Up-To-Date Data Is Your Dealership’s Biggest Asset: What You Need To Know

An estimated 50,000 people in the United States change their name each year.?

According to Forbes, 28.2 million Americans changed their address in 2022.?

According to Statista, 3.46 million Americans passed away in 2021.?

According to Consumer Affairs, 13.6 million new vehicles were sold to Americans in 2022.?

Things are always changing, meaning up-to-date records matter.?

Data is not just a resource; it's your dealership's most valuable asset. When harnessed effectively, it has the power to enhance every aspect of your operation, from sales and marketing to maintenance, inventory, and customer service.?

It can be the difference between making the right decisions that move your dealership forward… and potentially making the wrong decisions that hurt your business in the long run. That’s why accurate and up-to-date data is important, as it affects both the day-to-day operations and the ability of vendors to assist the dealership.?

The Importance of Accurate Records for Automotive Dealerships

Think of it this way: every day, someone buys a new vehicle, changes the ownership, needs maintenance, changes their address, and so on. Operating with your Dealer Management System or DMS means you’re storing that information in the hopes of using it for marketing campaigns, customer outreach, better customer service, inventory management, and more.?

If those records aren’t routinely cleaned and verified, the ability to use that data for any positive outcome reduces significantly.?

The Direct Effects of Unclean Data on Dealerships

Imagine calling a customer for a routine check-in only to find they passed away a year ago.?

Or how about spending an hour reaching out to customers without them answering because you don’t have the right contact information??

These are real scenarios that happen every day due to inaccurate records and unclean data.?

Incorrect Customer Information?

One of the most direct effects will be on the dealership's ability to reach customers both for routine check-ins and maintenance calls and during marketing campaigns.?

If the customer's information isn’t correct, such as email, address, or phone number, the likelihood of getting through to them will be minuscule. You risk wasting time and money as you will have lost contact with a valuable customer.?

There are also updated customer names and vehicle ownership records, which play a crucial role in customer service and vendor marketing.?

Customer Communication Preferences?

Similarly, customers need the ability to opt-in to their preferred contact methods. If these records are not maintained, the dealership loses out on verified leads and risks upsetting its customers.?

Customer communication consent is also a privacy concern, and depending on your location, there may be different laws to adhere to. Keeping your data up-to-date is an important part of adhering to local laws.?

Incorrect Vehicle Information?

It’s also important to remember that there may be different laws in place protecting customers from unwanted communications. If the customer no longer owns the vehicle, communication with them about keeping up service appointments, for example, would be pointless. To ensure this doesn’t happen, accurate records are a must.?

The Solution: Data Cleaning for Automotive Dealerships?

Although you have all of your data in your Dealer Management System, that doesn’t mean that data is accurate, verified, or easily shared with vendors who could use it to help your bottom line.?

That’s why finding the right syndication and cleaning tools is necessary for success.?

With the right syndication tool, you can:?

• Easily share data with hundreds of vendors
• Create custom data feeds?
• Operate it with ease from? your smartphone?
• Access easy-to-use dashboards?
• Send data at the right frequency to vendors?

With the right data-cleaning tool, you can:?

• Trust your data is clean and verified?
• Keep records up to date
• Have accurate customer details?
• Verify customer information and append?
• Keep up with constant changes?
• Send accurate data to vendors?
• Ensure customer preferences are kept?

At Authenticom, we pride ourselves on being the business behind the automotive business with our powerful suite of data syndication and cleaning tools.?

Already trusted by thousands of vendors, we offer safe, reliable solutions that honor your dealership’s mission. With our free data syndication tool, DealerVault, you’ll be able to tap into your DMS data and share it with vendors seamlessly.?

And – with Record Recharge, your data will remain clean, verified, and up-to-date, so you’ll never have to worry about inaccurate records ever again.?

Visit www.authenticom.com to learn more.?