AutoTrader jacks up with CRM

REDMOND, USA: Atlanta-based AutoTrader.com, with 2,000 employees, connects buyers and sellers. It generates revenues through partnerships with advertisers and more than 20,000 dealers.

Its extensive sales force has been using technology based on legacy CRM software that now makes the switch to Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

Online automotive marketplace AutoTrader.com has selected Microsoft Dynamics CRM as its customer relationship management (CRM) system and anticipates a number of benefits from the new system, including visibility for trending and forecasting. The new system will increase the ability to view the ongoing interactions between its sales representatives and dealers and make it easier to measure the success of follow-up efforts with customers, a press note shares.

"We needed a tool that was easily used, worked well out of the box, integrated with Microsoft Office Outlook, and would enable us to track contacts, customer interactions and opportunities without having to introduce a totally different application or platform," said Gib Finley, AutoTrader.com director of Sales and Service Technologies.

AutoTrader.com considered retaining its legacy system and looked at other off-the-shelf solutions before choosing Microsoft's technology.

"We zeroed in on Microsoft Dynamics CRM fairly quickly," Finley said. "We have sister operating companies using it, and we liked its integration with Microsoft Office Outlook. We also valued the Microsoft Dynamics CRM integration with our other Microsoft technology and its ability to roll out CRM to a mobile platform so our staff could use it on compatible mobile devices."

The company ultimately chose Microsoft Dynamics CRM for its easy method of tracking contacts, opportunity-management capabilities, sales-interaction functionality and flexible reporting. We've had previous engagements with Tribridge, and it provided a lot of expertise with quality people who understand the toolset well," Finley said.

AutoTrader.com will integrate its Microsoft Dynamics CRM solution with its current Microsoft technology, which includes the 2007 Microsoft Office system, Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, Microsoft Office Outlook and Microsoft SharePoint Server, along with third-party software to help support service-call operations.