Remember the original promise of computer automation; that is to release us from the drudgery of time-consuming, mind-numbing repetitive tasks? Tasks, which before computer automation, pretty much dominated the working day for many of your dealership’s staff.

I’m not one of those people with a cell phone attached via a headset, nor can I master text messaging. I love new technology but I depend on my existing technology to do my job so switching is hard. That is one of the biggest problems in dealerships today – your staff depends on “tried and true” methods to sell cars and trying something new is hard.

This last year brought several intriguing ways to communicate with customers on a 24/7 basis, including: text messaging, interactive chats or instant message (IM), and blogs. I think we’ll see an explosion in these communication methods in 2008 and would like to share with you some of the pros and cons for each of these tools.