Automotive Marketing Automation Software

Follow up that keeps running on the days nobody has time for it, reviewed by the people who know the customer, and recorded on the lead it was meant for.

Follow up rarely fails because salespeople are lazy. It fails because it is invisible work with no deadline. A lead from eleven days ago competes with the customer standing at the desk right now, and the customer at the desk wins every time. That is the right call on the floor and a costly one for the pipeline.

Automotive marketing automation makes sure the eleventh day happens at all. It watches what happens on each lead, a form submitted, a status changed, an appointment missed, and sends the message that moment calls for, or puts a task in front of the person who should send it. The message on day eleven does not have to be brilliant. It has to exist, arrive at a sensible hour and make replying easy.

In LeadLocate the automation lives inside the LeadLocate CRM, on the same records your team works. That is the difference that matters. A franchise BDC, an independent or used car store, a buy here pay here lot, an RV or boat dealer and a broker all get automation that knows the lead's status, its owner, its appointments and every message already sent, because it is the same system.

The most common automotive marketing automation mistake is one sequence for everyone. A shopper who asked about a specific SUV this morning, an owner who requested an offer on their trade and a customer who bought two years ago are three different conversations. LeadLocate builds segments from data the CRM already holds.

Before a list goes out, the Phone Validator and Email Validator check it and show validity dots on each lead, so a campaign does not spend three weeks messaging a disconnected number.

Leave your number and a lead specialist calls you back to answer your questions about pricing, coverage, and setup. Mon - Sat, 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM Pacific.

Prefer to talk right now? Call or text 844-376-2274.

Every automated touch in LeadLocate starts from something real on the lead. These are the triggers, and the tool that owns each one.

Automated Templates and Follow Up Processes each have their own page with the setup detail.

1. A fresh internet lead at 9:40 on a Saturday

Trigger: a shopper submits the website form. 9:40: the lead rotates to the next rep, whose phone buzzes, and the source's template texts the shopper under the rep's name. 3:40 PM: the New Lead 14 Day Follow Up puts a second call task on the rep's Workspace. Days 1 through 14: call, text and email tasks at a steady pace. Review: with Auto Send off, each step is a task the rep works personally; any step the manager switches to Auto Send is queued the moment the plan starts and sits in the Scheduled Messages queue, readable and editable, until its time. Exit: the shopper books, the rep sets the status to Appointment, the 14 day plan stops and the visit reminder takes over. If the shopper never answers, day 14 closes the plan and moves the lead to lost with the reason Lead Process Completed.

2. A missed appointment on Thursday night

Trigger: the rep marks the 6:00 PM visit missed. Friday 9:00 AM: a call, text and email task with the manager's instructions to ask, not accuse. Saturday 9:00 AM: a call and text. Exit: the customer replies, rebooks for Sunday, and the status change hands the lead to the reminder plan, which puts a reminder task on the rep's Workspace 24 hours before the new time. Every waiting message from the missed appointment plan is cancelled on the way out.

3. Ninety days of unsold shoppers

Segment: the internet director builds a recipient list of last quarter's unsold shoppers and runs it through the Phone Validator. Message: a short text with a real reason to reply and the rep's own inventory link, [inventorylink], so each shopper lands on their salesperson's vehicles. Send: Bulk Texting to the list, which honors the DNC Blacklist and opt outs. Exit: a STOP reply unsubscribes the number and adds it to the blacklist, and every other reply lands on that customer's thread for the owner to pick up.

Anything set to go out later, by a person or by a process, sits in one queue you can see, edit and stop.

• The Automation windows. The clock on a lead's Text, Email and Voicemail buttons opens the Messaging Automation, Email Automation and Voicemail Automation windows. A time is required: pick it under Send at or tap a quick time like Today or Tomorrow. The window reminds the rep that to text now, they use Send a Text. Set a text or voicemail drop outside 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM and a heads up appears under the time.
• The Scheduled tabs. On every lead, the Scheduled texts, Scheduled emails and Scheduled voicemail drops tabs list what is waiting for that customer, with edit, Send now and cancel in place.
• The Scheduled Messages slide-out. The clock in the Messaging, Email and Call Logs headers opens the whole queue: texts, emails and voicemail drops waiting to go out, searchable by name, phone, email or words, and narrowed by status, by source (scheduled by a person, a sequence, appointment confirmations, AI voicemail) and by time (next hour, today, tomorrow).

Every row says what is happening in plain words: Scheduled, Sending, Behind, Will not send, Sent, Delivered, Not delivered, Failed, Cancelled or Skipped. A message to a customer on Do Not Call reads Will not send and never goes out. A failure names its reason, such as a number on Do Not Call or an account out of credits, so nobody has to guess.

Good automation drafts, and people decide. LeadLocate puts the review step where it belongs.

• Per step control. Every Follow Up Process step has an Auto Send switch, and the default processes ship with it off, so each step is a task the salesperson works. Switch it on and the step's messages are queued as soon as the plan starts, visible on the lead days before they go.
• Manager review of the queue. With Whole Team View, a manager sees every scheduled message across the team, opens any one to edit it, sends it now or cancels it, and can stop a running sequence and cancel its waiting messages in one click. A manager's edit keeps the author's signature, and the message shows who changed it. Reps see their own messages and those on customers assigned to them.
• AI that drafts for a person. The AI writing assistant writes or rewrites a text or email for the rep to send. Design Studio ads open the composer with the ad attached when a rep chooses Text it to a lead, and they never send on their own.
• Voice held to store hours. AI voicemail drops written by topic, voiced in natural English or Spanish voices, wait for store hours before they go.

For stores that want more, AI Follow-Up comes switched on for every LeadLocate account.

Automation makes activity numbers look wonderful, which is exactly why it needs careful measurement. Ten thousand automated texts are not a result. They are a cost. Because every touch is written to the lead, LeadLocate measures what happened, not what someone remembered to log.

• Every touch on the timeline. Automated and manual texts, emails, calls and voicemails sit on one communications timeline per customer, with a delivery status on every text: sent, delivered or failed.
• Replies where the owner works. A reply to an automated text lands on the same thread in the texting inbox and alerts the assigned rep.
• Clicks. Trackable short links show who clicked the vehicle or offer in a text, and email lists show opens and clicks.
• Outcomes. Statuses, appointments set and shown, and lost reasons come from the same records, and the Reports dashboard rolls activity, company and management reporting up from them.

Measure four things: replies by message, so you find the one step that does the work; time from a reply to a human answer; appointments set and kept from each plan; and opt outs, your early warning that the pace is wrong. One illustrative example: if a plan earns 60 replies in a month and 20 of them wait more than four hours for a person, fixing that gap is worth more than rewriting any message.

Plenty of automotive marketing software is a general email or texting platform with car words added. Before you buy, check it against how a store actually sells.

For any dealership marketing automation software, the real test is simple: send yourself a lead and watch what happens for two weeks.

The most common way an automation rollout fails is ambition. A store maps fifteen cadences, builds three and launches none. Start with one.

What we need from your store

• Your lead sources and who owns each one.
• Your lead statuses and your current follow up rule.
• The wording your best salesperson uses, and any lists you want to bring in.
• Your store hours and your sending domain for email.

What our team does

Our team connects your lead sources, maps your statuses to the nine default processes, puts your wording into the templates, and sets up sending from your dealership's own domain on request, so automated email carries your reputation. Training is part of every plan: the video library, Live Training and Schedule Training from the top bar.

Your first two weeks

Run the fresh lead plan for two weeks with Auto Send off and read every reply yourself. You will rewrite half the messages, which is the point. Then turn Auto Send on for the steps that need no judgment, add the missed appointment plan, and stop there until both are producing.

Marketing automation is one layer of the platform. Automotive SMS automation and automotive email automation go deeper on each channel, and dealership campaign management software covers list sends, Market Areas and the campaigns our team runs from your Leads Manager selections.

The automation tools are part of the LeadLocate CRM subscription on every plan, including CRM Only. The parts that vary are people and volume: each plan includes a login to start and more users are an add-on, and usage credits cover bulk texting, bulk email, phone and email validation and voicemail deliveries. Plans, user add-ons and credits are on the pricing page, month to month, or call 844-376-2274.

What is the difference between marketing automation and bulk texting?

Bulk texting sends one message to a list now. Marketing automation sends the right message to one customer because something happened on their lead, such as a new inquiry, a status change or a missed appointment, and keeps going on a schedule until the plan ends.

Which triggers can start an automated message?

A lead received on a source, a lead with no owner yet, an appointment confirmed, a status change, an appointment completed, missed or coming up, a keyword texted to a chatbot, and a date and time a rep picks in the Messaging, Email or Voicemail Automation window.

Can a manager approve messages before they go out?

Yes. Process steps can stay tasks for a person with Auto Send off, Auto Send messages are queued days ahead where they can be read, and with Whole Team View a manager sees every scheduled message across the team in the Scheduled Messages slide-out, where any message can be edited, sent now or cancelled.

Does automation stop when a customer replies or opts out?

A STOP reply unsubscribes the number and adds it to the blacklist, and anything scheduled to it reads Will not send. Any other reply lands on the thread and alerts the owner, and when the rep changes the lead's status the running process stops or hands off to the next one.

Do we need a DMS connection or an inventory feed?

No. Neither is required, which is why brokers and small stores run on LeadLocate. If your website lists inventory, Inventory Link imports it so messages can carry real vehicles and each rep's inventory link.

Can automated email come from our own domain?

Yes. Email domain authentication sends from your dealership's own domain, and our team sets it up on request so automated email carries your store's reputation.

How is automotive marketing automation priced?

The automation tools are part of the CRM subscription on every plan. More users are an add-on beyond the included login, and usage credits cover bulk sends, validation and voicemail deliveries. The pricing page lists plans, add-ons and credits.

Our team will set up your first follow up plan, your triggers and your review steps, then show you the replies it earns. Month to month, no long term contract.

Prefer to talk right now? Call or text 844-376-2274.