How UCaaS Solutions Help Car Dealerships Manage Leads?

Your phones are ringing out. Lines are busy. Hot leads aren’t being followed up. And all the while another car dealership is just one phone call away. Make no mistake about it – outdated business phone systems cost auto dealers. Big time.

Research from foureyes reveals that nearly two-thirds of sales leads (62.6%) at car dealerships still come in via phone call, with the remainder generated either via an online form (32.4%) or live chat (5%). In total, the average dealer generates roughly 166 qualified sales leads (i.e. those that are confirmed to be in the market to purchase a vehicle) each month – but just 12.5% of those result in an actual sale.

   (Image source: foureyes.io)

No matter how leads are generated, all need a prompt follow-up sales call. However, just 23.5% of the average dealer’s leads are flagged – meaning that nearly one in every four leads do not receive a follow-up call within 24 hours.

The research also reveals that even those leads who are flagged aren’t receiving the attention they expect and deserve. In fact, more than two-thirds of flagged sales leads (67.3%) do not receive a timely follow-up call within one week or longer. Add to this the fact that 13.3% of leads never make it into the dealership’s CRM, average call wait times are over 90 seconds, and 8.5% of incoming calls from sales leads are missed altogether, and it’s hardly surprising that dealership close rates are so low.

With the average car sale generating about $2,200 in gross profit, poor communications are costing dealerships thousands and thousands of dollars in missed opportunities and lost sales.

(Image source: foureyes.io)

How UCaaS Solutions Help Car Dealerships Manage Leads and Improve Customer Service

When customers call or indicate intent on your website or live chat, dealers need to be ready to help them buy – because the customer is ready to buy. Missed calls, unrecorded leads and follow-up failures all translate to poor customer experiences and sales being lost to competitors.

Switching to a cloud PBX phone system provides you with many advantages. By investing in a robust UCaaS business phone system, car dealerships can optimize their sales processes, vastly improve their customer communication methods, stop missing calls, and boost their bottom line.

Related: What is UCaaS: The Definitive Guide

For starters, UCaaS platforms integrate seamlessly with CRM solutions like Zoho Sales CRM. This means that for every lead that enters into your CRM, sales agents are presented with real-time information about the prospect – including actions that need to be taken, their specific needs and requirements, and where they are in the sales funnel. Calls can be made and received directly from the CRM, with caller information displayed on-screen so agents can personalize their service and support.

During the call, the agent can then take notes, update customer information, and create follow-up reminders right there in the account record – ensuring that leads are always followed-up and opportunities are never missed.

Call routing and transfer is also made simple with UCaaS through powerful VoIP call management features. Incoming calls are easily routed to different extensions – including mobile devices and home phones – so customers can always reach the right agent, no matter where they are.

Meanwhile, video conferencing tools allow agents to create personalized virtual shopping experiences for customers – crucial at present due to COVID concerns. With UCaaS, you can also send and receive text (SMS) and media messages (MMS) using your local business phone number. Customers can simply send a text to request an appointment – or service technicians can text customers to let them know that their car is ready for pickup.

Dealerships with multiple locations can also consolidate them all under one system by switching to hosted PBX – resulting in huge cost savings by eliminating on-premise infrastructure and putting an end to expensive per-minute calling rates. This is the only one of 7 Benefits of Hosted PBX for Small Businesses.

Put simply, a modern, cloud-based telephony system empowers car dealerships to streamline communications, win more business and cut costs.

Discover more in our free white paper – The Amazing Benefits of Cloud Phone System for Car Dealerships.

net2phone provides hosted cloud and UCaaS communications solutions for car dealerships, providing everything you need to run your business and customer communications successfully at scale – from robust voice features and powerful messaging tools to videoconferencing, powerful analytics and dashboards.

Get in touch today to learn more about how net2phone’s business phone service solutions can improve your operations, lower your communications costs, and help you deliver a stand-out experience to every customer.