If you’re like most business owners, you probably have a lot of different software programs (tech stack) that you use to help run your business. You might have one for running your dealership management software, one for marketing, and another for e-commerce. But what if there was a way to connect all of these different programs so that they could work together seamlessly? Imagine your dealership management software connecting with your customer relationship management (CRM) system or your payment processing software connecting with your outbound messaging software. That’s where integrations come in.
What Is an Integration?
Integrations are a way to connect two or more software programs so that they can share data and information with each other. This can be extremely helpful in making sure that your sales, marketing, and customer service efforts are all on the same page (literally!). By adding integrations, you can make your dealership run like a well-oiled machine. Here are just a few of the ways that integrations can help you:
Streamline Communications across Teams and Departments
One of the biggest benefits of integrations is that they can help streamline communications between different departments within your dealership. For example, let’s say that you’re using a CRM system to track your leads. When someone becomes a paying customer, you can use an integration to automatically add them to your dealership management software so you’re keeping their historical information intact and not creating duplicate users across systems. This ensures that everyone is on the same page and eliminates the risk of important customers falling through the cracks.
Save Time and Money for Your Dealership
Another big benefit of integrations is that they can save you time and money by automating tasks that would otherwise have to be done manually. For example, let’s say you’re using an e-commerce platform to sell products online. An integration can be used to automatically sync inventory from your e-commerce store to your in-store dealership management software. This not only saves you time by not having to manually update two inventory systems, but it also reduces the chances of human error (like fat thumbing an extra zero).
Improve the Customer Service Experience
Integrations can also be used to improve customer service by giving your team access to information that they didn’t have before. For example, let’s say that you’re using a live chat tool to communicate with customers on your website. An integration with your CRM system can give customer service reps access to important information about each customer so that they can provide better support. This is just one example of how integrations can help you provide better customer service overall.
As you can see, there are many benefits to using integrations in your dealership. From streamlining communications to saving time and money, integrations can help you in a variety of ways. If you’re not already using integrations in your business, ask yourself why. If your current technology does not connect with other software, it’s time to explore new solutions. Check out our 21 Questions to Ask Your Next Dealership Management Software Provider, and get the answers you need to run your dealership.