Get Ready for the New Year
We just wrapped up our Fall Marketing Boot Camp, and we’re only a few days post-election.
I have to say, I couldn’t be happier with how both turned out.
The New Year will be starting soon, making this a really good time to reflect on this past year and plan for the next one.
At Powersports Marketing, we are always setting goals, targets, and making commitments to better performance. It’s what has led to the success we’ve experienced in the past and what will drive us to excellence as we move forward.
I’d encourage you to do as we do here each year and do three things:
Decide
Commit
Succeed
Decide that 2017 will be the year that you will determine the trajectory of your dealership through conscious action.
Commit that you’ll actively work to create and cultivate a positive culture in your dealership, making it both a great place to work, and as a result, a great place to visit and buy. Dealership culture flows down from the top, and over time, it can be difficult to maintain. Every dealer I have ever met got into the business because they loved motorcycles. It’s a passion-based business. Unfortunately, running a dealership can be tough. As you know, it can be really tough. That can take a toll. As I used to tell my GMs, it’s important to always remember that we work in a toy store. That’s what our customers think. Customers are looking for an excuse to come to your dealership. That’s what WE thought the first time we showed up in one, and even the first day we went to work there. Over time, that changes, and it isn’t as exciting as it once was. That can be reflected in our attitude, and that attitude is then mirrored in every department. And not only is it mirrored, it gets amplified. Setting a good tone lays the foundation for success.
Commit that you will take every opportunity to learn about how to work ON your business instead of just IN it. Decide to attend events like our Marketing Boot Camp (we’ll have two next year) where you’ll learn the newest (as well as time-tested) marketing best practices tailored specifically to a powersports dealership. Your interest and enthusiasm to make the business better will be noticed, and will continue to create a positive culture in your dealership. Not only that, but enthusiasm is contagious. Others will want to participate.
Commit that you’ll have a clear policy on good data acquisition and accuracy. This is the gold in your dealership that allows you to grab success by the reigns and make sales happen instead of hoping they do. The MIC has said for years that in any given market only 3-6% of people ride motorcycles. Knowing who they are is more than half the battle. The ability to target exactly the right audience with direct response marketing that brings them back into your dealership creates the path to success.
Commit to using the data you will be harvesting to proactively market to your buying base, touching them 52-104 times per year through event based marketing, e-mail marketing, and online digital marketing. It will be hard. You will be tempted every month to just skip it this month, just this once – I’ll pick it back up next month…
That’s deadly thinking. Don’t give yourself an excuse to give up. It’s simple physics: objects in motion tend to stay in motion – objects at rest tend to stay at rest.
Keep moving, keep going – I guarantee the competition is.
We’ve had the privilege to see dealers across the country follow the steps I outlined above and experience success better than they ever expected. It’s not the easiest path to take, but most things worth having don’t come cheap. It looks like the political climate is going to be more conducive to small-to-medium sized businesses than it has been for a long time, and I’d like to encourage you to capitalize on the opportunities it will bring.
Here’s to a great 2017 to you and your dealership – and of course, we’d love to help be a part of making it great.
Talk Soon,
Brad
