How Kruse Buick GMC Uses Activator's CDP to Power Service Growth and Sales Impact

Dealership Goals

In Marshall, Minnesota, Kruse Buick GMC isn't operating on volume alone. They're in a smaller market with lower foot traffic, meaning every interaction, every customer touchpoint, has to count. That's why General Manager Kris McKenzie set out with a simple yet crucial goal: to increase the repair order (RO) count by reaching both passive customers and active shoppers more effectively and growing fixed ops revenue.

Rather than increasing ad spend or overloading the team with outbound calls, Kris turned to Activator to streamline their service marketing strategy, and it paid off.

"We're on track to have our best month ever," Kris shared during their monthly consultative meeting with their Customer Success team member. "Activator is definitely a reason for the success. We could shut the doors today and still hit our goals."

Multichannel Marketing Campaigns: Always-On Engagement

These campaigns aren't just scheduled emails—they're triggered based on customer behavior, ownership status, service history, and more. Whether a customer is due for routine maintenance, has equity in their vehicle, or hasn't been back in over a year, Activator delivers personalized messages through email, text, direct mail, and digital + social advertising, meeting each customer where they're most likely to engage.

That means activated shoppers get nudged when they're ready to buy, and passive customers receive timely service prompts that pull them back in before they disappear for good.

Kruse Buick GMC runs Activator's automated multichannel marketing campaigns, which include:

Lease Renewal	Buyback Offers	Equity Mining	Service Welcome
Service Interval Reminders	Service Appointment Reminders	Declined Service Follow-ups	Lost Service Reactivation

Identifying and Managing Customer Data with Activator's CDP with Data Management Layer

Before a single message is sent, Activator gets to work behind the scenes with its Data Management Layer, a foundational part of Activator's CDP Solution.

For Kruse, that meant:

• Managing 10,248 customer records without valid emails
• Validating 7,490 usable email contacts
• Identifying and grouping 5,475 duplicate records
• Removing 105 spam traps that could hurt deliverability

By identifying incomplete, duplicate, and risky contact data, Activator enables the dealership to build unified customer profiles that are accurate, usable, and ready for effective marketing. That's the difference between sending a generic message to the wrong person and sending the right message to the right person at the right time.

It's not just about having data, it's about having data you can trust.

Built for Your Dealership, Not the Masses

In addition to their always-on campaigns, Kruse Buick GMC leverages monthly custom campaigns created specifically for their store. These campaigns are designed in collaboration with the Activator team and focus on timely, relevant dealership priorities—whether it's a seasonal service push, an equity buyback event, or a weekend sales drive.

Here's how they performed in April 2025:

These aren't generic blasts. Each custom campaign is built using current customer data, segmented by factors like ownership cycle, service history, or equity position. That's how Kruse maintains open rates over 50%—because customers recognize the messages are built for them.

So far in 2025, Kruse's custom campaigns have averaged a 59.83% open rate and 3.84% click-through rate, consistently outperforming industry norms.

How Activator’s CDP Works FOR Your Dealership

What makes Activator's CDP different isn't just the automation; it's the strategy built into the solution:

• Real-time segmentation means campaigns adjust based on actual customer behavior
• Unified customer profiles make messaging more accurate and personal
• Multichannel delivery increases the chance each message gets seen and acted on
• Hands-free automation allows dealership teams to stay focused on in-store operations
• Ongoing collaboration ensures campaigns evolve with your goals and the market

For Kris and his team, this meant they didn't have to choose between automation and effectiveness—they got both.

The Results:

Sales Attribution (Last 60 Days):
24.75% of vehicle sales influenced by Activator

Service Attribution (YTD):
26.23% of service revenue attributed to Activator, totaling over $360,000

The Takeaway

Kruse Buick GMC might be in a small town, but with Activator's CDP powering their service and sales outreach, they're playing—and winning—like a big-market store. They've turned passive data into real opportunities, driven higher engagement with less effort, and built a marketing engine that helps them hit their goals without overwhelming their team.

Ready to see how Activator can help your store turn intent into action? Schedule a demo today, and let's discuss the results.