experience for your customers. It has the potential to maintain compliance for your business. Watch the video with VinSolutions’ Performance Managers as they share the Texting Best Practices.
Ready to learn more? VinSolutions CRM with automotive text messaging makes texting customers as easy as texting friends. VinSolutions Texting has full MMS messaging capabilities and a full conversation history stored in the CRM so dealers can keep track of conversations in a single view. Learn More.