June 5, 2006

8:00 AM – 8:30 AM
Registration & Breakfast

8:30 AM
Opening Remarks
Jon Munzel – Co-Founder
Thought Leadership Summits, Inc.

8:35 AM
Remarks from the Chair
Al Babbington – CEO

CallCommand

8:45 AM
Keynote Presentation
Lindsay Duffield – President & CEO
BMW Group Canada

Driving the Ultimate Customer Experience at BMW Group Canada

Canada has a population smaller than California with a land mass larger than the continental U.S.A.   With 90% of the population residing within 100 miles of the almost 5600 mile long mile U.S. border, Canada often is characterized as the 51st state.   However, Canada is quite different, with a British style Parliamentary system of government,  a very unique culture (more American than European, but more European than American) and two official languages (English and French).  Its extremely multi-cultural make-up and value conscious consumers make it challenging for purveyors of luxury goods.

BMW Group Canada is responsible for sales, marketing and service operations for BMW, MINI and BMW Motorcycles Brands.  It has experienced 15th consecutive years of sales growth, the only automotive manufacturer in Canada to claim such success.  It has almost doubled sales in the past five years while the overall automotive market has remained flat.  The company also enjoys high levels of retailer and customer satisfaction.

Using actual examples as case studies, Lindsay Duffield, President & CEO will present BMW Group Canada's strategy of efficiently delivering the "Ultimate Customer Experience" through partnership with its franchised retailer network and captive finance provider.  His presentation will focus on the combination of Integrated Marketing, CRM, Customer Service, Systems, Processes and People that has helped BMW Group Canada attain its position as the premier luxury automotive manufacturer in Canada.

9:30 AM
Thilo Koslowski – Vice President & Lead Automotive Analyst
Gartner, Inc.

Collaboration Defines CRM’s Success in the Automotive Industry

Customer relationship management (CRM) in the automotive industry is as critical as having new, desirable products to ensure vehicle manufacturers' long-term financial success and create a unique value proposition for consumers. However, a short-term focus forces many CRM initiatives to fall short. CRM approaches defined by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in an insolated fashion and pushed down to the retail level without consideration of dealers are also poised to fail. OEMs must provide unique and consistent customer experiences (for example, the right message or offer delivered to the right consumer at the right time) that complement and re-emphasize its product and brand values. Defining these experiences and executing them in collaboration with the OEM's retailers form the foundation of a successful automotive CRM strategy.

10:15 AM – 10:45 AM
Networking Break

10:45 AM
Sponsor Keynote Presentation

Ed Allen - Industry Director of Automotive
Oracle Corporation

Evolving the Customer Centric Automotive Enterprise

While North American Automakers once dominated vehicle sales in the US, their market shares have declined significantly over the past ten years.  Today, foreign OEMs are rapidly gaining share at the expense of these North American automakers, which have in turn passed the pressure onto dealers and captive finance companies to boost their profit margins and satisfy increasingly demanding consumers.  But without shared insight into consumer purchasing behaviors, OEMs end up pushing out production onto dealers who are then forced to discount unwanted vehicles, pay flooring charges, and use loss-generating incentives for inventory that won’t move.  Join Oracle in this keynote presentation to hear how industry trends and strategic imperatives are facilitating OEM-Dealer-Captive collaboration and Evolving the Customer-Centric Automotive Enterprise.

11:30 AM
Rick Rogers – eCommerce Director

Keyes Mercedes-Benz

The Way the World Communicates Has Changed – People Haven’t

The Internet IS the ultimate tool when it comes to creating and improving customer relations.  By creatively driving traffic to our three stores through aggressive marketing, search engine optimization (SEO) and pay per click (PPC) campaigns, South Bay BMW, Mini, & Lotus has captured what is rightfully ours.  From initial contact to our thorough follow-up processes, our Internet and BDC departments develop real relationships with our customers. 

The technology at the world’s fingertips has given virtually everyone knowledge and information.  Subsequently, the consumer has become empowered - an educated individual whose expectation of courtesy and respect has remained unchanged.  Knowing who your customer is and mastering this medium of technological interaction is no longer an option – it is critical to the continued success of any dealership.

Managing customers and their needs in an immediate, consistent and effective manner, and correctly positioning ourselves within this sea of information, we have not only become a virtual broker of pertinent data, but a competitive force in the automobile industry.  Focusing on parts, service and of course sales, we are eliminating the ‘old-school’ dreaded experience of buying a car.  Peter Boesens, the VP & GM at South Bay BMW, Mini, & Lotus strongly believes in this motto - Volume with Honor.   

12:15 PM – 1:15 PM
Networking Lunch

1:15 PM
John Wisdom – Director of Customer Systems
PACCAR

Generating Record Sales and Profits through New Customer Connections

Learn how to create profitable customer connections using technology and program elements that:

• Bring the customer and supplier into a close, proprietary, collaborative relationship
• Make it easier for customers to do business with you
• Drive costs out of the supply chain
• Provide actionable market intelligence
• Create sustainable increases in sales and profitability

2:00 PM

Blair Skramstad – Director, Marketing Services

John Deere Credit U.S.A.

Increasing Equipment Sales through Customer-Driven Solutions

John Deere Credit (JDC™) manages a Customer-Driven Model to enhance the sale of John Deere equipment.  Within our Customer-Driven Model, we use data and information to focus on the highest value customers and manage their purchase intentions through a dealer sales lead process.  This presentation will focus on how JDC uses an integrated package of dynamic customer information and initiatives – including customer profitability, sales lead management, eCommunications and metrics to enhance the equipment sale and the customer experience

2:45 PM – 3:15 PM
Networking Break

3:15 PM

Kevin Oliff – Managing Partner
Capistrano Chrysler Jeep Dodge

Net Profit vs. Ego - The “Real Truth-In-Advertising”

Traditionally dealers spend significant amounts of money on advertising with hopes of increased unit sales, name recognition, and achieving manufacturer sales targets.  This advertising spend is NOT required if the focus is shifted from getting the customers in the door to what we do when they get there.  Dealers continue to spend enormous amounts of money in order to compete anticipating they will sell more cars.  The problem is gross margins keep getting smaller and PVR continue to shrink.  By controlling the sales process from inception, the dealer is more able to increase their closing ratio, control their gross profit, and increase their pre-tax profits.  Kevin will share his success stories, as well as, present Capistrano’s strategy to leverage both CRM tools and sales processes to eliminate lost leads and reach net profit goals while maintaining minimal advertising spend.

4:00 PM
Panel Discussion

Working Together - Developing Collaborative CRM between OEMs, Captives & Dealers

Moderator:  Thilo Koslowski - Vice President & Lead Automotive Analyst, Gartner

Panel Members:

Gary Marcotte – Senior Vice President Marketing, AutoNation

Sebastian Mackensen – Business Development Manager, Porsche Cars NA

John Wisdom – Director of Customer Systems, PACCAR

Blair Skramstad – Director, Marketing Services, John Deere Credit U.S.A.

5:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Networking Reception

June 6 , 2006

8:00 AM – 8:30 AM
Registration & Breakfast

8:30 AM
Opening Remarks
Jon Munzel – Co-Founder
Thought Leadership Summits, Inc.

8:35 AM
Remarks from the Chair
Al Babbington – CEO

CallCommand

8:45 AM
Keynote Presentation
Gary Marcotte – Senior Vice President Marketing  
AutoNation, Inc.

Is Dealer CRM the right answer?

The entire industry is focused on getting dealers to use CRM tools to manage lifetime customer follow-up and short-term prospect follow-up.  The data shows customers change brands often and would like to shop and compare among brands usingindependent and objective information.   So then....does this mean that customers don't want what Dealer CRM promises?  Does it mean that Dealer Centric CRM is destined to fail and not create the promised lift?   Is something better needed?   AutoNation would argue that yes, something better is needed.   Something that promotes objective customer choice - that empowers the customer with transparent information, enabling them to buy without interference, in an open, informed way.

9:30 AM

Sponsor Keynote Presentation

Sam Kapreilian – Partner, CRM Strategy Leader
IBM Global Business Services

The Customer Focused Enterprise – A Look at CRM Through a New Lens

Creating a strategy to manage customer relationships is not a new concept. In one form or another, many organizations have adopted CRM strategies with varying degrees of success. However, today's market leaders understand the necessity to make the customer delivery experience an integral part of their corporate brand, thereby adding value to their products and services and driving customer advocacy. By taking a different view of the customer experience, organizations are able to increase the value of key interactions and achieve the goal of becoming a “Customer Focused Enterprise”.

Extensive customer research and experience forms the foundation of “The Customer Focused Enterprise (CFE),” a strategic operational model designed to take CRM to its next level. In this presentation, you will learn why it is important to look at your customer relationships through a different colored lens, what are the factors that have the greatest impact upon customer relationships, why adopting a Customer Focused Enterprise strategy will have a measurable impact upon your customers and your bottom line and what are some of the best practices being employed today across the automotive and general manufacturing / industrial sector.

10:15 AM – 10:45 AM
Networking Break

10:45 AM

Bill Burris – Ownership Experience Manager, Lexus Division
Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A., Inc.

Respect and Respond: How Lexus Treats Customer Interactions

• The Lexus position within the US automotive landscape
• The Lexus Covenant – our philosophical guide for customer treatment
• Vehicle launches - practical methods to leverage customer data
• Customer lifecycle communication – utilizing multiple touch-points and respecting customer preferences
• Benefits of the Lexus Covenant

11:30 AM
David Harris – Advertising and E-Business Manager
American Suzuki Motor Corporation

CRM 2.0 - Rethinking CRM with 20 years of perspective

Customer relationship management has been around for centuries.  For most of its’ history, CRM was based on the memory of a shopkeeper who knew each customer personally.  With the advent of database marketing in the 1980s and CRM systems in the 1990s CRM promised large companies the ability to provide the personalized service that traditionally was only available from small businesses.  CRM strategies based on these systems have forever changed the way businesses look at their customer interactions.

CRM 2.0 is based on new technologies that create increased opportunities to interact with customers through new channels and at different times in the customer lifecycle.  David will discuss how American Suzuki is approaching these technologies as part of their view of CRM as a system, business process, and corporate culture.