Name: VinSolutions
Rating: 7.6 (7 reviews)
Author: Cox Enterprises

Customer Success Management Training

Help Desk

Web and Video Conferencing

Customer Support

Augmented Reality Development

Innovation Management

Text Editors

Development

Business Intelligence (BI)

Collaboration

Desktop Publishing

Enterprise Feedback Management

Operational Analytics

Project Portfolio Management

Visitor Management

Enterprise

Accounting

Blockchain Payments

Crypto Asset Management

Investor Relations

Subscription Management

Finance and Accounting

Applicant Tracking

Corporate Learning Management

Employer of Record (EOR)

HR Management

Payroll

Talent Intelligence

Talent Management

Workforce Analytics

Workforce Management

Human Resources

Access Gateways

Application Lifecycle Management (ALM)

Application Performance Management (APM)

Archiving

Cloud Storage

Custom Software Development Services

Database Performance Monitoring

Endpoint Security

Firewall

Fraud Detection

Integration Platform as a Service (iPaaS)

Network Operating Systems

Network Performance Monitoring

Release Management

SIP Trunking

Software Composition Analysis (SCA)

Value-Added Resellers (VARs)

Information Technology

A/B Testing

Ad Serving & Retargeting

All-in-One Marketing

Audio Editing

Blogging

Content Management

Creative Collaboration

Email Marketing

Gamification

Marketing Automation

Social Media Management

Survey & Forms Building

Translation

Web Analytics

Marketing

Project Management

Wireframing

Writing and Proofreading Tools

Professional Services

Customer Communication Management

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Sales

Data-Centric Audit Protection (DCAP)

GDPR Compliance

Security

3D Modeling

Architecture

Aviation

Internet of Medical Things

Membership Management

Municipal

Oil and Gas

Roofing

Vertical-Specific

medium

large

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ERA-IGNITE

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VinSolutions, a Cox Automotive company, offers a suite of CRM and operational support applications for auto dealerships.

VinSolutions

Support Rating

Reviews

TrustRadius is a technology and business research firm based in Austin, Texas. The company is known as a review platform for verified B2B technology and software reviews through a proprietary algorithm and human verification.

TrustRadius

Customer service

Sales activity

Customer lists

Email software

Single product

Real time

Lead management

Third party

Back end

Looking up

Sales managers

Certain times

Ease of use

Way they want

Easy to learn

Home

Dealer Management Systems

VinSolutions is our CRM - Customer Relations Manager. It is used in our sales department (the service uses a different platform). Vin is our go-to for interacting with customers, making notes, working leads, etc. All leads from all sources enter into VinSolutions and notify the proper employee/s to start communicating. We use it to email customers about everything and anything, we make notes and tasks for employees so as not to forget things. Essentially, VinSolutions is super important for the sales department. In Marketing, I also use VinSolutions to pull customer lists to be able to market to them in email campaigns.

Product Usage

Pros and Cons

Receiving leads from all website and third-party sources, and notifying employees when leads come in.
Looking up reports. There are premade reports, and you can create your own reports to pull, or even to pull automatically at certain times.
Settings roles and authorizations for employees, so they do not have too much access to alter the way they want to use it, but it's set upper manager's request.

Things done well

Because VinSolutions is able to pull customers lists, they also made a campaigns manager that allows you to create marketing emails and send them out. However, after the initial launch they never updated it, it seems. It would be the best thing...if it was 2005.
This customer lists that I like to export to upload into my own email software, I can't get the actual list myself - I have to contact my Vin rep for them to give me. These lists are not the same, nor have the same filters, as the report lists that Vin does provide dealers. So, I prefer the other.

Things done poorly

It is well suited to customer communication - emails/calls/texts. It helps with all those. You are able to get personal by adding notes to remember in the future, or tasks to complete down the road. It keeps history, so no salesperson can argue who did want and who gets the credit. Essentially, it is the final word - if the employee doesn't record it in Vin - then it didn't happen and anyone can help a customer.  Seems to be less appropriate for actual marketing-related activities (as mentioned with their campaign manager).

Communicating with customers and documenting it.
Receiving and processing phone/internet leads.
Reviewing and analyzing reports for ROI and employee training opportunities.

Most Important Features 3.4.21

Not sure about our financial investment in VinSolutions, but we have been with them for over 10 years, so our management keeps choosing it over other options (we have reviewed others in the past recommended by our dealer group).
Positive impact on keeping our customers...ours. This avoids sales consultants recording their customers in some random ledger of their own...and then taking that list with them when they leave - especially to another dealership. This ensures that each person is the dealership's customer, and not the salesperson's customer.
History is recorded, and we never know what we need until we run into an issue. VinSolutions is our go-to for many past communications and transactions. It provides a 'road to the sale' story that managers can pull up to help them navigate concerns.

Return on Investment

I have not personally used other products.

Alternatives

Other Software Used

VinSolutions 2022-04-26 09:58:56

Our auto group uses VinSolutions as our CRM across 18 locations in 3 states. We use this software to manage lead and prospecting activity for our sales and service departments. It solves issues related to poor communication, follow up and integrated sales operations across many locations. For executives, VinSolutions offers enterprise level reporting, showroom activities and lead processes. For retail managers, the multiple activity views allow us to manage our processes and results no matter how the lead is generated or concludes. We track all phone, web, chat and visit activities.

indicate the next lead action needed
offer real-time views of lead and visit progression across multiple showrooms
internet lead management

reporting. My primary sales activity report has changed twice and is far more complicated and less valuable
trainers seem to be too focused on how to use Vinsolutions deeply and perfectly as opposed to effectively
the current task-nagging process is FAR too cumbersome and requires FAR too much tending to process. Yes, I know it can be customized.

VinSolutions is a very deep application that can do it all, if that's what you're looking for. It is well-suited for active lead management. The reporting functionality could use some drastic simplification.

lead management leads to higher closing ratios
lead source reporting increases ROI
user management allows very fine tuning at the location level

I have never used a full-suite CRM with this depth prior to this experience.

General Sales Manager

VinSolutions 2021-10-12 14:57:33

UKG Workforce Central (discontinued)

Google Hangouts (Classic)

Microsoft 365

Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)

Apache OpenOffice

Google Authenticator

POWER Dealer Management System

Carbonite Cloud-to-Cloud Backup

Google Chat

VinSolutions is being used as a complete customer retention management tool by our sales force. They use it to log leads, keep track of sold vehicles, know when to follow up on clients who previously came in to look at vehicles, it tracks above line and below line gross plus and incentives on vehicles in inventory. When combined with the rest of the X timeline of products, it is immensely helpful.

Tracks sold logs, desk logs, offers, etc. so there is no confusion over what was offered or by whom.
Gives a clear, concise list of sold vehicles, who sold them, and front and back end gross for easy reference.
Trade appraisals are clearly visible, along with who appraised them, so there is no potential for misunderstanding between the sales managers, GSM and GM.

Could be easier to use - not the most intuitive setup I have seen.
Realistically, it feels like VinSolutions and vAuto could be combined into a single product.

It is extremely well suited for any sales atmosphere, particularly within the automotive industry, where you need a CRM that logs contacts, reminds of needed updates, and keeps track of sales and gross profit.  Because of the cost involved, it would not make sense in a very small sized dealer, but any medium to large dealers would benefit from its use.

By tracking front and back end gross openly, it seems to incentivize sales people to try harder to hold onto money.
It does a great job of ensuring customer satisfaction by reminding sales associates to follow through on sales and follow up post-sale.
Reporting functions make it easy to track leads, hand them off to different reps who are possibly better suited to complete the sale.

I really have not used any other product like VinSolutions, it was the first program of its type that we evaluated and it does everything we want, with no downsides that are noted.  Because of that, along with the integration into the other programs we use in other aspects of the business, this was a one and done deal.  We did look briefly at Reynolds and Reynolds, but as seems to be typical with them, they offer a great product but at an enormously higher price.

Technical support, general customer support, implementation support are all top notch.  All representatives from the company check in every couple weeks to make sure all is going well; if there is a problem, I generally have a solution given within hours if not soon; and they are friendly, easy to understand, and do a great job.  Well done!

Support

Dealer.com, Kronos Workforce Central, Google Authenticator, Google Hangouts Chat, Google Hangouts (Classic), Apache OpenOffice, Microsoft Office 2016, Carbonite Backup for Microsoft Office 365

VinSolutions 2020-03-10 12:49:06

VinSolutions

Overview

What is VinSolutions?

A Decade with VinSolutions.

VinSolutions can do it all, if that's what you want.

VinSolutions- Well worth the price for dealer management and inventory management

Product Details

What is VinSolutions?

VinSolutions Technical Details

Comparisons

Compare with

CDK