and social media platforms as part of our overall

and social media platforms as part of our overall strategic marketing plan. We try and keep our focus on what we can influence - not what others are doing. We have to be who we are,
and ensure that our values drive our everyday decisions.
Q4: How would you describe your experience to date with
PBS?
Vancouver Toyota in Washington State has been a PBS customer for
just over a year. It is a PBS goal to create a system that allows a dealership to enjoy their DMS experience. We asked the Dealer, Greg
Leonard, to answer a few questions about their experience thus far
with PBS. Here is what he had to say.
Q1: How would you describe your business?
We like to describe ourselves as being in the "People Business
First". We have found that if we keep our focus on serving PEOPLE
first, we are much more effective and profitable.
Q2: What enticed you towards PBS?
We were looking for an alternative to the "big box" DMS provider and
for more integration - we have a long term desire to move away from
multi-vendor platforms to eventually - 1 platform - 1 DMS provider and lower overall costs. Sounds utopian...but it's what we're seeking. We really liked the PBS platform, the values of the company and
the willingness of PBS to listen to us.
Q3: How do you approach your market?
Our #1 priority is our local market. This is where we live and
work. We are always seeking new ways to integrate into the community and leverage the relationships we have built over the last 29
years. We integrate multi levels of traditional media, digital media
The change has been challenging for us. We spent 13 years with
our last vendor and change can be, and often is, difficult. We
have had our share of difficulties, and have had to deal with the
loss of Dealer Daily integration for the short term. Those challenges noted, we have a known DMS monthly cost, which is significantly less than our prior system. We have developed work
arounds with minor staff implications to address the lack of integration. We continue to find PBS to be willing to listen to our
needs and they are accessible to answer questions and concerns. We attended our first PBS Conference last year and the
time spent with our staff and the PBS staff was fantastic. We
are very satisfied with our decision to be business partners with
PBS Systems Group.
Q5: Where do you see the current value PBS is providing?
PBS consistently provides a high quality DMS system at what we
believe is a fair cost. We entered into the relationship with long
term intentions. The willingness to listen and the opportunities
to provide input into the development of current or future
platforms is essential for us, and cannot be understated.
Q6:Why would you tell other dealers to purchase PBS?
Changing DMS providers and choosing a vendor is one of the
most important decisions a dealership will make. The reality
today is that many providers offer similar products and
platforms. The difference in our experience has been the willingness of the DMS company to listen and be attuned to the
needs of the dealer. There is no perfect system out there yet. We believe that PBS has the ability to exceed in every area
of need when it comes to DMS systems, and do it at a cost that
is reasonable.
Maximize Service Retention - Aristo Service Marketing
Aristo Service Marketing will help maximize
service retention and increase shop revenue by
promoting regular maintenance visits. This
module will dramatically improve the way your
dealership is communicating to your Service
customers.
An infinite number of marketing plans can be
customized to fit your dealership and manufacturer requirements. Each marketing plan is
interval based (months/mileage) and will also
take individual average and driving habits into
consideration when calculating when the customer is due for their next maintenance service. Plans can be designed for new vs. used,
make or model, or even down to the trim level.
Service Marketing promotes each potential
service 3 times - and each marketing attempt
can be defined as a letter, email, or call script!
An example could be:
Through seamless integration with the Titanium or Aristo Service and Appointments module
(s), Aristo Service Marketing will trigger the
first marketing activity 2-3 weeks prior to the
potential service.
The second marketing
attempt will trigger 7-10 days after, only if no
repair order or appointment has been made.
And the 3rd and final marketing attempt will
send 7-10 days after that.
In addition, Advisors are automatically notified
of potential services that may be due if an appointment or RO is created for non-
maintenance services.
As soon as a vehicle is delivered, or enters the service department they are automatically added to Service Marketing. All marketing attempts are tracked, and ‘Lost Souls’
are easily identified and reactivated.
Our in depth ROI reporting will help you validate your most effective marketing strategies and see the net dollars generated on service orders based upon customers contacted for their regular maintenance. Aristo Service Marketing guarantees a return on
investment within 60 days.
If you are interested in learning more about Aristo Service Marketing or seeing indepth demonstration please contact Susan Stefan at:
1-800-872-1316 ext. 387 or email her at susans@pbssystems.com
Focus on Employee - Pat Calvert
The process of welcoming a new customer to the PBS family begins with the Territory Managers. It is their job to provide
solutions for Auto dealers that want to
take advantage of leading technologies to
advance their business.
Pat Calvert has been a Territory Manager
with PBS for over six years, however has
been involved with the company for over
20 years and in the automotive industry
for 29 years. Pat was one of the original
PBS customers, working as a manager at
Kenmount Ford in Nova Scotia.
When asked what his interest was in PBS
Pat replied, “It began as just a great tool,
but then it became personal when they
embraced me as part of the family. It became more than a career and I believe in
the product we are providing to our cus-
tomers”. Starting at a customer level, followed by consulting for the company, Pat
had a solid understanding of the software
before he was hired fulltime.
His
knowledge of the software has helped him
when discussing the message behind why
PBS is an enjoyable DMS experience.
Pat has voiced that the most rewarding
part of working for PBS is when he is able
to shake the hands of a new customer. “I
believe in something so much and it is rewarding when a customer starts to believe
in it too, realizing how it will benefit their
business.”
On the other hand Pat’s job can be challenging on occasion for it can be difficult to
get the message across. That message being, “PBS, hands down has the most comprehensive retail auto software solution
available as a fully seamlessly integrated
solution. Our customer centric focus and
leading edge technology allows any dealership to meet and exceed their DMS requirements under one solution.”
Managing Your Customer’s Right to Privacy – Heather Hansen
Since January 1, 2004, businesses have been subject to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). At
that point, most software providers incorporated changes that would allow the Dealership to monitor their customer preferences for
communication and privacy management. As time has gone by, more and more businesses have allowed their privacy management policies to erode. Trained employees have been replaced, and knowledge about your business’ privacy management may have slipped to the
back of everyone’s mind or been lost altogether.
But when you take privacy rights seriously in your business, you establish an atmosphere of trust that keeps customers loyal and attracts
the best employees, and handling privacy concerns correctly can help improve your organization’s reputation.
Best Practice Guidelines
Whether you’re using your customer’s personal information to advise them of SOP parts, a vehicle that’s ready for pick-up, or sending message
about an upcoming sales promotion, being aware of your obligations to consumer privacy and best practices is critical to your on-going customer relationship.
Obtain Express Customer Consent Dealerships today should have their Privacy Statements printed on
both their Bill of Sale and their Hard Copy Work Orders. These documents engage the consumer in a business relationship with you, and
allow you to use their personal information as indicated in your privacy
policy. A sample of a good policy would be:
PRIVACY STATEMENT: I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU AND YOUR SERVICE PROVIDERS, AFFILIATES AND BUSINES PARTNERS COLLECT, USE AND RETAIN MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
THAT I DISCLOSE TO YOU FOR THE PURPOSE OF (I) PROVIDING MOTOR VEHICLE PRODUCTS
AND RELATED SERVICES THAT I HAVE REQUESTED; (II) PROVIDING ME WITH RELATED INFORMATION AND SERVICES YOU BELIEVE MAY BE OF INTEREST TO ME INCLUDING LICENSING, CREDIT REPORTING, OTHER SERVICES, AND (III) COMPILING AGGREGATED OR STATISTICAL DATA IN WHICH I WILL NOT BE PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE. USE OF THIS DATA IS
PERMITTED BY ANY COMMUNICATION MEANS INCLUDING EMAIL, PRINT OR AUTOMATED
MESSAGE. I MAY NOTIFY YOU IN WRITING AT ANY TIME IF I NO LONGER CONSENT TO ANY OF
THESE USES AND TO UPDATE OR CORRECT MY PERSONAL INFORMATION.
Disclose Changes to Your Privacy Policy –
If you are updating your Privacy policy to incorporate new purposes or
use of the consumer information you’ve collected, you will need to
document the change. Put a bulletin up in the showroom, customer
service or waiting area, and publish your current privacy policy on your
website for ease of access by your customers.
Telemarketing – Pre-recorded messages and live agents have slightly
different regulations that need to be followed. The CRTC/FTC publishes
guidelines associated with calls that are either :
a) notification oriented or b) an intent to sell a product or service.
The National Do Not Call List (NDNCL) only applies if your customer has
not engaged in a business transaction with your brand in the last 18months. For a prospective client (inquiry received, but no product purchased), the NDNCL must be taken into consideration only for conquest
opportunities who’s initial contact with you is older than 6-months.
Email Marketing – Marketing to a customer with whom you have an
existing business relationship is fully permitted, but certain guidelines
still need to be followed. Bill C-27 "The Electronic Commerce Protection Act" (ECPA) addressed spam, counterfeit websites and spyware.
The original bill has now been reintroduced as Bill C-28, the "Fighting
Internet and Wireless Spam Act" (FISA). C-28 passed into law in midDecember 2010.
Reaching a Customer by Direct Mail – The most open, and unregulated
area of communication is contact by physical mail. Providing that your
message complies with the type of communication a consumer might
Know how you can use the information in your possession –
expect from your privacy policy, you are able to reach out as often as
Most dealerships use a variety of communication tools, and being
you’d like through this media. It is, however, one of the most expensive
aware of the industry requirements in each media type is an important means of communication and one of the lowest possible ROIs
part of protecting your customer’s disclosure of personal information. (averaging only a 1-3% response rate).
When Things Get Difficult
No matter how hard you work at enhancing customer loyalty, there will be instances when your organization does not meet your customers’
expectations of privacy. Recovering customer loyalty can be a simple process if it’s done right. Use these four steps to resolve privacy concerns
before people flag you as a spammer, or take more drastic action (complaining to the CRTC or Privacy Commissioner’s office):




Take responsibility.
Sincerely apologize to the customer for not meeting their expectations. Often, this is all you need to do to address the concern and maintain customer loyalty.
Fix the problem.
If your organization made a mistake, take action right away. If your privacy policy has been called into question, determine if the policy is
appropriate and whether it should apply to similar circumstances in future.
Make a peace offering.
If your organization has made a mistake, offer your customer something meaningful for their inconvenience. If the customer wants a
written apology, consider having someone in authority draft a letter.
Check in with disgruntled customers.
Follow up to ensure the issue has been resolved to your customer’s satisfaction.
These steps may not resolve all your customers’ privacy issues, but they will help repair damaged relations, build customer loyalty and avoid
privacy investigations. Above all, ensure that your front-line staff has support from your key executives to address your customers’ concerns.
PBS has grown to be the market leader thanks to the efforts of our people and the tremendous support of our customers.
The PBS Systems Group has been providing accurate, reliable
Dealership software, services and support for more than 23 years.
During that period, PBS has become the largest Canadian Dealership systems vendor as well as one of the top three in North
America. PBS currently markets and supports our systems in 6
countries.
years of profitability. Our financial strength, depth and experience
has allowed PBS the luxury of investing in the future. Decisions are
always made based on the best interest of our customers and
employees. PBS is consistently the first to market, the first to embrace change, the first to adopt new ideas and concepts.
The various PBS companies are completely owned by management and employees of the corporation. The group has experienced consistent growth of over 15 per cent per year. At the same
time, the company has remained completely debt free with 23
As the recognized market leader, our name is synonymous with
innovation. We offer a wide range of internationally renowned
products and services for Dealerships – from complex Dealership
Management Systems to web based call monitoring.
Welcome to PBS! Congratulations to the following who have added PBS software to their dealership.
Alberni Chrysler
Derrick Dodge 1980 Ltd.
Johnston Chrysler Dodge Jeep
MSA Ford Sales
Roy Foss Chevrolet
Automobiles Simard
Blue Mountain Chrysler Ltd.
Downey Ford
Dunlop Ford
Kawartha Chrysler
Kennebec Dodge Chrysler
Nanaimo Suzuki
Niagra Chrysler
Seven View Plymouth Chrysler
Sterling McCall Acura
Camrose Chrysler
Eastway Toyota
KIA Joliette
North Bay Chrysler
Team Ford
City Motors Limited
Erin Dodge Chrysler Jeep
KIA Saint John
Overseas BMW
Toronto Chrysler Dodge
Cold Lake Chrysler
Frist Chrysler
Lexus of Windsor
Owen Sound Volkswagen
Westend Suzuki
Comox Valley Nissan
Frei Chevrolet
Lindsay Dodge Chrysler
Performance Ford
Wolfe Chilliwack Mazda
Crossline Auto Center
Garage P. Vezina Matane
MacDonald Chrysler Limited
Provincial Chrysler
Wolfe Mitsubishi
Demers Chevrolet Inc.
Great West Chrysler
McKinstry Chrysler
Raceway Plymouth
Yorkton Dodge
The following are the members of the PBS Partner Program.
Contact Us
Brain Teasers
PBS hopes readers have been informed
and entertained by this newsletter.
1)
What gets wetter when it dries?
2)
You are in a cold house in the
winter. It is dark. You have one
match. There is a candle and
there is a wood burning stove.
Which do you light first?
3)
I have two arms, but fingers
none. I have two feet, but cannot
run. I carry well, but I have
found I carry best with my feet
off the ground. What am I?
The company welcomes your letters
and suggestions, particularly articles
you would like to see in future issues.
Address correspondence to:
Editor, The Edge
PBS Systems Inc.
Email: edgeeditor@pbssystems.com
Call: 1-800-872-1316 ext. 332
Fax: 1-403-444-7780
www.pbssystems.com
© Copyright 2011
PBS Financial Systems Inc.
Interested in joining an
Advisory Group?
Email: kendallb@pbssystems.com
Advisors have the opportunity to help
effect development direction within
their PBS software.
Email or fax in correct answers to win a prize!