Rodland Toyota Scion

Background

Building customer loyalty isn’t just talk with Buzz Rodland, President and General Manager of Rodland Toyota Scion; it’s a longstanding family tradition. With a business history that dates back to 1912, Buzz understands the relationship between long-term success and great customer relations. “We couldn’t possibly last in this market if we weren’t concerned about loyal guests and repeat sales,” said Buzz.

Located twenty miles north of Seattle in Everett, Washington, Rodland Toyota Scion is a Signature Toyota dealership that is serious about tracking results. “The Signature process has allowed us to create a culture to reinforce our processes, serve our guests better and to create guest loyalty,” said Buzz.

Business Challenge

Achieving and maintaining the Toyota Signature status is no easy feat. Buzz needed a CRM solution that would support their Signature efforts. “A lot of prospects were coming into the dealership and just falling through the cracks. There was no consistent follow-up method,” said Buzz.

Buzz needed a tool and processes that would provide lead tracking, consistent customer follow-up, and accountability with the sales staff and managers. “If you don’t have processes to handle loyal guests, your gains will not be sustainable. Technology and processes are really about building guest loyalty and repeat business,” said Buzz.

Impact on Business

Rodland Toyota Scion has embraced the idea of guest relationship management for years and has always had a loyal owner body. But without a CRM solution, there was no way to truly track performance.

“I’d walk through the showroom and see busyness, but that busyness wasn’t always purposeful. I wanted to know the busyness had meaning behind it. I wanted the satisfaction of knowing things are getting done”, said Buzz.
Solution

To solve his business challenge Buzz turned to Cobalt and Prospector, the automotive retail industries leading CRM solution. “Prospector really puts the managers and the salespeople together, tracking leads, contacts and following through with guests. Managers are doing what they’re really supposed to be doing; they’re tracking the salespeople”, said Buzz. “It wasn’t like that before Prospector.”

Customer Relations Manager and Signature Coordinator Karyn Nilson is responsible for monitoring every deal in Prospector, along with maintaining and updating the dealership’s processes. Karyn says Prospector helps Rodland Toyota Scion maintain their Signature status by helping to identify weak spots in their process. “Prospector has lots of great reports,” said Karyn. “We continually update our processes based on information that comes out of Prospector.”

“Prospector keeps the salespeople more accountable and keeps their performance consistent,” said Karyn. “We have a lot of guests tell us this is the best car buying experience they’ve ever had. Prospector is the tool which allows that to happen.”

Results

“Absolutely, positively yes, we’re hitting all our numbers out of the ballpark with Cobalt,” said Buzz. “Since we started using Prospector our sales have increased 19.2% and our CSI has gone from 90.86 to 92.45. We sold 363 more units and increased our gross profit by 16%.”

“There is no doubt that Prospector has helped us sell more cars,” said Buzz. “The salespeople are held accountable, their performance is measured and the guests don’t fall through the cracks. It literally makes the car buying experience a seamless process. Our sales are increasing. Our CSI is increasing. The results are there.”

“Most dealers truly understand that customer relationship management is really the name of the game now,” said Buzz. “Loyal owners and repeat business is much more profitable. Happy guests bring in other happy guests, which makes it a more fun place to work.”

Key Highlights

Franchises

- Toyota
- Scion

Cobalt Products

- Prospector
- Media Tracker
- Lead Manager Customer Central
- Toyota Nitra Website
- Scion Nitra Website
- Ad Wizard

Results

- Sales increased 19.2%
- Delivered units increased by 363
- CSI went from 90.86 to 92.45
- Gross profit increased 16%