Managing automotive customer relations effectively in the digital age

BMW Mini Invelt Logo

Managing automotive customer relations effectively in the digital age

Managing automotive customer relations effectively in the digital age

Invelt has been in the market of car sales for more than 27 years. As one of the largest BMW dealerships operating in the Czech Republic, Invelt has a customer base of approximately 8,000 customers, to whom they sell 1,400 vehicles annually and an additional 250 motorcycles. Within the two office locations in Pilsen and Prague, Invelt has a dedicated team of 170 employees. The Prague branch is one of the most modern and cutting-edge car sales centres in Europe. Beyond the classic portfolio from the BMW brand that includes BMW, BMW M, BMW i, MINI vehicles and motorcycles, Invelt is also able to offer customers a unique portfolio of BMW aftermarket products. As an exclusive importer of ALPINA automobiles, Invelt is the sole source in the Czech Republic for the special automobiles from the BMW refinement and individualisation specialist from Buchloe, Germany. Konica Minolta IT Solutions Czech supports this market-leading car dealership with its Automotive CRM solution to strengthen customer relationships while increasing process efficiency.


Taking customer relationships into the digital age

Invelt is one of the largest car dealerships operating in the Czech Republic. For them, as for any organisation in car sales, one element is more important than anything else for their success: the relationship with customers. This is the core of their business. Hence, improving interaction processes and finding new digital ways in which technology can support this development were high on Invelt’s organisational agenda. Especially in times when paradigms are changing so fundamentally in the automotive industry, sound and reliable customer relationships are a highly valuable asset for dealerships. Therefore, the company set itself the goal of becoming a leader in digital transformation, as they saw potential for improvement in their business within this field early on.


Customers today favour modern ways of communication, start to choose vehicles differently and use the internet for a wide range of purposes, be it concluding contracts or transferring money. “We were thinking of a way to achieve this and we concluded that we need some kind of system to help us know our customers. That system is Automotive CRM”, explains Petr Bauš, General Manager at Invelt.


portrat image of Petr Baus, General Manager, Invelt, Czech Republic
quotation marks

We are changing, our customers are changing and so is the automotive sector. We think that we must be able to respond to our customer’s expectations faster than in the past. And for us, the Automotive CRM module is a suitable tool that helps us communicate with our customers better and more precisely than before.

Petr Bauš

General Manager, Invelt, Czech Republic


Finding the CRM solution that perfectly suits the organisation and its customers’ needs


In the same way that customers are changing, CRM systems need and will evolve, as new requirements and data have to be recorded, stored and acted upon. Strong partners are necessary for this. They can support by implementing a system that opens up new opportunities, provides new important information and helps to evaluate them. Digital solutions for customer relationship management are becoming ever more important for car dealerships.


At the same time, an increasing number of functionalities need to be integrated according to the specific needs of the customerw. Konica Minolta’s customer-centric business approach, especially in the field of IT services and solutions, makes for the ideal approach to tackle projects such as Automotive CRM.


BMW MINI Invelt - inside view on showroom


Powerful yet invisible for the customer and invaluable for the organisation

With Konica Minolta, Invelt already had a strong, long-lasting relationship. As such, both companies already knew that they think similarly and that they have a matching vision for the Automotive CRM project. They wanted to place the end customers and their needs in the centre of the project, and implemented the new system accordingly. Konica Minolta’s continued support for the customer throughout the complete implementation phase and beyond was what really set apart the project for Invelt. In addition to the online training sessions, which were part of the standard programme, the dedicated on-site support of experts from Konica Minolta IT Solutions Czech was greatly appreciated.


In fact, this was the main factor why the implementation went so smoothly. The team spent several days at the customer facility and provided all users, who work with the Microsoft Dynamics 365 based system, with support and consulting during the changeover. As a result, any issues that came up, initial questions or the users’ initial setbacks involving their work with the CRM were directly resolved. This procedure also enabled Invelt to collect positive ideas, initiatives and feedback which was directly built on during further development. Despite the extent and the large size of the project, this approach led to a perfect outcome for all stakeholders of the project.


“We have a lot of information about the client, but the client does not feel encumbered by the process. The customers have not registered that we are using a new system”, explains Petr Bauš at Invelt.


BMW Mini Invelt photo of entrance area


Building lasting relationships, not one-time solutions

One key reason for the success of the collaboration between Invelt and Konica Minolta was the very unique approach when it comes to solutions such as Automotive CRM. The solution is developed by Konica Minolta professionals who are highly experienced with data management and, at the same time, accurately take processes and internal requirements within the organisation into account. 


Customers are given the chance to become a so-called co-author of the solution. This is highly beneficial for them, as they are able to implement a CRM solution, which is based on their actual everyday practice and their exact company environment and processes. In the particular case of Invelt, Konica Minolta set up the Automotive CRM solution together with them to create a dedicated solution which fits the needs of this industry perfectly. Together with Konica Minolta, Invelt is already planning the next steps for further implementation of add-ons: dedicated integration of data into the marketing process to steer customer activities better and a reporting tool for management evaluation.


Advantages

Advantages
  • Overview of customers’ needs and how the sales professionals address them
  • Multi-brand solution with broad range of functionalities for each role
  • Comprehensive solution to manage vehicles, contacts, leads and sales process connected with powerful marketing module
  • Advanced and flexible reporting capabilities providing rich set of dashboardsand reports
  • Responsive user experience works on any screen size
  • Deep integration with Microsoft Office 365
  • Always runs up-to-date Microsoft platform
  • Integration to Dealer Management System and other backend systems
  • Customisable and extendable solution adapted to Invelt’s specific needs

Challenge

Challenge
  • Bringing the company closer to customers in the digital era
  • Linking customer information effectively with data-driven marketing and sales
  • Helping sales to take advantage of technology
  • Customer journeys leading to a vehicle purchase span across multiple communication channels
  • Customers always expect consistent premium care

Solution

Solution
  • 360° view of customers brings all important data together onto one screen
  • Marketing and sales data is aligned in building one process flow
  • The solution can be run on different devices with always-on data protection
  • Multichannel communication from all the processes collected into one hub
  • Out-of-box solution promotes proactivity by notifications and activity reporting

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