AUTOMOTIVE customer lifecycle management platform provider Impel, known for helping dealers build personalised customer relationships through its use of artificial intelligence (AI), has bought Outsell, a software provider of first-party customer data and outreach automation.

The $US100 million ($A154m) acquisition merges Impel, an early pioneer in generative conversational AI in the auto industry, with Outsell, one of the industry’s early customer engagement platform players.

The acquisition establishes the auto industry’s first end-to-end AI sales and marketing automation platform, creating a combined company serving over 8000 dealers in 51 countries. 

It gives Impel access to complementary services offered by Outsell and aims to help dealers create customer experiences across the entire customer lifecycle through an overarching AI platform that connects and coordinates each channel and customer touchpoint for the dealership. 

Impel claims to have the industry’s most advanced AI-powered customer lifecycle management platform aimed at automotive dealers, OEMs, and third-party industry providers.

Its omnichannel solution uses customer behavioural data and generative conversational AI technology and is designed to make dealership staff more productive and efficient, especially in converting prospective buyers who have contacted the dealership.

Impel said it works seamlessly with all major websites, CRM, and DMS platforms. The company has delivered 21 billion shopper interactions, influencing more than $US 5 billion ($A7.7b) in sales and service revenue across 51 countries. 

Impel plans to combine Outsell’s intelligent automated outreach capabilities with its own conversational AI-based customer lifecycle management solution to create an end-to-end AI sales and marketing automation platform globally serving 8000 dealerships, up from 6000 prior to the acquisition. 

Impel co-founder and current CEO Devin Daly said: “Outsell’s unique ability to help automotive manufacturers and retailers listen, predict, and communicate with customers in a fully automated way has earned them a reputation in the industry that is second to none.”

“This acquisition enables us to provide a unified AI platform that connects every channel and touchpoint across the automotive retailing ecosystem. 

“The combination of intelligent automated outreach coupled with conversational AI is a game changer that will enable dealers of all sizes to deliver exceptional customer experiences while also driving meaningful process and productivity improvements.”

Impel co-founder and chief strategy officer Michael Quigley said: “With our acquisition of Outsell, Impel gains a powerful set of capabilities that complement our industry leading vertical AI platform.

“Outsell’s ability to deliver ‘right message, right person, right channel, right time’ communications, paired with Impel’s AI-powered merchandising and communication applications, provides us with an unprecedented ability to deliver frictionless, personalised experiences on demand.”

Impel’s acquisition of Outsell marks its third strategic purchase in three years. In 2021, it acquired Pulsar AI of Tbilisi, Georgia, and Los Angeles-based CarLabs.ai in 2022.

Focusing on selective acquisitions and expanding its open partner ecosystem, the company is committed to enhancing its AI sales and marketing automation platform while fostering organic product development.

Impel was founded in 2012 by CEO Devin Daly and president and chief strategy officer Michael Quigley. It was initially known as SpinCar and rebranded as Impel in 2022.

Impel has raised over $US130 million ($A200m) , including a 2023 $US104 million ($A160m) growth equity investment led by Silversmith Capital Partners, with earlier investor Wavecrest Growth Partners participating.

Outsell was founded by Mike Wethington in Minneapolis in 2004.  As part of the acquisition, Mr Wethington will join Impel’s board. The company employs 170 people.

In the past 12 months, Outsell sent more than 500 million SMS text, email, direct mail, and social media messages to 61 million consumers. 

Mr Wethington said: “As the leader in automotive AI, Impel has brought tremendous innovation to the industry and the transformation of retail now taking place.”

“I can’t think of another company that is better positioned to extend the technology and relationships that Outsell has developed over the past 20 years. 

“I’m proud of what our team has accomplished, and we look forward to joining with Impel to redefine what’s possible.”   

Ben Cooper

Ben Cooper, managing director of Impel’s international business, told GoAutoNews Premium that Outsell, as a business, is positioned as what is called a customer data platform (CDP). 

“From a technology landscape perspective, dealers have realised that their systems are siloed and disconnected,” he said. 

“They have their CRM, their inventory system, their DMS, and a patchwork of different marketing and software providers – and all of them have different third-party customer data. Dealers also have their website – and there’s a load of customer data there – good first-party data which dealers are often unable to leverage.

“A customer data platform (CDP) spans all of those channels and systems, and it’s the repository for all of a consumer’s first-party data. It knows when customers have been on the website looking at a car. It knows when an existing customer owns a particular model of car and that the lease is falling due in a few months. It knows that a customer submitted a lead and that the dealer can now activate marketing  based on all that information, offering up relevant discounts on vehicles the customer is most interested in, or an offer to buy their car.  “Basically, when you think of CDP, think of it as a brain or engine that is aggregating all those systems and putting the customer at the centre. That makes automated sales and marketing activations much more sophisticated, personalised, and focussed,” Mr Cooper said. 

“The reason why the combination of Impel and Outsell makes sense is because if you Outsell has historically done what I’ve just described; aggregating all of that customer information and sending the right information at the right time to the customer, and then the customer responds to that message via email, or SMS text, or a social media channel. Then you add the power of our generative conversational AI platform and now we can automate all of that inbound communication into real time bi-directional communication across all facets of the customer journey, be that vehicle, finance, trade-in, service or brand. Even book appointments directly into dealers systems to further drive efficiencies.

“Effectively, Outsell reaches out and brings in new traffic – new shoppers, additional customer marketing opportunities, Impel AI then ensures dealers convert and retain more of those customers – all operating seamlessly 24 hours a day.  

“With Outsell now integrating with Impel AI, dealers have an unparalleled end-to-end system that automates all those shopper and customer touch points.”