Monitoring and managing online customer feedback is a crucial step in protecting a dealer’s reputation.

That is according to Cody Lusk of the American International Automobile Dealers Association, which on Thursday announced a new affinity partnership with Podium, which collects and manages business reviews and messages in one central inbox. 

“By allowing dealerships to become immediately available via messaging, not only are they able to mitigate risks of negative reviews, but dealerships are actually providing the type of positive and seamless modern buying experience consumers have come to expect,” Lusk, who is AIADA president and chief executive officer, said in a news release.

The association described Podium as an auto industry interaction management platform that works with more than 40,000 businesses worldwide. Those businesses include 5,000 U.S. and Canadian dealerships.

AIADA said that using Podium’s platform, AIADA members will be able to modernize their communication channels to perform tasks such as gathering reviews, messaging customers, and gathering feedback.

Dealerships will be able to contact customers who have recently visited the dealership’s site, completed a test drive, or made a purchase, AIADA said. The dealer can automatically invite the customer to leave a review minutes after the customer purchases a vehicle.

The dealer can send that invitation by text or through the messaging app of his or her choice.

The review invitation is sent moments after a car is sold. Because of that, customers are more likely to act on the requests for reviews and feedback, and AIADA said that could mean more accurate results.

AIADA said because of the integration, dealerships will save time and boost the number and quality of their online reviews on sites such as Google, Facebook, and DealerRater.

Podium vice president of auto sales Cameron Hale described AIADA as “the leading force in providing solutions for international nameplate dealerships in the U.S. auto industry.”

Hale continued, “This was a key factor in Podium choosing them as a close, operational partner. Joining AIADA’s drive to provide solutions for their dealers with Podium’s powerful online review and two-way messaging products will supercharge their members’ competitive advantage in bringing in new customers and keeping them for their lifetime.”

By facilitating millions of customer interactions, such as driving customer-generated online reviews and providing what it describes as improved customer messaging tools, Podium serves more than 40,000 local businesses to create more than 16 million interactions with their customers each month.

Along with expertise in online reviews, Podium also specializes in helping dealers communicate with customers via messaging. The company shared some best practices about this topic earlier this week during a webinar with Auto Remarketing, which can be viewed here.