Car Dealers Discover "How To" Use Internet to Build Customer Relationships.Business Editors, Automotive Writers METUCHEN Metuchen (mətŭch`ən), borough (1990 pop. 12,804), Middlesex co., NE N.J.; settled before 1700, inc. 1900. Although chiefly residential, it manufactures metal products, packaging equipment, machinery, and electric appliances. , N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 6, 2000 The nation's franchised car dealers have joined the battle for the hearts, minds, and wallets of automobile shoppers nationwide. The competition? Automakers like Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp, and DaimlerChrysler, and online car brokers and sales referral services like CarsDirect.com, Autobytel.com, and Microsoft's CarPoint. The battleground? The Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the . One of the things the dealers have learned as they develop their own Internet strategies is that the selling cars on the Web is about more than price and convenience. Victory in the battle for automobile customers will go to the companies that use the Internet to add value to the vehicle ownership experience. And that value will take the form of improved customer relationships. That's where dealers already have a head start on the carmakers and brokers. The dealers already have established relationships and detailed information about the customers. What's needed is a way to harness the power of the Internet so that the available information can be used for the benefit of vehicle owners. That's where Charles Shamblee comes in. Mr. Shamblee is founder and president of DealerKid.com, a provider of Internet-enabled Customer Relationship Management (CRM (Customer Relationship Management) An integrated information system that is used to plan, schedule and control the presales and postsales activities in an organization. ) solutions. DealerKid is one of several CRM providers that have sprung into existence recently with programs designed specifically for car dealers. Other CRM providers include ADP's myautogarage.com and Autolink.com, among others. Mr. Shamblee notes, "The automobile retail distribution channel is changing and retailers must step up to meet those changes." Available tools for meeting the challenge include computer software packages for information management of customer profiles; tracking and managing the resolution of customer concerns; sales lead A sales lead is the identity of a person or entity potentially interested in purchasing a product or service, and represents the first stage of a sales process. The lead may have a corporation or business associated with the person(s). tracking; and automated au·to·mate v. au·to·mat·ed, au·to·mat·ing, au·to·mates v.tr. 1. To convert to automatic operation: automate a factory. 2. customer contact techniques. Mr. Shamblee will tell car dealers "how to" take full advantage of these new CRM technologies when he appears as a featured speaker at Auto Retailing on the Web IV (www.autoretailingontheweb.com), a conference designed for dealers who want to learn proven methods for success on the Internet. AROW A`row´ adv. 1. In a row, line, or rank; successively; in order. And twenty, rank in rank, they rode arow. - Dryden. IV will include a series of presentations from such notable industry experts as Don Gentry of the National Automobile Dealers Association, Doug Waikem of I-Net Training, Mike McFall from AutoNation, Eustace Mita of CyberCar, and Chris Denove of J.D. Power & Associates. An estimated 450 car dealers, dealership managers, and related industry professionals are expected to attend. AROW IV is scheduled for April 10-12, 2000 at the MGM MGM in full Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. U.S. corporation and film studio. It was formed when the film distributor Marcus Loew, who bought Metro Pictures in 1920, merged it with the Goldwyn production company in 1924 and with Louis B. Mayer Pictures in 1925. Grand in Las Vegas Las Vegas (läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. . Conference details are available at the AROW IV Web site or by calling 1-800-321-5312. |
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