Search Results

Remember VHS tapes? Once cutting-edge, now obsolete. Why? Because better technology came along. They were once the best way to watch movies at home, but they had their flaws; bulky, prone to wear and tear, and if you wanted to watch something again, you had to sit through slow rewinding before you could start over. Today, streaming services have made VHS obsolete, giving us instant access to the content we want, anytime, anywhere. The same is true for pre-campaign hygiene  in dealership operations. It was once considered a smart way to clean up data before launching a marketing campaign, making a mailing list, or pulling reports for OEM reconciliation. But like VHS tapes, it’s outdated, inefficient, and no longer the best way to operate. Enter XceleratedONE ™ (XONE) - the always-on, real-time data accuracy solution  that ensures every campaign, outreach effort, and business decision is built on continuously clean and reliable data . Just as streaming made VHS irrelevant, XONE eliminates the need for pre-campaign hygiene by ensuring data is accurate at the source. Pre-Campaign Hygiene vs. XceleratedONE ™ : The VHS vs. Streaming Comparison One is outdated and inefficient. The other is seamless, fast, and always accessible. Which approach are you using for your dealership’s data? Side-by-Side Comparison Why XceleratedONE ™ is the Future of Data Accuracy With XONE, your dealership runs on real-time, accurate data , not outdated information from a one-time cleanup. Much like VHS tapes, pre-campaign hygiene forces dealerships into outdated, inefficient workflows  that require constant manual intervention. The process repeats before every campaign, costing time, money, and lost opportunities. With XONE,  dealerships get a modern, automated approach  that ensures marketing, sales, service, and reporting are all based on clean, real-time data  at all times. ✅ Continuous data validation  – No more one-time cleanups; data is always accurate. ✅ Real-time Vehicle, address, email, and phone verification  – Catch bad contact and vehile info before it creates problems. ✅ Seamless CRM & DMS integration  – Keep sales, marketing, service, and accounting teams aligned with up-to-date information. ✅ More accurate OEM reconciliation & reporting  – Ensure financials and performance metrics reflect reality. ✅ Higher engagement & better ROI  – Every campaign, call, and report is built on trustworthy data. The Bottom Line Would you go back to VHS when streaming is available? Then why keep using pre-campaign hygiene when XONE exists? We get it; VHS is making a nostalgic comeback, much like vinyl records. There’s something charming about rewinding a tape, just like there’s an appeal to dropping a needle on a record. But is nostalgia  really the foundation you want to build your business on? When it comes to dealership operations, whether it’s marketing, customer outreach, or reporting, accuracy, efficiency, and reliability  matter far more than sentimentality. Pre-campaign hygiene was  the best solution, but not anymore. It’s time to upgrade.  Let’s talk about how XceleratedONE ™ can help your dealership move beyond outdated processes and into a future of real-time, always-accurate data.

The ETA was 45 minutes for the tow truck to come to retrieve my car, which had died in the middle of four traffic lanes during rush hour. I felt the bead of sweat drip from my chin and watched as it seemed to immediately evaporate once it hit the scorching asphalt under my feet. My wife and I had been discussing the WANT for a bigger vehicle to accommodate her business, our two small kids, and our dog. All of a sudden, that WANT was a NEED. I needed a truck; She needed a... mini-van. Ultimately we "compromised" and bought a... mini-van. Online shopping has been a thing for many years. However, the concept of making such a significant purchase exclusively online is still a new idea to many. I know this because ALL of our friends wanted to know about our experience, and had many questions about the process. After all, nobody ever asks us about our experience buying diapers online, but when it's a vehicle... Here are the 3 reasons I have recommended CARVANA to everyone who's asked (and some who haven't.) It's LOW RISK The biggest myth regarding the advantage of buying a vehicle in person vs online is that being in-person allows you to experience and inspect the vehicle. This was something that my wife and I discussed briefly but were instantly satisfied with the website's attention to detail in calling out every blemish, scratch, and defect with clearly visible yellow warning triangles. Our anxiety was further eased by the "7-day Money Back Guarantee". If we were unsatisfied for any reason, we could return the car and get our money back. A friend of mine purchased a... mini-van f rom a dealer s everal years ago and on their way home, a piece of the window trim flew off on the highway. They called the dealer and were given price quotes to replace and install the piece. This wasn't even an hour after driving the vehicle off the lot! They were essentially told it's their problem now. Knowing that we had seven days to put the vehicle through its paces gave us peace of mind. After searching all the nooks and crannies in the vehicle , w e were unable to locate the headphones for the back seat passenger entertainment system. We double-checked the listing and found that 2 pairs were supposed to come with the purchase. When we saw they would be an additional $100 to purchase ourselves, we contacted customer support about the issue, and they simply sent a check to fix the error. It's about the CUSTOMER My wife and I raved not only to our friends but to each other for weeks about how we FELT after the purchase. We FELT like this company made us a priority. W hile we were answering questions online, there was an agent available in real-time to answer questions. Afterward, we received a phone call to confirm the purchase, and walk us through the delivery process. They delivered it to our driveway and the technician literally had a smile the entire time she was unloading the... mini-van. She waited patiently as we kicked the tires, test drove it, examined the interior, and basked in the excitement that a new (to us) car can bring. Satisfied with our purchase, albeit still anxious about not only purchasing a used vehicle but doing so in such an unconventional way, the technician reiterated to us the "7-day Money Back Guarantee". It's SIMPLE The day my car died was the day my wife had just started feeling better after being incredibly sick for 4 days (She had gone to the doctor and tested negative for Covid-19). Although she felt better, h er body was still fatigued. She had no desire to go to a dealership with 2 kids, and spend half a day if not the full day going through the whole dog-and-pony show with the sales and financing department. From the comfort of our couch. we browsed and shopped for the perfect... mini-van. We answered the questions, provided the requested documents, and before nap time was over, we had scheduled the delivery date for 4 days later. (They offered to deliver within 2 days, on a Saturday, but we were not going to be home). With our spare time, we logged into Amazon and purchased spare Swiffer refills just as easily as we had just purchased a... mini-van ( which arrived before the Swiffer refills, by the way!)

Even the "right tools", if used incorrectly, can have devastating results We had to deliver the bad news: The agency's team was removing the wrong records from the clients' data. On one small campaign alone the agency lost $1100. But it was worse: they had been running their data quality process incorrectly for months. Oh, wait! It gets even worse... not only did they remove the incorrect records, they were also removing their client's best customers! This is ugly! They lost money for themselves and even more money for the client. Excel is very powerful but if used incorrectly disasters result. Here are 3 common DIY disasters we uncovered: (BEFORE stepping through ANY process, ALWAYS make a copy of your data!) Disaster 1: Removing your best customers If you have customers in your database that have purchased more than once from your business, they are your best customers. These are the customers that are most likely to respond to your marketing. Oftentimes, when deduping your customer list, the entire set of duplicate records are mistakenly removed . What happens to your profits when you erase your best customers? Exactly! How does this happen? One way to identify duplicates in Excel is to highlight the records that are duplicates based on conditional formatting. This functionality is great for VIEWING duplicates. However, do not use conditional formatting to delete duplicates if your goal is to keep one of the records from the duplicate set. If you do delete duplicates based on conditional formatting, you can end up removing all of the records within that duplicate set. Disaster 2: Removing the wrong records Although using the "Remove Duplicates" function in Excel is handy in a pinch, it may not be ideal for the best results. Did you know that you can prioritize records to ensure you keep the best one? When using the "Remove Duplicates" function, Excel keeps the FIRST record and removes the rest in a duplicate set. Important!: BEFORE you "Remove Duplicates", sort your file so that your best record will be the top record i n the set and the one that Excel keeps . For example, if some records have an email and others do not, you can add email address to your sorted fields. The records that have an email address will appear at the top so that when running "Remove Duplicates", the record that has an email address will remain. Disaster 3: Not standardizing before deduping When Excel dedupes, it is matching on the EXACT field contents. When you use the "Remove Duplicates" function, there is NO fuzzy matching. Even an extra space will cause 2 fields that look the same to not match! So, it is critical to ensure the fields you are using for deduping are consistent and standardized. For example: If choosing address: are apartment numbers part of the address or in a separate field or mixed? are some addresses incomplete? is the zip code field only the 5 digit zip code or a mix of 5 digit and 9 digit? If choosing names: is there a mixture of full names and split names? is there punctuation in some names but not others? If choosing phone number: do dashes exist in some records but not others? are parentheses around some of the area codes? do you have multiple phone fields? What other DIY disasters are lurking in your process? Need to upgrade your processing? Worried about your data integrity? Concerned about your job?

Everyone overcoming the obstacle in this photo is actually part of the Xclerated team Whether your data is right or wrong, it's driving every decision you make. Read that again. Whether your data is right or wrong, it's driving every decision you make. Let's face it. Maintaining quality data is a never-ending, thorny challenge that continually gets postponed or ignored altogether. Why. Is. It. So. Hard?! It can feel like decluttering your garage. Where do you even begin? What do you remove? What do you keep? When do you get help? It's a ginormous project with no definite beginning or end. You know it needs to get better, but not sure how to rein it in. Here are five common data quality obstacles and what you can do to ease the pain. You don't know where to begin The most common challenge we hear from our clients is that they don't even know where to start. We've heard this response from multiple clients: "This is a really big project that we're not prepared to take on right now".It's only going to get worse. Putting it off will make it more complicated. The Solution: Identify and prioritize your data quality issues. What are your company's biggest pain points? Here are some examples of challenges we've discovered where data is secretly impacting results Missed deadlines - Is it a personnel challenge or is the team struggling with data issues? Poor marketing results - Bad content or missing/inaccurate/duplicate data? Profit challenges - Blame sales? Or is it incorrect buyer profiles/customer persona? In order to prioritize, you need to identify where you're feeling the most pain. Maybe it's not that insidious, maybe it's as obvious as customers complaining about duplicate messages. Once you've identified the biggest pain point, go below the surface and do the deep dive. Ask questions and analyze the data for specific projects. "Sunlight is the best disinfectant." It's easy to assume the issues lie on the surface where we can see them, but it's critical to peel back the layers and get to the real causes. Using the above scenarios of common challenges, here are some examples of ways to do the "deeper dive". Missed deadlines - Step through and map each process in the data flow from beginning to end and pinpoint: The input data The output data What is combined What are the layouts What steps are taking the most time What steps need to be repeated because they were done incorrectly the first time (and second and third!) Any QC steps that are missing Poor marketing results - Manually sort and examine the customer data that was used for the campaign and look for: Outdated addresses, phones, emails, demographics etc... Missing information (i.e. FIRST NAME field populated with "Unknown") Duplicates Processes that removed "good" records and keep the "bad" records Wrong Information Information in wrong fields (i.e. LAST NAME is in the FIRST NAME column) Data Integrity issues (columns skewed by commas or human error) Profit challenges - Identify and review the data used for customer personas (you are creating customer personas, right?): Pricing - if you're customer data has quality issues, how do you know if your products are priced correctly?  Customer acquisition cost - Multiple vendors and processes will increase your acquisition cost leading to decreased profitability Inability to accurately determine the customer lifetime value Your data Is not standardized This may sound basic but plagues most customer files.  Multiple fields with the same info (Multiple phone fields, multiple emails) Different data sources that need to be combined with fields in a different order Input standards not enforced (may not be able to be enforced) Data in the wrong field Different teams with different standardsThe Solution: Even though the input data for multiple sources will have different layouts, it's important to agree on basic standards. During any processing, data that does not meet standards are updated to comply. Also, to ensure standards are always met, the process must be automated. Any vendor you use should have the ability to fit within your required standards. Your team currently runs multiple, ad-hoc, manual processes Despite having the right tools, teams will implement whatever process they need to get their work done. For example, one week a team may dedupe before running NCOA and the next week, run NCOA first before deduping, producing unexpected and unreliable results.  The Solution: Set up automated processes. Start with one process to avoid being overwhelmed. Your existing tools may allow for automating the needed steps or it may require custom programming. Oftentimes, IT teams have that capability but may not have the time. If that is the case your data quality vendor should be able to help you. You use multiple vendors for various services A reactive approach to data quality consists of disparate data hygiene steps: Choosing different vendors for each process, sending your data to each vendor, receiving back different layouts, having to further manipulate that data, and conducting some additional cleanup in-house. What are your answers to the following questions? What is the minimum cost for each of your data processing vendors? What was the total cost of your most recent list processing? Where do the bottlenecks occur in your data preparation process?Using multiple vendors for various services is tip-toeing through a minefield. The Solution: Use one vendor to handle the data quality end to end. Choose a vendor that takes into account: How the data is collected What type of data it is is it from a sale? Is it from a customer or prospect? Are employees entering information?  What is the goal of the data?  What are the planned uses?  What are the real issues?Instead of using different, laborious processes for solving data problems, these solutions are customized to fix quality issues and ensure ongoing data accuracy and consistency. Custom solutions are based on data sources, industry priorities, and individual company goals, and their interconnectivity allows you to unify information across different teams and divisions of your business to ensure decision-makers at every level are working from the same — accurate and reliable — data. Data quality solutions simplify day-to-day processing and the business operations that incorporate data. You don't have the right tools (and you don't want to invest in them) Excel can do a lot, but it has its limits. Your computer may not be able to keep up. Perhaps your company has in-house legacy tools you're confined to.  The Solution: Focus on investing in your core business and let the right data quality vendor help you overcome your data quality obstacles.

"I don't know who discovered water, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a fish." This quote highlights how those immersed in a system often fail to see its flaws. Many dealerships operate the same way - numb to how poor data in their DMS is holding them back. Don’t Be a FISH - Follower of Inefficient System Habits Your DMS is the ocean your dealership swims in - it touches every part of your business. But if that ocean is polluted with outdated, incorrect, or missing data, every department suffers. Sales, service, marketing, and customer experience all struggle to thrive in murky waters.  Many dealers don’t even realize they’re operating in a sea of bad data until it’s too late. Don’t Take the Bait - Avoid the ‘App de Jour’ There’s always a new shiny CDP or quick-fix application  that promises to solve your data problems. But here’s The catch - when you stop using them, the “fixed” data disappears, leaving your DMS unchanged and full of bad data. The Real Fix: Steer Your Dealership with Data That Works Rather than adding complexity, XOne ™ corrects and updates your DMS data at the source.  When your DMS is accurate , every department benefits: ✅ Sales:  Reel in the right customers without casting blindly. ✅ Service:  Smooth sailing with improved communication. ✅ Marketing:  Cast a wider net with cleaner data. ✅ OEM Loyalty Scores:  Show your true potential instead of treading water. ✅ Compliance:  Stay in the clear without extra effort - no fishing for missing details. Real Dealers, Real Results Honda Dealer:  Hooked 22,600 corrected emails , fueling better marketing. Mazda Dealer:  Flipped a negative OEM loyalty score to positive in six months . Multi-State Group:  Reeled in mailable addresses from 75% to 96% . Don’t Be a FISH - Build a Thriving REEF Instead Your DMS is the ocean your dealership swims in - don’t let bad data weigh you down. Instead of sinking in inefficiencies, build a REEF (Reliable, Efficient, Enhanced Framework)  that supports your entire operation. ✅ Resilient Data - Ensure accuracy at the core of your dealership. ✅ Efficient Processes - Eliminate inefficiencies caused by outdated information. ✅ Enhanced Performance - Empower every department with better data. ✅ Framework for Growth - Create a stable foundation that sustains long-term success. Stop Fishing for Quick Fixes - Start Building a System That Works It’s time to stop getting hooked by the “app du jour”  and fix the problem where it starts. Let XOne ™  show you what’s possible when your DMS data actually works for you.

Think about it, how many existing customers are you no longer able to contact? Consider this: dealerships invest a considerable sum, roughly $500, to acquire just one new customer. Yet, shockingly, the ability to upkeep the existing customer database is an ongoing obstacle: the struggle to maintain accurate data is real. In the fast-paced world of automobile dealerships, staying ahead of the curve is paramount, especially when it comes to managing customer data. The backbone of their operations lies in their Dealer Management System (DMS), housing crucial information about their customers. However, the data within the DMS swiftly grows outdated. With customers relocating, changing contact details, and human error creeping in during data entry, the accuracy of information dwindles rapidly. While some companies advocate for the adoption of pricey Customer Data Platforms to address this issue, the reality is that dealerships can salvage the situation by prioritizing regular updates within their existing DMS. Failure to keep customer data current not only compromises accuracy but also undermines the very foundation of a dealership's business model. This negligence not only tarnishes customer relations but also jeopardizes sales opportunities, reduces operational efficiency, and creates OEM friction. In an industry where every lead counts, the importance of maintaining updated customer data cannot be overstated. Solutions to enhance DMS capabilities and streamline data updates are available. It's akin to fine-tuning an engine for optimal performance rather than seeking a costly replacement. By exploring and implementing these options, dealerships can breathe new life into their DMS, ensuring that it remains a reliable tool in their arsenal. After all, in an industry where every lead counts, the ability to comprehensively update DMS data is not just an option – it's a necessity for sustained success.

Private Equity Funcast Jim Milbery and Devin Mathews. Hosted by Devin Mathews and Jim Milbery, partners at ParkerGale Capital, a middle-market private equity group. This bi-weekly show is a lively discussion of the uses of technology to improve business operations for companies with less than $100 million in revenue. "In this week's episode, we are talking with Pam Lang, CEO of Xcelerated Data, a company that focuses on fixing data quality problems leading to better decisions in your marketing organization. Pam explains compiled lists, hotlists, the differences between consumer lists and business lists, and SIC codes versus NAICS codes." Click image above to listen to the episode

How many times have you gotten a quote for something – a remodel, a repair, a process, a service.... and thought it was too high priced? MANY TIMES! Am I Right?? Be honest.. Same here. We received several ‘outrageous’ quotes to remodel our second bathroom and laundry room. Of course – I indignantly researched YouTube and decided I could easily and cost effectively coordinate and hire the subcontractors for the plumbing, electric, tile, cabinets, and do everything else myself. !Doable! I manage big projects all day long! Fast Forward 5 months later – and we are barely just finishing the project. I did not have the best tools and equipment. I was slow. I was messy. I did not have the experience to anticipate all of the issues that arise along the way. NEVER… DOING… THIS….AGAIN. Next time, I will gladly pay the real EXPERTs.The real question I ask myself is: Why did I not start with the experts when every day we see data versions of DIY disasters. Companies attempting to prepare their own data for a campaign or project with results that end up costing thousands of dollars!Sometimes we just have to learn the hard way.

If you are marketing for dealerships, there is one thing keeping you up at night: “How can our campaigns deliver more sales for our dealership clients?” It’s hard out there…  And it’s only getting harder.  Car sales are slowing, layoffs are starting… What can you do? When it comes to finding new clients for your dealerships, shift to  very specific make/model s elections instead of relying on the same tired, broad data selects for each campaign. This is critical, and we have the right solution for you. We can identify these make/models for you using our proprietary DEALER PMA (Primary Market Area) which is based on the dealers brand and location. Here is an example of a few of the makes/models that work well for a Kia Dealer on the west coast of Florida. Our Dealer PMA solution can be used for any brand in any geography. Actual campaign results are at the end of this message): Chevy Cavalier, Chevy Malibu, Chevy Cobalt, Honda Civic, Ford Taurus, Ford Focus, Ford Escort, Nissan Sentra, Chrysler Sebring, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Mitsubishi Galant, Mitsubishi Eclipse, Jeep Liberty, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Camry Do you notice how specific these model selections are?  Doesn’t it make sense? How do we identify these optimal make/models for your campaign? Data is what we do every day . We analyze millions of records for thousands of dealerships. Based on any dealer’s location and the make, we can identify the best current make/model owners for prospecting.  THIS IS NOT BASED ON THE DEALER’S DATABASE! Actual Test Results The below report shows all of the registrations from the email marketing campaign. The Dealer sold 21 vehicles (14 new and 7 used), PLUS the entire Dealer Group (5 dealerships within several miles of this Dealer) sold a total of 90 vehicles.

The daily, unromantic grind of sourcing and analyzing data to build products for marketing is  not  sexy. The tediousness, testing, tweaking, then deleting and starting again in the quest to find the right formula is  definitely not s exy .  But when you do find the right formula the results are  very s exy. Unfortunately, many marketing companies want to skip the hard work, ignore the “down in the trenches” effort that is needed to create great products, and settle for mediocre campaign results because complacency has taken over. Eventually, if you continue with the status quo, you will be left behind. Here are a couple questions to ask yourself about your data company to find out if they are a good fit for your business’ future. Is your data company creating new solutions? Most companies take the easy way and don’t invest in research or new products. They rely instead on the easy plug and play answer: Buy and resell data as cheap as possible Plug this data into a template Hope the customers run to your door (or website) The process of testing data until you find the right formula,  by definition, includes failures along the way.   Our current marketing environment does not want to acknowledge this.  T rue – isn’t it ? (call about our Dealer Elite Selections that are customized for your dealership) Is your data company claiming market conditions as their success? This is a tougher question to answer, but it’s important. For example, the last few years have been the “car buying party”, allowing many data companies to hide behind results that were due to an environment where just about anybody could buy a car.  It was an environment that covered a lot of ‘data sins’. We all know that car buying trends are changing.  Car loans are longer, higher interest, and coupled with faster depreciation.  The “party” is over. Data matters now more than ever. This is the critical time to ensure that your data company provides the data and insights into the best selections that match your marketing messaging.  Data that is processed through hundreds of business rules for results that drive better marketing. It’s quality, not just quantity, that will lead you to marketing success.

From identifying the source(s) of your company’s data to the nitty gritty of data analysis, our team is equipped to provide yours with a complete data quality management solution customized for your unique business needs. Feeling frustrated with your data? Reach out to pam.lang@xcelerated.com .

Data drives the most expensive part of your marketing… Let me say that again slightly differently: The least expensive part of your direct mail campaign ~ the Data ~ drives the success for the most expensive part of your campaign – the Print and Postage. Consider the Following: Print and Postage is 20X the cost of data (If not more!) - That means the Data portion of the campaign has an immense amount of leverage to determine the results. Without careful consideration of the data that you are mailing, you are wasting significant money. Expenses go up, responses go down, and conversions go down. Does your data company provide you recommendations based on their expertise? Or is their goal to only sell you as many records as possible? Here are some additional ideas and NEW SELECTS for your campaigns (If you are only concerned with quantity - stop reading now, otherwise, read on... ) Campaigns typically consist of Prospect Data, Dealer Data, or both, and if your focus is to truly increase the results and ROI of a campaign, then we have several ideas. In this post, we focus on selecting Prospect Data. Review and update your selections for prospect data You know this is true if your campaigns are not producing the sales you are expecting.  When did you last spend some time and effort reviewing how to determine the targets for your campaigns? What worked 3 years ago, and even last year, is not necessarily relevant today. Are you making more intelligent selections? Pay attention to the location of your dealerships This can be critical. Different areas of the country will have different buying preferences.  For example,  in CO, WA, and OR, the most popular vehicle is the Subaru Outback, NY and CT favor the Nissan Rogue, and the Ford F150 is most popular in many states such as SC, TX and GA.  Spending time at the front end to consider the geographical nuances of a marketing area can pay major dividends. What are some options? Don’t pull the same make/model/years for all of your dealers Let’s look at a specific example for a small Kia dealer on the west coast of Florida.   After some analysis, we pulled the makes and models that are listed below from the primary market area.  A few of these may be standard for a Kia dealer, but many were not.  This also results in marketing to people that have not received a similar mail piece previously! The sales match report showed this campaign sold 21 vehicles (14 new and 7 used) for a very low cost per sale. Toyota Corolla, Toyota Camry, Chevy Cavalier, Chevy Malibu, Chevy Cobalt, Honda Civic, Ford Taurus, Ford Focus, Ford Escort, Nissan Sentra, Chrysler Sebring, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Mitsubishi Galant, Mitsubishi Eclipse, Jeep Liberty You may already have new ideas from this post to improve your campaign results, but if need additional insight you can always contact our team .