In April of 2012, it was announced that Intuit was acquiring the SaaS marketing company Demandforce for $423.5 million in cash. Demandforce is a competitor of Customerlink in the auto repair shop marketing segment. Intuit saw the Demandforce acquisition as a way to boost its SMB-focused business.
Since the acquisition by Intuit, Demandforce has launched integration with Google Now and Apple Passbook. Demandforce has also connected customers between lateral markets via Intuit Local. A marketing automation feature was launched as well in October of 2013.
So, after acquiring Demandforce in 2012, why did Intuit seek out another acquisition? To create a monopoly on the auto repair shop customer relationship management software market? Customerlink was at a lower price point than Demandforce, with similar features.
The next few months will be interesting for the automotive CRM segment. Kukui is yet to be seen as a strong player in the automotive segment, the same applies for eAutoClub/Service Intelligence when it comes to market share. When technology is moving faster than an entire industry can keep up with, the possibilities are endless.
