What Car Dealership Software Solutions Do Successful Dealers Use?

Last Updated February 22, 2024

Dealers in 2024 have a lot to track, including customers, employees, advertising, and more. How can a dealership adequately manage all aspects and remain profitable? Most successful dealerships use software tools to assist in managing their business. Here are some of the most essential software car dealerships use to sell more vehicles.

1. DMS, or Dealership Management Software
2. CRM, or Customer Relationship Management Platform
3. Vehicle Appraisal Tools
4. Digital Advertising Automation Software

1. DMS, or Dealership Management Software

First and foremost, every dealer should have some Dealership Management Software (DMS). A DMS is a comprehensive software solution specifically designed to help automotive dealerships manage various aspects of their operations efficiently. DMS platforms are the central hub for dealership activities, integrating different departments and functions into a unified system. A DMS consolidates many day-to-day business tasks into one place. This includes inventory management, deal tracking, sales management, monitoring finances, and managing inventory and auto parts.

This kind of platform saves time and money by performing multiple functions at once. There is a DMS on the market for every type of dealership, whether big or small. For example, CDK Dealership Xperience is built for multi-location dealerships, vAuto Provision serves used car dealerships, and vAuto Conquest is for new car dealerships.

2. CRM, or Customer Relationship Management Platform

Implementing a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform can bring several significant benefits to a dealership. While a DMS manages a dealership's daily operations, a CRM keeps track of leads and manages activity for current and potential customers. With this tool, you can see each of your leads, what stage they are in, and where your advertising dollars are going. A CRM platform can also enhance customer retention by maintaining detailed profiles and tracking purchase history, service records, and preferences.

CRMs can also be used to plan and track related tasks like calls, emails, meetings, and more for salespeople. Many CRMs will also integrate with a dealership's existing ad platforms, allowing for targeted efficiency. An example of a CRM is DealerSocket, an automotive-focused CRM platform that manages the customer relationship from start to finish.

3. Vehicle Appraisal Tools

A vehicle appraisal tool serves as a valuable resource for dealerships while evaluating and determining the value of vehicles, particularly for trade-ins. A vehicle appraisal tool can provide consistency and standardization across different sales reps and dealership locations to ensure that customers receive consistent and fair appraisals regardless of who they interact with. This kind of consistency can enhance dealership trust and customer satisfaction. An appraisal tool can also accurately assess the value of trade-in vehicles, allowing dealerships to optimize their inventory acquisition strategy and maximize profitability. Appraisal tools enable dealerships to make data-driven decisions regarding which vehicles to accept as trade-ins, ensuring that they maintain a balanced inventory mix and minimize the risk of overpaying for vehicles.

One such appraisal tool is AutoVision, a unified dealer management software platform built for dealers to automate and optimize appraisals, buying, selling, and vehicle inventory management on an all-in-one solution.

4. Digital Advertising Automation Software

While DMS and CRM platforms are incredible tools for running the day-to-day operations of a dealership, they often leave out one critical area of a dealership's business strategy: marketing and advertising. Creating, optimizing, and running paid ads can be expensive and time-consuming.

For this reason, dealers should consider investing in marketing automation software that dynamically matches live inventory with an active shopper in that market.

ZeroSum can fully manage and optimize a dealership's inventory-based paid advertising to make the most of precious ad spend dollars. ZeroSum's innovative AI knows how to act on market changes before human perception. Predictive analytics and real-time optimization ensure unparalleled marketing efficiency and the ability to predict unit movements at granular levels. ZeroSum's MarketAI knows how much advertising it will take to move each vehicle, and it continuously updates a dealer's live inventory feed so they are never spending money on cars that have already sold.