The Challenge
Meridian Auto Group runs a high-volume dealership network where the sales floor lives and dies by appointment volume. Their website was generating consistent inbound interest — form fills, chat inquiries, and click-to-call traffic — but the conversion rate from web lead to actual showroom appointment was painfully low.
The problem wasn't lead volume. Meridian had plenty of people expressing interest. The problem was speed-to-contact. In automotive sales, the dealership that responds first wins the appointment
Meridian needed a way to respond to every web lead instantly, qualify intent, and get the buyer booked before the window closed.
What Meridian Wanted to Achieve
Before implementing Chatley, Jessica Morales and the sales leadership team mapped out exactly where their lead-to-appointment pipeline was breaking down. The goal wasn't to replace their BDC team — it was to make sure no web lead ever sat uncontacted long enough to go cold.
Always-On Lead Capture
This after-hours capability alone accounted for a substantial portion of the 247 qualified leads captured in the first 30 days. Leads that previously went cold overnight were now arriving Monday morning as confirmed appointments already in the calendar.
Workflow Improvements That Made the Difference
Implementing Chatley allowed Meridian to standardise how web leads were handled across every consultant and location.
Key Best Practices:
Results for the Team
In the first 30 days, Meridian captured 247 qualified leads through Chatley — leads that would previously have gone cold waiting for a manual callback. Sales appointment volume increased fivefold compared to the prior month.
And with a pipeline of $2.1M in new opportunities created directly from AI-handled leads, the ROI case was closed before the first month ended.