In the second part of our interview with Glen Demetrioff, President and CEO, DMT Development Systems Group, we discuss the importance of quick response times, why different ways of communication are important when it comes to leads and how integration and partnerships are bringing added value for dealers.
HE: Last time, we talked about customers opening up dealer response messages within 30 minutes. That in itself is really important for a number of reasons isn’t it?
GD: It’s a very important statistic, especially when you think that most of us — and I include myself here — won’t be able to open up every message that’s sent to them within 30 minutes, it’s just not possible. We have to prioritize from a long and cluttered inbox. I think the important thing is once we are able to show dealers that information, that these lead responses are being selected by customers and opened quickly, then we can show that the showroom traffic is better in terms of a higher number of quality leads. I don’t doubt for a minute that if I was still a salesperson working on the floor and I had a choice between a lead and a showroom up, I’d pick the latter every time. But because of what RAPID! Response does and because salespeople can get busy, there’s that opportunity to wow the customer and put a positive spin on the process, whether it’s the initial follow up, scheduling an appointment or the actual purchase.
HE: Can you tell us about some of the new developments you’ve been working on and what’s driven that?
Glen Demetrioff
GD: We are always looking at ways in how we can improve communication in real time. Some people prefer email, some prefer more instant forms of communication. The question is, how do you leverage that customer who wants instant gratification? We’ve been in the Canadian market for 18 years and while there are established tools and processes that continue to work really well, they fall short of the mark. We need to adapt to what is happening now with technology and communication tools that apply across many age groups.
For those consumers who are 40 years old, how do you communicate with them? How about 25 years old? Does a 25 year old use email? No, they use Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Kik, and Text tools that provide instant gratification. But you can’t consolidate these age demographics with a one-size-fits-all system approach. It requires thinking completely outside the box. At DMT we’ve always been about not doing the norm, by breaking down boundaries and understanding at the core level why some things work and others don’t. It’s why we’re adding more functionality to RAPID! Response and why we continue to grow our partnerships within the industry.
HE: Can you tell us a little more about those partnerships?
GD: Because RAPID! Response isn’t a CRM tool, we’ve partnered with most of the leading CRM providers in Canada and those partnerships have continued to grow. We’ve also expanded into the DMS space and have been developing tight integration systems with companies like PBS and Quorum. Because of that integration we’re able to push leads into their system and if a lead is converted into a sale, we know what the gross was on that transaction and the information goes back into the RAPID! Response console. This provides dealers with business intelligence in terms of which leads are providing the greatest ROI and which are the most beneficial for their staff.
HE: Although there’s been significant growth in demand for RAPID! Response, you continue to look for ways to make the product stand out in the marketplace. Can you talk a little about that?
GD: Marketing RAPID! Response is probably one of the most difficult tasks we have. And the reason it’s difficult to market is because it’s designed for only one purpose, to manage leads. RAPID! Response consolidates leads and allows you to respond to them in a timely fashion, but when you see that on a marketing message, it could be a product from any number of CRM or e-Management providers, so it’s often hard to convey that our product is different. It’s only when both our dealers and consumers are able to use the product do they really notice how different it is.
HE: One thing you can definitely say though is that RAPID! Response does actually have a 100 per cent response rate, correct?
GD: If you read a lot of marketing material about the various tools out there, a lot of them will claim they have a high response rate. At DMT we’ve done our own mystery shopping at 14,000 dealerships and know firsthand which tools work and which ones don’t because we see the response from dealers. If anybody was to mystery shop they will see that we don’t need to rely on marketing statements, we do have a 100 per cent response rate and leads don’t get missed. Our philosophy has always been to figure the ins and outs of a process, to take something that works and re-engineer it to make it better.
For an overview on RAPID! Response and actual dealer testimonials, click here:
http://www.dmt.ca/rapidresponse
