The Shopper Journey Evolved

While behaviors have changed in terms of where shoppers prefer to spend their time gathering information, and even how they prefer to buy, most still follow a few predictable steps, including the following car buying phases:

• Information Gathering: When shoppers start their research, they will visit sites, chat forums, and social media channels. They read online reviews and watch videos to learn any and all information about their interests.
• Decision Making: The information shoppers find online will help them to make a decision about what to buy and where to buy it. Depending on the kind of experience you give shoppers, they will start making distinctions between your dealership and your competition.
• Dealership Interaction: Eventually, shoppers will reach out to you either through your website or in your store. When they do, they want their transition from online to in-dealership to be seamless.
• Customization and Expectation: Just because shoppers spend the majority of their time online doesn’t mean they don’t want a personalized experience. They want their shopping journey to be customized to their interests, not unlike other online retail
  experiences.
• Pricing and Negotiation: Shoppers want fair and transparent pricing, and they want it all to be online. They don’t want to haggle back and forth with salespeople. They want to go back and forth between websites, viewing your prices and your competitors’ prices.

Modern Shopper Micro-moments

Throughout the modern car buyer journey, consumers will experience countless in their decision-making process. During these micro-moments, shoppers will ask important questions and make pivotal choices that will impact their purchase decisions.

• Awareness: Which car is best?
• Consideration: Is this particular vehicle right for me?
• Financial Assessment: Can I afford this car?
• Dealer Interaction: Where should I buy it?
• Decision Making: Am I getting a good deal?

As shoppers go through these micro-moments, they have high expectations of both the car buying experience and the dealerships they do business with. Through each stage, your DMS can help you achieve these expectations, overcome common dealership pain points, and improve your operations in the following categories:

• Inventory Management
• Lead Tracking and Management
• Data Integration
• Scalability
• Remote Access
• Reporting & Analytics
• Compliance

Inventory Management

Shopper Micro-Moment: Awareness

As shoppers search the internet and browse your website and your competitors’ websites, they’re looking for detailed inventory information that can help them better understand what’s available and what they want. Incomplete or outdated inventory information can frustrate shoppers and drive them to a competitor’s website,, potentially resulting in missed sales opportunities for your dealership. Dealers benefit from increased shopper interest when they provide useful information about price, incentives, vehicle descriptions, inventory availability, and images highlighting vehicle features and condition.

Dealer Pain Point: Time Consuming Inventory Management

Efficiently managing vehicle inventory, including tracking, updating, and optimizing inventory information online can be challenging. Outdated methods of inventory management often lead to overstocking or understocking inventory, or the inability to quickly locate specific vehicles.

Dealer Benefit: Automatic Inventory Updates

A DMS can streamline inventory management by providing real-time visibility into your dealership’s stock. This allows you and your shoppers to track vehicle details, availability, pricing, and more, ensuring that all your inventory aligns with customer demands. This results in reduced overhead costs, better sales strategies, and the ability to quickly locate and showcase vehicles to customers.

Lead Tracking and Management

Shopper Micro-Moment: Consideration

When customers start to wonder whether a specific vehicle is right for them, they naturally want to reach out to your dealership to learn more. They may do this by filling out a form on your website, engaging with you via online chat, calling your dealership, or even stopping by for a visit. Your ability to manage all your leads can have a big impact on your ability to close sales and service customers at your dealership. Delayed or unorganized lead follow-ups can result in shoppers losing interest in further engaging with your dealership.

Dealer Pain Point: Tracking and Efficiently Organizing Leads from a Variety of Sources

Because leads can come from so many different sources, dealers get overwhelmed and often struggle to effectively track and manage leads. They fail to record information correctly and follow up promptly, resulting in missed sales opportunities and unhappy shoppers. Shoppers exploring their options at this stage of the buying journey appreciate prompt and personalized responses, reassuring them that they’re making the right buying choice.

Dealer Benefit: Automatic Lead Organization

A DMS can offer lead management tools that help dealerships efficiently capture, organize, and prioritize leads. This ensures that no potential customer is overlooked, leading to increased conversion rates. Dealers can also track lead status, schedule follow-ups, and provide personalized experiences to nurture prospects into buyers.

Data Integration

Shopper Micro-Moment: Consideration

When shoppers are going back and forth between buying options, they compare units on your website, and even between your website and other dealers’ digital storefronts. As they explore their options, they expect accurate and updated information to help them make informed decisions. Any discrepancies between what they see online and what they’re told in-store will lead to frustration and a negative overall opinion of your dealership.

Dealer Pain Point: Keeping Data Consistent

Many dealerships struggle with integrating data between their DMS and digital storefront, resulting in inconsistencies, data entry errors, and challenges in updating vehicle listings. On top of that, manual data entry is a painstaking process that many dealers don’t have time for.

Dealer Benefit: Seamless Data Integration

A seamless integration between your DMS and digital storefront ensures that data is synchronized accurately in real-time. This integration eliminates manual data entry, reduces errors, and guarantees that customers see up-to-date vehicle information on the dealership’s website. It creates a cohesive online and offline experience, enhancing customer trust and satisfaction.

Streamlining Customer Payments

Shopper Micro-Moment: Financial Assessment

Shoppers concerned about their budget appreciate the clarity and ease of exploring a variety of affordable payment options.

Dealer Pain Point: Payment and Financing Errors

Managing customer payments and financing options can be complex and time-consuming for dealerships. This complexity may lead to inefficiencies, errors, and frustrated customers.

Dealer Benefit:

A DMS simplifies the customer payment process by providing or integrating transparent, user-friendly tools that enable you to explore affordable payment options for shoppers, based on their preferences. A DMS also offers clear, flexible payment choices, making the buying process more accessible and less stressful for customers. This not only enhances the overall customer experience but also helps you to close deals faster and with greater customer satisfaction.

Scalability

Shopper Micro-Moment: Dealer Interaction

When it finally comes time to pick a dealer, shoppers seeking a seamless and consistent experience across locations will find reassurance in your dealership’s ability to scale and maintain uniformity.

Dealer Pain Point:

As dealerships expand or adapt to changes in the market, ensuring the scalability of operations becomes crucial. Inconsistencies in digital solutions across multiple locations can lead to operational challenges and potential customer confusion.

Dealer Benefit:

A DMS serves as the backbone of your dealership’s operations, ensuring scalability by centralizing critical functions and data. When integrated seamlessly with other integrated solutions, your DMS facilitates consistent processes, inventory management, and customer interactions across all locations. This consistency enhances the customer experience and minimizes operational disruptions, making it easier for dealerships to expand and maintain a strong online presence.

Remote Access

Shopper Micro-Moment: Dealer Interaction

With so many dealerships to choose from, all offering the same inventory, shoppers tend to gravitate to dealers with superior customer service. Dealers with remote access to their DMS can maintain consistent and responsive customer service, whether they’re on-site or working remotely. This enhances the overall buying experience and encourages trust and loyalty from customers.

Dealer Pain Point:

Traditional dealership management systems often tie dealers to physical locations, limiting flexibility and efficiency. Dealerships may face challenges when crucial information or decision-making capabilities are confined to on-site systems. This limitation becomes more pronounced as dealers need to access data or to manage operations remotely.

Dealer Benefit:

A cloud-based or remote access DMS provides you with the flexibility to manage your operations from anywhere. You can access critical data, monitor inventory, and oversee sales processes remotely. This level of accessibility ensures that you’re not tethered to the physical dealership, allowing you to respond promptly to market changes, make informed decisions on the go, and streamline operations efficiently.

Reports & Analytics

Shopper Micro-Moment: Decision Making

Shoppers want to know that they’re getting a good deal. With so many resources and points of reference online, shoppers know when a price doesn’t feel quite right. They also know when a dealer is giving them a personalized offer that feels lower than their competitors’ prices. Shoppers are more likely to benefit from competitive pricing and personalized offers when your dealership can leverage robust analytics to optimize pricing strategies and promotions.

Dealer Pain Point:

Dealerships often struggle with limited access to real-time data and insights about their operations. This lack of comprehensive reporting can hinder their ability to make informed decisions quickly.

Dealer Benefit:

A DMS equipped with advanced reporting and analytics tools empowers your dealership to make data-driven decisions. You can easily generate comprehensive reports on various aspects of your operations, including sales performance, inventory turnover, customer engagement, and more. These tools provide actionable insights, allowing you to identify trends, measure the success of marketing campaigns, optimize inventory strategies, and enhance overall operational efficiency.

Compliance

Shopper Micro-Moment: Decision Making

Shoppers—especially those concerned with their financial decisions—will appreciate the transparency and assurance that the dealership they’re dealing with is compliant and values legal standards

Dealer Pain Point:

Staying compliant with ever-evolving regulatory requirements is a significant challenge for all dealerships. But failing to meet these standards can result in fines, legal issues, and damage to a dealership’s reputation.

Dealer Benefit:

A reliable DMS ensures that your dealership adheres to all necessary compliance and regulatory standards. This includes managing documentation, ensuring accurate record-keeping, and automating compliance processes. The benefit to your dealership is twofold: it mitigates the risk of legal penalties and maintains a strong reputation among customers who value trust and integrity in their car-buying experience.

Considerations When Choosing a DMS

A DMS is a comprehensive software suite designed to automate, streamline, and integrate various operations of your dealerships. It serves as the central hub for managing core dealership activities and helps in enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of your operations. But not all dealer management systems are the same.

As you consider which DMS is right for your dealership, look into whether it provides inventory management, sales processing, unlimited forms printing and customization, a full accounting suite and extensive reports, extensive integrations, and more. The following are a few essential features and tools that a DMS should provide for you:

Inventory Management

A DMS that can update and monitor stock levels, pricing, and vehicle information from anywhere will save invaluable time and reduce inventory errors. A DMS streamlines inventory management by providing real-time visibility into the dealership’s stock. This allows you to track vehicle details, availability, and pricing, ensuring that your inventory aligns with customer demands. This results in reduced overhead costs, better sales strategies, and the ability to quickly locate and showcase vehicles to customers.

Essential Tools:

• VIN Decoding: A DMS can automatically decode Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) to provide detailed information about each vehicle, including its make, model, year, and specifications.
• Image Upload and Management: This allows you to upload and manage high-quality images of vehicles in the inventory, enhancing online listings and attracting potential buyers.
• Pricing Tools: A DMS can provide tools for dynamic pricing, helping you set competitive prices based on market conditions, demand, and other factors.

Sales Processing

A DMS offers lead management tools that can help you efficiently capture, organize, and prioritize leads. This ensures that no potential customer is overlooked, leading to increased conversion rates. You can also track lead status, schedule follow-ups, and provide personalized experiences to nurture prospects into buyers. A DMS that automates the sales process, including customer management, lead tracking, and dealer processing, leads to faster and more efficient sales operations.

Essential Tools:

• Lead Scoring: A DMS can assign scores to leads based on their engagement level and likelihood to convert, helping prioritize follow-ups and focus on high-value leads.
• Appointment Scheduling: This enables customers to schedule test drives or appointments online, streamlining the process
  and improving customer experience.
• Document Management: A DMS stores and organizes customer documents, including identification, credit applications, and sales contracts, ensuring compliance and easy retrieval.

Compliance and Forms

A reliable DMS ensures that your dealership adheres to all necessary compliance and regulatory standards. This includes managing documentation, ensuring accurate record-keeping and automating compliance processes. This not only mitigates the risk of legal penalties, it helps you to maintain a strong reputation among customers who value trust and integrity in their car-buying experience. The right DMS will simplify form filling (including sales contracts and finance agreements), guarantee compliance with industry regulations, and shorten the documentation process.

Essential Tools:

• Contracts and Forms: A DMS can standardize all forms, including retail installment contracts, standard compliance forms, and custom forms to ensure compliance and help you stay up to date with regulatory standards.
• Regulatory Compliance Checklists: A DMS provides checklists and prompts to ensure that necessary steps are taken to comply with regulatory requirements during sales and finance processes.
• Electronic Signature Integration: This allows customers to sign documents electronically, ensuring compliance with esignature regulations.

Reporting and Analytics

A DMS equipped with advanced reporting and analytics tools can empower you to make data-driven decisions. You can easily generate comprehensive reports on various aspects of your operations, including sales performance, inventory turnover, customer engagement, and more. These tools provide actionable insights, allowing you to identify trends, measure the success of marketing campaigns, optimize inventory strategies, and enhance overall operational efficiency. A DMS can also give you a clear view of your dealership’s financial health with easy-to-use reporting tools that track performance and guide your business choices.

Essential Tools:

• Reporting Tools: Reporting tools, including sales reports, accounting reports, QuickBooks Transfer, and billing actions can help you to keep your finger on the pulse of the health of your business.
• Advanced Analytics Tools: More advanced tools offer an in-depth analysis of sales performance, financial metrics, and
  inventory turnover, allowing dealerships to make data-driven decisions
• Custom Report Builders: These tools enable you to create customized reports tailored to specific business needs and key
  performance indicators.

Integrations

A DMS allows you to partner with key providers, assuring that your dealership not only meets, but exceeds operational and customer experience expectations. These integrations include:

• Vehicle History Reports and Value Guides
• Credit Reporting
• Texting, Entertainment, and Insurance
• Card Payment Processing
• White Paper Forms
• Electronic Title & Registration

• Starter Interrupt & GPS Tracking
• Service Contracts
• Accounting Help
• Finance Companies and Funding Portals
• Websites & Marketing

Essential Tools:

• Manufacturer Integration Tools: These tools help you to establish connections with manufacturers’ databases to receive realtime updates on vehicle specifications, incentives, and recalls.
• Third-Party API Integration: These tools support integration with third-party tools such as CRM systems, marketing platforms, and finance applications to streamline overall operation

Additional DMS Benefits

There’s no doubt a DMS can benefit every aspect of the customer journey, but it also has big time benefits for your business by helping you in the following ways.

Maximizing ROI with DMS

A DMS helps you to operate your dealership at maximum efficiency, while also reducing costs. It streamlines and automates various dealership processes, from inventory management to sales processing. This streamlining of operations reduces manual workload, minimizes errors, and increases overall efficiency. A DMS also help you to optimize your existing resources. By automating routine tasks, a DMS allows your staff to focus on more value-added activities, improving the allocation of human resources and reducing operational costs.

Improved Sales and Conversion Rates

A DMS often includes tools for effective lead management, helping your dealership to track and nurture leads throughout the sales funnel. This enhances the chances of converting potential customers into actual sales. A DMS also facilitates a smoother sales process, ensuring that transactions are handled efficiently. This leads to quicker sales cycles and, consequently, a positive impact on ROI.

Enhanced Customer Experience and Loyalty

A DMS can provide insights into customer preferences and behaviors. Leveraging this data, your dealerships can offer more personalized and targeted interactions, fostering customer loyalty and repeat business. A DMS also enables better communication between your dealership and your customers, leading to improved satisfaction. Satisfied customers are more likely to become repeat buyers and contribute to positive word-of-mouth referrals.

Data-Driven Decision Making

DMS platforms offer robust analytics and reporting features. These allow you to analyze sales trends, track inventory turnover, and gain valuable insights into business performance. Informed decision-making based on data leads to more strategic and successful operations.

Compliance and Risk Mitigation

DMS systems often include features to ensure compliance with industry regulations. By avoiding fines and penalties associated with noncompliance, you can protect your financial health and contribute to ROI.

Final Thoughts

As the customer journey continues to evolve and each individual buying experience takes on a life of its own, you can provide a personalized experience for your shoppers. With the right DMS, you can make your marketing efforts more efficient and effective, and you can implement the essential tools to attract shoppers and give them the experience they expect.

A well-implemented DMS contributes to your dealership’s ROI by improving operational efficiency, increasing conversion rates, enhancing the customer experience, facilitating data-driven decisions, and ensuring compliance with industry standards.