In the rush of daily operations, managing inventory, hitting sales goals, and keeping the service lane flowing, it’s easy for dealerships to treat their DMS as a record-keeping tool. A place to stash customer history, sales transactions, and service appointments. But what if your DMS wasn’t just a logbook of past activity… but the key to future revenue?
Because here’s the reality: your DMS is one of the most valuable assets your dealership owns. Most teams just haven’t unlocked their full potential yet. And right now, too many dealerships are sitting on untapped potential.
According to Experian’s 2024 Global Data Management Research, 91% of businesses say poor data quality impacts their ability to deliver consistent customer experiences. And in the dealership world, that’s even more costly.
Every time a customer walks into your showroom, buys a car, schedules a service, or even just fills out a form on your website, that data goes somewhere, usually your DMS. Over the years, you’ve likely accumulated tens of thousands of customer records. But without a strategy to identify and manage that data, much of it becomes useless.
We’re talking about:
Instead of working for your dealership, this data just sits there, quietly collecting digital dust.
It’s no secret that acquiring a new customer costs more than keeping an existing one. But the real magic happens when you reactivate customers you already have, but haven’t engaged in months or even years.
You’ve heard the stat: it costs 5–10 times more to acquire a new customer than to retain an existing one (Harvard Business Review). So why are so many dealerships pouring money into conquest when they already have a treasure trove of past buyers, lessees, and service customers just waiting to be re-engaged?
At Activator, we believe that your next best customer might be someone who’s already in your DMS. They just need the right nudge, at the right time, on the right channel.
That’s where segmentation, behavioral triggers, and automation come in.
That’s where Activator’s CDP comes into play. Built to make your data actionable, our CDP with Data Management Layer, powered with Salesforce, transforms your disconnected DMS into a revenue-driving machine. It’s not about doing more, it’s about doing the right things with the data you already have.
Our CDP with Data Management Layer works like this:
With that foundation, we automate multichannel marketing campaigns that connect you with the right customers, eliminating guesswork. Just precision. All of this happens behind the scenes, so your team can stay focused on selling and servicing, while your marketing does its job without burning out your BDC.
Whether it’s lease-end outreach, equity mining, or service retention, Activator builds campaigns that are both hands-free and high-performing. We call them Multichannel Marketing Campaigns, but you’ll call them a game-changer.
Because customers don’t want more messages, they want better ones.
Take “Lost Souls” for example: customers who haven’t been in for service in 12+ months and didn’t respond to past messages. With Activator, these customers don’t get blasted with another generic email. They receive targeted outreach based on their behavior, delivered through their preferred channels, whether that’s email, SMS, direct mail, or all of the above.
And the results? Increased appointments. More repair orders. Higher engagement. That’s not just marketing, that’s smart, scalable relationship-building.
And it all starts with unlocking your DMS.
See how Activator unlocks your DMS with this short video:
If your dealership is still using your DMS solely for logging information, it’s time to unlock its full potential. Your data isn’t just history; it’s the key to your next round of growth.
Let’s make your data work smarter, so your team doesn’t have to work harder. Book a demo and we’ll show you how your data can start working better.