Holding a high-tech motorcycle piston in your hand
March 2, 2010
Imagine you’re shopping for a motorcycle and visit two dealerships. At the first dealership, the salesperson tells you all about the impressive engineering that went into the motorcycle he’s trying to sell you. When you visit the second dealership, the salesperson reaches over to his desk and... Read more »
An educated guess, or a history of success?
February 24, 2010
Who are you marketing to? The answer to this question shapes your entire campaign, yet is overlooked too often. Of course, most dealers would say the logical answer of “I’m looking for people who are interested in motorcycles and ATVs, etc.” as your goal is to drive people who will buy something... Read more »
Do customers always know best?
January 29, 2010
Henry Ford once said, “If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they would have asked for a faster horse.” What about your customers? Do you call your customers to ask them about their sales experience in your dealership? If so, good for you, since the very act of following-up with customers... Read more »
The critical components of every successful marketing campaign
January 11, 2010
There’s a recipe for success when it comes to planning and creating a successful marketing campaign. In fact, there are four critical components to every marketing initiative: No. 1 is your marketing message; No. 2 is targeting the right audience; No. 3 is using the right media method; and No. 4 is... Read more »
What comes after the retail sales crash?
December 8, 2009
You’ve survived a generational downturn in sales. Now make sure you’re ready to take advantage of the opportunities ahead. If you’re like many dealers we know, you’ve endured the most significant challenge to your business’ survival to date. You’ve cut trusted staff, shelved long-term plans,... Read more »
Direct Response vs. Image Enhancing Advertising
September 9, 2009
We’re in a new era and a new economy. As I’ve previously written, the industrial age is behind us and the information age is here. We’re also in a place where customers have more choices and resources than ever, which in turn give them more power. This vast increase in customer resources... Read more »
Right-Sizing the Business (Powersports)
July 27, 2009
Most powersports dealers have had a great run in the past 5-10 years. While business can’t ever really be called “easy,” it has, for the most part, been a friendly marketplace up until this year. This year with the mortgage crisis. Banks tightening. Stock markets dropping, etc. Not... Read more »
Online vs. offline advertising
July 22, 2009
It’s no secret that effectively choosing your advertising methods is much more complex now that we’ve entered the Information Age. Should you focus on offline advertising, or should you turn more toward online? Here lately I’ve been excited to see more and more dealers turning to Search... Read more »
Focus on running effective, lead-generating advertising
June 1, 2009
A phrase commonly heard at Dealership University is “recession-proof your dealership.” While that sounds great, I believe many dealers hear that phrase and overwhelmingly think.” In this economy, I don’t even know what to do, or where to start.” Well, there are four primary... Read more »
You can’t have a bad day…
May 27, 2009
Each of our 20 groups has a private e-mail system so they can discuss business issues with other group members. The other day I realized how negative the e-mails had become in one of the groups. The dealers were talking about how bad it was and had begun reinforcing it within the group. They were feeding... Read more »
