For small-town dealerships there is only one way to be successful: treat your customers right and stay in touch. That’s exactly the philosophy of Jim Sigel Automotive, a family-run Chevrolet, Honda and Nissan dealership located in Grants Pass, Oregon. 

As the CRM Coordinator and resident CRM expert, Jessie Sigel-Dean helps the sales team to keep in touch with customers and increase sales potential. “We are not one of those dealers where you buy a car and never hear from us again,” said Jessie. “We have a high percentage of repeat sales, so it’s critical to be able to communicate with our customers.” 

Until recently, one of the more time-consuming aspects of her position was to keep the customer database updated in both the DMS and CRM. “Every time there was an address or phone number change, I would have to go in and manually update the information in both systems,” said Jessie. “Every time mail was returned, I would go into the CRM and Auto/Mate to make needed updates. During the busy season this could be up to 25 minutes a day of just editing.”  

As a long-time customer of DealerSocket’s Auto/Mate DMS and CRM, Jessie was thrilled to learn about the initiative to fully integrate the two platforms to create a unified user experience. One of the first integrations announced was for customer contact information. With this integration activated, data immediately auto-syncs to both systems every time a customer contact record is changed. For example, when a change is made to a customer’s phone number in the service drive through the DMS, the change is immediately reflected in the CRM, and vice versa. 

"We used to get hundreds of cards back, but that rate has been cut drastically using the CRM, which is a huge money-saving factor because mail is expensive to send out."

Jessie Sigel, CRM Coordinator

Jim Sigel Automotive

“This integration has been extremely helpful, especially because many of our customers update their contact information in the service drive, and those updates didn’t always reach the CRM,” said Jessie. “Now changes are automatically updated, making things easier overall for sales outreach and marketing.” 

In the initial six-month period after purchasing a vehicle, Jim Sigel’s sales team reaches out frequently to ensure customer satisfaction. After six months, they stay in touch several times a year for birthdays and anniversaries. “We just had a salesperson sell someone their sixth vehicle, so that constant outreach is very important,” said Jessie. 

For sales and service marketing campaigns, Jessie pulls targeted lists from the CRM for the dealership’s marketing agency. In a recent Christmas card mail campaign, the mail return rate was the lowest it has ever been, at less than three percent. “We used to get hundreds of cards back, but that rate has been cut drastically using the CRM, which is a huge money-saving factor because mail is expensive to send out,” said Jessie. 

The contact integration has also helped with service marketing efforts. Jessie uses the business rules in DealerSocket’s CRM to set up automated campaigns. If a customer purchases a vehicle, and hasn’t been in for service within six months, a text is sent out.  After another six months, the customer receives a letter or email containing a brand-specific service coupon. “This is a big retirement community so it’s not unusual for people who may drive (only) 4,000 miles a year,” said Jessie. “We are used to longer service intervals, so we just keep sending notifications.” 

For Jim Sigel Automotive, seamless two-way contact integration between DealerSocket’s Auto/Mate DMS and CRM saves Jessie a significant amount of time daily. She no longer has to manually update contact information and her sales team can stay in better touch with customers. Additionally, updated customer information makes it easier for Jessie to create targeted marketing campaigns, improve metrics across the board, and avoid wasted marketing dollars. “Now that DealerSocket is integrated with Auto/Mate, it’s an even better product that allows us to stay in touch with our customers.” 

Schedule a demo now

Learn more about DealerSocket's products and schedule a demo with a representative.

Speak with an expert
Speak with
an expert