ALBANY, N.Y. — Auto/Mate Dealership Systems has announced the release of a free eBook titled "The Auto Dealer's Ten Step Guide to Creating Customer Loyalty: No Customer Loyalty Program Needed!" The eBook shares management and leadership principles proven to increase customer loyalty and generate higher profits, such as focusing on employee happiness and company culture, officials said.

"True customer loyalty can't be purchased with a program because it's about the relationships your customers have with your employees," said Mike Esposito, president and CEO of Auto/Mate. "I firmly believe that how happy your employees are directly impacts how loyal your customers are and ultimately how successful your company can be."

The eBook walks dealers through the ten steps needed to improve company culture by focusing on employees first and customers second:

1. Know the difference: loyalty vs. satisfaction

2. Make customer loyalty a priority

3. Define why you are in business

4. Establish your company's core values

5. Inform, empower and reward your employees

6. Become a great place to work

7. Hire the right people

8. Become a leader, not a manager

9. Make decisions for the long term

10. Track and record results

"I've always wondered why there aren't more dealerships listed in local 'best place to work' award programs that are sponsored by Business Journals and by Workplace Dynamics," Esposito said. "Being listed as a great place to work gives companies a natural competitive advantage in terms of how that company is perceived by its customers as well as attracting and retaining top talent." 

Auto/Mate has been recognized as a "Best Places to Work" by the Albany Business Review five years in a row, as a "Top Workplace" by the Albany Times-Union four years in a row, and is a leading DMS vendor in customer satisfaction with a 99.7% customer retention rate.

For more information or to download the free eBook, click here.