How Allen Samuels CDJR Re-engaged Lost Soul Customers

Dealership Goals

Allen Samuels Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram Fiat in Waco, Texas, knew they were sitting on untapped potential. Their DMS was full of past customers, many who hadn't been in for service in 12 months or more, but the team didn't have the time, tools, or data to reach them effectively. Without a way to identify, manage, and communicate with these "Lost Souls," revenue was slipping through the cracks.

Allen Samuels CDJR wanted to recover lost revenue from lapsed service customers by engaging them with smarter marketing and more relevant outreach. Their goals were to:

• Re-engage Lost Souls with automated and custom campaigns
• Increase service Repair Orders (ROs) from lapsed customers
• Improve open rates, engagement, and attribution from service campaigns
• Leverage email and SMS (text) to create timely, meaningful customer connections

Using Activator's Customer Data Platform (CDP) powered with Salesforce, coupled with seamless integration of data, automation, segmentation, and campaigns, Allen Samuels CDJR received measurable growth:

• 27.69% service attribution YTD = $701,568 in attributed revenue
• $128,398 from Lost Souls alone (up from $97,049 in 2024)
  • That's a 32% increase in Lost Soul revenue
  • And a 52% increase in Lost Soul Repair Orders (from 121 to 185)

Activator's Data-Driven Solution

When Allen Samuels partnered with Activator, everything changed. Instead of manually sorting through outdated lists and relying on spray-and-pray email blasts, they leveraged a performance-based CDP built specifically for automotive dealerships.

Activator takes a more data management-first approach by using machine learning to identify and group duplicate records without discarding valuable information. Instead of forcing users to select a single "Golden Record," Activator's CDP with Data Management Layer creates a Unified Customer Group ID that builds a complete and evolving customer profile, which includes transaction history, garage data, communication preferences, and more. These unified customer profiles power segmentation, personalization, and audience-based marketing. The managed profile is perpetually updated as new data arrives, ensuring a perpetual view of each customer.

At the same time, Activator's CDP with Data Management Layer proactively handles spam traps and invalid data by flagging and filtering them out, then applying verified contact information across all related records. This approach keeps marketing lists current and compliant while creating opportunities to make smarter marketing decisions, including when to reach out, which channel to use, and what messages will resonate best. Activator's platform went to work immediately.

By The Numbers:

How Activator Helped Reclaim Lost Souls

When a customer at Allen Samuel CDJR hadn't been in for service in over a year, Activator's Lost Soul Journey stepped in. Instead of blasting out generic messages, the platform used vehicle history, service due dates, and past behavior to craft personalized outreach tailored to each individual. Messages were triggered automatically based on inactivity, with dynamic fields that filled in relevant service reminders. Even the frequency and communication channel, email or SMS(text), were selected using insights from Activator's unified customer profiles, ensuring every touchpoint felt timely, relevant, and personal.

Performance at a Glance:

• Email open rate: 54%
• Click-through rate: 1.04%

Every month, Allen Samuel CDJR also launched Custom Campaigns targeting Lost Souls, which were made possible by Activator's powerful Segmentation Tool. Instead of static lists, they built dynamic audiences using real-time data, factoring in service behavior, vehicle type, equity position, and even how responsive a customer had been in the past. These segments are updated automatically, ensuring the right customers are always in focus. Campaigns were created and deployed directly within the Activator platform using built-in email and SMS(text) templates, while real-time performance tracking allowed the team to be agile, optimizing reach and maximizing results.

Results Snapshot:

• Email open rate (YTD): 68.6%
• Click-through rate: 1.25%
• SMS response rate: 3.33%

Turning Lost Opportunities into Repeat Business

Allen Samuel CDJR wasn't just guessing anymore; they were listening to their data. With Activator's CDP in place, the dealership could confidently reach the right customers at the right time with the right message.

The dealership maximized every outreach opportunity by using Activator's CDP and Data Management Layer to manage dynamic, unified customer profiles and pair them with automated and custom multichannel campaigns, especially to customers most dealers would've written off.

The seamless integration of data, automation, segmentation, and campaigns has driven significant growth for Allen Samuels CDJR.:

• 27.69% service attribution YTD = $701,568 in attributed revenue
• $128,398 from Lost Souls alone (up from $97,049 in 2024)
  • That's a 32% increase in Lost Soul revenue
  • And a 52% increase in Lost Soul Repair Orders (from 121 to 185)

The success of the service drive was achieved without hiring new staff or acquiring additional tools.

You don't need more tools. You need better ones.

Activator's CDP with Data Management Layer, Multichannel Journey Builder, and Custom Campaigns gives dealerships the power to communicate in ways that drive real ROI. Allen Samuels CDJR is no longer letting Lost Souls fade away. They're turning missed opportunities into meaningful service relationships, and they're just getting started. Get early access to Activator’s CDP and start turning overlooked data into real revenue with managed data, smarter segmentation, automated customer journeys and custom campaigns.