HOUSTON -

Given the heated debate swirling throughout the industry regarding third-party vendor access to a dealership’s customer information, CAR-Research XRM recently put out an open letter to dealers in an attempt to reassure them that it “has not, and will not, share, sell or trade your private customer data, short of a government subpoena, or with your consent.”

In the letter, Patrick Kelly — who is the president and chief operating officer of the CRM solution provider — also urged caution among dealers and issued a challenge to them.

“Dealerships across the country have unwittingly allowed access to their customers’ most sensitive information, including but not limited to: name, address, email, VIN, contract rate and term, as well as aftermarket products purchased,” Kelly said.

“These Trojan horse tactics are a direct assault upon the dealership’s customer base and ultimately the Blue-sky of their franchises,” he continued. “We challenge dealers to take immediate action and review their existing agreements with any vendor with access to their customer information.

“Question their relationship with any CRM company, inventory management company or third-party lead provider that states they have the authority to aggregate, share or sell that dealer’s information to an affiliate or third party,” Kelly urged.

He would go on to offer reassurance to dealers, emphasizing that: “We want you to know that CAR-Research XRM has not, and will not, share, sell or trade your private customer data, short of a government subpoena, or with your consent. CAR-Research XRM guarantees that your data is safe and will only be used (in conjunction with your efforts) to help you sell cars.”

Offering the dealer’s perspective, DeMontrond Auto Group e-commerce director Keith Shetterly added that CAR-Research XRM "has taken an extremely strong dealer-protective and data-protective stance. Essentially, they’re first to take a strong public stand that they do not share your data with anyone and only use the data as a dealer directs.

“No selling of data, no remarketing to your customers, no condescension,” Shetterly said. “On a dealer’s side right out of the gate for years now and still going forward; this is wonderful.”