CDK Earns Dual Stevie® Awards, Setting a New Benchmark for Customer Service Excellence in Automotive Retail Technology
CDK, a leading provider of software solutions for automotive retailers, has been recognized with two prestigious Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service, reinforcing its position as an industry leader not only in technology innovation but also in customer experience excellence. The honors underscore CDK’s sustained commitment to delivering measurable, high-quality outcomes for dealership partners through continuous investment in people, processes, and operational transformation.
The company received a Gold Stevie® Award for Customer Service Training/Coaching Program of the Year (Technology Industries) and a Bronze Stevie® Award for Customer Service Transformation. Notably, CDK was the only automotive dealership software provider to be recognized in these highly competitive categories this year, highlighting the organization’s ability to compete alongside top-performing global technology and service companies across industries.
Global Recognition for Excellence in Customer Service
The Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service are widely regarded as the world’s premier honors for professionals and organizations that excel in customer service, contact center operations, business development, and sales. Each year, the awards attract more than 2,000 nominations from organizations representing over 40 countries and multiple industries, ranging from financial services and telecommunications to enterprise software and healthcare.
Winners are selected through a rigorous evaluation process conducted by more than 150 expert judges worldwide, who assess nominees based on criteria including innovation, business impact, and measurable success. For CDK, earning two awards across separate but complementary categories reflects both tactical excellence and long-term strategic execution.
“This recognition is especially meaningful because it comes from a global, cross-industry evaluation,” the company noted. “It validates that the standards we are setting for customer service in automotive retail technology stand up against the very best organizations in the world.”
Customer Service as a Strategic Differentiator
At the heart of CDK’s recognition is a clear philosophy: customer service is not a support function operating on the sidelines, but a core strategic differentiator that directly influences customer outcomes, loyalty, and long-term partnership value.
“Exceptional customer service is not a standalone initiative or a one-time program—it’s a strategic differentiator that requires sustained commitment, constant evolution, and accountability at every level of the organization,” said KAM McManus, Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer at CDK.
According to McManus, the Stevie® Awards validate CDK’s long-term vision to fundamentally reimagine how technology providers support automotive retailers in an increasingly complex and fast-moving industry.
“Being recognized across industries reinforces that we’re helping define what great customer service looks like,” she added. “By combining continuous learning, disciplined execution, and a customer-first mindset, we’re delivering tangible results that matter to our customers.”
Gold Stevie®: Elevating Customer Service Through Training and Coaching
The Gold Stevie® Award for Customer Service Training/Coaching Program of the Year (Technology Industries) recognizes CDK’s comprehensive and innovative approach to workforce development within dealership environments.
As automotive retail operations become more digitally driven, dealership employees must navigate increasingly sophisticated systems while still delivering seamless, personalized customer experiences. CDK’s training and coaching program addresses this challenge by focusing on continuous learning, structured curriculum development, and role-based skill validation.
The program is designed to equip dealership staff with the practical knowledge and confidence needed to use CDK’s software solutions effectively while aligning technology usage with real-world dealership workflows. Rather than relying on one-time onboarding sessions, the initiative emphasizes ongoing education that evolves alongside changing customer expectations and business needs.
Key elements of the program include:
- Role-specific learning paths tailored to dealership positions such as sales, service, finance, and operations
- Skill validation and coaching frameworks to ensure consistent adoption and proficiency
- Real-world use cases that connect technology capabilities to measurable business outcomes
- Continuous feedback loops to refine training content based on customer input and performance data
By focusing on both technical competence and customer interaction skills, CDK’s program helps dealership teams deliver more consistent, high-quality experiences while maximizing the value of their technology investments.
Bronze Stevie®: Driving Enterprise-Wide Customer Service Transformation
Complementing its training excellence, CDK was also awarded a Bronze Stevie® Award for Customer Service Transformation, recognizing a broad, enterprise-wide effort to reshape how the organization supports its customers.
This transformation extends beyond individual teams or tools and encompasses changes across organizational structure, internal processes, technology platforms, and company culture. The goal: to deliver faster response times, greater consistency, and stronger long-term partnerships with automotive retailers.
As part of this initiative, CDK has made significant improvements to its customer engagement metrics, including:
- Average phone response times reduced to under two minutes
- Chat response times brought down to under one minute
- Improved service consistency across the customer lifecycle
These results demonstrate a tangible shift from reactive support models to proactive, outcome-driven customer engagement. The transformation also reflects CDK’s emphasis on accountability and performance measurement, ensuring that improvements are not only implemented but sustained over time.
Standing Out in a Cross-Industry Field
What makes CDK’s recognition particularly notable is the cross-industry nature of the Stevie® Awards. Unlike automotive-specific accolades, these honors place CDK in direct comparison with leading global organizations from a wide range of sectors.
Being named the only automotive dealership software provider recognized in these categories highlights CDK’s ability to translate deep industry expertise into service models that meet world-class standards. It also underscores the growing importance of customer experience as a competitive differentiator in enterprise software markets, including automotive retail technology.
As dealerships face increasing pressure to modernize operations, improve customer satisfaction, and adapt to digital-first consumer expectations, technology partners play a critical role. CDK’s recognition signals to the market that its approach to customer service is not only effective, but also scalable and future-ready.
A Win Powered by People
While the awards highlight systems, programs, and metrics, CDK leadership emphasizes that the true foundation of its success lies in its people.
“These honors reflect thousands of moments that happen behind the scenes—coaching conversations, process improvements, and thoughtful customer interactions that make a real difference,” McManus said. “They’ve led to more than 90% customer satisfaction across our service portfolio, which is something we’re incredibly proud of.”
CDK credits its tenured teams for setting a new standard for customer service within the automotive technology sector. From frontline support staff to leadership, the organization has focused on building a culture where customer outcomes are prioritized and continuous improvement is embedded into daily operations.
“It’s a powerful reminder that great customer service is built day by day,” McManus added, “and that long-term success comes from investing in people as much as technology.
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