A new feature being added free of charge to Pinewood's Pinnacle dealer management software lets dealers see exactly where their customers are based.
Called "spend mapping", it forms part of Pinnacle's standard reporting suite and shows a map of the dealership's territory. Pin markers in four different colours indicating warranty, trade, retail and internal spend show the location of customers.
Neville Briggs, managing director at Pinewood explained that the map approach gave dealers a new way to look at their customer base and subsequently refine their approaches.
He said: "Dealers can use the information in all kinds of different ways. It allows them to see at a glance the areas within their territory from which they are drawing customers and, perhaps more importantly, which they aren't.
"The kind of information could lead to a change in marketing decisions, for example. Marketing activity could be targeted in an area where spend mapping indicates that you currently have few customers but where you believe there is a lot of potential."
Briggs said that the information could also be used to influence operational decisions, such as collection and delivery.
He said: "Spend mapping will give you a good idea of the key areas that you need to cover for customer vehicle collection and delivery, meaning that you can potentially identify ways of providing a more efficient service in the future."
Spend mapping will be automatically included in the next update of Pinnacle, which goes live in June.