If NADA 2003 was any indication, CRM (Customer Relationship Management) has officially made the transition from luxury to necessity. Dealers from every size and type of dealership flocked to the booths of CRM solution providers. Nearly thirty companies offered showroom solutions, and the majority of them embraced technology with PC-based systems. But with so many to choose from, many dealers were justifiably overwhelmed.

So how does one go about sorting through the various products to find the best solution for one store or one dealer group? The best answer may be to consider how people shop for vehicles: start with the standard equipment.

1. Power Steering - How are customers entered into the system? Are there tools that help guide a salesperson through proper entry, and are there minimum levels of input that prevent half-baked records from being entered? Is the system just for floor traffic, or does it allow for tracking all possible sales opportunities?
2. Power Brakes - What happens to customers that don t buy? Are they discarded as dead deals, regardless of the reason for not buying at this time, or are they sorted into different groups that allow for targeted campaigns in the near or even distant future?
3. Cruise Control - What happens to customers that do buy? Are they taken care of for awhile, or is a perpetual plan initiated that helps build rapport over the life of the customer?
4. Warranty - What stands behind the software? Is the corporate infrastructure still on paper, or is it brick and mortar? Is there merely a well-intentioned commitment to standards that have yet to be put to the test, or is there a dedicated support team already handling the ongoing needs of dealers throughout the country? Have any OEMs or state associations recognized the solution as the product of choice?
5. Power Mirrors - What roads are in the company s rear view mirrors? Have they already been through the DMS integration process? Have they integrated with other solution providers to expand the possibilities for your showroom?

Of course, optional equipment is extremely important whenever purchasing a vehicle, but no one would buy a vehicle that didn t come with the essentials. That s the very nature of standard equipment. When considering a CRM solution, dealers need to be very careful not to land on the latest breakthrough in technology in lieu of the essentials.

It's unfair to say that a relatively new solution cannot provide all of the essentials; in many cases, start-up companies have built upon the cornerstones of well-established solution providers, adding their own brand new bells and whistles. Let s face it; new auto makers don t need to reinvent the wheel…

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