While each of the dozens of software systems most dealers use to aggregate data and operate hold valuable customer interaction data, not all sources are relevant for supporting typical use cases in a Customer Data Platform (CDP). By focusing on integrating key data sources—such as service schedulers, phone systems, and call centers—dealers can accelerate timelines to optimize operations and boost revenue.
Once you've pinpointed the key areas your dealership should concentrate on, what is the most effective way to implement those changes?
While the list of potential data sources for your CDP integration may seem long, it’s important to take a phased approach. The goal isn’t to overwhelm your team with too many integrations all at once, but to implement them in a way that drives quick wins and measurable ROI.
Here’s a suggested roadmap for your CDP project:
Start with the fundamentals—integrating the core data that will deliver the fastest ROI:
Once the basics are in place, move on to integrating your online engagement tools and setting up ongoing data hygiene processes:
At this stage, you can begin activating the data across various marketing channels:
Each phase and source integration should be planned carefully based on your use cases and business objectives. It’s essential to have a clear plan for each step of the integration process so that your team can stay focused and avoid unnecessary delays.
Once you've completed these phases, you should have a quality CDP integration and are able to seamlessly optimize your marketing, messaging, and data to eliminate time and target more effectively than ever before.
At Edifice, we use Elevation, our custom CDP to deliver amazing results for our dealers. Elevation provides huge advantages to dealerships over their local competition by aggregating key data sources as outlined above in order to enhance marketing efforts and drive in better, more qualified shoppers and service customers to dealerships.
You can assuredly hear more about this at NADA 2025 this year. Hopefully we'll see you there to talk through this process in more detail!
Click the link below to schedule some time to talk to one of our account executives to walk through what implementing a CDP like Elevation can do for your dealership.