As the automotive industry moves deeper into 2026, dealerships are navigating a familiar mix of pressure and opportunity. Inventory is tightening, monthly payments remain elevated, and competition for both customers and vehicles continues to intensify. At the same time, clean customer data and artificial intelligence are opening the door to smarter, more effective ways to drive growth—particularly in fixed operations.

Recently, Lauren Donalson, CEO, and Jason Wiley, President & Chief Revenue Officer of PureCars, sat down with CBT News to discuss how dealerships can adapt to these realities, what PureCars is bringing to NADA 2026, and why clean data and AI are becoming essential to modern service marketing.

A New Leadership Chapter at PureCars

Having stepped into their new leadership roles within the last six months, Donalson and Wiley are guiding PureCars through a meaningful evolution. While the company has long been known as a leader in digital advertising, its focus is expanding to meet the changing needs of dealerships.

PureCars is moving toward a model centered on audience management, customer data curation, and AI-driven intelligence. The objective is not simply to place ads, but to help dealerships understand their customers at a deeper level and deploy marketing with far greater precision. It’s a significant shift—one designed to support dealers in an increasingly complex market.

The Challenges and Opportunities Dealers Face in 2026

During their conversation with CBT News, Donalson and Wiley highlighted the realities many dealerships are already feeling. Inventory constraints are returning, affordability remains a concern for consumers, and broad, generic marketing strategies are becoming less effective.

The opportunity lies in focus. Dealers who leverage AI to curate and target the right audiences can operate more efficiently and connect with customers who are most likely to engage, service, or purchase. Precision, rather than scale, is becoming the differentiator.

Why Fixed Operations Are Back in the Spotlight

One of the strongest themes from the discussion was the growing importance of fixed operations. Despite being a consistent driver of profitability, parts and service have often been underfunded and under-prioritized compared to sales.

As market conditions shift, dealerships are being forced to reassess that balance. Service lanes are not only critical for revenue, but also for retention and vehicle acquisition. Investing in smarter service marketing is quickly becoming a necessity rather than an option.

Clean Data as the Foundation of Service Marketing

Service marketing challenges often stem from a single issue: inaccurate or outdated customer data. Without a clear understanding of who still owns a vehicle or who is due for service, even the most well-intentioned campaigns can miss the mark.

Clean, deduplicated, and enriched first-party data allows dealerships to communicate with confidence. It enables more relevant outreach, supports better customer experiences, and turns the service drive into a strategic asset for long-term growth.

Moving Beyond the CRM with a Customer Data Platform

As discussed with CBT News, traditional CRMs were not designed to solve today’s service marketing challenges. A customer data platform (CDP) takes data from multiple systems, standardizes it, and creates a single, accurate customer view.

With that foundation in place, dealerships can segment audiences, identify cross-shopping behavior, apply AI-driven insights, and activate campaigns across channels—all from one connected ecosystem. The result is marketing that’s smarter, faster, and far more effective.

How AI Is Delivering Real Value in Service Departments

AI may be a popular buzzword, but its value becomes clear when applied correctly. On the front end, AI-powered agents support communication through SMS, chat, and appointment outreach, improving responsiveness and consistency.

Behind the scenes, AI analyzes behavior, optimizes media performance, and identifies opportunities at scale. This intelligence layer ensures service marketing efforts are timely, relevant, and compliant—without adding operational strain to dealership teams.

Dealerships using these tools are already seeing stronger engagement and increased service visits, giving teams more opportunities to build relationships and generate additional revenue.

Simplifying Multi-Channel Customer Communication

Customers expect to engage across email, SMS, social, and video. Managing those channels can be complex, but when identity resolution is applied, it becomes far more manageable.

By assigning a unique identifier to each customer, dealerships can deliver coordinated, consistent messaging across every touchpoint. This approach removes guesswork, reduces waste, and ensures communication reaches the right person at the right time.

The Impact of Clean Data and AI

The biggest benefit dealerships see when combining clean data with AI is clarity. Productivity improves, lag time decreases, and messaging becomes more relevant. Instead of relying on outdated assumptions, dealerships can operate with confidence and precision.

As Donalson and Wiley shared with CBT News, this shift isn’t about chasing trends—it’s about building smarter, more sustainable marketing strategies that support both service departments and the business as a whole.

With NADA 2026 approaching, PureCars’ focus on clean data, AI, and fixed operations reflects where the industry is headed—and how dealerships can stay ahead of what’s next.
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WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE

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