Why do I need to keep in contact with my customers?

Building and maintaining relationships with your current customers is often an overlooked strategy to generate sales for your business.  Yes, thats right - relationship management with your customers can directly increase your sales figures.  Plus, working with your existing customers can be more cost effective.  You can directly influence your customers - by making them feel appreciated.

Email Marketing

You are currently selling products and services to your consumer base on a daily basis. They like doing business with you, and you have a lot of repeat customers. Have you ever thought of using them to solidify relationships, and increase sales and referrals? Why not use the information you currently have to improve your bottom line by keeping your customers engaged and aware of business trends and promotions?

Of course, it's that time of year again, time to prep your outdoor power equipment dealership for the Springtime surge in business. In our industry, there are always elements that we can improve. This time of year is the perfect opportunity to consider what you can do to make the customer experience better this season. After seeing dozens of dealerships go through this process, we here at KPM have compiled a list of the most valuable improvements and changes you can make to gain the upper hand.

Tried-And-True Marketing Tactics You Should Try in 2016

When you are busy running an outdoor power equipment dealership, it can be hard to find time to take on the task of marketing. We often push it to the back burner because of the varying degrees of trial and error it requires to get results from our efforts. Since time is money and we can’t waste what little resources we have to spare, KPM has compiled a tried-and-true list of tips and tricks to augment your dealership's marketing efforts. If you want to increase awareness and drive more traffic to your dealership, try some of these marketing tactics.

Most outdoor power equipment dealers contain their business inside their four walls, and they wait for potential customers to come inside the dealership. They have created a comfort zone where they feel at ease completing the same day-to-day tasks that have always been on the agenda. While that process may keep these dealerships in business, it by no means guarantees a large amount of success or growth.

2015 was somewhat of an unusual year for the outdoor power equipment industry in the Northeast.

Sales and service of snow and ice handling equipment started out extremely strong due to the frequent and large amount of snow and ice we received throughout our region from mid-January into early March.  Manufacturers, distributors and dealers who offered snow blowers, snow plows, and spreaders/sanders experienced record-breaking sales in 2015. 

Starting The Process

Have you been debating whether or not to expand your client base to include municipal and government entities? While this may seem like the perfect way to expand your profits, pursuing this type of customer is not for every outdoor power equipment dealership. Many dealers do not have the staff, equipment, and time to successfully roll out a plan to follow up on this type of business. Like most business projects, it pays to start slow and ramp up if you start to see success. If your business can handle the new influx of work, then here are some tips to successfully engage potential municipal and government clients.

This October, Louisville, Kentucky, hosted the annual GIE Expo, a premier outdoor power equipment industry event and one of the largest tradeshows in the U.S.  The vast majority of companies in the industry attend each year, including manufacturers, distributors, dealers, landscapers and other end users.  This year’s show was no exception.  In fact, while some regional tradeshows struggle with attendance, the GIE Expo grew in 2015 to more than 21,000 people.  

Here are two suggestions from KPM dealers that may work for your dealership – and a tip from KPM.

Dealer Suggestion #1 - Use retail financing plans and the associated monthly payment

By marking the equipment you have on your floor with a monthly payment, it helps a potential customer “budget” the purchase. Be sure to include the appropriate sales tax and then use the monthly payment factor provided by the retail finance company.

Some equipment manufacturers have formatted hang tags that are customizable and printable. If you can, try not to handwrite them. Research shows customers are less likely to haggle over price when the tag is printed.