November 2009
We are pleased to announce that CIMA Systems will be moving to 4305 Hacienda Suite 360 Pleasanton, CA. Our phone numbers and email addresses will remain the same.
The physical move will be on Friday, November 20 2009. During the switch-over, our phones will be down and the best method of communicating with us that day will be email.
The move will not impact the ongoing operations and daily customer communications, but we apologize in advance for any inconvenience this may cause you. We would like to thank you for your patience during this time.
We look forward to serving you.
Sincerely,
CIMA Systems
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Posted by cima
September 2009
By Gary Nixon
Proactive marketing of factory-recommended services as well as dealership recommendations prior to the customer arriving in the drive not only pre-sells your service business, but displays your expertise at keeping their vehicle in top performance.
To accomplish this, you will need a plan of action and some automation to make such pre-selling practical, largely hands-off, and effective. Your audience must include new and used vehicle customers, current service customers, those you haven’t serviced in a while, and those which declined some of your recommended services.
Today, most dealers attempt to do this with a “blast” direct mail or email offering one-time service specials like a lube, oil filter or brake special hoping customers will see a coupon that is applicable to the service they feel their vehicles need. Although this plan does result in a spike in service, it is only temporary.’
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Gary Nixon Articles | Tagged: customer retention, dealership, email, marketing, recommendations, service menu | 
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Posted by cima
September 2009
There is no denying that the last year has been a tough one for auto dealers. Sales are down and consumers are keeping their vehicles longer. That trend of customers retaining their vehicles longer, however, has led to one of the few bright spots for dealers during the recession: fixed operations. With customers holding on to their vehicles longer, there has been an increased concentration on vehicle maintenance and repair. After all there’s no point holding on to a vehicle that doesn’t work. With that in mind we spoke to some experts in the fixed operations field to find out how dealers can squeeze more profit out of their service lanes.
Boosting fixed ops profits
The first question we put to our experts was the obvious one: How can dealers boost the profits from their fixed operations departments?
One obvious option that many dealers have used is to send direct mail of email offers to customers who have bought cars from them in the past. Gary Nixon, president and CEO of CIMA Systems, warns, however, that “Many dealerships attempt to do this with “blast” direct mail or emails offering a single service special, such as a LOF [Lube, Oil, and Filter] discount. These blasts then leave the dealership wondering, “What do we offer next?”
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Posted by cima
September 2009
Today, it is highly doubtful that you will find a dealership that is not using some form of customer relationship management (CRM). Some efforts may be as simple as recording contact information and products and services purchased, while others may keep detailed records of every client contact and send out automated email and voice messages. No matter what form it takes, some type of customer relationship management is a necessity for dealerships to retain and grow their business. In fact, a recent study from the University of Marylands Robert H. Smith School of Business, conducted with CRM provider Autobytel, found that dealerships using a customer management system perform 23 percent better than the competition.
There are a number of providers in the automotive space who offer well-designed and effective CRM systems, such as Reynolds & Reynolds, ADP, Autobase, DealerUps and CallCommand. So whats puzzling is why so many CRM systems are under-utilized or fail altogether. Why do so many systems not live up to the hype? Is this a function of overly complicated technology, a vendor issue, a dealership issue, or a combination of any or all of these?
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Leave a Comment » | Cima In The News | Tagged: CIMA Systems, communications, CRM, effectiveness | Permalink
Posted by cima
September 2009
We all know the current market situation. A decline in consumer confidence, along with high fuel prices, and the worry that the weakened market could turn into a full blown recession has hit the automotive industry hard.
According to Reuters, auto sales dropped 12 percent in March alone and predictions are that they will continue to decline through the second quarter of this year. Experts counsel that a strong focus on promoting your parts and service business is the way to keep your profits up during this down time. I’d like to offer a different perspective to ensure you focus on your entire dealership.
Although individual promotions for parts and services, vehicles sales, or any other aspect of your dealership are an integral part of your marketing plan, sending communications that promote specific departments to the exclusion of others sets you up for a roller coaster ride. For example, a marketing promotion that only touts a $9.99 oil change may make your service business rise briefly, but it may soon go right back down again, leaving you in a constant state of peaks and valleys, scrambling to come up with even better promotions.
Instead, focus on promoting your entire dealership. This approach gives you room to highlight a particular department, for instance your service department, while still tying in all the services and products you offer that meet the full gamut of customer needs. Marketing your dealership as a whole sets you up for a steady stream of revenue, so your business remains strong even during the most difficult economic conditions.
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Leave a Comment » | Gary Nixon Articles | Tagged: car dealerships, communications, email, marketing | Permalink
Posted by cima
July 2009
CIMA Systems, leading provider of multi-channel marketing communications for auto dealers, adds software designed around the newest technology trends. Enhances reporting tools allowing dealers to view trends in market penetration and zip code mapping analysis on all car deals and service repair orders. New system technologies, marketing and communications products such as hosted “live chat” and blogs help auto dealers grow their business more efficiently and effectively. Don’t miss out on gaining a virtual business development center that delivers unlimited two-way communications to dealership customers and prospects! For more information visit www.cimasystems.net.
SOURCE: Dealer Digest Daily
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Posted by cima
July 2009
| Thursday used to be the slowest day of the week at Marty Cancila Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep in Florissant, Mo.But the store has gained “huge traction” in the service department on Thursdays, says Jason Dorton, the dealership’s fixed-operations director. The surge in business is due to the e-mail blasts he sends to customers every Wednesday morning, using software from CIMA Systems, he says.CIMA, for Customer Interactive Management Application, is a customer contact system that works within a dealership management system. The software automatically pulls vehicle, parts and customer data from the dealership system and uses the information to send marketing and advertising messages to customers by e-mail, text and phone.
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| Faster phonesDorton sees the system as an easy way to reach a lot of customers.”We can only call so many people with four or five people on the phones,” he says. CIMA can dial the dealership’s entire database of 30,000 people in about a day’s time, he says.
Dorton isn’t the only one taking notice of CIMA Systems. Former Chrysler Corp. Chairman Lee Iacocca invested in CIMA after seeing a product demonstration. He joined its advisory board in 2006 and promotes it in advertisements. “Iacocca will play a key role in providing guidance for future CIMA product offerings,” the company said in a news release.
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Leave a Comment » | Cima In The News | Tagged: Automotive News, CIMA, Lee Iacocca, Marty Cancila Dodge Chrysler Jeep, Phil Long Dealer Group | Permalink
Posted by cima
July 2009
Pleasanton, CA, July 21, 2009 – CIMA Systems and Sandi Jerome Computer Consulting (SJCC) announced today a new marketing partnership that provides favorable pricing of CIMA products to the dealership clients of SJCC and its new dealer management system, DealerStar.
CIMA Systems is the leading provider of multi-channel marketing communications technologies to the automobile industry. SJCC is a leading consultancy on automotive business management, internal controls and computer utilization. DealerStar is an open system DMS and integrates seamlessly with CIMA Systems for seamless customer communications.
Jerome, also an auto dealership technology trends writer, said she’s keenly aware of the need for hands-off customer communications tools in the dealership environment today. “The biggest problem with most CRM/DMS systems is that they rely on constant human labor to be successful,” she said. “Today, most dealerships are operating with a limited labor force and customer retention is suffering. With CIMA products, all two-way marketing communications runs automatically in the background, allowing dealerships to remain in contact with their customers in the manner they prefer, whether by email, live chat, telephone, texting or blogs. CIMA is the most advanced product I have seen to drive business into a dealership.”
“I’ve known Sandi for more than 10 years,” said Gary Nixon, president and CEO, CIMA Systems, “and we are pleased to offer this special pricing to her dealership customers. She is one of the most respected computer consultants in the industry, and we are honored to be chosen as the exclusive provider of marketing communications for SJCC and DealerStar.”
Leave a Comment » | Press releases | Tagged: partnership, Sandi Jerome Computer Consulting, special pricing | Permalink
Posted by cima
July 2009
Dealer Magazine
By Gary Nixon
I grew up practicing the maxim that every cloud has a silver lining, and you’ll find one even in this dark-cloud market if you’ll simply look at the situation as opportunity.
I realize many readers are doing the best they can just to hang on today. Each dealer I speak to is looking closely at every single expense with the goal of dramatically reducing each while increasing business. One expense that can be reduced significantly is marketing and promotion.
Yet many of the dealers I speak with continue to use expensive non-technology-based means for advertising their products and services, such as hardcopy mailers. I encourage these dealers to reconsider those expenditures and look closely at email marketing as a better alternative.
Email marketing continues to be the most cost effective way of communicating those important dealership promotions/announcements and service due notifications with customers and prospects. A recent Aberdeen Group study confirmed this fact: “While 60% of marketers plan to cut their traditional marketing budgets this year, 47% of marketers plan to boost their email marketing budgets,” the study reported.
Now more than ever before, dealerships must look at the most cost effective way of marketing/communicating to their customers/prospects resulting in achieving the most effective return on investment (ROI).
Email marketing continues to reign as the lowest-cost, most-effective marketing medium to promote business to your dealership. However, as effective as email marketing is, let me state as an important aside that email marketing is not always the kind of communications every customer wants to receive from you. As you go about building your customer and prospect base, be sure you give customers the opportunity to tell you how they prefer to be contacted. For instance, while most customers will desire email communications, some still prefer phone contact, traditional mail or, in growing popularity, text messaging and related communications (e.g. live chat). A majority of our dealership customers offer each of these variations to their customers to ensure their message has the highest probability of being acted upon.
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Leave a Comment » | Gary Nixon Articles | Tagged: Car Dealers, CIMA Systems, Cost Effective, Email Marketing, ROI | Permalink
Posted by cima
July 2009
Rock Hill, SC — February 15, 2009 — Insignia Group, the leading provider of accessories sales and management innovations, announced today a new marketing partnership with CIMA Systems which will provide favorable pricing of CIMA products and services to Insignia affiliate dealerships.
CIMA Systems is the leading provider of multi-channel marketing communications technologies to the automobile industry. Under this new partnership, Insignia will offer their dealership customers the opportunity to proactively promote their parts and accessories through CIMA’s advanced patent-pending marketing communication tools which is integrated with the Insignia Accessories Sales System. The new offering brings Insignia dealerships unlimited marketing communications capabilities (e.g.. new vehicle/service promotions, service appointment reminders, seasonal events/promotions, automated appointment system via web & phone, etc.) and provides a complete dealership virtual business development center for dealerships.
“We have partnered with CIMA Systems for the past two years and have seen that dealers who combine the Insignia Accessories Sales System with CIMA’s advanced proactive marketing campaign solution have seen a significant increase in customers returning to their dealership for sales, service, and parts & accessories business,” said David Stringer, president of Insignia Group. “The special CIMA pricing our partnership brings dealerships delivers tremendous marketing value to our customers for a small fraction of what most others dealerships are paying to promote their services today”.
The partnership further streamlines the Insignia sales process by allowing dealerships to proactively promote their products and specials. As an example, CIMA will automatically send a custom email from the dealership’s parts department to a new vehicle customer congratulating them on their purchase. The customer will also receive a promotion (i.e.10% off any accessory purchased within 30 days) to thank them for their business. By simply clicking a link that is contained in the email, the customer will be taken directly to the dealership’s Insignia Accessories System, allowing them to easily shop for accessories and personalize their vehicle. Purchases can be made on-line, and the CIMA System will automatically notify the customer when the accessories arrive for installation. The customer can then schedule the accessory installation using CIMA’s AutoAppointment system. As an added convenience, CIMA automatically reminds the customer of the appointment, allowing them to confirm or reschedule as needed.
“We at CIMA are very excited to expand our relationship with Insignia,” states Gary Nixon President and CEO of CIMA Systems. “The combination of CIMA and Insignia makes it extremely easy for dealership customers to do business with them by automating the entire marketing and purchase process. In today’s economic times, dealers need these tools to drive more business in the most cost effective way”.
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Posted by cima
