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Case Study - Calumet Harley-Davidson®: Predictable Growth

Eric Pedretti | 09/27/2016

 

DEALERSHIP:

Calumet Harley-Davidson® was established in 1993 by Chuck & Cindy Kreisl in Munster, IN. Calumet is “Where Chicagoland goes to ride.”

 

SOLUTION:

Before working with us, many of our current clients were ‘Market Driven Dealers’. They made reactive advertising decisions and randomly bought billboards, radio ads, TV commercials, newspaper ads and other campaigns because they knew they should be advertising. This left them vulnerable to the weather, market and economy so when the market was up, business was up; but when it was down, business was down.

 

Calumet H-D® made the conscious decision to put more control in their hands this year. They are now a ‘Marketing Driven Dealer’ because they have a pro-active, integrated, direct-marketing plan designed to touch their buying base 52-104 times per year that is quantifiable. So, barring a natural disaster, they’ll experience predictable growth. 

 

We started by identifying the ‘Buying Base’ made up of two groups of customers: 1) Past Customers who’ve spent money with your store in the past four years in Sales, Service & Parts. The Sharp Shooter Program helps dealers grow by increasing the number of ‘Active Customers’, those who spend money with your dealership every 12 months. Most dealers have only a fraction of their database actively spending money with them, representing a huge opportunity for growth. 

 

Next, we focus on 2) Conquest Customers, those who live in your backyard and ride what you sell but haven’t bought from you. These are competitor’s customers and other orphan owners living in the geographical area where the majority of your sales come from. 

 

Once we identify your ‘Buying Base’, we put together a multi-touch, direct-marketing plan designed to touch them 52-104 times per year. This essentially puts a fence around your herd and guarantees you’re staying in front of every real opportunity you have to sell a unit, parts or service in your backyard.

 

The message focuses on the party, which increases frequency of visits to your dealership. When that happens, you increase your ‘Annual Average Customer Value’ because when they walk through your door, they are kids in a candy store.  They can’t help themselves but to buy more gear, parts, accessories, service their unit more often and overtime shorten their trade cycle because they’re constantly hanging out with all those beautiful new machines you have on your showroom floor. 

 

When you increase 1) The Number of Active Customers and 2) Their Annual Average Customer Value, your business grows predictably.

 

 

RESULTS:

This is exactly what is happening at Calumet H-D. They’ve executed a Sharp Shooter Event six out of eight months this year (in addition to being a Local Web Dominator client) and they are growing the business. This year alone, the Sharp Shooter Program has generated over 2,400 completed surveys including 191 Service Leads, 683 P&A Leads, 604 MotorClothes Leads and 491 Unit Sales Leads! 

 

LOOKING FORWARD:

What’s next? October means the arrival of two of my favorite things…New Models and the perfect riding weather! Throw in Halloween and you’ve got three incredible excuses to invite your customers into the dealership. Don’t make the mistake of pulling your advertising dollars back this year. Let us help you kick start a record 4th quarter. Check out our website for hundreds of campaign themes that are proven winners. 

 

For more information on how the Sharp Shooter Program can help put more control over the growth of your dealership in your hands, give me a ring on my direct line at 877-242-4472 ext: 112 or visit us at www.PowersportsMarketing.com. Happy selling.