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Autobase, a CRM vendor for car dealers nationwide and a division of Dominion Enterprises, has announced the integration of R. L. Polk & Co.'s Polk Lead Scoring with the Autobase Internet Lead Management tool.

The agreement lets Autobase give its customers an additional tool "to identify car buyers who are most likely to purchase a new or used vehicle," Autobase officials say. Internet leads are captured from within the Autobase Internet Lead Management tool, which is integrated within its core CRM application.


Autobase then uses Polk's automotive intelligence and analytics to help dealerships prioritize Internet sales follow-up activities and determine the likelihood and timeliness of a lead converting to a sale.

"With this integration, Autobase dealers can qualify their Internet customers' interest and readiness to buy a vehicle," said Bryan Anderson, founder of Autobase. Polk Lead Scoring includes proprietary automotive information and demographic and lifestyle information for lead scoring, including the lead source, make and dealer level.

Dominion Enterprises' automotive group portfolio includes Autobase, a vendor of customer relationship management (CRM) tools.

Last month Dominion acquired substantially all the assets of AVV, which sells an Internet Lead Management software product, Web Control, for $22.75 million.

Founded in 1995 and headquartered in that silicon nexus of Westerville, Ohio, AVV provides lead management and polling support to over 2,300 automotive dealerships nationwide and employs 42 people.

Web Control received Auto Dealer Monthly's 2007 Dealers' Choice Diamond Award as the industry's top-rated customer relationship management tool based on productivity, vendor support and dealership value. Autobytel bought AVV in 2003.

Conrad M. Hall, president and chief executive officer of Dominion Enterprises, said acquiring the Web Control tool "brings accountability and tracking to the automotive sales process so that dealers can sell more cars."

"The increasing number of sales leads coming from the Internet requires dealers to have a system in place to manage those leads," said Robert M. Berndt, president of Dominion Enterprises' automotive group, adding that Ed Braunbeck, vice president and general manager of AVV, will continue to lead the business.

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David Sims is a contributing editor for ContactCenterSolutions. To see more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.