What Is a CRM in Automotive Retail? And Why Every Dealership Needs One.
Team Tekion
Aug 13, 2025
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Today’s buyers expect speed, personalization, and consistency—especially when purchasing a vehicle. A purpose-built automotive Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system makes that possible. From smarter lead follow-ups to unified customer data, the right CRM empowers your team to move faster, communicate better, and close more deals.
What Is a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System?
In automotive retail, a CRM helps dealerships track, manage, and nurture customer relationships throughout the entire buying and ownership journey. The key functions of a CRM are:
Lead tracking: see where every lead came from and where they are in the sales funnel
Customer communication: email, text, and call customers directly from the system
Centralized customer data: keep a complete history of every interaction, service visit, and preference all in one place
Having a purpose-built automotive CRM that is designed for the speed, structure, and complexity of a dealership, rather than a generic one, is essential. Furthermore, finding a CRM that also closely integrates with a DMS will ensure a seamless experience for both dealership employees and customers.
CRM vs DMS: What’s the Difference?
While a Dealer Management System (DMS) manages the operational backbone of the dealership—like inventory, accounting, and repair orders—a CRM is built to manage customer relationships. CRMs help salespeople, business development centers (BDCs), and marketers track leads, send follow-ups, and personalize communication.
Both are critical—but they serve different purposes.
Why Every Dealership Needs a CRM
Today’s car buyers don’t want just fast service—they expect personalized, responsive communication across every touchpoint. A modern CRM helps teams meet those expectations and close more deals. Recent studies show that:
71% of customers expect companies to deliver personalized experiences (Source: McKinsey & Company)
82% of shoppers expect a response within 10 minutes (Source: Medium)
391% more conversions occur when leads are contacted within one minute (Source: Velocity)
These expectations are the new baseline—and tools like spreadsheets or manual lead lists can’t keep up. A CRM keeps leads from falling through the cracks, brings personalization to customer communications, and helps salespeople engage consistently.
The Value of a Smarter CRM
In today’s market speed, personalization, and consistency are essential for closing a deal.
A CRM purpose-built for automotive retail—like Tekion’s AI-powered Automotive Retail Cloud (ARC) CRM—equips dealerships with the tools to connect with customers faster, more intelligently, and effectively across the life cycle.
Dealers unlock even greater value with a CRM that connects seamlessly to their DMS on one unified platform—like Tekion ARC. With a single platform powering a dealership, real-time data is shared across all departments—eliminating costly duplicate data errors, enabling smoother handoff with F&I, and creating a comprehensive customer view without third-party integrations. The result is faster, more efficient operations that increase satisfaction for both employees and customers.
Here’s What Tekion’s ARC CRM Brings to the Table:
Truly Unified Platform: A seamless extension of your DMS—eliminating silos and streamlining workflows across the entire dealership.
AI-Powered Intelligence: Automates routine tasks, provides smart communication suggestions, and surfaces key insights to help teams work faster and more effectively.
Complete 360-Degree Customer View: A single snapshot with every customer's full history—including sales, service, and communications—to enable highly personalized engagement.
Faster Lead Contact Rates: Smart lead assignments and real-time alerts across desktop and mobile ensure immediate follow-up, boosting conversion rates.
Actionable Dashboards: Provide real-time visibility into team performance and key metrics, allowing for data-driven and quick strategic decisions.
An AI-Powered CRM Is Your Competitive Edge
In today’s market, where car buyers expect speed and personalization, a smarter CRM is essential. An AI-powered CRM, like Tekion’s ARC CRM, helps dealerships unify customer data, streamline communication, and close more deals faster.
In our upcoming webinar, hear firsthand how Marine Chevrolet used Tekion’s ARC CRM to boost market share and increase performance—leveraging AI-powered workflows, real-time insights, and faster follow-ups to win more customers and deliver a better experience.
Don’t miss this panel discussion—register now to learn how your team can do the same.