A dealer in North Dakota named Allen sent me this question a few weeks ago:
“Sara, I know I should be marketing to my past customers. I just don’t know where to start. Our data is everywhere: old systems, spreadsheets, you name it. Honestly, I’m embarrassed by the state of it.”
Allen, first of all, you are not alone. This is one of the most common conversations I have with dealers. And second, the fact that you’re embarrassed about it tells me you already know it matters. That’s half the battle.
Here’s the good news: a messy list is fixable. No list at all is the real problem. And you clearly have one. It’s just scattered.
So let me walk you through exactly what we do when a dealer hands us their situation.
What Is a Customer List and Why Does It Matter for Dealerships?
Your customer list, sometimes called your customer data, is every piece of contact information you have collected over the years. Phone numbers, email addresses, purchase history, service records. It lives in your dealer management system (DMS), your old software, your spreadsheets, or sometimes all three at once.
This list matters because past customers are the easiest people to market to. They already trust you. They already bought from you. They are ten times easier to sell to than a stranger who has never heard of your dealership. Most dealers are sitting on tens of thousands of dollars in repeat and referral revenue and never reach out to collect it.
Step 1: Clean the List — Find Out What You’re Actually Working With
Before you do anything, you need to know what is good and what is garbage.
Run your list through a data verification tool. This is a service that checks every phone number and email address and tells you whether it is real, valid, outdated, or just plain wrong. Most dealers think they have 3,000 good contacts. After cleaning, it is closer to 1,800.
That is still 1,800 people who have bought from you, had equipment serviced by you, or walked through your door. That is gold. Stop treating it like trash.
The cost is low. Most verification services charge a fraction of a cent per record, so for most dealerships, we are talking $20 to $50 to clean your entire list. Do this before you spend a single dollar on marketing.
What to do: Export your customer list from your DMS or pull it together from wherever it lives. Run it through a verification tool. Get the real number. Now you know what you are working with.
Step 2: Fill in the Gaps — Find the Missing Contact Information
Most dealer lists have holes: a phone number, but no email. A name entered as “customer” because someone typed it wrong years ago. This is normal. It is fixable.
A tool called Hunter.io helps you find and verify missing email addresses. You put in what you know, usually a name and a company website, and it finds what is missing. It works best for commercial customers like landscape companies, farms, construction businesses, and contractors.
If you fill in even 10 to 15 percent of your missing contacts, that is real people you can now reach. Hunter.io offers a free version to get started, along with paid plans for higher volume.
What to do: Take the gaps in your list and run your commercial customers through Hunter.io. Do not stress about making it perfect. Make it better.
Step 3: Give Your List a Home — Where to Store Your Dealership Customer Data
This is where most dealers freeze up. They assume they need a CRM, which stands for Customer Relationship Management software, a tool to keep your customer information organized and usable. And that sounds expensive and complicated.
It does not have to be. Not yet.
A Google Sheet is a perfectly acceptable starting point. A simple spreadsheet with columns for name, phone number, email address, what they purchased, and the date of their last visit is more than enough to start marketing to your past customers.
You do not need a $500 a month software system to send an email to 800 people who bought equipment from you in the last three years. You need your list and something to say.
What to do: Build a simple spreadsheet with five columns. Name, phone number, email, product purchased, and date of last visit. That is it. Start there. Move to a full CRM later when you are ready.
How Dealerships Should Use Their Customer List
Once your list is clean, filled in, and has a home, here is how to start using it.
Send a reintroduction email to your full list. Let them know you are there, what you offer, and what is happening at your dealership right now. Service specials, new inventory, seasonal reminders. Past customers want to hear from you. They just haven’t because no one reached out.
From there, build a simple habit. Email your list once a month. One topic. One clear call to action. That is a dealership marketing plan that actually works.
The Bottom Line
Allen asked a question that a lot of dealers are too embarrassed to ask out loud. So if you read this and thought, “That’s me,” now you have a starting point.
Clean the list. Fill the gaps. Find it a home. Then use it.
Your list is not the problem. Ignoring it is.
– Sara