What a difference a year can make. At NADA and DMSC in 2024, I was one of the few people talking about the power of identity graphs, real-time audiences, and proactive marketing outreach. At this year’s show, many voices have now joined the conversation to help dealers understand the power of their first-party data.

I had time to share our approach to first-party data management on the main stage. Many dealers don’t yet  understand the differences between building an identity graph from their own website shopper data and what we have patented as the Active Shopper Network^®.

Using identity resolution technology, dealers can start to build an identity graph from the consumers who visit their websites. As consumers fill out forms, the identity graph can be enhanced with the consumer’s name, phone, and email address. Dealers can also update their identity graph by sending emails with special UTM tags to connect a click to a customer profile in the CDP.

Most dealers spend years trying to piece together an accurate identity graph from their own data—but the reality is, only a fraction of past customers ever return to the dealership’s website. Even fewer engage with monthly emails, and lead forms? They’re nearly obsolete. To truly understand and reach today’s buyer, we need smarter signals and real-time visibility into shopper behavior—well beyond the CRM. Another major obstacle to building a truly ‘owned’ identity graph is dirty data. If the contact information is wrong—like an undeliverable email—there’s no chance of re-engagement. And when data isn’t kept clean, dealers end up chasing shoppers who’ve already moved out of their market. That’s wasted time, wasted budget, and lost opportunity. Clean, accurate, real-time data isn’t a luxury—it’s the foundation of modern dealership growth.

Dealers need to own their identity graph—and the smartest way to do that is with a purpose-built CDP. We have worked hard over the years to create a best-in-class CDP, but here’s what many don’t realize: with the Active Shopper Network^®, we go further. Dealers can tap into it as a Data-as-a-Service layer to see when their customers are shopping—NOT just on their website, but ANYWHERE. That’s the difference between waiting for engagement and knowing it’s happening in real time. At DMSC, Nate Hollenback from Del Grande Dealer Group (DGDG) noted that their CDP revealed a key insight: when customers begin shopping, they often start on marketplace sites—long before ever landing on a dealership’s website.

We see that same pattern within the Active Shopper Network^®—but we don’t stop there. While some identity graphs focus heavily on marketplace data, our approach goes significantly deeper. We track real-time shopping behavior across the entire digital landscape: 3rd party marketplaces, OEM sites, dealership websites, research platforms, search engines, and more.

If someone is actively shopping for a vehicle online, we know it. That’s the kind of visibility today’s dealers need—not just to keep up, but to win.

A dealer with a new CDP can accelerate their success 10x by partnering with our patented identity graph focused specifically on automotive sales and service shoppers.

Dealers who are focused on first-party data management and activation win when they partner with Client Command^®. Our platform gives dealers a powerful edge—because we don’t just wait for shoppers to show up.

1. Our CDP can receive signals to activate marketing when we see a dealer’s existing customers shopping, but NOT visiting their website.
2.  Dealers can use our identity graph to uncover new in-market shoppers who haven’t visited the dealer’s website at all. That means we can help dealers market their in-stock inventory more effectively—through digital or direct mail—right at the start of the buyer’s journey.
3. Dealers can also activate service marketing campaigns when consumers start their vehicle search or when they are out shopping for tires, brakes, batteries, or other services which can fill their service drives.

Each of these strategies is designed to help dealers maximize lifetime value—not just generate leads. By detecting when existing customers are shopping off-site, we reduce defection and improve retention. By identifying new in-market shoppers at the start of their journey, we enable timely, high-impact inventory marketing. And by activating service campaigns when consumers are searching for maintenance, we help keep the service drive full and relationships strong.

It’s not just about getting more customers—it’s about keeping them longer, serving them smarter, and increasing their total lifetime value to the dealership.

With millions of Active Shoppers^® each month, Client Command^® can come alongside dealers with CDPs or with dealers who don’t have CDPs. In fact, we offer the best of both worlds. Dealers who need a turnkey CDP, let us show you our infrastructure. Dealers who have a CDP and need to accelerate their earned identity graph, let us partner with you to send high-quality traffic to your websites.

I welcome the opportunity to show dealers exactly how we’re different from the sea of tech vendors you may have met at DMSC. We combine first-party data management with the unmatched reach of the Active Shopper Network^®—a formula built not just for marketing, but for true market expansion.