Tracey E. Schelmetic
Last June, CRM solutions provider Epicor acquired MechanicNet and since then, the CRM company has been making changes to improve the platform, including the addition of new features, most notably some that will directly increase the amount of business heading into the service bays. The newly updated (and now Epicor branded) solution represents a more complete end-to-end automotive aftermarket offering that helps customers manage their back office, shop operations and customer engagement, according to the company.
“Every general repair shop, tire dealer and other automotive service business is looking to increase bay traffic, revenue and profitability,” Stephen Gannon, Epicor automotive business lead. “Epicor MechanicNet Cloud CRM is built to help users achieve each of these goals.
The Epicor MechanicNet Cloud CRM solution is a customer retention and outbound marketing solution for automotive service businesses, but it’s built for the twenty-first century and now includes social media scoring and reputation management applications, an expansion of text messaging to include appointment reminders, and more.
“Service providers represent the auto care industry’s ultimate connection with millions of consumers and businesses that rely on our products and services – and it is absolutely vital that we help these businesses continue to grow,” said Scott Thompson, senior vice president, automotive and business services, Epicor.
Specifically, new features include:
- Reputation management. User’s online reviews are integrated into the solution’s analytics dashboard to for easier access and more timely responses.
- Multimedia appointment reminders. In addition to reminder emails, dealers can now send calendar appointment reminders to customers as text messages. The solution will automatically send a text message within two hours of a confirmed appointment.
- Improvements to the communications console. The redesign includes a more mobile-friendly responsive design and enables users to add or remove columns.
- Holiday promotions. Dealers can take advantage of new resources and promotional materials for special event marketing.