CIMA Systems Blog

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

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.”

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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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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Pleasanton, CA, July 14, 2009 – CIMA Systems (www.cimasystems.net), the leading provider of multi-channel marketing communications technologies for the automobile industry, announced today its latest software upgrade, designed to take full advantage of the newest technology trends in communications.

 This extensive release from CIMA offers major enhancements that allow for trends in the latest communications technologies and tools on the media horizon. Further, the new release enhances CIMA’s already advanced reporting tool allowing dealers to view trends in market penetration and zip code mapping analysis on all car deals and service repair orders.

 “As new ways of reaching customers continues across society, these improvements to our system give car dealers more flexibility, speed and robust technology to communicate with their market base using the newest forms of emerging media, helping them to increase their business through more interactive marketing and customer retention communications,” said Gary Nixon, President & CEO.

Reflecting this dramatic upgrade, CIMA also announced new branding, resulting in a new logo and tagline — “Building Customer Loyalty Through Innovative Communications” – and a new, more comprehensive website. This new branding reflects several new system technologies as well as new marketing and communications products such as hosted live chat and blogs that help auto dealers grow their business more efficiently and effectively.

 Unlike a typical one-way “blast” promotion, the CIMA system works like a virtual business development center, delivering unlimited two-way communications to dealership customers and prospects. It automatically communicates to customers based on their individual or vehicle needs to increase customer loyalty and response rate. Working automatically in the background, CIMA promotes the entire dealership based on any data which resides in the dealership’s dealer management system.

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DALLAS — The StoneEagle Group, a provider of software solutions and administrative systems, announced last week that CIMA Systems, which serves as 24-hour business-development center for dealers, has chosen to utilize StoneEagle’s SEcureData tool. 

Basically, CIMA plans to use this platform in order to provide accurate, comprehensive and timely data from their clients’ dealership management systems.

The SEcureData solution is designed to collect inaccessible and inconsistent data from various DMS types. It then cleanses, standardizes and custom maps each dealers for integrity, before sending out the “transactable” data.

Essentially, SEcureData can provide CIMA with the necessary information to build effective marketing and advertising campaigns for their clients. 

The CIMA solution allows dealers to engage in unlimited two-way communication with customers (based on data in their DMS) for one flat monthly fee. 

Customers can choose they way they communicate with dealers (phone, e-mail, text, etc.). Consumers can also schedule service appointments online or through a toll-free phone number, and then CIMA automatically contacts the customer with a reminder. 

“StoneEagle’s ability to accurately and quickly retrieve DMS data is invaluable to CIMA,” noted Gary Nixon, president and chief executive officer of CIMA. “As our mission is to provide dealers with the very best in technology to help enhance customer communication and we are excited to have StoneEagle as a technology partner.” 

Jason Gillette, director of sales and marketing for the StoneEagle Group, added: “The SEcureData solution is hosted and managed by StoneEagle to provide our clients with the highest levels of security, reliability and scalability. 

“The data processing and quality assurance measures we have implemented, coupled with our ability to tailor a solution around a client’s specific business rules, provides a winning scenario for companies offering software applications to the automotive industry,” he continued.

“CIMA is truly on a fast track and StoneEagle is excited to work with CIMA to provide a seamless and secure data solution to their client dealers,” Gillette added.